Character design drawings for the facial expressions of the medicine seller, Tokita Fuki, and Otomo Botan, who appear in the second chapter of the completely new film adaptation of the popular TV anime " Mononoke," "Mononoke the Movie: Chapter 2: Fire Rat," have been released.
The facial expression setting drawings were made by animation character designer and chief animation director Yuichi Takahashi to serve as a guideline for the animators involved in the production. When drawing facial expressions, Takahashi imagines the interaction between the character and another character in front of the character's gaze. With regards to the medicine seller, chief director Kenji Nakamura gave orders based on clear directorial intent, such as "an expression that captures the customer's heart" and "this cut is the selling point."
One of the distinctive features of the character design in the " Mononoke the Movie" is the mouth, and while the separation between the teeth is usually not drawn, in this work a vertical line has been added. Lip movements when speaking are usually expressed by combining three patterns: an open mouth, a closed mouth, and a middle mouth, but this time the mouth shapes for the letters "u" and "o" have also been added. As there are many close-up shots of the mouth, the intention is to firmly guide the eye to the mouth.
The characters' colors are also distinctive, with each maid having a different hair color, ranging from black to light, and full of individuality. According to color designer Kunio Tsujita, "One way to express black hair is to use dark gray or dark green, but in this work we avoid the standard expression and paint the same black hair in a color that suits the character." In the closed space of the Ooku, where many characters appear, Tsujita also revealed that "the characters are divided into several groups and color trends are decided," and that by paying attention to the color, the character's personality and role can be seen.
"Mononoke" is an anime produced by a reunion of staff from the popular episode "Bakeneko" of "Ayakashi", which was broadcast on Fuji TV's late-night anime slot "Noitamina" in 2006, and was broadcast in 2007. It depicts the supernatural tale of a medicine seller who appeared in "Bakeneko" facing off against a Mononoke.
"Mononoke the Movie" is set in the inner palace, where women's passions swirl, and follows a medicine seller as he pursues the true identity of the "Mononoke." There are three chapters in total, with the first, "Mononoke ," being released in July 2024, and the second, "Mononoke the Movie Chapter 2: Fire Rat," being released on March 14th. Nakamura Kenji, who worked on the TV series and the first movie, will be the general director of Chapter 2, and Suzuki will be the director. It has also been announced that the third chapter, "Mononoke the Movie Chapter 3: Snake God," will be released in spring 2026.
