The demon is revealed to be a boar god, Nago, corrupted by an iron ball lodged in his body. The curse gives him superhuman fighting ability, but will eventually kill him. The last Emishi prince, Ashitaka, manages to kill the demon before it reaches the village, but not before its corruption curses his right arm. In Muromachi period Japan, an Emishi village is attacked by a demon.
The movie premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on Maat 7:30 PM, as part of A Month of Miyazaki. This plan delayed the DVD release back by almost three months, but it sold well when it was finally released. In response to fans' requests to add the Japanese track as well as threats of poor sales, Miramax hired translators for the Japanese version. In September 2000, the film was announced for release on DVD in North America exclusively with the English dub. Disney later complained about the fact that the movie did not do well at the box office. Miramax also chose to put a large sum of money into creating the English dub of Princess Mononoke with famous actors and actresses, yet when they released it in theatres there was little or no advertising and it was given a very limited run, showing in only a few theatres and for a very short time. The rationale for such changes is that the majority of non-Japanese viewers would not understand the mythological references and that the English language simply has no words for the Jibashiri, Shishigami and other terms. Such alterations include references to mythology and specific names for groups, such as Jibashiri and Shishigami, that appear in the Japanese version, which are changed to more general terms, such as Mercenary and Forest Spirit, in the English version. The main changes from the Japanese version are to provide a cultural context for phrases and actions which those outside of Asia may not be familiar with. In response, Toshio Suzuki sent Weinstein a katana with a message stating "No cuts." The English dub of Princess Mononoke is a translation with some adaptation by fantasy author Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman. Miyazaki met with Harvey Weinstein, Miramax's chairman Weinstein demanded that edits should be made to Princess Mononoke. Miramax Films, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, purchased the film's distribution rights for North America. There can be no clear victory, and the hope is that the relationship between humans and nature can be cyclical. The story concentrates on involvement of the outsider Ashitaka in the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans of the Iron Town who consume its resources. Princess Mononoke is a period drama set specifically in the late Muromachi period (approximately 1337 to 1573) of Japan but with numerous fantastical elements. The film was first released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999. The term "Mononoke" is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster a closer rendering of the title into English would be "The Mononoke Princess" or "The Spirit Princess". 7:30 PM Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli and produced by Toshio Suzuki.