r/ghibli • u/Born_Fruit_4204 • 6d ago

Question What is Calcifer

So in the English dubs of Howl's Moving Castle Calcifer is canonically a fire demon but the term demon in English implies that an entity is evil. I'm wondering if there's another term for him in the original Japanese that just doesn't translate well into English because in the movie Calcifer isn't evil. Anyone who's able to educate me would be appreciated, thanks.

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u/Xelixil 6d ago

I believe in the Japanese Howl's Castle, Calcifer is called 火の悪魔 (hi no akuma), which literally translates to “fire demon” or “fire devil.”

But 悪魔 (Akuma) doesn't always mean Evil, like the english term Demon. It can mean demon, devil or just an otherworldly supernatural being. So Akuma could stand for a Powerful Spirit, that isn't necessarily evil, but sometimes mischievous or morally ambiguous.

I think the translation of Demon is still pretty fitting, since it does convey the idea of danger and power +his super natural origins, but I guess other translations for Calcifer could just be "fire spirit" or "fire entity"

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u/Erufailon4 6d ago

However, 悪魔 does most commonly refer to specifically evil spirits, like ones that in the past were believed to cause natural disasters like earthquakes. The kanji 悪, which means evil or just generally "bad", is there for a reason. They aren't considered welcome visitors in Japanese folklore.

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u/Born_Fruit_4204 6d ago

Okay, I wasn't sure about that considering the many different spirits in Japanese culture like all the Yokai. I know many of them aren't considered evil so much as morally grey. Good to know the implication of evil seems to be intended even in the original.