One of the most perplexed characters in the 2001 “Spirited Away” film is No-Face. It is expressed by Akio Nakamura in the original version and by Bob Bergen in the English dub, although the character does not speak much; He mainly linger and hides, alive from front and back between frightening and pitiful. In a film filled with strange creatures with bizarre features and an ambiguous morality, No-Face is held above the rest in most memories of viewers. It is the one who presented the most evidence in all goods and who obtains the most fandom speculation on his intentions.
In terms of literal intrigue, the scenario of No-Face is simple. It is a lonely spirit that our protagonist Chihiro lets in the bath, not knowing that she is not supposed to do that. No-Face seems obsessed with Chihiro and turns into a devouring monster in her apparent quest to get closer to her. However, it is never described as a pure and simple villain; Chihiro flees his advances with relative ease, recognizes that his mind was poisoned by everything he ate and let him accompany with casualness on a train for the house of the witch Zeniba. This is where No-Face finds his goal, discovering that he is good in knitting. In the end, Chihiro leaves him with Zeniba, and there is no anxiety or conflict between the two characters.
This resolution in No-Face’s scenario might seem anti-climatic, at least from a more traditional Hollywood tracing point of view. But the way in which No-Face moves away as a threat feels somehow true to life here, or at least faithful to history that “Spirited Away” wants to tell.
What Hayao Miyazaki thinks that the no-face represents
In an interview in 2024, Miyazaki offered his point of view on the non-face. “There are a lot of people like the non-face in the middle,” he said. “It is the type of person who wants to hang on to others but does not have the meaning of themselves. They are everywhere.”
This is an explanation that fits well into the rest of the film. Maybe No-Face clings so hard to Chihiro because when he sees her for the first time, she is in a place similar to him. Chihiro in this first act of “Spirited Away” is someone who does not have a sense of self, to the point where she is entitled, her name has taken her off. Chihiro spent the first third to fight to find his place in this strange spiritual world. She is not actively trying to find her sense of self, but in her quest to save her parents, she finds it anyway.
It is easy to imagine no-face as having been initially intrigued by Chihiro as a lost, only to become obsessed when seeing Chihiro entering his own work in the bathing bath. While No-Face is always alone and outside, Chihiro finds a feeling of confidence and community in the bath with a surprising speed. This may be why No-Face is starting to eat people and assume their personality; He tries to find a shortcut towards what Chihiro has won, to find friends not by real hard work, but to copy people’s personalities and to throw money to people. No-Face ends up finding a meaning similar to what Chihiro found earlier, but it takes much more time to get there.
Why the real meaning of the non-face is ultimately up to viewers
It should be noted that, even after 20 years of speculation on fans on the non-face, Miyazaki was overall to offer his point of view on the character. And even when he did, it was a short and not final explanation. Miyazaki could see No-Face as a representation of foreigners who do not have a sense of self, but it does not seem that he wants to force this interpretation on viewers.
The beauty of “Spirited Away”, just like the beauty of all Miyazaki films, is that there is enough room for viewers to decide on what they saw. There are not many conferences on the lessons that we are supposed to take away, and none of the characters, Chihiro adapts well to a hero / villain dichotomy. “Spirited Away” trusts his viewers of all ages to embrace their imagination and arrive at their own conclusions, an approach, many of which are modern American animated films (including some of the American dubes in Ghibli studio films) can learn.
Regarding what No-Face represents, it’s really yours. It can be a metaphor for drug addiction, a metaphor for capitalism outside, a metaphor of incels, etc. Miyazaki has his own interpretation, but don’t let that prevent you from finding yours.
