Just eight months after the release of the first chapter, the Mononoke series has hit the Japanese box office once more with “Mononoke the Movie – The Ashes of Rage,” whose less radical approach to editing and storytelling imprinted by director Kiyotaka Suzuki does not impair the consistency of general director Kenji Nakamura‘s vision, making it a worthwhile cinematic experience nevertheless.
Not much time has passed since the exorcism of the karakasa that another ghostly presence seems to be looming over the Inner Chambers. While the debate to appoint the most suitable guardian for His Majesty’s newborn heir rages, with senior councilor Botan Otomo (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu) opposing the lowborn courtesan Fuki Tokida (Yoko Hikasa), one of the candidates is stricken with a sudden malaise that makes her body burn to ashes. The Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya) will thus break in the forbidden quarters once more to try and dispel the restless spirit, whose motive is apparently linked to Fuki’s liaison with His Majesty.
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Whether the original 2007 series or the reboot feature films, one could not fail to notice how the overarching logic of the Mononoke franchise is to mimic the illustrated scrolls (emakimono) from the Nara and Heian periods, both in aesthetics and narrative: They are supposed to be scrolled gently, but once a section has been unfolded, the reader can go back and forth between each section, embracing the whole story at glance. That is precisely why “Mononoke the Movie – Phantom in the Rain” was so warmly welcomed by long-time fans, as it rejected current animation standards by creating a sense of atemporality and ubiquity, with sudden cuts and variations in camera angles, color palette and sound effects.
On the other hand, “Mononoke the Movie – The Ashes of Rage” feels more conventional than its predecessor, as it creates a quite standard climatic plot where the conflict between the main characters peaks halfway through and is eventually resolved as they come to acknowledge their shared fate of capable women oppressed by manipulatory men. Because of this, the movie is also less choral, even though the side plots of guardsman Sakashita and of the late lady whose spirit turned into the mononoke could have used some more development. Technically speaking, the editing is less audacious, except for some instances towards the end where past and present overlap, nor does the camera dare to cross the 180-line to recreate that sense of misplacement that is one of the key features of the franchise.
As per why this happened, it is likely because of Suzuki’s lead as film director of “Mononoke the Movie – The Ashes of Rage,” with Nakamura supervising the whole process instead. Indeed, while there is no question about Suzuki’s fit for the role, being the director behind super-hit series such as “FLCL Alternative” and Tatsunoko’s “Psycho Pass 2,” it is also true that his professional upbringing as an animator occurred entirely within major studios, unlike Nakamura who eventually chose to walk the path of freelancing in order to avoid compromises.
That being said, “Mononoke the Movie – The Ashes of Rage” lives up to the franchise’s reputation in reevoking a refined atmosphere that, while not referencing a specific age, draws inspiration here and there from different periods of the Japanese history. The courtly war over the appointment for the imperial heir’s guardian, for instance, reminds the consort-and-regent policy of the Fujiwara clan during the Heian period (VIII – XII century), whose chiefs used to ensure a bond with the imperial household by having their daughters marry into the main line of succession, and later exercising the role of guardians of the emperors born from such unions. By hinting this, the script by Yasumi Atarashi also addresses the issue of maternity by juxtaposing a patriarchal perspective, by which women are but mere vessels and the new life they carry a bargaining chip for power, against a genuinely maternal perspective where reproductive choices are the result of introspection and oblative love rather than utilitarianism.
Such is the “true form” of “Mononoke the Movie – The Ashes of Rage,” which, despite the abovementioned limits, still manages to transcend space and time and drag the viewer at the center of a sensorial maelstrom that can only be navigated by surrendering to one’s purest awe. And since the third instalment is scheduled for April 2026, there will be plenty of time to go through its many layers of meaning in the meantime.
