What is No-Face?

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Let's talk about one of the most mysterious characters in Spirited Away.

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▬▬▬▬ Tale Foundry Team ▬▬▬▬
• Talebot — The Talent
• The Taleoids — The Talent's Helpers
• Benjamin Cook — Writer, Director, & Voice Actor
• Sophia Bloom — Researcher & Writer

[lauraholmes]

I went to a comic con dressed as chihiro and turned a corner to see someone dressed as no face. He didn’t miss a beat, he just offered gold to me. It was brilliant.

[RadioactiveZerg]

I can't blame the guy for being so hungry around all that Studio Ghibli food

[trishapellis]

I've been told that No-face is essentially a blank slate - that he reflects whatever is around him. In the street where everyone ignores him, he ignores them - but Shihiro does not ignore him, so he acknowledges her. When he's surrounded by overconsumption, he mimics that. When Shihiro is kind to him, he mimics that. In Zeniba's house, things are quiet and welcoming, so he is quiet and friendly.
A friend of mine who knows more about Japanese culture says that No-Face is another person who's lost his name, like what almost happened to Shihiro - that he is what she could have become. I'm not sure if that was purely my friend's conjecture or where she got it from, but that did seem to fit - someone who doesn't have an identity, mirroring everything around them in a desperate attempt to find one, perhaps be given one through other people's acceptance.

[malkaviian]

"Is pretty hard to imagine giving No Face a hug" speak for yourself

[AMcGrath]

No-Face represents impressionable people who haven't yet found a passion or a community. They latch onto whatever group accepts them. This means he can become a good person (helping people by learning a craft) or radicalized (becoming hungry and obsessed with gold). All they want is a sense of belonging.

It's a powerful message. I'm not surprised Tale Foundry figured it out so eloquently.

[Polygonetwo]

As someone who has a little no-face plushie, it is not at all hard to imagine giving him a hug.

[TalesofDawnandDusk]

As someone who translates 1000 year old Japanese folktales and makes videos about them, I've read through the sections of the Konjaku Monogatari Shu dealing with spirits and oni and I can confirm, I have never come across a No-Face like being. He is definitely out of place. A fantastically well designed creature, to be sure, and his mask and behavior just generally fit with what I understand supernature Japanese beings to be, but even after reading very very old Japanese sources, I've never found anything that makes me thing "hey, I'll bet this is where No-Face comes from."

[endyiguess]

No faces ambiguity is what makes him so iconic

[peppersweetsauce]

No-face's mysteriousness with his "mask" seemingly both cute and scary at the same time, which completes his charm.

[toomanymonkeys]

He wants to be wanted. He’s hungry for companionship, for purpose. He’s a bit of a people-pleaser in a way, though not all the way. Crazy like a narcissist, but unlike a narcissist, able to accept a lesser, good place for himself. That last bit, to me, is endearing.

[redmii]

When I was younger, I actively avoided watching Spirited Away because I was afraid of No-Face, but after watching it again as an adult, I ended up really liking him.

[J.JackJackieson]

I think the idea of No-Face being a child makes a lot of sense. For the most part, the movie is about kids trying to learn from the misery of their parents. No-Face doesn't have any parents. A lost kid, trying to figure out the world.

[Tera_B_Twilight]

Thank you for the kind and nuanced take on No-Face. Have you seen the video of Adam Savage's cosplay of No-Face? Japanese convention-goers refused and even got angry at the chocolate coins he was passing out. It seems they considered him bad luck.

To me, No-Face has always been, not greed, but hunger. I've been "hungry" in that sense. There is a profound emptiness when you feel like you have no place in the world and it was so reassuring when I saw that No-Face found HIS place at the cottage. His hunger was finally satisfied with the guidance and acceptance Zeniba offered him.

I also eventually found satisfaction. I would not wish the hunger on anyone and it can make monsters of otherwise innocent people.

[pressplay]

No face is like someone you see a lot and want to get to know but never end up talking too

[SorosPhuvix]

It might just be the Studio Ghibli style, but I always appreciated how there were no sharp angles about No-Face. His slouched draping form, the oval mask with gentle lines. Even at his most monstrous during the tantrum, his teeth are blunted round, limbs still stubby while his body folds into itself and molds to whatever it leans against. They could have easily made him harsh and angular, with ripping sharp teeth and a mean expression, and we know Studio Ghibli can, but they chose not to.
I'm not sure exactly where I was going with this, but it's something that sticks with me as an adult. The softness of No-Face. That he is soft and remains soft throughout the entire movie.

[MrMprivette]

I’ve always placed No-face as the spirit from the unknown shrine. Most of the bathhouses attendees seem to corroborate with Shinto shrines, hence why the turnip spirit was such a big deal to the bathhouse workers, agricultural importance results in offerings to the associated shrine resulting in prestige and wealth for the spirit.
But No-face was the spirit of the shrine to the unknown spirits, a catch all shrine for those not openly recognized, who don’t have an everyday impact on practical life. As such the shrine doesn’t receive many offerings or have many attendants. Lack of friends and family. No-face was a spirit created and forgotten which explains, for me, most of his quirks and personality.

[theplatitudefromouterspace]

When I was a younger man, I introduced my niece to movies like Spirited Away and Edward Scissor Hands, freaked the crap out of her, last christmas she got me a No-Face money bank. Proud uncle's not crying?! You're crying!

[VivianRuddiger]

I was scared of No-Face since I was nine. The movie terrified me so much that every time I watched it, I would throw up. Then I had a dream that No-Face was disappointed that I didn’t like him, so I felt obligated to and gradually stopped being afraid of him.

[wanderingsilverrose]

I never realized just how much I identified with No=Face until now. I always kind of wanted to give him a hug, because me too, buddy. He definitely made an impression on my thirteen year old self. I love him so much.

[michaelcherry]

It's interesting that No-Face actually has quite the character arc.
No-Face has no place in the world of Spirited Away. That's why he appears and disappears.
He tries to take his place in the bath house by behaving the way he THINKS he's supposed to behave and it clearly doesn't work.
Chihiro is someone who accepts him for who he is. When he accompanies Chihiro to Zeniba's house, he's welcomed, as a guest. Zeniba offers him tea and cakes as, to quote Rex Stout "a jewel on the cushion of hospitality". She teaches him to knit (probably the first time in his existence that someone thought it was worth teaching him anything).
Again, the key word here is "acceptance". He's finally found his place and I even think he's a bit less insubstantial at Zeniba's house. He goes from a wandering spirit, insubstantial as mist and refused entrance to the bath house (until Chihiro unwittingly lets him in) to becoming a bloated monster of greed to an honoured guest. The train ride to Zeniba's house and the comfortable and comforting atmosphere there, bring No-Face into his own. I love Spirited Away for a lot of reasons, but I honestly have a special place in my heart for No-Face.