Netflix’s new Mononoke film Phantom in the Rain is beautiful, but not for new fans

No one is surprised anymore that there are now three Mononoke movies than people who like them Mononoke. Being a fan of Kenji Nakamura’s visually stunning 2007 narrative anime means continually and carefully specifying, “No, not Princess Mononokejust now Mononoke. It is this beautiful horror mystery anime series. Have you seen it?” – and be ready for the answer “No.”

Mononoke has always been one of those cult wonders: beautiful, praised by connoisseurs, but ending in relative obscurity, especially to English-speaking audiences. So the moment I heard that Nakamura was making three new films – the first, Mononoke the movie: The Phantom in the Rainpremieres for Western audiences on Netflix on November 28 – I was fully involved.

The ghost in the rain is everything I expected from the further adventures of Medicine Seller, the demon-slaying Poirot of the Edo period. The series’ irresistible hallmark – Japanese ghost stories told in the form of a detective procedural – is back in fine form, as is the TV series’ inimitable visual style, seamlessly updated for modern animation techniques. But the film is alone almost everything I wanted from one Mononoke film.

What I was really hoping for was an easy, readily available way to obtain it Mononoke for more eyeballs. Unfortunately, The ghost in the rain isn’t that. At least, not yet.

The ghost in the rainas usual Mononoke‘s episodic nature opens with a new set of characters. Asa and Kame are two new handmaidens who arrive the Emperor’s Ōoku to spend a lifetime in or in the service of his harem. Also as usual for MononokeDue to the episodic nature of our hero, the mysterious demon slayer and mystery solver known only as Kusuriuri (literally, “Medicine Salesman”), he arrives and takes an interest in the Ōoku on the day Asa and Kame are admitted.

The big news is that preparations are underway for a ceremony to mark the birth of the emperor’s newest child, born to one of his favorite concubines — but no one will explain why that celebration was postponed for several months in the first place. Between Asa and Kame being introduced to the strange rituals of the Ōoku, and the tension between visiting samurai researchers, Ōoku matriarchs, and Medicine Seller, there are a lot of meaty mysteries to go around. Maybe at a lot of.

The first thing someone notices Mononoke the series is the visual design – so colorful, detailed and textured that it borders on the psychedelic. What’s less obvious from a quick glance is how tightly they’re all contained Mononoke‘s mysteries are, and how skillfully Nakamura presents them visually.

Every episode of Mononoke is as intriguing as the best puzzle-adventure game, inviting close observation and rewarding repeated viewing. The show offers hints in the form of shot compositions, symbolism and cutaways. Nakamura enhances the dramatic irony by giving the audience information that the characters don’t yet realize, assuming the audience is watching closely enough to catch it.

Ghost in the rainbreaks, however Mononoke‘s tradition of completely self-contained mystery arcs. Although it solves the central mystery, the story carefully introduces some characters and storylines – a man scooping the cursed water for the handmaidens, hints of palace intrigue beyond the Ōoku – only to leave them dangling outside the mystery’s resolution.

To a longtime fan, it seems clear that Nakamura is paving the way for second and third place Mononoke movies to come. But if you haven’t experienced it yet MononokeIn the previous, very self-contained format, you would think those dangling wires would be messy. “Wait, what about all those shots we got from the guy with the ladle that looks suspicious? Hey. Foreign.”

I have to admit, even I wasn’t sure until I noticed something – and this is exactly what I mean when I say that Mononoke wants your focus on the puzzle level. The film’s closing credits play over a single animated loop of a camera panning around a room with a large altar. The altar is hung with three ropes, each a different color, but one of them is broken and hanging limp.

I remembered a moment Ghost in the rain‘s climax, in which Nakamura cuts off a single shot of a snapping rope that seems unrelated to the rest of the action. AhI thought, each rope on the altar is related to one of the three Mononoke films. They’re all building towards something that will happen, possibly in this room, when the third rope breaks.

And me know that sounds like a leap, but it’s exactly the kind of unarticulated, all-visual foreshadowing that Nakamura has made a common part of Mononoke. Ghost in the rain lives up to the bar set by the original anime series, delivering a suspenseful, creepy mystery with a friendly protagonist, visuals so lush they’re almost overwhelming at times, and the skillful blend of cutting-edge and traditional animation to great effect.
If you are already a fan of Mononoke, Ghost in the rain has everything you’re looking for, except easy access for your new friends. However, if you’re one of those newbies, I recommend waiting until all three films are available so we can see what the whole picture looks like.

Mononoke second chapter: Hinezumi will premiere in Japan in March 2025. Considering the six month gap in between Ghost in the rain‘s Japanese debut and Netflix release will likely not be seen in the US until late 2025. But that gives you enough time to catch up on the series first.