Mushishi

[edit/review] [links] [se index log]

Title:	Mushishi Bug Master 蟲師 Mushi-Shi
Overall:	Rent
Keywords:	2005, 2006, Drama, Fantasy, Spiritual, Tragedy, TV
Notables:	DOI Mika MAEDA Takeshi NAITO Ryo NAKANO Yuto R1 License - FUNimation UEDA Yuuji YABE Masashi
Existing beyond the sight and lore of normal humans, they are neither plants or animals. Those few that know of them call them ‘Mushi’ and while they manifest themselves in a variety of apparitions and shapes, their appearance is always surrounded by strange events. If described, they can only be a strange appearance of life force energy, but very little is really known about them. Ginko is a ‘Mushi-Shi’, a supernatural and spectral spirit hunter, who travels around investigating any strange rumors and local legends that might be associated with the ‘Mushi’, with the intent of setting things right to permit them to continue to exist, unobserved by those in the real world. [TV series, 2005, 26 episodes, 25 min; produced by Marvelous Entertainment, SKY Perfect Well Think, ADK, avex mode, Artland & Asahi Production.] Winner of 2006 Anime-Reactor Award R1 release by Funimation 1:09min Series Opening - YouTube Video

Episode Details
01

Overall	Art	Animation	Character Design	Music	Series Story	Episode Story	Reviewer

Rent 4	10	9	7	8	7	10	Devil Doll	#
Mushishi [Score: 80%] Drama: Low/Med (not really a series story but the episodes themselves do have drama) Comedy: None (basically one person trying to cure serious problems) Action: Low (occasional suspense elements, no actual fights) SciFi: Med/High (the magic nature of the scenario allows for these little stories) Ecchi: None (pure and clean, recommended for teenagers) Breathtaking Art, and lots of realistic images of locations in nature - I didn't have this feeling since I watched Ghibli movies like Tonari no Totoro or Mononoke Hime. A soothing OP song in singer/songwriter style with English lyrics; soft and quiet Music. No action, no violence, no comedy, no nudity - but lots of atmosphere. A chill-out anime of sorts, living on its visual and emotional elements. This is for those who love anime as an Art, not as a device for storytellings and character development - which is why it gets lower grades for these attributes from me (which happen to be quite important for me). Then again, each Episode Story is exciting by itself, and it does provide some interesting characters although you learn so little about them. Therefore this series is way too good for a mere "Watch" rating. As for the stories I can sense a feeling vaguely similar to X files (but without the police/politics aspect) combined with strong Japanese elements (such as fate, guilt, remorse, sacrifice, loss, ...) like in Kyuuketsuki Miyu (OVA) - that's why I consider it funny that this anime has a smooth English OP song (in singer/songwriter style). I there doesn't seem to be any contiguous Series Story; it's just Ginko visiting different places. Episode 5 was the first one to be based upon an earlier episode; episode 12 provided a pleasant surprise for me. Everything else is just "the Mushi of the week". Episode 19 is a great drama, episode 20 finally provides some more series story. The ending was interesting as well but I still miss a lot about the elements that I consider most important for a good anime. Just look how much better Haibane Renmei is in these aspects. What I like about these short stories is that there's no automatic "all is well" ending - sometimes there's only so much a Mushishi can do. Then again, Character Development suffers a lot from the episodic nature of the story - the characters are interesting but basically shown by just one decision in their life which provides their whole story, thus limiting the rewatchability value of this series: Once you know what happened there's not much left for the next pass of viewing. But if you can live without an underlying story connecting these episodes and without any character development, then check this series out at any cost. And you might also want to give Kino no Tabi - the Beautiful World (TV) a try. Last updated Friday, March 14 2008.

Unevaluated 4							Jan-Chan	#
Mushishi I find myself totally in agreement with Devil-Doll’s review. With episode 23 having been released, I find MUSHISHI to be absolutely fascinating, if only because I love the slower tempo and artistry of this series. It is definitely not for everyone, but if you are one who can get into a very Japanese/Shinto-based/Xfiles type of series, then you should check this out. I have posted some snapshots of episode 1, if only to be able to share a bit of the uncommon artistry of the MUSHISHI series Last updated Saturday, July 15 2006.

Other Sites

Name	URL
Official Japanese Series Web Site	http://www.mushishi.jp/
DEL RAY manga series (english language)	http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345496218

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org