Character Profile: Howl

Blond hair, young, handsome...

It's amazing that a wizard can have those kinds of traits. He seems warm, gentle, and loving, but there's more to Hauru than meets the eye. He is known to go after "beauties," in which he kills them, and eats their hearts. For many years, he has lived a life of taking young ladies hearts, and has also been a coward (when it comes to protecting innocent lives from being taken by missiles). But that all changes once he meets Sophie. He rescues her from some soldiers, and then he saves her again from the Witch of the Waste's blob men. Thanks to Hauru rescuing Sophie, Sophie receives the curse of being 90!

Sophie, now a 90 year old woman, now cleans Hauru's house. While Sophie lives with Hauru, she learns of his many secrets. She learns that Hauru uses magic to embellish himself, and she also learns that Hauru turns into a bird/monster; she also learns that Hauru took in a young boy, Markl, to live with him. When it comes to embellishment, Hauru can go too far. For example, he chewed out Sophie once his blond hair changed from orange to black (since Sophie mixed up the magic spells while cleaning).

But there's more about Hauru. A long time ago, he had sworn an oath to the Royal Academy, stating that he would have to meet the king if he had to. Of course, with him being a coward, he has not yet seen the king. So instead, he sends Sophie as his mother!

More information about Hauru is revealed once Mrs. Pendragon (Sophie) meets the king's magician, Madam Suliman. Suliman explains to Sophie that Hauru made a deal with a demon years ago, who stole his heart (who is now known as Calcifer). Without his heart, his thinking became clouded with vainness, using his magic for purely "selfish uses." Suliman now appears to offer Hauru a difficult choice - return and serve her, or have his powers taken just like the Witch of the Waste. Sophie bristles at this flagrant abuse of power, and as she angrily confronts Suliman, her loving defense of Howl's innocence brings the youth back to her face, much to Suliman's amusement. Suliman can now see plainly Sophie's love for Howl, and Suliman is sure that she has now found Hauru's weak point.

After the big showdown with Suliman, Hauru makes up his mind, and starts protecting towns from being destroyed by missiles (or Suliman's missiles), since he has learned from Sophie not to be a coward. But he also does it for another reason: he loves Sophie. The love for Sophie drives her (Sophie) to help Hauru even more...

Howl is a wizard who lives in a moving castle. He enchanted it to walk with the help of Calcifer. He places a lot of energy in looking good because he's flamboyant and flirty. When Sophie first meets Howl his hair is blonde, but by a mistake of reorganizing his potions Howl's hair is turned orange and then falls into a deep night blue.

Howl was an apprentice to Madam Suliman. He was very skilled and still it. Almost nothing brings down his cheerful mood. He hardly ever stops smiling or having fun in one way or another.

When Howl was young, he caught a 'falling star' which was a demon named Calcifer. He spoke with the star before ingesting it and sealing a pact, a spell seal, with the demon. Now Calcifer obeys Howl and holds Howl's heart as the source of his power so Howl has no actual heart.

Howl can transform into a large black bird creature but if he transforms into it too much he may be stuck in the form forever.

'Master Howl' is the only person who knows what is behind the black door on the dial. This door basically leads to whatever Howl needs it for at the moment. At one point, it leads Howl to a burning city being attacked in the war. Later on, Sophie uses it to go back into Howl's past.

Howl once found himself flirting with the Witch of the Waste, when she was pretty, but found out how ugly she was and ran away from her. Ever since, the Witch has chased after his heart.

Howl is unusually calm and cool about bad things that nearly, or do, happen. When the moment is serious, he becomes a little more like the adult he is. He actually remembers meeting Sophie when he was younger (when Sophie went back in time) and so he's not surprised at all by her appearance or when she changes ages in front of him.

All in all, Howl is a very likable character with a wonderful personality and great skills as a magician.