Mushishi
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KatsuraRen said: Yup. Too many deaths until now... But being immortal is also boring xDGlad that guy didn't die though |
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| a happy ending :D |
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| Not a tragic ending... Something about this episode had me near the edge of my seat... I just didn't know how this whole seed thing was going to turn out. |
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| Finally an episode without a bittersweet ending. Well, I suppose being cursed to immortality is tragic in its own right... This was great development for Ginko's character as well. |
 ☩ Discord: the.path.to.pathos ☩ RateYourMusic ☩ last.fm |
| Whatta harvest. |
| "Let Justice Be Done!" My Theme Fight again, fight again for justice! |
tvlookplay said: If your life doesn't have such a gole as his' that is.i wouldnt take the white pill life will be boring living forever :/ I straightforwardly loved this episode, it was about time for humans to gain something from Mushi, things were getting pretty tragic for their side. |
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| one of the few longer episodes, I was worried it might be a two part |
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5layer said: i love how thats the only thing you take away from it xDDoesn't the seed leave a hole in the roof of the mouth when it comes out? Pretty disgusting when you think about it. saish-sama basically gave up everything for this village :( he kept using the seed even after it killed his wife, and he was willing to be the sacrifice before ginko gave him the alternative. and about that alternative.... if i were him i definitely wouldn't have done that. immortality is long and painful... im sure, once he's the only one left, there will come a time when he regrets what he did, even if it did benefit his village :( poor saishu-sama... at least we see him happy |
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| Another nice story for this episode |
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| Another excellent episode. |
| Finally episode with good ending |
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| Good episode. 4/5 |
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| It wasn't a tragic ending to say, but it didn't seem like a happy ending for the chief mourner. I don't know, immortality never is a good ending. |
"Such a seed is too much for one man to handle. Just like an overabundant rice stalk hangs its head, that seed will certainly fall from that man's hands, onto the soil below... Unaware of the suffering it will cause the people in its aftermath." All of the mushi-shi episodes so far could be interpreted in a philosophical way... But this episode most certainly is a philosophical discussion about sacrificing one to save many, or on a broader level, committing a lesser evil for the greater good. It is the same "push one person in front of the train to save all those inside" dilemma. And no matter what you decide to do, the fact that you think about it at all means you have a conscience. It really is too big of a burden for one man... Having to live with the consequences of your actions. If you do, one person dies and the death hangs over the heads of those who eat. If you don't, everyone suffers. In my opinion, what the Saishu decided to do by sacrificing himself... honestly seemed a little selfish. It seemed he took the easy way out, unable to bear the burden of another death, another family's suffering, on his shoulders. The seed itself is an easy resolution to a poor harvest. By becoming immortal... he will now have to burden himself with the deaths of those who pass away naturally... He truly cannot live for anything but the land and the village... Becoming too attached to the people will surely wear down on him over time. (But he's not truly immortal, is he? Burying the seed in the kouki river would destroy it. If he goes into the kouki river, would he destroy himself?) Once again, Ginko's role in this episode is interesting. He directly challenges Saishu's philosophy, his morals, and questions whether the villagers have the right to know. (In fact, he intends to let the villagers know. And then what? If they decide to use it, they will keep using it, and eventually disregard their research for a quick fix in hard times. If they don't, the people will suffer for a few generations, or the village might die altogether, and then wouldn't they regret not using it?) Ginko also breaks a huge taboo by making Saishu immortal. He always seems to act on a circumstantial basis. He seems to have the best intentions... but it's not as if Ginko is always compassionate. He has his own morals as a mushi-shi, but they're not steadfast (as seen in this episode). That being said, Ginko is a strange one. His entire character seemingly revolves around his altruism. But that couldn't be all to his character, could it? He can be selfish, such as when confirming the seed's existence. He can be nosy, intruding into others lives... He is not truly selfless (no one is), and he doesn't always achieve the best results. What Ginko did this episode was a good solution, but was it the best? What is it that Ginko is trying to achieve when helping people with no relation to him? Does he simply dislike humans abusing mushi, or people suffering because of mushi? TL;DR Philosophical episode. Saishu will suffer as an immortal. Ginko is altruistic? |
DalPuriAug 4, 2015 1:22 AM
| I think I need to rewatch this episode. |
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| Cool, he became immortal :o Immortality would be pretty awesome for people who'd like to observe with their own eyes how the world changes as time passes by. Not to mention all dat knowledge they'd acquire over the centuries. |
