Thursday, December 13, 2007

I've been acting lazy recently and haven't bothered to write reviews or comments on what I've finished.

So hopefully this review will make up for the time I was inactive.




Name: Mononoke
Demographic: Seinen
Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Demons, Magic

Plot Summery: Mononoke follows the Medicine Seller as he deals with various spirits or "Mononoke" in feudal Japan. He combats with a series of tools and his vast knowledge of the supernatural on his side, but can only slay the Mononoke when he uncovers its form (Katachi), the truth behind its appearance (Makoto) and the reason for its unusual behavior (Kotowari).

Story 8/10

Mononoke does not follow a single plot or storyline but is rather 4 stories compiled into arcs. Interestingly enough I found each arc to be very unique and compelling in it's own way.

Animation 10/10

The artistic styling of Mononoke is truly one of a kind, the colors are amazing and with HD encodes it truly shines. Each new environment is unique, colorful, and captivating. The colors and use of quick camera movements add to the suspense. The animations themselves are intentionally very stiff at times but as the action speeds up they become very fluid and top notch. The backgrounds are rarely stationary, but appear as though you are observing a painting at the same time. Often times the animations of common things such as snow or water are displayed in a very unique way that makes you simply want to get lost in it.

Sound 8/10

The sound and BGM were not overly fantastic or anything like that but they did indeed do their job very well. Weather it was making a scene more dramatic with drumbeats, more suspenseful with the ticking of a clock, or just plain frightening with thumps or screams.

Characters 9/10


Apart from the Medicine Seller, each arc sees the introduction of new characters. Each character usually represents a different Japanese stereotype. Samurai, priests, monks, government types, children, and many others. Kusuriuri's alternate self, I won't give anything away, is almost worth watching the story for on its own. The Medicine Seller is a very sarcastic person and often times at a very serious moment he'll crack a joke that is totally absurd and you can't help but laugh.

Enjoyment 9/10
Overall 10/10

At only 12 episodes is more than worth the time and although it may be very Japanese in terms of content, it does not take away from the enjoyment at all. And I would highly recommend this to any anime fan.


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