Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijo, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori, and Hisaya Morishige.
Billy Crudup, who voiced Ashitaka in the English dub
Claire Danes, who voiced San
Some of the film's natural scenery was inspired by Miyazaki's visit to the forests of Yakushima.
Director Hayao Miyazaki in 2009
Anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and Japanese, anime describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Many works of animation with a similar style to Japanese animation are also produced outside Japan. Video games sometimes also feature themes and art styles that are sometimes labelled as anime.
A frame from Namakura Gatana (1917), the oldest surviving Japanese animated short film made for cinemas
Frame from the opening sequence of Tezuka's 1963 TV series Astro Boy
Anime artists employ many distinct visual styles. Clockwise from the top left: Dead Leaves, Flag, Serial Experiments Lain, Monster, Mind Game, Lucky Star, Cat Soup, and Gurren Lagann.
Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura, known for her musical contributions to the soundtracks of several popular anime series such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Sword Art Online and Puella Magi Madoka Magica