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Call me superstitious for enjoying the detailed animation of the movie (oh wait, you can't. It's so detailed it's impossible to be counted as vain) but the movie had my heart in a chokehold. They took the very specific aesthetic and storytelling of mononoke and somehow, somehow, not only did they not mess it up, but they also improved upon it!

I can safely say that for me at least, the storyflow of the movie was a lot more comprehensible than the anime. But I also should probably rewatch the anime a few dozen times before I get a right to talk about it like that, so...

now, visual storytelling aside, as for the story itself, I have to say that I loved both the plot and the place it took place in. Even though the idea of a medicine seller and a "women/servants of the emperor" castle is, at this point, nothing new (lookng at you, apothecary diaries, Jewel in the palace, etc) with Mononoke's special touch and more importantly, it's ever present deep message in losing oneself, that is seen in every single 'mononoke' that gets exorcised (be it in the ayakashi horror tales, Mononoke (tv) or this movie) I find the setting to be exactly on point.

Short of it is this: this movie lived up to everything I wanted as a diehard 'Kusuriuri-san no' fan. It had high quality animation, high level of details, a worthy plot for a mononoke mystery, and just enough screentime of the nameless main character that it didn't compromise the story itself.

I'd have to say though, some opinions might be subject to change compared to what will be revealed in the next movie. The ending slapped a cliffhanger on the Medicine Seller's own story in the last 2 minutes and I certainly hope that more will be shown, and it will be shown soon. Or else I might just call that thrill-baiting...