halfamoon | Mononoke - a rec, some icons, and some fic links!

Well, I'm a bit on the late side here, but it's still Valentine's day, so!

I'd like to shine a bit of spotlight onto an oft-looked-over anime by the name of Mononoke. This series is a spin-off of Ayakashi - Classic Japanese Horror, which was an anthology of classical-style horror stories. The last story in this anthology was called Bakeneko (or, roughly, "Goblin Cat"); set in the Edo period, it surrounded a mysterious man known only as the Medicine Seller and his attempt to rid a samurai household of a cat-demon. Mononoke continues to follow this man as he attempts to rid different locales of different demons.

"Well," you're probably thinking, "that's a pretty standard premise, right? What's so special about that? And what does it have to do with celebrating female characters?" Well, I'll tell you - it's all in the execution. Something of a blend of mystery and horror, this series is full of some of the most brilliant storytelling and gorgeous visuals I've ever seen.

Visually speaking, this is a stunningly beautiful series, rather like animated ukiyo-e prints with a strong Gustav Klimt influence thrown in. (One

motorbike described it thusly: "It is like looking at 10,000 consecutive frames of Gustav Klimt having sex with Picasso and Hiroshige." A fairly accurate description, if you ask me. *g*) The storytelling and direction aren't any less beautiful than the art, either - they're just as stylized and creative, relying heavily on the aesthetic of traditional Japanese theater, but as viewed through a modern eye on a fantastically wild acid trip.

This alone would make it well worth watching, but what's especially extraordinary about this series is its treatment of female characters and issues of class and gender. An anime that addresses women's issues at all is fairly unusual, let alone one that does so with such a subtle and intelligent hand. It manages to focus on some of the real obstacles that women faced in pre-modern Japan without subverting the story to soap-box style preaching. Issues covered include a noble woman forced to marry in order to save her family from financial debt; prostitution and forced abortion; a woman pressured into marrying into wealth to fulfill her mother's dream; and in the last arc, which takes place in the early 20th century, the challenges faced by women trying to become professionals in the male-dominated work-force. Its treatment of the female characters is no less intelligent than the plot itself - these women are real people, with real personalities, not just eye-candy thrown in for fanboys to drool at or plot devices to move the story along.

I can't recommend this series enough. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, and if, like me, you have a love for a good mind-fscking, you'd probably really enjoy this series.

If you're interested, the Ayakashi-Bakeneko arc has been released States-side along with the rest of Ayakashi, though it may not be available for long, since Geneon has ceased distribution. Mononoke, as far as I know, has not even been licensed, though it is available fansubbed - Shinsen has a megatorrent of the whole series for download. (I'd link, but I'm not sure if that's against the rules. Mods?)

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Here are icons of some of the women of Mononoke. Credit is appreciated, but not required. (Couple of the screencaps in these were courtesy of

grendelity.)

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Aaand lastly some fic links, some of my own and some by others, all focusing on Kayo, a recurring female character in the series:

By yours truly:

Title: Art of Spring
Pairing: MS/Kayo
Words: 808
Warnings: Sexual situations, but not explicit
Disclaimers: Any resemblances to real art pieces are entirely intentional and quite possibly nonsensical. :D

( "Who would do THAT with an octopus?!" )

Prompt: "Medicine Seller/Kayo: the more things change, the more they stay the same", written for

magicnoire
Pairing: MS/Kayo
Words: 318
Warnings: Non-explicit sexual references

( The same woman looks out a myriad different eyes: )

...

By

nekokoban:

Title: untitled
Pairing: MS/Kayo
Words: 371
Warnings: Genderswitch fic - re-casts the Medicine Seller as a woman, and MS/Kayo as a lesbian pairing.

( It is not always unusual to see women-peddlers. )

Title: I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get out
Pairing: MS/Kayo (sort of)
Words: 545
Warnings: none

( Years later a woman stands on the harbor and watches the waves come rolling in. )

...

By

frackin_sweet:

Title: Residue
Pairing: MS/Kayo
Words: 2707
Warnings: Explicit sex

( She has been in the grip of the supernatural, but it has done little to make her thoughts less mundane... )