Mononoke Dainishou: Hinezumi, the second chapter of the Mononoke movie trilogy, has released an animation music video previewing the new AiNA THE END theme song “Hana Musou.”
AiNA THE END had also performed the first movie’s theme song.
Mononoke Dainishou: Hinezumi will premiere in Japan on March 14, 2025 JST. Like its predecessor, which was streamed by Netflix as Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain, it is set at the Ooku (inner palace) of Edo Japan. The concubines Fuki Tokita (Yoko Hikasa) and Botan Otomo (Haruka Tomatsu) appear to have a more prominent role in this film.
The Phantom in the Rain premiered in Japanese theaters on July 26 JST and came to Netflix on November 28 JST. It was announced in June 2022 at the 15th anniversary event of the original Mononoke TV anime and was originally meant to be a 2023 release. Its premise, as described by Netflix, reads:
In the chambers of the Edo harem, two newcomers uncover political intrigue, rivalry and a vengeful spirit only one traveling medicine seller can vanquish.
Mononoke spawned from the “Goblin Cat” episodes of the 2006 horror anthology Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, which introduced the stylized look and supernatural horror-mystery premise that define the title. The TV anime’s Medicine Seller was voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, while Hiroshi Kamiya plays the role in the films due to a recast.
The TV anime’s character designer Takashi Hashimoto (Revue Starlight the Movie co-main animator, Fate/Grand Order THE MOVIE: Paladin: Agateram co-storyboard artist) is credited as “original character designer” in the films.
Staff (reprising roles unless stated otherwise)
• Chief director: Kenji Nakamura (previously director)
• Director: Kiyotaka Suzuki (previously co-storyboard artist and director support)
• Character designer: Kitsuneko Nagata
• Animation character designer and chief animation director: Yuichi Takahashi
• Visual director: Yoichi Senzui
• Background art director: Akira Kuramoto
• Background art director: Yoko Saito
• Color designer: Kunio Tsujita
• Music composer: Taku Iwasaki
• Animation production: Crew-Cell
Cast
• Yuki Kaji as Saburomaru Tokita
• Daisuke Hosomi as Sakashita
• Tomoyo Kurosawa as Asa
• Cho as Yoshimichi Tokita
• Kenyu Horiuchi as Roju Otomo
Source: TWIN ENGINE YouTube channel
