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Mononoke (TV + movies).


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kyokun703



Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 2505
Location: Orgrimmar
PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:14 am Reply with quote
You may be able to find a Japanese release (I know nothing about the R2 market, but I doubt there is a legal subbed version of it there), but it has not been released in America yet (very very sad). I'm sure most, if not all, have watched it fansubbed on this thread, and we're patiently waiting for some US company to license this (instabuy from many of us, I'm sure).
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:53 am Reply with quote
Anyone whose even vaguely on the fence about watching this can spend just $7 at RightStuf for the Bakeneko ("Goblin Cat") release. It's the best $7 you can spend on anime.

While I loved Mononoke, in some ways I've always found Bakeneko more compelling. Perhaps it's because I watched it first, but also I think it's the deep emotional power of that series. The modernization of the story in the Mononoke series seemed a bit off to me somehow in comparison.

Of the Mononoke stories themselves, the first arc seems closest to the feelings evoked by Bakeneko.

Unlike others here, my favorite shows often tend to remain unlicensed, so I'm not surprised that Mononoke remains unavailable in R1. The fact that RightStuf has to sell off the Bakeneko inventory at $7 each suggests the market for this show here is pretty limited.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 1669
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:14 pm Reply with quote
kyokun703 wrote:
I know nothing about the R2 market, but I doubt there is a legal subbed version of it there

Yeah, no English subs on either of the two DVD releases. Wasn't able to afford the singles at the time they came out, so I bought the box set that was released last week. Really sleek with gorgeous art, and a nice accompanying booklet (and bookmark!). I've practically given up hope of Mononoke being licensed in North America, really.

yuna49 wrote:
While I loved Mononoke, in some ways I've always found Bakeneko more compelling. Perhaps it's because I watched it first, but also I think it's the deep emotional power of that series. The modernization of the story in the Mononoke series seemed a bit off to me somehow in comparison.

I agree in some respects -- the Bakeneko arc of Ayakashi still has one of the most touching climaxes I've seen in anime -- but I feel as that the first three arcs of Mononoke have a similar emotional impact.
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Jedi General





PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:23 pm Reply with quote
HellKorn wrote:
[...] I bought the box set that was released last week. Really sleek with gorgeous art, and a nice accompanying booklet (and bookmark!).

You mean this set? Wow. Shocked That's expensive. But it's definitely very, very nice. If only it had subs (or if I were able to understand Japanese) and I had a region free DVD player, I'd probably buy it.
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Unicorn_Blade



Joined: 18 Jul 2010
Posts: 1153
Location: UK
PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:40 pm Reply with quote
Oh, I must say, Mononoke gave me some really creepy dreams. Loved every second of it, but I certainly do not recommend it for watching when youre ill and sit in bed with a high fever- I certainly wont repeat the same mistake again. A bit different, it took me a bit to get into it. I appreciated little bits of humour in it.

I have not seen Ayakashi, I am quite curious about the Bakeneko arch now when I have read about it.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:28 pm Reply with quote
Jedi General wrote:
You mean this set? Wow. Shocked That's expensive.

Now there's a Blu-ray release of Mononoke plus the "Bakeneko" arc from Ayakashi. I might consider spending the $200 or so for this if it came with English subtitles. Sadly, there are none that I can see. If there were an R1 licensor, I can understand protecting them by not releasing it with subs, but only the original Bakeneko arc is available in R1, and last I looked, they had just a couple hundred left in stock at RightStuf.

Look at those sales rankings at Amazon, too. The other releases are in the top-50 by DVD sales.


Last edited by yuna49 on Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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MaxSouth



Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1375
PostPosted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 1:25 pm Reply with quote
In the story that ends on the episode six -- about the woman who was possessed by a mononoke -- the apothecary kills her/mononoke, even though it was not necessary if the "pair" was already peaceful and happy.

Why?

Just because this particular exorcist has compulsion to expel all kinds of spirits in each in every case no matter what?
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 3443
PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 7:28 pm Reply with quote
Mononoke Gekijouban #1: Karakasa

Bit late to the party given the website reviewed this in July 2024, but it's out on Netflix for those who liked the franchise which aired before it. No idea if the movie trilogy needs its own dedicated thread, so posting here for now unless moderators deem otherwise.

I didn't watch the two series which aired before this, so came in with no expectations. As others have already mentioned elsewhere, visually this movie is hard to top by anything produced over the last two decades. Given the pseudo Heian setting it placed itself in, the artistic direction to get the colours used for the final product is nothing short of a masterstroke. If there's one criticism of the visuals, it's being so striking that casual viewers need longer to catch up with the actual plot. Also, the visuals have a somewhat hallucinogenic property in distracting the audience from the very brutal business of the Karakasa going about its work.

Although the main character is ostensibly the mysterious medicine seller who has made it his life mission to slay any and all supernatural entities he crosses paths with, the ladies in waiting at the centrepiece are the ones responsible for illustrating the background behind the emergence of the movies titular entity. Asa and Kame couldn't be more different, yet they both embody different aspects behind the inner court which every inhabitant has to wrestle with and adapt to in order to stay in it's confines. For the former, the environment allows her to excel and showcase the talents she has to fulfil her dream role but for the latter it's a nightmare before of how unsuited she is to its pressure and demands.

The preconditions required before the medicine seller can draw the one weapon capable of dispatching the entity necessitate detective work to uncover its traits. These have surprising resonance, more so for some cultures depending on how much of a role groupthink and peer pressure feature in those societies.

This being the first of three movies raises expectations of what the next two movies have in store. Probably the most successful example of a crowd funded production to date, the proceeds from the first film should be enough of a foundation for the animators to build on and finish the planned trilogy. It's even overcome controversies not of its own making, so expectations will be high until the next update on when the second film will be ready for viewers.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 3443
PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2025 9:23 pm Reply with quote
Mononoke Gekijouban #2 Hinezumi

The second movie showed up on Netflix much sooner than I anticipated. It's a direct continuation of the first movie, so casual viewers can't watch it in isolation and expect to know what's going on.

The visuals are still the same unique style from the first movie, but the impact isn't as obvious because viewers will be somewhat used to it after the first movie. It's not exactly the same because unlike the umbrella this movie has the rat as the showcase and this supernatural entity has its own unique visuals which dovetail well with the overarching theme of politics getting in the way of a mother's right to raising her child.

Like the first movie, there's a lot of detective work that must be done before the sword can be drawn and the medicine seller can transform into his Slayer form to put down the entity once and for all. Despite proving himself in the first movie, protocol and prejudice prevent him from fulfilling his mission. Good thing for him is he finally opens the right doors with this movie's achievements that he won't have to play the same cat and mouse game with Sakashita the gate guard for the final movie.

The protagonist from the first movie makes a cameo appearance, but she plays no part in this story beyond affirming her neutrality from the political games of the inner palace.

Given the third and final movie is about the snake god, I can't imagine what base human instinct is going to be responsible for the events. Regret is the common denominator running through the franchise, so I expect the finale to be no different. There's little said about the medicine seller himself in both movies, so that's something the third movie could explore. Given the gap between first and second movies, I expect the finale to be around Q2 2026 for it to show up on Netflix.
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