00:20So I've reviewed both Mononoke movies, but I've never reviewed the TV show on the channel, so let's do that.
00:26Mostly for completionist's sake, and also it adds a bit to the upcoming compilation video that I'm going to make
00:31when the third film comes out.
00:32Anyway, back to the show.
00:33Spinning off from the anthology series Ayakashi Samurai Tales, and released in 2007, Mononoke sees a mysterious medicine seller travelling
00:40to various places that usually become beset with supernatural spirits called Mononoke.
00:44To exercise these spirits, the medicine seller needs to find out for Mononoke's shape, truth, and reason.
00:50But usually in doing so, he finds out a lot more about the places he visits, and the people he
00:55initially sets out to help.
00:57The show had 12 episodes, and within those episodes were serialised story arcs, often ranging from 2-3 episodes.
01:02The arcs are pretty quick, and don't draw things out and let the mystery play out.
01:05It also manages to let the themes that underlie the horror play out.
01:09As I mentioned in my Mononoke movie reviews, the commodification of women is a persistent theme in the show, as
01:14it was in the movies, and the show also delves into other themes like the darker side of humanity, people's
01:19vices, and less savoury details are also examined in the show.
01:22Arcs like the Nure arc, about how people will price something that has some inherent worth, or the Zashiki-Rashi
01:28arc, which is also about how you have to sacrifice your own choices in order to work.
01:31I could go into more depth about this, but these are mystery stories, and I feel if I give out
01:35more details, it would spoil the show, so do check out the series if you want to have a better
01:40understanding of what I'm talking about.
01:41And you should really check out the show, it's well worth it.
01:43My favourite arcs of the series were the Nopperbera Bowl and Bakaniko.
01:47Nopperbera Bowl had a great story behind it, Detone Why a Woman Killed Her Husband.
01:50It's two episodes long, but as I mentioned before, the show managed to make those two episodes compelling.
01:54Bakaniko is actually a remake or setting update of the original three episodes that were in the Ayakashi Sumerite Tales
01:59series, which The Messines are the first.
02:01Moving the timeline to the 1920s, and has the medicine seller having to solve a murder mystery on the subway
02:07train.
02:08It's a great mystery and a good bookend for the series to end on, both on a story and thematic
02:11front.
02:12While it's not essential to watch before the show, watching whatever order you want, honestly, I do recommend you check
02:17out the Ayakashi Samurai Tales episodes,
02:19as it's a good pilot for the show, in a way, and some characters show up in the series proper,
02:23so there's good connective tissue there.
02:25Check it out if you want to be a completionist.
02:27Another aspect I should mention is the show's animation.
02:29It utilises a bright, colourful, and cartoony art store, which evokes woodpain.
02:33The type of pain that was popular in the show's possible time period.
02:36It also serves as a good offset for the show's horror aspect.
02:39The show doesn't revel in the scariness, it gets its scare to the uncomfortableness and the unease that plays out
02:44during the episodes.
02:45It's aided by the editing, there are effective jump cuts and transitions, which adds to the odd and uneasiness of
02:50the show.
02:51If you want something scary and visually different from your typical anime, then Mononoke is the show for you.
02:56The show is at the time of recording, available on Netflix, so do check it out if you want to.
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