Is Totoro god of death?

The dark side supports that Mei dies when she gets lost, and Satsuki, not being able to live with this, opens the death's door in order to reunite with her. Totoro is a Death God who came in order to take them. By the end of the film both girls are dead and, sadly, their mom will join them soon.

What is Totoro God of?

The legend goes as follows: Totoro is the God of Death, and anyone who can see him is either dead or close to dying. The affirmation is strong enough on its own. We know Miyazaki looooves metaphors, and Studio Ghibli seems to have a weak spot for gods and spirits.

Is Totoro a mythical creature?

Here's the hard truth for those of us fervently trying to understand this character: Totoro is completely fictional. It did not exist before Hayao Miyzaki made it up… out of his brain. When you look at Japanese myths, folklore, and culture, Totoro does not exist before the film came out in 1988.

What are Totoro powers?

Apparently a popular household character in Japan, Totoro is a furry forest sprite with magical powers ranging from the mystical to the superhuman. He also can only be seen by children, though adults recall his memory fondly.

What is the main message of Totoro?

Death isn't totally absent from Totoro's innocent world

Miyazaki understands that kids may not bear the weight of reality that adults do, but that the darkness of life, and even death, affects little ones as well, no matter how hard adults try to shield them from it.

Is Totoro The Angel Of Death?! The My Neighbor Totoro Theory

What kind of spirit is Totoro?

Totoro, as supported by a number of accounts, is said to be a spirit of the forest. Some sources reveal that there is not only one huge totoro but medium and small sized totoros as well. In different depictions, Totoro appears to hold different colors varying from white, blue, to gray.

Why is the mom sick in Totoro?

Trivia (25) The film is partially autobiographical. When Hayao Miyazaki and his brothers were children, his mother suffered from spinal tuberculosis for nine years, and spent much of her time hospitalized. It is implied, yet never revealed in the film, that Satsuki and Mei's mother also suffers from tuberculosis.

Is Totoro a goblin?

Sometimes Miyazaki refers to Totoros using a Japanese word translated as “goblins,” although he clarifies that they have an “easygoing, carefree” attitude and don't try to frighten people. Sometimes he denies they're spirits and insists they're “animals,” pointing out the resemblance to owls, cats, badgers, or bears.

Is Totoro in Spirited Away?

There is no concrete evidence that all the films exist in the same world, though minor characters do cross over. For example, the soot sprites who appear in the first act of My Neighbor Totoro, later appear in Spirited Away.

How old is Totoro?

He is 1302 years old.

Is Haku a Mizuchi?

Mizuchi (Spirited Away)

Haku is actually short for Nigihayami Kohakunushi, or “god of the swift amber river.” Unfortunately for Chihiro, mizuchi weren't always believed to morph into cute, green-haired, preteen boys who would save you even if it meant crashing headfirst into Yubaba's wall.

Is the mom dead in My Neighbor Totoro?

After Mei ran away, she got lost in the woods and Satsuki never found her little sister (ever again). In other words, Mei never returned home, as she died. In addition, Yasuko was suffering from a terminal illness instead of a minor cold as shown in the film. Satsuki was going to eventually lose her mother as well.

Is Totoro about Shintoism?

In fact, whether Totoro is a Shinto spirit or not is a mystery. He lives in a sacred tree on the grounds of a Shinto shrine. The girls' father even takes them there to thank Totoro for watching over Mei early in the film.

Is Totoro in Toy Story 3?

“Totoro has a cameo appearance in “Toy Story 3,” he acknowledged. “We do little homages in our films, and we thought it was a very appropriate homage to let [Miyazaki and his film company] Studio Ghibli know how much they mean to us.”

What are the black things in Totoro called?

The Soot Sprites (すすワタリ, Susuwatari, lit. "Travelling Soot" a.k.a. "Mak-kuro Kurosuke") are spirits that appear in the films My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. They are small, round balls made from the soot that dwells in old and abandoned houses and leave black dirt in their wake.

What is the tree in Totoro?

Sacred trees

The giant camphor tree in which Totoro lives is another nod to the Shinto-inspired pantheism. A recurring motif, the sacred tree – or, to use the Shinto term, shinboku – is decorated with shimenawa (a rope used to mark sanctity) and towers over Satsuki and Mei's family home.

Why is Totoro so popular?

With its strong emphasis on Japanese culture, it is understandable why My Neighbor Totoro is more popular in Japan than in the United States. That's not to say that the film has not found an American following. The film is incredibly popular among viewers who are interested in animè, filmmaking, and animation.

Why does Totoro have a leaf?

He wears a simple leaf to protect him from the rain: Satsuki gives him their father's umbrella. Totoro is intrigued by the sound of rain dripping from the trees landing on the umbrella, and even playfully jumps on the ground to cause more to fall. Eventually, the Catbus arrives to take him on his way.

What are Totoros little friends called?

There are two similar, smaller creatures in the movie, also referred to as totoro; the big grey Totoro is named "Ō-Totoro", or "Miminzuku", the middle is "Chū-Totoro", or "Zuku", and the smallest is "Chibi-Totoro", or "Mini". These names do not appear in the movie itself, but are used in ancillary materials.

What does the dad do in My Neighbor Totoro?

Tatsuo Kusakabe is the father of the two protagonists, Mei and Satsuki Kusakabe, in the Studio Ghibli film, My Neighbor Totoro. He is a secondary character, and is married to Yasuko Kusakabe. He works in a college as a professor of Archaeology, and is seen working a lot at home and leaving Mei to play on her own.

Is My Neighbor Totoro scary?

It's friendly and soft, but some children might find it a little scary. Some scenes show nature as a strong and powerful force.

What does the name Totoro mean?

The name "Totoro" comes from Mei mispronouncing (she has a tendency to do so, though it wasn't clear in the dub) the word "tororu", which is the Japanese word for "troll".

Is Totoro a bear?

For what it's worth, Miyazaki defines Totoro as a woodland creature who eats acorns. Neither a bear nor a giant racoon, Totoro is a kind of loveable blunderbuss that gives the girls magic and love when they are missing their invalid mother.

Who is God in Shinto?

"Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami.