The avant-garde anime series Mononoke is seemingly making a comeback.
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation has recently unveiled the four-day program schedule for its 2022 Anime Expo happening next month. One of the several panels included in the lineup is dedicated to the production company Twin Engine and the description for the panel suggests that a sequel to Mononoke is in development.
Titled TWIN ENGINE: Long-awaited sequels line-up, the panel comes with the following description: “TWIN ENGINE would be releasing information regarding the new series of: Vinland Saga, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Mononoke, and last but not least original work Plantopia which is currently in progress.”
The panel description is pretty straightforward, so it’s likely that Twin Engine will officially announce the Mononoke sequel series during the panel itself on July 3rd.
What is Mononoke about?
Produced by Toei Animation, Mononoke is a spinoff of the 2006 horror anthology series Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales. Known for its great combination of directing and stylistic animation, the anime series impeccably blends murder mystery with supernatural and historical elements.
The show follows a traveling medicine seller who runs into all sorts of unnatural horrors which he is forced to dispatch with his samurai blade. The story is set between the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Era of Japan. During this time, only samurais are permitted to carry swords, which is why it comes as a shock to many of the characters that the medicine seller is wielding one.
Directed by Kenji Nakamura and written by Chiaki J. Konaka, Ikuko Takahashi, Michiko Yokote, and Manabu Ishikawa, Mononoke is comprised of 12 episodes, which originally ran from July to September 2007 on Japan’s Fuji TV (Noitamina).
The anime series has two manga adaptations. The first one was published in Young Gangan between August 2007 and August 2008. The second manga series was published from September 2013 to November 2014 by Tokuma Shoten in its magazine Monthly Comic Zenon.
Where to watch Mononoke
The anime series is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.