The Morose Mononokean

Episodes 1-3

Every kid wants to make a good impression on their first day of high school. Unfortunately, Ashiya is robbed of this opportunity by some big, white, fuzzy, adorable creature that seems to be draining the energy from his body and making him sick. He's missing all his classes in the nurse's office, and the nurse can't do anything because they can't see this creature tormenting him. Ashiya is hopeless until he spots a sign for a yokai exorcist and calls the number. The exorcist, Abeno, is unsure if he should bother until he finds out Ashiya's family name, which comes with some important powers. Ashiya gets drafted into becoming Abeno's apprentice, learning to send cute but dangerous creatures back to the underworld where they belong.

The Morose Mononokean is the latest in a genre of bishounen-filled comedies based on Japanese folklore—think Gugure! Kokkuri-san and Hōzuki no Reitetsu. The Morose Mononokean also revolves around the relationship between two dudes, so it overlaps with the fujoshi audience as well—especially as of episode three, where Ashiya and Abeno start showing more concern for each other and even get called out on it. The Morose Mononokean strikes a very different tone from these previous shows, much closer to iyashikei (healing) anime than the crasser comedies that have been par for the course lately. The yokai might be dangerous to humans, but they're ultimately sweet and misunderstood creatures, so Ashiya's encounters with them come off as heartwarming lessons about pets or family.

Basically, The Morose Mononokean feels like someone poured a bunch of Mushishi in my yokai comedy. Not that Mushishi is a particularly sentimental show (although it can be sometimes), but there's a similar vibe of solving supernatural mysteries and treating the creatures involved as just parts of the natural order, no matter how weird they may be. The Morose Mononokean feels like a version of that premise for a younger audience, looking for something goofier that wears more of its heart on its sleeve. I think that explains why I like it so much; it manages to find the perfect sweet spot between two very different genres I like, so it feels like something new despite being made of the sum of many derivative parts.

Morose Mononokean's sentimentality is the most unique thing about it. Sure, Abeno acts sarcastic and put-upon, and Ashiya is pretty ignorant and foolhardy, but their banter is just dressing on each fuzzy episodic story. Episode 1 was about how the white fluffy thing draining Ashiya's energy really just wanted to play. It was so excited to find a human who recognized it that it couldn't help but come on a little too strong. Once Ashiya figured out how to engage it, the yokai was really sweet and fun, so it was sad to say goodbye. It brought out a lot of emotions in me as a pet owner—particularly as a cat owner, since they have a similar way of refusing to let go when they want your attention.

Episode 2 dealt with a green, feathered, eyeball-thing that turned out to be part of a flock huddling in our world to be with their grandpa, who was trapped here due to a curse. He insisted on getting the "little ones" home, resigning himself to his fate, but Ashiya's big heart and ignorance of exorcism led him to insist there "must be a way." This helped Abeno realize how badly the big green guy wanted this, so he found a (difficult and painful) way to get him home. It culminated in a very sweet scene where, when the gate was opened, the little ones were still waiting at the entrance for their grandpa. This is what makes The Morose Mononokean for me: these little heartwarming moments that can lift the whole episode up. The whole storyline felt a little like something out of a Ghibli movie, so maybe that's another element in The Morose Mononokean's alchemy. I also liked seeing Ashiya's newbie perspective become an asset; sometimes the conventional logic on what to do needs questioning. It would be so easy for the narrative to make fun of him, but even Abeno just acts a little annoyed, not cruel, over Ashiya's shortcomings.

The most recent episode follows the same basic comedy-to-fluff pattern, although it shifts the balance a little bit. A yokai who resembles a Buddha statue comes by to once again ruin Ashiya's attempts at having a normal high school life. This yokai can't express emotions except with the help of masks, and he lost his laughing mask the last time he was on Earth. Ashiya has to retrieve it for him, which means finding the human who picked it up, who is doomed to laugh forever until someone cries in front of him. Good thing that Abeno's closet conveniently opens to the temple where the laughing man lives with his daughter Zenko.

Ashiya had no difficulty crying over a sad book at Abeno's place, but he has trouble doing it on command in the temple, so he goes to help out Zenko in the yard. She's a girl the same age as him who hopes to take over her father's temple one day. Unfortunately, her father, a grumpy man whose temperament shines through even when he's laughing, said he doesn't want her to, so Zenko took this to mean that it's because of her gender. However, a conversation with Ashiya about his family's flower shop reveals that her father just meant he didn't want to force her to live out his dream, but to find her own instead. (That was Ashiya's mom's response when he asked the same question.) This brings Zenko to tears, which leads to the mask falling off when her father happens to spot her.

The conclusion was sweet, but a little more predictable than the previous episodes, so it didn't affect me quite as much. Luckily, the episode got in some of its sharper side before the end, with more of Abeno scolding Ashiya—while the Buddha yokai seemed to take a shine to him, suggesting to Abeno that he's not as frustrated by Ashiya as he acts. In fact, Ashiya's presence seems to be making Abeno a calmer person. (I'm sure that will be catnip for fangirls.) More interestingly, the yokai suggested right before leaving that there might be something "dangerous" about Ashiya—perhaps tied to that mysterious family lineage Abeno took notice of in the first episode. It looks like we're heading to the underworld next week, so we might find out the truth soon.

Overall, The Morose Mononokean is a fresh take on the bishounen supernatural comedy genre. I think it has even wider appeal because so much of its focus remains on the scary-cute yokai themselves and the cuddly lessons behind the main cast's encounters with them. So don't feel afraid of this one because its genre brethren have left you cold. Like its characters, The Morose Mononokean just might crawl into your heart before you even notice.

Rating: A-

The Morose Mononokean is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn, and on Twitter.