SURVEY OF AFRO ASIAN LITERATURE

JAPANESE LITERATURE

A FILM REVIEW

1 .NAME OF THE FILM: SPIRITED AWAY

2. GENRE OF THE FILM:FANTASY, ADVENTURE, ANIMATION

3. WHO WROTE/DIRECTED THE FILM:HAYAO MIYAZAKI

4. SETTING: A traditional Japanese bathhouse

5. CHARACTER:

 CHIHIRO OGINO/SEN
SHE IS THE MAIN PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY, A YOUNG GIRL
THAT IS TRANSPORTED INTO THE SPIRIT WORLD AND HAS TO
OVERCOME ITS DANGERS.
 HAKU(KOHAKU RIVER)
Haku is the main side character in Spirited Away. He is a river spirit who
has forgotten who he is. He is the first aid Chihiro gets and he helps her in
getting a job at the bathhouse. Through Chihiro's help his name is cleared
with Zeniba and he remembers who he is.
 Yubaba
A powerful witch and the owner of the bathhouse. She can be seen as the
main antagonist of the story. She is greedy and cruel. She steals Chihiros
name and finds glee in the amnesia of Haku.

 Zeniba
 The twin sister of Yubaba. At first she seems to be quite similar to her sister
but later turns out to be a helpful and kind soul that allows Chihiro to regain
her own name (and therefore agency).

 Kamaji
An elderly man that works the boiler room of the bathhouse. He is depicted
as an old man with eight spider like arms. While distrusting at first he allows
Chihiro to start working at the bathhouse.

 Lin
A stern woman that becomes Chihiro's caretaker at the bathhouse. She is
depicted as a normal woman that grows fond of Chihiro (Sen).

 Chichiyaku and Aniyaku

Two managers of the bathhouse. Chichiyaku first distrusts Chihiro due to
her humanity but later grows thankful. Aniyaku is mostly known for his
lyrical style of ordering the bathhouse workers to serve No-Face.

 No-Face
A lonely spirit that is able to consume other spirits and gain their
mannerisms and physical traits. It is depicted as a black cloak with a smiling
mask. It gets attached to Chihiro, being drawn to her sincerity.

 Boh
 A giant baby and the son of Yubaba. Only a side character that grows to like
Chihiro.

 Akio and Yuko Ogino

The parents of Chihiro. Their greed transforms them into pigs. Their
salvation is one of Chihiros main motivations throughout the movie.

 Stink Spirit/River Spirit

A minor character that is depicted as a massive moving wave of sludge.
Chihiro is tasked to clean it up. It turns out to be a massively polluted river
spirit.

6. Summary:

The beginning:
Spirited Away is the story of a young girl named Chihiro who gets stranded
in a spirit world after she and her parents wander into an abandoned
Japanese amusement park. They’re in the process of moving to a new town,
and they find the amusement park after Chihiro’s dad tries to take a shortcut
on a dirt road through the woods.

Main events/conflict:
Chihiro’s time in the spirit world begins with her parents eating enchanted
food, which turns them into pigs. To turn her parents back into humans and
to escape from the Spirit World, Chihiro has to get a job at the local
 bathhouse, which is run by a witch named Yubaba. Sen is tested by No-
Face, who offers her gold to keep her in the bathhouse and distract her from
her goal of freeing her parents and saving Haku. Sen gets on a train to go see
Zeniba, who holds the key to helping Sen reclaim her identity as Chihiro,
saving Haku’s life, ameliorating the loneliness of No Face, and determining
the fate of Chihiro’s parents.

Ending
Chihiro and her parents find their car covered with dust. The parents think
someone has been playing a joke on them. Chihiro shows she’s now
resigned to her new life.

7. Who is your favorite character and why?

My favorite character in this movie is chihiro which she shows how
resilient a young girl can be. She has to save her parents because of their
recklessness and goes through multiple trials of adversity, from getting a job
to helping the River Spirit and No-Face from destroying the bathhouse to
saving Haku; Chihiro shows to be the untraditional hero that we all need.

8. What are the themes of the film?

 Greed

greed is a prevalent theme throughout Spirited Away beginning with

Chihiro’s parents eating food that is not theirs, to the bathhouse workers
obsession with the gold No-Face drops.
 Isolation

The underlying theme that is less clear is the isolation that stems from the
greed . Chihiro is alone at the beginning of the film through her attitude and
unwillingness to follow her parents into the tunnel; she remains isolated at
the end of the film, losing her Bathhouse friends and
her memories. The theme of loneliness is portrayed most clearly through the
spirit No-Face, or Kaonashi .

 Environmentalism

Environmental themes present in Spirited Away are shown through the two
river spirits histories and the jibe at Japan’s ‘bubble economy’ at the
beginning of the film.

9. What have you learned from the movie?

You cant always believe what you see

Not everything in life is what it appears to be. People can hide their true
selves or be nicer than one might think. When Chihiro meets Kamaji, he
seems like a monstrous, scary being, yet once she gets past that tough
exterior, Chihiro learns that while he is a cantankerous old man, he actually
has a heart of gold.
Yubaba might appear to be a money-obsessed witch who revels in the
misery of others, but she's also a loving mother who would do anything to
protect her child. No-Face appears to be a friendly spirit with the desire to
help, but when placed in the wrong location, he's actually a rather dangerous
character to be around. Chihiro learns this lesson time and time again as she
comes across multiple spirits who appear scary but who usually have her
best interests at heart.

10. Would you tell your friend to watch this film? Why or why not?

This is a very recommended anime movie aside from this is a very good
movie but also this movie contains a lot of lessons what we could learned
especially about friendship.