(This is a machine translated version from a little writing exercise in Thai in which I wanted to present some points from the article "Miyazaki Hayao’s Animism and the Anthropocene" by Shoko Yoneyama.)
In an era increasingly described as a "polycrisis", it is not only nature and the climate that are undergoing change or loss; religious institutions and established belief systems are also seeing their influence wane.
This context makes the portrayal of nature in anime films like My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke particularly interesting. These films depict a natural power that operates independently of human rituals or offerings. Scholar Shoko Yoneyama has termed this approach found in Studio Ghibli films "postmodern animism" or "critical animism."
Yoneyama emphasizes that in Miyazaki’s version of animism, natural forces possess "agency"—meaning that elements of nature hold their own power and desires, regardless of human expectations. This perspective stands in stark contrast to traditional spirit worship, which typically involves appeasing spirits to seek blessings for daily human life.
At the same time, Miyazaki’s animism focuses on the relationship between entities often viewed as opposites (dualism). For instance, nature and technology are not portrayed as mutually exclusive but can merge into a unified whole—as seen in the "Catbus" from My Neighbor Totoro.
Even Totoro, the Forest Spirit, is referred to as a "neighbor" (tonari), implying that humans and other living beings coexist as neighbors, sharing both space and life. This concept, too, diverges from traditional beliefs regarding spirits.
Most intriguingly, Yoneyama explains that Miyazaki presents a form of translocal animism through the medium of animated film—a format easily accessible to children and the general public. Consequently, this translocal animism is not confined to specific tribal territories or cultures but instead evolves into an interconnected network spanning diverse spaces.