i know haku was everyone's first ghibli crush but ashitaka was on some whole other level... when he cut his hair and took his shirt off and bent a sword with his bare hands and called a woman beautiful at sword point and defied god and man... i felt that

and then howl was the full adulthood fantasy of a slightly ditzy and dramatic but pure-hearted and beautiful man with a castle giving you a magical flower garden and oh by the way he can turn into a monster with wings and will cook you breakfast. what chance did we have.