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Feb 6, 2015 4:40 PM

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Jan 2014
1422
wow i didn't think you could actually hear it until i read people's comments
Mar 17, 2015 7:46 AM

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Aug 2014
5132
I liked how they tied in that theme with the idea that everything is dead and quiet in the Winter but then you move on to the Spring and things get livelier again.
Mar 31, 2015 5:19 AM
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Nov 2014
26586
Awesome ep... I covered my ears after this ep :P

It sucks that the boy's mother had to die but atleast he got to live a long life :)

Great soundtracks nonetheless, very chilling.
Apr 12, 2015 12:59 PM
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Apr 2015
8
Yeah, the way the Ah died confused me as well. Ah well....haha. These mushishi are sort of scary though. Glad there isn't any in this world. They destroyed someone's eyes and then someone's ears. What's next? Can't wait to find out.
May 14, 2015 4:16 PM

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Jul 2014
3113
I really love this show so far. Another great episode.

5/5
Jun 2, 2015 4:58 PM

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Nov 2014
616
I can't get myself to engage with the show. Yes it is so calm and the music is stunning.
But it is so calm to the extent that pushes me to sleep.

It was one of the really top animes in MAL that's why I am giving it a little more chance.
Sep 2, 2015 8:07 AM

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Jul 2014
1640
This is probably one of my favorite animes I don't know why it took me so long to start it
Sep 5, 2015 4:47 PM

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May 2010
8099
So its our hands which are the source of the lava-like sound. I used to do the hand-thing every now and then as a kid and even now sometimes, so yup I was happy when they mentioned it.

Another beautiful episode. What should I do, at this rate Mushishi is going to become a part of my top 5 list.
Sep 11, 2015 7:45 AM

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Aug 2008
781
Wodyrtil said:
Tienjt said:
This is a bit late, but I hope someone can answer it!

I understand that the Ah dies when it hears the sound of your vitality, so what makes the Un die as well? Since the Un feeds on sound, it should stay alive from the sound of your vitality, right? I guess you could say that the Un only feeds on noise from your surroundings (rather than the noise of your vitality), but if so, then you could just cover your ears (thus blocking surrounding noise and kill off the Un without needing to be infected by the Ah.

Covering your ears doesn't create complete silence, and that little sound from the body is exactly what kills Ah.
And what kills Un is salt.


I don't understand how he didn't cover his ears already, I thought he did.
Since he was hearing all the mushi sounds wave length stuff.
Sep 28, 2015 7:28 PM

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Jul 2013
41
ikuto said:
I don't understand how he didn't cover his ears already, I thought he did.
Since he was hearing all the mushi sounds wave length stuff.


That's right, he covered them already different times. Ah should have died already, but it did only after Ginko told him to do it again.
But the episode was too good to think at this ^^
Apr 28, 2016 4:03 PM

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Jan 2016
1694
So the kid covered his ears for almost a year and then Mushishi guy shows up and tell the kid you have to cover your ears to kill the mushi.

Then the kid covers his ears and bam the mushi is killed...







May 5, 2016 6:47 PM
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Dec 2014
26
I think one of my favourite things about this anime is how it uses real phenomena and blends it with the world of mushi. Like, seriously. And how beautiful is it that you can actually hear something like lava when you press your hands to your ears? Amazing. I love this anime so much. <3
May 22, 2016 1:58 PM
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May 2016
16
koreye said:
ZagDrassil said:
Hello everyone, I am new here :).



I agree with interpretation of symbiosis between Un and Ah, but (just as Gjkl345) I think that remedy against Ah was illogical. Both of Maho and his mother covered theirs ears before Ginko had came. I suppose that Maho's mother didn't win against Ah, because she didn't lost her horns. I construe that the silence of her last day was just a consequence of change of Ah's host. So what was a remedy? Focusing on own body sounds? I don't think so - when You isolate noises, its natural to hear own heartbeating or breath. Therefore, in my opinion, this solution doesn't have any sense. Deus ex machina.

.


