Fantasies love using the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Principle - i.e developing central characters through different forms. The "Dragon form" of Haku has a pivotal role in both Spirited Away's plot and its thematic message. When first encountered in this appearance, Haku is seen at a distance, flying free through the sky. When he shows up again, he is under attack by a horde of flying paper airplanes, bloody and enraged. Sen's subsequent caring for the unconscious dragon-like creature helps pave the way for their mutual revelation about his past. This form of Haku has one startlingly obvious difference from its human counterpart - it is completely honest. Unlike the reserved and enigmatic human Haku, the River Spirit swings violently between emotional extremes; rage and fear being the most common. The scenes between this dragon and Sen allow the otherwise terse relationship between them to flourish in the spaces between their human form scenes. This River Spirit is the truest form of Haku, all the things he's trying to hide with the facade of a humanoid sorcerer. The elegant yet fierce design of the creature displays all the power and freedom Haku has had to suppress ever since his river was destroyed by housing developments. This begs the question: If you looked this impressive as a dragon, why would you choose to use a human form at all?
Self-evidently a man who writes for the Internet, Robert also writes films, plays, teleplays, and short stories when he's not working on a movie set somewhere. He lives somewhere behind the Hollywood sign.