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| Ginko being ero there with that finger-licking and sharp gaze I mean. this was again a very nice and serious story. So it was the head priest's wife who died. Starvation and her wanting to eat the 'rice' which sprouted 'cause of her. And he finally eats it when she says she doesn't feel scared of dying if if he eats her life. What a beautiful husband/wife bond... The head priest was a nice guy... Headstrong and stubborn. Sacrificing himself for the sake of everyone. At the same time, you can call him selfish. I love how this anime shows two sides of a coin, and perhaps even more. Ginko... he fulfilled the head priest's wish of seeing a fertile land. I wanna cry. This guy... everytime he helps someone, the responsibility on his shoulders should have gotten heavier and heavier. but he doesn't feel it at all. Everything happens for a reason. No one is sinful. I like that way of thinking tho it's arguable if it's true or not. I'm not sure if immortality is a very nice thing. It sounds fine at first. But once it continues for a certain amount of time, it becomes more and more horrible. You can't die. You will be the last one standing on earth. The earth will destroy but you won't. How sad is that.. Another great episode in a row. |
TragicRomanceOct 26, 2016 9:08 AM
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| It must be sad to be immortal. I wonder if Ginko is too. |
| I didn't mind the man becoming immortal. I'm just worried about Ginko's punishment for helping him obtain that immortality :( he said he didn't mind "soiling his hands" ;A; I hope his divine punishment isn't too harsh |
| Excellent episode, this story about the fruit that brings good harvest in exchange of a life was really interesting. This episode was also great in showing more of Ginko's personality; he was fine commiting a taboo as long as that person accepted the immortality... and well, that he said nothing about it. After a good number of tragic/bittersweet endings, this one, without really being a full happy end (he's now immortal and he will have to deal with that) bringed a satisfying conclusion since that person wanted to see how the village was going to be in the future (and thankfully it's going nice), and he visits them from time to time to give advices, so great. |
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| And one day biotechnology & genetic engineering was implemented and the man stopped visiting the village. |
Always-HungrySep 20, 2017 10:42 AM
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| Lovely and calming episode this anime never cease to amaze you. |
| Strangely, this episode felt less dramatic than usual and much more interesting because of the facts told. The happy ending to the end, however, I liked it, satisfied with the whole episode. |
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| Sacrificing one life for the lives of many is an easy question practically speaking but when that person turns out to be someone you know and love, simply answering with just a yes or no becomes out of the question. He was so stricken with grief and guilt over the minority he'd left for dead that he slowly poisoned himself so he'll be the one who'll end up getting the Divine Fang instead. Even if reviving the dead and turning them immortal's forbidden among Ginko's line of work, he still went with it because he can sympathize with how much the guy actually cares about the village he lived in. Naughty boy~ |
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| Another great episode I like the deep feelings they put inside |
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| The episode brings with it not the drama and even the comedy that sometimes contradict the narration of this anime series, as much as the fascination linked to the concept of immortality, which has always stimulated the minds of men. From this point of view I liked it, it made me think. |
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Lol, how many of these episodes start with Ginko bothering a stranger. Usually for food or money. |
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| Another deep and interesting episode, the whole seed eating thing was executed very well |
| hoooo what a tale this time around. I'm still super uncertain if making a man immortal was really worth it, i understand in the end he had good intentions and he would use the seed as a last resort but honestly immortality has more downs then ups in my opinion. Some of which like boredom (boredom can kill ironically) i could guess that people fear death but i'm sure theres a point in your immortality were you just go "huh now what?" after watching the every marching pace of time consume everything around you. Or living for so long you just get fed up or just loose it. In all honestly my response for immortality is "what, you wanna live forever? Or die with a name" |
 "yabe." |
| this episode was really good, We saw more of Ginko's personality, and I'm glad that guy didn't die, he seemed to be the rock of that village...... |
  𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊. - 𝑅𝑒𝒾 𝒦𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓎𝒶𝓂𝒶   |
| Damn Ginko could've taken the seed for himself, that'd be a tough situation to be in if you didn't know what would happen if you ate the seed. |
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| I think the immortality is only for aging, he can still die from an injury/illness. Nevertheless, it is still quite a nifty hack to live. If only he spread the method. I think it's about time the story move to Ginko. |
| If you had the chance to save an entire population of people by sacrificing one person, would you do it? This is an argument I've seen brought up a number of times from different stories. However, Mushi-shi changed this dilemma up a bit. With the same example, could you make that choice if that sacrifice was completely random, which includes yourself and people close to you? I'm reminded of a particular experiment where people were hypothetically asked to hit a button that would give them a large amount of money, but one random person from across the world would be killed as a result. I'm also reminded of smaller scale examples, such as flipping a track switch for an oncoming train to run over one person, or five people. What would be considered murder in that case? It it truly possible to argue the weight of one life over others? Is it even possible to assign value to lives? Does the act of taking action mean the intent to do harm to others, or is taking no action apathy, and is just as bad as a result? |
