A Miyazaki classic

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2017)

This haunting tale of two young hearts trapped in a world gone mad will linger long after you've turned off the TV.
The art style is classic Ghibli: fluid movement, realistic proportions, a strong moral component and the traditional clash between noble protagonists and immoral antagonists.
That said, it's also pretty dark. Mononoke Hime revels in scenes of wanton violence, involving severed limbs, decapitated heads, copious amounts of blood, and that old Japanese favourite, the orifice-probing tentacle.
Perhaps the boldest aspect of the story is its lack of a clear victory for the hero. Resolution is achieved, but it comes at a terrible cost.
The most powerful character—a nature god—is presented as benevolent, yet seems almost indifferent to the plight of the forest creatures that worship him.
His goals are clear, but his methods are harsh. He shows no interest in evening the score between oppressor and oppressed; he simply seeks to restore the balance, without any regard for the price that others will pay. There is no sense of fairness here. The deer god is an wild spirit; an animist's god from the ancient times. He does not issue judgement; he simply does what needs to be done. 'Justice' is a luxury for the gods of theists.
I rate Mononoke Hime at 29.97, which works out as an orifice-probing 9/10 on IMDb.