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NeoGAF's "Let's Watch Anime" OT# 10: Now Watching: Mononoke (1/12-1/23)

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Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
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The Goal of the "Let's Watch Anime" thread is to bring together the anime community (even "casuals") to watch a lesser known anime series then discuss and share our reactions towards it. Participation in each episode is appreciated, but playing “catch-up” by watching multiple episodes is normal as everyone has different responsibilities/time to watch anime. Just don’t post on future episodes unspoilered! The more posting about the series and it's events, the more beneficial it is to everyone, so please post up on the good, the bad and the awful; We are all in this together! (no hiding lurkers) We will have a new show selected to watch every two/three weeks and the genre will vary greatly. The shows that will be selected will have met the below criteria:

- Any genre
- Lesser known titles (Not SAO, One Piece, Gintama, etc)
- Not already aired on Toonami/Adult Swim
- The shows should try to avoid outrageous and/or sexually offensive themes
- Shows could be good, bad or possibly trash; let's find out together
- Recommendations are always accepted for future viewing
- Let's have FUN with this together! Please participate in the review and discussion!


Episodes are set for viewing “one a day” so we can try to stay together.



Next Up: Mononoke
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Synopsis:
In feudal Japan, evil spirits known as mononoke plague both households and the countryside, leaving a trail of fear in their wake. One mysterious person has the power to slay the mononoke where they stand; he is known only as the Medicine Seller, and he vanquishes the spirits using the power of his Exorcism Sword. However, in order to draw his sword he must first understand the Form, Truth and Reason of the mononoke. Armed with a sharp wit and keen intellect, the Medicine Seller wanders from place to place, striking down the evil spirits in his wake.


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Episodes: 12
Duration: 22 min. per ep.
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Genres: Demons, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Mystery, Seinen, Supernatural
Studios: Toei Animation


Review:
My initial impression of Mononoke was literally, "...". After giving it a chance I am glad that I wasn't quick to judge and saw it through. Mononoke is a collection of short stories revolving around mysterious spirits/creatures known as, from the title, Mononoke. The writing and directing of the series are excellently done and really immerse you in the story itself. Each arc is a new story with new characters that are well fleshed out in the beginning of each segment. The Medicine Seller, Kusuriuri, is the only recurring character and is mysterious as always with each new arc.

The artistic styling of Mononoke is truly one of a kind, the colours are amazing and with HD encodes it truly shines. Each new environment is unique, colourful, and captivating. The colours and use of quick camera movements add to the suspense. The animations themselves are intentionally very stiff at times but as the action speeds up they become very fluid and top notch. The backgrounds are rarely stationary, but appear as though you are observing a painting at the same time. Often times the animations of common things such as snow or water are displayed in a very unique way that makes you simply want to get lost in it.

Both from MAL:

MAL:
http://myanimelist.net/anime/2246/Mononoke



Available on Crunchyroll :


http://www.crunchyroll.com/mononoke





Open Episodes: ALL :


Episode 12 opens: OPEN




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Previous “Let’s Watch Anime” sessions:

#1- Humanity Has Declined:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1090173
#2- Eccentric Family:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1097748
#3- Sunday Without God:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1104608
#4- Samurai Flemanco:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1111817
#5- Blast of Tempest:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1120956
#6- Kyousougiga:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1133594
#7- Kids on the Slope:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1141103
#8- Mirai Nikki:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1148250
#9- Rozen Maiden
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1163070


*Required ToS Footnote and reminder*
Please see the warning on page 1 of the current seasonal Anime community OT, that still applies here. It's simple; Don't talk about it or promote it...

look at GAF-chan’s words of advice from the Anime community thread:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1166273

Mod Note:
This has been happening frequently enough lately that I just wanted to throw out a friendly reminder: solicitation, discussion, and linking of pirated material is prohibited. This includes illegal streams, torrents, aggregators, fansub & sub group discussion, links to websites containing entire anime soundtrack albums magically for free, etc. Use common sense here. Discussion of legal, ethical, and economic implications of piracy is okay.
Click to expand...

