S.W.’s Scores
Continuity
+5
Entertainment
+6
Rewatchability
+4
CastYoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Akihiro Miwa (Japanese); Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver (English)
StreamingMax, Netflix
S.W.’s Verdict
Miyazaki refuses to give you a villain. Every faction has legitimate grievances, every character believes they're right, and the forest gods are simultaneously beautiful and horrifying. The action sequences have a weight and consequence that most live-action films can't achieve. Lady Eboshi is one of the best antagonists in animation because she isn't really an antagonist — she's just building a city. The film trusts you to hold complexity without collapsing into simple answers.