I must admit it: I loved it. Mononoke (not the princess! I’m referring to this) is one of the best anime I’ve seen, and it’s been a while since I came across something really good. The art, the characters, the story, they’re all as captivating. But Mononoke has a highly allegoric value too, without being too abstract or losing itself in this exploration of the viewer’s subconscious.
What impressed me, though, was the fact that almost each and everyone of the arcs either had interesting female protagonists or touched some points of women’s lives not commonly shown. I noticed the screenplay crew consists mainly of women writers, so I can see a possible explanation over the stunningly accurate depictions of female psyche.
The first arc explores maternity and abortion. It’s something so rare in anime (and everywhere, as a matter of fact) and I was happy to watch this develop so well.
The second praises a woman’s inner strength that binds people together. Compared to her male counterpart, that woman was a heroine.
The third, my personal favourite, makes a sharp comment on mother-daughter relationship and a woman’s shackles of society’s norms. Self-realization, having a will on her own, tossing the masks – so simple, yet so important. Stunning.
The fourth story was almost genderless, except the forms of the “demon” of that story, that were mainly female. Still, no misogyny was part of the mix rather than sheer terror, as it happens with all the “mononoke” of the anime whether women, men, children, whatever.
The last story (second part of Ayakashi‘s Bakeneko arc) handled some real problems women face in their struggle to gain a place that’s respected in this world of men.
Mononoke’s setting takes place in old Japan, depicting us fragments of women’s lives those days, many of which are still parts of Japanese woman’s psyche today, deeply rooted in their society. Even the last arc that took place at a somewhat “1920′s” setting, touched sensitive matters of those days.
The characters, besides the totally genderless, deprived of any background “Apothecary” and the mononoke themselves, are somewhat ridiculous, either too petty or too idiot (sometimes both) commenting harshly on the mediocrity of humanity, both in their male and female counterparts.
Some might say that women find themselves in this anime in too much a psychological distress and perhaps this is not actually flattering. My opinion is that light is shed on some aspects of women we rarely think about. It’s depicted accurately and thoughtfully, what more could I ask for?
Some others might comment the fact that the women mononoke, lost in their angst and thirst for revenge etc, eventually find their redemption at the efforts of a man (the Apothecary). As I said before, the Apothecary is a creature between genders and between humanity and non-humanity, he represents more or less a kind of universal balance. Still, the methods he uses are questions: women solve their problems themselves. And, eventually, it is clear that the Apothecary does not resemble any kind of established “man notion”, so there is no point in pondering that.
I believe Mononoke could be seen with a feminist eye without disappointing you. Either way, it gracefully combines mystery, horror, psychoanalysis, surrealism and all these wrapped in unusual, beautiful art. It definitely deserves your attention: it’s a face-a-face confrontation with the human soul; it’s enchanting.
