Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki have been creating films for 30 years, and since the Studio's creation in 1985, audiences have been given films from the magical, heart warming stories to the more serious films following reoccurring themes of coming of age, environmentalism, and anti-war. Through out the years, Ghibli has also created a cast with a majority of strong female protagonists, and it has been a breath of fresh air for viewers.
Hayao Miyazaki once said, "Many of my movies have strong female leads - brave, self-sufficient girls that don't think twice about fighting for what they believe in with all their heart. They'll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man."
With these words, he summarizes exactly what these leading ladies are. Aside from portraying woman as a heroine and not a damsel in distress, Ghibli films also have a way of making the female antagonists or villain-like characters charming and tough in their own may. More on that later. Lets look at some of strong leading protagonists of Ghibli cinema.
NAUSICAA
Princess Nausicaa is actually the first leading female protagonist of Ghibli films. As the leading female figure in the 1984 movie, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ), Nausicaa is a headstrong princess, whose title actually holds power. In short, Nausicaa lives in a small town in a post apocalyptic world where pollution has led to much of the world being uninhabitable. There are toxic forests over run by giant insect-like monsters called Ohms, that if enraged could destroy everything in their path. Nausicaa must stand firm and protect her town from a neighboring kingdom, the Tolmekias, from using an ancient weapon to destroy the creatures. She is a very engaging character, as even before she must take center stage in a life threatening battle to help fight for her people, she has risked her life to try and find a way for humans to coexist with the jungles and the creatures, like the Ohm, who dwell in them. SAN
San is the strong wolf princess in the 1997 movie, Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫). One of my personal favorites heroines, San is tough and really kicks butt in this film. As a girl who was raised by Wolf gods, though her features are of a young, feminine woman, San wears the skin of animals and isn't afraid to get her hands messy when it comes to fighting for her forest or trying to help save fellow creatures. Though the male protagonist, Ashitaka, tries to help and rescue San, she is always fighting back, breaking the damsel in distress role typically given to females. Roles are even reversed in this film, as she is the one who tends to Ashitaka and helps save his life. What is different about this film as well is, even though there seems to be somewhat of a romance between San and Ashitaka, at the end of the film San does not leave behind her family to go off and be with a man. She confidently holds her role as a princess of the forest. KIKI
Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) (1989) brings us a different type of female protagonist and that lies in the young witch, Kiki. She is not a strong warrior character like San or Nausicaa, but she holds her own in a unique way. Kiki is a 13 year old girl, who leaves her family and everything she knows to complete her witch training. As a young girl, she leaves with a bag, her broom and her black cat Jiji, to find a town where she can make a life and began her training. This alone makes her a very independent female character, in the fact that she in the end is successful in finding a job and a place to live and is capable of taking care of herself. Though there is a love interest in the film, once again Miyazaki doesn't allow the boy, Tombo, to rescue Kiki in anyway. It is the other way around. LADY EBOSHI
Now let us take a look at one of the antagonist female counterparts. Even though in Ghibli films, our protagonists are faced against a villainous character, there have been several times that these "villains" don't really hold up to that title. For example, Lady Eboshi is the antagonist to San in Princess Mononoke. Though she is deemed bad because she is trying to destroy the forest, she is doing it to help and provide for her people of Iron Town. She even has a soft side, as she has taken in people with leprosy and has tended to their wounds and have given them a purpose in the town in hopes of curing them. She also is very supportive of all things girl power since she fully supports the woman of Iron Town being just as tough as the men and being able to hold their own when the time comes (and it does!). 
I hope you enjoyed this post! Tomorrow is the last day of Miyazaki week! If you missed the first posts head on over to the Japan page and check them out.
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Enjoy!
W
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