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Apr 9, 2016 12:19 AM

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Oct 2012
7188
Mushi snake.. Why? She's innocent :(
"Signature removed"
May 2, 2016 4:53 AM

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Dec 2015
359
I thought this ep was pretty boring.
Aug 19, 2016 1:45 AM

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Mar 2012
5785
Poor guy :(

At least he was able to fix things with his wife, even if it wasn't really her anymore. That gave him the closure he needed to move forward.
Oct 5, 2016 1:03 AM

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Apr 2015
5604
Saddest episode so far, so the wife didn't wanted to return to the shore at all so that she's finally consumed? But not really a bad ending though.
Oct 26, 2016 8:25 AM

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May 2010
8099
This show and its direction kills me emotionally.

So Ginko gave him a push and he took it well and started helping everyone with what he had learnt.

"I worry you might wash away with the tide" That's a very specific line when said to someone who just helped you and isn't really part of your family. Also, is that person a guy or girl? Sounds girly but there are some high-pitched boys too at that age, so I have my doubt.

So his wife actually wanted to try living with him but sorta wanted to die as well... I guessed it from her body language when they were arguing. I wish there was a bit more on her character tho, why she wanted to die (if there was a bigger reason apart from the fight) If she tried living with him, she might have gotten used to the newer surroundings (she even stated that she wanted to) I guess at the time they argued, she was upset and wanted to die for being a pain, and while that feeling was temporary, it was enough for her to get devoured. Sad.
I was surprised to see her alive. Even Ginko himself was surprised so I got even more surprised.
It's here again, the mushi time. That really intrigues me.

For a second, I thought he would die together with his wife (preferred actually) but this outcome is good, too. More realistic. Liked this story as well.
TragicRomanceOct 26, 2016 8:32 AM
May 31, 2017 7:36 PM

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May 2013
4702
Aww, poor Michihi :'( She did nothing wrong. You could tell she was offended because Shirou thought she wouldn't come with him when she in fact truly loved him and wouldn't hesitate following him anywhere </3 Even after death, nothing washed ashore so that Shirou wouldn't kill himself. Her belongings only floated back after Shirou was ready and at peace. His first wife was lovely TT^TT

During that moment of being reunited, I thought there was a chance that Shirou would ask to stay with Michihi, but I'm glad he decided to return with Ginko and move on with his new wife, especially since he promised not to leave her. Luckily Ginko came with or else that nigga would've drifted far away and never return to the shore =____='
Sep 20, 2017 8:45 AM

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Apr 2013
2282
Holy shit, the guy has some good trading skills. The one that should be blamed for this whole mess is the shop owner. The mushi were neutral.
Dec 10, 2017 12:42 PM

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May 2016
6198
Pretty sad episode poor guy at least the woman didn't have to be there for three years.
Apr 22, 2018 9:03 AM

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Nov 2011
7621
And here we go again, I could not let myself go to tears, after having witnessed another story so sad and full of melancholy, this time too I believed that there could be a happy ending, but this does not happen but a little consolation at the end is. Mushishi is an anime that leaves you dismayed, melancholy, but it is also so full of humanity and sweetness, it is anyway a pleasure to see it again and again.
Mar 2, 2019 9:27 PM

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May 2016
12380
His wife got spirited away by the sea of snakes and her years of absence only amounted to a mere three days but she wasn't human anymore. At least he knows that she's out there, flying and being part of something bigger even if it's a giant magical centipede dragon. He now has something to live for in the form of those around him and he'll finally be able to stop gazing out at the sea and wondering what to do next after that.








Mar 15, 2019 1:52 AM

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Dec 2018
28
Most impressive episode yet. The wife dissolving into Mushi was heart-wrenching.
Mar 15, 2019 10:02 PM
Nekogirl~

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Mar 2014
2946
Nice episode, but one of those I like less.
His wife surly isnt on my smypathy side idk why.
But great story about the Mushi as always <3


Jul 5, 2019 12:21 PM
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Apr 2016
13215
Wow. The ending caught me a little off guard, it overwhelmed me.
Sep 21, 2019 9:39 AM

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Sep 2018
1235
Episode that gives more than a lesson in its narration, even this time I can only remain satisfied.
Mar 25, 2020 12:27 AM

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Dec 2019
2063
Damn man every episode is better and better, i just don't know what to expect from this show anymore everything about it is amazing, so far i love it !!
                                                         🖤   

Mar 25, 2020 7:15 AM

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Feb 2017
2389
Sometimes the simple life advice Ginko gives someone matters more than his dealings with the Mushi.


