Legendary Pictures: Princess Mononoke’s Influence on Breath of the Wild
Posted on February 18 2020 by Michaela El-Ters
When I first started watching anime — and realized how much I enjoyed it — it felt like my eyes were opened to a whole other world, and somewhat literally. With few exceptions, I hadn’t grown up with Japanese animation and it wasn’t until high school that I was fully introduced to the genre, and by extension, Studio Ghibli films. It all started during a vacation to Colorado. Anime was a staple in the household where we were staying, with a comprehensive collection of the Studio Ghibli films and various anime shows. Very quickly, I came to appreciate the unique differences in storytelling and character development from the typical Western animation I had grown up with. During that week long visit, I binge-watched several of the Studio Ghibli films in a row, with one of those films being Princess Mononoke.
The Tale of Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke was my favorite of the bunch. Far darker and more violent than the meandering whimsy of Spirited Away, than the magic and romance of Howl’s Moving Castle, than the fantastical Castle in the Sky, I was entranced by the story of a young’s man personal journey to undo his curse, and the conflict of nature versus technology that he encountered along the way. Princess Mononoke felt like a movie “made for adults,” and it’s hard to believe that movie was released over twenty years ago. Many of its themes are still relevant today, and the animation holds up incredibly well and is exciting to watch, particularly the action sequences.
Over-the-top and borderline gratuitous the violence may be, at its core, the movie is about the balance of nature versus technology. Without a clear villain or conflict in the truest sense of the word, Princess Mononoke features a sympathetic cast of characters, with some wishing for nature and humanity to coexist in peace and others utilizing new technology as a way to help others. It’s that same technology that creates an imbalance with nature, though, and it becomes their downfall and the source of the climax at the end of the movie. I love this movie, and I’ve always appreciated the mature storytelling in Princess Mononoke — its ability to weave complex character motivations into what is essentially a typical story of “nature versus technology,” but it works incredibly well. It wasn’t until I played Breath of the Wild, though, that I noticed Princess Mononoke‘s Zelda-esque qualities.
How Breath of the Wild Reminds Me of Princess Mononoke
Breath of the Wild tells the story of a destroyed Hyrule after Calamity Ganon’s return and the shocking transformation of the Guardians. The Guardians were designed by the Sheikah for the noble cause of protecting Hyrule, but over time, the technology became new and foreign. It was because of this gap in knowledge of what the Guardians were and what they could do that they served as Hyrule’s undoing. The similarities of these two stories is quite clear when it’s really parsed down. Both revolve around the influence of technology on the environment and humanity society, and how the reliance on said technology can have positive and negative impacts on society, depending on your perspective.
Breath of the Wild has more than just its story that can be compared to Princess Mononoke — Link’s usual green tunic changed to blue and an emphasis on archery in his promotional artwork could be seen as a nod to Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. The visual representation of Ganon’s malice in the boss fights on the Divine Beasts and the cursed creatures in Princess Mononoke is strikingly similar. The Lord of the Mountain and the Forest Spirit share similar physical forms as mystical, deer-like creatures. If you have a Wolf Link amiibo, you can conjure Wolf Link to fight and travel alongside, reminiscent of Ashitaka teaming up with the wolves (something I’m not the first to notice, as the feature art clearly shows).
Since Breath of the Wild came out three years ago, many fans suspect that because of these various comparisons, both visually and in the storytelling, that Breath of the Wild was inspired by Princess Mononoke. Whether it’s true or not, at least for me, it doesn’t really matter. What I’m more excited about is the fact that these two very different mediums resemble each other in such a cool way. Both the Zelda series and Princess Mononoke were formative experiences for me when I was growing up, and I love that a video game I enjoyed playing immensely also resembled one of my favorite animated films, at a time when the genre was so new to me.
It’s not something I can say about anything else, and it’s part of why I’ve come to love Princess Mononoke and Breath of the Wild even more than I did before.
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but she enjoys writing about her love for the series at every chance she gets. For more of her writing, check out her blog.
Feature art by guitarheroknight, satoshi-ito-777, and Tamiart
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.
