Ghibli Sidekick: Dola

Film: Laputa: Castle in the Sky (English title)
Tenku-no Shiro Rapyuta (Japanese title)

Voices: Cloris Leachman (English Disney dub)
Rachel Vanowen (Streamline English dub)
Kotoe Hatsui (Japanese)

The Character

Despite its cliched elements and 1980s style, Laputa is in fact quite a clever film, in particular in comparison to other films, especially other Ghibli films. This mainly comes from two major characters; Mushka and Dola (and her pirate gang). In the beginning, with Mushka, we think that he is protecting Sheeta and as time goes on, he graduates to pure villian. There is nothing complex about his actions: he wants Laputa purely for his powers and he is manipulative about it.

When it comes to Dola (and her gang), they never change their tactics and yet in the view of the audience, they turn from villain to sidekick and become perhaps the best characters in the film. They are pirates through and through. They want the treasure of Laputa and they are willing to risk their lives to get the crystal which will lead them to the crystal. I have seen many films featuring pirates and what I find interesting in the film is that the pirates are very honest. Despite the fact they are basically thieves, they are not manipulative, unlike Mushka who does not care how and what he does to get what he wants.

What is interesting about Dola is that she is the only female of the pirate crew and yet she rules the roost with an iron fist. Three of the pirates on board are her children and she in particularly has control over them.

Even though she is elderly, she has a fiery soul. She has a hot temper and is boisterous as well. She is bossy and her crew are quick to obey her. She is a smart lass as well. It is she who makes Pazu realise that Sheeta was trying to protect him from the army after she dismissed him from the fortress they had been taken to. Although she will deny it, there is softness inside her. It is true that when Pazu and Sheeta are brought onto the pirate ship, they are put to work immediately. However, she does get maternal with them. During the storm, she is protective of Sheeta for being in the kite with Pazu but Sheeta is just as defiant as Dola. When Dola states that Sheeta cannot do it because she is a girl, Sheeta is quick to retaliate that Dola is as well.

All I can say is that I would love to be a member of her crew.

The voices behind the character

I actually like Kotoe Hatsui. In fact compared to Cloris Leachman, she sounds more “granny-like” but her voice carries the feistiness of the character. What else can I say?

Okay, now onto Rachel Vanowen. I don't think I'll go into this one as I have mentioned before that the Streamline dub is awful. Vanowen is no different. Yes, she gives Dola the Granny touch but her voice is too scratchy that it is almost unbearable to hear; it reminds me of the feeling you get when someone scrapes against a blackboard. She is unnatural and there is no soul to her performance.

As for the Disney dub....well, as I have mentioned before, there is justification as to why the overall Disney dub has mixed reviews. Some are just off and some are just perfect. Cloris Leachman is perfect. Out of all the English Ghibli dubs for FEMALE characters, she ranks as one of the best, if not THE best! She, along with Mark Hamill as Mushka IS the reason why this dub is definitely worth a listen to. Not only is her voice spot on but she is absolutely funny, her comic timing is perfect. Anyone who has seen a certain film called “Beverley Hillbillies” (well most of us may have seen it but blanked it from our minds with good reason) will know that Leachman was perfect as the feisty Granny and she pulls of the same attitude in this film. It’s just a shame her performance in “Ponyo” is not up to the same standard but that is for a completely different entry.

Honorary Princess/Villain: Nyu/Lucy

TV series: Elfen Lied (English title)
Erufen Rīto (Japanese title)

Voices: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese dub)
Kira Vincent Davis (English dub)

There is a reason why this character is placed into two different characters. The next entry will not be a Villain but a Sidekick and this will happen if anymore joint Princess/Villain entry should appear. In the case of Prince/Villain entries, it will be written in place of a Prince entry, then there will be a Princess entry and then jump to a Sidekick entry before the process starts again.

The Character

Lucy is perhaps one of the most complex female characters in anime. Her complexity comes from the fact that despite being stereotypical of anime, she breaks stereotypes of female anime characters. In fact, it is being a stereotypical character that makes her break the rules of anime.

In the first few minutes, Lucy‘s action results in some of the most graphic openings of any anime. She is basically a Diclonius (aged around eighteen) which is a human with two cat-ear-like horns with a telekinetic ability called 'vectors'. With these vectors, she can grasp and impact things as if they are solid, but also become insubstantial and pass through objects. These can slice objects as well, which is how Diclonius kill their victims. With these vectors, she has no hesitation in killing anyone who gets in her way. She has four vectors with a limited range of two meters, which is the shortest vector range out of the three main female Diclonius in the series. Also, these vectors can also pass on the virus, particularly to male humans which can result in, if they mate with a female who in turn gives birth, that child will be a Diclonius.

Lucy is a cruel, cold-blooded killer that wouldn't even hesitate to kill anyone, not even a human child. She does, however, like animals and will not harm them. Like the typical Diclonius, Lucy hates humans and seems to lack empathy and kicks sadistically without much concern for anyone else. Despite this she cannot and does not harm Kohta.

