The protagonist of the story is Ashitaka, a young prince who is banished from his village after coming into contact with the curse that was effecting Nago.
He leaves the village to search for the cause of the curse hoping that he maybe able to remove it before it kills him. He meets the Iron Town run by Lady Eboshi who is also the cause of Nago's curse, Ashitaka also meets San who he begins to fall in love with trying to keep the peace and express his feelings for her.
San is a human girl raised by wolves, when she was a baby her parents were attacked by the wolf God Moro, to save themselves they sacrificed San by throwing her at Moro in order to escape. Moro spared San and raised the child as her own daughter. San has a distrust and hatred of humans and even doesn't consider herself to be human but more of a wolf.
When she meets Ashitaka her hatred starts to wither when their relationship starts to build. San's goal is to protect the great forest and also kill Lady Eboshi who is responsible for the war between the animals and gods.
Lady Eboshi is the antagonist of the film and leader of Iron Town. Eboshi sees the forest and the animals as the enemy only wanting to exploit the surrounding resources for her iron and metal weapons / explosives.
Although Eboshi is the enemy of the Wolf Clan and other Forest Gods, she does have a compassionate side by taking in lepers and brothels girls to work and live in Iron Town.
