Mushishi
I grew up in a house where folklores and stories had a strong hold. As a child, we were told about different stories and omens — about how one should not whistle at night or how you should not be in the mountains if some snake god is upset. I never took these things seriously as they were just stories, as the name suggests, and I really never thought that someone would make an anime about the stories that were told to me.
But that’s where I found MUSHISHI and OH BOY did I love it! MUSHISHI does something that other anime don’t — it speaks the story. You never feel involved or part of the story, but you always stay a spectator. This is so different than other anime where you are involved from the start and all the action that goes with it.
MUSHISHI revolves around this guy called Ginko — he is a mushishi or a mushi master who is knowledgeable about mushi. I know that in Japanese mushi means bugs, but this is wayyyy different than the bugs you and I know about. Mushi are the most primordial form of life. Normal humans can’t see them but some people can, and that’s where the lives of the mushi and humans intertwine. This results in some amazing phenomena which are not always a good thing. That’s where our mushishi Ginko comes into the picture and saves the day. Now that I think about it, it’s not that different than Dr. House or Grey’s Anatomy lol.
Coming to the storyline of the anime — it’s an episodic anime with each episode having a totally different story from the previous one. Even though it has an episodic behaviour, some characters do tend to reappear along the story.
The anime style is pretty old school but it generates this nostalgic feeling from within. I have no idea if it’s because of the animation or just the way the story has been narrated, but one thing is for sure — you would really love this animation and the way it pairs with the story.
Now coming to the main point of the anime — the most beautiful aspect of the anime, right before the storytelling, is the damn BACKGROUND music and OH MY GOD the BGM. I could be under any amount of stress and just one of the tracks from any of these episodes can make all the stress go away just like that. The background music was given by Toshio Masuda, who has also worked on other anime such as Naruto. The music in MUSHISHI is like a curtain that shuts you off from the outside world — it helps you forget the stress or the problems that you had. It’s like an indication that yeah, something good is about to happen, and at the end of the episode the BGM leaves you with a sweet, sometimes sour feeling — but it’s never an abrupt ending that throws you back into the real world like a shock.
Overall, this is a very good anime. While a lot of you who like anime that are action-packed or filled with intense moments might not like this anime a lot, you could always give it a try — and who knows, you might discover something new from an anime perspective or about your own self.
I would give this anime a solid 8/10 and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for an anime not for the plot but for the pure vibe of it.
Hope you liked my take on the anime and please let me know your thoughts in the comments if you have watched this anime or if you want me to cover some other anime out there.
With that, this is everythinganimeuwu and until next time!!















