Forest Spirit's body bleeds ooze that spreads over the land and kills anything it touches. The forest and kodama begin to die; Moro's head briefly comes alive and bites off Eboshi's right arm, but she survives. Enraged, San attempts to kill Eboshi again, but is stopped by Ashitaka, who consoles her and encourages her not to give up. After Iron Town is evacuated, Ashitaka and San pursue Jigo and retrieve the head, returning it to the Forest Spirit. The Spirit dies but its form washes over the land, healing it and lifting Ashitaka's curse. Ashitaka stays to help rebuild Iron Town, but promises San he will visit her in the forest. Grateful to Ashitaka and San, Eboshi vows to build a better town. The forest begins to regrow as a single Kodama emerges from the brush. Cast and characters Yōji Matsuda voices , the last Ainu prince of the Emishi tribe whose traveling companion is , a , a fictional species of elk that Miyazaki created for the film. Novelist Ali Shaw has described Yakul as being more similar to a red Lechwe than an elk. Miyazaki called Ashitaka a "melancholic boy who has a fate" and stated that Ashitaka's curse "is similar to the lives of people [at the time]". Ashitaka's English voice actor Billy Crudup stated that he liked Ashitaka as "an unexpected hero. He's not your usual wild, brave guy. He's really just a young, earnest man who's trying to lead a valuable life and protect his village." Yuriko Ishida voices , a young woman who was raised by the wolves and feels hatred for humans, but eventually comes to care for Ashitaka. In the English version, San is voiced by Claire Danes. Ishida also voices , Ashitaka's bride-elect who breaks the rules of the village to gift him her dagger to remember her by. Tara Strong provides her voice in the English version, where she is referred to as his younger sister due to the translation. Yūko Tanaka provides the voice of , the ruler of Irontown who continually clears the forest. Miyazaki stated that Eboshi was supposed to have a traumatic past, although it is not specifically mentioned in the film. Miyazaki said that Eboshi has a strong and secure personality, evident in the fact that she let Ashitaka move freely through the settlement unescorted, despite his unclear motives. He also said that Eboshi does