| does anyone know what the box the priest was seen sitting over was? bleh, quick google search for japanese firepit was enough to answer my question. its called an irori. love the traditional style of the landscapes and villages that ginko passes through. |
| his whole life is now marked by sacrifice and will continue to be. but he chose this for himself. he had the luxury to choose something other than death or to accept death. after using the seed which has collected the lives of its own people for generations knowingly, that the chief priest can still live out his objectives at the possible boon and bane of immortality... thus this is not a 'bad' ending compared to what we've seen in past tragic episodes. |
| It's awesome that he got his wish to see the land prosper, but never would've guessed it'd be through immortality. It's strangely uplifting. |
| Rewatched this ep after 11 years. This was strangely calming and uplifting. I would take the seed of immortality, and risk the future boredom and possible loneliness just to satisfy my own curiosity. Although, it seems the world is headed in a direction that's not gonna be fun to watch over the next few hundred years... The village priest just wanted to go out with a bang. It seems he had already made plans for this to be the last time the seed would ever be used, so no one else has to be sacrificed. I'm not sure how that falls in with his desire for the village to prosper and grow, because he would be depriving the village of an easy way out of future disasters. But, I respect his decision. And apparently, Ginko respected him too. I think Ginko went with his gut to save this one guy who would go to such lengths to be the "final sacrifice", so to speak. Perhaps, Ginko felt the head priest would do good work as an immortal, and likely make great contributions to farming. I speculate, but I think I get it. If I had the immortality pill, I already have at least 2 people in mind who I would offer it to, only because I believe they are people who can do a lot of good in this world. I get the head priest. I get why Ginko did what he did. Personally, if I was the head priest, I would never use the seed. And if I was Ginko...I think I would have used the seed on myself eventually. Maybe. I like how this episode made me think. Looking back to my comment 11 years ago (first page)...I think I was a much better person back then. I miss the guy I used to be. A+ Tier episode |
eyerokJul 29, 10:26 PM
| "...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') |
| Ginko's really starting to flesh out as a character, he's very morally neutral, like mushi. |
| This was one of the weaker episodes. The tooth growing out of the center of someone's mouth and then becoming a big seed is pretty creepy, but the overall plot was not super interesting to me. It was cool that the priest decided to wander the Earth and find new ways to improve agriculture for his people. This episode really, really made me wonder Ginko's age and if he is immortal. |
| That was a very big gamble, but obviously it was worth it. And wow. Saishu literally become immortal. |
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| So the seed's ultimatum is to either give rice fields life where there wasn't any possible, which saps the life from one of its consumers, or give life to one person forever if the seed itself is consumed. It seems odd as a trade-off. Feed many at the cost of one vs feeding none at the cost of infinite life for one. Almost as if the seed has the potential for infinite life force. Does that mean that if the rice harvest was left alone, the rice would live on forever and not die off? If the immortal person gives birth to a new seedling - a new child - does that child automatically carry the seed forward within itself as a false tooth later, the same way that seed-affected rice creates a false tooth seed? The actual physiobiology of this seed-tooth is too ambiguous to churn out a working consistent system of logical consequence or cause and effect. Putting all of that aside, there was some poeticism to how it worked as a literary device in the story to give closure to the head priest and the village's fate. But still, I want the seed's life-giving properties to make some sense at the end of the day! The best headcanon I can come up with is that the seed does indeed give off eternal life-giving properties, perhaps by channeling the mushi green-yellow-light vein. If given to a rice field, it makes rice grow where it was otherwise impossible. If given to a human, it makes the human live forever. But if the rice is ingested, the seed reappears and consumes the life of the eater to re-grow itself. I suppose the rice that the seed is taken from dies as normal rice does when that happens. If the human is ever ingested...well maybe it'd be something similar to the cannibalism in AoT where eating the parasite spine in that series caused a sort of ever-flowing life to enter the consumer and the consumer's lineage - though in this mushi world a cannibal eating the immortal priest would have to develop the tooth-seed themselves and die when it is extracted to keep the logic of the seed's properties intact and consistent. By the same token, if the rice field the seed was used on was never harvested, it should continue to exist forever until someone eventually threshes the tooth-seed out of it. Working these scenarios through mentally, I don't see many gaps in the seed's life-properties. Maybe someone else spots a loophole or inconsistency I haven't? Lemme know, I'm curious. |
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