Animated Discussions: Japanese Gods: Hayao Miyazaki & Princess Mononoke

So... I must be passing through a Japanese phase.

I'm listening to a Japanese crime story on my MP3 player.... and the other evening I turn to my comfort food - animation .... in this case "Princess Mononoke" by Hayao Miyazaki.

Released in 1997 it is one of Miyazaki's greats. Gods and men battle for ownership of the land.... or should I say the earth. I like the "foreign" quality of the spirit-world in Japanese anime. Westerners love to make their gods look like human kings and queens. Anime spirits are definitely "other".

I'll leave the critical discussion to this here video clip from New York Times.