In Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, the mysterious boy who helps Chihiro is Haku.
Haku first appears as a seemingly confident guide who warns Chihiro to leave the spirit world before sunset. He helps her enter the bathhouse, obtain work from Yubaba, and survive the dangerous rules of the spirits’ realm. His kindness makes him one of Chihiro’s most important allies.
Haku is later revealed to be the spirit of the Kohaku River. Chihiro remembers that she once fell into this river as a child, and Haku rescued her. The revelation restores his forgotten identity after Yubaba had taken his name and bound him to her service.
Haku is sometimes confused with No-Face, another major character in the film. No-Face is a masked spirit whose behavior changes in the bathhouse, while Haku is the dragon-like river spirit who protects Chihiro. The film was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released in Japan in 2001.