I stumbled upon Mononoke after avoiding to finish my another 'historical' series that i love & didn't want to finish, cause i knew how much i'd miss it.(for reference: Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi. , although completely different genres overall)
Joke's on me though, i feel pretty much the same about Mononoke. This anime is quite creative, it combines artistic experimentation, historical content*, mystery (ect.) all in a very unique mix. It left me wanting more, gladly i didn't know about the prequel!
*I love the end-episode notes some of them have
I'm not much of a reviewer. But if you like Historical, Mystery, Occult and such, this is a must-watch. It leaves you thinking after every story; about people, feelings, ethics, psychology ect.
Artwise, the patterns and the design of the characters are lovely. Can i just say.. i'm jealous of the creator of Kusuriuri?
The opening/ending themes are kinda different in aesthetics than the rest of the show, which -although i'm not sure i'm a fan of- still remains unique and creative (bit overdone for me, but it's 10 yrs ago, those people were bold and daring / something that is absent from many shows nowadays).
After the final episode & Kusuriuri's last words.. I have to do some self-research, it was striking to me, X'D
Overall -& this might be too bold to say- Mononoke is one of these anime series that if i was told "as long as you watch only these series it will continue airing", i would actually consider it. I guess i really enjoy its subtle & refined madness.
Please take everything with a grain of salt, if you're reading this i hope i didn't set your expectations too high. Still i'm confident you won't be disappointed if you give these series a chance and let yourself experience it.
ps. i'm really bad at rating number-wise, also my hype might be taking over me.. but this is a close 9 to 10 for me, probably.
