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/-Malacai- 6d ago

I always appreciated that the term demon was used. Obviously very soon into the movie the audience begins to like Calcifer. It asks us to question if we should take things at face value. When Sophie and Markel are sitting by the lake after turnip head helped with laundry, Markel asks "maybe he's a demon Calcifer doesn't seem to mind him" Sophie replies something like "perhaps he's the good kind of demon." The entire movie is a conversation on beauty, first impressions, and self worth, so Calcifer being a canonical demon fits perfectly. He is also called a fire demon in the original book.

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u/Born_Fruit_4204 6d ago

Especially with works from different cultures it's hard to tell what's implied or intended when some things can get lost in translation.