Summary
- Mononoke series’ film Karakasa now has two sequels in production, expanding into trilogy with beloved voice actor returning.
- Critics and fans alike excited for more distinctive, surreal horror imagery in Mononoke series, winner of Satoshi Kon award.
- Director Nakamura leads ambitious return of Mononoke series with unexpected sequels, keeping unique vision of feudal Japanese horror.
EOTA’s film for the Mononoke series, subtitled Karakasa (“Paper Umbrella”), now has two sequels in production, turning the solo movie into a trilogy of revivals. The first movie, which opened only earlier this month in Japan, ended with a teaser revealing its next sequel would be Hinezumi (“Fire Rat”). Hiroshi Kamiya, the voice actor for the Medicine Seller in Karakasa, also confirmed he would be returning to voice the enigmatic main character.
The Mononoke series originally aired in 2007. While this new movie seemed to just be a brief return to the limelight, fans will likely be delighted to know that even more of the series’ distinctive, surreal imagery and horror is on the way.
Critics, too, seem to be receptive to Mononoke, given it has won the venerable Satoshi Kon award, making sequels all the more desirable.
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As reported by Anime News Network, Karakasa, originally assumed to be standalone, revealed in its final minutes of runtime that a “Second Chapter” was on the horizon. The news was later confirmed by the movie’s creative staff, who revealed there would be two sequels, and Kamiya, who revealed he had begun voice recording for Hinezumi. Tickets are expected to go on sale as early as next month, even though Hinezumi is expected to premiere on March 14, 2025. Given that the sequels have been in production alongside the first movie, director Kenji Nakamura is likely helming his brainchild’s creation once more.
The stellar visuals of Karakasa have been enough to award it already the Satoshi Kon award for “best animated” feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Despite coming back after a two-decade pause, Nakamura’s unique vision of feudal Japanese horror has still held fast and finally garnered critical praise. While the 2007 anime is still considered a cult classic, it fell to the wayside in its day due to being so unlike other anime. But the prestigious “Excellence in Animation” prize should only make further movies and possibly even further media within reach for such an oddball series.
Mononoke’s return is an ambitious gamble, especially with how the trilogy has been kept under wraps, with Karakasa receiving the brunt of the promotion until now. Nonetheless, the gamble has paid off, given the critical praise it’s earned. What Hinezumi and the third movie will entail is unknown – one of Mononoke’s signature elements is its twisting of traditional monsters into new interpretations. But newcomers will likely not need to worry about continuity: the TV series’ story arcs were self-contained to their monsters, and if Mononoke’s movies’ subtitles are anything to go by, the same will hold true here.
Source: Anime News Network (2)