Wow.

Rating: 10/10 (10 July 2016)

In Muromachi period Japan, an Emishi village is attacked by a demon. The last Emishi prince, Ashitaka, kills the demon before it reaches the village, but its corruption curses his arm in the battle. The curse gives him superhuman fighting abilities, but will eventually kill him. The villagers discover that the demon was once a boar god, Nago, corrupted by an iron ball lodged in his body. The village's wise woman tells Ashitaka that he may find a cure in the western lands Nago came from.
Heading west, Ashitaka meets Jiko-bō, a wandering monk, who tells Ashitaka he may find help from the Great Forest Spirit, a Kirin-like creature by day and a giant "nightwalker" by night. Nearby, men herd oxen to Irontown, led by Lady Eboshi, when they are attacked by a wolf pack led by the wolf goddess Moro. Riding one of the wolves is San, a human girl. Later, Ashitaka discovers two injured Irontown men, and sees San and her wolf pack; he greets them, but they leave. He carries the injured men through the forest, where he encounters many kodama, and glimpses the Forest Spirit.
In Irontown, Ashitaka learns Eboshi has built the town by clear-cutting forests to claim ironsand and produce iron, leading to conflict with the forest gods. The town is a refuge for social outcasts, including former brothel workers and lepers, whom Eboshi employs to manufacture firearms to defend against the gods; Nago was turned into a demon by one of Eboshi's guns. Eboshi also explains that San, whom she calls Princess Mononoke, was raised by the wolves as one of their own and resents humankind.
San infiltrates Irontown to kill Eboshi, but Ashitaka intervenes, knocking them both unconscious. As he leaves the town, he is fatally shot by a villager, but as he is sustained by the power of the curse, continues to carry San far beyond the town before losing consciousness. San awakens and is about to kill the dying Ashitaka, but hesitates when he tells her that she is beautiful. She takes him to the forest, and decides to trust him after the Forest Spirit saves his life.