Top 10 Fantastic Meanings Spirited Away Brings to its Audience

No-Face survives on human greed, evident in how it transforms when presented with gold, reflecting the avarice of bathhouse employees seeking his service. After consuming all the food, it turns to devour some bathhouse workers, causing chaos. What humanizes No-Face is a pure soul untainted by Chihiro's greed. After ingesting Chihiro's enchanted cake (gifted by the River Spirit), No-Face regurgitates everything, including the three bathhouse workers he had swallowed, and angrily chases Chihiro. She leads No-Face out to the sea, away from the bathhouse, where he reverts to his true nature: slow, modest, and gentle. In the end, No-Face becomes an assistant to the witch Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister.

Chihiro successfully humanizes a greedy spirit through her pure, saintly soul. She triumphs in restoring No-Face to his true nature: gentle and likable.

The benevolent characters here include the young wizard Haku, Mr. Kamaji - the boiler man, the maid Lin, No-Face, the witch Zeniba... Without Haku's assistance, Chihiro would find it challenging to survive in a world she initially deemed unreal - a bizarre realm. At first glance, Mr. Kamaji may seem intimidating and distant, but his character is quite the opposite. In reality, he is kind-hearted and has greatly helped Chihiro during her stay. The image of the six-armed old man Kamaji gives us a sense of goodness unrelated to appearance and inherent qualities. And Lin, a maid always mistreated and mocked, turns out to be caring, teaching Chihiro how to live and work when she serves the greedy witch Yubaba. Even the Faceless Spirit helps Chihiro in cleaning the bathhouse by providing her with valuable herbal tokens. Despite being perceived as greedy and dangerous, with Chihiro - a pure soul, we witness a slow, modest, and gentle No-Face.

Miyazaki once said that life is not simply about 'good triumphing over evil' or everything being beautiful; in life, there is both good and bad, and the important thing is to recognize the good. There will come a time when children grow up and encounter peculiar, incomprehensible things, but gradually, they will understand. It's crucial to teach children how to recognize good people and the value of labor so that they can become confident and shine, no matter where they are forced to live. This is what the author wants to convey to the little ones through his vivid film.

Right from the beginning of the movie, the author portrays Chihiro's parents as absent-minded, greedy, indifferent to their children's opinions, and prioritizing money above all. When they take the family to a new house, Chihiro's father takes the wrong turn, causing them to get lost, and drives recklessly.

Seemingly perfect but absent-minded, Chihiro's parents always expect their children to be perfect - an impossible demand for a child. Like many other parents, Chihiro's parents often overlook her opinions and act according to their own will. This can create pressure on children facing unwanted choices imposed by their parents. Sometimes, disregarding children's opinions, interests, and desires can cost parents dearly. In Chihiro's case, not listening to her opinion turns her parents into pigs. This reflects situations outside where children with artistic talents are forced to study natural sciences.

The very pressure that parents believe is correct ends up killing their children's dreams and talents without them realizing it. Valuing money, when Chihiro says: 'They will get angry if we eat without asking first,' her parents dismiss it and reply, 'It's okay, when they come back, we'll pay... Don't worry, I brought money and credit cards.'

Parents, the ones teaching children manners, sometimes forget about courtesy themselves. The author seems to be awakening parents to their own behavior. Such behavior significantly influences the perception and lifestyle of children - the future generation of the world.

Yubaba remarks that Chihiro is a weak, lazy child who only knows how to cry and is useless, someone she doesn't want to accept. But because she wants to save her parents and escape, the little girl has to face many things she has never seen or done before. She has to clean the bathhouse with lots of garbage, scrub the dirty 'toilet'... She is so pitiful that she cries next to Jin and Haku when visiting her parents. The intense desire to leave here and save her parents has driven her to work harder and even better. She gradually matures and thinks more maturely.

Another typical example is Boh - the son of the witch Yubaba. Spoiled by his mother, the boy is stubborn, selfish, and dependent. Although Boh is physically 'giant' compared to his mother, he can't stand up and only crawls around in his room. Later, Boh is turned into a mouse by Zeniba. After an interesting journey with Chihiro to Zeniba's house, the boy learns to stand on his own two feet and cares more about others.

