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3%%Zero Context Examples and poorly written examples are commented out. Explain how these characters fit the tropes before uncommenting (you can not substitute web links for fully written out examples).
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10'''Spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution.'''
11----
12[[foldercontrol]]
13
14!Protagonists
15
16[[folder:Ashitaka]]
17[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap_error147.png]]
18[[caption-width-right:350:''"What I ''want'' is for humans and the forest to live in peace!"'']]
19->'''Voiced by:''' Yoji Matsuda (JP), Creator/BillyCrudup (EN)
20
21The last prince of the Emishi tribe. A prepossessed and earnest young man; he is as skilled in war as he is of strong moral fiber but one day his ethics and his soul will be tested from within as well as without. Exiled from his home village after being inflicted with a curse on his arm, he journeys to the lands of the west in an odyssey to lift the curse and to see with eyes unclouded by hate.
22----
23* TheAce: Goes back and forth between being a caring, charming, easy-going, honest prince and an almost absurdly competent fighter (and despite that, a pacifist) and a [[BrokenAce self-pitying drifter constantly talking how he's going to die soon due to an evil curse]]. The fact he's so good is also important for his people--he was the last hope for the tribe before being cursed.
24* AllLovingHero: The voice of peace between the humans of Iron Town and the animals/spirits/deities of the forest. Without him the film would have been much shorter and very bloody.
25* AmazonChaser: Ashitaka falls head over heels with the fiery, bonafide badass, slightly murderous San.
26* BadassNormal: Even before receiving the curse, Ashitaka manages to kill an enormous boar demon single-handedly.
27* BeautyEqualsGoodness: He's the handsome prince in a movie where every male character is either middle-aged or an animal, and is unambiguously a heroic character whereas everyone else falls into GreyAndGrayMorality.
28* BewareTheNiceOnes: A kind, heroic, and respectful young man. You do ''not'' want to make him angry.
29* BigBrotherInstinct: During the demon attack at the beginning of the film, Ashitaka the pacifist is initially very reluctant to attack and spends quite a while trying to pacify Nago. When he sees the demon boar charging towards Kaya, however, he doesn't hesitate to shoot it square in the eye.
30* BowAndSwordInAccord: Though Ashitaka tends to favour his Bow.
31* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: He begins the movie killing Nago the boar god-turned-demon, but in the process gets his arm grabbed by its accursed flesh and is afflicted with a curse himself that will eventually kill him.
32* TheCassandra: His beliefs that violence won't solve anything are dismissed by the people of Iron Town and the forest Gods, but later [[CassandraTruth turn out to be true]].
33* ChickMagnet: All of the Iron Town women (sans Lady Eboshi) think Ashitaka is gorgeous and fawn over him constantly, and even San seems attracted to him.
34* CursedWithAwesome: His cursed arm sporadically causes him a deep throbbing pain and even made him an outcast from his own people. On the other hand, it gives Ashitaka a rather grim and definitely supernatural level of strength which he uses to both save others and maim men to pieces.
35* EvilHand: His demon-infected arm often moves against his will, contorting itself into weird and extremely painful-looking positions.
36* TheExile: He goes into exile at the beginning of the film after he gets infected by the curse.
37* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: {{Inverted}}. Ashitaka alters his hair at the right at our story's beginning, due to being exiled from his village after becoming infected with a curse.
38* GoodIsNotSoft: He might be soft-spoken, gentle drifter that helps people out of genuine care. He will also ''destroy'' you if it is what it takes and his threats aren't just for show.
39* IdealHero: Ashitaka has no flaws whatsoever. He always does everything what's right, the ladies fall for him, he's a great fighter, he's smart, wise, charming, handsome... just all-around perfect.
40* ImportantHaircut: Cuts his hair at the start of the film to signify his banishment.
41* LastOfHisKind: He is the [[TheWisePrince last prince]] of the Emishi. Without him, his people face a dark and uncertain future.
42* {{Leitmotif}}: ''The Legend of Ashitaka'. Which is sometimes played as a gentle melancholy tune or as an epic crescendo of passion.
43* LoveAtFirstSight: Towards San. He is overcome with awe and reverence when he first sees her, saves her life even when she tried to kill him in the dark and can only say she's beautiful when he passes out, on the cusp of death.
44* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: He's shot through the chest while carrying San out of Iron Town and doesn't even flinch. It isn't until he's carried San to safety that he collapses on the brink of death, and San repays him by taking him to the Forest Spirit to be healed.
45* MarkOfTheBeast: His curse manifests as a large, nasty blotch or tumour which starts on his arm and slowly spreads throughout his body.
46* MartialPacifist: Ashitaka is a pacifist in a world where humans and nature are at war. The funny thing is Ashitaka actually aims to be a BadassPacifist, but what keeps him from reaching that is the fact that he will kill you if you leave him no other choice.
47* MasterArcher: While a skilled swordsman and hand-to-hand combatant, Ashitaka is truly gifted with a bow. He begins the film shooting a giant, rampaging boar god through the eye while racing full-pelt on Yakul's back and his feats of archery only get more ridiculous as the film goes on.
48* MementoMacguffin: The crystal necklace that he gets from Kaya for good luck and so he won't forget her. He later gives it to the wolves, as a token for San.
49* MoralityPet: Even though [[MisanthropeSupreme San]] still won't forgive the humans for what they did, she makes it clear to Ashitaka that she won't attack them for his sake and that they will always be close.
50* NiceGuy: [[AllLovingHero Doesn't want a war to start between humans and forest spirits?]] Check. [[BigBrotherInstinct Killed a boar spirit when it headed towards his younger sister, Kaya?]] Check. [[FriendToAllLivingThings Has a deep respect for the forest spirits, that may only be second]] [[NatureHero to San?]] Check.
51* NobleSavage: Is the prince of the Emishi, a people conquered and genocided by the Yayoi Japanese, and is portrayed with the trappings of this trope. His people are portrayed as insular and relictual (accurate for the time period, if they were present by that point) and he is the sole voice of reason "unclouded by hatred" in the Iron Town vs forest conflict. Ultimately he has depth as a character, but his background is given importance in a somewhat fetishistic way.
52* OneManArmy: It's already established he has the strength of ten men, but then he takes on the forces of Irontown, Lord Asano and Okkoto ''all at once''.
53* PrimaryColorChampion: He wears blue clothes and a red hood.
54* RedRightHand: An aversion: Ashitaka has the physical indications and the power, but remains firmly dominant over TheCorruption.
55* ScarsAreForever: Ashitaka keeps one under his left eye, courtesy of San, even by the end of the film, when all his wounds have been healed. Miyazaki also made the decision to keep a tiny patch of Nago's curse scar on his palm to act as a reminder of what it cost to lift; stating that to remove it entirely would not only ruin the symbolism but be too condescending for the intended audience of teenagers who might think it will resurge in a sequel. The joke's still on us though.
56* ShirtlessScene: Gets a few: when he crosses a river with Yakul, helps the women with the smelting bellows, and in the climax.
57* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Apparently, he can communicate with Yakul.
58* StaringDownCthulhu: Ashitaka never flinches before the presence of the gods. He initially attempts to talk Nago down before killing him, argues with Moro in a way that infuriates her without back down from her threats, and even stands tall in the presence of the enraged Forest Spirit to return its severed head.
59* SuperStrength: Due to his [[CursedWithAwesome cursed arm]]. Among other things, Ashitaka can fire arrows with enough force to several limbs and heads, as well as lift the portcullis of Iron Town, which takes the strength of ten men to lift, by himself.
60* TranquilFury: When striding slowly in to break up the fight between San and Lady Eboshi.
61* UnresolvedSexualTension: While San does come to reciprocate his feelings, at the end, they realize that neither of them could give up their present life styles for each other, and the two part, promising to still meet each other every so often...
