Mononoke Part the 1st: An introduction. In the floating world some people may still sink below the surface. brought down by their demons suffocating limply falling into the abyss or fighting desperately to stay afloat but especially in The Floating World people are less likely to fall then they are to be dragged down. With hedonism comes debauchery with debauchery comes a victim and with a victim comes a victor. A mistake only becomes a problem if you dont learn anything from it but when a problem arises learning becomes increasingly difficult. If Edo truly was floating It wasnt in a blissfully divine manner there was no transcending to Rpaloka let alone Arpaloka Edo was firmly floating just above the realm of benevolent hatehungry spirits and these demons otherwise known as Mononoke where far more accustomed to dealing with us than any angels are. Thankfully there is a Medicine Seller willing to reverse the roles for these temporary victors a Medicine Seller willing to resolve any problem a Medicine Seller willing to deal with any Mononoke and that Medicine Sellers name is. Kusuriuri Part the 2nd: An interpretation Mr Kusuriurisan is a fascinating character. Ever stoic and implausibly unfazed. Weather they are unwavering in their mission to strip the world of every Mononoke and completely uncaring of the individuals they attach themselves to is up to interpretation. Seemingly omnipresent and possibly omnipotent weather completely detached from are perceptions of reality consciously choosing to simply remain in our state of existence as a guardian is up to interpretation. But enough of pondering vague/inferior interpretations what about my interpretation of Mr Kusuriurisan. I believe Mr Kusuriurisan is a former bodhisattva but rather than merely having been on the path to Buddhahood Kusuriuri has previously become a buddha and choses to dance between the two states. utilising his attainment of awakening to continue staying in are world as a gilded beacon and restricting himself of Nirvana refusing to completely release oneself of suffering so they can continue relieving humanity and those stuck in the material world. Kusuriuri cant conventionally be labelled much and whatever labels Ive thrown his way is merely out of perception. But Kusuriuri is undeniably a traveller. Venturing throughout the land of the rising sun repelling the darkness that looks to completely extinguish the light that can be found within. But in living this way Kusuriuri is constantly having to adapt to the universal truth that life is impermanent. Kusuriuri often travels with the bare minimum the clothes they fashion and the tools required to banish Mononoke. subsequently exposing oneself to those affected by Mononoke Kusuriuri witness first hand those who hold dearest their self despite the plague that curses their soul showcasing just how blindly we can be changed. Yet Kusuriuri is an everending contradiction and an ideal bodhisattva they are not. But I do believe enlightenment starts with the individual and if the soul is truly constantly changing and that if there is no eternal then the concepts of a Heaven Nirvana and even Hell are as contradictory as the pipe Kusuriuri smokes. Meaning enlightenment ends with the same individual but a completely altered perspective. It isnt weather Kusuriuri achieved Buddhahood but how Kusuriuri decided to use this achieved state. Shining like the sun coated in a flame of purity knowledge enlightenment and with his own 3 universal truths: Katachi Makoto and Kotowari the evil that hides in the deepest depths and rises with the greatest desire is revealed and banished by a unconventionally handsome undeniably stylish and exceedingly cool medicine seller who for some reason has elf ears which I hope doesnt tie into Buddhist philosophy or really have any semblance of meaning or reason for being other than it looks cool. To be honest after everything I write this wave of existential dread crashes down upon my consciousness destroying the carefully constructed sandcastle that is this review. And in the aftermath an echo can be heard reverberating form where the wave hit repeating Elf ears elf ears elf ears. Beyond Interpretation Part the 3rd: An Artistry Ive mentioned The Floating World numerous times throughout this review. But what I havent mentioned yet is ukiyoe which translates to pictures of the floating world. Many people will know the more famous artist of this movement such as Hokusai Hiroshige and Kyosai most people will also be able to identify some of their more iconic pieces and series such as 36 views of Mt Fuji containing The Great Wave of Kanagawa 100 famous views of Edo and A Beauty in Front of King Enmas Mirror the problem is most people havent been fanatically confronted halfway through what they could have sworn was a Mononoke review but was actually a thinly vailed trap to go on a passion/mania filled diatribe about the movements history well If your one of these people then your out of luck because Under the new rule of the Tokugawa Shogonate Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world a strict exploitative and vicious class system was introduced and anyone practicing Christianity was mercilessly killed. The tradeoff peace form brutal unrelenting civil war. Alongside all those admittedly pretty significant negatives was some strong positives financially Japan was an extremely healthy country which was agriculturally evolving thanks to also technologically evolving. The population was growing at a stable and maintainable rate helped by the fact not everyone was dying horrifically in battle. And education focused more on the individual being literate than removing peoples individuality and uniting them under a