Netflix announces the upcoming release of the film “Mononoke: The Phantom in the Rain.”

As the first in 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 by Iyuno and is produced by EOTA and co-distributed by Giggly Box and Twin Engine. Created by Toei Animation, the film features Aina the End providing the theme song for the film titled “Love Sick”.

Here’s the rather lengthy summary from Netflix:

The Ooku –

A harem full of intense emotions.

At the Ōoku, beautiful and talented women from all over the country gather to give birth to the heir of His Majesty the Ruler. At the same time, it is an important place that fulfills a crucial bureaucratic function. The young newcomers Asa (Tomoyo Kurosawa) and Kame (Aoi Yuki) enter this unusual society with its own rules. Blessed with both intelligence and beauty, Asa wants to improve her reputation, while Kame searches for a sense of belonging in the place she has always dreamed of. On the day of their introduction, these two girls with different personalities are forced to attend a ceremony to become part of the group by sacrificing their most prized possessions to the Water Goddess, a deity worshiped within the Ōoku. This event creates a bond between the two girls.

The older Utayama (Mami Koyama) oversees the women and places emphasis on the prosperity and survival of the Ōoku, but she hides something behind her stone facade. Slowly, over time, something sinister begins to envelope the women. As their strong feelings build up each night, the strange sound of a spinning paper umbrella echoes from the shadows and the maids begin to lose their minds as if possessed.

Finally, a decisive tragedy occurs. The Medicine Seller (Hiroshi Kamiya) penetrates the Ōoku’s heart, but cannot draw the Sacred Sword to exorcise the Mononoke unless he learns the being’s “form,” “truth,” and “reason.” As the medicine seller reveals the frightening and heartbreaking truth in the Ōoku, the ceremony of exorcism and redemption begins.