Howl’s Moving Castle: Full Synopsis & Analysis (Spoilers Explained)

“Howl’s Moving Castle(Studio Ghibli Official)” is an animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released on November 20, 2004. I didn’t find it that interesting when it was first released, but it has become a film I love more each time I watch it.

This time, I’d like to summarize the plot of “Howl’s Moving Castle” and introduce its highlights. However, when I say summary, I mean I’ll be revealing everything, so if you don’t like spoilers, please read only partway through and then watch the movie.

*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “「ハウルの動く城」のネタバレあらすじと考察ポイント-人物相関図付きでラストまで解説-“

“Howl’s Moving Castle” Synopsis (Spoilers Ahead)

Quick Summary

A brief summary of the key points of “Howl’s Moving Castle” is as follows:

Explanation of the Story

Although the movie is titled “Howl’s Moving Castle,” the protagonist of the story is not Howl, but clearly Sophie.

Because of a brief encounter with Howl, she incurs the vengeful wrath of the Witch of the Waste and is turned into an old woman, but this event ultimately allows Sophie to take a new step towards “somewhere that isn’t here.”

In the end, Sophie chooses to leave behind “the family she already had” and live with “the family she built herself.”

Ultimately, it could be said that this is a story that gives form to the contrast between “what already exists” and “what one obtains for oneself,” and a critical spirit towards the “world” as something that already exists.

With that said, let’s look at the synopsis of “Howl’s Moving Castle” in a little more detail.

Encounter with Howl and Transformation into an Old Woman

The protagonist of the story is an 18-year-old woman, Sophie Hatter. As the eldest of three sisters, she worked in the hat shop left to her by her father.

She wasn’t dissatisfied with her daily life, but she felt a sense of unfulfillment.

One day, on her way to her sister’s bakery, Sophie is hit on by soldiers. A man with flashy clothes and a handsome face appears and saves her from her predicament. He was just as much of a flirt as the soldiers, but that didn’t matter to her.

He was Howl, the reason all the women in town were flustered. It seems that women captured by him, who lives in a mysterious moving castle, have their “hearts” stolen.

Such a tragedy did not befall her, but that night, something arguably more terrifying happened. When Sophie returned to the hat shop that night, a mysterious woman appeared. The woman quickly cast a spell on Sophie, turning her into an old woman. She was the dreaded “Witch of the Waste.” The Witch, who had been stalking Howl for some time, was apparently displeased with Sophie for having experienced a rendezvous in the sky with him.

Though bewildered by her transformation into an old woman, Sophie took it as an opportunity to leave the shop and head towards “somewhere that isn’t here.” Her action might have been an escape from a present she wasn’t satisfied with, or perhaps she hoped for a reunion with Howl. In any case, her new journey had begun.

The Uninvited Housekeeper

On her journey, Sophie encountered a peculiar scarecrow. The scarecrow, who seemed to take a liking to Sophie, gifted the elderly Sophie a cane. Sophie named this scarecrow “Turnip Head.”

Along with the cane, Sophie jokingly asked it to “bring me a room to stay in for the night,” and after leaving Sophie for a while, the scarecrow impressively brought back “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

Whether it was a coincidence or the scarecrow’s doing is unknown, but it seems Sophie found her “room for the night.”

Howl did not reject Sophie, who had managed to get into the castle. In fact, she became a resident of the castle along with the fire demon Calcifer and his apprentice Markl. Was it Howl’s policy to “never turn anyone away”?

In any case, Sophie, having cleverly entered the castle, began a major cleaning of the unrequested castle, much like an “uninvited housekeeper.” Howl’s castle, which was practically a garbage dump, was quickly tidied up and regained its appearance as a “home.”

Around that time, it is revealed that Howl had been summoned by the king.

Due to a contract made when he entered the magic school, Howl was obligated to accept the request, but he seemed very reluctant to comply. However, his demeanor was less like a strong will “not to cooperate with the war” and more like a child throwing a tantrum. It seems he really didn’t want to see his former teacher at the magic school, Madam Suliman.

Such a Howl tries to send Sophie to Suliman in his place, as his mother. He seems to be thinking of having her persuade Suliman that “my son is useless.” Seeing Howl’s weak state, Sophie, perhaps due to her affection for him, accepts this unreasonable request.

When Sophie arrives at the royal palace, the Witch of the Waste is there for some reason. It seemed she had also been summoned by the king.

After parting with the Witch of the Waste inside the palace, Sophie finally meets Suliman, the one Howl so desperately wanted to avoid. There, Suliman calmly explained that Howl was a gifted wizard, that he had lost his soul to a demon and now used magic only for himself, and that if he continued this way, he would end up like the Witch of the Waste.

Then, the Witch of the Waste was brought in, in a completely changed state.

Her previously suspicious demeanor was gone, and she had become just an old woman, apparently with no magical power left. This was the reason the Witch of the Waste had been summoned to the palace.

And if Howl didn’t come to the palace, Suliman threatened, he would suffer the same fate.

Feeling repulsed by Suliman’s provocative and arrogant attitude, Sophie stood up to her and boasted, “Howl will never come, and I’ll do something about the demon.”

Suddenly, the king appeared. “I do not intend to win the war with the power of magic,” the king calmly told Sophie, but in the next moment, another person with the exact same face appeared. This person spoke to Suliman in a frivolous manner, accepted the identical-looking man before him as a “body double,” and quickly left the scene.

The king who first appeared was Howl in disguise.

Suliman activated her magic to capture Howl. Faced with powerful magic, Howl was about to lose himself but managed to escape at the last moment. However, the Witch of the Waste and Suliman’s messenger dog ended up coming along as a bonus.

In no time, “Howl’s Moving Castle” became a large household.