62* WarriorPrince: The last prince of the Emishi Clan, and a skilled sword-fighter, archer, and... elksman?
63* TheWisePrince: He's an AllLovingHero prince with a bad case of CassandraTruth.
64* WouldHitAGirl: Interposes himself between both Lady Eboshi and San, knocking the two of them out cold when the former attacks him for his audacity.
65* YouCantGoHomeAgain: After being cursed by a kami turned demon, Ashitaka is forced to leave his dying people, the Emishi, to find a cure, rather than staying to die in agony. After cutting off his top-knot, he is banished and can never return.
66* YourDaysAreNumbered: Along with the above trope, Ashitaka will eventually die from the curse imparted to him. [[spoiler:At least until the Forest Spirit heals him]]...
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Mononoke Hime / San]]
70[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mononoke_hime.png]]
71[[caption-width-right:350:Lady Eboshi: ''"Do you wish to avenge your clan, princess of ''beasts''?"'']]
72
73[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/san.png]]
74[[caption-width-right:350:''"You've thrown away your life by getting in my way."'']]
75->'''Voiced by:''' Yuriko Ishida (JP), Creator/ClaireDanes (EN)
76
77A young girl who was raised by the wolf gods of the western mountains. When she was just a baby, the wolf goddess, Moro, confronted San's birth parents, who were violating the forest. The couple abandoned their child to appease the wolf and fled but Moro pitied San and chose to take her in as one of her own. Although the recent war with humans has blackened San's once pure heart with loathing, she eventually comes to care deeply for Ashitaka and through that love, envision a future brighter than she can imagine.
78----
79* ActionGirl: She is the foremost example, leading wolfs to war against Iron Town, even attempting assassination against its leader Lady Eboshi.
80* AnimalMotifs: Wolves. She was literally raised by them since infancy and models her mask, fur cape and hood in order to more closely resemble a wolf.
81* AntiHero: While her goal is to protect the forest, she sees nothing wrong in escalating the conflict further or trying to kill lady Eboshi.
82* BadassAdorable: She's only ''fifteen'' years old and can't quite help looking as cute as she actually is. No matter how fierce she strives to appear. She was not only willing but hungry to take on an entire village of people armed to the teeth with swords and guns. And charges into battle in the front lines of the boar's last battle with humanity.
83* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: One of the main reasons San likes Ashitaka is because of his respectful nature towards her and the spirits, something that the humans she met before him did not endeavor to do at all.
84* BetterWithNonHumanCompany: She is a NatureLover and gets along well with the forest and nature spirits, but has a deep mistrust of humans because of her upbringing, leading to her being standoffish if not outright antagonistic towards humans.
85%% * BoyishShortHair: Her hair doesn't even reach her chin.
86* BreakoutCharacter: San pretty much stole the entire film. She probably stole the show for the animation team as well, because when Miyazaki took a vote on the film title, his favorite 'The Legend of Ashitaka' was outnumbered by those who wanted it to be titled 'Mononoke Hime'. And the rest is history.
87* CoolMask: Her first is a full Oni war mask which bears a distinct resemblance to the Forest Spirit's face by daylight. After that one is shattered she wears a half helm that is [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic also lost or destroyed]].
88* DarkAndTroubledPast: Her birth parents abandoned her to save their own skin. And while San's relationship to Moro and her two wolf brothers were good ones, she also had to see her home be destroyed by humans, which may have meant close friends and family members dying as well.
89* DeathGlare: She gives a major one to Ashitaka when she first spots him across the river, augmented by the fact that her face is covered in blood.
90* DefrostingIceQueen: She comes very close to killing Ashitaka with a knife to his Addams apple, but after she witnesses the forest spirits heal him, she warms up to him.
91* {{Deuteragonist}}: The second main focus after Ashitaka.
92* TheDreaded: ''Everyone'' in Iron Town is afraid of her, with Lady Eboshi being the only exception. It clearly shows why she's feared when she single handedly invades Iron Town and was only stopped because of Ashitaka's interference.
93* DudeWheresMyRespect: The ape tribe accost a bloodied and battered San by throwing sticks down at her and her equally tired wolf brothers, during the retreat from the final battle. They even accuse her of bringing the death of the forest when the wolves have been the only ones who have been fighting smart, instead of hard.
94* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Being weaned by a god and raised in a place of magic has put her far ahead of what any fifteen-year-old girl should be capable of. She endures head trauma that would bust a skull inwards, can leap incredible heights, slice a thumb-thick quarterstaff in half with a back-hand swipe of a sharp stone knife and endure falls that would kill an ordinary human. Even surviving Demon Corruption with little to no scarring until the decapitated head of the Forest Spirit's own exuding ooze touches her skin. May overlap with CharlesAtlasSuperpower.
95* EveryoneHasStandards: In spite of San's hatred towards humans, the Ape tribe's desire to ritualistically feast on Ashitaka still disgusts her.
96* {{Expy}}: Of Nausicaä.
97* FacialMarkings: San has three red "fang" markings on her forehead and both her cheeks. Since it is quite unlikely she could have tattooed them on herself they may actually be the signs of a lesser god blessed unto her by Shishigami.
98* ForestRanger: With her adoptive wolf family, San looks after and protects the forest from any humans who attempt to spoil their territory.
99* FragileSpeedster: She moves ''very'' fast, to the point where none of Iron Town's riflemen can hit her, but gets knocked out fairly easily by Ashitaka, although that was with his cursed right arm. She's really only this compared to the other kami of the forest and would quite likely reach LightningBruiser status when she reaches her prime.
100* FreudianExcuse: San's hatred of humans mainly stems from their destruction of the forest and the subsequent deaths of many friends and even implied close family members. She must also likely have been told the origin of her adoption from Moro, her parents abandoning her as a baby to save themselves from the wolf-goddess would be an extra point of contention.
101* FriendToAllLivingThings: San definitely qualifies since she's a NatureLover and ForestRanger. But she also has definite exceptions - any and all humans are off her list. [[CharacterDevelopment In the beginning...]]
102* HappilyAdopted: San disowns her human heritage in favour of Moro and the wolf tribe, to the point of declaring that she is a wolf.
103* HumanSacrifice: How her parents gave her up - after Moro caught them violating her forest, they threw the infant San at her feet and fled.
104* ImmigrantPatriotism: Having been adopted by Moro as a baby, feels more wolf than human to the point of expressing hatred towards mankind and waging war against humans to protect her forest.
105* IntimateHealing: When San feeds a wounded Ashitaka, who is too weak to even chew, by softening up the meat for him with her own jaws and then transferring it from her mouth to his.
106* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She resents humans, but she deeply cares for her adoptive wolf family, the denizens of the forest even if they insult her to her face, and later Ashitaka.
107* JunglePrincess: She is referred to by the people of Irontown as "The Princess of the Vengeful (forest) spirits". She dresses the part.
108* KickChick: When she's unarmed, she resorts to kicks in close combat, as briefly shown near the end of the movie.
109* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Despite living in a forest all her life, she sure knows how to look damn good in a fight. Both of the film's battles she takes part in she not only wears a [[PurpleIsPowerful purple dress]], her white wolf fur pelt, upper arm bracelets, a diadem inset with a single pearl and rather large bone disc earrings, but two types of ornamental masks, an animal-tooth necklace and later a gifted crystal dagger amulet as well.
110* TheLadysFavor: Genderflipped. Ashitaka gives Kaya's crystal dagger to one of her brothers to deliver to San when he's about to leave their realm. San ties it around her neck as a keepsake.
111* {{Leitmotif}}: Not only does she have both an instrumental and a vocal track iteration of the same piece of haunting music to her name provided by Joe Hisaishi but she also has a personal sound effect, which is of her ivory disc earrings chiming together off her canine tooth necklace myriad times during her first few appearances.
