Mononoke is a series dealing with the supernatural. A nameless medicine vendor travels through Japan fighting these demons known as mononoke. Well, that’s about it. I did want to like this stylish series, but unfortunately, it does fall flat.

The twelve episode series tells various tales which take place in feudal Japan, except for the last story which takes place in the early 20th century. This gives our medicine vendor the appearance of perhaps being some sort of supernatural being himself. Each tale takes two or three episodes.

The artwork makes Mononoke stand out from other anime. Most is done in a style which resembles traditional Japanese paintings, rather than what we consider to be the manga/anime style. However, while there are a few well animated sequences, most of the animation looks like it was done on the cheap. The figures of the characters are so still and lifeless that I could not relate to them. Besides, many of these characters were just so annoying.

The stories themselves had promise, but so many of the scenes were just dragged out to the point that I only wanted the narrative to end. They do end, but not soon enough.

Mononke is a bit of a disappointment. With better animation of the characters, maybe something could have been salvaged.