glorious and bloodsoaked banner. Thanks to this art flourished being that a greater amount of people were trained with the skills and had accesses to the tools to create art. Ukiyoe was basically created form the same circumstances that birthed the Pop Art movement in fact the parallels between the two are uncanny. Both were born form nations growing after an extended period of war and complete distress. Both being born form the newfound indulgencies of the lower to middle classes. Entertainment at a reasonable price made music and movies an accessible luxury also the vile luxuries once concealed in the shadows of grimy back allies burst out into the main street and the mainstream. Both challenged the preconceptions of art by focusing on imagery of popular/mass culture rather than selling itself as a restrictive and oppressive medium for elitist with a closeminded view on what art can and should be. And both art forms evolved beyond their original means thanks to creative geniuses who dared to push the boundaries and in doing so created some of the most thought provoking and emotionally provoking pieces of art to bless humanity. Edo becomes New York Kabuki actors become Hollywood actresses Woodblock printing becomes screen printing Time may force us forward but the past moves us forward. And just like how Pop Art wouldnt exist without Ukiyoe neither would Mononoke. See that did all have a purpose. The team behind Mononoke I truly believe in my humble opinion that if you dont like Akira you dont like animation. Conceptually this statement applies to Mononoke except its rephrased too if you dont like Mononoke you dont like art. Once again I must stress thats just my humble opinion of which there are many and most of them are correct. Mononoke is a lovingly crafted idiosyncratic visual masterpiece. The show is worth watching just based of its outstanding visuals. Every fantastically crafted facet of Mononoke standouts to such an extent its impossible to visually appreciate everything it has to offer on just one watch. Much like how Akira takes countless rewatches to notice some seemingly insignificant yet extremely detailed piece of background animation. Mononoke too is perplexingly densely layered with mesmerizing patterns and creative flourishes that would seem insignificant but because some incomprehensibly talented individual poured theyre everything these microscopic details have more meaning than some series do in their entirety. Im going to focus on 2 arches of Mononoke and try avoiding simply saying iz good cause it da best. Im also going to spotlight a third arch which iz good cause it da best. But first I want to talk about some of those incomprehensibly talented individuals I mentioned earlier excluding one significant exception Ill get too later. Takashi Kurahashi and Yumi Hosaka handle art design Ive knida already praised these two to high heaven in the previous section but why not some more. Mononoke is special because it manages to maintain a visual cohesiveness whilst constantly experimenting. And these two are the adhesive keeping that it together. Takashi Hashimoto is the animation director and character designer for Mononoke which is handy because it doesnt mean someone has to be tortured by trying to animate his highly detailed and exceptionally unique character designs. The characters personalities and designs go so perfectly hand in hand just their look identifies what piece they play in the story. For instance Kusuriuris design offers so much intrigue and mystery. As for side characters Ochou of the Nopperabou arch Gives of the airs of a pristine trophy wife but the dark circles around her equally dark and lifeless eyes revels something far more sinister about her predicament. Hashimoto clearly didnt have an archetype to follow when designing the characters and that allows him to bring them to life and have the freedom to animate them as he pleases. One department that normally receives nothing but scorn and is often considered a plight upon the industry is a department that allows Mononoke to excel visually more so than any other. This departments efforts cannot go understated I cant believe Im about to say this but thank God for the CG department. Know Im only against CG in relation to laziness but nothing about Mononoke is lazy and the CG on display is still ahead of its time The only thing that artistically rivals not just Mononoke but Toei of all companies CG works of the late/early 2000s is Triggers Promare. The CG patterns that bring the backgrounds too life the rain and snow in the 1st and 4th arches are completely mesmerizing in the ep9 the background extras being represented by manikins instead of some clunky looking people that are as lifeless as manikins. Credit is due towards CG director Nobuhiro Morita and CG producer Takeshi Himi but its Yukiya Imamuras involvement that interest me the most. But one of these peoples work would have any meaning if Mononoke had a rubbish script so thankfully it doesnt. as primarily a horror series Mononoke is a deeply unnerving yet emotionally gripping series. It knows how to build and mess with your expectations it surrounds itself with so much mystery but will explain itself in a satisfactory manner which respects the viewers intelligence. As I mentioned earlier Mononoke values your view of the show so it often can leave things with many answers but it wants you too piece it together. One script writer for this series whose involvement in any series is worth mentioning is Chaki J Konaka and dont let that J fool you it literally means nothing. Mr Konaka has worked on some great series Lain Princess Tutu and Kino no Tabi. Although I would hesitate to call him a great writer. Chiaki J Konakas scripts are often thematically dense and put the focus on exploring the cool concepts rather than the structuring a comprehensible story or the characters that are remotely interesting. He functions best with a great director such as Ryuutarou Nakamura speaking of great directors. Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music for the series and is a major reason why Mononoke can reach such emotional highs as well as helping it achieve an eerie aura. Now were a bit more acquainted with the staff lets get back to the Archs I mentioned I would talk about some hundred and a bit words ago. Nopperabou The Nopperabou Arch focuses on the aforementioned trophy/housewife Ochou. However this trophy is very rusted and the house they are confined to is more so their prison than home. We dont learn this immediately the first thing we actually learn about Ochou is that she has recently become a murderer. Having painted the walls of her prison with her husband and family Ochou is sitting pretty awaiting execution when Kusuriuri confronts her. And as expected where Kusuriuri wonders a Mononoke lurches. I could write an analysis just detailing what happens in the episodes and making out as if Aha I figured it out But if you want that read a Wiki article. Instead Im going to focus on Ochous emotional state and how the art of this arch directly correlates to such. The colour inside the house Ochou finds herself confined to is extremely flat. The matte backgrounds somehow manage to remain exciting and whilst being highly oppressive a joy to look at form the perspective of a piece of background art but with the perspective Ochous story they become a bleak and depressing reminder of Ochous confinement. The beige walls are decorated with prints in the styling of Ukiyoe typical of the era. On the walls a tree serving as a sanctuary for birds to come and go as they wish an image of freedom cruelly surrounds Ochou. We also find a large Ukiyoe print depicting quite brutally Ochous current predicament. But all this changes when Ochou snaps flat enclosed colours find themselves bloodsplattered with vibrant blues pinks yellows and most importantly reds. A spectacular explosion of colour to accompany a fantastic explosion of emotions. Yet this quick release of emotion only looks to find Ochou in another state of confinement if Ochou wants freedom then this event wont be how she achieves it. The nature and flow of the colour in these crime scenes cant compare to that of when Ochou is freed form Jail By a masked Mononoke. Ochou finally gets to wonder the world shes been hidden form for so long. Its during this scene that Ochou is at her happiest and during this scene there are no black borderlines confining the beautiful water colours that fill the serene sky as the sunsets on Ochous past. The tree leaves are every colour they decide some stay attached others float form their branches looking as if CG confetti celebrating Ochous newfound freedom. In ep7 the brushstrokes give off such a liberal attitude and create a character rich and descriptive backgrounds unfortunately it is at this point Kusuriuri must truly set Ochou free. From here on Ochous emotions sill play a factor in the art direction but they are at the mercy of Kusuriuri. And not wanting to spoil this or any arch I will stop here with The Nopperabou Arch and move onto the RECORD SCRATCH Dont read unless youve finished this arch or dont care about spoilers. Nue The Nue Arch or The Monochrome Arch. This arch manages to look equally as amazing as the others mostly using black white and grey tones. Colour is reserved for items of significance in relation to the characters such as a samurais sword the woodpecker nose of man who goes around poking said nose in others business and a funny mans funny hat. The only exception to this rule are beings that transcend the boundaries of are mortal plain beings such as Mononokes and Medicine Sellers. This arch focuses on a game of Genjikou a scentbased game which is very complicate and very Japanese. With every inhale the characters light up along with the world that surrounds them. These brief flashes of colour tell a story of themselves and support are understanding of each of the three characters this arch focuses on. But what is really impressive is how the scenery they fill never manages to lose itself despite the lack of colour. the backgrounds are still full of life you dont feel like youre missing out on anything despite the fact something is obviously missing. It shows that Mononoke is more than flashy colours and fancy patterns. Nevertheless they do help because as I previously mentioned there is one arch in this series that is simply good cause it da best. And why is that because flashy colours and fancy patterns. Umi Bozu 220https://starcrossedanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/09/Mononoke5.2e1567783547865.png Watch 220https://i0.wp.com/akimonogatari.es/wpcontent/uploads/2019/12/giphy1.gif?ssl=1 This 220https://i0.wp.com/www.s1e1.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/09/081.jpg?ssl=1 Show 220https://starcrossedanime.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/09/Mononoke5.9.png Please Part the 4th: An artist So yeah apparently Mononoke is pretty good But I havent yet mentioned the man who is the key to Mononokes pretty goodness and that man is Kenji Nakamura. Nakamura made a seismic impact with his full directorial debut but he isnt just some one hit wonder so just like how Mononoke was his first success Itll be my first review focusing on Mr Kenji NakamuraSan. Hopefully this was readable and worth your time if youre welcome to return. And if you didnt like it then damn you and your opinion that youre entitled to.