112* LeParkour: Even Ashitaka with all his prodigious cursed strength has to clamber up some timbers to chase San on the roof-tops of Tataraba. She leaps up first in a single crouched bound.
113* LikeADaughterToMe: To the Wolf Goddess, Moro. Despite being a human, Moro deeply loves and cherished San just the same as her two biological wolf cubs.
114* MeaningfulName: "San" is Japanese for "three". She is the youngest of Moro's three children, after her two pups.
115* MisanthropeSupreme: Hates humans even though she is one. {{Justified|Trope}} given how she was raised by her adoptive wolf family from infancy because her parents [[ParentalAbandonment left her to be eaten by them to save themselves]].
116* MoralityPet: To the Wolf Goddess, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Moro]]. San is probably the ''sole'' human that Moro loves.
117* NatureHero: Despite being the Princess in the English title, San is much closer to being this than a JunglePrincess, belonging to a wolf pack and thinking about herself as a wolf to the point of waging war against mankind.
118* NatureLover: Has deep respect for the forest and those who live in it.
119* NubileSavage: She's quite pretty and well groomed for somebody RaisedByWolves, aside from the fact that her face is often smeared with blood. It may have something to do with the fact that the wolves that raised her are also Shinto gods.
120* OneWomanArmy: Mounts a solo attack on Iron Town for the sole purpose of assassinating Lady Eboshi, and gets far enough to duel Eboshi herself one on one at the center of town.
121* ParentalAbandonment: Her parents literally threw her to the wolves.
122* PintSizedPowerHouse: She sometimes fights nearly on all fours, making her even smaller against experienced, battle-hardened adults.
123* RaisedByWolves: She was adopted by the wolf goddess Moro while still in swaddling clothes. While the wolves who raised her are gods that can speak, they're still very wolf-like in mentality and so is she.
124* RedBaron: "Mononoke Hime" means "the princess of vengeful spirits". Not knowing her real name, the villagers call San "Princess Mononoke" out of fear.
125* RedIsHeroic: She wears a red mask, and she also has red fang markings on both her face and blades. Although, she's more of an AntiHero: while Lady Eboshi and her followers are desecrating the forest and the spirits, San's solution (general murder and terror) isn't actually fixing the problem.
126* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: On the day Moro is shot by Eboshi, she and her brothers make a play to take her down once and for all that very same night.
127* SecondaryCharacterTitle: San's [[RedBaron nickname]] is the name of the film, but she's the deuteragonist.
128* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: [[AllLovingHero Ashitaka]] is a pacifistic man who has a great respect for the spirits, and was the first human San encountered who treated her nicely. San does return Ashitaka's affections but the film ends before we can see where they go from there.
129* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Naturally, due to her upbringing, Ashitaka is surprised to learn this when she tells him she has been talking to Yakul.
130* SuicideMission: She fully expected to die when she went into Iron Town alone to kill Eboshi.
131* {{Tsundere}}: Has elements of it. For example, when Moro comments that Ashitaka wanted to share his life with her, San angrily responds that she hates him like she hates all humans. A few seconds later, one of her brothers comes to give her a necklace from Ashitaka. San puts it on.
132* UnresolvedSexualTension: By the end of the film, San admits that Ashitaka means a great deal to her but she cannot leave her home to live with him in Irontown; there's too much bad blood between her and the settlers, not to mention Eboshi. Where their relationship will go from there... Her final smile suggests that it will hold hate at bay for many years to come.
133%%* WaifFu: Her fighting style.
134* WildChild: A [[NatureLover strong love for nature]] combined with a fierce looking appearance? She definitely qualifies.
135[[/folder]]
136
137!Shinto Gods
138
139[[folder:Nago]]
140[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demon_god_0.png]]
141[[caption-width-right:350:''"Disgusting little creatures. Soon, all of you will feel my hate and suffer as I have suffered."'']]
142[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nago.png]]
143[[caption-width-right:350:Ashitaka: ''"He must have died full of hate..."'']]
144->'''Voiced by:''' Makoto Sato (JP), Creator/JohnDiMaggio (EN)
145
146A mighty boar god of the forest steppes. He and his clan were the first to retaliate against Tataraba's lumber operations. Until the day Lady Eboshi planted a bullet in him and her warriors burned his territory to the ground. He fled far to the east, refusing to die from his shattered bones, blistered insides and the memory of his slaughtered people. His hate turns him into an abomination.
147----
148* AnimalisticAbomination: Becomes one thanks to his bullet wound and his hatred towards those who shot him; transforming him into a demon.
149* AnnoyingArrows: He literally ''shakes off'' about three-score flaming arrows to the face from Tataraba's first settlers.
150* BodyHorror: Completely covered in writhing, demonic black worms.
151* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Not intentionally, but it is his actions that catapult Ashitaka's story into motion.
152* CombatTentacles: He can send out writhing arms of his corruption as flails and extend his own legs to increase his sprinting speed.
153* DyingCurse: After being killed by Ashitaka, he says, "Disgusting little creatures. Soon, all of you will feel my hate and suffer as ''I'' have suffered."
154* EvilSoundsDeep: The only time he speaks, it's in a deep and distorted growl.
155* EyeScream: Ashitaka shoots him in the eye, then between both eyes, which finally kills him.
156* FallenHero: Used to be a noble boar spirit, before being shot.
157* OurDemonsAreDifferent: A giant pig covered in worms resembling a giant spider.
158* PhysicalGod: One of the guardians of the Forest Spirit's realm.
159* ThePowerOfHate: It is so virulent that anything in his path will die. Plant-life quickly, humanoid matter slowly and painfully with just minor contact.
160* RedEyesTakeWarning: As a demon.
161* SmallRoleBigImpact: He doesn't live past the opening scene, but his short time onscreen essentially sets the stages for the film's story.
162* StarterVillain: The first threat faced by Ashitaka in the film and killed by him, but not before he curses his right arm.
163* TalkingAnimal: He despises the human race enough to actually curse them vocally as well as physically. Notable, in that his elder, Okkoto went completely mad while he retained some monstrous intelligence.
164* WalkingWasteland: He curses everything he touches after turning into a demon, killing vegetation and causing it to rot instantly.
165* TheWormThatWalks: Covered in black worms, as seen in the image above.
166
167[[/folder]]
168
169[[folder:Moro-no-Kimi / Moro]]
170[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moro_8.png]]
171[[caption-width-right:350:''"Can you save the girl you love?"'']]
172->'''Voiced by:''' Akihiro Miwa (JP), Creator/GillianAnderson (EN)
173
174A three hundred year old, two-tailed giant wolf goddess and San's adopted mother. She's protected the Forest Spirit's realm since time immemorial and is as wise as she is fearsome.
175----
176* ActionMom: Mother of three and will fight when necessary.
177* ActOfTrueLove: Towards the end of the film, Moro, close to death and lame, gives up her best chance to kill Lady Eboshi to rescue San from Okkoto’s demonic tendrils.
178* ArchEnemy: With Lady Eboshi. Justified as Lady Eboshi encroached on the lands and the forests of her pack.
179* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Unsurprisingly, her goals aren't concerned with human concepts of good and evil. And though she has fought for the forest all her life, she is content to let what will be, be. Even if that is the doom of her kind and the misfortune of her adoptive offspring.
180* CanisMajor: She's almost the size of a small elephant. She's so large that she can break an oxen's spine with a single snap of her jaws. Her eyes are the size of dinner plates!
181* CharacterDeath: She receives the touch of death from the Forest Spirit near the end of the film.