It's a lesson for both parents and children about living independently, not depending on others, that Miyazaki wants to convey. As Les Brown said: 'Take responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.'

Miyazaki addresses not only environmental issues in Spirited Away but also the pressing global concern of children's rights. He wants to highlight the exploitation of child labor. In this context, the character representing the exploiters of child labor is Yubaba, the greedy witch who rules the spirit realm. She forces Chihiro to work like her employees and assigns her unimaginable tasks. This is a condemnable action that the author wishes to reflect. If, in real life, they bind children to work for them with whips and threats, in Miyazaki's work, Yubaba threatens to turn Chihiro into a pig or a stone and takes away her name to control her as well as those who work for her.

For a forward-thinking individual concerned about the environment and particularly fond of children like the author Miyazaki, he vehemently opposes the exploitation of child labor. Hence, he incorporates it into his film to convey his message, desiring that children have their full rights, access to education, leisure, and social benefits...

Miyazaki is a brilliant director and writer as each of his films accurately reflects the reality of society. Here, the issue is environmental pollution, a challenge many countries are struggling with to find environmental protection solutions. He portrays a famous river spirit heavily polluted and emitting a foul odor. The pollution is so horrific that no employee wants to serve him when he visits Yubaba's bathhouse. It could even make a bowl of rice go bad instantly when Jin brings it to Chihiro from a distance.

Haku, also a river god named Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, suffers because humans filled the Kohaku River to build houses, leaving Haku homeless. He wanders into the spirit realm and is accepted by Yubaba as an apprentice.

The god's pollution makes his body muddy, deformed, and walking becomes a laborious task. It seems humans have made river gods ugly through their unconscious waste disposal. Yubaba even mistakes him for a 'stink spirit' until Chihiro helps extract a bicycle. Humans indeed need to reconsider their actions.

Upon learning that Haku, under Yubaba's command, stole Zeniba's golden seal, Chihiro hastily wants to go to Zeniba's place to return the seal and hopes for Haku's recovery after being attacked by the 'paper person.' She asks Kamaji for guidance and wishes to return the seal, even though the train going there has no return trip. Along with No-Face, she finds Zeniba's house in the marshy area where the train stops, called Swamp Bottom. Chihiro impresses Yubaba's twin sister with her courage, pure heart, and excellent character. Zeniba brings out a lantern to light the way and welcomes Chihiro warmly. She pours tea, offers cakes, and chats with her and her companions.

Zeniba was initially furious upon learning that Haku had stolen the golden seal. However, when she sees Haku acknowledging his mistake and bowing in apology, she laughs heartily and forgives him.

Is the author trying to convey the message to the audience about honesty and rectifying mistakes when wrongdoing occurs? And is it never too late to make amends? Chihiro's admirable character serves as a shining example that Miyazaki wants children to follow through this film.

If you've watched this movie, surely you know Haku is not a human but a river spirit, known as Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. The details of Haku saving Chihiro from drowning show us that even seemingly indifferent entities like rivers can have warm hearts and help us. Can humans in today's society do the same for their kind?

A condemnable and heartbreaking social reality. As humans embrace the modern age, we often resemble aimless spirits, driven solely by self-interest and forget about others. Eventually, we become a faceless, ugly spirit that we fail to recognize!

In the conclusion, when Chihiro must determine who her parents are among the pigs, she confidently and firmly asserts that her parents are not among them. Despite Yubaba's persistent questioning to create doubt, Chihiro remains steadfast in her decision. This self-assurance enables her to reunite with her parents.

If in the early part of the film Chihiro was a timid girl always in need of Haku's assistance, from Haku helping to conceal Chihiro to making rice balls for her, everything relied on Haku. However, when Haku is in danger, Chihiro takes the initiative to seek Yubaba's sister to rescue him, despite the unknown risks. She understands that only she can solve her problems and can't wait for help indefinitely!

We must learn to be self-reliant, to do good things that we value for ourselves and our loved ones, without relying too much on others.