The Shinto Religion: Film Analysis

Finally, the Shinto religion is quite concerned with the idea of balance. This usually results in a concern for the balance between humans and the natural world. In Miyazaki's films, there is also a lot of emphasis placed on balance. In fact, his protagonists often undertake a voyage of balance, either between humans and nature such as in Princess Mononoke, or within themselves like in Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away. Princess Mononoke makes peace with the humans rather than yielding to them, as that would mean the humans gained dominance over nature. In Spirited Away, we see that she balances her own behavior. As she was very childish prior to entering the spirit realm, we see her mature as Sen and she no longer hangs on her