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Spirited Away is one of director Hayao Miyazaki's most famous films. With its Alice in Wonderland story mixed with breathtaking visuals and plenty of nods to Japanese mythos, the film has many things to adore and love upon multiple rewatches.
There are tons of details to be found upon rewatching the film, such as symbolism not seen, the meaning behind certain events, and even commentary and hidden details.
Keep your eyes peeled for these 10 things watchers only get after watching Spirited Away twice.
Note: Spoilers contained herein for Spirited Away.
10 things in Spirited Away only noticed on a second view
1) The "Stink Spirit" scene has multiple layers
When Chihiro is in the bathhouse working for Yubaba, a Stink Spirit is causing havoc in the bathouse. It causes food to rot, places to smell fouler than ever, and even the stink and muck on it to infect other people. Upon removal of all the garbage and debris from it, the spirit is revealed to be an old River Spirit. It thanked Chihiro by giving her medicine and a sack of gold.
The central theme symbolized and represented in Spirited Away is humanity's inhumanity towards nature. Only by cleansing the nature of humanity's pollution can humanity begin to live in harmony and heal. It is a core tenant of Shintoism, one that populates many of Miyazaki's films such as Princess Mononoke.
2) Torii gates and the red tunnel
Note the stone gate against the tree at the beginning of Spirited Away? Torii gates are signs placed in front of sacred shrines, temples, or other hallowed grounds. They serve as signs that visitors enter where spirits reside, where one can give thanks and show respect to the gods or kami of the natural world.
It is used in Spirited Away akin to Alice falling down a rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. It is a motif to clue the audience in as to something magical taking place that Chihiro truly isn't in Kansas anymore, as The Wizard of Oz quote goes. The red tunnel she goes into at the film's start is symbolic of a Torii gate.
3) Humans into pigs
Why do humans, especially Chihiro's parents, turn into pigs when they gorge on food in Spirited Away? It is a consequence of consuming food meant for the spirits. It is also a longstanding theme that many spiritual stories have of always being careful about what you do. Her parents literally gorge themselves on food not meant for them before being invited to eat.
It is a cardinal rule of politeness, but it carries even further with the aforementioned theme of humans and nature being in disarray. It is symbolic of the gluttony and the evils of capitalism. Studio Ghibli themselves stated that it was a metaphor for how Japanese people became gluttonous in the bubble economy in the 1980s (think prelude to the Great Depression gluttonous).
4) Not looking back
Not looking back is a huge theme in the movie, said Haku to Chihiro as she leaves the spirit world and goes back to the human world. When folklore and myths have characters entering the underworld, or dealing with spirits in general, there is usually a dire warning to not look back.
It symbolizes giving in to one's temptations and emotions. Moving onward and forward is a point of many religious journeys towards enlightenment, and there are a lot of religious figures in folklore from Lot to Orpheus who fail. They let their earthly attatchments get in the way of moving on. Haku is letting Chihiro know to move on and forward, rather than to stay and become endlessly lost.
5) Eating as both consumption and healing
Food is very important to this movie. Humans becoming pigs as discussed above, but also food being offered and accepted for survival. In Spirited Away, we have Chihiro's parents and No-Face at first. Consuming one's name, as Chihiro is reduced to Sen (A Thousand) by Yubaba, the memory of her parents and real name nearly slipped away from her.
Helping No-Face take medicine that allows him to disgorge the toxicity he consumed from the greedy eminations from the bathouse. Haku, in dragon form, has to be force-fed medicine akin to a dog at a vet but it heals his injuries. Then there is Haku, who helps Chihiro not fade from existence at the beginning of the film, and Lin, who shares food with Chihiro to celebrate helping the river spirit.
6) Human smell
Humans apparently smell very bad in Spirted Away. It has probably got something to do with the fact that modern humanity continually disrupts the spirit world. The river spirit as mentioned above is another, and the parents becoming pigs. But there is more to it than that, as the smell of Chihiro's breath and fear can be smelt before she even enters the bathouse.
But there is also everyone commenting on Chihiro having a certain smell about her. Then again, considering the spirit world is considered a magical realm where folks of all manner, from fae to frog to even incoporals roam, the smell of humans is probably anthemia to spirits, especially with the harm humans have done to the world.
7) Haku's true form and name
There are several hints that Haku is a river spirit/dragon. His hair and eyes are green, matching river algae. The English dub has Chihiro looking up to see and wondering if it is indeed Haku who is the dragon flying over the area once she visits her parents with him. There are flashes of water in Chihiro's hair when she meets and rides Haku in dragon form too.
Haku has no home to go to since the river he is named after was filled so many years ago. This also contributes to his cold persona until Chihiro comes into his life. He is confirmed to be a dragon later on in the film and she does remember the name of the river.
8) No-Face's role
No-Face, despite his foreboding nature, is not the antagonist of Spirited Away. He is an obstacle, but he is not the main villain. He is greedy only because the hotel guests are greedy. He is a huge loner that befriends Chihiro and spends time with her because she was the first one to show him any form of kindness. He returns her kindness in kind by giving Chihiro all of the herbal bath tags to fix up the stink spirit.
His role is to show how the greed and avarice of others can affect even a simple soul. It makes him turn dirt into gold and eat the workers, keeping himself in a perpetual loop of food that never satisfies. In keeping with the Shintoism symbology of Spirited Away, No-Face grows harmonious because of Chihiro helping him out of the bathouse and giving him medicine.
9) Easter Eggs
There are a metric ton of Easter Eggs in Spirited Away. This will only be a few that are noticeable. An aerial view of Boh's playroom features a pillow with a print of Jiji, a black cat from the movie Kiki's Delivery Service. Likewise, a comparison scene where Chihiro is crammed into an elevator next to the Radish Spirit, and in My Neighbor Totoro where Satsuki is standing next to Totoro.
There is also this one, and although this may be a stretch, but it is a house on an island with a red roof and a single palm tree during the train scene. If that sounds familiar, it is because it is an exact description of Master Roshi's Kame House from Dragon Ball Z. Just missing the Kame title on the roof.
10) The ending is the beginning reversed
The ending of Spirited Away is weird upon first watching it. To simplify it, the ending is the same as the beginning only reversed. It is the same dialogue, the same movements, but in reverse. The English dub did try to add a bit of closing dialogue to it, letting the audience know Chihiro now thinks she can handle a new school and new home.
Miyazaki has stated that Chihiro retains no memory of the spirit world events. Regardless, the ending is more of a symbol for maturity and moving on since Chihiro only looks back once away from the spirit world. It is an old, dilapadated building, much like what her parents supposedly saw in the beginning of the film.
