Mokke

[monir]

Animation Production: Madhouse

Genre: Supernatural, Mystery

Expected Release Date: October 2007

Website: http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/mokke/

This series is based on a manga by Kumakura Takatoshi that is serialized in Afternoon. Aside from the supernatural aspect of the story, I'm interested in it because Madhouse is involved in it. The director for the show is going to be Nishida Masayoshi. The executive producer is listed as Maruyama Masao. The synopsis (and the picture ^^) is stolen from the star crossed anime blog:

A fantastic story about two sisters. Shizuru is a high school student who can see monsters which ordinary people can’t, while her little sister, Mizuki, is easily haunted by these monsters. They are living with their grandfather’s home separately from their parents because of their abilities. The theme for each story is not horror-centric, but rather, of a heart-warming nature.

Will update once more information is known. Please contribute.

[NeoSam]

And now for the covers >.<

もっけ
Mokke

Serialized in the seinen manga magazine Afternoon.
For now there are 6 volumes released of this manga.
Here are the covers:



Genre: Seinen, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

[Gettersaga]

Oh, I know this manga for it has been serialized (now its serialization has stopped for a while, in Italy I mean) and it is really interesting. I understand the definition "supernatural" for this manga (and, in the future, anime .. and by Mad house, I'm already waiting for it). It's about these two sisters and their grandpa seeing all a series of strange ghosts and creatures not necessarily dangerous to people but often to the little Mizuki that sees them, as her sister, but can't protect herself against them or their influence if she hasn't got a talisman her grandpa has made for her. And then ... their mother, their grandpa's daughter, doesn't see these spirits (this is the best word to tell what they are) and doesn't believe in their existence and in what her daughters tell her they see and hear ... it's a complicated story divided in episodes (I'm speaking about the manga) and in each episode there is a different japanese spirit/monster ... It will be interesting. I can guarantee it.

[mukansa monkey]

This is Mokke. It is made of ghosts and girls.
Just watched the 15-second trailer. Apparently the little sister gets possessed (although perhaps it's relatively benign). Getting a sort of "Moon Phase goes slice of life" vibe from this. Which is cool. And it's Madhouse, which is cool.
One feature that stands out for me is the art style here. The backgrounds, and to a lesser degree the characters, are drawn in an impressionistic style, everything is dabs and streaks of color. It reminds me of that guy on PBS who would do an entire painting in 30 minutes. There isn't a lot of detail, but at the same time there's plenty of visual complexity. So things look relatively real with relatively little time spent by the artist... assuming the artist has a high skill level. It looks as though the animators were using an entirely different set of tools from what most anime is drawn with. Here's a sample:

I particularly like the hair with the tips... and zOMG, anime with people that look Asian! Kind of a rarity.

After looking at that screenshot for a wee bit, I realized one thing that's very unusual about it: The outlining around characters goes from slender to nonexistent. Only clothing articles have noticeable outlines, and even those are muted. A quick survey of my recently viewed list turns up 7 shows that all use strong outlining to separate character from background. The only other one that doesn't is Claymore, and there it's because the armor is outlined. By not outlining everything else, it makes the armor stand out and look metallic next to 'soft' textures like cloth and skin. In Mokke they appear to be minimizing the outlining in order to enhance the whole soft-focus paint dab/watercolor look. It'll be an interesting experiment to watch.

[Sonhex]

Originally Posted by mukansa monkey

... Here's a sample:

I particularly like the hair with the tips... and zOMG, anime with people that look Asian! Kind of a rarity.

After looking at that screenshot for a wee bit, I realized one thing that's very unusual about it: The outlining around characters goes from slender to nonexistent. Only clothing articles have noticeable outlines, and even those are muted. A quick survey of my recently viewed list turns up 7 shows that all use strong outlining to separate character from background. The only other one that doesn't is Claymore, and there it's because the armor is outlined. By not outlining everything else, it makes the armor stand out and look metallic next to 'soft' textures like cloth and skin. In Mokke they appear to be minimizing the outlining in order to enhance the whole soft-focus paint dab/watercolor look. It'll be an interesting experiment to watch.

Er...judging from that shot I think the subbers have simply applied a 'watercolour' filter to an upscaled version of the PV. Check the original on Youtube. You can see the art style is more 'conventional', but by no means less fitting for the show. It does look quite similar to the style Madhouse used for Claymore though (softer lines etc...).

I'm rapidly becoming a fan of Yoshihiro Ike's scores, after Ergo Proxy, Kamichu and Reideen. I love the atmospheric music in the PV...