182* CrossdressingVoices: She is voiced by the male Akihiro Miwa Japanese dub, despite being female. This is due to how Shintoist belief portrays the kami of canines in a masculine context regardless of gender and why feline kami are always portrayed in a feminine light regardless of gender.
183* DentedIron: Although she survives a close-range blast of a black-powder cannon, being bathed in a jet of fire from a fire lance and falling about three hundred feet off a massive cliff, clipping the side at least once and being swept downriver; Eboshi's bullet condemns her to be greatly weakened and eventually paralyzes her hind legs.
184* FaceDeathWithDignity: In sharp contrast to Nago and later Okkoto, who went insane and turned into a demon after being shot by a bullet, Moro is calm and accepting of her inevitable demise. Even when San begs her to go to the Forest Spirit to be healed of the bullet wound, Moro replies that she's lived long enough.
185* IGaveMyWord: DoubleSubverted. She vows to save her dying moment to take out Eboshi, but uses it to save San from Okkoto before the Forest Spirit takes away her life. However, when Eboshi shoots off the Forest God's head, she wakes up from the dead briefly to bite her arm off.
186* IntellectualAnimal: Moro is probably the wisest and most rational of the forest spirits.
187* LastBreathBullet: Her decapitated head leaps forward and snaps off Eboshi's arm as her final act.
188* LosingYourHead: Moro dies when the Forest Spirit takes her and Okkoto's lives--sparing them degeneating into demons like Nago did. However, when the Forest Spirit is slaim a blob of its essence lands on her corpse, which reanimates and detaches its head. Moro's severed head then scuttles across the ground and attempts to eat Eboshi, biting off one of her arms and landing in another blob of the Forest Spirit's corrupted essence, which engulf and seemingly consumes it.
189* MadeOfIron: Flaming arrows don't affect the boar gods at all and Moro is seen to be mostly unhurt after being shot, set on fire and thrown off a cliff.
190* MamaBear: "Give me back my daughter, demon!"
191* MultipleTailedBeast: Has two tails as opposed to her birth children who only have one each.
192* NobleWolf: She is a protector of her pack, of the forest, and adopted San when her parents abandoned her.
193* NotAfraidToDie: She calmly accepts her eventual death.
194* NotSoStoic: While she is calm and collected (for the most part), she only bears her teeth when she is in combat or when she is ''really'' ticked off.
195* PhysicalGod: A Wolf Goddess... and a ''very'' big wolf at that.
196* ShesAManInJapan: Kind of. In both versions, she's the mother wolf. However, in Japan, she has a male voice courtesy of Akihiro Miwa because in Japanese tradition all wolves are treated in a very masculine context.
197* ShipperOnDeck: Downplayed; she makes subtle hints that she thinks San will be happy with Ashitaka, though that doesn't stop her from making bloodcurdling threats to him and rejecting the idea that San should leave with Ashitaka instead of dying with her clan. In fairness, Ashitaka was [[YouAreAlreadyDead still cursed at that stage]].
198* SupernaturalGoldEyes: All full-blooded wolves have eye color that ranges from light brown amber to gold but since she and her brood are the spirits of the gods...
199* TalkingAnimal: A very de-whimsified version. She talks through some type of telepathy since her lips don't move in sync with her words.
200* TranquilFury: Moro absolutely ''seethes'' with hatred and disgust for the destruction humans have caused to the ecosystem but her voice remains eerily calm for most of her screentime and even her most violent kills have an almost surgical precision, snapping quickly at vulnerable spots rather than rending wildly like her children are wont to do.
201* VoiceOfTheLegion: She seems to have an ethereal background rumbling growl whenever she talks.
202* WhiteWolvesAreSpecial: She's a wolf goddess with noble intentions, even if they're incomprehensible to human morality. Her whiteness matches well with her divine status, and her children are the same color.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Moro's cubs]]
206[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sans_bros.png]]
207[[caption-width-right:350:''"What about the elk?"'' ''"Yes... Can we eat him?"'']]
208
209Moro's last two male cubs born to her. They were reared alongside their human sister and cherish her just as deeply as if she were both wolf and god, an affection that she returns to both her siblings just as strongly.
210----
211* BigBrotherInstinct: They don't take kindly toward anyone insulting San.
212* BigDamnHeroes: When Ashitaka tries to save San from Okkoto's demonic influence; they charge in and begin rending Jigo's hunters apart; guarding their new friend's back.
213* CanisMajor: Not quite as big as their mother but still large enough for San to ride them as mounts.
214* NoNameGiven: Although {{Fanon}} has taken to calling them Ichi and Ni, which just mean the numbers One and Two respectively; the reasoning behind this is that San's name is the Japanese word for the number Three.
215[[/folder]]
216
217[[folder:The Kodama / Wood Sprites]]
218[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kodama.png]]
219[[caption-width-right:349: Ashitaka: ''"I hope you're not leading us astray, little one."'']]
220
221Tiny, innocent spirits that inhabit the forest, appearing as small white humanoids with mask-like facial features. They are birthed from the trees, and their lives are inextricably linked with the forest. Should the forest die, so do they.
222----
223* TheFairFolk: Subverted. Koroku thinks they qualify as this and he's terrified when they first appear, but in reality, they mean no harm at all.
224* HopeSpringsEternal: After it appears that they all died during the final battle, a single kodama appears in the rejuvenated forest at the very end.
225* KillTheCutie: Occurs en masse during the final battle. As the Forest Spirit begins to go berserk after being beheaded, thousands of them are seen falling from the trees like dead leaves and dissolving on the ground.
226* {{Leitmotif}}: An intriguing knocking sound can be heard whenever they are near.
227* {{Mascot}}: They are pretty much this for the movie, showing up everywhere in merchandise from bumper stickers to garden ornaments.
228* PluckyComicRelief: They are this for the forest gods, being innocent and playful creatures who help the heroes out in what small ways they can.
229* {{Undercrank}}: An extremely rare non-horror example. They tend to to do this with their heads, tilting them to one side and then rattling them as if they're being released from a spring. It's implied this is how they try to communicate, and as they aren't a danger, it also defies the conventions of the trope by mixing it with the QuizzicalTilt.
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Shishigami / The Great Forest Spirit]]
233[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deer_god_5.png]]
234[[caption-width-right:350: Lady Eboshi: ''"They say the blood of the Great Forest Spirit can cure anything..."'']]
235
236[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nightwalker_7.png]]
237[[caption-width-right:350:Imperial Huntsman: ''"Don't look at it, sir! It's a sin!'']]
238
239Shishigami, or the Great Forest Spirit, is an ancient god who watches over what is now Japan's Shirakami-Sanchi mountain woodland. During the day, the spirit resembles a great stag qilin creature with many tree-branch antlers, the feet of a strange ungulate bird and the face of a baboon. During the moon rise, however, the spirit becomes the Didarabocchi (Nightwalker), a two hundred foot tall god resembling both a human man and his original form, sculpted out of stars with a long pointed face and nebulous spines protruding from his back.
240----
241* AboveGoodAndEvil: In this case, justified. The Spirit won't or can't aid directly in Moro's fight to save the forest: it has a very alien kind of intelligence.
242* BewareOfTheNiceOnes: Once beheaded, he becomes a full on spirit of destruction.
243* BlobMonster: After it gets beheaded, it turns into an amorphous mass of black sludge that congeals into a vaguely humanoid shape.
244* BlueAndOrangeMorality: As a higher being governing life and death, it shows little concern for the conflicts that surround it.
245* DarkIsEvil: It's not ''evil'', but when it gets decapitated, its body becomes a filthy black sludge that kills whatever it touches.
246* TheDreaded: The people of Iron Town fear it for its status as the enigmatic lord of the forest spirits trying to kill them.
