Wha???

[Dan the Man]

Okay, I couldn't find this answer in any of the threads, so I'm going to ask. I've just seen Princess Mononoke and I want to know...what's up with the arms flying off the soldiers when Ashitaka hits them with an arrow? In several instances, he hits a soldier or something their holding and their arms just fly right off. This is confusing me and I would greatly appreciate it if somebody could clear it up. :confused:

[orochi X]

Well Ashitaka is a demon (right? Its been quite a while since Ive watched Princess Mononoke) well he as "super" powers

So I guess the arrows he fired were pretty powerful, powerful enough to sever those guys arms

[dheu]

When Ashitaka was cursed by that boar (god?) in the beginning, the curse inhabited his right arm. Since that's the arm he draws the bowstring back with, it gives him a lot of power when he shoots.


dheu

[Dan the Man]

That's starting to make sense, now. Thanks for the help.

[SenshiNaka]

Originally posted by Dan the Man
Okay, I couldn't find this answer in any of the threads, so I'm going to ask. I've just seen Princess Mononoke and I want to know...what's up with the arms flying off the soldiers when Ashitaka hits them with an arrow? In several instances, he hits a soldier or something their holding and their arms just fly right off. This is confusing me and I would greatly appreciate it if somebody could clear it up. :confused:

This confused me too, at first i thought the arrows were spining in the split second right before they hit...

[So Full of Mercy]

Remember, the arm is full of hate, so the arm does everything in its power to kill, that's why it draws itself and tries to kill what's her name in Iron Town.

[ADdispatcher]

Anyway he was aiming to disarm, but the curse wanted to kill, so when the stone head of the arrow struck the blade, it ripped the guy's arms off. The next time the arm actually pulled over a bit, causing the arrow to fly into the soldier's head. BUM BUM BUM.

[John Faulkner]

Remember, the arm is full of hate, so the arm does everything in its power to kill, that's why it draws itself and tries to kill what's her name in Iron Town.

Can't argue with this. However, what is the object of hate? Recalling that the arm was infected with the boar god's "essence", and that it said:

"Disgusting little creatures. Soon all of you will know my hate, and suffer as I have suffered."

Based on this, it seems the boar god has a lot of animosity for humans. Thus, can it be that Ashitaka's cursed arm, which seems to have a life of its own, is repulsed by humans? At the end of the movie, Both Ashitaka and San appear to be on the verge of being totally consumed with a rash similar to that on the cursed arm, and this happened when the transparent substance fountaining out of the Forest Spirit caught up with them.

So I'm thinking that the boar god's "essence" and that of the Forest Spirit have a similar symbolic meaning: taking an anthropomorphic view of "nature", they would be harbouring all this hate within them, and this hate would be reflected by a curse that wishes to wipe out the human race, by consuming humans with hate (and perhaps encouraging humans to kill each other?).

But cue Ashitaka, who was able to resist all the hatred the boar god threw at him and recover from the curse. So what does this mean? That ultimately, the boar god's misanthropy was misdirected at the wrong person and Ashitaka is "forgiven". Yet he had to prove it by giving back the Forest Spirit's head and averting the conflict between Lady Eboshi and San. Curious thing is that Ashitaka accepted this as his fate:

Wise Woman: "It's your fate to go there and see what you can see with eyes unclouded by hate. You may find a way to lift the curse. You understand?"

Ashitaka: "Yes."

So he willingly burdens himself with the anguish of "nature". This shows the empathy that Ashitaka has - he puts "nature"'s problems as his own and attempts to try and resolve the issue: he is bound to fail, yet achieved a personal victory.

My last point is that Ashitaka is a prince. But he fell from his lofty position to take the position of a wandering warrior who is shunned by most, and who sees suffering from his eyes. Shades of the story of Gotama the Buddha, who was also a princely figure that went out to experience suffering and pain. But Ashitaka achieved what was almost a miracle at the end. Once again, the theme of plunging oneself into darkness to emerge at greater heights (emotionally, intellectually etc.).

[eatpork]

I love the film, but is it really physically possible for an arrow (not matter how powerful the projectile is) to take off someones' arm or head? Wouldn't it just make the entire body fly?

[John Faulkner]

With a normal arrow and archer, I'd say it would be almost impossible given the width of an arrow and the thickness of the human neck/arm. It'd have to be a giant arrow from a catapult.

However, we're talking Mononoke land, and no doubt Ashitaka's arm transferred some sort of daemonic power to the arrow. This probably provided it with a force field that acts over a wide enough area to decapitate someone.