History Anime / Mononoke

* AmbiguouslyHuman / NotQuiteHuman: While the Medicine Peddler always refers to himself as human, his FacialMarkings, PointyEars, CuteLittleFangs, demonic sword, supernatural powers, long lifespan and {{Badass}} alter-ego say otherwise.

* {{BFS}}: The Medicine Peddler's sword looks so... stunted in its little case, but just wait until he gets his shape, truth and reason!

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The "regret" of some of the mononoke could make them this, especially the [[spoiler: Bakeneko in both the manga and the final arc of the anime, as well as the Nopperabou.]] The Medicine Seller even ends up ''apologizing'' to the mononoke before slaying it in [[spoiler: the manga arc]].

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The "regret" of some of the mononoke could make them this, especially the [[spoiler: Bakeneko in both the manga and the final arc of the anime.]]

* CatsAreMean: Very much averted. Cats are sweet, innocent creatures who only want to help, and even ''Bakeneko'' only become that way because of human cruelty.

* CatsAreMean: Very much averted. Cats are sweet, innocent creatures who only want to help, and even Bakeneko only become that way because of human cruelty.

* RuleOfThree: The Medicine Peddler needs the mononoke's Shape, Truth, and Reason in order to purify it.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Taken UpToEleven in the Noppera-Bo arc. You almost done blame Chou for wanting them gone.

* AlienGeometries: In the Zashiki-warashi arc.

* AnimalMotif: Thanks to his face paint, ears, and fangs, the medicine peddler is a spitting image of a traditional Japanese representation of a fox spirit.

* FetusTerrible: In the Zashiki-Warashi arc.

* GhostlyGoals: The bakeneko.

* GroundhogDayLoop: [[spoiler: The Nue arc.]]

* LargeHam: The minstrel and the minstrel-like fish demon who appeared in the Umi-Bozu arc. To be fair, the latter ''was'' voiced by NorioWakamoto.

* MyBelovedSmother: Chou's mother from the Noppera-bo arc.

* NoNameGiven: "Kusuriuri-san" it will have to be.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Taken UpToEleven in the Noppera-B o arc.

* FlyingDutchman / WalkingTheEarth: The Medicine Peddler's purpose is to wander the earth eternally, exorcising Mononoke; but it's quite difficult to figure out whether he does this out of choice or whether he has been forced to do so and is taking it ''really'' well.

* MarkedChange: When the Medicine Peddler switches into Mononoke-slayer mode.

* MyBelovedSmother: Chou's mother from the Noppera-bou arc.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Taken UpToEleven in the Noppera-bo arc.

* OmniscientMoralityLicense: The Medicine Peddler even says that his job is just to defeat the Mononoke, and he has no obligation to save the people involved. Given the series' GreyAndGreyMorality this makes sense.

* {{Reincarnation}}: Implied. The mononoke in the final arc (episodes 10-12) is a bakeneko, and the characters seem to be reincarnations of the people from the original ''Ayakashi'' arc (where the enemy was a bakeneko). [[ContrivedCoincidence Funny the little coincidences, eh?]]
* RuleOfThree: The Medicine Peddler needs the Mononoke's Shape, Truth, and Reason in order to purify it.

* ShipTease: Carrying over from the original Bakeneko story, Kayo gets some with the Medicine Peddler - while she's obviously attracted and he treats her more kindly than he does others, he still finds time to tease her (and the viewers).
* ShoutOut: The painting on the boat in the ''Umi-Bozu'' arc is reminiscent of the 1907 artwork "The Kiss" by Klimt.
* SillyMeGesture: The Medicine Peddler in the 9th episode with plenty of sarcasm, when he 'realizes' that he's given poisonous oleander to one of the characters.

* TheStoic: The Medicine Peddler's emotional range is, at best, "somewhat bemused" and "fighting a Mononoke". He showed much more emotion in the original ''Ayakashi'' arc.

* ShoutOut: The painting on the boat in the ''Umi-Bozu'' arc is reminiscent of the 1907 artwork ''The Kiss''.

* CallBack: A girl that worked for the family haunted by the bakeneko in ''[[{{Ptitle5hurh98m}} Ayakashi]]'' is a main character in the Umi-Bozu arc. What seem to be reincarnations of her and that entire family also show up in the last arc, mainly for the purpose of planting EpilepticTrees.

The style of the anime is done in the UnmovingPlaid style of ''{{Gankutsuou}}'' (although to a lesser extent--there are actually some solid colors here and there, for example), and though it may take some getting used to, the way the series utilizes it is absolutely chilling in certain cases. Highly recommended, though be prepared for a MindScrew of ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' proportions and lots of unanswered questions.

* [=~Let's Get Dangerous~=]: What happens whenever the Medicine Peddler appears on the scene.

The story follows the mysterious, [[NoNameGiven nameless medicine peddler]] in his travels and the various people -- and monsters -- he ends up encountering. To slay the mononoke he must find the Shape (true form), Truth (origin), and Reason (what it hopes to accomplish) in order to defeat it. The series is divided into five story arcs.

The story follows the mysterious, [[NoNameGiven nameless medicine peddler]] in his travels and the various people -- and monsters -- he ends up encountering. To slay the mononoke he must find the Shape (true form), Truth (the reason for the mononoke's existence), and Reason (what it hopes to accomplish) in order to defeat it. The series is divided into five story arcs.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / CharacterizationMarchesOn: In ''[[AyakashiSamuraiHorrorTales Ayakashi]]'''s Bakeneko arc, the Medicine Peddler is less stoic and more overtly snarky than he is in the series, where he is eternally unruffled and limits his snark to a thinly-veiled bemusement regarding the events around him.

* PaperTalisman: Kusuriuri uses these frequently and he has a [[BeyondTheImpossible TON]] of them in his sleeves.

* PaleSkinnedBrunette: Many of the characters, particularly the females.

The story follows a mysterious, [[NoNameGiven nameless medicine peddler]] in his travels and the various people -- and monsters -- he ends up encountering. To slay the mononoke he must find the Shape (true form), Truth (the reason for the mononoke's existence), and Reason (what it hopes to accomplish) in order to defeat it. The series is divided into five story arcs.

* AnimalMotif: Guess who [[{{Kitsune}} the Medicine Peddler]] is supposed to resemble!
* AnimalStereotypes / CunningLikeAFox: Thanks to his face paint, ears, and fangs, the medicine peddler is a spitting image of a traditional Japanese representation of a fox spirit.

* GenreSavvy: The Medicine Peddler -- ''incredibly'' so.

* AnimeFirst

* AssholeVictim: Chou's husband and in-laws. [[spoiler:[[OrIsIt Or were they?]]]]

A spin-off of the horror anime ''[=~Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales~=]'', though unlike ''Ayakashi'' the mononoke pursued have merged with the strong emotions of humans, making them even more dangerous and hard to combat.