The third and final chapter of the "Mononoke: The Movie" trilogy, a completely new theatrical film series based on the popular TV anime "Mononoke," which aired on Fuji TV's late-night anime block "Mononoke " in 2007, will be released on May 29th. Following the first chapter, "Karakasa," released in July 2024, and the second chapter, "Hinezumi," released in March 2025, Hiroshi Kamiya, who plays the protagonist Medicine Seller, says that the third chapter, "Snake God," is "supremely entertaining." We asked him about the behind-the-scenes of the recording and his thoughts on playing the Medicine Seller.
◇The third chapter depicts "what everyone wanted to see most."
"Mononoke: The Movie" is set in the inner palace, a place where the passions of women swirl, and follows a medicine seller as he tries to uncover the true identity of the "Mononoke." Kamiya, ahead of the release of the third chapter, "The Serpent God," says, "Ah, it's ending."
"The work on 'Karakasa' and 'Hinezumi' progressed quite quickly. We even did the voice-over for 'Hinezumi' the day after the premiere stage greeting for 'Karakasa' (laughs). At that time, nobody said anything about 'Hebigami'. However, the work progressed steadily, and the voice-over is finished, so I'm basically leaving it to them and looking forward to the finished product."
Chapter one, "The Umbrella," depicts a new maid being forced to abandon her individuality and serve the group, while chapter two, "The Fire Rat," shows the ladies-in-waiting, each bearing the responsibility of their respective families, becoming embroiled in a power struggle. Chapter three, "The Serpent God," features the Emperor and his wife, Sachiko, as the main characters, and the greatest secret surrounding the birth of the Ooku (women's quarters of the Edo Castle) is revealed. The medicine seller confronts the most terrifying Mononoke he has ever encountered and finds himself in a life-or-death situation.
Kamiya said that after reading the script for the third chapter, he felt, "It's going to be really difficult to turn this into a picture."
"In terms of the scenario, I think 'Karakasa' was the most complex. 'Hinezumi' is an easy-to-understand story, and 'Hebigami' is what comes after that, revealing parts that haven't been told before, and finally all the stories connect. What everyone wanted to see most unfolds in 'Hebigami.' If you've seen the first and second chapters, I think you'll all be satisfied and think, 'This is what I wanted to see.' It's a story that's incredibly entertaining. That's why I imagine it was difficult to create the visuals. The script for the first chapter was very thick, but the second chapter was slightly simpler, so the script became thinner, and then the third chapter became thick again, even more voluminous than the first chapter. I think that's because there were a lot of stage directions and a lot of parts that needed to be explained."
◇The challenge of the medicine seller in order to reach the final chapter
In the theatrical trilogy, it was revealed at the release of the first chapter that there are 64 different medicine sellers in the "Mononoke" series. The medicine seller in the TV series is the medicine seller of Ri, and the medicine seller in the theatrical version is the medicine seller of Kon, with Kamiya taking on the role of a new medicine seller.
"During the audition process, Director Nakamura (Kenji) gave me some information about what kind of character the Medicine Seller is. What stuck with me at the time was when he said, 'The Medicine Seller in the TV series is Kamen Rider 1, and the Medicine Seller in the movie is Kamen Rider 2.' In other words, there are many Kamen Riders, and the question was which one he would be. Furthermore, this Medicine Seller has a strong will to proactively help people. The story wouldn't progress unless he had the will to get things done, even to the point of venturing into the Ooku, a place where men are forbidden. After hearing that explanation, I thought, 'Ah, if that's the case, I can do it.'"
However, there were also difficulties in shaping a new kind of medicine seller.
"The common atmosphere and the initial premise of the medicine sellers were established in the TV series, so I was able to build upon that. In a way, that was both the easy and the difficult part. If I had created that initial premise myself, I probably could have done it with more confidence, but that wasn't the case. I had to follow the common atmosphere while also adding an approach that actively helps people. However, if I went too far, it would become something different, so expressing it within a range that didn't cause a disconnect was quite a challenge."
Building upon the first and second chapters, were there any changes or differences in the acting in the third chapter?
"In the first and second chapters, there were still parts that we were exploring. We understood from the beginning that there would be an enemy in the third chapter, the Serpent God, and that we would have to exorcise two other Mononoke before reaching it. Of course, the Karakasa and Hinonezumi were strong, but the point was that we wouldn't use all our strength to confront them. So, we had to exorcise them properly while conserving our strength. That was something we had to explore."
He feels that the way the Medicine Seller confronts the Mononoke lurking in the inner palace throughout the trilogy is linked to his own process of approaching the role of the Medicine Seller.
"With the new Medicine Seller that we're going to show everyone, there was naturally a part of me that was exploring what the right approach should be. In preparation for the battle against the Serpent God, I think there might have been some connection between the process of exploring each step and achieving each objective one by one and how I approached the role of the Medicine Seller. Now that we've shown everyone the first and second chapters, and the new Medicine Seller has been recognized, we're moving on to the third chapter, so this time I can go all out to achieve the objective of 'I came here to defeat this guy.' Up until now, there was the matter of pacing and exploring, but this time I'm able to challenge myself in a different way, so it might be different from the previous two works. In order to defeat an even stronger enemy, I have to keep removing the limiters one after another. If I hadn't been able to pace myself and leave some energy in reserve, I wouldn't have been able to get this far."
◇ Give the best performance you can at that moment
Kamiya has played not only the main characters but also many other fascinating characters in various popular works, but how does he view the role of the Medicine Seller in "Mononoke: The Movie" within his career?
"Having crossed the milestone of turning 40 to 50, I feel incredibly fortunate to still be in a leading role in a theatrical production. Simply put, that's the case, but I also feel that this is the age where I can think about the kind of charm I can add to a character precisely because I've gotten older. When I was younger, I had a tremendous amount of youthful talent, and I think I was helped by that, or rather, I placed a lot of emphasis on that talent. Now that I'm no longer blessed with that youthful talent, I feel like I've been able to approach this work and this role through trial and error, trying to figure out how to make it something that everyone can accept. It's always been like this, whether I'm in my 20s, 30s, or 40s, I approach things striving to give the best I can at that time. In that sense, the Medicine Seller is a very valuable role for me because it gave me the opportunity to approach it in a way that allows me to properly deliver the best I can in this era. It means that my life wasn't meant to go through time and my career without encountering such a role. I feel truly fortunate about that. This role might be one that has given me that kind of happiness."
Kamiya, who says this, will portray the Medicine Seller who confronts the strongest Mononoke in the third chapter. It's impossible not to be excited. (Shiroinu/MANTANWEB)