Apr 4, 2020 9:25 AM

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Aug 2018
2470
Wow time in Mushishi can go really fast and Ginko doesn't even care about that at all
Apr 6, 2020 8:16 PM
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Oct 2018
26
Another tragic episode that does not leave me feeling sad because I just watched something beautiful. These episodes don't have the happy endings you're hoping for, but it makes every episode seem so much more real.
May 26, 2020 9:24 PM

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Aug 2019
1054
another quite sad story, but the ending was definitely heartwarming. Happy to see the man was able to move on with his life and let go of such a tragic event, only slightly confused on what actually happened to his wife? was she consumed by the Mushi?
Oh one thing i will say is, the music in this anime is absolutely phenomenal. I actually praise how calming the music is at the end of each episode, along with the ost of some scenes this anime has some jaw dropping music that just adds so much more to the anime.
Sep 8, 2020 4:38 PM

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Jan 2019
598
What the fuck is wrong with you artland
Jan 26, 2021 1:36 PM

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Mar 2018
245
Yintama said:
This episode was more about coming to terms with reality. Ginko even said at the beginning it was stupid to continue hoping because she's either dead or started a new life by now. However, the man still continued to hope somehow his wife was still out there on that boat waiting for him. His new wife(?)/friend said she was worried about him losing himself in the sea because he spends so much time looking out into it.

When the chance arose for him to go out and find his wife, he had no second thoughts about it. He would've spent the rest of his life in the sea looking for his wife who is obviously dead or already began a new life. He almost lost himself to the sea when he found what he thought was his wife, as he stopped seeing the shore. He came to terms with reality though thanks to Ginko, and the illusion of his wife dissipated. He now knew it was pointless to continue hoping for a long-lost cause and he re-gained his will to live.

His wifes boat was carried away because it seems she lost the will to live (Most likely because of the fight) and people who don't have a will to live get devoured by the sea. The mans only will to live was to see his wife again someday and when he found the illusion of his wife he no longer had a reason to live and that's why he couldn't see the shore anymore.

But then he remembered about his new life. He was now a member of that village and people cared about him. The illusion disappeared and he had a will to live once again and was able to see the shore once again. He returned Home. If he had to set out into the sea only months before when he was sitting on the rock near the shore, he would've lost himself to the sea as he had no other reason to live. But thanks to Ginko, he was able to become a member of the village and thanks to this when the time came he was able to find a reason to continue living and was able to find his way home.

----------------------------------------------------------
These are just notes I recorded after watching the episode. Not saying all this is true. These episodes are very symbolic in many ways and I enjoy trying to decipher them.


Spot on to my thoughts on it's message, albeit one thing I've been able to pick up on this series is it's perfection to riding the fine line between direct meaning and ambiguousness; While many of the episodes so far have allowed for pretty clear messages to be conveyed or perceived, they also allow just the right amount of openness for more and different interpretations. Many shows try to capture this fine line, often missing the mark slightly or completely, probably one of the first shows I've witnessed capture it with complete and utter ease.
Celest__Jan 26, 2021 7:42 PM
Jun 30, 2021 8:48 AM
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May 2019
241
Very sad episode ..
Jul 7, 2021 7:05 AM

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Jan 2021
1400
I was shocked when I saw his wife was still alive.. but after she said "3 days" I realized that she must have fused with the mushi.

It's hard, after waiting for years, it turns out that sadness is the thing that was waiting for us.

I'm relieved that the husband can still think well (also because of Ginko's influence) so he doesn't keep staring at the sea waiting for his wife.. after he realized that she would never come back, now he's trying to live his new life.

I'm also relieved that at least the husband can apologize to his wife even though it's not really his wife anymore. So the husband could really start his life again as a villager.

Two things I learned from this episode are.. life must go on, we have to keep moving. We can't just sit in uncertainty, because it's an uncertainty so we don't know what the outcome of that uncertainty will be. The second is, the importance of positive encouragement from someone. The villagers just stared at the husband and didn't care about him. Ginko's presence and words made the husband start to move and regain his senses.

Feb 9, 2022 4:05 PM
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Nov 2020
2445
This show is very calm and relaxing but in reality its fucking horifying.
Feb 11, 2023 6:07 PM

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Sep 2008
1624
DalPuri said:
:'(
A few things really got to me in this episode, but the biggest is that Shiro is partially (or completely) responsible for his wife being trapped in the fog at sea. He told her that he didn't expect her to follow him to his hometown, and that she could return home if she wanted (because it didn't suit her to live in the boonies)... I think because of that she began doubting her place by Shiro's side, and was unable to see his hometown as her home too. With those doubts and no home to return to, Michihi was unable to see the land from inside the fog.

Shiro's words were simple and careless, but they cut deep. I'd like to say that the guilt of being unable to apologize to his wife contributed to him being unable to let go... but that doesn't seem quite right.

