Dragons

Dragons are large, serpent-like legendary creatures that appear in the folklore of many cultures around the world. They are mainly featured in the films Spirited Away and Tales from Earthsea.

Abilities and Characteristics[]

Flight
Transformation
Controlling waters (Spirited Away)
Regeneration (Tales from Earthsea)
Fire Breath (Tales from Earthsea)
Molten Blood (Tales from Earthsea)
Magic (Haku and dragons in Tales from Earthsea books)
Superhuman speed (as Haku)

Appearances[]

Tales from Earthsea[]

River spirit thankful — River Spirit in his true form

Haku Dragon form — Haku in his true form

Pom Poko Dragon — Dragon during "Operation Specter"

Dragon in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya — Dragon Orb Dragon

Dragons of Earthsea heavily resemble dragons in Western culture. They are winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire. They can be controlled by dragon lords and other methods.

Dragons are both feared and beloved by the people. They have never attacked a village, but are feared because of their big stature. Cob on the other hand, tend to worship them because of their beauty and long lifespan.

It is said that Dragons and humans were once the same, and they diverged when Dragons chose winds and fire to seek freedom, and humans chose earth and sea to seek worldly desires.

Spirited Away[]

Dragons in Eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Because of their low-sung, elongated and slender bodies, they are worshipped in Asia.

The Chinese see themselves as the children of dragons. Dragons with five claws symbolized China's emperor (Long). Dragons with four claws symbolized China or Korea (Long or Yong). Dragons with three claws symbolized Japan (Ryū).

Dragons are somewhat prominent in the Spirit Realm of the film. The only named one is Haku. To a lesser extent is the River Spirit that was initially believed to be a Stink Spirit.

Pom Poko[]

An Asian dragon, as a transformation of tanukis, briefly appeared as a part of the "Operation Specter". It also transformed into a flying locomotive.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya[]

To grant the wish of Kaguya, Great Counselor Otomo and his servants sailed off Tsukushi Province to search the Dragon Orb.

During the storm, they were largely troubled by the weather and waves, and Otomo witnessed a dragon, either a hallucination or a real entity, and he was frightened by the dragon. After the storm, he gave up his quest.

Castle in the Sky[]

The city of Laputa, until the heroes reach it, is surrounded by stormy-looking clouds, called the "Dragon's Nest"; and when Pazu and Sheeta enter, the lightning in the clouds takes the form of dragons, who escort the children to the city. It is an artificially created thunderstorm to protect Laputa from intruders, and only the royal bloods with mycstic cristals can clear this cloud. In the end-credits, a dragon made of mist can be seen orbiting the remnants of Laputa.