Nago the fallen Boar God, Princess Mononoke, 1997 https://twitter.com/sunnyarkade/status/1245765719545053186

Seriously tho, Nago's demon form is one of the most powerful images I've ever seen. Pure, poisonous hatred in motion. Absolutely blew my mind wide open the first time I saw it in High School. Still blows me away every time to this day!

Also, FYI that mass of writhing black tendrils is a "bootlace worm" scientific name "Lineus longissimus." When disturbed it produces neurotoxic mucus that smells of sewage. It also might be the longest animal in the world, growing by some accounts up to 180 feet!

Back to Nago, the boar god consumed by his rage and hatred; I believe Miyazaki must have been inspired by "whale falls" and the image of scavengers (specifcally the hagfish pictured below) picking apart a once magnificent being.
#ArtEaterInfo #PrincessMononoke #WhaleFall

I'd wager that there's a very good chance Miyazaki was inspired by this classic sequence of hagfish feeding on whale fall from a David Attenborough documentary.

This is not the first time Miyazaki has referenced Whale Fall in his work. In Nausicaa (first published in 1982--read the comics!), the story revolves around Ohmu, giant insects, who upon death, return rich nutrients into the earth, helping to spread "The Sea of Corruption"