One very important thing to notice at the outset is that Ashitaka says he wants to “see with eyes unclouded by hate.” That mission seems central to the film’s overall message about balance and harmony. They start by focusing on one thing and then change as the character learns more. Sometimes we see this happen in hero’s quests.
As many of you noted, the actual object of Ashitaka’s quest starts as finding a cure for his cursed arm, but it shifts as his journey progresses. It’s pretty hard to ignore that call when it comes in the form of a curse placed on you by a giant, demon-possessed boar. In your responses to my discussion questions, you were all absolutely correct in identifying Ashitaka’s Call to Adventure. Depending on how much you liked this film, I’d definitely recommend you check out more work by Hayao Miyazaki. It sounds like you all enjoyed “Princess Mononoke” (1997), our penultimate movie in the hero’s quest media studies series.