After things settled down, Howl redecorated the inside of the castle to secure rooms for the increased family. Sophie’s room was the nostalgic little room from the hat shop.

Perhaps because of the incident with Suliman, Howl, who had developed special feelings for Sophie, invited her to his “secret garden.” The garden was a beautiful highland meadow filled with wildflowers.

An aerial battleship passed near this beautiful garden. The spread of the war seemed to be beyond imagination.

The Spreading War and the Escape to the Sky

One night, Sophie’s town is bombed. A bomb fell near the hat shop, but thanks to Howl’s efforts, they escaped major damage.

Howl, who had always run from the difficulties that befell him, resolved to risk his life to protect his “family.”

Seeing Howl fighting for his life, Sophie decides to leave the castle with Calcifer. She thought that if they left that place, Howl wouldn’t have to fight.

As they left the castle with Calcifer, the castle, having lost its power, quickly fell apart.

Having survived the situation, Sophie and the others now had to go and get Howl. They try to move the castle again using Calcifer’s power, but since Sophie is now in command, a new contract was needed. Sophie makes a deal in exchange for her hair and succeeds in moving the castle again. However, her hair alone wasn’t enough for a “reconstruction,” and it became a rather pathetic-looking castle.

At that moment, the Witch of the Waste discovers Howl’s heart inside Calcifer. Having found the heart of Howl she had longed for, the Witch plots to separate Calcifer from the hearth and make it her own.

Sophie, wanting to move the castle to get to Howl, tries to get Calcifer back from the Witch of the Waste, but in the scuffle, the Witch is engulfed in Calcifer’s flames.

Sophie instinctively threw a bucket of water on the Witch, but this also weakened Calcifer, causing part of the castle to collapse. Caught in it, Sophie fell off a cliff.

Protected by the castle’s wreckage, Sophie escaped without serious injury, but she was filled with remorse, thinking that Howl might die because she had thrown water on Calcifer.

Just then, a light from the ring Howl had given her guided Sophie to a castle door.

Passing through the door shrouded in darkness, she found herself in Howl’s “secret garden.” However, this was not the present where Sophie lived, but a past world where Howl was still a child. And it was the night Howl made a contract with Calcifer and offered his heart.

Sophie runs towards the two of them but is pulled back to the present. Sophie calls out, “I’ll be waiting for you in the future!” and leaves the two from the past.

Returning to her own time, an injured Howl was waiting for her. They share a kiss and head towards Calcifer.

Meanwhile, Calcifer was on the verge of death from the effects of the water but was barely clinging to life. Sophie and Howl arrive there.

Howl, who was in a similar near-death state, collapses on the spot. Sophie then returns the heart that was with Calcifer to Howl.

Freed from the contract, Calcifer flew off somewhere, but Howl regained consciousness.

However, the castle, which had been barely moving with Calcifer’s last bit of power, stopped and began to slide down the mountainside with Sophie and the others on board.

Turnip Head the scarecrow protected them by throwing himself in the way. As a thank you, Sophie kissed Turnip Head, and he returned to his human form. He was originally a prince from a neighboring country who had been cursed and turned into a scarecrow.

“Turnip Head,” though reluctant to leave Sophie, returned to his home country to end the war. Suliman, who confirmed this from the royal palace, also decided to end the war. It seems Suliman was the one who turned “Turnip Head” into a scarecrow.

In the end, Calcifer, now free, also decides to live with Sophie and the others, and a temporary peace arrives….

A few years later, war once again covered the world, but Sophie and the others paid no mind to the troubles on the ground below and flew freely through the sky.

---

The above is my personal summary of the plot of “Howl’s Moving Castle.” Next, let’s move on to points for analysis.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” Points for Analysis

“Time Leap,” a Theme Hayao Miyazaki Finally Depicted

An easily overlooked element in “Howl’s Moving Castle” is that it is, in fact, a time leap story.

Of course, it’s a fantasy-style time leap rather than sci-fi, but Howl’s first appearance, saying “I’ve been looking for you” to Sophie who had gone back in time and called out “I’ll be waiting for you in the future!”, is quite romantic.

Also, the reason why Sophie and Calcifer somehow got along well might be because the two had met in the past.

In any case, it’s certain that there are elements of a “time leap story,” so looking at it from that perspective might lead to new discoveries.

The Sorrow of a Man Being Captured

The next highlight is “Sophie’s motivation.” From the beginning of the story, Sophie is depicted as living with a sense of “dissatisfaction,” but at the end of the story, inside the flying castle, she seemed extremely fulfilled.

In the end, “Howl’s Moving Castle” seems to be a story about Sophie abandoning her boring reality and starting her life over with a new family. I’ve written about this in more detail in the following article:

Howl's Moving Castle:Sophie's Tenacity to Capture Everything - Hayao Miyazaki's "Sorrow of Men" Series ② -This article explores Sophie's tenacity to capture in 'Howl's Moving...

The Mystery of the “Old Woman” and Similarities with “Porco Rosso”

The most distinctive feature of “Howl’s Moving Castle” is that “the protagonist becomes an old woman.” However, we already know a similar story: “Porco Rosso.”

The protagonist of “Porco Rosso,” Porco Rosso, is in an even more dire situation than Sophie, having “his face turned into a pig’s,” but he doesn’t seem to mind it at all. And then you realize that Sophie, too, doesn’t seem to care much about becoming an old woman. It’s rather we, the viewers, who are anxious about her situation.

I have summarized these mysterious similarities in the following article:

Howl's Moving Castle:Why Did Sophie Become an Old Woman? - The Divided Porco Rosso -This article analyzes why Sophie turns into an old woman in Studio G...

Please take a look when you have time.

The images used in this article are from “Studio Ghibli Works Still Images“.