It wasn’t until January that anime fans could look forward to the arrival of master director Hayao Miyazaki’s latest masterpiece “The Boy and the Heron” in theaters, which – deservedly – also took home the golden boy for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscars. However, fans of the visionary Studio Ghibli will soon be gifted another mega highlight, because in a few days an absolute classic of the genre will find its way back to the big screen.
This is how Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece beginsPrincess MononokeAlmost 23 years after its first release in local cinemas, it will return to German cinemas on March 26, 2024. And you really shouldn’t miss it, the fantasy classic is not only considered by the FILMSTARTS community to be the best anime of all time with an average rating of 4,517 stars (!!!), but the film also has the rare highest rating in our review received 5 stars. And the author of these lines would also like to warmly recommend to you the impressive battle between man and nature, which is fought out in such a beautiful and deeply poetic way in ‘Princess Mononoke’.
This is “Princess Mononoke”
The anime classic is set in a time in ancient Japan, when animal gods and humans co-populated the largely natural Earth. When the young prince Ashitaka is attacked by a vengeful forest god in the form of a wild boar and is injured and fears for his life, the chief’s son flees to a small settlement of miners who are promoting deforestation. There he meets the wolf goddess Moro and the human San, who do everything they can to prevent the destruction of their natural habitat. But the battle between man and nature is as devastating as it is doomed to failure for all involved…
Although “Princess Mononoke” was first released in Japan 26 years ago, the film’s thematic undertones have lost none of their relevance to this day. Moreover, he can continue to impress across the board with his animation art. This set new standards for anime cinema of its time and, with good reason, attracted an audience of millions to cinemas in Japan.
However, in this country the film was released in cinemas in 2001 with only 35 copies, attracting only around 70,000 viewers. So it’s high time that Miyazaki’s masterpiece sees the light of day again on the big screen and gives cinephiles in this country the opportunity to (re)experience the fantasy classic as it was intended.
But you shouldn’t think too long about your visit to the cinema, because “Princess Mononoke” will only be in theaters for a few more days – and tickets could sell out quickly. So it’s best to find out immediately when the anime hit will be shown in your local cinema. And if you don’t make it to the cinema in the end, you still have the opportunity to catch up on the masterpiece on Netflix. There you will find the film together with many other Studio Ghibli classics in a streaming subscription.
On April 9 you can “Lupine III: The Castle of CagliostroBy the way, another anime highlight in the cinemas. Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature film will be shown in select cinemas as a restored 4K version 45 years after its premiere.