Continuing from last week’s article on Hayao Miyazaki and the focus on the strength portrayed by female characters in his films, I will be focusing on the characters presented in the rest of the 2000s and early 2010s. These films follow up Spirited Away and represent the middle to late stages of his career continues to show a trend three-dimensional characters.

Howl’s Moving Castle

This film features Sophie, a hatter, who is saved from being attacked by a wizard named Howl. Later that night when she tries to turn The Witch of the Waste away from her shop, Sophie is turned into a ninety-year-old woman. Sophie as a character is seemingly apathetic and stuck in one place; her father is dead, her mother away on business, and her sister Lettie in a bakery, leaving Sophie alone to make hats. Once turned into an old woman, Sophie bravely accepts her new role and is resolved to lift her curse and befriends the people in Howl’s castle along the way. While she works as the cleaning lady at first, the chores become equally divided, as well.

Sophie’s change from a young woman to an old woman not only changes her appearance but also her sullen and reserved personality. At the beginning, Sophie keeps her head down and tries to stay out of trouble. Once becoming old, she becomes more passionate and willing to speak her mind. This battles society’s concepts of how old women are depicted in media. Sophie uses her ability as an old woman to pass as Howl’s mother and save his life when they meet Madame Suliman, the King’s advisor, and her new compassionate and outspoken nature make her heroic and brave, even as going as far to be an influence for the war between two countries ending.

Hayao Miyazaki wanted to make this movie to show that life is worth living, no matter the age. Miyazaki's goal was to highlight human compassion for Sophie as well, such as the enchanted scarecrow comforting Sophie when everything seems too much, or being hugged by the apprentice Markl. When The Witch of the Waste is turned into an old senile woman, Sophie cares for her and puts aside her negative feelings towards the witch. This continues when the witch is overcome with selfishness and greed at finally having Howl’s heart—something she’s wanted for years—but gives it up upon seeing Sophie’s worry and compassion for Howl’s well-being. Despite their issues, Sophie still manages to show and teach her how to be compassionate and empathetic to others’ situations. What’s wonderful about this movie is that these characters are given time to learn and grow and that two characters with opposing goals and positions in the film can still become friendly and learn from each other.

Ponyo

Ponyo was the next film Miyazaki created but features a character directly opposite of Sophie. Ponyo is a young girl who is also a fish and lives with her father Fujimoto, a wizard who lives underwater with his half-fish half-human daughters. After running away and meeting a young boy named Sousuke, Ponyo expresses a desire to become human.

Ponyo is a character filled with curiosity and wanting to act on her own wants and dreams. The other women in this film feature Ponyo’s mother Granmamare, also called Mother of the Sea, Sousuke’s mother Risa, and the old women who live at the senior center Risa works at. Ponyo’s dreams are supported by these women, while she fights with her father Fujimoto who wants to keep his daughter safe. Risa raises Sousuke by herself while her husband is out at sea and does her best to adapt to her son’s new friend. Her character is one of kindness, compassion, and strength; she drives through a bad storm just to check on the women at the senior center.

Ponyo’s wish to be human is something that goes against her father and everything she’s known but she does so without fear or hesitation. She reacts to everything in a way a curious child would, and becomes surrounded by strong figures like her mother and Risa, goddess or mortal alike, and is encouraged to become who she wants to be.

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises, reportedly Miyazaki’s last film until he announced plans to make a new film in the next few years, is a film centered on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, a boy who wants to become an airplane designer and eventually creates the A6M Zero fighter plane for the Japanese army in World War Two. The movie follows him as he chases his dream and eventually meets the love of his life. While the film is about Jiro himself, the supporting cast of women around him show strength in the sense of real-life situations.

Naoko Satomi is a girl that Jiro meets on a train just before the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake hit, and they work together to carry her maid and find her home as everything burns around them. She’s brave in the face of tragedy the entire time. Years later when they meet again, she falls ill with tuberculosis and is determined to get better and have a future with Jiro. She makes the hard choice to go to a sanatorium after an attack and runs away on her own when her condition worsens. Her actions are all of her own choices, and she ends up being able to live with Jiro and experience the happiness she wanted in spite of her tuberculosis. After she gets married, her happiness doesn’t last long. Knowing she’ll likely die from her illness, she makes the decision to leave behind the people she cares about one last time so she can die how she wants to, and not have her loved ones suffer anymore. Her choices are centered on her need to do what is best in that moment and faces her mortality with bravery.

Kayo Hirokoshi is the protagonist’s little sister, whom he has seen grow into a capable person by the time he’s in college. Her dream is to become a doctor, despite everyone saying she can’t because she’s a girl and should be at home. Jiro persuades his family to let Kayo go to school, and she achieves her dream of becoming a doctor. Once she is allowed to practice medicine, she goes directly to take care of Naoko. While she’s strict and silver-tongued as she lashes out at Jiro for not doing what he needs to do for Naoko’s health, she shows a caring and empathetic side of her that makes her feel more like a real person. She fights hard for Naoko’s health but isn’t prepared to hear that her sister-in-law had left to die in a sanatorium.

Hayao Miyazaki’s characters in the first half of his career mirror the heroines showed here; they are bold and brave in their own ways, but hold compassion and care for everyone around them. Whether trying to undo a curse, coping with an illness, or achieving a dream, these women are given traits that make them feel real to an audience. I said it in the last article, but it’s so important to pay attention to the subtlety of each of these characters and examine how they mesh into a story. Every character has a purpose, a goal, a dream, a set of characteristics that make them feel more human, and Miyazaki’s drive to show human compassion is in every single character. For his next film, I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of characters he will create.