Basically, the section on piracy & copyrighted material in the Terms of Service applies to anime as well.
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
This show is amazing.

My friend and I cosplayed the Medicine Seller.

This show is amazing. Top 10 anime of all time for me. I adore it.

Then again, this is GAFso who knows how people will react
 
E

Eridani

Member
I've actually been meaning to watch this for a while, as it looks pretty interesting. This seems like a good time to start watching, although I can't guarantee I will be able to watch an episode each day. Will definitely post impressions though.
 
P

phaze

Member
Rewatched two first arcs recently but will jump in for the latter three at the very least. (For the 2nd one perhaps as well.)
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
I will say the best way to enter into this series is to expect something where you watch individual little stories and get no explanation outside of them. If you wanna know all about the Medicine Seller and his job and need backstory this is not the show for you. Stuff happens and you watch it happen and that's that.

Visually, this might be one of the most gorgeous shows that exists.
 
M

marzlapin

Member
Oh, I watched the first couple episodes of this a while back. It was weird, but absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. I should probably watch the rest sometime, but the stories didn't really grab me.
 
E

Eridani

Member
Episode 1

This was certainly a very interesting episode. Overall, I quite enjoyed it. There were a few elements that I found rather disappointing, but they were relatively minor and didn't lower my enjoyment of the show all that much.

In particular, the direction was stellar throughout. There were a lot of unusually long shots, which together with great sound design and interesting framing created a very tense and uneasy atmosphere. Since the episode had a horror theme to it, such an atmosphere was really appreciated. The horror aspects of the show were also very interesting. When most anime attempts horror, it does so through the use of disturbing imagery and dark colors. Mononoke, on the other hand, manages to create a suitable feeling of horror, while at the same time maintaining an incredibly bright and cheerful color palette, and without showing anything actually horrible happening.

The second thing that deserves mention is the script, particularly because of its brevity. Most anime characters tend to talk a lot, so seeing a show that where characters use words so sparsely is definitely interesting. It's impressive that despite that, the episode manages to tell its story very well. Despite the concise dialogue, I never felt like anything was missing.

The characterization was rather good too, particularly with the main character - the medicine seller. As mentioned, the show does not have a lot of talking, and that is especially evident with him. And yet, despite the fact that he doesn't speak a whole lot, the show still manages to convey his character and makes him look really interesting. It is clear that a lot of attention was paid towards his mannerisms, and the way he is framed when he talks.

Sadly, several aspects felt a bit lackluster. The first was the use of CG. It wasn't the ugliest I've ever seen and the show tried its best to make it fit in with the overall aesthetic, but I still felt like it made the show look a bit ugly at times, especially when contrasted with the outstanding art direction. I was also a bit underwhelmed with the story. It's clear that the focus of the episode was elsewhere, but the story didn't particularly draw me in yet. It did do a good job of setting up the show and introducing the main character, but I could see some people calling it boring and just dropping the show, which would be a shame. The ending point also felt a bit abrupt, but that is not that big of a deal.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the first episode and look forward to seeing more.
 
F

flawfuls

Member
FYI the real first few episodes of Mononoke are actually part of the anime anthology show Ayakashi. It actually does make more sense if you start from there.
 
E

Eridani

Member
flawfuls said:
FYI the real first few episodes of Mononoke are actually part of the anime anthology show Ayakashi. It actually does make more sense if you start from there.
Click to expand...

I was vaguely aware of that before I started watching, but I don't believe that ever got an official translation, and it doesn't seem to be on Crunchyroll. Still, I felt like the first episode of Mononoke was a perfectly fine introduction and I definitely didn't feel like I was missing anything. Can you elaborate a bit more on why it would make more sense to start with Ayakashi?
 
Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
Damn, that art style is something beautiful. However, in motion, it could also make me fall to motion sickness, lol. I know each arc is set as it's own mini-strory, so I came prepared, but this was certainly an interesting introduction to this first arc, with the pregnant woman and the ghosts. I can already tell this is going to be some interesting stuff!
 
S

Szadek

Member
Episode 1

The art is obviously the most impress part. It's very colorful and creative. There are probably a lot of hidden meaning to a lot of these things that escape me.
On the other hand the animation is lacking, because there isn't a whole lot of movement.
It kind of works some of the time ,because it adds to the atmosphere,so it isn't a dealbreaker.
I still can't help but feel like the had to do this, because the were running out of money.

The Story so far seems to be a fairly typical ghost story and there is probably some terrible that happend in the past of the hotel.
Can't say too much about the characters, because I don't know enough about them right now.

Overall, it was interesting, but I'm worriedthat the show is just style over substance.
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
Mononoke 01

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Click to expand...

Wow, what a tremendously beautiful and creative show. The directing and framing are appropriately interesting for what is essentially a ghost story/horror show. One thing that is out of the ordinary is just how slow and little the characters speak. Perhaps that is due to the Edo setting. I am intrigued.
 
P

phaze

Member
Eridani said:
I was vaguely aware of that before I started watching, but I don't believe that ever got an official translation, and it doesn't seem to be on Crunchyroll. Still, I felt like the first episode of Mononoke was a perfectly fine introduction and I definitely didn't feel like I was missing anything. Can you elaborate a bit more on why it would make more sense to start with Ayakashi?
Click to expand...

I watched the TV series aka what we're watching now first and didn't have any problems. In the second arc, there is a minor character who first appeared in Ayakashi and returns here but that is pretty much the full extent of any kind of continuity between the arcs.

+Ayakashi arc is the worst arc.
 
S

SigmasonicX

Member
Episode 1
Interesting art style right away. And then what appears to be a racist portrayal of a black man. It's odd that they treated the woman as being beautiful when she actually looks weird.

I'm sure there's a lot of cultural significance to the visuals and symbols that I'm not getting. Right now, it's just weird stuff happening and the viewer having to go along with it. It looks interesting, but there's not much substance so far.
 
Y

Yomidi

Member
Episode 1
The art style is really good and interesting, and overall it seems a very creative show. I'm really interested to see what this show has to offer.
 
K

KenjiGlove

Banned
Episode 01

I liked it, aside from being pretty I loved how there wasn't much music. It made everything a lot more immersive and I feel like it made the scenes where there was some music a lot more impactfull (like the time where he draws his sword or when the ghosts are running at them).

Really like the main character, he's confident and knows what he's doing and while he has a mysterious aura he doesn't come across as being too edgy.
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
Mononoke 02

Shit, this is one unique show. Going by the color pallete you wouldn't expect it to be a horror series but it is. Some exceptional direction and usage of imagery here, powerful for horror.
 
E

Eridani

Member
phaze said:
I watched the TV series aka what we're watching now first and didn't have any problems. In the second arc, there is a minor character who first appeared in Ayakashi and returns here but that is pretty much the full extent of any kind of continuity between the arcs.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It's good to know that I won't be missing much.

Episode 2
Not much to add really. The show continues to be good. The direction during the ending scenes was a particular highlight, as it really upped the pace and delivered a satisfying conclusion without over-explaining things.
 
Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
Wow, that was.. umm, damn. Talk about some crazy happenings there. Poor mistress, literally.. the artwork and color were also good still, but that choppy slide show animation is something else. It actually adds a bit the abnormal ambiance of the scenes.
 
Y

Yomidi

Member
Episode 2

I can say I've never seen an a show like this. That was really good, visually beautiful and even kinda scary. This show is really good.
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
Mononoke 03

This show is a real pleasure to watch. Visually creative, interesting and imaginative in the best ways.

Oh, and I should mention the OP is great.
 
Cornbread78

Cornbread78

Member
They really go out of their way to grab your attention with these stories. I'm sure there is a ton of symbolic items/pictures that I am missing , but they still do a great job of subtle storytelling. Good stuff.
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
Yep. To really get what's happening you have to really pay attention. There are distinct and solid events that happen with most of it being representational so a lot of the fun of the shows is figuring out what is happening at any time as well as the plot. Because the shows is significantly less ambiguous than you would assume; all of the arcs have a clear ending or story that you have to find your way towards.

