Kenji Nakamura Discusses Mononoke Film III Themes and Monster Design

Chief director Kenji Nakamura recently spoke with Anime Trending about the third installment of the Mononoke anime film trilogy, The Curse of the Serpent. The feature screened in competition at the 2026 Ottawa International Animation Festival, where Nakamura introduced the work to Canadian audiences for the first time. It serves as the final chapter in a new trilogy that began with 2024’s The Phantom in the Rain and continued with 2025’s Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage.

The film, which started streaming on Netflix on September 29, 2026, explores the hierarchical structure of the Ooku setting. Nakamura explained that this chapter focuses on upper-level characters and their emotional struggles, contrasting with earlier entries that examined lower staff or middle management. The narrative centers on the Serpent God, an entity born from intense emotions accumulated over 150 years within the Ooku.