Image: Ankündigungsvisual zur weltweiten Netflix-Exklusivveröffentlichung von Mononoke The Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent
AMBot | 08/19/2026 | Reading Time: 4 Min.
The third and final film of the new "Mononoke" cinema trilogy will be available worldwide exclusively on Netflix on September 29. The streaming service announced the date along with the release of the main trailer and key visual for "Mononoke The Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent" (Japanese: "Gekijōban Mononoke Dai-San-Shō: Hebigami"). In Japan, the work was released in theaters on May 29; with the worldwide streaming start about four months later, the trilogy is now fully available on one platform for the first time.
The series goes back to the television series "Mononoke" broadcast in 2007 in the noitaminA program of Fuji TV, which still counts many fans today. At the center is a mysterious traveler named Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya), who travels through the land with a special sword and banishes mononoke – supernatural apparitions that arise from human passions and bitterness. Before he can draw his sword, he must recognize the form, truth, and reason of each spirit. The setting of the three new films is the Ōoku, the women's quarters of Edo Castle. Each chapter focuses on a woman of higher rank: following a newly entered servant in "Chapter I: The Phantom in the Rain" (2024), the elite Ochūrō appeared in "Chapter II: The Ashes of Rage" (2025).
The finale "Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent" is dedicated to the Midaidokoro, the highest-ranking woman of the Ōoku. When Yukiko (Atsumi Tanezaki), the consort of the Emperor (Miyu Irino), gives birth to a son and he dies shortly after, eerie tremors shake the chamber; triangular scales fall everywhere, and a court lady is crushed and strangled to death. Finally, a mononoke in the form of a giant serpent appears before the Medicine Seller. Its origin goes back 150 years to the founding of the Ōoku by the wet nurse of the third Emperor. The mononoke, which embodies the negative history of the women's quarters, drives the Medicine Seller into the greatest crisis he has ever experienced.
The theatrical release was successful: in the first three days, the box office results were at a higher level than the two predecessors, and on the Japanese platform Filmarks, "Chapter III" reached first place in the satisfaction rating on opening day. The first two films were awarded the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal twice in a row. The final film is also in competition at the 50th Ottawa International Animation Festival.
For the finale, central members of the original team returned: Kenji Nakamura is responsible as chief director for overall direction, Tomoaki Koshida took over the direction, the screenplay comes from Yasumi Atarashi, the characters were designed by Kitsuneko Nagata, and the music was composed by Taku Iwasaki. The film was produced and distributed by Twin Engine, with animation by Studio KAFKA and EOTA. The title song "No Epilogue" is contributed by AiNA The END (avex trax). The voice cast includes, alongside Hiroshi Kamiya, Atsumi Tanezaki, Miyu Irino, Kenjiro Tsuda, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Yuki Kaji, Jun Fukuyama, and Miyuki Sawashiro.
The first two chapters are already available on Netflix; from September 29, the entire story about the Ōoku can be watched in one go. The series is also being further expanded: In July 2026, a new project with a third Medicine Seller named "Ken no Tsurugi" was announced, voiced by Hirofumi Araki.
The series goes back to the television series "Mononoke" broadcast in 2007 in the noitaminA program of Fuji TV, which still counts many fans today. At the center is a mysterious traveler named Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya), who travels through the land with a special sword and banishes mononoke – supernatural apparitions that arise from human passions and bitterness. Before he can draw his sword, he must recognize the form, truth, and reason of each spirit. The setting of the three new films is the Ōoku, the women's quarters of Edo Castle. Each chapter focuses on a woman of higher rank: following a newly entered servant in "Chapter I: The Phantom in the Rain" (2024), the elite Ochūrō appeared in "Chapter II: The Ashes of Rage" (2025).
The finale "Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent" is dedicated to the Midaidokoro, the highest-ranking woman of the Ōoku. When Yukiko (Atsumi Tanezaki), the consort of the Emperor (Miyu Irino), gives birth to a son and he dies shortly after, eerie tremors shake the chamber; triangular scales fall everywhere, and a court lady is crushed and strangled to death. Finally, a mononoke in the form of a giant serpent appears before the Medicine Seller. Its origin goes back 150 years to the founding of the Ōoku by the wet nurse of the third Emperor. The mononoke, which embodies the negative history of the women's quarters, drives the Medicine Seller into the greatest crisis he has ever experienced.
The theatrical release was successful: in the first three days, the box office results were at a higher level than the two predecessors, and on the Japanese platform Filmarks, "Chapter III" reached first place in the satisfaction rating on opening day. The first two films were awarded the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal twice in a row. The final film is also in competition at the 50th Ottawa International Animation Festival.
For the finale, central members of the original team returned: Kenji Nakamura is responsible as chief director for overall direction, Tomoaki Koshida took over the direction, the screenplay comes from Yasumi Atarashi, the characters were designed by Kitsuneko Nagata, and the music was composed by Taku Iwasaki. The film was produced and distributed by Twin Engine, with animation by Studio KAFKA and EOTA. The title song "No Epilogue" is contributed by AiNA The END (avex trax). The voice cast includes, alongside Hiroshi Kamiya, Atsumi Tanezaki, Miyu Irino, Kenjiro Tsuda, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Yuki Kaji, Jun Fukuyama, and Miyuki Sawashiro.
The first two chapters are already available on Netflix; from September 29, the entire story about the Ōoku can be watched in one go. The series is also being further expanded: In July 2026, a new project with a third Medicine Seller named "Ken no Tsurugi" was announced, voiced by Hirofumi Araki.
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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical support and editorially reviewed before publication.
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