Set to be the first part of a three-part trilogy, Netflix has announced an October 2024 premiere for the English dubbed adaptation of Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain which will be directed by Kenji Nakamura. The English dub is coming from Iyuno and is produced by EOTA and co-distributed by Giggly Box and Twin Engine. The Toei Animation created film features Aina the End providing the theme song for the film, titled “Love Sick”.
Here’s the rather long synopsis from Netflix:
The Ōoku —
A harem swirling with intense emotions.
The Ōoku is where beautiful and talented women are gathered from all across the land to bear the heir of His Majesty, the ruler. At the same time, it is an important place that plays a crucial bureaucratic function. Stepping into this unusual society with its own rules are young newcomers Asa (Tomoyo Kurosawa) and Kame (Aoi Yuki). Blessed with both intelligence and beauty, Asa aims to improve her standing, while Kame searches for a sense of belonging in this place she has always dreamed of. On the day of their induction, these two girls of opposite personalities are forced to participate in a ceremony to become part of the group by sacrificing their most cherished belongings to the Water Goddess, a deity worshiped within the Ōoku. As a result of this event, a bond forms between the two girls.
The elder Utayama (Mami Koyama) oversees the women while prioritizing the prosperity and continuation of the Ōoku, but she conceals something behind her stony facade. Slowly, over time, something uncanny begins to envelop the women. As their powerful emotions accumulate each night, the strange sound of a spinning paper umbrella echoes from the shadows and the maidservants begin to lose their minds, as though they are possessed.
Eventually, a pivotal tragedy occurs. The Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya) proceeds to the heart of the Ōoku, but he cannot draw the Sacred Sword to exorcise the mononoke unless he learns the being’s “Form,” “Truth” and “Reason.” When the Medicine Seller uncovers the frightening and heartbreaking truth hidden in the Ōoku, the ceremony of exorcism and redemption begins.