Why is "お前" and "あたし" used in Spirited Away?


I was watching the animated film by Hayao Miyazaki named "Spirited Away" in
Japanese (I'm still a beginner) and I noticed that Yubaba and Zeniba use "お前"
as second person singular. As far as I know it is used by male speakers and
it's not very polite. So why do they use it? Do they speak in an old fashion
in which "お前" is normal?

I also noticed that they say "あたし", isn't that used by younger woman? Or is it
some kind of irony?




"お前" is not very polite as you understand, but not necessarily gender-
specific. A mother can say to her child "お前も大人になった" (You've grown up). "お前"
sounds sometimes authoritative (like Yubaba) and sometimes very friendly (like
Zeniba) according to contexts and tones, even in these days. You have a good
reason to get misguided that the word is for males because guys who love
authority speak loud.

"あたし" is not age-specific. Old ladies say "あたしもよ!" (Me too!) during friendly
conversations. I guess Miyazaki just wanted to characterize the twin as frank
persons with no intention of irony.




"お前" is not very polite as you understand, but not necessarily gender-
specific. A mother can say to her child "お前も大人になった" (You've grown up). "お前"
sounds sometimes authoritative (like Yubaba) and sometimes very friendly (like
Zeniba) according to contexts and tones, even in these days. You have a good
reason to get misguided that the word is for males because guys who love
authority speak loud.

"あたし" is not age-specific. Old ladies say "あたしもよ!" (Me too!) during friendly
conversations. I guess Miyazaki just wanted to characterize the twin as frank
persons with no intention of irony.

