The Mononoke franchise is expanding with a new project that introduces a fresh protagonist to the supernatural series. Twin Engine announced the addition of "Ken no Tsurugi," the third Medicine Seller character, though the studio hasn't specified whether the project will be an anime film or television series.

Hirofumi Araki, known for portraying the Medicine Seller in recent Mononoke stage productions, will voice the new character. Kitsuneko Nagata, who designed characters for the Mononoke film trilogy, created the visual design for Ken no Tsurugi. Director Kenji Nakamura describes the character as possessing a dual personality—casual and talkative during everyday situations, then sharp and intense when confronting evil spirits.

This marks another step forward for the Mononoke universe, which has expanded significantly beyond its original 2007 television series. The recent film trilogy—Mononoke The Movie: Phantom in the Rain (July 2024), Chapter 2: The Ashes of Rage (March 2025), and Chapter III: The Curse of the Serpent (May 2026)—introduced a different Medicine Seller character voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya. Netflix currently streams the first two films.

Beyond the anime project, Twin Engine is also partnering with Kadakawa to publish new novels featuring one of the three Medicine Sellers—Ri, Kon, or Ken—as the protagonist. Additional details about both the anime project and novel series are expected to arrive later.

The announcement represents a broader strategy to deepen the Mononoke franchise's storytelling across multiple mediums. By introducing new Medicine Seller characters and expanding into prose fiction, the creators are building a richer mythology around the supernatural concept that drives the series.

Fans eager for more information will need to wait for Twin Engine's next update, which will clarify the format and timeline for this new Mononoke project.