I dont think so. The remedy is not just the sound of body or any sound, but the sound of 'vitality', and that can only work when Ah has followed Un, resulting in horns growing in the head. as surrounding sounds cannot reach the ears, sound of 'vitality is needed to 'kill' Ah. Notice that at the time mahos mom and maho put their hands on the ears, Ah had infested the mother (the symptom of which is growing of horns), and Maho was only suffering from 'Un' (no sound). Putting hands on the ears did not work for the mom cuz she was weakened (as GInko points it out towards the end), and it did not work on Maho at that time because he was only suffering from 'Un' and not 'Ah'...it worked on Maho muhc LATER after he got infested by Ah and grew horns because he was not in the final stages, and had more 'vitality'
Which means, that if Un infests the ears, the only solution is to find an Ah and let it infest the ears as well, and then use sound of your 'body' to cure yourself, if the sound is strong enough. Its like a paper scissor rock thing, Ah overcomes Un, which is cured by sound.

I have not seen the ep in over an year, but that is what I remember (anyone is free to correct if I'm wrong)


Such a late reply, but I'm posting this for any future readers who stumble across this thread: here's a personal theory.

The little boy wasn't cured when he covered his ears at first because he still "heard" sound through his horns since the mushi Ah made the boy hear Mushi sounds. The loud roaring of the mushi world drowned out the little boy's "voice of vitality" inside his body. That's why everything seemed so loud all the time. Also, when he covered his ears, he wasn't trying to listen to his own sound, he was rejecting ALL sounds. So he didn't hear the volcano inside him. This only made Ah stronger because Ah absorbed the deafening silence in the vacuum created by Un.

At the end, Ginko made the boy realize that the mother wasn't covering her ears to gain silence. The mother was covering the boy's ears and her own ears so that they can hear the sound of their own hearts beating--and this was what dissolved Ah. But by that time, the mother was far too weak, and her body didn't produce enough sounds to save her. In the boy's case, he was saved in time.

This isn't a Deu ex machina. I'd say it's actually quite clever for the author to think this up.
Aug 18, 2016 1:39 AM

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Mar 2012
5785
Still doesn't make sense. Even if he was previously covering his ears to not hear any sounds he would still be able to hear the sound of his own body. It's like if you pinch yourself while saying that you don't want to feel any pain, you'll still feel pain.

It also seems like anyone can help cure you because it was the kid who put his hands on Ginko and killed the Ah. This makes me question why the mother didn't just ask someone to put their hands on her ears if she already figured how to cure it...
Sep 3, 2016 10:55 AM

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Nov 2013
586
Avenger-senpai said:
Still doesn't make sense. Even if he was previously covering his ears to not hear any sounds he would still be able to hear the sound of his own body. It's like if you pinch yourself while saying that you don't want to feel any pain, you'll still feel pain.


Not when there's hundreds of mushi sounds drowning it out. It's more like trying to specifically feel the pain of a pinch when there's other sources of pain being inflicted all over your body.

Plus, the boy was actually covering his horns when Ginko visited him. Not his ears. He had already figured out that the mushi sounds were coming from his horns, so I'm not sure why everyone's saying that he was previously covering his ears to block out sound (since it doesn't block out the sound of mushi). In fact, the only instances we see him cover his ears are (1) when he was only infected with Un and (2) when he did it to imitate his mother (after being infected with Ah), which prompted the growth of his horns (a defense mechanism for the Ah).

As for the mother, Ginko said that by the time she realized, it was too late. Presumably her condition was too advanced to be cured.
Sep 5, 2016 12:06 AM

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Nov 2011
4001
Starting rating 8, been a while since i've started so high.

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Oct 7, 2016 8:37 AM
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Jun 2014
77
I love Ginko's outfit here.
Nov 5, 2016 8:59 AM

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Apr 2016
159
I like the series, relaxing and somewhat mysterious. Nice concept with these mushi, everyone can experience it themselves. Things everyone has already experienced but never really thought about it - I hear the trembling in my closed ears - :)
Apr 7, 2017 12:27 AM
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Feb 2016
38
Dude what the hell is going on? I thought only mushishi can see mushi. But that random guy saw the shell mushi too
May 28, 2017 12:08 PM

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May 2013
4702
LOL when the Ah just melted xD that was funny hahaha.

Sad that the mama died, but at least she'll get to see her husband :) (I'm assuming he died earlier from something else since he didn't appear.)
Jul 11, 2017 1:49 PM

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Jun 2013
1245
Maho is absolutely precious. It's too bad that his mom didn't make it, but at least she managed to give him a hint to the solution. Also, literal earworms. This show really knows how to find beauty in strangeness.

