Mushishi: Hihamukage (Mushi-shi: The Shadow that Devours the Sun)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Mushi-shi Tokubetsu-hen: Hihamu Kage, Mushishi Special: Hihamukage

Japanese: 蟲師特別篇「日蝕む翳」

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Information

Type: TV Special

Episodes: 1

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jan 4, 2014

Producers: Aniplex, Kodansha, Delfi Sound

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: Artland

Source: Manga

Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Slice of Life, Supernatural

Themes: Adult Cast, Historical, Iyashikei

Demographic: Seinen

Duration: 45 min.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.53¹ (scored by 67,342 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #115²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1628

Members: 139,566

Favorites: 189

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8.53

Ranked #115Popularity #1628Members 139,566

TV SpecialArtland

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Episodes: /1

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Synopsis

The entire countryside comes to a halt midday to witness a rare solar eclipse that is rumored to allow the average person to see Mushi. Unable to avert their gaze, the air is full of awe and wonder—but those who know the Mushi are preparing for the eclipse's aftermath.

Based on a prediction from Tanyuu Karibusa, the cursed recorder, Mushishi Ginko finds himself in a very unlucky farming village. Immediately following the solar eclipse, a strange black cloud begins to gather in the sky and blocks the sun once more. Suspecting it to be the work of a Mushi known as Hihami, Ginko seeks to liberate the village from perpetual darkness. However, it seems that not all of the villagers are eager to return to the light.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Episode Videos

Episode 1

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Mushishi Tokubetsu-hen: Hihamukage
Prequel:	Mushishi
Sequel:	Mushishi Zoku Shou

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Ginko

Main

Nakano, Yuto
Japanese

Hiyori

Main

Watanabe, Yuuna
Japanese

Karibusa, Tanyuu

Supporting

Kobayashi, Ai
Japanese

Adashino

Supporting

Ueda, Yuuji
Japanese

Narrator

Supporting

Doi, Mika
Japanese

Hinata

Supporting

Sasaki, Rio
Japanese

Tama

Supporting

More staff

Staff

Odagiri, Narumi

Assistant Producer

Nagahama, Hiroshi

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Soutome, Kouichirou

Episode Director, In-Between Animation

Urushibara, Yuki

Original Creator

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Opening Theme

"Hihamukage (日蝕む翳)" by Toshio Masuda

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Ending Theme

"Hinata (日向)" by Toshio Masuda

Reviews

Jun 24, 2023

whiteflame55

Recommended

I'd break this one up, but honestly, my reviews of each season/OVA are pretty consistent.

It's the story of a mushi master named Ginko who goes around investigating and solving mushi-related incidents. Mushi are a class of life that is entirely distinct from others, only visible to a select few and yet capable of interacting with the world in various ways. I'd say "often to the detriment of humans," but that's really just what we see: the places and ways things go out of whack, often due to changes in how humans interact with their environment. But it's not an environmentalist message, either. Humans, like the ... mushi themselves, are just trying to survive and thrive. They often simply don't know about the mushi they're dealing with, or even if they do, they don't understand it well enough to deal with the problem.

As for the series, the episodes are largely independent of one another (that becomes less true as the series goes on, but it's still mostly accurate even for some episodes towards the end) and, much as there's some building of knowledge for the MC over the course of the series, there's no real order to the events. Every village he goes to is a unique experience with a unique mushi and distinct people. That limits the amount of depth they can give the characters he meets and the circumstances he faces, since they're all only 20+ minutes long. That being said, for a series that does this, it's truly incredible. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the transient nature of its protagonist lending itself to highly varied adventures that build it out, and while each mushi may only get a bit of explanation, you could accurately build out a volume of materials on the ones Ginko sees throughout the series.

There are few recurring characters, for whom we do get some more character building, but that's not really a problem, nor is the relatively weak character designs (they get better as the series progresses, but I wouldn't say that the character models have a lot of contrast from one another for the most part) that make everyone look pretty similar. It's not about them, at least not chiefly. It's about the mushi, how they interact with the world around them, and how the various mushi masters we meet along the way interact with them. Ginko is distinct in this regard, seeing them as natural forces that aren't running contrary to human desires, requiring substantial intervention or even killing, but rather entities to be respected and cherished in their own way. His ways to work with them are almost solely naturalistic, and its through his unique perspective that he can sometimes run circles around other mushi masters who seek to control the mushi through more human-derived interventions.

It's not a perfect series to be sure - doing this kind of episodic structure means that each episode stands largely on its own and is limited in its build and payoff - but it's a vibe in a way that other series I've seen just can't match. The whole direction of the series really matches its MC in a way that I've rarely seen from others. He's still enigmatic in many ways, but despite having only limited peeks into his background, Ginko's context clues give us a great understanding of who we follow throughout. And despite my issues with the pacing of some episodes, I think it's incredible how well the series manages to encapsulate whole arcs into roughly 22 minutes of screen time, often saving its more complex stories for the longer OVAs. That's impressive. I can think of few series that pull that off quite so well.

For me, this series evokes similar feelings to Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, and despite being very different, it gets a similar score.

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Jun 3, 2022

GleefulViolin

Recommended

A special masterpiece. A special episode of a masterpiece.

Almost a decade after the last episode of Mushishi season 1 back in 2006, this special episode relieved the thirst of Mushishi's fans. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait long for this special episode, because I just finished binge watching Mushishi season 1 yesterday.

What makes this special episode special is the appearance of supporting characters from the season 1. Besides Ginko, Adashino, and Tenyuu, all supporting characters from almost each episode made brief appearance during the solar eclipse.

Yes, this story is taking place during solar eclipse. I assume this special episode happened few years after ...

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Nov 5, 2021

Resting_Bonfire

Mixed Feelings

Mushishi: Hihamukage

Contrary to my expectations, this season of Mushishi surprised me considerably.

Despite everything, the Ova possessed one of the more interesting approaches in this story. With equally one of the more interesting Mushi.

Honestly, this episode didn't feel like 40 minutes, it flew by relatively quickly. Whereas some normal episodes feel like half a day.

The plot about the eclipse and the two sisters had a certain charm, especially with the allegorical representation of the event. This was also narratively one of the smarter episodes, in terms of morality and depth as well.
...

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'Mushishi' to Get Sequel in Spring 2014 and Fall 2014

At the end of Mushishi Special: Hihamukage, it was announced that a second season of Mushishi, titled Mushishi Zoku Shou, will be airing separately in Spring 2014 an...read more

Jan 4, 2014 7:55 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (312 comments)

Manga 'Mushishi' to Receive One-Hour Anime Special

In a previous news post last month, it was announced that manga "Mushishi" would be receiving a two-chapter manga special along with word of a "Top Se...read more

Nov 20, 2013 11:42 AM by Wind_Sr | Discuss (77 comments)

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Mushishi Special: Hihamukage Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jan 4, 2014	145 replies	by Dragona_8002 »» Mar 22, 10:35 PM
Is this a must watch? Jundal - Aug 18, 2022	11 replies	by P3TE »» Jan 18, 3:46 AM
Actually watched this by accident CautiousShadow - Apr 14, 2022	3 replies	by AndreaNini »» Apr 14, 2022 10:13 PM
The returning characters from the first series. (besides Ginko) thecurrymaster - May 10, 2014	6 replies	by Amatniki »» Jun 11, 2020 8:04 PM
Which chapters is this special adapted from? Shii4 - Apr 2, 2014	2 replies	by Shii4 »» Apr 3, 2014 1:48 PM

Mushishi: Hihamukage

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