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In the original anime, Form, Truth, and Reasoning was needed to unsheathe Kusuriuri's sword as both a plot element and as a narrative function to unravel the mystery to the viewer. One of the things Mononoke did so well was creating sympathy for the monster; we learn what they are, who they are (or were), and how they came to be. Like all the best ghost stories, behind every mononoke's manifestation was a human tragedy.

It's in this that Karakasa disappoints, despite the same form being employed. Lots of plot threads and characters, but nothing that gives substance to the monster itself. "I'm the mononoke, by ... the way," wasn't its quote upon appearing in force against Kusuriuri, but it might as well have been. The intention might have been to tell its story in parallel to other certain characters, but the execution was such that it instead felt unrelated; almost like a footnote to a less interesting story.

When the heart and substance of the story is lacking, what it has is the beautiful and whimsical art style, backed by movie production values; but not much else.

7, but a biased 7 in favour anything Mononoke.

Note - this movie is part of a trilogy set in the same location, from my understanding, so hopefully some of the flaws (if not all) are just those of an incomplete story.