Ghibli Prince: Haku

Film: Spirited Away (English title)
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Japanese title)

Voices: Miyu Irino (Japanese dub)
Jason Masden (English Disney dub)

The Character

Haku is quite a complex character, more due to the fact that he keeps switching from sides. In the beginning, we see him helping Chihiro escape from the spirit world but when she fails to escape (added to the fact her parents are now pigs), he helps her again by feeding her spirit world so at least she cannot disappear. He gives her advice on Yubaba and how to get a job in the bath house so at least she can remain there until she can figure out how to get her parents back. But then once she has done all that and they encounter each other again, he is extremely cold to her. Then the next day, Haku takes Chihiro to see her parents and gives her advice that she has to remember them, advice that comes in handy later in the film. Also, he gives her a card that was in her pocket that states her real name and advises her that if she forgets her name, she will never be able to get home.



The mystery behind Haku is enhanced when Lin tells Chihiro (now known as Sen) that Haku is one of Yubaba’s henchmen that carried out some of her wicked orders and that he cannot be trusted. Although this is true, it is not the whole truth. We learn that he is a young teenage boy who is really a dragon and while he carries out Yubaba’s orders, there is a reason behind this which we learn especially when we learn his real name and where he really came from.

Haku’s backstory is more of a tragic story. Haku was originally named, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, the spirit of the Kohaku River and although he has forgotten his real name, he remembers meeting Chihiro, saving her from drowing when she fell into the river years before. The river was destroyed and filled in with apartments leaving Haku without a home and so he went to the spirit world seeking to learn magic from Yubaba. As a result, she stole his real name (leaving him with the name “Haku”) and he became her obedient servant, following her every command.

He has a relationship with two characters in the film: the first is Yubaba who forces him to work for her. The second is with Chihiro and theirs tends to fall into the love department although it is not declared. The closest we get to this revelation is that it is mentioned to Lin by Kamijii. The closest the pair get to is when the spell is broken and they are falling in the sky. They get close enough to kiss but despite nothing developing, the love is there and the moment is one of the most beautiful in a Ghibli film.

In the end, it is Chihiro that breaks the hold that Yubaba has over Haku. By remembering when he saved her from the river and mentioning his real name, she frees him from her forced service. However, despite that, he does not follow her out of the spirit world. It is implied he stays at the bath house.

The voices behind the character

Both Miyu Irino and Jason Mardsen are brilliant as Haku. They both give both the cold and caring side of Haku effectively although Irino is more cold and stern (compared to Irino, Mardsen is more stern than cold). In some of the more caring, Irino is less harsh and more softer in his tone of voice than Mardsen. However, this does not mean Mardsen is bad. In fact, in my opinion, he is one of the best of the Ghibli English male dubs but then when push comes to shove, “Spirited Away” has one of the best (if not the best) English dubs of any of the Ghibli films.