Studio Ghibli is one of the most famous and beloved film studios in cinema history. Since its formation in 1985, the firm has created several critically praised films, including modern classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
However, even anime masters like Studio Ghibli can’t totally avoid plot holes. This is understandable, as stories can end up with plot holes for numerous reasons, from the writer deliberately deciding to ignore something for the sake of a memorable moment or the film’s flow, to edits forcing some exposition to be left on the cutting room floor. But which Studio Ghibli plot holes can fans not stop talking about?
5
How Did Chihiro Know Who Her Parents Were?
Spirited Away is one of Studio Ghibli’s most famous films. The story follows Chihiro, a young girl whose life is turned upside-down when her parents decide to stop at a seemingly abandoned theme park during their cross-country move. While at this park, Chihiro’s parents eat some food that turns them into pigs, and Chihiro finds herself thrown into the spirit world.
At the end of the movie, Yubaba sets Chihiro a challenge: if she can identify her parents in a crowd of pigs, Yubaba will let them all go. Chihiro quickly declares that none of the pigs are her parents, winning the challenge and forcing Yubaba to free her family. However, the film never explains how Chihiro knew that none of the pigs were her parents. Naturally, fans have devised several fan theories to explain this moment. Many fans argue that, during her visit to the animal barn, Chihiro memorized the details of her parents’ appearance, allowing her to pick them out from the crowd.
Several fans cite Zeniba’s line, “Once you meet someone, you never really forget them,” and Chihiro’s ability to remember her earlier encounter with Kohaku to suggest that Chihiro has an innate ability to recognize her parents even after their transformation. Other fans have argued that Chihiro used logic to see through the deception, asserting that Chihiro would be well aware that Yubaba was a trickster who wouldn’t offer Chihiro a game unless she had a way to cheat.
4
Why Did Prince Arren Kill His Father?
Based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s epic fantasy novel series, 2006’s Tales From Earthsea follows Arren, a young prince who suddenly kills his father and goes on the run. While on the run, he encounters Sparrowhawk, an archmage, and the pair get entangled in an epic quest that will reveal many secrets that some people want to keep buried. However, one thing that bugs fans about Tales From Earthsea is the fact that the film never truly explains why Arren opted to kill the king, something that feels deeply strange when the audience considers that it is this slaying that sets the whole story in motion.
What makes this especially fascinating is that the film hints at several explanations throughout its runtime. Arren’s shadow notes that Arren was overtaken by darkness, suggesting that Arren was possessed by an evil force when he performed the deed. In another scene, Sparrowhawk notes that the imbalance in the world has caused some people to lose their minds, implying that this is what caused Arren to slay his father.
In addition to these moments, many fans point to the original Earthsea books, which offer a more solid reasoning for why Arren acts the way he does (even if they handle the overall story dramatically differently). Because of this, it’s easy to see why fans are confused. While all of these ideas make sense in context, the murder’s importance and general framing suggest the film’s narrative will focus on Arren discovering why he did this horrible act, only for it to be relegated to a background detail within the span of a few scenes.
3
How Long Does Chihiro Spend In The Spirit World?
At the end of Spirited Away, Chihiro and her parents exit the abandoned theme park only to find that the area is now dramatically overgrown. Plus, the car they arrived in is now covered in leaves and full of dust, suggesting weeks, if not months, have passed.
However, Chihiro’s parents get back on the road and seemingly don’t notice any time passing. Plus, there is no hint that anyone else (the movers taking their belongings to the new house, the parents’ new jobs, or Chihiro’s new school) has attempted to contact the group or realized they’ve gone missing, suggesting that no time has passed in the real world.
This clashes with what viewers have seen during the film, as, based on the number of times Chihiro sleeps, she spends around three days in Yubaba’s employment. While the idea of time passing differently in a fantasy world is an established fairytale trope, the fact that Ghibli’s animators went out of their way to change the appearance of the entrance and age the car suggests that the passage of time is crucial, leaving many fans scratching their heads.
2
How Do Kiki’s Witch Powers Actually Work, And Why Does She Lose Some?)
1989’s beloved Kiki’s Delivery Service follows Kiki, a young witch who travels to the sleepy town of Koriko to embark on her year of independence. A coming-of-age ritual that helps witches become self-sufficient. Once she’s settled into her new home, Kiki quickly sets up a broomstick courier service and initially has a great time. Alas, after a few weeks of work, she quickly becomes overwhelmed by stress and has a crisis of confidence.
This crisis of confidence leads to her losing her powers, meaning she can no longer understand Jiji, her black cat familiar, or fly on her broomstick. However, this sequence (while expertly written) does leave viewers with some fascinating questions about the nature of witches within Kiki’s universe. Based on how Kiki’s power loss is handled, it seems to suggest that witches losing some of their powers as they mature is a natural and expected part of the coming-of-age process. However, if this is true, it raises the question of why Kiki’s mother never informed her that this could happen, as the young girl seems utterly blindsided by the whole event.
The same applies to Kiki losing the ability to talk to Jiji. If this is an expected part of the witch coming-of-age process, then it’s strange that no one warned Kiki about it in advance. It’s also weird that (unless you watch the 1998 Disney dub), the ability to understand Jiji doesn’t return when Kiki rediscovers her ability to fly, seemingly suggesting that these two setbacks are unlinked, with the loss of flying ability being due to her creative block and her inability to communicate with cats being the result of getting older. However, this raises the question of why witches (who usually grow more powerful with experience) would lose such a useful power so young.
1
What Actually Is Sophie’s Curse, And Was It Ever Broken?)
2004’s Howl’s Moving Castle is often described as one of Studio Ghibli’s best films. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, the story follows Sophie, a young milliner who encounters an eccentric wizard called Howl while on a walk. Alas, this meeting has dire consequences, as when Sophie returns to the hat shop, she finds the Witch of the Waste waiting for her. This woman casts a spell on Sophie that traps her in the body of a 90-year-old, forcing Sophie to embark on an epic quest to break the spell.
However, while this curse plays a key role in the overarching plot of Howl’s Moving Castle, the film doesn’t do a fantastic job of explaining how it works or giving it any hard and fast rules, something that has left several generations of audience members deeply confused. The reason for this confusion is that Sophie switches between her initial form and her cursed form several times. Even more confusingly, at the end of the movie, Sophie returns to her young body but retains her silver-grey hair, leaving it unclear whether Sophie’s curse has broken and what exactly removed the spell.
Naturally, fans have come up with several explanations for this, with the most popular fan theory arguing that the curse causes Sophie’s outward appearance to reflect her view of herself. Thus, at the start of the movie, Sophie is stuck in her older form because she feels old and ugly. However, as the film progresses, Sophie becomes more confident and more accepting of herself, causing her appearance to return to her original form. Because of this, it doesn’t matter that Sophie’s curse wasn’t broken in the traditional sense, as she’s grown to the point that it can no longer hold her back.
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