The Mononoke anime trailer, which was released on August 4, 2023, unveiled a new visual along with the possible release dates set for the Summer of 2024. The teaser trailer also revealed the list of staff and cast and also the voice artist of the protagonist – Hiroshi Kamiya as the Medicine Seller. The Mononoke anime is basically a spinoff of the well-known Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales anime. The upcoming anime is set as a sequel to the aforementioned TV serial.
The original Mononoke anime – a brief interrogation of the history
The upcoming Mononoke anime spinoff is based on Toei Animation’s Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, which was basically a horror anthology comprising 12 episodes. This TV anime aired between July to September 2007 and was set in somewhere between the Edo and the Meiji period of Japanese history.
The supernatural horror story follows the adventures of the renowned Medicine Seller who is also the protagonist. He travels across various places and encounters and destroys spirits that bind themselves to negative human emotions. The adventures of the Medicine Seller are engrained in a lot of mystery, suspense, and supernatural elements of surprise.
Mononoke anime trailer breakdown and confirmed release dates
The Mononoke anime trailer reveals that the release dates for the anime have been delayed from this year’s release to a confirmed release for Summer 2024. The teaser trailer also gave an impression of the anime and what it might be about. Moreover, the story which the anime will pick up will be based on the main story and the spin-off will likely stick to the main storyline as the source material.
The Mononoke anime trailer also reveals that the story is set in Ooku, the woman’s quarters of the Edo castle. We see the Medicine Seller in the scenes making a foretelling of the arrival of the Ayakashi into Ooku by the grudges of the women. He goes on to narrate how one would turn into Mononoke if they made contact with the Ayakashi. The Mononoke anime trailer thus shows the Medicine Seller in all of his glorious forms, making him the messiah of a dark world.
Mononoke anime trailer – new staff members announced
Mononoke anime will be directed by Kenji Nakamura, who was also the director of the series at Toei Animation. The other staff members include:
Animation Production: EOTA
Character Design: Kitsuneko Nagata
Animation Character Designer, Chief Animation Director: Yūichi Takahashi
Background Design: Yōichi Katohno
Background Directors: Akira Kuramoto, Yōko Saitō
Color Design: Kunio Tsujita
Visual Director: Yoichi Senzui
3D Director: Kenichi Shirai
Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama
Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki
Music: Taku Iwasaki
Producers: Kimiaki Sato, Yūki Sudō
Planning Production: Kōji Yamamoto
Conclusion
The Mononoke anime will be one of the best upcoming horror shows for 2024. The revival of the old legend of Mononoke and the redefinition of the same would be interesting to watch. Moreover, it will be an absolute treat to see how the upcoming project will influence future narratives, which is a huge possibility at the moment.