247* EldritchAbomination: Although Jigo's hunters fear him to be one of these, daring not even to ''look'' at his night-time form at first. This is revealed to not be the case. At least, up until the point that he's decapitated; then he becomes a walking Armageddon.
248* FertileFeet: The forest god's footsteps don't ''just'' make plants bloom; they immediately wither away as it passes. The deity gives life ''and'' takes it away, and in the end, rot is just fertile material for new growth.
249* FishEyes: When looked at from the side in the daylight form, it's eyes look somewhat refined. Looked at head-on, however, reveals it tends to have this going on, especially when its injured. It highlights it's nature as a being disconnected from most everything by both looking like it's mindless and looking right through people.
250* HealingHands: While he can take away life with a mere touch, he can also restore it.
251* HumansAreSpecial: Its last actions are to put out the fires of Iron Town, and heal everyone afflicted by curse or disease. In spite of mankind's [[HumansAreFlawed inherent flaws]], its aware the gods have previously [[BeingHumanSucks treated them very poorly]], and ushers in their age, their time. It wants humans ''to live''.
252* {{Kaiju}}: His Nightwalker form, a gigantic creature whose body appears to be made of water and the night sky.
253* KilledOffForReal: San believes so as its [[BornAgainImmortality Reincarnation cycle has been disrupted]], but Ashitaka points out that, as a god of life and death, DeathIsCheap.
254* TheMarvelousDeer: The form he takes during the day resembles a deer, in keeping with his mysterious and elusive nature.
255* MixAndMatchCritters: While his day form mostly looks like a deer, he also has birdlike feet and a baboon-like face.
256* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: He's a stately hart with strange chimera-esque factors during the day, and a [[TheOldGods translucent invincible entity]] called ''the Nightwalker'' during the night.[[note]]Rather funny when you realize the Night Walker is actually the Daidarabotchi, a legendary giant of Japanese folklore that was one of the ''friendliest'' yōkai toward humankind.[[/note]]
257* NatureSpirit: His title is the ''Great Forest Spirit''.
258* NighInvulnerability: Very hard to kill. And becomes harder to kill once wounded.
259* NoSell: This is what happens when Lady Eboshi shoots the Forest Spirit the first time, when he is in his "deer" form. But when she tries again, when he's in mid-transformation...
260* OffWithHisHead: Lady Eboshi ''shoots off'' his head with her rifle. This turns out to be a very bad idea, because losing his head turns him into a WalkingWasteland who will kill everything he touches until he gets it back.
261* TheOldGods: He is both life and death personified and a force the other kami treat with deserved respect.
262* OneWingedAngel: He becomes an EldritchAbomination after Lady Eboshi shoots his head off.
263* PhysicalGod: When he transforms into his deer form.
264* PullingThemselvesTogether: After being decapitated it needs its head back and nothing save the coming dawn will stop him.
265* RasputinianDeath: Ashitaka explicitly states that after all that the Forest Spirit has been through, he will still live on.
266* SuperPowerLottery: Has numerous abilities, can give or take life from a god, demon, or human, walk on water, [[RuleOfSymbolism plants bloom wherever he walks, then wither and die as quickly as they came]]. An ability that he can also direct with his gaze on even the dead wood of Eboshi's rifle.
267* TouchOfDeath: How he kills Okkoto and Moro when he knows that it is their time to depart from the world...
268* TheVoiceless: The only nature god to never speak, not that it ever really needs to.
269* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Can switch from a deer form to a shadowy humanoid figure called the "Nightwalker".
270* WalkOnWater: In his deer form, he is able to do this.
271* WalkingWasteland: Turns into this after being decapitated. The uncontrolled spirit no longer brings life, only death - anything it touches is killed.
272[[/folder]]
273
274[[folder:Okkotonushi / Okkoto]]
275[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/okkoto.png]]
276[[caption-width-right:350:''"It will be a battle the humans will ''never'' forget..."'']]
277[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vlcsnap_error997.png]]
278 [[caption-width-right:349:Moro: ''"You can't even speak, can you?"'']]
279->'''Voiced by:''' Hisaya Morishige (JP), Creator/KeithDavid (EN)
280
281A six-hundred-year-old albino boar god from the southern islands of Japan. After the death of his younger tribesmen, Nago, and the destruction of the forest he guarded; he swims the ocean straits with the entirety of his own hundreds-strong clan to bring a final war on Tataraba; to whatever end.
282----
283* AnimalisticAbomination: His despair and fear turn him into a mindless monster that will melt the flesh from your bones with a mere touch.
284* AxCrazy: As a demon. He isn't even capable of speaking anymore when he turns, wanting only to mindlessly kill.
285* BloodFromTheMouth: Vomits up a great deal of blood after being shot, stabbed, burned and poisoned by Eboshi and Jigo's men.
286* BodyHorror: When he is slowly being demonized and San is trapped between the masses of wriggling tendrils... gah.
287* CharacterDeath: Killed by the Forest Spirit's TouchOfDeath.
288* {{Determinator}}: Continues trying to fight the humans even after ''all'' his people are slaughtered and he himself is covered in wounds and drenched in his own blood.
289* EmptyShell: After becoming a demon, he loses all his former reason and intelligence and becomes a mindless, rampaging monster.
290* FaceDeathWithDignity: Subverted and even deconstructed. He realizes he has no chance of defeating the humans in battle, yet goes to war anyway because he wants a dignified death for himself and his people. However, his actions only end up bringing more suffering for everyone, [[WarIsHell because his people die screaming and aflame in a futile charge against the entrenched and heavily armed humans, who easily slaughter them]], and the mere presence of his army before that brings great suffering to the forest. The lead up to his death is even ''[[RasputinianDeath worse]]''.
291* FullBoarAction: He's a giant boar god with a hot-blooded temperament and a thirst for battle.
292* GoMadFromTheRevelation: When he reaches the horrific conclusion that he's the only boar god left.
293* HandicappedBadass: He's blind, but this doesn't weaken him in the slightest. He's still a mighty fighter capable of inflicting serious damage.
294* LastOfHisKind: The only boar spirit remaining after the fight with the humans.
295* MadeOfIron: The mere fact that he's still alive after all the rest of his tribe are massacred by the humans is a testament to this. It takes no less than the Forest Spirit itself to finally put him down.
296* MercyKill: The Forest Spirit euthanizes him with its TouchOfDeath, releasing him from the agony of his wounds and becoming a demon.
297* TheNoseKnows: He is able to ascertain the truth of Ashitaka's story by way of his keen snout. Unfortunately, this gift is later used against him when Jigo's monks and hunters disguise themselves with the skins of his slaughtered tribe.
298* OldSoldier: He's ancient, but still leading his boars into battle.
299* OhCrap: Even when maddened by pain and despair, and despite being blind, he seems to recognize the Forest Spirit as it approaches him and freezes in fear.
300* PeacefulInDeath: Despite the horrific lead-up, when the Forest Spirit gives him its TouchOfDeath he noticeably calms down while his eyes [[BigSleep slowly close]] as he's freed from his agony and madness.
301* PerilousOldFool: He's an ancient warrior who doesn't want to accept that the time of gods is over and is determined to lead his clan into a fight against a foe they have no hope of beating.
302* PhysicalGod: A spirit in the form of a boar.
303* ProphetEyes: His eyes are misty with cataracts and stuffed with sleep but he is certainly the most introspective of his tribe despite his blindness.
304* RasputinianDeath: A very horrific example, especially once his mind goes and he becomes a demon.
305* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Unlike the other boars who are ready to kill a wounded Ashitaka for being a human and are ready to jump to conclusions about Nago's death, even accusing the wolves of eating him, Okkoto listens to Ashitaka's story and accepts it after Ashitaka shows him proof, namely the cursed mark on his arm. He then allows Ashitaka to leave the forest in peace, though he does warn him that he will kill him if he sees him in the forest again, if only because [[EndOfAnAge they'll meet under different circumstances]].
