Talk:The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)

Princess Mononoke connection

HeirToPendragon: (Unless it's a proven connection it's speculation)

I see your point, but anyone who's seen both Princess Mononoke and this episode can see that there's an obvious connection there, and I don't see how it's particularly contentious to suggest that there are noticable similarities, because there are. I'm not saying the Avatar people ripped off Miyazaki, but the similarities are self-evident, and there's nothing negative in mentioning them. With respect, I think you're being overly strict on this point. Kelvingreen 09:55, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

The problem comes that you are pinpointing it to one episode only. The creators have stated that the Miyazaki films have been an influence but if you are going to take that as information not only do you have to source it (which is in the Avatar mag and I don't know how to source it here since its not online) but you would have to look at it in a more broad way and possibly add it to the Avatar main article. At this point it's not mere similarities, we know that Spirited Away and Mononoke are enfluences to the SHOW but without a way to source it we cant' keep it on Wikipedia unless you know how to source the magazine. I think I'm running in circles here but I hope you can pick up what I'm saying. H2P ^{(Yell at me for what I've done)} 20:15, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure there's a general Miyazaki influence over the whole series, but this episode boasts specific similarities, and I don't really see why those specific similarities shouldn't be mentioned in the context of the episode they appeared in, rather than on the main Avatar page.

No, I don't have a source that says that Aaron Ehasz is specifically referencing Mononoke in this episode, but the point is that I'm not saying anything like that in my addition. I'm merely saying that there are similarities in terms of plot and theme, similarities which are undeniable, and which fans of the show might find interesting.

I do understand what you're saying, that the influence is there, and it should be mentioned, but only if it can be sourced. But I think there's another way, and that's to make note of the similarities (as I did), without commenting on their origin. I feel it's useful information without speculating on its origins, don't you? Kelvingreen 09:59, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

One key problem we get is this. I don't know how many Avatar articles you edit, but all of them are in my watchlist and all of them, or atleast 75%, have had some sort of message that says "This is similar to X". The problem is, that X has nothing to do with the show in question. I've had more Star Wars references then you can imagine (I just removed one about how Bantha's are chosen the same way as Bison). If we allow one episode to site similarites it will bite us in the ass when people reference this page in question as to why their edit was removed. I just don't want it to cause bigger problems later. Now, if you go to the main page and say something like "Highly influenced by miyazaki such as (This Episode) or (Wan Shi Tong's appearance)" and then mention that the co-creators stated this in the Avatar Mag, as long as it's done etiquetly I'm ok with that. H2P ^{(Yell at me for what I've done)} 15:11, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm watching Avatar (for the first time) from the start here in Britain, and this episode was just on last week. Myself and my wife watched it and were immediately taken by the similarities to Princess Mononoke, so I jumped on here to see if anyone else had noted it. They hadn't, so I added it. I do still think it's a relevant and appropriate bit of information, but I understand your concern, so I won't press the matter. Kelvingreen 20:04, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

I've added a bit about Miyazaki to the main Avatar page, mentioning this episode, and most importantly, quoting my source. That should be good enough, yes? ;) Kelvingreen 22:59, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Yep, it looks good. H2P ^{(Yell at me for what I've done)} 23:29, 22 October 2006 (UTC)