Mononoke

A mesmerizing piece of art - with its animation and art style which sit somewhere between gorgeous and unsettling, and its paper-texture overlay, it feels like an ancient ghost story come to life. On the other hand, its layers, symbolism and open-ended conclusions sometimes work to its detriment. You may find yourself scratching your head for a few minutes after certain story arcs have concluded, wondering when you got lost and whether you were supposed to really understand what was going on to begin with. In the end, that doesn't make it much less worth watching, and watching again a few dozen times.

I found this show by pure chance. I took a chance with something that was completely unknown to me, having seen or heard nothing about it, just watching it on the recommendation of someone.

That's exactly how a show like this should be enjoyed, with no expectations for the purest kind of viewing. I recommend you do it too, though you might've already been influenced by the reviews here.

It's not for no reason that this show was voted the studio's most beloved show of all time. That vote has lead to the studio now making a new story for it, to be released in 2023. Hopefully there'll be a re-release so I can buy it!

Still, here is my review!

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I can understand if people don't find this one particularly interesting as it will require some patience to watch. You will not be blown away by non-stop action, but be required to actually pay attention to what's going on. The art style might be a turn-off for some, while evidently (and to me as well) one of the biggest draws of this particular show.

Through the viewing of this show you are given visual hints as through the strange art style, the actions of the characters and the dialogue, hints that during your first viewing you may not pick up on. Some of them are even red herrings to mislead you to the wrong conclussion. But eventually, more and more things are revealed in twists and turns until the climax of each story arc where the truth of each case is revealed.

My favorite one is the second story arc, Umibozu. It really takes you for a ride and has some stunning visuals.

So if you're not willing to sit down and enjoy the visuals, the excellent drama, the interesting characters and the twists of a who-dun-it mystery I suspect this might bore you. I'm sure there's some Shounen show out there that'll fit you better, one that doesn't require your brain to function.

This is not your average anime, it has an art concept based and the ancient paints that Japan is famous for.

Mononoke follows a wandering, nameless character known only as the "Medicine Seller" (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai). The series is made up of individual chapters in which the medicine seller encounters, combats and subsequently destroys mononoke. The "mononoke" are a type of ayakashi, unnatural spirits that linger in the human world. The Medicine Seller always proceeds in the same manner, using his knowledge of the supernatural to fend off the mononoke until he can learn the spirit's shape (Katachi), truth (Makoto) and reasoning (Kotowari).

The opening track is "Kagen no Tsuki" by Komatsu Ryouta and Charlie Kousei and the ending is "Natsu no Hana" by JUJU.

In a personal note, the stories are more mysterious than scary, there was two stories that were actually kind of scary to me. It really deserves more recognition in the anime world.

I love Japanese anime, I'm a 74 year old grandma and a big Ghibli studio fan! What brought me here is the title "Mononoke" which I found out has nothing to do with " Princess Mononoke" by Ghibli studios lol! I was intrigued by the colours and detailed art at first and kept watching! Truly I don't know why I still keep watching but I started it and now I want to know what is happening! I love everything Japanese and this very colourful art nouveau style anime show just got me hooked!

The details in the anime are simply amazing, the colours beautiful and I get to learn a bit more about Japanese culture!

You should really watch mononoke and pay close attention as it discloses more than what meets the eye at first, the classic horror theme is prominent In the starting episodes, and it very well throws you off the psychological aspects at first. The animation style is gorgeous, it may not be everyone's thing but it only adds to the show, the show very subtly deals with psychological horror and the things human nature is capable of, it has 2-3 stories that each span a few episodes, each different from the rest, a must watch if the unconventional is your taste.