The Mononoke movie release date in Japanese movie theaters is confirmed for 2023.
Mononoke is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2022, and during the 15th Anniversary Festival, a movie project titled Mononoke: The Movie (Gekijoban Mononoke) was announced. The event was held at the Fuji TV Headquarters and was attended by Kenji Nakamura, Takahiro Sakurai and Koji Yamamoto.
The movie is a completely new work and is scheduled to hit the theaters in Japan in 2023.
Mononoke: The Movie will be directed by Kenji Nakamura, who also directed the Mononoke TV anime series. Takahiro Sakurai will also return to voice our favorite Medicine Seller. Twin Engine is producing the movie.
Mononoke: The Movie announcement promo
Aside from the movie, three other projects were also announced in the announcement promo.
- The Fifteenth Anniversary Visual Project
In the project, 15 artists will draw illustrations for the Mononoke franchise. In the first installment of this project, Yaeko Ninagawa drew the following illustration:
- The Crowdfunding Project
A crowdfunding campaign will be launched from June 24, 2022, to August 14, 2022, to support the movie’s production. Both Japanese and international fans can donate to this project.
- Website for those in Japan: Ubgoe
- Website for international fans: Kickstarter
- Stage Play
A stage play was also announced. More details are awaited.
Here is the announcement promo released by the production team on the Twin Engine Youtube channel:
The Mononoke series
Mononoke is a 12- episode TV anime series directed by Kenji Nakamura at Toei Animation. The 2007 anime is a spin-off of the 2006 anime Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror. The anime is available on Crunchyroll.
Ikuko Takahashi, Chiaki Konaka, Manabu Ishikawa, and Michiko Yokote penned the script for different episodes. Takashi Hashimoto designed the characters and also served as the chief animation director. Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music.
There are 5 arcs in the Mononoke anime:
- Episodes 1–2: Zashiki-warashi
- Episodes 3–5: Umibozu
- Episodes 6–7: Noppera-bo
- Episodes 8–9: Nue
- Episodes 10–12: Bakeneko
The series has also received manga adaptations published in Young Gangan Comics and Zenon Comics between 2007 and 2016.
In commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Mononoke anime, the 12 episodes of the anime will be streamed live on Youtube on June 24 at 18:00 (JST). Moreover, the 3 episodes of the Bakeneko arc of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales will also be streamed. You can find this stream on Noitamina official Youtube channel.
For more information on the movie, you can visit the official Mononoke: The Movie website.