I also have cosplay of me as the Medicine Seller and my friend as...another character, if people wanna see them!

Needless to say, I adore this series.
 
S

SigmasonicX

Member
Episode 2
Still just a lot of weird stuff happening. After the Medicine Seller started doing his thing at the end of the last episode, I was expecting explanations, but I guess not. What the hell, they buried abortions in the wall? Ugh, this is an anti-abortion story? Although it isn't really taking sides. At least now things are getting explained.

And, uh, I guess things are resolved. I don't know how, but they are. I'm guessing the Medicine Seller killed the mononokes, but are the hotel owners even alive?

Episode 3
Well, at least there's stuff you can follow in this story instead of just weird stuff, including some explanation of the Medicine Seller's tools. I liked the scene with the ghost ship, and I'm glad that we'll be seeing a variety of spirits. It's nice that the big mystery is actually about humans with understandable motives.
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
SigmasonicX said:
Episode 2
Ugh, this is an anti-abortion story? Although it isn't really taking sides. At least now things are getting explained.
Click to expand...

It's about the harsh realities of being a woman, particularly a prostitute, in the Edo period. Extends to prostitution in general.
 
P

phoenix296

Member
Episode 1

Well, this was unique.

Let me start off by saying the storyboarding and direction is probably one of the oddest I've seen yet it somehow works. Rather than focus on the subject speaking the camera is usually pointed at the one being spoken to, long shots of the environment with the subjects not even taking up a quarter of the screen or extreme close ups of various things. The one exception being that whenever the woman who is pregnant is part of the scene she seems to be the focus of every shot, speaking or being spoken to.

One shot in particular, the climbing of the stairs was interesting. Cornbread mentioned that he felt motion sickness during some part of this episode and I have to imagine it was this shot and I feel it was the director's intention. The woman having just come out of the rain and already nauseous from her pregnancy had to take several breaks while climbing the stairs. The motion blur used in the shot was intended to mimic the nausea that she is feeling from her pregnancy and the onset of a cold.

Another scene that I found interesting during the stair sequence is that you never see anyone moving. When the hotel proprietor is coming down from showing the pregnant woman to her room she strikes a conversation with the medicine man. Rather than animate her walking down the stairs she stops every few steps to talk with him then the camera does an extreme close up of the medicine man with footstep sounds to indicate she is actually moving. Rather than be a cynical (they have no animation budget, haha) I want to believe this was a style choice. We don't need to be shown everything and sound is also just as important for things such as moving a character in a scene.

As for the story it's very well done. The dialogue felt organic with no heavy exposition and you know immediately who every one is and what they do just from one line or less of dialogue. The pregnant woman's story in particular felt very organic. She never explains who she is to the hotel proprietor and only appears to be a desperate woman seeking shelter. The audience only learns who she actually is (a mistress) from the assassin who attacks her later in the episode. I feel that if I were watching any other anime she would be announcing her life story to the proprietor to gain sympathy for shelter.

I'm probably over analysing everything but I was really impressed by this episode and it was a very strong start for this series.
 
E

Eridani

Member
Umibozo arc (Episodes 3-5)

Initially I was quite underwhelmed by this one. Episodes 3 and 4 seemed to suffer from a vast downgrade in script quality. I mentioned before that episode 1 and 2 managed to set up everything really well without using long winded exposition, which I really liked. Apparently the show disagreed and decided to waste a ton of time on explaining things that were mostly already obvious (the way the sword works, what mononoke are, how amazing the medicine seller is etc.).

Also, Kayo was a shit character. She was mostly there to spout exposition, and her typical cute young girl personality really felt at odds with the rest of the show.

And then I watched episode 5. GOD DAMN was that good. The arc's ending is one of the best things a saw in anime in a very long time. The way the direction changes to emphasize the dramatic ending was absolutely superb. The show's characteristic long shots are replaced by quick and dynamic cuts and the usually stiff and static animation suddenly becomes incredibly fluid. It just looks incredible. The music also complements the action perfectly.

