If you are not a mentally strong person, do not read this article. Because the fan theory (fan theory) about the following studio Ghibli films will make you “shock” because it is scary and … strangely reasonable.
First, we will clarify the word “hypothesis” – A word used to make a new argument, in order to explain something, is somewhat acceptable; and most importantly, has not been tested, verified.
So is what you read below. They are Ghibli fan theories, not yet recognized by the creators. But that makes them attractive, because every movie needs the audience to become… a movie. So please accept them with an open mind. It is not important to criticize them for “the right of the author” or not; it is to understand how artistic polygraph can bring new and exotic meanings to different individuals.
The “fan theory” is the inevitable that the author / work has a loyal fan base; ready to plow again and again, looking back and forth to find the hidden meanings embedded in it. This Ghibli movie – a legendary Japanese animation studio – definitely has. In addition to the “allusional” character of the Japanese, studio Ghibli films have become more and more attractive in the eyes of those who love “conspiracy theory”. Here are some of the most famous “conspiracy theories” of the Ghibli fan community, which will surely surprise you with the “soaring” in the audience’s imagination.
1. My Neighbor Totoro: Satsuki and Mei are depressed
A few years ago, the online community scrambled about a “conspiracy theory” that claimed Totoro was a god that could only be seen by people who were dying or dying. According to this theory, the story goes like this: Mei goes missing and is presumed dead when a pair of baby slippers is found in the lake. Her sister, Satsuki, could not accept this pain so she lied that it was not Mei’s sandals. She went looking for Totoro and thanks to Totoro’s help, the two sisters found each other. After that, the two went to the hospital where their mother was cured. Because they are spirits, the two children can only observe their mother from… on the tree. Here, the only person who saw them was the mother, and that was a sign that she was also about dying.
This hypothesis, thanks to its unexpected darkness, was immediately shared by the online community. People began to add even more untrue details to make the story “more sensational”. And when things went too far, Studio Ghibli films had to deny this theory. But still a lot of people believe in it
However, there is another “lighter” theory for you. Ghibli Fans have noticed that Satsuki is a way of calling May in Japanese; Mei is a homonym for May, which also means “May” in English. The fact that both sisters are named “May” can refer to “May Disease” (gogatsubyou). It’s important to know that Japan’s new school year and recruitment season begins in April, so when May comes, new students and new staff will be under enormous pressure to integrate into the community. Many of them became depressed. This theory becomes even more convincing at the beginning of the movie, Satsuki and Mei also move into a new environment. Is it true that Totoro is a creature that two children imagine to ease the sadness and depression in the soul?
2. Spirited Away: Yubaba’s public bathhouse is a brother
Spirited Away – the top best in Studio Ghibli movies and the collected works of Hayao Miyazaki. This is a very strong theory because it is supported by many evidence in the film. So, you need to stay calm, because it’s shocking, but it still has a humanistic meaning. Yubaba is a monster, right? Who is going to promote a demon?
Are you calm now? Okay, let’s get started.
All doubts start from the name. Accordingly, in the Edo period, there were a lot of brothels disguised as public baths, and the manager of these “economic models” was called “Yubaba” – that’s the name of our villain. in the film. Chihiro applies for a job at Yubaba’s bathhouse because he wants to save his parents, who are turned into pigs and locked in Yubaba’s pigpen because of their gluttony. This act of hers is a “repayment” to help her parents. For a kid at that age, is there a faster way to pay off debt than “selling yourself” in a brothel?
Why Should Every Child Watch Spirited Away?
Next, the condition to get into the job is that Chihiro must give her name to Yubaba. She has a new name “Sen” – One thousand. Is this the price of the little girl? When I think about it, I feel even more frightening when I remember the scene where No-Face chased Chihiro to give a bunch of gold coins and whispered, “I want Sen! I want Sen! Take the money.” Ghibli lead the audiences to many surprises
The name “No Face” is also something worth discussing. When it comes to the sex industry, we mean men who aren’t present. They just come to use the “service”, pay the bill, and leave. In contrast, girls don’t have names. Because when entering any kind of pornography, in all eras and cultures, girls are asked to use a fake name. Do you see now that it makes sense to change Chihiro’s name at the beginning of the movie?
3. Ponyo: Everyone is… dead
Ghibli movies made people believe the hypothesis starting from the name. Ponyo’s real name has been noticed by fans as “Brunhilde”, which resembles the name of a little goddess related to death in Norse mythology. And even more convincing, Ponyo was the one who created the Tsunami battle that engulfed the city.
These “conspiracy theories” believe that, with such a destructive Tsunami there was no way the city would survive. Especially the elderly in the Nursing Home. The elderly were able to run and jump normally, while before that, they had to live 24/24 in a wheelchair. In addition, we also witness in the water there are extinct creatures, and in particular, meet a family traveling on an ancient boat, with an antiquated dress style. Is this confusion of time a testament to … all are dead ?!
4. Princess Mononoke: Mononoke’s jacket is the dead “brother”
Another meaningful movie from Ghibli movies is Princess Mononoke. This theory which sounds creepy, but if you think about it carefully, it will be rich in humanity. In the movie, we hear Moro (Mother Wolf) telling about why Grandma raised San (Mononoke): “I caught his parents dirty the forest. They threw the child at my feet and ran away.” “Trash the forest” is a very vague phrase, but fans of “guess what” is that San’s parents hunted wolves and killed one of Moro’s children.
Later, when caught by Moro, they threw San back to sacrifice. Most likely, Moro chased and killed San’s parents. Grandma takes care of San and puts on her the fur of her dead child. It is both a way for Grandma to remember her child, and a way of seeing San as a wolf in the house. This also shows that Mother Wolf (the representative of nature) is a “lofty” and “human” more than human.
Mononoke fans used to have a theory recognized by director Hayao Miyazaki – also a co-founder of Studio Ghibli films. It was the “incurable disease” of the people who made the guns for Mrs. Eboshi in Iron Village as leprosy. Therefore, they are even more confident when making the theory about the Wolf Princess’s plumage.
