Why do people say Ghibli's films never have good vs. evil?

[411314]

I've noticed several reviews of Studio Ghibli films on this site say something like "Studio Ghibli films never have black-and-white morality, everyone is morally gray". But what about Spirited Away? Isn't it pretty clear-cut that Chihiro and Haku are good and Yubaba is evil? I can't think of any bad thing Chihiro or any bathhouse employee intentionally did or any good thing Yubaba chose to do except help the stink spirit, which was good for business anyway (here's a character who turned innocent people into pigs, threatened to make them into baccon, and apparently tried to force Chihiro and Haku to work for her forever).

[candydog]

I haven't watched the film in a few years now, but as far as I remember, Yubaba never struck me as evil, she seemed more like a tough businesswoman who was well within her rights to keep Chihiro's parents within the apparent rules or laws of the spirit world. She also seems to care about her baby and her customers, and does eventually let Chihiro and her parents go.

[Hogi Bear]

Well it depends on how you look at it. You see Yubaba could be considered evil, because when you make a contract with her, she takes your name and therefore your identity. And you can't stay unless you ask for work (which she has to give you) or you'll be turned into a pig.

In Howl's Moving Castle, the Witch of the Waste and Madam Sullivan could both be considered evil. The Witch of the Waste at least, because she steals young hearts to stay younger and also turns Sophie into an old lady and doesn't care, but she does give Sophie back Howl's heart, so she does grow a bit.

In Nausicaa, Laputa and Princess Mononoke we have our young heroes trying to stop evil forces from reeking destruction. That could be consider good vs evil, especially Laputa. Pazu and Sheeta are up against Muska and have to stop him from turning Laputa into a machine of destruction.

Well, there's some food for thought anyway.

[Disney Duster]

Making people do work is kind of seen as a good thing in Spirited Away, it was one of the aims of Miyazaki, because he felt children were too lazy. I am absolutely against his idea, but hey, he made a good movie.

[magicalwands]

because he felt children were too lazy. I am absolutely against his idea, but hey, he made a good movie.

Miyazaki does not believe children are lazy. He just put Chihiro to work to show that in extraordinary circumstances, children can live up to it and survive. In our world, of course we would not make children work such harsh jobs. Miyazaki made the jobs extreme to really show how much will-power Chihiro has in herself, even if she is just a child...which is what a lot of people underestimate with kids.

Now to answer the question...In Princess Mononoke, the leader of Iron Town is seen as evil, yes. But remember when she shows how she gave jobs to people with leprosy? I think that gives her some good points.

With Yubaba, I think her view of humans comes from the fact that they deforest nature. She views the Stink/River Spirit as the fault of the humans, so I can see why she has such a negative view on humans. When Yubaba hugged Chihiro after cleansing the River Spirit, I immediately was confused if she was good or bad. This is one of the reasons why Spirited Away is a really good film: Chihiro does not defeat 'evil', but she learns to survive.

[Super Aurora]

In Japan, many of their shows or movie don't tend to go for the western christian's "good vs evil" standard that many of you tend to love. They usually go more in depth about humanism and the vagueness of human nature.

It's one of the reasons why I love many of the Japanese anime they have.

[Dr Frankenollie]

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[FigmentJedi]

Even in Princess Mononoke though, each side had their own pros and cons and Ashitaka stays lawful neutral through the whole thing. Closest thing there is to a villain is Jigo and he's just a greedy bastard and not truly villainous.

Laputa's really the only Miyazaki movie with a clear-cut villain in Muska.

[411314]

It's not that I mind stories without good vs. evil. I also agree that many Miyazaki films really don't have villains, but it doesn't seem like Spirited Away is one of those films. I don't see how Yubaba could be seen as anything other than a villain; it's implied that by stealing their names she'll magically force people who sign contracts with her to work forever even if they change their minds later (and she only released Chihiro because Chihiro won that last test and Aku coerced her into giving Chihiro a chance at freedom). She also wanted to make the pigs that used to be Chihiro's parents into bacon even though it was entirely possible to change them back. Does this not make her a slave master and a would-be murderer? Again, I make this argument not because I'm against films that don't have villains (I also really enjoyed Kiki's Delivery Service, for example) but because it seems to me like Spirited Away does have a villain and when others claim it doesn't, it makes me curious why they'd say that.

[Super Aurora]

Yubaba at most is antoganist( an antagonist isn't always mean a bad guy).

[sunhuntin]

tales from earthsea has a villain in cob. but i like that there is not usually a "true" bad guy in these films. makes them easier to relate to in some ways.