MONONOKE: PHANTOM IN THE RAIN (2024)

To anime connoisseurs, the word “Mononoke” will sound familiar, not only because of the famous Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke (1997). It brings to mind the cult classic 2007 series by Kenji Nakamura, titled Mononoke (which in turn was a spin-off of his 2006 anthology series Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales). Best described as a psychological horror mystery, Mononoke centres around the character of the Medicine Seller. In self-contained procedural arcs, the Medicine Seller hunts mononoke to exorcise them. Mononoke are vengeful spirits in Japanese folklore: they manifest through intense negative emotions and can possess people, causing disease, chaos, and death, taking many different forms.

The anime has remained fairly obscure until now, gaining access to a massive new audience as the movie sequel, Mononoke The Movie: Phantom in the Rain / 劇場版「モノノ怪 唐傘, has been released on Netflix. The Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya) is back for a whole new adventure in Edo-period Japan, in the women’s quarters of Edo Castle. Called the Ōoku, it’s where the reigning shōgun’s official wife and concubines reside, along with the maidservants and other, mainly female, staff attending to them. Asa (Tomoyo Kurosawa) and Kame (Aoi Yūki) are new arrivals at the Ōoku, just in time for the birth celebration ceremony for the shōgun’s latest child, born from his favourite concubine. However, the ceremony has been mysteriously postponed for two months, without explanation. Two samurai investigators, Saburomaru (Yuki Kaji) and Hiramoto (Jun Fukuyama), are sent to question the Ōoku’s elder administrator, Utayama (Mami Koyama). In the days leading up to the ceremony, as Asa and Kame are learning their new duties, bizarre events start unfolding while Utayama is desperately keeping the two samurais in the dark: a mononoke is haunting the inner chambers.

As a whole, Mononoke can be considered as avant-garde anime. Its visual aesthetic is striking and wildly colourful, marrying traditional animation techniques with 3D animation and laying the resulting images over paper textures. The animation was already innovative in 2007, and Nakamura pushed its boundaries with Phantom in the Rain. The images have unique textured and transparent qualities, making the film a psychedelic visual feast. Adding to that the unsettling sound design and dynamic score, which mixes traditional Japanese instruments with more modern sounds, Mononoke The Movie: Phantom in the Rain is unlike any other anime you’ve seen before.

Moreover, the universe of Mononoke is very Japanese. What I mean by that is that not only does it pull heavily from traditional Japanese arts like ukiyo-e and kabuki, but it also leans on some of the country’s historical and cultural contexts that might seem unfamiliar, if not completely bizarre, to the average Western viewer. Japanese society is highly hierarchical and collectivistic, and concepts like honour and duty rank far above those of individualism. Being set in the Edo period, Phantom in the Rain is entrenched in those ideas, so a measure of open-mindedness and intellectual curiosity are required when approaching the material.

Asa and Kame strike up a surprising friendship: the two young women couldn’t be more different. Asa is calm and confident; she aspires to become the head scribe at the Ōoku, determined to devote her life to serve and rise slowly through the ranks. Meanwhile, Kame is voluble and excitable; she hasn’t grasped the depth of the commitment her new life at the Ōoku entails, and is set on becoming a concubine. Upon their arrival, they are asked to identify their most precious belongings. They are to offer them to the water goddess, casting them down in the fountain at which all the Ōoku’s women drink every morning, as they begin their new lives in the shōgun‘s service. Asa questions the practice, which amounts to letting them identities go, but Kame, who is trying to fit in, sacrifices more than necessary. Their first drink of the holy water is their first inkling at something being wrong: the water is putrid and rank, yet everyone drinks it as if nothing is amiss.

This is a perfect example of Nakamura’s visual storytelling genius. His animation introduces specific shapes to illustrate the smell and taste of the water, and subtle sound design is added to that to create the full effect. Viewers can literally see and hear the essence of the water through the differences between how it is tasted by Asa and Kame versus how the rest of the women can taste it. It becomes a recurring visual cue, alerting the viewer that something is off.

The Medicine Seller eventually makes his way into the Inner Chambers when the mononoke starts being active. He uses a special sword to slay the mononoke, which can only be unsheathed when the spirit’s Form, Truth and Reason are discovered. In a slightly alien, detached demeanour, the Medicine Seller hounds the high-ranking maidservants with questions to uncover the dark secrets of the Ōoku and figure out the mononoke. He doesn’t seem quite human, and is clearly an unsettling presence to the other characters: his pointy ears and teeth and his garish face paint place him firmly in the supernatural realm, along with the mononoke he hunts down. His final form, as he unsheathes his sword, is equally weird and beautiful.

Phantom in the Rain is indubitably masterful. The only reason I am hesitant to give it a full five stars is because it is not an easy introduction to the universe of the Medicine Seller. Phantom in the Rain gives nothing away: it expects viewers to stumble along and piece it together for themselves. For that reason, and because of the evocative subtlety of Nakamura’s animation, this movie demands multiple viewings to tease out its many layers. After three viewings, I can say I’ve finally caught on to most intricacies in the story, and I’ve been delighted with some of the hidden hints within the animation. More exciting still is the news that Phantom in the Rain is the first of a planned trilogy; the second instalment, The Ashes of Rage, is set to premiere in Japan in early-2025. Enthusiastic viewers will notice that Phantom in the Rain leaves a few loose ends by the end of its 89-minute runtime, hinting at possible storylines to be explored in the upcoming sequels.

I had the supreme pleasure to see Mononoke The Movie: Phantom in the Rain at its world premiere in Montreal, at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival. To experience it on the big screen was breathtaking, and I was beyond excited to see it being offered on one of the largest streaming services. The English dub produced by Netflix is solid, relying on voice actors very familiar with the world of anime. The English dub cast includes Crispin Freeman as the Medicine Seller, Alejandra Reynoso as Asa, and Abby Espiritu as Kame. Unfortunately, while I particularly enjoy a puzzle-solver mystery that trusts me to put the pieces together, most viewers will probably struggle to grasp the intricacies of the story and to properly appreciate the splendour of the animation, making it a difficult sell for a mainstream audience. That being said, if you are a curious and strong-willed viewer, I strongly encourage you to delve into Mononoke’s colourful mysteries.

JAPAN | 2024 | 89 MINUTES | COLOUR | JAPANESE

Cast & Crew

director: Kenji Nakamura.
writers: Kenji Nakamura & Kôji Yamamoto (based on ‘Mononoke’ by Toei Animation).
voices: Hiroshi Kamiya, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Aoi Yūki, Kana Hanazawa, Haruka Tomatsu, Yoko Hikasa & Yukana.