The third and final chapter of the "Mononoke: The Movie" trilogy, "Mononoke: The Movie Chapter 3 - Serpent God," a brand new theatrical film series based on the popular TV anime "Mononoke," which aired on Fuji TV's late-night anime block "Mononoke " in 2007, was released on May 29th. The "Mononoke: The Movie" series concludes with the third chapter, "Snake God," following the first chapter, "The Umbrella," released in July 2024, and the second chapter, "The Fire Rat," released in March 2025. The third chapter features a shocking development in the last 10 minutes that will surprise even fans. We spoke to voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya, who has played the Medicine Seller throughout the trilogy, about the behind-the-scenes production.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In "Mononoke: The Movie," the Medicine Seller pursues the true identity of the Mononoke in the Ōoku, a place swirling with the passions of women. In the first chapter, he faced the umbrella monster, and in the second chapter, the fire rat, both powerful Mononoke. In the third chapter, however, he is pushed into an unprecedented predicament by a snake god born from the deep passions of the third wife of the Ōoku, which were involved in the establishment of the Ōoku 150 years ago. After a fierce battle, he defeats the snake god, but yet another Mononoke, stands in his way. In a surprising turn of events, the Medicine Seller of Ri, the protagonist of the TV series, appears as a helper in this desperate situation. It was revealed when the first chapter was released that there are 64 Medicine Sellers, but this time, the Medicine Seller of Kon, the protagonist of the movie with special powers, and the Medicine Seller of Ri from the TV series fight together.
The decision to include the medicine seller of Ri was made during the production of the third chapter. When Kamiya heard about the medicine seller's appearance from director Kenji Nakamura, he thought, "That's incredibly interesting."
"I got a call from Director Nakamura through my manager. He said that after we had defeated the snake god, a Mononoke called Hyakume appeared, and our goal was to defeat it, but Hyakume was too strong and he didn't know how to beat it. So he asked me for advice on summoning the medicine seller from Ri and having the two of us defeat it together, but I said, 'I don't know' (laughs). I told him, 'Well, do whatever you want,' but at the time I thought it was really interesting. Later, I asked Director Nakamura, 'If I had said no, would you not have included it?' and he said, 'I wouldn't have included it.'"
Hyakume, who appears as the final boss of the third chapter, is, as its name suggests, a Mononoke that can be said to symbolize a hundred eyes = the eyes of the masses, and is said to manifest as long as humans exist in this world. Kamiya said that he felt they had reached a more entertaining ending in the climax where the two medicine sellers confront this ultimate mononoke.
"Furthermore, since it has become visually clear that the Medicine Seller exists in multiple forms, it is possible that in the future there could be another ' Mononoke' in which one of the other 64, or one of the 8 Medicine Sellers from the Yin-Yang Eight Mononoke,' then perhaps ' Mononoke' will continue in the future. If the work continues, there is a possibility that the Medicine Seller of Li and the Medicine Seller of Kun will be in the spotlight again, so there are really a lot of possibilities to consider. We were able to reach such an ending. I feel like I thought about all sorts of things with an entertainment-oriented mind and released them into the world in the most fun way possible."
"Mononoke: The Movie Chapter 3 - Serpent God," the final chapter, leaves us with high hopes for what comes next. I want to imprint on my memory the scenes on the big screen that I could never have imagined while watching the TV series. (Shiroinu/MANTANWEB)
