<P> Yubaba has many similarities to The Coachman from Pinocchio, in the sense that she transforms humans into pigs in a similar way that the boys of Pleasure Island were transformed into donkeys . Upon gaining employment at the bathhouse, Yubaba's seizure of Chihiro's true name symbolically kills the child, who must then assume adulthood . She then undergoes a rite of passage according to the monomyth format; to recover continuity with her past, Chihiro must create a new identity . </P> <P> Along with its function within the ostensible coming of age theme, Yubaba's act of taking Chihiro's name and replacing it with Sen (an alternate reading of "chi", the first character in Chihiro's name - lit . "one thousand"), is symbolic of capitalism's single - minded concern with value, reflecting the film's exploration of capitalism and its effect on traditional Japanese culture . </P> <P> Yubaba is stylistically unique within the bathhouse, wearing Western dress and living among European décor and furnishings, in contrast with the minimalist Japanese style of her employee's quarters, representing the Western capitalist influence over Japan in its Meiji period and beyond . The meiji design of the abandoned theme park is the setting for Chihiro's parents' transformation - the family arrives in an imported Audi car and the father wears a European style polo shirt, reassuring Chihiro that he has "credit cards and cash", before their morphing into literal consumerist pigs . </P> <P> Spirited Away contains critical commentary on modern Japanese society concerning generational conflicts and environmental issues . Chihiro has been seen as a representation of the shōjo, whose roles and ideology had changed dramatically since post-war Japan . </P>

Manga about a girl turning into a spider