Mushishi
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| Very sad episode, with a dramatic epilogue that leaves me to reflect on how much people are led too often by the bonds that block them and do not let them go any further than they could. The scene on the bridge reminds me so much of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. But there is a romantic side, and it is the great affection that held together the two protagonists of the story, what a beautiful thing! |
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| I loved the episode. But I have some issues with it. I feel it'd be nitpicking but I need to get these out somewhere 1. How was the girl's body in one piece after falling from a height like that? There wasn't even an indication of a river or anything. 2. Why is it that Ginko heard about that one time bridge and not know where it took place? How did this story reach so far and wide even? it's not like many people could've witnessed it. 3. Why did the mushi decide to form a perfect bridge out of all the other shapes it could possibly have taken? I mean cmon. Why a bridge? what purpose did it serve them? 4. Speaking of bridges, why wasn't that damned thing repaired in the first place. It's not like it was the middle of nowhere or anything. I get that many people don't use it; you'd still expect people to repair it considering there are people actually live on the other side. 5. Finally, that mushi made bridge ripped awfully conveniently. Okay despite my rant, believe it or not, I loved thr episode very much ok bye. |
| After falling from such a big height, it would've been more of a surprise if she got out of it unscathed. It's screwed up that the Mushi was comandeering her soulless body for three whole years like a corpse puppet. It's definitely very hard to believe that a person you can still see every day isn't the same person you once knew anymore. |
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| I'd have to say this is the most downcast episode thus far. Unlike the 12 previous episodes, this one managed to strike a chord in me. This might've been due to Zen, who seemingly wanted to move on and cut ties from the village completely, having second thoughts which caused his downfall. Very nice! I'm hoping to see more dramatic episodes like this one. |
| Really tragic episode But Hanas mother ... omg I just wanted to punch her :D Not caring about her daughter just about the arranged marriage I mean COME ON GIRL your daughter is just an empty shell AND YOU ARE WHINING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? Grrrrrrrr |
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| How sad I felt at the end of this episode, because I thought about how people can't keep going and not forgetting. The story that is told is so sad and with an even sadder epilogue, but in this there is the greatness of this anime series, never and then never banal in the stories told. |
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"Please keep my zombie gf around for longer, Mr. Ginko." |
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| It was a sad episode but I'm still curious why they never repaired the bridge in first place |
| Jesus christ, being a Mushishi must be such a hard job. I'm not just talking about dealing with the hundreds of millions of Mushi that live in out world in many different shapes and sizes but also the people that get caught in the fray. This has to be the, what 2nd-3rd person that Ginko has been acquainted with that has killed themselves? God i wonder how Ginko gets through it, some rough shit. I mean the dude this time around just couldn't let go off what he did, understandable considering the situation he was in but, God the minute he changed his mind set of moving on to reminiscing on the past was his downfall |
 "yabe." |
| yeah these are like low-key horror stories in a way, some episodes more than others... this one in particular though... that's why I stopped watching the first time around after only a few episodes... wasn't as 'zen' as I was expecting (lol even the protagonist's name in this episode is Zen) and almost every episode has some kind of horror or tragedy but I guess there's something true to life about it |
a_new_challenger said: yeah that's what I thought, this episode was pretty tragic. Memories fade, but they'll never change...I think the message is: sometimes you just have to move on, no matter how tragic your loss was; for your own good. |
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| Darn, this kinda felt like some creepypasta or an SCP... |
| OωO |
| This episode had a bad ending. |
| So what is the reason that the vine mushi will break when a person steps back? Seems like a random trait to fit with this episode's theme... |
| OK imma say it. it was creepy ~_~ good episode, but creepy. |
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| This was tragic. Zen lived his life for 3 years waiting for Hana to recover, but it turned out that she had died since she came back. Then after the mushi inside Hana came out and she completely died, Zen was later "eaten" by the mushi and had to wait 20 years until he could completely die. He will be an empty shell for the next 20 years.. I knew Zen would go back from the mushi bridge. He has regrets and deep love for Hana. |
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| For something made of parasite worm mushi thingies, watching that bridge being built was weirdly satisfying. |
| This show has a simplicity yet everything is so immersive. This one is sad, Zen turning back... |
| This episode was plain tragic from beginning to end. I loved it. |
