I have watched a lot of animated movies and shows over the past few decades, and I thought that I had seen the length and breadth of what the medium could achieve. And then I stumbled upon Mononoke, the anime spin-off series of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, and felt my mind being blown apart in real time. The depth and the complexity of the topics that were handled by it over the course of 40 or so minutes were nothing short of masterful. Then there was the animation, which was so unique that the only time it was somewhat replicated was when its creator decided to give the Medicine Seller his very own movie trilogy. I say “somewhat replicated” because, while Kenji Nakamura retained the original flavor of the IP for The Phantom in the Rain (or Karakasa), he pushed the visual and narrative storytelling style to its breaking point. The results were undoubtedly jaw-dropping, but, and I am saying this as someone who has watched the original show, a bit too jarring. With Hinezumi, did Nakamura manage to reel me back in? Let’s find out.
Kenji Nakamura and Kiyotaka Suzuki’s Mononoke the Movie: The Ashes of Rage, written by Yasumi Atarashi, takes place one month after the events of the first movie, where the Karakasa killed Madam Utayama for polluting the Ooku’s sacred waters with the dead bodies and unfulfilled dreams of the girls who came to work there. Now, we see Councillors Otomo, Fujimaki, and Katsunuma deciding to kick Utayama out after his daughter’s colossal failure and appointing Otomo’s daughter, Lady Botan, as the new head of the Ooku. That’s not a big deal. The major conflict arises from the fact that Emperor Tenshi and Lady Yukiko have given birth to a princess. Since the empire is patriarchal in nature, she won’t sit on the throne. She’ll be brought up under Lady Matsu’s guidance and will be taught how to be a consort; that’s it. Hence, a male successor is the need of the hour. Since Tenshi has grown fond of Lady Fuki, it’s possible that she’ll be able to produce a “rightful heir.” However, Fuki comes from a family that’s considered lower caste. Therefore, even if she produces a male child, he won’t be accepted as the next emperor. Which is why Otomo advises Fuki’s father, Tokita, to tell her to give up her dreams of being an empress so that his own upper-caste daughter, Botan, can step up to the plate. This conflict triggers a spirit, which has taken the form of the Hinezumi, to wreak havoc in the Ooku. And who better to deal with his problem than the humble Medicine Seller?
Much like the first film, Atarashi’s screenplay for The Ashes of Rage is incredibly layered. For starters, there’s the commentary on patriarchy and how, if left unchecked, it can become insidious enough to render the roles of an emperor and empress useless. I mean, I have no sympathy for Tenshi, who goes around bedding concubines instead of raising the child he has with Yukiko. But it is so odd that he isn’t concerned about the fact that he has no power at all and has been turned into an heir-making machine. Atarashi then deepens the theme of internalized patriarchy that was established in the first film by showing that as long as women lack class and caste solidarity, they will always remain under the thumbs of men. Then there’s the “controversial” topic of being pro-choice and anti-choice, which shows that, regardless of the time period, geography, or culture, society will always try to make the decisions for a woman about her body. And when it comes to the Hinezumi, I suppose Atarashi is saying that vengeful spirits get a bad rap because their need for revenge is purposefully misinterpreted in order to paint them as the enemy in lieu of the flesh-and-blood ghouls who are turning this mortal realm into hell. With all that said, I have no idea how Atarashi has managed to address all that in less than 90 minutes. I have seen 180-minute-long feature films and shows with 20 episodes that flail around and achieve nothing. And then there’s Atarashi, the master of efficient storytelling.
I think the preciseness and fat-free nature of Atarashi’s writing is what allows Nakamura and Suzuki to go crazy with the film’s visuals. Every frame is quite literally a painting. I don’t recommend pausing the film while you are watching it for the first time because that’ll probably ruin the overall viewing experience. Do a rewatch and then pause and admire every second of this undeniable masterpiece. I have heard stories of how much time it took for the animators of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to pull off Spider-Punk, the Spider-Society chase, and well, everything else that’s in that movie. Then I look at Mononoke 2, and as soon as I start trying to process how they must have done even one whole scene, my brain glitches out. Because with every cut, Nakamura, Suzuki, and the entire animation team are flexing the fact that they have drawn every nook and cranny of the Ooku from like a hundred different angles, and they can and they will use every single one of those frames so seamlessly that you will be awestruck. And just when you think you are in sync with the rhythm of the movie, they hit you with that third act of Medicine Seller versus Hinezumi, which is simply nuts. I don’t have any other word to describe it; it is just nuts. While you should appreciate the work done by composer Taku Iwasaki and editor Shigeru Nishiyama throughout the film, you must focus on everything that they do in that finale. It is out of this world. This is animation at its finest.
I am having a hard time describing the voice acting in The Ashes of Rage, and I think this hasn’t happened before. While reviewing every other animated movie, I am able to see the lines that exist between the voice actor, the character they are voicing, and the sound mixing. If the voice actor in question is someone I recognize, those lines become all the more apparent. That can sometimes be a good thing and elevate the viewing experience, and other times it can be a bad thing, with the voice actor’s inability to immerse you in the film ruining everything. In the case of Hinezumi, I couldn’t see those lines, and I mean that as a compliment. The manner in which the voice acting, the character animation, and the sound mixing have been blended together made it seem like I forgot that an actor is voicing that fictional, animated human being. To be clear, Hiroshi Kamiya, Haruka Tomatsu, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Yoko Hikasa, Yuki Kaji, Cho, Kenyu Horiuchi, Ryo Horikawa, Naomi Kusumi, Daisuke Hosomi, and the rest of the supporting cast have done a splendid job. Or else I wouldn’t have been saying the things that I am saying. It’s pretty rare for a movie to emulate the feeling of reading a book where your imagination serves as the voice cast and the canvas on which the story can unfold. So, yeah, kudos to everyone involved for making the impossible happen, and that too so effortlessly.
In case it’s not clear already, let me state very explicitly that Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II—The Ashes of Rage is the best animated movie of the year yet. The only reason that the Spider-Verse movies are credited for “changing the face of animation” is because that animation style can be replicated. In that sense, Mononoke’s animation is both a boon and a curse, I suppose; it’s just too unique to be copied and too weird to be relished by the masses. But should that be the reason juries for award shows ignore it? Absolutely not. The Phantom in the Rain was nominated at the Fantasia Film Festival and the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. The Academy didn’t even look at it. And it wasn’t like Flow, Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and The Wild Robot could be considered as “stiff competition” in front of a juggernaut like this. I am afraid that the same thing will happen at the award shows for 2025 releases as well. I know K-Pop Demon Hunters is getting a big push from Netflix, which is fine. However, for me, Mononoke 2 is the clear winner here. Unless Hayao Miyazaki drops a banger out of nowhere, I’m going to keep campaigning for Kenji Nakamura and Kiyotaka Suzuki’s audio-visual rollercoaster ride.
