Reviews

Mononoke the TV series, along with the joining episodes of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, has been, since the late 2000s, my favorite show of all time. It's held a special place in my heart like none other. When I saw a movie was coming, I can't even begin to explain the joy and excitement that overtook me; the painstaking moments of waiting and checking to see if it'd been released yet. I thought, no I *KNEW*, I would love this... Unfortunately, I'd been quite wrong. My adoration for Kusuriuri-san and this series has kept my rating high, but the movie itself, although beautiful, falls short. It is hard to put my finger on, but the art, despite colorful and full of promise, is simply missing some key element of depth or "SOUL" the tv series had. In all its vibrancy, it is somehow still bland. The pacing of the animation is almost painful to watch at times - frequently flickering around from scene to scene at such a rate that you never really appreciate any one thing. The colors, which were once a great selling point, due to the aforementioned repetitive and fast movement, began to do nothing more than hurt my eyes. Kusuriuri-san himself seems to lack a certain elegance and refinement in the movie, and he feels as if a completely different character, from speech to mannerisms - not even considering the change in attire/appearance, which alone I'd consider an aesthetic downgrade. Was it silly for me to want for a movie that was a continuation of the show's original vibe, beauty, excellency, after so long? Maybe so. But as a die hard fan of what it has been all of these years, I simply cannot love what this movie is. I am sure there are many who will disagree, but this feels too much like it was heavy-handedly pushed in a weird and modern direction that completely disregards what made Mononoke so beautiful in the first place. It feels rushed. It doesn't feel like it was made with care. Sorry.

Edit: Though I still feel the movie felt 'weak' compared to the tv series, it appears the Kusuriuri-san in the movies is not the same character as in the tv series - which explains quite a bit (I was not aware of this while writing my review).