notawaffle

I love the character design of Ashitaka. He is very proud and has already shown great maturity as a young man. Instead of a character development, Ashitaka is already a well-rounded individual who always relies on his gut. He trusts himself more than he trusts and listens to other people, and that is shown early on.

I love the conflict between man and nature, and this is presented in a very unique way. The solution is already foreshadowed in what Ashitaka continues to preach, that man and nature should coexist in harmony, as well as being shown within San. A girl raised by wolves, she acts and thinks of herself like a wolf, but she still has human-like feelings and natural intellect that the wolves cannot. This is particularly shown when she is quick to aid Ashitaka, but San's mother, who happens to be the Wolf God, is reluctant to trust Ashitaka since he is still a human after all. There is also a conflict within Ashitaka following through with his own theme that all life is sacred, as he is sometimes forced to immobilize and decapitate soldiers that attack him. Again this shows his gut instinct, but is still contradictory with the message he is trying to spread, portraying Ashitaka as imperfect, and thus human. Humans can still make mistakes and/or disregard life when necessary in fear of your own, however there must be an overall collective effort to live in harmony with others.