Mononoke Movie Chapter 3: Hebigami Trailer Drops Ahead of Japan Premiere on May 29

We have a new trailer on the table for Gekijōban Mononoke Dai-San-Shō: Hebigami, the third film in the Mononoke movie trilogy. And yes, it looks like the kind of elegant nightmare that makes us sit up straight, like someone just said “free merch” in the middle of the screening.

The film is set to open in Japan on May 29. The new theme song is Aina The End’s "No Epilogue". If that title sounds like a warning, it probably is.

May 29: the calm ends, the scales fall

The setup wastes no time. After two major incidents—one involving the Medicine Seller’s deadly dance with a Karakasa umbrella, and another clash tied to the Fire Rat—the inner palace briefly pretends it can breathe again. But the Medicine Seller (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) senses that familiar itch: something is still in the walls.

Then the story tightens its grip around the Ooku. Empress Sachiko (voiced by Tanezaki Atsumi), wife of the ruling emperor (Irino Miyu), finally gives birth to a long-awaited baby boy—an heir, the kind of word that can turn people into chess pieces. Her joy doesn’t last. She dies despite the hopes around her, and what follows is not “mourning” so much as a fuse being lit in a room full of lacquer and secrets.

We’re told Sachiko had hoped an heir would shift her formal relationship within the palace. Instead, she hits rock bottom. Her regret curdles. Her anger has nowhere to go. And in Mononoke, bottled emotion doesn’t stay bottled—it becomes a storm with a face.

The Snake God case file: form, truth, reason

If we had to describe Hebigami as a metaphor, we’d call it a beautifully painted corridor where the floorboards remember everything. The Ooku begins to experience frequent, unnatural earth tremors. Then come the signs that make even seasoned horror fans stop chewing their popcorn: a gigantic crawling creature, and triangular scales falling like bad omens with geometry homework.

One incident escalates into outright brutality: a maid is twisted, crushed, and strangled to death. The Medicine Seller arrives and meets the culprit—an enormous snake-shaped Mononoke known as the Snake God. He manages to repel it with a talisman, but the real job hasn’t started yet.

Because the sword doesn’t come out just because we’re impatient. To draw the demon-slaying blade and finish the job, the Medicine Seller must identify the Mononoke’s three characteristics: form, truth, and reason. That structure is part detective work, part exorcism, part psychological audit. It’s like doing taxes, but the receipt is a curse and the auditor is a serpent the size of a legend.

We also have a watchful figure in the background: Mizorogi Hokuto (voiced by Tsuda Kenjiro), a priest tied to the Ooku’s faith, Omizu-sama. He observes with a solemn expression, which in anime language means: “someone knows more than they’re saying.”

Why this feels bigger than a single haunting

The questions stack up fast. Where does the Snake God come from? Why is it so furious it threatens to consume the Ooku? Why now? The answers trace back 150 years, into the true story behind the birth of the Ooku itself. In other words, the palace isn’t just haunted—its foundation is a diary written in ink made of resentment.

And the closer the Medicine Seller gets, the worse the situation becomes. The Snake God isn’t merely strong; it carries years of resentment, weaponized into something “divine” in the most terrifying sense of the word. The film promises an unprecedented crisis for the Medicine Seller, and if we’ve learned anything from this franchise, it’s that “unprecedented” usually means “we’ll need a minute after the credits.”

Cast, staff, and where Chapter 3 sits in the Mononoke timeline

Kenji Nakamura returns as general director, coming off the second movie. Tomoaki Koshida directs the third film at Studio Kafka and EOTA. Hiroshi Kamiya is back as the Medicine Seller, alongside other returning cast members from the previous two films.

As for the bigger picture, we’re looking at a franchise that has quietly built a sharp legacy:

Mononoke first aired in 2007 with 12 episodes and five arcs. It spun off from Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales, following the Medicine Seller introduced in the "Bakeneko" (Goblin Cat) arc. The series’ final arc is also titled "Bakeneko", because sometimes horror likes to close the loop with a neat bow… made of teeth.

The film era kicked off with Gekijōban Mononoke: Karakasa, which premiered in Japan in July 2024 and is available on Netflix. That first film also won the Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation for best animated feature film at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. Its theme song was Aina The End’s "Love Sick".

Chapter 2, Gekijōban Mononoke Dai-Ni-Shō: Hinezumi, opened in Japan in March 2025, again featuring Aina The End—this time with "Hana Musō".

Now Chapter 3 arrives as the final strike of the trilogy: Hebigami, with "No Epilogue". Three films, three themes, and one consistent message: the Ooku doesn’t forget. It just waits.

From our corner of the map (yes, Murcia included), we love seeing a franchise commit to style and structure without turning into noise. Mononoke remains that rare thing: horror that doesn’t shout, it stares. Like a cat judging us at 3 a.m. for going back to the fridge.

What we should do next

Watch the trailer with headphones. Pay attention to the sound design and the rhythm of the edits—this series loves hiding meaning in the gaps. Then, if you haven’t yet, revisit Gekijōban Mononoke: Karakasa and Gekijōban Mononoke Dai-Ni-Shō: Hinezumi so Chapter 3 hits like it’s meant to.

If we want the best experience, we should go in ready to solve the case alongside the Medicine Seller: form, truth, reason. Because the Snake God isn’t just a monster. It’s a conclusion that has been waiting 150 years to be spoken out loud.