Mononoke

I see that Mononoke is a very traditional style of anime. I adore these types of anime because they tell of Japanese folktales and legends. I feel that this comes toward people as a visual and cool way to see folktales. They bring legends that people whom have probably not even heard of, to life. They bring them into action and get the viewers interested to learn of what these characters are, or what that portion of the story is about.

The music they use is something I also adore. They bring the traditional Japanese culture music back to the present. I feel that the music is simply beautiful and entertaining to listen to.

The characters also intrigued me. They're individuals who have their own story to tell. The Medicine Seller is very interesting to see how he portrays his role in the storyline. He plays a large role, but also an interesting one. He is simply "mysterious."

The animation comes in as an up-to-date anime, but the drawing style feels like a traditional painting. The effects that were used were wondrous as they tried to bring a simple folktale to life. They showed how the people in those stories would get the job done.

Watching this anime is one of the best choices I have made. It's fun and entertaining, and I do find some parts hilarious, such as the fish. [You'll get what I'm talking about.] I hope to see more good reviews and hope to see more anime like this in the future.

In terms of visuals, this anime is quite stunning. I can assure you that this could be watched for the unusual art style employed. While the main character is mostly static across each episode, the character focus is placed on those around him which paints a broad picture of the human psyche at its worst. The supernatural elements also contribute to this by showing the terrified reactions of those who are haunted by ayakashi.

what interest me to watched this series is the art its very unique very stylish, very well drawn and colored its not like your typical anime ill tell you and the camera angles and choreography added greatness to the visual style especially when the protagonist (Apothecary) cast spells through throwing papers and when he draws the demon slayer sword

the story revolves around our hero the Apothecary where he travels from place to place that has Mononoke, a Mononoke is a evil being that was formed out of human fear/hate and fuse with an Ayakashi (Ayakashi is simply an evil spirit as far as i understood it), every Mononoke can be eradicated by the hero Apothecary through knowing the Mononoke's form, truth, and reason and this three requirements if met is the key to activating and drawing the powerful demon slayer sword the hero Apothecary carries with him. I may have describe this series as being a mediocre show but its not the dialogues and mysteries of the Mononoke's form, truth, and reason are very interesting to watch and understand so your attention will be captured right from start to finish of each episode

if you like mystery and unique visual style this is a show for you its only 12 episodes too so its a quick watch and worth your spare time

[general]
This series is a spin-off from the thrid arc of Ayakashi~Classic Japanese Horror, Bakeneko.

[storyline]
It is made up of 5 main stories, each spanning 2-3 episodes. All of which deals with the concept of mononoke, a spirit that combines with strong negative human emotions, becoming a malevolent being that creates trouble. The tone of the story is pretty serious, and usually manage to create the sense of tension desired. Most of the stories are very interesting, though sometimes confusing. But if you can take sometime to work out the flow of the story, it actually makes alot of sense.

[music]
The sound effects in this series are probably worth more than the actual music, because in most scenes it's the silence that does most of the work. An appropriate sound effect simply enhances the whole errie atmosphere. In terms of OP and ED songs, I can't say I liked it, but it somehow fits to the weird tune of the whole show.

[characters]
Do not expect nice looking characters. Because most of the characters inside are, by general anime standards, ugly. But one main purpose of the stories is bringing out the ugliness in human nature, so the appearance of the characters actually serve to enhance the entire visual experience and well, it worked for me. The main character is certainly good-looking, but rather in the odd way. And the main attraction from this protagonist actually lies in his demeour, which is certainly unique whichever way you look at it.

[animation]
Another main attraction factor of this show. The bold and imaginative approach towards the animation takes a big step away from the usual Toei animation style. In fact, it's pretty much different from almost all of the styles out there. The only similar one i can think of is gonzo's Gankutsuou, the count of monte cristo. But Mononoke takes the style further- it focuses a lot on the 2D elements, the job here is no longer making it seem realistic or even anime-like, but rather make it into a piece of art, with an abstract edge. The vibrant palette brings out the gaudy nature of the characters and story, while the animation experiments with pace, style and an entirely different form of art.

[in the end]
So, why should you watch this if you're looking for something different? Well, basically the style- the way of storytelling and the art in this show is simply different and a pretty risky venture. In the sense you'll either love it all or hate it. For me, it is one of my top horror shows, where you'll feel the tension and fear not from the usual black-shadow-at-the-back-and-blood-all-over-the-place scenes but rather from the oddly paced story and effective pauses in dialogue. And of course, not forgetting the weirdly vibrant colours, which at times seems gaudy, but seemingly fits into the picture just fine. Just watching this show for the effects of storytelling would be more than worth your time.