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.

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.

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 show is similar to Mushi-shi in many ways. Like Mushi-shi, it is structured as a collection of short stories, each with its own characters, settings, and ideas. A medicine seller travels the land in search of mononoke to defeat, which are demons born from human hate, regret, and sorrow---the darkest recesses of the human heart. Each storyline, which consists of either two or three episodes per story, play out like a detective story. The demon slayer must figure out three things before he can draw his sword and defeat each mononoke. He must know the Form, the Truth, and the Reason; that is, he must know its appearance, the truth of why it came to exist, and the reason it has a grudge against certain people.

This show delves into the deepest and darkest recesses of the human heart. Each demon is born because of some horrific injustice or evil action committed by people against others. It does not shy away from delving deeply into dark topics; it does not shy away from confronting the evil which resides in every heart. The story's narrative never takes away responsibility from the sinners, who either meet horrible ends or are forced to live on with their guilt (which is so refreshing in this age of blaming others for our own mistakes). I particularly like how sinful actions have consequences not just for the sinner, but for those around them as well, creating a never-ending cycle of perpetrators and victims. There are so many deep and profound messages in this show.

Note on the Style: The style is supposed to resemble kabuki and noh theatre, which often feature gaudy colors, crazy masks, and wild make-up with specific symbolism attached to each. I love the beautiful detail in the show.

This anime had little to no animation in it. What it was composed of, almost entirely, was still graphic overlays. Most of the apparent animation was done by shaking, sliding, or rotating them. The graphics were based on the school of Heinz Edelman circa 1968 as seen in the movie Yellow Submarine. Many elements were lifted almost entirely from there and included the same creative elements such as rooms and scenery that couldn't possibly have fit into a given location or scenario, as well as random visuals floating across the screen. Frankly, it was done better in Yellow Submarine. Still, it was pretty.

The story was pretentious at best and not well written. There was little to no world logic to the storey, and what there was, was mostly inconsistent. Jargon was used to substitute for a script. The same statements were used repeatedly. Each episode kept telling you what it just told you over and over. I don't think I could listen to the line "Ah. I see." One more time. It made the dialog exceedingly tedious. And it was slow... so very slow, relying on the graphics for exposition, which never happened. As a horror, it was underwhelming.

Music? What music? Yes, there was an opening and closing song, neither memorable. During the story there was mostly no musical background except for random notes thrown from the speaker randomly from time to time. The notes seemed to have been randomly sampled from Classical Japanese instruments. No musical themes linked the notes together. They were there to break up the monotony of the dialog. Once every three or so episodes there would actually be a small instrumental interlude lasting a very short period of time, but again, completely unmemorable.

If you are into experimental visuals then this might be for you. As an anime, it's a bust. It definitely is not meant for children. For most people, I would recommend a pass. This series is far to pretentious to be entertaining. A rating of 6 was the best that I could do, and it's very generous.