Fans who are looking for something completely different from today’s popular shounen and romance anime are in for a treat next year as Toei Animation announced that the Mononoke anime film will be released in mid-2024.
This upcoming anime film was announced last year. While it was slated to release sometime in 2023, the movie was delayed to 2024, with no release window given during the initial delay reveal.
Along with the delay, it was revealed that the series’ main star will be replaced. Now, his replacement has been confirmed.
Mononoke Film Replaces Lead Star Takahiro Sakurai
Mononoke is a unique avant-garde anime from 2007 that began as a spinoff of the Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales anthology series.
The series is made by Toei Animation – surprising given that Toei is best known for its lineup of popular shounen shows like Dragon Ball and One Piece.
Thanks to its unique animation style and supernatural premise, Mononoke gained a small yet passionate fanbase. But it was only during the show’s 15th-anniversary event that a new anime project was announced.
This new project is an anime film that will once again be made by Toei Animation. It will also feature some returning staff members such as director Kenji Nakamura.
However, it was announced that the main star, Takahiro Sakurai (Suguru Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen), won’t return for the new anime.
Recently, it was confirmed that Sakurai will be replaced by Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi in Attack on Titan).
It wasn’t revealed why Sakurai was replaced as the main VA. Though it’s possible that Sakurai’s controversy in 2022 played a part in him not returning to voice the main role.
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Mononoke Anime Film Finally Gets 2024 Release Window
When the new Mononoke film was announced during the series’ 15th-anniversary event in June 2022, it was revealed that the movie will take place after the show’s Bakenoko arc which takes place in the last three episodes.
It wasn’t revealed yet if there are other returning cast members from the anime. But fans can at least get a peek at the movie via its new trailer.
Previously, the movie was set to release sometime this year. But earlier this year, Toei Animation revealed that the anime has been delayed.
The Mononoke movie is slated to release sometime in Summer 2024.
For now, there’s no word yet on a specific release date, nor is there info on US release plans.
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