Mononoke Anime - Tumblr Posts
The Mononoke production team really went and fed Sakurai Takahiro to the Bakeneko. As much as the outcome may potentially result in complicated feelings in some, I MUST commend their guts and their decision to stand against mistreatment of women (shows how aware they are of the masterpiece they are working on). And it makes me respect and look forward to the movie even more.
For the past 2 days, the Mononoke team’s decision to recast the Medicine Seller has been living rent free in my head. And today I come to offer another perspective.
Because of the way animation in general does not allow for much appearance of the creators, much of the public credit and acknowledgement go to the only slither of humanity that can be seen or rather … heard. People equate their favorite characters with the providers of their voices. Kaji Yuki is literally Eren Jaeger. Dante Basco is literally Zuko. And Sakurai Takahiro is literally Shirokuma, Osomatsu, Makishima, Rohan, Kusuriuri, etc. Except this is a very reductive view because in truth, the voice actor does not, at all, play any part in the actual creation of a character or vision. They are the missing piece of a puzzle, but the other 99 pieces, the base, the frame, they’re the works of the writers, the designers, artists, animators, and directors. The voice actor simply HELPS bring that vision to life per directed, they are not creators.
In light of the recast decision, I have seen outcries saying that without Sakurai Takahiro, the Medicine Seller is no longer the Medicine Seller, which is a sentiment I can understand. I, too, have deep attachments to the characters voiced by him, and thus, indirectly, to his voice. But while his voice is perfect for such calm, mysterious, almost mystical character, consider this. Would you want a main character of a story that intentionally explores the lived reality of women in history (both pain and gain) through a humanizing lens, whose affiliation is neutral but with subtle acknowledgement and empathy for the victims of each crime (who are mostly women), to be voiced by a man who has, for a very long time, deceived and taken advantage of the women in his life? The compatibility between Sakurai Takahiro and the Medicine Seller is purely superficial, they stand for complete opposite things. And the team, while fully know the risks they are taking, sided with their creation.
With that decision, their creative interest is fully protected. By recasting the Medicine Seller, they are asserting their rightful claim to the credits of creating both the character, AND the series. THEY are the mysterious lines spoken in several intakes of breath, THEY are the glamorous kimono, THEY are the cheeky and mischievous actions that also imply a sense of misanthropy. The Medicine Seller is NOT, and never has been, Sakurai Takahiro. Secondly, with such cruel actions as his reputation, it is difficult for any production to continue working with Sakurai Takahiro, especially in a lead role where he would no doubt be involved in many promotional materials and inevitably be linked with its name. Hence, it is likely that, without any drastic action, upon finishing this movie, the Mononoke team, too, might close its door and try to move on. But by detaching him from the name, they are now able to look forward into the future and continue to conceptualize the universe that we all love and crave, without the weight of such an impactful and disrespectful scandal, that directly contradicts their stance, on their mind.
In all, with the single brave decision to recast one of the most recognizable traits of their central character, the Mononoke team has protected their character, their work, their creation. It is truly commendable.
Y’all I was gonna say maybe Midorikawa Hikaru could be a good contender for Kusuriuri. Then I remembered he literally voiced The Man in the Fox Mask.
The lore deepens
My interpretation of this character changed every year so I’m curious what yours are 🤣
Furthermore, in Edo period, abortion was VERY VERY VERY DANGEROUS for the woman. Risks of injuries and even death were extremely high with the kind of procedures they used at the time. Hence, it wasn’t uncommon for people to carry the fetus full term, give birth, then kill the baby if they couldn’t afford to keep it. Since it was believed that when babies were born, they were still mostly a being of the spirit’s world, the more they live with humans, the more human they become. This practice is called mabiki (間引き).
However, for prostitutes, who often were sold into brothels and had a debts over their heads, being pregnant for 9 months hindered their ability to work and make money for the brothel. Some privileged prostitutes were allowed to carry and give birth - actually a safer alternative to abortion practices at the time. But most didn’t have the choice to do so, and was subjected to inhumane, torturous procedures. Like the ones depicted in Mononoke.
It’s important to note that although the zashiki warashi appear in forms of toddlers, and are said to be the spirits of “unborn children,” the physical sufferings that are graphically depicted and highlighted are those of the women who were forced into that cruel torture chamber. The toddlers are symbols and their cries stand in place for the screams of the women whose autonomy over their own bodies was violently taken from them (along with, most likely, their lives).
I see the Zashiki Warashi arc as a tragedy of the lack of choice for so many women of that era. Their bodies are mere commodities they do not own. Their fate decided by the owner of the brothel, whose only concern is profit. Their lives failed by medical procedures that cared not for their well-being. All problems that still have traces in our contemporary society, just under a different form. Women did and still have limited autonomy over their own bodies.
The Zashikiwarashi arc is about choice, a woman's choice to control her own body, to give birth to her child at her own discretion and vilifying and punishing the people who would take that choice from her, it's literally as feminist as it gets
Umibouzu 海坊主 are characterized in mythology as ghost vessels drifting around in the sea. Sometimes they’re ships, sometimes they’re hollowed boxes. So yes this would definitely be categorized as an umibouzu if it ever resurfaces
This whole 5-billionaires-locking-themselves-inside-a-coffin-and-throwing-themselves-into-the-sea reminds me a lot of the Umibozu episodes from Mononoke, where the girl locks herself inside a wooden boat that closes from the outside (an utsuro-bune to be more specific) and offers herself as a sacrifice to the sea, but ends up turning into a monster and you can still hear her scratching from the inside after 50 years.
Maybe it's too much of a niche series and nobody knows about it (please go watch it, I hate Netflix but I just found out they have it in their catalog) but I would L-O-V-E to see something (fanart? memes? Kusuriuri related content?) about these guys and this episode.
Mononoke, but I tried to imitate Okami style 🖌
One day behind again, so this is technically day 24 of the favorite characters challenge. I'm basically in love with any story about bakemono, and any stories about crime and detectives, so Mononoke is pretty much the best thing in the world.
