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coldspaghetti

  • Joined Oct 18, 2020
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Mononoke

Dec 18, 2020

Mononoke. From just looking at the anime poster I was automatically interested; the bright colors, the textured background, and ukiyo-esque character adorning the front page. Mononoke captures your eyes with its unique textured backdrop that has an uncanny resemblance to crumpled washi paper. This technique of using one texture for everything executed in something other than a photograph or a drawing could be called lazy or visually brassy yet Mononoke accomplishes this with elegance and aesthetically pleasing surrealism. Every scene in Mononoke looks like it could be taken out of your screen and plastered on a wall to be flaunted at a prestigious art exhibit. It's just that beautiful. Having japanese traditional art and music influences we are introduced to a heightened cultural experience through a colorful presentation of supernatural stories happening somewhere in japan most likely during the meiji restoration period. Our main character Medicine seller is tasked to exorcise these otherworldly creatures called Mononoke which leads us to a display of  wonderfully handcrafted paranormal mysteries. Each story is unraveled in a series of vivid twists and turns as we find out the form, truth, and regret of these ghost-like beings and the unique individuals that intertwine with them. The characters in Mononoke are distinctly original each having their own eccentric personalities and reactions to what goes on around them. I found myself enjoying each story just for the new characters that were going to show up and what their personal stories would be. They all felt like unique puzzle pieces that were all exciting to watch being put together. To top this all off we have the strikingly unusual artstyle with ukiyo-esqe influences in character design as well as rich vibrant colors and crazy visuals. I would say my favorite part of this anime was the visual design. It's so breathtaking and with its unusualness somehow it adds a whole nother level to the ghost stories. While there was not realistic gore or the usual jump scares that happen in many supernatural anime that make it “scary”, the hair raising soundtrack, freaky creatures, odd artstyle,  and perfect cut-scenes made way for the spooky aspect. I really do want to praise this anime for its great soundtrack and bone chilling voice acting (particularly for the screams). Even though the drawings of the mononoke weren’t scary (more creepy you could say) what made me really creeped out was the soundtrack. The haunting beats of the taiko drums, the sinister strums of the biwa, the eery distorted vocals, and the ominous whistles of the shakuhachi flute all excelled at putting me in a state of suspense. While Mononoke in its entirety wasn’t scary enough or had the horror elements to be something that’s supposed to frighten you it is quite spooky. Not in a way that’s tacky though, the spooky-ness in this anime comes from the pure creativity that comes with the eerily interesting stories of the mononoke. Overall this anime was extremely enjoyable to me and had great stories and great characters that never left me bored. If you’re interested in paranormal anime in the historical genre with surreal and beautiful animation than Mononoke is for you.

8.5/10 story
8.9/10 animation
8.6/10 sound
7.7/10 characters
8.5/10 overall

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