306* SanitySlippage: His mind snaps completely after his devastating defeat at Eboshi's hands, and despite San's attempts to talk sense into him he becomes a demon.
307* TalkingAnimal: Like Moro, his power of "speech" is not played for laughs. He talks telepathically, and when he does it's always serious.
308* TraumaCongaLine: This movie is not nice to him.
309[[/folder]]
310
311!Residents of Iron Town
312
313[[folder:Lady Eboshi]]
314[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eboshi.png]]
315[[caption-width-right:350:''"Remember, you can't trust men."'']]
316->'''Voiced by:''' Yuko Tanaka (JP), Creator/MinnieDriver (EN)
317
318The de-facto ruler of Tataraba (Iron Town). With help from the Emperor's religious sect, she gained the firepower that secured the fledgling outpost against Nago and his tribe; wiping them from the face of the earth. Her men clear the forest back inch by inch to further mine the ore needed for weapon production in order to protect her burgeoning community; made up of the disenfranchised as wars between the Daimyo ravage the country.
319----
320* ActionGirl: She may be a noble, but she isn't afraid to get her hands dirty or even fight when the need arises. She rose to prominence by escaping slavery in what was implied to be a violent rebellion, and has slowly expanded Iron Town with direct raids against enemy forces. Eboshi also goes toe-to-toe against Ashitaka and is able to match his blows, and later travels into the forest to personally destroy the Great Forest Spirit herself.
321* AffablyEvil: Quite affable most of the time. The "evil" part becomes clearer whenever she's with Jigo.
322* AntiVillain: She wants to cut down the forest, dig out all the iron ore and is more than willing to kill local deities, including the spirit of the forest itself. She also doesn't mind waging a brutal war with other humans for what she considers her turf. At the same time, she wants nothing but prosperity for herself and the people working under her, and she treats those people with the utmost respect. All of the women of Iron Town were once brothel workers until Eboshi freed them. She also takes in lepers, and her other reason for going after the Forest God is that she hopes to use its blood to cure them.
323* AnArmAndALeg: At the end of the film, Moro bites off Eboshi's right arm, rendering her unable to fire a gun again.
324* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: She has a standing army of lepers, criminals, and former prostitutes. Subverted in that these people aren't evil, just the misfits of humanity that they joined Lady Eboshi for her quest to create a paradise for themselves. Eboshi's benevolent and caring nature to them ensures their loyalty.
325* BadassBoast:
326-->'''Eboshi:''' Now watch closely, everyone. I'm going to show you how to [[KillTheGods kill a god]]. ''A god of life and death''. The trick is not to fear him.
327* BadassNormal: Matched San blow-for-blow when the latter attacked Iron Town on her own as well as being at the fore of battle against forest gods or samurai. Also, she will attempt to assassinate gods.
328* {{BFG}}: Utilizes a Chinese fire cannon to mortally wound both Nago and Moro, then later a more advanced matchlock musket created by her leper gunsmiths on both Lord Asano's samurai generals and the Forest Spirit.
329* BitchInSheepsClothing: Lady Eboshi is something of a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the trope, as befitting the GrayAndGreyMorality of the film. She is polite, easygoing, and well-mannered (the sheep's clothing), but ruthlessly pragmatic (as seen when she abandons some of her soldiers to die rather than risk losing more lives in a storm) and quite honest about her desire to conquer the forest (the bitch). However, Eboshi is also genuinely concerned about the lives of her people, actively works to free girls from prostitution by buying up their contracts and giving them homes, and has a personal hospital set up for lepers in the hopes that the Forest Spirit's blood can heal them. Ultimately, whether or not she is a monster, hero, or somewhere in between is up to the viewer to decide.
330* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Or rather "Lost Your Arm Shooting at the Forest Spirit." After shooting at the Forest Spirit, she ends up having her right arm bitten off.
331* DarkAndTroubledPast: Miyazaki mentions she has this. It is never delved into in the film, but he did think up a backstory for her: she was a high-status woman who was kidnapped and sold to China, where she became the wife of the leader of the Wakou (Japanese pirates of the 13th to 16th century). She learnt how to use the ishibiya, killed her husband, and sailed back to Japan [[FireForgedFriends along with Gonza, who was one of the Wakou.]]
332* DefrostingIceQueen: Gradually comes to warm up to Ashitaka over the film, ending with her asking to see him so she can apologize for everything.
333* TheDeterminator: Not a positive example. ''Nothing'' will stop her from killing the Forest Spirit. It gets to the point that she's willing to leave the people of Iron Town to fend for themselves rather than defend them from Lord Asano. It even causes her to have a minor VillainousBreakdown as her attempts to shoot at the Spirit are hampered by both Ashitaka and it.
334-->'''Eboshi:''' ''You '''''will''''' die!''
335* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: She blows the Forest Spirit's head clean off with her rifle. Though it only ends up making things worse.
336* DoesNotLikeMen: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] Lady Eboshi has no romantic attachments and a cynical view of men in general, given that she buys up the contracts of every brothel girl she finds to give them a new life and employment in Iron Town. As her quote above indicates, she also outright states "You can't trust men"[[note]]In the English dub. This trait is overall more emphasised in Gaiman's script. The Japanese version of this has Eboshi saying "We can't ''depend'' on men", rather than trust. [[/note]] and generally gives women positions of power in the city, treating men as more [[MenAreTheExpendableGender expendable.]] That being said, her personal bodyguard and second-in-command in the field is a man (Gonza), and she treats the male lepers just as well as the females. All told she's fonder of women than men, but doesn't necessarily hate the latter.
337* EvilBrit: In the English dub, she is the ''only'' person who speaks with a British accent as a result of her being voiced by Londoner Minnie Driver (who also played Jane Porter from ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'').
338%%* {{Expy}}: Arguably of Kushana.
339%% You need to explain who that is and how it's an expy
340* AFatherToHisMen: Able to buy up the bond of every brothel girl she meets and gives them a new and better life in Iron Town. She's shown to care deeply about the men and women of Iron Town, even knowing the names of random ox-cart drivers. Even when she chooses to keep hunting the Forest Spirit rather than defend them, it seems to be because she has faith that they can continue to stand strong rather than YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness.
341* FromNobodyToNightmare: She was a former slave who broke free after a mutiny in a ship, and managed to be the powerful ruler of a city she founded herself.
342* HeelRealization: After seeing the destructive result of her actions post-climax, she promises to change for the better and rebuild Tataraba without resorting to military industrialization and the whole-sale clearing of all natural resources.
343* HimeCut: When she's in her battle wear, her hair is right above her eyebrows.
344* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Feels little to no remorse for wiping out the boar tribe wholesale and setting Nago loose on the world as a demon, which afflicted Ashitaka with his cursed arm.
345* IronLady: A non-royal, power-wielding, tough-as-nails woman.
346* IronicEcho: "Cut off a wolf's head and it still has the power to bite."
347* KickTheDog: Her decision to continue hunting the Forest Spirit rather than heading back to defend Iron Town during the climax can be seen as this.
348* LadyOfWar: She's elegant, calm, calculating, and has an arsenal of rifles at her disposal that can pierce samurai armor like paper. This is in contrast to the more primal and savage [[JunglePrincess San]].
349* LaserGuidedKarma: After using her rifle to shoot the Forest Spirit and kill many other animals and people over the course of the movie, Moro's last act of defiance tears off her right arm, ensuring she can never fire one again.
350* TheNeedsOfTheMany: She may be AMotherToHerMen, but if some of her people are injured she won't hesitate to abandon them for the good of the whole community. For example, when Moro and her cubs push several men off a cliff while they're escorting oxen carrying rice through a storm, she decides it's better to push on home rather than divide or risk the party looking for survivors.
351* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Subverted. She may be AMotherToHerMen, but she is ruthless and results-oriented. When Moro and her cubs push a few men off a cliff, she decides to focus on the ones she can easily get home, rather than divide or slow her party down by looking for survivors.
352* NoblewomansLaugh: She does this, befitting a refined lady like her. And in English dubbing it is only further amplified.
353* NecessarilyEvil: She sees the destruction of the forest and genocide of the gods and spirits therein as necessary to protect and feed her people. (With marauding samurai raiding the countryside, they need weapons to defend themselves from attacks, as well as raw ore to trade for food.) At least, she does before her CharacterDevelopment.
354* PetTheDog: She's a NobleDemon who takes in lepers and prostitutes and people who have nowhere else to go, and defends them against the greedy ambitions of the local samurai.
355* PragmaticVillainy: Lady Eboshi's ruthless pragmatism is one of her defining traits, although her villainy is very much a case of GreyAndGreyMorality and personal interpretation. Her general M.O. is to take the most practical action, whatever it may be. It's exemplified early in the film: when a wagon train of vital supplies for Iron Town is attacked by Moro and her cubs, several of Eboshi's soldiers are sent tumbling off a cliff. Eboshi refuses to stop to look for them and insists that the rest of the train continue on, pointing out that they don't have the time or manpower to divide the party, which essentially leaves the injured for dead but ensures that [[TheNeedsOfTheMany the rest of her community]] gets what they need.
356* RavenHairIvorySkin: One of the palest characters in the film, fitting for a lady of high status.
357* SignatureHeadgear: Wears a distinctive red hat which makes her easier to spot in a crowd.
358* SilkHidingSteel: She's always stately and composed, and is also personally responsible for killing at least two gods. Especially notable when she fights San in her Kimono and nearly manages to stab her with a hidden needle.
359* UniversallyBelovedLeader: Among [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores her people]] in Iron Town, she is universally adored and revered. The women of the village are especially loyal to her, since she freed many of them from prostitution.
360* VisionaryVillain: Depending on your point of view, of course, but this is a big part of what makes her so dangerous. She understands the significance of guns and ironworking far better than anyone else in the setting, and has a clearly-defined goal of uniting the downtrodden to achieve power. At one point she says she wants to take over the world, and it's not entirely clear whether she's joking.
361* WellIntentionedExtremist: Has to sell her soul to the Emperor and his new Buddhist sect to secure enough power to keep her people safe.
362[[/folder]]
363
364[[folder:Gonza]]
365[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gonza.png]]
366 [[caption-width-right:349:''"Answer milady! Or I'll cut you in half!"'']]
367->'''Voiced by:''' Tsunehiko Kamijô (JP), Creator/JohnDiMaggio (EN)
368
369Eboshi's bodyguard and her major-domo. He is also the official captain of the guard and the head of Iron Town's contingent of riflemen.
370----
371* BadassNormal: Though he's the comedy relief of the film he did face down Moro, a PhysicalGod, alongside Eboshi; burning her and forcing her off a cliff.
372* ButtMonkey: The guy cannot get a break. For starters, he's called an idiot by Toki, gets his face stepped on by San and has his sword bent by Ashitaka.
373* TheBrute: To Eboshi. He's huge and aggressive, but not very bright.
374* CoDragons: With Toki. Gonza operates as Eboshi's 2nd in command most of the time and leads the bulk of her soldiers. Gonza tends to lead in the field whilst Toki leads the defense of Iron Town when they are away.
375* CrossPoppingVeins: Sometimes gets these when angry.
376* DarkAndTroubledPast: Although never mentioned in the film, it is mentioned he was once a Wakou, a Japanese pirate, which is where he met Eboshi. It certainly makes for some interesting speculations on how that happened, and why they are the way they are.
377* DirtyCoward: As implied by Toki, the first thing he does when faced with danger is flee and hide. Turns out to be averted however, as when there is trouble he doesn't run away at all, as seen when he and Eboshi fight off Moro. Towards the end of the film, he even runs ''towards'' the danger in order to [[UndyingLoyalty save Eboshi.]]
378* HairTriggerTemper: He is a bit of a hot-head.
379* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He acts openly hostile to Ashitaka, but he ''does'' thank Ashitaka for bringing back two men deemed killed, and [[JerkassHasAPoint has every reason]] not to trust him seeing as he came through the forbidden forest.
380* KillItWithFire: His gun seems to incorporate large amounts of powder rather than a bullet, so it works like an old fashioned flamethrower.
381* UndyingLoyalty: He is a very loyal man to Eboshi.
382* WalkDontSwim: In-universe, he's told by Ashitaka to walk along the bottom after the Forest Spirit loses his head and goes berserk seeing as he can't swim himself.
383[[/folder]]
384
385[[folder:Koroku]]
386[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/koroku.png]]
387[[caption-width-right:349:''"Sweetness, could we discuss this later?"'']]
388->'''Voiced by:''' Masahiko Nishimura (JP), Creator/JohnDeMita (EN)
389
390An Iron Town cattle driver who is nearly killed en route by the wolf clan's attacks. Ashitaka rescues him from certain death in the wilderness.
391----
392* ButtMonkey: Nothing goes right for him, but its all played for comedy.
393%%* HappilyMarried: To Toki.
394* HenpeckedHusband: He's this to Toki. She berates him after coming back alive from what was believed to be near certain death before hitting on another man in front of him. He raises no objection to this.
395* LovableCoward: He's terrified about going through the forbidden forest, logically fearing another attack from the wolves or from Shishigami. However, he also freaks out at the little kodama, who are extremely cute and extremely harmless. Since he’s a laborer rather than a warrior, his frightful tendencies aren’t really a knock against him and tend to be played as funny.
396* NiceGuy: Koroku is a polite and kind man who shows gratitude towards Ashitaka for saving him.
397* UglyGuyHotWife: A middle aged man who clearly has his age catch up to him and is married to a beautiful former prostitute.
398[[/folder]]
399
400[[folder:Toki]]
401[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toki.png]]
402 [[caption-width-right:350:''"You scared me half to death! Don't you 'little flower' me!"'']]
403->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SumiShimamoto (JP), Creator/JadaPinkettSmith (EN)
404
405Koroku's wife, a former prostitute, and the leader of Eboshi's circle of fiercely loyal ladies.
406----
407* AffectionateNickname: Called "little flower" by her husband.
408* AngerBornOfWorry: Implied to be why she berates Koroku when he comes back alive but injured.
409* BigShutUp: She yells "THAT'S ENOUGH!" to the panicking people of Iron Town.
410* CoDragons: With Gonza. Toki leads her inner circle of elite sharp-shooters and takes over the defense of the town while Eboshi and Gonza are out hunting the Forest Spirit.
411* DarkAndTroubledPast: {{Implied}}. She was a prostitute in the past and mentions that she (along with other women) were never treated fairly until Lady Eboshi bought their contracts to free them.
412* DeadpanSnarker: She has a dry wit.
413* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Her chewing out Koroku and Gonza when Ashitaka first comes to Iron Town demonstrates that she's an outspoken woman who isn’t afraid to put men in their place, but it comes from a place of caring about her people.
414%%* HappilyMarried: To Koroku.
415* {{Tsundere}}: Despite her constantly yelling at her husband Koroku, she really does love him.
416* UglyGuyHotWife: She, along with all of the other women in Iron Town, are married to middle aged looking men.
417[[/folder]]
418
419!Other Characters
420
421[[folder:Yakul]]
422[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yakul.png]]
423[[caption-width-right:350: San: ''"You're very wise aren't you?"'']]