The arc also looked incredible overall - even better than the first one I'd say. There was some really incredible imagery on display, and parts of episode 5 had really outstanding animation. The story was also pretty good. The mystery aspect was quite weak, but the characters played well of each other (apart from Kayo of course) and the reveal at the end was executed really well.

All in all, the arc started off rather poorly, with the script seemingly suffering a large downgrade, but episode 5 was probably the best one of the show so far and it still looked amazing throughout. It also had Wakamoto hamming it up, which is always entertaining.
 
E

Eridani

Member
phaze said:
Mononoke 3-5

I watched this arc for the third time in a year and I think I only now might have understood that last post-credits scene. lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, that scene was definitely confusing. Can you explain what it means, because I'm really not sure what to make of it.
 
P

phaze

Member
Eridani said:
Yeah, that scene was definitely confusing. Can you explain what it means, because I'm really not sure what to make of it.
Click to expand...

Obviously, this is just my interpretation but I think that the guy in question, Sasaki Hyouei, repeated the monk's path and became a Mononoke of sorts. His sword (more on that in a moment) disappears at the same time something very wrong happens to his right eye, the same eye that housed Mononoke in the Genkei. And I think it makes the same sounds.

Before his encounter with Umizatou, Mr Samurai was very boastful about his bloody way of living but when push came to shove during the illusion sequence, he denounced it and blamed all his killings on his sword. Which subsequently, just before breaking, gets kinda infected by those monstrous eyes and which is what Sasaki later absorbed in the last scene. I suppose it also ties into the opening monologue of episode #5 "To face ones own feelings is akin to throwing oneself into a bottomless pit. You must not look there" Well, Hyouei looked or rather was forced to look and what he saw was not the courageous warrior he posed as but a bumbling coward who sold out his precious sword at a moment's notice. I suppose that could be the "regret".

Also though this is bit of a longshot, if the minstrel guy really has some bizarre fear of pastries and that wasn't just a silly lie, then Sasaki is in all likelihood the only one who lied to the Umizatou/fish Wakamato. Which might explain why facing his deepest fear ended up worse for him than for the rest of the cast.

Edit:
014055egod3.jpg
Click to expand...
On the other hand, I don't quite get why there clearly are 2 Sasakis (and the medicine seller to boot) in that last shot.
 
E

Eridani

Member
phaze said:
Obviously, this is just my interpretation but I think that the guy in question, Sasaki Hyouei, repeated the monk's path and became a Mononoke of sorts. His sword (more on that in a moment) disappears at the same time something very wrong happens to his right eye, the same eye that housed Mononoke in the Genkei. And I think it makes the same sounds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. Your theory certainly seems to make a lot of sense. The parallels between the monk and the samurai definitely seem pretty clear now.

As for the last shot, it looks like the two Sasakis are mirrored. The one in the foreground is clearly covering his eye with his right hand, while the one in the background seems to be holding up his left. As such, the two Sasakis could be seen as each representing one half of his feelings (the brave warrior and the coward). This is sort of similar to how the monk was split in half during his exorcism and seems to fit pretty well with your theory.

Or it could all be wrong. I've never really analyzed things in such a way, so I could be completely off base.
 
Y

Yomidi

Member
Episode 3-4

I noticed that this arc is different from the first one. The story is a bit easier to follow and there's more exposition. I think I'm prefering this one over the first one, even if the young girl is a bit out of place.
The scene with the Wakamoto fish was really good.
 
O

OniBarubary

Banned
Just as a bit of explanation, Kayo was in the short Ayakashi involving the Cat thingy, which is how she knows the Medicine Seller and how he is capable of doing what he does. While I would have preferred a lack of exposition or it to be less heavy-handed it is a smart way of explaining it since she can tell it to others while having seen it.

That said, you're right Phaze. The same thing that happened to the priest happened to the samurai. He denied his feelings and responsibility and they infested him.

Next arc should be fun to watch people puzzle out.
 
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