Feb 07 (News On Japan) - The highly anticipated Mononoke: The Movie - Chapter Two: Fire Rat is set for a nationwide theatrical release in Japan on March 14, 2025. Following the fierce battle against the Mononoke Karakasa, the Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya) returns to the inner chambers of the Ōoku (the women’s quarters of the Edo shogunate).
The aftershocks of the previous incident have begun to reshape the power dynamics within the palace.
Botan Otomo (Haruka Tomatsu), a noblewoman who succeeds the previous chief overseer, upholds strict discipline and balance. Her approach, however, sparks tensions with Fuki (Yoko Hikasa), a favored concubine of the Emperor (Miyu Irino), leading to a deepening rift between them.
As the court deliberates the selection of a guardian for the newborn child of the Emperor's legal wife, Sachiko (Atsumi Tanezaki), Fuki faces a crisis that alters her fate. The senior councilor, Otomo (Kenyu Horiuchi), sees Fuki’s pregnancy with an "unwanted child" as a threat to the political order, and a web of schemes begins to ensnare her.
Amidst the escalating intrigue, a series of mysterious spontaneous human combustions occur—people suddenly bursting into flames and turning to ash. The Medicine Seller suspects the work of a Mononoke. These apparitions, known as the "Fire Rat’s Children," seem to be searching for their mother, yet she remains unseen.
Why do the Fire Rats target those who seek to harm infants? What tragedy fuels their relentless burning rage? To banish the Mononoke, the Medicine Seller must unravel the secrets of its Form, Truth, and Reason, delving into the darkness that haunts the Ōoku.
Source: TWIN ENGINE
