Oedo Mononoke Monogatari (2020)

A Yokai Drama for Tweens

Set in the Edo Period, this series tells the story of a young samurai, Kazuma (played by Mizukami Koshi) who is teaching young students at a small temple. Kazuma is the oldest of two sons, but has little interest in bushido, and secretly learns everything he can about youkai while hiding his interest from his very traditional father. He hiccups whenever youkai are around, but does not understand that that is the case until he finds a small jade amulet that allows him to see the folkloric monsters even when they do not wish to be seen by humans.

It's a short, youkai-of-the-week series in which Kazuma befriends three youkai in an abandoned storage building where one of the youkai, Amanojaku, is trapped at the start of the series. The other two youkai are a kappa (a turtle-like creature) played by Yamada Anna and a cat-like youkai named Nekomata played by Morikawa Aoi. Rounding out the principal cast is one of Kazuma's students, Ohina, who helps out Kazuma and provides the POV character for the intended audience.

It's a light, fun series that does not really go anywhere. The there's a mild romance arc for Kazuma, and an ultimate big bad who must be defeated at the end. It's a mildly enjoyable diversion overall.

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