A prince of the Emishi tribe, Ashitaka is cursed in combat by a demonic boar. His only hope for a cure is to return to the forested land from which the boar-god originally came and discover what rage infected it. Leaving his people behind forever, he makes that journey and discovers the gods of the forest at war with the humans in a iron-mining town. Ashitaka vows to help the two sides reach a compromise, to cure them of the very anger that now eats away at him. The key to compromise appears to lie with a mysterious human girl who lives amongst the gods.