Description
The two main characters from the 2001 Japanese animated coming of age fantasy film.
Haku who can appear to be a young boy is actually a river spirit (dragon as seen here) -- the "God of the Swift Amber River" (or "Spirit of the Kohaku River" in the English dub).
Haku means Master or Foreman that indicate his position in the Bathhouse as Yubaba's right hand.
As a river spirit, Haku possessed supernatural powers that are primarily associated with the element of water. Examples of powers he was shown to possess are:
- Asian Dragon Physiology: Due to his being a Japanese river spirit, Haku has the ability to take on the form of an Asian dragon, and was shown to be able to fly in this state.
- Arcane Knowledge: Due to his status as a river spirit, as well as being Yubaba's apprentice, Haku possesses an extensive knowledge of magic and the spirit world, which he regularly used to keep Chihiro out of trouble and, ultimately, free her and her parents from the spirit world.
- Flower Petal Manipulation (possibly): Though it was never specifically confirmed, it was possible that Haku had the ability to create, shape, and manipulate flower petals - when trying to help Chihiro escape the spirit world during their first meeting, he blew petals from his fingertips to serve as a distraction from those who might have sensed her presence.
- Spell Casting: Haku had the ability to cast spells, allowing him to alter reality to various effects - he used a spell to enable Chihiro to regain the use of her legs while she was still adjusting to being in the spirit world.
- Telekinesis: Haku had the ability to move objects with his mind, which he channeled through his hands - while he was trying to escort Chihiro to safety, he opened doors at a distance merely by gesturing at them with his hands.
- Cloaking (limited): Haku has the ability to hide the presence of oneself or others, preventing others from detecting or discovering one's location. However, this ability is shown to be limited - when Chihiro took a breath out of sheer shock at seeing Aogaeru, Haku's cloaking over her was broken, enabling Aogaeru to identify her as a human through her scent.
- Force-Field Imprisonment: Haku had the ability to bind, or imprison, or stop objects and individuals by using forcefields - when Aogaeru tried to attack Chihiro when she was exposed as a human, Haku stopped him by imprisoning him in a forcefield.
- Flight: Even when he was in human form, Haku had the ability to defy gravity and propel himself through the air at tremendous speeds and heights.
- Memory Implantation: Haku had the ability to implant memories in others' minds, which he used to guide Chihiro to secure a job at Yubaba's bathhouse.
- Supernatural Cooking: Haku had the ability to cook anything with supernatural or magical properties - during his and Chihiro's second encounter, he fed her a berry that enabled her to take corporeal form in the spirit world, and much later on, he fed her rice cakes that enabled her to regain both her physical and mental strength, as well as to retain her optimism.
Chihiro Ogino is a ten-year-old girl whom while in the process of moving to a new town with her parents, stumble into the spirit world by accident. Her parents get transformed into pigs and Chihiro must find a way to save her parents and get out.
In Japanese, the name "Chihiro" means "A thousand fathoms".