The Breath of the Wild sequel furthers the connection between The Legend of Zelda and Studio Ghibli

If you’re a Legend of Zelda fan who also happens to love Studio Ghibli, you’ve probably noticed a few different elements in the games that seem to take inspiration from the classic Japanese animated films. With the release of a thrilling new trailer at E3 2021, Breath of the Wild 2 appears to be making another connection or two to Studio Ghibli, including one of the studio’s most beloved movies of all — Princess Mononoke.

Seeing Link’s arm be engulfed by Malice evokes what happened to Prince Ashitaka at the beginning of his adventure. Princess Mononoke opens with the young hero defending his secluded village from a corrupted boar god. Although Ashitaka successfully fends off the massive beast, its demonic essence overtakes his right arm (the same as Link’s). The corruption imbues him with both superhuman strength and a life-threatening curse.

There are still countless questions left to be answered about the sequel to Breath of the Wild, but it’s clear that Link’s right arm gets a bit of a magical (or technological) upgrade at some point. It’s pretty easy to imagine this is in response to his limb being gobbled up by the destructive Malice. We see Link perform multiple feats throughout the latest trailer that bend the rules of reality and physics, all without the trusty Sheikah Slate! Whether it’s reversing time or moving straight through solid rock, Link’s new arm grants him some truly fascinating abilities.

Nintendo has presented Malice as having a much more kinetic nature in the brief glimpses at the Breath of the Wild sequel than the ruinous substance did in the original game, where it was most commonly found as a sedentary goop laying about select areas of Hyrule. In the sequel, Malice has frequently been shown in a form that should remind anyone who’s watched Princess Mononoke of the grotesque essence that endangers Ashitaka and others. The writhing, undulating masses of Malice tentacles already claimed a very unfortunate rat in the debut trailer, and now it seems that it set its sights on Link in the newest teaser.

It’s definitely not the first time that The Legend of Zelda has taken a cue from Princess Mononoke. Breath of the Wild’s vibrant art direction has commonly been compared to Princess Mononoke‘s style of animation. The video game and the film are rousing high fantasy stories with prominent themes of technology’s impact on nature and how civilization can learn to coexist with nature (themes that are also present in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind).

The Lord of the Mountain is thought to be a tribute to the late president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, due to its name Satori, while its appearance as a regal, elk-like creature somewhat resembles the Forest Spirit in Princess Mononoke. The most striking similarities come from the Forest Spirit’s gigantic Night Walker form, where its body takes on a ghostly, translucent shade of blue. Both mythical entities are guardians to the fictional worlds they inhabit. The Lord of the Mountain is said to watch over all animals who call the forests of Hyrule home, and the Forest Spirit of Princess Mononoke presides over the realms of life and death within the vast Cedar Forest.

Then you have the Koroks, who first appeared in The Wind Waker before returning in Breath of the Wild. The tiny woodland beings have always been viewed as The Legend of Zelda’s take on the Kodama’s design from Princess Mononoke, given the abstract, unmoving expressions painted over their leaf masks in black. Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity also note that most people cannot see a Korok. This detail is likely in reference to the Japanese mythology of the Kodama, which were believed to dwell inside trees and thus were invisible to the human eye.

There are of course other Studio Ghibli movies aside from Princess Mononoke that seem to have left their mark on The Legend of Zelda. The bizarre assemblage of architecture that comprises the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab may in fact be a nod to the hodgepodge that is Howl’s traveling home in Howl’s Moving Castle. Or perhaps it was Howl’s castle having multiple legs like some giant creature that inspired the Divine Beasts. When you examine pieces of concept art for the Divine Beasts found in the Creating a Champion book, it’s more than fair to wonder if Howl’s castle was on the artists’ minds when they were drawing up the designs, in particular when illustrating Vah Rudania.

Breath of the Wild already channeled Laputa: Castle in the Sky with its array of advanced technology and robotic Guardians. Much like the robots built to defend the long-lost Laputan kingdom, the Sheikah Guardians are eventually commandeered by a villainous force (Calamity Ganon) to wreak havoc, turning an army of automatons against the world. Watching any instance of Guardian Stalkers scuttle about — but especially in the cutscene where they lay waste to Hyrule Castle Town — recalls the sequence in Castle in the Sky when the evil Muska deploys the Laputan robots, who proceed to dismantle the government forces while crawling on all fours like enormous insects.

The sequel to Breath of the Wild may be taking another step in paying homage to Castle in the Sky now that we’ve learned the adventure is going skyward — and we’re not just talking about Hyrule Castle getting a lift. With a host of floating islands that hold both ancient ruins and untamed nature, the promise of new robotic creations to encounter, and teases of even deeper looks into the history and origin of Hyrule’s many technological marvels, the Breath of the Wild sequel has a lot of references in place to honor the very first film produced by Studio Ghibli.