The snowy landscapes, the snowfall and the character acting are a sight to behold in this show. Nakano Yuto continues to impress with his detached, almost amused delivery that still carries some warmth.
LeeTailorJul 11, 2017 2:04 PM
Sep 9, 2017 6:11 AM

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Jun 2016
4620
Could this anime get anymore peaceful? Ugh. So relaxing. :3

That kid is so kawaii, though. I wanna squeeze his face. Haha.

We discover another Mushi called Ah and Unh, and it's really disgusting for me. It looks like a melted earwax, and I wonder if the earwax in our ears is a Mushi. Fuck. I need to stop. Pfft.

So, the weakness of that Mushi is the sound of your own body? Am I wrong here? Haha.

Loved this episode! <3

"Maybe he's trying to take a shit, but the shit just won't come out."
Captain Levi, 2014
(/^-^)/☆♪♪☆\(^0^\)
Nov 10, 2017 1:26 PM

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May 2016
6248
This show so fucking realistic I used to do a lot of these things when I was a kid, this pleasant vibes I get from this show are real another 5/5
Dec 15, 2017 8:16 PM

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Dec 2012
16125
Immediately after the episode, I put my hands over my ears. Needed some of that lava in my life.

Rewatching this episode has deepened my appreciation of Mushishi's masterful atmosphere building. I love snowy episodes and particularly like how the emphasis on snow played into understanding more about the Un & Ah.

It's interesting how these first few episodes play into the senses. It wasn't until I completed S1 for the first time that I grew to appreciate their place at the start.
Mar 29, 2018 7:45 AM

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Nov 2011
7621
And here is another episode that enters your soul with its atmosphere and its reflections, it is something that envelops you and leaves you an indelible mark, this is the interesting thing about this anime series every time you see one of his episodes. The soundtrack helps in all this, it's wonderful to hear.
Sep 17, 2018 6:40 PM

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May 2017
1039
man this episode was good.. it keeps getting better from episode to episode.. love the soundtrack.. beautiful.
Dec 3, 2018 3:16 PM

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Nov 2018
60
My favorite episode of the show so far. I love the snow falling...the background art in this episode feels more like a painting than even the previous episodes. Just breathtaking. I also find the sound-eating and noise-eating mushi to be very unique and the solution to the story's conflict is very charming. Close your hands over your ears until you hear lava...who hasn't heard the sound of their own blood pumping through their ears? So the sound of life kills life itself...

Oh, and I also like the voice acting. The boy sounds adorable and his delivery sounds realistic. And the old woman sounds delightfully warm, crackly, and wise.

A wonderful story.
Live-action Japanese media that I've seen: https://mydramalist.com/dramalist/AmandaBear
Non-Japanese movies & TV shows that I've seen: https://www.imdb.com/user/ur29585794
Mar 2, 2019 3:55 PM

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May 2016
12390
I'm not sure if peaceful is the word to describe the state of being forced to listen horrifying Mushi whispers that reverberate right inside your cochlea but I guess if you've become used to it after so long, you'd long for it once it's gone too. To think that all you need to do is to concentrate on the tiny rumblings in your hands to save yourself from all that agony.

I actually tried covering my ears too and it's freaky that it really does make a sound~








Mar 13, 2019 10:01 PM
Nekogirl~

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Mar 2014
3005
this was just amazing.
really an masterpiece


Jul 4, 2019 6:21 AM
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Apr 2016
13217
The uneasy atmosphere this episode was straight up a spectacle. Amazing. I'm loving the mysteries in this anime, they're so intriguing, creepy, and just sooo interesting.
Sep 8, 2019 10:21 AM

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Sep 2018
1237
Great episode, with a poignant vein that has in itself the dramatic and also a nice part. The case that solves the protagonist is not immediately intuitive and makes the narrative more intriguing to follow. Excellent soundtrack.
Mar 23, 2020 3:54 PM

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Feb 2017
2389
Some of the people affected by Mushi have a weird relationship to them where they clearly had a negative impact on their lives, but they can still appreciate with a sense of wonder the mysterious forces that changed their life (in a horrible way).


eski514Mar 23, 2020 9:24 PM
Mar 31, 2020 12:14 AM

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Aug 2018
2486
Beautiful episode, the atmosphere and the sounds go perfectly with each other
May 18, 2020 12:41 PM

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Jan 2010
25
1. If Un feed off sound, what the hell makes someone's ear a good place to inhabit? It's not like there's more sound in there or something.

