I Decided To Rewatch One Of My Favorite Studio Ghibli Movies, And I'm Shocked At How I Feel About It Years Later

You know what time it is – that time of my life when I decide to revisit things from my childhood and realize just how much I’ve changed in a few years.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve looked at Studio Ghibli or Hayao Miyazaki movies in the last few years. I’ve watched all of them in succession and love them to death. I’ll talk about my favorites for years. While I have a soft spot in my heart for Howl’s Moving Castle, the movie I always come back to as my ultimate favorite is Spirited Away, a great movie for kids and adults.

I’ve gone back and forth, but it always tends to go back to how this film has impacted me and my life growing up. But upon rewatching it recently, I’ve finally started to realize that I’m not even connecting with the same character I used to – instead, I’m connecting with the one I never thought I would like. And as an adult… yeouch, I’m feeling my age.

As A Kid, I Always Connected The Most With Chihiro From Spirited Away

I mean, obviously, this shouldn’t be that surprising.

If you watch any anime, whether it’s a Studio Ghibli movie or it’s a TV show, and you’re young, you’re going to connect with the younger kid versus the adults nine times out of ten.

If you’re a fan of the Pokémon anime, then you’re likely to communicate with Ash or whomever. If you’re watching Demon Slayer and you happen to be a younger teenager, you’ll probably connect with Nezuko or Tanjiro rather than the adults. It’s just natural.

For me, I always connected with Chihiro. I mean, Spirited Away, in general, is a real hero’s journey and tells a fantastic story from Chihiro’s point of view. Even as an adult, I find her story fascinating and full of life.

However, in my older age (at 26 versus 23 when I rewatched it for the first time), a lot has changed, and now I’m shocked at who I connect with.

But As An Adult, I Find Myself Connecting More To No-Face

I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing…but I really connected with No-Face this time around.

As a kid, I was absolutely terrified of this…thing. I still don’t really know what it is. The basic explanation is that it’s a spirit capable of ingesting anything it wants. When one person shows kindness to it (Chihiro), he becomes obsessed with it. But he’s also sort of a representation of gluttony in a certain way.

Either way, he freaked me out as a kid.

It’s ironic because I grew up loving the best horror movies, so creatures like No-Face don’t faze me anymore. But, man, I wasn't a fan of him. However, now, I’ve started to connect more with the creature…and I think I know why.

Like No-Face, There’s A Certain Loneliness In The World We Seek To Fill

I think with No-Face, there’s a lot of commentary on modern-day culture that is still relevant even now, more than twenty years later after the film’s release. One overarching theme is loneliness.

Chihiro experiences a sense of emptiness – a feeling that she doesn’t feel like herself without her parents, a sensation she has all along. However, it’s about her reclaiming her identity and finding the bravery to do so. That’s powerful.

But with No-Face, it’s a particular kind of loneliness that I believe a lot of other people might understand. It’s that aching, consuming kind. No-Face is given everything he wants when he shows his power, scaring all the attendants of the Bath House. But when Chihiro isn’t afraid and shows him kindness rather than fear, he wants to be with her.

Truthfully, all he was looking for was a friend. He was lonely in a world that deemed him invisible, and when he showed who he was, he was seen as a monster. That kind of loneliness can translate into what he became – greedy when he was given an ounce of attention.

In this age of social media, ironically, I think I feel more alone than ever. We have numerous ways of connecting online, but in reality, it’s not a genuine human connection. It’s not the same interaction that we have in a coffee shop, in the grocery store, or with friends on a night out. We crave companionship, and No-Face is the perfect example of that.

Greed Has Consumed A Lot Of Our Culture, Which Only Makes Him More Relevant

Another great thing that makes me realize how much I connect with No-Face is his greed for attention – but in reality, his greed for really anything. When he’s consuming everything he’s given, or when he ejects it all and follows Chihiro, greedy for her attention.

That’s the kind of greed that has consumed people even more over the last decade or so. We always want what's next, to fit in, to prove our worth. Movie box offices rely on sequels, reboots, and remakes instead of original ideas because they know it sells, so the greed only grows. Influencers try to promote items to us because we won’t be the “it” girl if we don’t buy them.

While No-Face isn’t that kind of person, the idea that he wants more and more is something that anyone can relate to – and it’s something I’ve experienced in the past as well.

And The Want To Be Seen Is Something I’ve Struggled With As Well

The most significant trait of No-Face is that, while he is greedy, lonely, and sometimes creepy, his most important characteristic is that he wants to be seen. And isn’t that our daily struggle?

In this world, many people are begging for a chance to be seen in a sea of others who also wish the same. It’s hard to stand out amongst a school of fish when it all feels like you’re the same color, and it takes an exceptional individual to make it to the top.

No-Face is somewhat like all of us – an invisible presence in the lives of others who wish to be seen, but sometimes it takes finding the right person to feel seen truly. That’s how it was with Chihiro.

He tried to be seen through power, through fear, but it was kindness that made No-Face feel as if he was truly not invisible anymore. That’s a beautiful message that resonated with me deeply as an adult.

Overall, It’s Kind Of Shocking How Much Has Changed Over The Last Several Years Or So

It really hasn’t been that long since I last saw this movie. Sure, I’ve watched tons of anime in between – from ranting about Solo Leveling to getting hyped about sports anime to so much more. But somehow, I felt myself connecting even more with this than I ever did before.

And it’s moments like this, where I take a seat and really think about everything I’ve done over the last few years, where I find myself connecting with a story that I honestly did not expect this time around. I’m thankful for it. And it makes me want to recommend it to anyone who will listen.

No-Face may feel scary, but in reality, I think we have a little bit of him in all of us – at least at some point in our lives. We only have to be brave enough to acknowledge it and fight that loneliness with the best weapon of all – kindness.