Young Ashitaka receives a fatal infection after a demonic wild boar attacks his northern village. Seeking a cure, he sets out to locate the deer-like god
Shishigami. Along the way, he sees the rape of the Earth by a mining village. The constant plundering by the village has brought the wrath of the Wolf God,
Moro, who attacks the village along with
San, a human who was raised by the wolf god. She communicates with the nature spirits.
A calm village residing in the mountains comes under attack from a demon-possessed boar one day.
Ashitaka, a young man and prince of the tribe, engages the creature in an attempt to save his village. During the battle, the boar bites him on the arm, leaving it blackened and cursed. Following his village’s traditions, Ashitaka is exiled and becomes a wanderer, looking for a solution to the curse before it engulfs him.
Iron Town is a fortress under the leadership of Lady Eboshi. Through the clearing of the surrounding forests, Iron Town produces large amounts of Ironsand, used for gunpowder and other machinery. However, because of the forests destruction, nearby animal clans seek revenge led by a human girl of the Wolf clan called San.
When Ashitaka comes to Iron Town, he discovers the area consumed in battle. Horrified, he attempts to create peace and befriend the Wolf Clan. However, after the forest’s eradication and the ongoing war between Human and Beast, will the Spirit of the Forest be forgiving and accept Ashitaka’s request to expel his curse?
With the rise of the Iron Age in feudal Japan, man and nature grow increasingly at odds. As mankind infringes more and more into the kingdom of the beasts, many of the elder animal gods begin to succumb to their rage, cursing themselves as they lash out at rural and urban settlements alike. When a young Ashitaka, hero of his village, is imparted with one of these curses after slaying a crazed god, he forces himself into exile to prevent further harm to his village. As he ventures out into the world, however, he discovers just how dire the straights have become – with man and beast ready to break into all out war, his curse becomes the least of his problems. As both sides teeter dangerously on the side of outright slaughter of one another, Ashitaka sets his own problems aside and, using his charisma and honor, seeks to quell the hatred before it gets beyond repair – but will he be in time or is he simply delaying the inevitable?