2. The cure turned out being something the kid had already been doing for a year before Ginko arrived, but only now does it just inexplicably work?

Is the writer even trying to make sense? This is worse than the first episode.
May 24, 2020 8:59 PM

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Aug 2019
1153
calm episode, this anime has a lot of interesting ideas/concepts that i've never seen before.
Im guessing from the previous 2 episodes, we'll never get a story/arc longer then 1 episode which would make sense. I mean hay theres 26 episodes, thats like 650 mins of unique different storys being told which i won't complain about.
Out of interest, i wonder if we'll get any bigger Mushi down the line, like ones that potentially kill or are a very dangerous threat to humans?
Jun 23, 2020 12:20 PM
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Jul 2017
3
I'm guessing that Un only absorbs the sounds of things outside the body. For the sounds in the body, the Ah bombards the host with Mushi sounds, causing internal body sounds to disappear, so in order to kill the Ah you need to focus on the sounds of vitality. But Ginko says about focusing on the vitality sounds of others, maybe because your own is being quelled by the Mushi sounds by the Ah. But then Maho focused on only his own sound and the Ah died, while Ginko focused on Mabho's internal sounds. Maybe Ginko had just deduced and formulated his theory that's why he said about listening to sounds of others and maybe you can kill the Ah if you focus really hard on your own sound too, explaining Maho killed his Ah but IG focusing on someone else's or your own sound won't make a difference because the Ah is still using Mushi sounds to suppress other sounds in both cases, so the only way is to focus really hard on the sounds in the body.

And focus on the little things in life.
Jun 27, 2020 5:59 PM

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Sep 2017
2800
Damn this show is good. I love how they transition to the ED every episode. The beautiful ost just plays in the background as the show fades to credits and the volume picks up. So gorgeous.
Dec 20, 2020 3:24 AM
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Dec 2019
128
I am hell of confused but hopefully every thing will make sense in later episodes and yeah show is scary and disturbing at the same time
Jan 17, 2021 11:44 AM

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Jun 2019
6584
Just beautiful. Snow and relaxing OST.
Nov 5, 2021 9:56 PM

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Aug 2007
1490
The world building is incredible. The art is beautiful. I really like this, no complaints :)

Feb 9, 2022 12:30 PM
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Nov 2020
2445
how did they get the sound of the hands on ears so perfect
Feb 21, 2022 1:46 PM

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Jan 2010
7191
I love the sound design in this episode. It kinda sorta gives me flashbacks to Kino's Journey episode 2, but without any commentary on the human condition. Rather, it's a focus on the overbearing silent atmosphere and one's perception of the world through hearing.
Apr 26, 2022 1:18 PM

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May 2019
817
Seems like the Mushi are benign in a lot of ways just due to the fact that they have no 'motive' other than to survive and exist. The snow falling in this one is beautiful. Snow in the real world really does mute everything.
Jun 6, 2022 1:24 PM
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Jul 2016
40
currently resuming Mushishi after a year or more hiatus.

Loved this one a lot. The little bowl sounds throughout were soothing and borderline asmr. Great way to unwind after a long day of work!
Nov 21, 2022 8:02 PM

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Sep 2008
1624
1Escapist said:

Such a late reply, but I'm posting this for any future readers who stumble across this thread: here's a personal theory.

The little boy wasn't cured when he covered his ears at first because he still "heard" sound through his horns since the mushi Ah made the boy hear Mushi sounds. The loud roaring of the mushi world drowned out the little boy's "voice of vitality" inside his body. That's why everything seemed so loud all the time. Also, when he covered his ears, he wasn't trying to listen to his own sound, he was rejecting ALL sounds. So he didn't hear the volcano inside him. This only made Ah stronger because Ah absorbed the deafening silence in the vacuum created by Un.

