Spirited Away: Understanding Haku's nature

Spirited Away is one of Hayao Miyazaki's best works and is perhaps most people's favorite Ghibli movie. The story revolves around a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro who gets trapped in the spirit world after her parents are turned into pigs for eating food that belongs to spirits.

In Spirited Away, Chihiro met Haku for the first time on the bridge, who told her to leave the place before it got dark because humans were not allowed there. When she went to warn her parents, who were busy eating, she saw two pigs in their place instead. Terrified, she thought she was dreaming and would eventually find her parents in some other place waiting for her.

As Chihiro tried to escape the spirit world, she noticed that her body was becoming translucent and that she might be slowly disappearing. That's when Haku appeared and saved her by making her consume a pill that would prevent her from fading.

Haku played a central role in Spirited Away. He helped Chihiro survive the spirit world and told her how she could escape it with her parents. While other characters also helped Chihiro, Haku tops the list.

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Haku from Spirited Away is a well-loved character with a powerful nature

He is empathetic

Haku offers food to Chihiro to calm her nerves (Image via Studio Ghibli)

In Spirited Away, when Haku makes Chihiro consume the pill to prevent her from disappearing, he assures her that the pill is safe for her to chew and won't turn her into a pig like her parents. And when he offered those rice cakes to Chihiro, he encouraged her to eat them by saying that he cast a spell on them that would help her survive in the bathhouse.

It takes strong empathy to say the right words to a nervous person. For someone like Chihiro, who saw her parents turn into pigs, she naturally wouldn't trust anyone who offers her a pill. Haku understood her fears and provided assurance. He also understood that Chihiro was afraid to work among creatures who were not humans, so he cast a spell to calm her nerves.

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Haku is exceptionally kind

Haku didn't have any reason to save Chihiro from the spirits, but he still did. He risked his life by bringing a human inside the bathhouse. He helped Chihiro get a job in the bathhouse even though it served him no purpose. He even made a deal with Yubaba to let Chihiro and her parents leave the spirit world after he brings her child back from Zeniba. This shows how kind and compassionate he is.

In Spirited Away, Haku is Yubaba's apprentice who controls him and makes him do bad things for her. Even then, he helped Chihiro, which showed that despite the strong witch's control, he could still follow his heart.

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He is lonely on the inside

In Spirited Away, Haku is a river spirit who couldn't remember his real name after Yubaba stole it. The river he's from, namely the Kohaku river, was drained, and buildings have been built in its place. When Chihiro recalled Haku's real name, Nigihayami Kohakunushi, the audience of Spirited Away realized that Haku did not have a home anymore, and he couldn't recall his name because of this.

All these years of working for Yubaba and the inability to recall his name surely brought up feelings of loneliness in his heart. His loneliness began when humans stole his home. Spirited Away is a stark realization of what humans have done to nature in the name of civilization.

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Haku possesses wisdom

Haku in his dragon form with Chihiro and her friends on his back (Image via Studio Ghibli)

The audience of Spirited Away has witnessed Haku being wise in his words and actions. He always said the right things at the right time. For example, when he was summoned to Yubaba's office after Chihiro was given a job, he did not speak to her as a friend, leaving Chihiro completely confused. However, it was because he wanted to avoid suspicion from the others. He later called Chihiro in the morning to see her parents.

He also made the right deal with Yubaba when he asked her to send Chihiro and her parents back to their world in return for her child. He knew Yubaba would do anything to get her child back. This shows that Haku knew what he was doing and wasn't reckless.

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Haku and Chihiro possess a special bond that fans immensely love and appreciate. The way they've helped each other throughout the story makes Spirited Away one of the best Ghibli movies ever created.