Mononoke

Well I did just finish watching it for the first time, so, admittedly, no.

However:

Mononoke is a seriously awesome series that more people need to give a try. Mushishi by way of classic Japanese art with some wonderful surrealism thrown in as a bonus and several images of breathtaking beauty I ALREADY LOVE IT SO MUCH.
 
I've only seen the first episode so far, but the animation and flow of the story reminded me why I loved the last arc of Ayakashi so much.

The animation is seriously stunning, and I'm suprised its so underrated ^^

H.
 
Thanks for starting this thread signorRossi. When it popped up the other day I happened to notice it, and after reading through I decided to give it a watch. I was very impressed. Very cool art (reminiscent of Gankutsuou and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei). It also has a sort of intangible style to it, you know? Anyway I really enjoyed it so thanks for bringing it to my attention.
 
I just finished Mononoke. Wow. Big wow.

I think the final Bakaneko arc could well be my favourite (although, I did love the Umibozu arc muchly). The way the fragmented story came together in the end, and in such an immensely creepy creshendo was perfect!

I loved the way the woman was lying on the train tracks unable to move and the train heading relentlessly towards her...

Admittedly, it did get a little too "arthouse" for my tastes in places (especially the Nue story), but loving 4/5 of the arcs meant the show gets a 4/5* from me ^^

H.
 
Oh come on the arthouse-y-ness was the best part. -_-

Seriously though I almost considered giving this a 4.5/5 and I mainly deterred myself on the logic that, well, as I've said elsewhere, I don't think it's sort of as cohesive as Mushishi or similar titles. Stuff happens, it ends, the Medicine Seller repeats who he is after the end credits and that's sort of it... Mushishi managed to be episodic yet feel completely satisfying in its lack of a denouement. It's a gut sentiment I think but a rather important one.

Also Umibozu > Bakeneko IMHO.
 
valondar said:
Oh come on the arthouse-y-ness was the best part. -_-

Seriously though I almost considered giving this a 4.5/5 and I mainly deterred myself on the logic that, well, as I've said elsewhere, I don't think it's sort of as cohesive as Mushishi or similar titles. Stuff happens, it ends, the Medicine Seller repeats who he is after the end credits and that's sort of it... Mushishi managed to be episodic yet feel completely satisfying in its lack of a denouement. It's a gut sentiment I think but a rather important one.

Also Umibozu > Bakeneko IMHO.
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I enjoyed the art style very much, but there were some places where it just seemed to tip the balance a little too far and turn the show into something for people who like the pretentious look. It became style over substance, and it sometimes felt like the story was buried by the animators trying too hard.

I agree about the lack of Mushishi flow. You never really feel like you get to "know" the medicine seller, he still felt like an enigma after the final credits finished rolling. He had a "know-all" feel to him, something I never thought about Ginko. Mushishi felt like a more winning combination because of this, having more likable characters and a more natural ebb.

Even after all of the bad things I have to say about it, I really did love Mononoke ^^

H.
 
KiraRin said:
It became style over substance, and it sometimes felt like the story was buried by the animators trying too hard.
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That really was one Mononoke's greatest strengths IMHO, it's orgy of disorienting and beautiful symbolism.

He had a "know-all" feel to him, something I never thought about Ginko.
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This aspect I actually liked a lot.

I loved it when he said feigned stupidity in adding a poisonous element to the barks that were to be sniffed. It was so brutally dry.

However some kind of episode/arc involving his past or identity in some way - like what was done with Ginko - might have just deepened the series a little more.
 
I heard the medicine seller from this series was originally in Ayakashi horror stories?

If i'm correct, would i need to see the horror stories first? Or could i watch this on it's own?

This is what i got from the desription on animeseason:

'Mononoke is a spin-off of the Bakeneko story arc of Ayakashi - Japanese Classic Horror. It follows the Medicine Seller as he deals with various spirits or "Mononoke" in feudal Japan. Just like in the Bakeneko story, he combats with a series of tools and his vast knowledge of the supernatural on his side, but can only slay the Mononoke when he uncovers its form (Katachi), the truth behind its appearance (Makoto) and the reason for its unusual behavior (Kotowari). In other words : Truth, Form and Regret.'
 
You are right, the medicine seller appeared first in the last arc of Ayakashi JHT".
You can watch Mononoke on its' own too, but you might get a better introduction to the whole thing by watching the last three episodes of Ayakashi JHT first.
While watching it try to be attentive and focused, you will enjoy it more!
 
I think you should watch Ayakashi first. It explains the medicine seller, his blade and how it works. I guess they also explain this in Mononoke, but not as much detail as in the first show.

Ayakashi seems to evoke the same reaction from its viewers - the first arc sucks, the second is okay and the third rocks. You could just watch the baka-neko arc then dive straight into Mononoke ;P

H.
 
