Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage

Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage, directed by Kenji Nakamura, is a Japanese animated film, the second entry in a three-film trilogy expanding the universe of the 2007 anime series Mononoke. The Medicine Seller returns to the Edo era imperial harem, the Ōoku, where the death of the former overseer has brought in a new administrator with strict rules, straining her relationship with the emperor's favored concubine, while a string of spontaneous human combustion cases signals the birth of a new mononoke. The series keeps its distinctive visual identity, favoring blue outlines over black ink in a saturated palette inspired by ukiyo-e woodblock prints, with music and sound design drawn from traditional kabuki theater instruments. The film won the Bronze Audience Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, the series' second consecutive year winning an audience award there. Who it's for: anyone curious about the second film in a Japanese animated trilogy with a distinctive ukiyo-e inspired visual style and kabuki-rooted music, expanding the universe of the 2007 series. Who it's not for: those wanting to jump in without seeing the first film, since this builds directly on its predecessor's plot and characters.