Mononoke is both a collage of beauty and true art ,and a sinister story that showcases the selfishness of human nature and their desires. It primarily studies how they affect our society and the way it ends up, in an exaggerated but also psychological way, that is sure to keep you hooked when sticking with it.
# Visuals Each episode feels like a canvas straight out of a painting, vibrant colors flash around the screen and never disappoint when it comes to the visual department. At first it takes an episode or two to really get a feel for the animation style, but once you do it really has a charm to it. The biggest flaw this style has to it is it's choppy nature, but once it smooth's itself out it really has a certain polish to it, that is hard to deny. This aspect of the series is its highest peak to me, while the story was an interesting factor the colors that splash and change around really keep you invested, like eye candy. The opening and ending sequence are full of color as well, which is a perfect combo with the series choppy but bright landscapes, that shows how ahead of the times it truly was, it's shine still feeling crisp after 16 years. # Story The series, while starting off fairly light slowly goes down a path of the human nature and how the true intents of people and their selfishness corrupts our society, in retrospect. Whether it was people not being able to admit the truth of their horrible actions, or simply doing terrible selfish things both of these human flaws show themselves when the Mononoke is revealed in the end. It's light horror elements add to this by showing a darker side of how the intents of others have been caused due to an unfortunate situation that may have occurred in the past. This series was a great time, but I think a large part of the story falls short due to the fact its format is usually just arcs that only go on for 3-4 episodes which doesn't really give much insight to any character besides the Medicine Seller, and even then his personality isn't reflected on too much throughout the story. A great example of this is the ending, which to me seemed like a few more episode could've concluded the series out in a stronger fashion. This doesn't set the series back, but more so keeps it from excelling greatness and becoming a masterpiece, but that's just my opinion. #Summary Overall Mononoke is a great time that's stunning visual style and captivating episode format that is filled with mysteries will sure to keep you there till the end, that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a series that is flowing with personality without overstaying its welcome.
