by MangaMoon

Princess Mononoke - A Difficult Love Story 3D panel

Remember… Ashitaka stepping between San and Eboshi in Irontown, then refusing to stop even after being shot? San has come to kill Eboshi. Surrounded by townspeople, they clash blade against blade while the crowd demands San’s death. Ashitaka intervenes. Dark tendrils coil around his cursed arm, making the violence consuming him visible to everyone. He knocks both women unconscious, leaves Eboshi with her people and carries San over his shoulder toward the gate. Then a gun fires. The bullet passes through his body, and blood spreads across his clothes. He keeps walking. San lies unconscious against him. Blood pours from his wound as the townspeople watch him approach the enormous wooden gate. Moving it normally takes several men. With his free arm, Ashitaka pushes it open. San’s wolves wait outside. He carries her beyond the walls, leaves with Yakul and eventually collapses. When San wakes, she holds a knife to his throat. His response catches her off guard: he sees her beauty. For San, this encounter begins to fracture her hatred of humans. Before her lies someone who risked his life to save hers. Their connection begins with an act of kindness she struggles to understand.

Material: Wooden