Nyu appears early in the episode soon after she is escaped. In fact, Nyu is her split personality brought on when a bullet strikes her head and she loses conscience. Throughout most of the series, we see her change from Lucy to Nyu and then back again. In the manga, there is a third personality and is based entirely on Diclonius instincts and who takes over when there is doubt in Lucy (who is prominently more dominant than Nyu), not fully awakening until near the end of the manga. This third personality is not mentioned or brought up at all in the anime: it merely focus on Lucy and Nyu.

These two personalities and looks could not be any different. Nyu looks more like the stereotypical anime female. She has big pink wide eyes and due to the bullet to her head, she can only say “Nyu” which is what prompts Kohta and Yuuka to name her “Nyu”. She is very sweet and naïve, has a childlike personality and infantile knowledge of the world. Nyu is innocent and incapable of violent acts, a complete constrast to the normally cold and sadistic Lucy. She is loveable, always trying to make others happy. Whilst Nyu’s hair does not cover her face, exposing her features, when she becomes Lucy, her fringe covers one eye. Her eyes are not as wide and more menacing. Their voices are different as well: Nyu is more high-pitched, almost to the point of irritation whilst Lucy is darker in her tone.

When Nyu is attacked violently (or hit on the head), she regresses into Lucy; likewise, when Lucy is treated with love and kindness, or wants to hide herself from Kohta, she will uncontrollably switch back into Nyu.

It is halfway through the series when we learn about Lucy’s past that this split personality enters a new level of complexity. First of all, it is important to note that Lucy is the original Diclonius and further Diclonius started when she passed on the virus to males via her vectors. She is known as the “Queen”. Born from humans, she can reproduce in a natural way with humans.

Despite being a Diclonius, she did not hate humans when she was a child. She was bullied as a child but she was relatively shy if not a bit sullen. The start of her descent into darkness and hate comes from when the people who bullied her killed a puppy that she adored simply to see her cry. She retaliated by using her vectors to kill those who bullied her.

Later, she encountered Kohta as a child and they became friends. However, when Kohta had to cancel a meeting to see his cousin, he lied to Lucy and said that his cousin was not female (he was meeting Yuuka for a fair). When Lucy follows him and discovers the deception, she feels betrayed which leads her to kill his sister and father in front of her (due to the traumatic experience, this becomes a repressed memory so when he meets Lucy/Nyu, he does not recognise her (as a child, he saw Lucy’s horns).

Once one knows her past, it can be interpreted that Nyu is not just a split personality but could be what Lucy could be if she had not become a killer. Nyu could be the manifestation of her “good side”. While Nyu exists due to head trauma, it is believed (and confirmed by Lucy in the manga) that Lucy encourages Nyu to appear due to her guilt towards Kohta and to prevent herself from harming him.

Her friendship/relationship with Kohta is important in her past and her present. By the end, she shows her true side and we see a side of Lucy that could have been if they had remained friends for she is guilty of killing his family. For the first time, we see Lucy being completely honest, her cold barrier broken. She admits to Nana that she feels she cannot do what Nana can do and that is love. To Kohta, she believes that their few days together as a child were the happiest she has known in what she describes as a hellish life. Despite the murders she has done, we the audience are not supposed to sympathise and want her to live but when one learns her past, one can only feel pity and we want her to live and succeed and have happiness with Kohta and the others. Despite what she did, she had transformed from a villain into a princess that needs to be rescued and maybe Kohta could be the one to do that, even though he admits he cannot forgive her for killing his family.

The ending is also important. In the anime, during the final battle, she loses one horn via an attack from Mariko’s vectors and after Mariko is defeated, she says her farewells to Kohta and the last we see of her is her second horn being blasted off and the next day, Kohta and the others see a shadowy figure by the house gate waiting for entrance and we can imply it is Lucy. In the manga, the third personality has taken over and kills numerous guards and intends to take as many people down with her, including Kohta. Due to the intervention of Lucy and Nyu's consciousnesses, Kohta and the others remain barely unscathed, as Lucy reminds Kohta of the promise he made to kill her if she ever killed a lot of people. Kohta grabs a gun from one of the dead soldiers but backs down at the last moment, unwilling to kill them. However, the third personality, possibly moved by Kohta's actions, ceases all attacks with a lone vector picking up the gun for Kohta to shoot her, which he finally does. Moved by Kohta's actions, she ceases all attacks with a lone vector picking up the gun for Kohta to shoot her, which he finally does.



The voices behind the character

It is hard for me to decipher which one is the more superior for they are both brilliant as Lucy/Nyu. They both sound very similar as Nyu; very high-pitched and child-like. Both with both of them, their strength come from how they make Lucy sound. You would not think that the same actress was voicing both characters. They are both equally cold in the beginning although Kobayashi is softer in her voice than Vincent Davis is (the latter is particularly chilling as Lucy).

Towards the end, although they are both, they are both softer in their voice, implying sadness. However, Kobayashi sounds sadder and is stronger with the emotion than Vincent Davis is.

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.