The way Ghibli’s villains work says something special to me.
The ultimate villain in Howl’s Moving Castle isn’t the Witch of the Wastes or the heart eating fire demon. It’s the court magician causing a war.
The ultimate villain in Spirited Away isn’t the uncaring parents or the dragon no one trusts or the scary spider dude or the grumpy frog guys or the giant baby who hurts Chihiro or even the greed demon. Or the woman who tries to kill the love interest. It’s the woman what owns the bath house.
In Porco Rosso the villain isn’t the air pirates who kidnap children or the asshole rival ace or Porco’s last male friend who joins the fascists. It’s the secret police. It ends with everyone making peace to flee the fascist Italian Air Force.
In Castle In the Sky the air pirates are big softies. The villains are the military and the intelligence officer with the nuke.
That isn’t to say the other villains aren’t bad. The air pirates shoot up a town and rob people. The Witch of the Wastes is cursing everyone. Noh Face eats people! But they are redeemed in my heart. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe because everyone lives after Noh Face vomits them up. Or because the air pirates can’t hurt the kids they kidnap.
I love The Witch of the Wastes. She never stops being bad. Never stops hurting people. The state cripples her and she still fights back. She fights everyone. Hurts Calcifer. Taunts Howell. She’s so angry. So broken. If she had the power of the state she’d be worse than Madam Sullivan. But she doesn’t.
Porco doesn’t look at the camera and say, “It’s better to be a pig than a fascist.” The whole thing just… Says something. To me at least.
The way Ghibli’s villains work says something special to me.
The ultimate villain in Howl’s Moving Castle isn’t the Witch of the Wastes or the heart eating fire demon. It’s the court magician causing a war.
The ultimate villain in Spirited Away isn’t the uncaring parents or the dragon no one trusts or the scary spider dude or the grumpy frog guys or the giant baby who hurts Chihiro or even the greed demon. Or the woman who tries to kill the love interest. It’s the woman what owns the bath house.
In Porco Rosso the villain isn’t the air pirates who kidnap children or the asshole rival ace or Porco’s last male friend who joins the fascists. It’s the secret police. It ends with everyone making peace to flee the fascist Italian Air Force.
In Castle In the Sky the air pirates are big softies. The villains are the military and the intelligence officer with the nuke.
That isn’t to say the other villains aren’t bad. The air pirates shoot up a town and rob people. The Witch of the Wastes is cursing everyone. Noh Face eats people! But they are redeemed in my heart. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe because everyone lives after Noh Face vomits them up. Or because the air pirates can’t hurt the kids they kidnap.
I love The Witch of the Wastes. She never stops being bad. Never stops hurting people. The state cripples her and she still fights back. She fights everyone. Hurts Calcifer. Taunts Howell. She’s so angry. So broken. If she had the power of the state she’d be worse than Madam Sullivan. But she doesn’t.
Porco doesn’t look at the camera and say, “It’s better to be a pig than a fascist.” The whole thing just… Says something. To me at least.