Mononoke Movie 1: Karakasa

I watched the previous Mononoke anime and it seemed like a wonderful series with an incredible aura. It was captivating, mysterious, serene, intriguing. The main character Kusuriuri was mesmerizing, and the rest of the supporting characters in each story all have their own original looks, personalities and background. This movie has none of that, it's a nonsense, a complete waste of time. The studio in charge of making it isn't the same as before and hasn't understood anything about the magic of the previous work. They thought that putting in lots of colors and constant flashy scenes was enough. All aspects seem much worse to mein comparison. I had to make an effort not to drop the movie before finishing it. To have made such a poor continuation I would have preferred that they did nothing, honestly. I feel that this movie tarnishes the general quality of the series. Also, as an extra detail, they changed the previous seiyuu of the main character Kusuriuri (Takahiro Sakurai) whose previous voice in that character hypnotized you in every sentence. And even without taking that into account, Kusuriuri here seems like a completely different character acting in a way that doesn't match the personality he had before. Now he seems like a quirky random character taken from Naruto filler chapters. Another very negative point from my point of view. The aura is totally lost, this movie is a colorful empty shell.

A must for Mononoke and Japanese horror fans, this goes without saying. But even if you're new to Mononoke (not to be confused with Princess Mononoke), this movie will be a real trip. Beautiful visuals, amazing soundtrack and cast, interesting plot and characters. You'll find yourself sucked into a world of colour and emotion. Traditional Japanese elements mix with the supernatural and the occult, composing a feast for the eyes and senses. Mononoke Karakasa, just like the TV series Mononoke, travels back in time to the Edo period to follow the steps of the mysterious figure of the Medicine Seller, who is here to fightthe "mononoke", the malevolent spirit that appears and feeds off the feelings and actions of the characters in the story. Karakasa takes place in the Ōoku of Edo Castle, the women's quarters, where the mononoke starts getting stronger thanks to the women's grudges and resentment at having to sacrifice what was important to them in order to perform their duties. To be able to slay the mononoke, the Medicine Seller has to first figure out its Form, Truth and Reason. Strong female presence, friendship, character development and a stronger mononoke than we've seen before that leads to an epic fighting scene, set this movie apart from the original TV series. It is worth a watch or maybe even a rewatch to be able to take in all the elements and symbolism of the story.

I loved the original series and had been looking forward to this movie for ages. Sadly, I can only assume that whoever was in charge of it decided that since everyone loved all of the beautiful and artistic scenery, let’s quadruple them and then rapidly flash at least three for every sentence shown in the subtitles. So fast that you can barely keep up with the reading. I had to constantly pause just to read and still ended up with a massive headache and felt dizzy. What an appalling movie, I literally cried with disappointment. It seems I cann’t publishthis without more words, but I really have nothing else to say about this movie.

In the original anime, Form, Truth, and Reasoning was needed to unsheathe Kusuriuri's sword as both a plot element and as a narrative function to unravel the mystery to the viewer. One of the things Mononoke did so well was creating sympathy for the monster; we learn what they are, who they are (or were), and how they came to be. Like all the best ghost stories, behind every mononoke's manifestation was a human tragedy. It's in this that Karakasa disappoints, despite the same form being employed. Lots of plot threads and characters, but nothing that gives substance to the monster itself. "I'm the mononoke, bythe way," wasn't its quote upon appearing in force against Kusuriuri, but it might as well have been. The intention might have been to tell its story in parallel to other certain characters, but the execution was such that it instead felt unrelated; almost like a footnote to a less interesting story. When the heart and substance of the story is lacking, what it has is the beautiful and whimsical art style, backed by movie production values; but not much else. 7, but a biased 7 in favour anything Mononoke. Note - this movie is part of a trilogy set in the same location, from my understanding, so hopefully some of the flaws (if not all) are just those of an incomplete story.

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