At the end, Ginko made the boy realize that the mother wasn't covering her ears to gain silence. The mother was covering the boy's ears and her own ears so that they can hear the sound of their own hearts beating--and this was what dissolved Ah. But by that time, the mother was far too weak, and her body didn't produce enough sounds to save her. In the boy's case, he was saved in time.

This isn't a Deu ex machina. I'd say it's actually quite clever for the author to think this up.


Holy moly - just rewatched this episode and I recalled a whole debate in this thread about the solution, came here to read the thread again. And guys...this is it. 1Escapist just cracked the code. THe reason Maho was not able to kill Ah was that he was not trying to listen to the sound of his own "vitality" or "heart" - it did not work for the mother because she was too weak by that point, that much Ginko observes. But for Maho, all he had to do was truly listen to his body/heart properly.

"...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')
Apr 16, 2023 8:47 AM

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Jul 2016
2389
The way the horns fell off like clay was kinda satisfying.

This show nails its atmosphere as always. Such a cozy and fascinating anime.
May 5, 2023 7:58 PM
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Aug 2016
1701
1Escapist said:
koreye said:


I dont think so. The remedy is not just the sound of body or any sound, but the sound of 'vitality', and that can only work when Ah has followed Un, resulting in horns growing in the head. as surrounding sounds cannot reach the ears, sound of 'vitality is needed to 'kill' Ah. Notice that at the time mahos mom and maho put their hands on the ears, Ah had infested the mother (the symptom of which is growing of horns), and Maho was only suffering from 'Un' (no sound). Putting hands on the ears did not work for the mom cuz she was weakened (as GInko points it out towards the end), and it did not work on Maho at that time because he was only suffering from 'Un' and not 'Ah'...it worked on Maho muhc LATER after he got infested by Ah and grew horns because he was not in the final stages, and had more 'vitality'
Which means, that if Un infests the ears, the only solution is to find an Ah and let it infest the ears as well, and then use sound of your 'body' to cure yourself, if the sound is strong enough. Its like a paper scissor rock thing, Ah overcomes Un, which is cured by sound.

I have not seen the ep in over an year, but that is what I remember (anyone is free to correct if I'm wrong)


Such a late reply, but I'm posting this for any future readers who stumble across this thread: here's a personal theory.

The little boy wasn't cured when he covered his ears at first because he still "heard" sound through his horns since the mushi Ah made the boy hear Mushi sounds. The loud roaring of the mushi world drowned out the little boy's "voice of vitality" inside his body. That's why everything seemed so loud all the time. Also, when he covered his ears, he wasn't trying to listen to his own sound, he was rejecting ALL sounds. So he didn't hear the volcano inside him. This only made Ah stronger because Ah absorbed the deafening silence in the vacuum created by Un.

At the end, Ginko made the boy realize that the mother wasn't covering her ears to gain silence. The mother was covering the boy's ears and her own ears so that they can hear the sound of their own hearts beating--and this was what dissolved Ah. But by that time, the mother was far too weak, and her body didn't produce enough sounds to save her. In the boy's case, he was saved in time.

This isn't a Deu ex machina. I'd say it's actually quite clever for the author to think this up.
This answer makes a lot of sense. To put it in simple terms, Maho at first was not listening to the lava inside him, but rather rejecting the amplified sounds and that process of rejection drowned his own lava sound of vitality.
Jan 3, 7:53 AM
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Nov 2016
46
If in the last episode we saw a case of Mushi that involved vision, in this one we see one that directly interferes with hearing. There is a whole mystery about how to solve this and the direct connection with the mother of the affected boy. There is also a reflection on sounds, and how we are never in complete silence, as it is possible to hear the beats of our heart.

In each episode we are treated to reflections accompanied by a perfect narrative and the best possible soundtrack, which immerses us in this journey called Mushishi.
Aug 17, 10:15 AM
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Jun 2024
31
the show is consistent with its peaceful atmosphere but it can still be tense or exciting when it needs too
Aug 21, 7:52 PM

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Jul 2017
1710
This episode was so spooky with the quiet snowy village, the strange snail-shaped Mushi, and people growing little horns. I love how this series really encapsulates the oft-unspoken of "folklore era" that is often the setting of these kinds of tales, a time before the modern era (but not totally outside of it) in a place not our own (but close by). The mother and child had a beautiful bond with the sound of the volcano and the juxtaposition of the volcano and the snow.
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