I had watched Spirited Away a long time ago as a kid, and I still remember how captivating the visuals and the story was. Back then I mostly enjoyed it for the story and did not really look into a deeper that the story conveyed, but watching it again made me notice more details that didn’t seem important before. When I watched this movie for the first time, No Face was confusing to me as a character because of its transition to a seemingly kind kami to a gluttonous and greedy one. After watching for the second time, I could see that No Face actually ties into the films overarching theme of identity and greed. After Chihiro helps unpollute the river spirit, gold pebbles are revealed to be among the murky depths of garbage, and there is a general rush to obtain gold. No Face sees how everyone acts toward someone who possesses gold, and so No Face lures the frog kami one night with a handful of gold and consumes the frog. After consuming the frog, the No Face finally has a voice (the frog’s voice), and even starts to act a bit like the frog: greedy and insatiable. I thought that this transition was quite interesting; before the No Face did not have a voice and lacked personality, but after devouring other beings, the No Face takes on the personality of the being it consumed. In addition, it seems as if the mask the No Face wears is simply becomes an outer shell or perhaps a piece of clothing. Before it ate other kami, the No Face had some facial expression through the mask, but after it ate the frog and some other staff, the face become devoid of expression and mainly communicated through the large mouth gaping from the center of its body. Perhaps the interactions between No Face and the staff are a reflection of current society’s avarice and selfishness. The No Face throws gold left and right, all the while gobbling down atrocious amounts of food and becoming larger and more monstrous, a stark contrast to its previous appearance as a simple, untalkative kami. However, the bath’s staff don’t see anything wrong with the current state of events and continue to bring it food, blinded by its generous showers of gold. Similarly, in the real world, many people are willing to go to great lengths for wealth, turning a blind eye to the type of entity providing them with their promised fortune. 

Overall, watching this movie a second time was just as enjoyable as the first time I watched it. The animation, soundtrack, and story are awesome! I really love Studio Ghibli films, and I look forward to watching more in the future.