Sheeta

Sheeta (シータ, Shīta), born Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa (リュシータ・トエル・ウル・ラピュタ, Ryushīta Toeru Uru Rapyuta, 'Toel' meaning 'True' and 'UI' meaning 'Ruler' in Laputian) is one of the main characters in the film, Castle in the Sky.

Appearance
Sheeta wears a plain, indigo dress with a white petticoat underneath. Later, she changes into Dola's large red pants, with a yellow blouse and brown slippers. She has dark brown hair with a short fringe and wears her hair in two braids on either side of her head. Her eyes are a deep greyish blue (though often appear as entirely black). She also wears a red headband. Each braid is tied neatly at the bottom with a red ribbon, a common color for hair accessories in Studio Ghibli films. After having her braids shot off by Muska, her hair is very short, very similar to Kiki's hairstyle.

Personality
Compared to Pazu's more boisterous, energetic personality, Sheeta is reserved and somewhat shy with strangers. She at first insists on being on her own due to the danger her very company presents and out of fear of causing damage to Pazu or his hometown, though eventually concedes when Pazu vows to protect her. Despite her taciturn and shy personality, Sheeta is polite, kind, and intelligent, and the movie concludes with her saving what remains of her kingdom from Muska as the true heir of Laputa. Sheeta has also shown that she cares deeply for Pazu by both insisting he stay away from her for his own safety and trying to protect him the way he does for her on multiple occasions, to the extent she might be in love with him.

History
Sheeta is a 13-year old orphan who lived alone in a farm at Gondoa. She is actually of royal descent; once belonging to the long forgotten kingdom of Laputa. She possesses an Aetherium crystal, an heirloom coveted by the Dola gang, Colonel Muska, and the military. Muska manages to capture her, taking her aboard a civilian passenger airship called the Saturn. Dola and her gang mount a daring sneak attack, hoping to take the crystal for themselves. During the raid, Sheeta accidentally falls off the airship.

As Sheeta plummets to her doom, the Aetherium crystal reacts, slowing her descent towards Slag Ravine. She is saved by a bright young orphan named Pazu. They become fast friends and are soon in pursuit by Dola and Muska's military henchmen. Pazu and Sheeta are eventually re-captured, and taken to the costal military fortification of Tedus. Pazu is freed after Sheeta reluctantly agrees to help Muska, revealing herself to be a princess of Laputa. As Pazu returns to his home, he meets up with Dola's gang and convinces them to rescue her. As they race back towards the fortress, Sheeta manages to unlock the power of the crystal and escapes with the help of a Laputian robot.

Together, Pazu and Sheeta join Dola's quest in search of Laputa. While traveling there, Sheeta is given a new outfit and put to work in the kitchen. While working the other crew members want to help her. That night, while Patzu is on duty, Sheeta comes up to see him and they confess their love to each other as well as agreeing to go back to Sheeta's home afterwards. During this, Goliath is right under the ship and attacks. The pair manage to escape following an attack by the military air-destroyer Goliath, and somehow end up landing safety on Laputa. However, Sheeta is soon recaptured by Muska and she learns that he is also a descendant of Laputian royalty, making them distant relatives. Sheeta manages to retrieve her crystal and escape Muska, who pursues her through the Laputian underground. Sheeta passes the crystal to Pazu with instructions to throw it into the ocean before Muska corners her in the throne room, where she declares that they shall die together as he will never possess the crystal and he doesn't deserve the throne. Muska shoots off Sheeta's braids and threatens to kill her unless she returns the crystal, but Pazu arrives and demands to talk with Sheeta in exchange for the crystal. Together, they destroy the lower section of Laputa with the Spell of Destruction, so as not to let it fall into Muska's hands. While they didn't expect to survive, they end up landing in the vines underneath the main part of the castle, which both shields them from the falling debris and prevents them from falling. They then push off in their kite and take once last glance at the garden with the robot and some of the animals inhabiting it before reuniting with the Dola Gang once more. She and Pazu then say farewell and fly off to Sheeta's home.

Relationships

 * Unnamed father (deceased)
 * Unnamed mother (deceased)
 * Sheeta's Grandmother (deceased)
 * Pazu (best friend/love interest/boyfriend)
 * The Pirates (enemies in the beginning, but become like a second family to her, especially Dola, who is like a tough, no-nonsense grandmother)

Voice Acting
In the Japanese version, Sheeta was voiced by Keiko Yokozawa. In the original 1988 dub, Sheeta was voiced by Lara Cody. In the Disney dub, Sheeta was voiced by Anna Paquin and her younger self was voiced by Debi Derryberry.

Quotes
""This is no longer a throne room. This is a tomb for the both of us. You see, a king without compassion does not deserve a kingdom. You will *never* possess the crystal! You and I will die here, together. Now I understand why the people of Laputa vanished. There is a song from my home in the valley of Gondoa that explains everything. It says, "Take root in the ground, live in harmony with the wind, plant your seeds in the winter, and rejoice with the birds in the coming of spring." No matter how many weapons you have, no matter how great your technology might be, the world cannot live without love.""

- Sheeta to Muska in Laputa's throne room

Trivia

 * Sheeta's design is similar to Lana from Miyazaki's previous series, Future Boy Conan.
 * Sheeta is so far the only Studio Ghibli heroine to kill her respective antagonist (Muska).
 * Sheeta's name is taken from the Greek mathematical symbol theta (θ). Miyazaki thought that, "it was kind of a strange character".

Sheeta 天空の城ラピュタ