424
425Ashitaka's red elk. A mount and friend of considerable loyalty.
426----
427* AmplifiedAnimalAptitude:
428** Downplayed. Yakul shows no unrealistic abilities - just the natural athleticism of a mountain beast and the affection of a well-trained domesticated animal. It might be argued that he's awfully smart for a member of the deer family, though.
429** San does say he is "wise" for not setting foot on a sacred island in the middle of the Forest Spirit's grove, and he is apparently able to tell her his name and relate stories of his and Ashitaka's home life to her as well. Whether this is true sapience, or simple instinct and the use of a more vague animal language that San can decipher, is left open to interpretation.
430* CallASmeerpARabbit: An elk is either a large North American deer with antlers almost as large as a moose, or in Europe just another name for a moose. These "red elks", of which conveniently there are none in Japan, or in any other part of the world now for that matter, much more closely resemble a three-way cross between a yak, a pronghorn and a gazelle (or perhaps a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lechwe lechwe]]).
431* HorseOfADifferentColor: He looks like a slightly modified Siberian ibex. Not only can he comfortably carry a rider, but is so strong that he can do that kind of animal's graceful leaping so burdened.
432* HypercompetentSidekick: Gives off vibes of this, despite having only slightly AmplifiedAnimalAptitude.
433* UndyingLoyalty: No matter what, whether it was being shot at or treading on sacred ground or even threatened with being eaten by wolves, Yakul always stuck by his master.
434[[/folder]]
435
436[[folder:Jiko-Bou / Jigo]]
437[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jiko_bou.png]]
438[[caption-width-right:350:''"Everybody dies, boy. Some now, some later, from brothel girl to Emperor."'']]
439->'''Voiced by:''' Kaoru Kobayashi (JP), Creator/BillyBobThornton (EN)
440
441A cynical yet buoyant Buddhist monk and mercenary who encounters Ashitaka on his journey to the west. He brings both a new religion from the Indies to his birth country and a technological promise from China that will allow him to fulfill his new convert's ambitions.
442----
443* {{Acrofatic}}: Shown to be very fast and agile, especially in his fight.
444* AffablyEvil: He just never stops being so pleasant and personable, even when he's vaguely threatening you. Or trying to kick your ass.
445* BigBad: In all but name. Nearly every bit of misfortune can be traced back to him: He's the ManBehindTheMan for Lady Eboshi's effort to destroy the forest and its spiritual denizens, and is therefore indirectly responsible for Ashitaka's curse; also, while Eboshi herself is a WellIntentionedExtremist AntiVillain who just wants to build a home for her people, Jigo is a more clear-cut villain, being motivated purely by greed; and to top it all off, he serves as the FinalBoss who Ashitaka and San have to confront during the film's climax.
446* CheshireCatGrin: Briefly sports one when fighting Ashitaka.
447* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Jiko's much stronger and faster than he first appears.
448* ConsummateLiar: When Ashitaka presents him with the iron ball that was shot into Nago and drove him mad, Jigo inspects it closely and says [[BlatantLies he's never seen anything like it before.]] He looks so sincere even the audience may believe him at that point.
449* TheCynic: Boy howdy
450* DeadpanSnarker: Has shades of this, like when he remarks that the soup he's eating "tastes like donkey piss."
451* EvilAllAlong: He doesn't appear to be a bad guy when we first meet him.
452* {{Gonk}}: A fat, short man, with a huge mole on his face.
453* GracefulLoser: Shrugs and accepts his defeat at the film's end.
454* ItsAllAboutMe: This is ultimately what makes Jigo the only true villain of the film. Whereas the other characters are fighting for either causes they genuinely believe are right or the people they protect, Jigo is only interested in satisfying his own immense greed. He has no concept of loyalty and mostly sees everything and everyone around him as tools to be used to further his own agenda.
455* JustFollowingOrders: According to him, he's just following the Emperor's mandate to secure the secret to immortality. Of course, [[UnreliableNarrator given that he's a very skilled liar...]]
456* KarmaHoudini: He indirectly assists the genocide of two boar tribes, nearly kills both our protagonists, cripples an ecosystem and tries to profit from deicide but doesn't die from any of his wrongdoings. In fact, he gets off completely scot-free by the film's end apart from the fact that the Emperor [[YouHaveFailedMe may be after his greasy hide now for failing to acquire the Forest Spirit's head]].
457* KnowWhenToFoldEm: "Well, I give up. Can't win against fools."
458* TheManBehindTheMan: Or rather, "The Man Behind the Woman". It was his contacts with the Son of Heaven that allowed Eboshi to combat Nago and secure the foundations of Tataraba.
459* NiceJobFixingItVillain: One really wonders how Jigo's scheme would have played out had he ''not'' told Ashitaka where to find the Forest Spirit.
460* NothingPersonal: Reflecting the banality typical of environment-destroyers. He doesn't ''hate'' his enemies: they're just inconveniently willing to fight to the death to stop him.
461* PetTheDog: His treatment of Ashitaka when they first meet. Despite their differences, he appears to genuinely like the young man. Sadly, circumstances compel them to become enemies.
462* PunchClockVillain: He is the most villainous character who actually appears in the film. Despite that, he's also one of the most likeable when off the job. Basically he's a sort of PunchClockVillain who's motivated mostly by greed.
463* SmugSnake: Shows shades of this when he talks to his lackeys - he claims that the best way to get what one needs is to let someone else do the dirty work.
464* TastesLikeFeet: He's introduced eating in a restaurant, where he asks the woman running it whether she's serving soup or donkey piss.
465* WarriorMonk: The cynical Jigo completely inverts the traditional image of a Japanese Buddhist warrior monk. Instead of being a fighter for a righteous cause, or a contemplative mystic with {{Enlightenment Superpower}}s, he and his mercenary band lack any and all moral scruples which would otherwise prevent them from carrying out any act, no matter how repugnant, [[OnlyInItForTheMoney as long as they gets paid for it]], and he makes no attempt to hide this fact. Neither do we see him meditating, reciting mantras, nor performing any kind of Buddhist ceremony.[[note]]This is likely due to TheLawOfConservationOfDetail; however, he doesn't seem to be like the person who would perform these rituals even in the most hypocritical manner[[/note]] The most Buddhist thing about him are probably his robes.
466[[/folder]]
467
468[[folder:Lord Asano]]
469A {{samurai}} warlord who wants to seize Iron Town for its wealth. While not as dangerous as the Shinto Gods, his army is also a big threat to the citizens of Iron Town.
470----
471* AristocratsAreEvil: He's a warlord and the only main antagonist without a redeeming quality.
472* TheGhost: In spite of his importance, as one of Lady Eboshi's sworn enemies, he never appears on-screen.
473* {{Greed}}: His motivation to conquer Iron Town. He wants its riches.
474* HateSink: In a story full of GreyAndGreyMorality, [[AntiVillain Anti Villains]] and AffablyEvil [[PunchClockVillain Punch Clock Villains]], he sticks out like a sore thumb for being the only main antagonist with no redeeming quality shown. Although, it may be because he doesn't appear in person, thus not providing us with the opportunity to see his point of view, much like for Moro and Eboshi.[[note]]A relatively unknown fact is that the ironworks were actually polluting the river downstream, wrecking the agriculture of those outside of Irontown. This, not just their riches, is another reason the town was targeted.[[/note]]
475%%* {{Samurai}}
476* UncertainDoom: If he was actually present during the siege of Irontown, he likely was consumed by the Forest Spirit along with his army. Of course, we don't actually know if he was present or not.
477* WouldHitAGirl: Clearly has no problem attacking a village of (as far as he believes) defenseless women while their men are away. The Iron Town women and lepers swiftly disabuse him of the notion that they can't fight back.
478[[/folder]]
479
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