[Woland]

So it's only an encoding "problem"... Now I'm relived, that CM look just horrible and the first trailer was so fitting in style and mood with the original manga.

BTW I found another CM on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUVTSw8kR2U&NR

[Sonhex]

Originally Posted by Woland

....

BTW I found another CM on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUVTSw8kR2U&NR

Cool. I haven't seen that one before. I like it. Makes it look a lot more creepy than the other one...

[Woland]

Well, You can consider Mokke a sort of "brighter" version of Mushishi. It has a similar episodic structure but doesn't reach the same level of lyricism and/or fatalism. It's a down on the earth anime which really fit in the slice of life category but, trust me, it has his creepy moment, sometime. But more than that is a bright story (at least until I've read the manga) centered on the everyday life of the two main character, with a constant melancholic and bittersweet undertone.

[S_K]

Girls who deal with ghosts and spirits and supernatural stuff, might give this series a few eps

[FireChick]

Hmmm...now this looks nice.

[Lunacy]

This title is my most looked forward to out of this fall season! (Other being Shugo Chara.)

I really hope Madhouse does a great job of capturing Mizuki's many facial expressions since they are priceless. Also, looking forward to Ayako Kawasumi as Shizuru. Only about two more weeks! Can't wait.

[ZaLhErA]

Umm....then I join the information about seiyuus and songs

Hibara Shizuru : Kawasumi Ayako
Hibara Mizuki : Mizuki Nana (Wow! TWO MIZUKIs )
Grandpa : Hori Katsunosuke
Grandma: Kyouda Hisako
Mother : Mitsuishi Kotono

OP Theme : Kokoro no ato by Kosaka Riyu (from BeForU)
ED Theme : Panorama by Hashimoto Mai (The song we heard from preview)

First episode will onair on 2nd October@Me-TV

I won't miss this anime , my two favorite seiyuus have the main roles

[Matrim]

Mituishi Kotono and Kawasumi Ayako? This info just increased my view about this show from "I might take a look since it doesn't sound too bad" to "I am so looking forward to this". And of course, Madhouse know how to adapt manga.

[hi no ken Jebus]

Spoiler for ep 01:

Hmm so far this looks like another princess resurrection in which they just made a loose adaptation based on source material a la Gonzo. First episode is loosely based on chapter 9 of the manga heavy emphasis on loosely. Well I'm not getting my hopes up but at least it's nice to say Mokke is being animated. For the first episode, not a big fan of Mizuki's VA while Shizuru's does fit her well. The music is quite good although the OP/ED are alright. Anyway hope this turns out well at least

[Yttrasil]

Nice atmosphere and everything but don't know if it's my kind, have yet to decide. I need to know though what other movie is it that has a childs song that sounds like the one in Mokke, cannot remember but i really like it

[aroduc]

OP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTpPooyBSDw

Slice of life stuff isn't my bag either. That, plus the relatively low budget art and animation meant snoozing through it for me.

[Woland]

Mmmm

Spoiler for episode 1:

Yes they started from "Mikoshi", chapter 9 (which is originally a flashback one) and yes it's a very, very loose adaptation. Compared to the original it's a lot more sugary, and I don't feel that as a good thing (Mizuki seems so out of character). Not to mention they left out the good parts from chapter 9, and I hope to see, at least, Shizuru flashback in the future episode. Good BGM but I'm not so fond with overall art quality and consistency, I just hope it did not worsen in the future (as a 2nd rate Madhouse project ).
Well not a bad start however, but not as good as I was expecting from the good parts of the manga (and this is one of the best chapter I've read)

[NakedAngelX]

Still downloading right now, but judging from the OP, the graphics are pretty detailed. And the way they run is normal for once in a life time haha, not the bleach running style or swinging hands too far on the side XD... since it is supernatural, might be a good show. Low budget's more the reason for them to give us better quality so it might become popular XD

Like Seirei no moribito!

[Jiji]

Originally Posted by Matrim

Mituishi Kotono and Kawasumi Ayako? This info just increased my view about this show from "I might take a look since it doesn't sound too bad" to "I am so looking forward to this". And of course, Madhouse know how to adapt manga.

I am SOOooo in agreement with this. Kawasumi Ayako is the voice I hear in my dreams. When I hear angels, it's her voice. Okay, I exaggerate, but I still love her acting. From Aoi to Mahoro, to Matsuri-chan, I'd buy anything she was selling.

[Vexx]

This looks Totoro/Shinto/Kamichu! cute.... I'm a sucker for anime that incorporates shinto motifs in a fairly straightforward way especially in rural settings. So I guess Mokke just tumbled into my must-watch list.