What I didn't notice the first time I watched this is that Shiro was really living on a razor's edge. As Ginko says, "... It seemed you might lose your desire to go on living the moment you found any of your wife's personal effects." Shiro assured Ginko that wasn't true anymore. He had found his place in the village and even started "something" with a village girl. (Even then, it seems he still longed for his wife. "You stare out at the sea sometimes... I worry you'll be washed out to sea.")
... That's the only reason Ginko let him go into the fog so easily... Yet the moment he met his wife again, he lost his ability to see the land.
This really was a story of Shiro being unable to let go of his wife and the past that he lost.

Ginko's role is rather interesting... It was necessary and rather cruel how Ginko told Shiro to leave his wife behind... But Michihi disintegrating in his arms was an even more cruel realization that she is not the same as before.
DalPuri said:
There's this weird... feeling about this episode that I can't quite get past. It's the people who don't feel they have a future who can't see the shore. This is true with Michihi, where Shiro's words made her doubt herself as his wife, and her future in his hometown. With those doubts, she was consumed. This is also true with Shiro who was so caught up with his wife's death that he could not move forward.

He waited and grieved for 2 and a half years, and he should have moved on when he met that village girl... but he didn't. The moment he met his wife again, he lost sight of the shore, lost sight of his future, and became excited by the thought of returning to his lost past. I feel like there were allusions throughout the episode that Shiro may be suicidal (the only thing keeping him alive was the vagueness of his wife's death). The man was so haunted by his past, Ginko had to forcibly rip him away from it. That seems so sad.

This is it. You cracked the code for this episode. Currently going through my own separation and inevitable divorce, and it all started with a conversation where I said things I could not unsay. The guilt has been eating me up like crazy. Its taken me a while to see where my shore is, and not try to think of being with her on the same shore. Still...been a tough few months during which I almost lost the will to live and hit rock bottom. 
Such a great episode. I love this show so much. Its a true work of art. 
"...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth')
Mar 6, 2023 9:46 PM

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Jul 2016
1651
SimmianPrime said:
katarin said:
Am I the only one who thought it was kind of messed up that Shiro was okay with the new girl trying on his dead wife's kimonos? :/ I know she didn't know, and he said it was fine, but that scene just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.


Oh god this. I was like "y-you're really just gonna let her wear all your dead wife's clothes and not even tell her about it?"
that was the most boggling thing, it had my eyebrows going up... clothes are clothes, but i doubt that the new (?) wife would have wanted to wear the dead wife's kimonos either if given the knowledge that they belonged to her. kind of off-putting...

ot: amazing ending track, all of them so far. it's become a treat to look forward to after each episode. this type of story is something familiar to me, in different variants, circumstances, and endings. i half expected him to die along with the mushi, half expected him to live and move on. takes a lot of strength that he almost legitimately did not have. if the last exchange you have with a loved one is an argument, that can do a number.
Apr 19, 2023 5:15 AM

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Jul 2016
1455
Another bittersweet one. It's pretty damn cruel to give the dude false hope of living with his wife again, and yet generous in the sense that he got to find closure in a way.

The reveal of time being dilated on mushi time was also pretty jawdropping.
Jun 15, 2023 2:52 PM
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Jun 2023
1
Another great mushi-shi!
Oct 9, 2023 11:32 AM

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Jun 2007
1039
my least liked ep so far. so the wife was complaining that his village was shoddy asf, he told her that she should go back to her family bc she deserved better... and she lost her will to live bc of that? fucking bullshit
but k
see you, space cowperson . . .
Nov 15, 2023 4:17 AM

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May 2019
789
This one was so sad.
Jan 4, 5:53 AM
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Nov 2016
46
Two AMAZING episodes in a row, this one and the previous one. I need to highlight how the soundtrack improves Mushishi even more, it's one of the best I've ever heard and completely immerses you in the story.

Just like in the last episode, one of the best characters in the entire Mushishi narrative is presented, Shiro and his entire story involving the sea and his wife are very good. The anguish over the loss, the emotion over the reunion and the harshness of saying goodbye bring a lot of depth to the character, as well as to the story. All of this accompanied by the already mentioned track and all this drama that Ginko witnesses.

Furthermore, once again the protagonist shows himself as someone who knows the world and the Mushi masterfully, and when he doesn't fully understand, he researches and learns about it. Incredible.

And I would like to record here that, apart from Ginko, the best characters in the work are in fact Koro and Shiro.
Feb 15, 8:46 AM
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Aug 2023
40
I like this TV Show. It helps to relax. Good anime.
Mar 13, 1:21 AM
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May 2021
6
This episode hit really hard, finally moving on and then experiencing such a reconcilliation. A very bittersweet episode, beautiful
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