Hmmm ok :P thanks for your views, i've been extremely excited to see this for a while now, so i'll mostly likely watch Ayakashi as you've both suggested and then move onto Mononoke :D *drools*

Thanks for your help :)
 
KiraRin said:
I agree about the lack of Mushishi flow. You never really feel like you get to "know" the medicine seller, he still felt like an enigma after the final credits finished rolling. He had a "know-all" feel to him, something I never thought about Ginko. Mushishi felt like a more winning combination because of this, having more likable characters and a more natural ebb.
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I haven't gotten too far in Mushishi, but I see it as the other way around. Ginko always has something to say about humanity as a whole, "when people X, they Y," or "please, continue to live, life has meaning." Something like that. While the medicine seller was certainly cocky, and had an aura of superiority, he rarely spoke his mind. He basically just asks questions, and makes the same statement in most of the episodes: "There are people worse than demons in this world, but Mononoke's cannot exist."

It's difficult to compare them much farther since Mononoke is very heavy on the mystery, but i found it easier to feel for the victims in Mononoke, who usually become the demons, because for the most part, despite all the fantastical visuals, it rarely feels beyond human. I watch a lot of serial killer specials on tv and none of the evils are stretches for me to imagine. With Mushishi, it takes a lot more imagination to empathize with the characters since their situations are filled with the impossible. You have to project human nature into difficult to imagine situations, and while i can sometimes, it just misses the boat for me at others.

About the final arc.

I don't really understand the girl with the mole's part.

She tells the detective that the reporter was a regular, which was a lie, but what else did she have to say? I think she just said "maybe she died?" How is that significant? And I'm thinking the guy she was all over in the end was the murderer? I still don't see significant involvement. She didn't know anything the way the others did.
 
Okay, so i just watched the first episode, and after reading what everyone has said, I'm sorry to say I haven't watched Ayakashi yet, but I love what Ive seen so far, I wasn't too sure of the art style at first, seemed like a wannabe gankutsuou, but after half the first episode, I began to love it... mainly because of the movements of objects and how they trail... especially the scene where
Medicine man is in the upstairs room with the innkeepers and the pregnant girl... where she is explaining what happened to the assassin, how he went around, and around and around and around, and the room began to turn...
 
I've just watched the first episode too. The funny thing is that it was raining here outside my window as in the anime (but now it stopped).
Not having watched Ayakashi is not a bad thing, I mean, the third arc of Ayakashi could be the first of Mononoke, it's good to introduce the character, but I think all the arcs will be stand alone (because I'm assuming that Mononoke has three arcs too).
I wouldn't compare this one to Gankutsuou, I mean, of course you can say that the two kind of animation is similar, but here it conveys a completely different atmosphere (especially for the close scenes of characters' faces, for trails, and even sound).
Of course one of the main aspects of this anime is the medicine seller's charism, the way he arrives and, without explaining more than the least, acts to solve the problem.
I'm liking this as much as the Bake Neko arc, that is quite a lot. Me too waiting for tomorrow for second episode.
 
im watching episode 1 now, and i dont really like the animation for it, i will probably get used to it, but yeah. ok, i just finished, my impression is that it is weird...
 
Ninjapirate101 said:
im watching episode 1 now, and i dont really like the animation for it, i will probably get used to it, but yeah. ok, i just finished, my impression is that it is weird...
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Ninjapirate, did you see Ayakashi Japanese Horror classics? it had kind of a precursor to this series.
Like a pilot set of episodes. Sort of explaned who and what the tatoo seller is capable of.

I personally enjoyed it. It is like noh-anime. Anyhow, a tad less comedy element that was in Ayakashi.
I like how it took it's time setting you up... but it was a bit slow for some I imagine.

I think it was pretty obvious that
room that the pregnant woman is given was going to be a den of supernatural.
So the Inn doorman, and the pregnant lady look like they both come straight from the USA lol. Interesting.
 
Watched episode two. I was a little confused, this was the end of the first story, but I didn't expect it (as in Ayakashi the story lasted three episodes, and here I was thinking they could be even four).
I definitely think that these two episodes aren't the best way to introduce the character and all. For example here we see the scales, but they aren't explained, and even the sword isn't used. It's true that there's time in next episodes, but knowing it before (as who watched Ayakashi does) is much better, in my opinion.
The story of these first episodes was weird, I mean, it's not so important what the plot is in detail, as the anime is more focused on atmosphere and the sequence of every scene. I would describe this anime as a horror one, more than Ayakashi, since the general feeling is much conveyed (and I should stop watching it in the morning...).
Nice, I'm really liking this one too, I noticed some little improvements since last arc of Ayakashi.
 
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