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Mononoke Film Project to Have 3 Films, 2nd Film Opens on March 14, 2025
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
The staff for the Gekijōban Mononoke: Karakasa (Paper Umbrella) anime film revealed on Sunday that the Mononoke film project will have three films. The second film titled Gekijōban Mononoke Second Chapter: Hinezumi (also could be romanized as "Kaso," meaning "fire rat"), will premiere in Japan on March 14, 2025. Movie tickets for the second film will start selling in Japan on August 2, and the film's staff released the ticket design:
The film's staff also announced that Gekijōban Mononoke: Karakasa won the Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation for best animated feature film at the 28th annual Fantasia International Film Festival, currently happening from July 18 to August 4 in Montreal.
The Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation recognizes excellence in animation in the animated feature category. This year's jury includes jury president Johane Matte, Jonathan Alvarez, and Elizabeth E. Schuch. Last year, The First Slam Dunk anime film won the award.
Gekijōban Mononoke: Karakasa was previously slated to open last year, but was delayed. Alongside the announcement of the delay in February 2023, the film's staff also announced that Takahiro Sakurai would no longer reprise the role of the Medicine Seller as originally planned. Hiroshi Kamiya instead voices the protagonist the Medicine Seller in the film.
Kenji Nakamura returned to direct the Mononoke film, with production at Twin Engine. Kitsuneko Nagata was the character designer, and Yūichi Takahashi adapted those designs for animation and served as chief animation director. Taku Iwasaki composed the music. EOTA animated the film.
Singer Aina The End performs the theme song "Love Sick."
The Mononoke anime premiered in 2007 and aired for 12 episodes. The series is a spinoff of the Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales anime. Specifically, it follows the medicine seller from the "Bakeneko" (Goblin Cat) arc. The Mononoke anime has five arcs, the last of which is titled "Bakeneko."
Kenji Nakamura directed the television anime at Toei Animation, and Takashi Hashimoto designed the characters and served as chief animation director. Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music.
The anime previously streamed on Crunchyroll, but is currently available on other streaming services such as The Roku Channel and Netflix. New Video Group released the series on DVD in North America in 2014.
Source: Press release
