Near the end of the movie, when Chihiro takes the train to the Twin Sister's house, there are a lot of dark people with hats and long coats on the train, and they get off at a station and then go down some stairs into the water. I don't get it? Who are these people and where are they going?
To the afterlife
I think I liked it better when he just said "Annyong".
To the afterlife
One assumes they are kami of one sort or another, and their appearance seems to reflect their activity, that of travel within the Magical Realm. Significantly, the train is empty by the time it gets to Swamp Bottom.
sharein my opinion these dark people are not very relative with the story itself. They are just an environment,an atmosphere. These reticent dark people are the strange people who have their own destinations and their own lonely histories that nobody could ever know. They are the lonely people who should go in their own without company and help. They play the role as the environment to show the inner world of chihiro that chihiro has to go in her own, she has to grow up without the company of her parents, she has to be brave although sometimes she is frail ,she has to make herself strong although sometimes she is lonely. These dark people imply that although it seems that chihiro has the company of her friends such as the mouse and the man without face, in fact chihiro is on her own, alone, or say lonely. Also, in another aspect these dark people are an contrast to show how full of love ,bravery and hope the ten year old girl is, to show that chihiro, and every children who once used to be dependent, will grow into an independent brave person by undergoing loneliness. I'm not very good at explaining my idea in English but I hope you can understand.
shareAh, so perhaps instead of being individual spirits, the shadows are just part of "the spirit of the railway" maybe? An echo or memory of what the train does all day. If a River can be a spirit, why not a Train?
Laura Ess
The first time I watched the film, I thought they were shadows of real people in the spirit world, and they couldn't see Chihiro or No-Face or the others. It's like the spirit world and real world used the same train, but the surroundings looked different for both.
Now I just don't know. I guess they're just spirits who look totally normal compared to the ones at the bath house..they also look like they came out of the 1920's era based on their hats and stuff.
"Get me some pie! - Dean Winchester"
I think there's an underlying message within the film, about 'not losing your true identity' and remembering who you are.
We see how Chihiro almost forgot her own identity. When she sees her parents after they've been put in the pig pen, she says her name is 'Sen.' Following this, when Haku gives her her old clothes with the goodbye card, she is at first unsure why the name Chihiro is on it, and then recalls it as being her name.
Even Haku tells how Yubaba takes people's names and gives them new ones. He himself is one who has lost his name.
My guess is that eventually, the persons on that train just forgot who they were, becoming 'shadows' of their former selves. Some have speculated they too were humans that wandered into this world. But I think that enigmatic nature of the shadow persons makes the story better, because you use your imagination.
Like that one girl standing on the platform. Is she waiting for a train? A family member to return? We don't know her story, but we can speculate.
"Thanks, guys." "So long, partner."
- Toy Story 3 (9/10)
There are some very interesting views above, any of which could be valid.
My own take on these people (we assume they are people) is that they are representative of the normal but not-germane-to-the-story inhabitants of this world; the workers (who must surely exist), the commuters, the family members going on visits...
The link below is interesting:
http://nakama-britannica.animeuknews.net/2008/08/11/chihiros-train-jou rney-in-spirited-away/
I don't disagree with any of the views here, but I think one of the main reasons those characters were in the film was just to show the train line had a purpose, which was to transport those people to wherever they were going.
share[deleted]
I think they are just what chihiro see, because she is not of the spirit world. They seem like shadowsvto her simply because she has not yet crossed over fully into their world.
share