Hayao Miyazaki is the film director of Spirited away, whom of which is often acknowledged for his animated movies revolving around anime, which is an increasingly popular animation style unique to Japan and is known worldwide. He is also often compared to Walt Disney. In his films, he has visibly shown the characters mature and overcome their negatives traits - such as cowardice or immaturity - using multiple techniques. 

 

For example, Chihiro from Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is shown whining to her parents in the beginning of the film, she is also seen complaining toward the scene where they come across a mysterious corridor leading to an amusement park. These are negative traits that are soon overcome by Chihiro as has taught herself maturity and respect toward the end of the film. Miyazaki has done this by putting her in tricky situations where she must stand up for herself (such as the first Yubaba scene or several No-Face scenes) and be assertive. This is a very common and simple method to character development, yet Miyazaki uses it so subtly. 

 

Another example is No-Face’s character development. In the middle of the movie, he becomes a large beast in order to get Chihiro’s attention. She stands up to him, causing him to spit out the people he ate and become small again. No-Face thus befriends Chihiro as they take the train ride. This example shows how an antagonist can change roles and not go against the protagonist; Chihiro, in this case. They both go to visit Zeniba to return her seal.

 

Lastly, Haku’s character development was Chihiro’s doing. She showed him who he really was, and apologised for him despite his bad actions and stealing the seal from Zeniba. Haku slowly learns from Chihiro as she matures, being forced to personally apologise to Zeniba himself, thus he is forgiven. This is a slight method of character development, despite not having changed a whole lot. 

 

These are few examples of Hayao Miyazaki’s methods of character development, using the film Spirited Away as an example of how someone can change to be a better person. Thank you.