| This had a classic trope where the people can't turn back and have to keep going. Of course, he did turn back and lost his life. There were also some interesting comparisons to be made between the different bridges in the episode. Like many of the other episodes, this one involved finding meaning and identity. |
| Tragic episode. R.I.P Hana and Zen (eventually). |
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| I rewatch this more than 10 years later and come with a different perspective. I remember this episode being very different in my mind when I started watching it...but turns out I had forgotten the end. I thought all Hana had to do was cross the bridge she refused to cross previously to become normal and be rid of the Mushi. However....that's not how things work here, sadly. AS someone from a caste and religion-based conservative community who had previously been coerced into marriage, I know what it's like to leave behind bridges to your independence and purpose. Like Hana, you usually turn into a husk, a mere shell of your former self, not the same person as she used to be, literally (as Ginko tries to explain to Hana's loved ones). Her guy couldn't bring himself to choose his independence and start over, he just could not bring himself to "walk over" whatever remained of Hana on that bridge and that place. I guess a bridge that breaks if you change your mind and go back is an apt symbol. Interesting to note that in 2013, I interpreted this episode from her bf's perspective, that he was unable to let go and therefore was not able to move on and died. However, now, seeing more from Hana's perspective primarily, I was surprised to find what I had said earlier. Instead of a lesson about moving on....I felt it was a lesson about not following through the bridges that life offers you, the ones that are meant for you. But...I feel both lessons are two sides of the same coin. As much as I appreciated this, I think this was a B-Tier Mushishi episode at best. Good, but there are many episodes I liked more. |
eyerokMar 15, 7:43 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') |
| Man this was very sad to watch. |
If you enjoyed the time you wasted, then its not a waste of time.  |
| 20 years as a zombie sounds horrific. Poor kid. |
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Reply to Nate77
I loved the episode. But I have some issues with it. I feel it'd be nitpicking but I need to get these out somewhere
1. How was the girl's body in one piece after falling from a height like that? There wasn't even an indication of a river or anything.
2. Why is it that Ginko heard about that one time bridge and not know where it took place? How did this story reach so far and wide even? it's not like many people could've witnessed it.
3. Why did the mushi decide to form a perfect bridge out of all the other shapes it could possibly have taken? I mean cmon. Why a bridge? what purpose did it serve them?
4. Speaking of bridges, why wasn't that damned thing repaired in the first place. It's not like it was the middle of nowhere or anything. I get that many people don't use it; you'd still expect people to repair it considering there are people actually live on the other side.
5. Finally, that mushi made bridge ripped awfully conveniently.
Okay despite my rant, believe it or not, I loved thr episode very much ok bye.
1. How was the girl's body in one piece after falling from a height like that? There wasn't even an indication of a river or anything.
2. Why is it that Ginko heard about that one time bridge and not know where it took place? How did this story reach so far and wide even? it's not like many people could've witnessed it.
3. Why did the mushi decide to form a perfect bridge out of all the other shapes it could possibly have taken? I mean cmon. Why a bridge? what purpose did it serve them?
4. Speaking of bridges, why wasn't that damned thing repaired in the first place. It's not like it was the middle of nowhere or anything. I get that many people don't use it; you'd still expect people to repair it considering there are people actually live on the other side.
5. Finally, that mushi made bridge ripped awfully conveniently.
Okay despite my rant, believe it or not, I loved thr episode very much ok bye.
| 1) Probably it was broken in quite a few places. But once a parasite mushi inhabits it and the body's preserving life functions keep operating, what's the difference on the outside really? 2) Folks have to leave the village now and then to trade at the very least. People like Hana's family even get married outside. Word would've spread just from trade or relatives moving out, especially something as unusual and mystical as a bridge appearing out of nowhere. Not hard to imagine. 3) The mushi can't cross the ravine on their own. They have to join up together as a bundle to extend their length and collectively span the entire expanse to get across. This happens all the time with regular vines and roots, which these mushi seem to share the same physical properties with. Again, not hard to imagine. It also wasn't a perfect bridge. Lots of gaps and empty spots, remember? It's just that there were so many mushi vines all coiling up with each other that it formed a solid enough surface for another organism like a human to step on. 4) It's a lot of work to repair a bridge, not to mention very dangerous. Like that one villager said, it will take them a while with each villager chipping in during their spare time to build it back. The same goes for repairing it. If it's seldom used now and then, it's very common for a bridge like that to fall into disrepair. Ever been to a rural area where a road is unkept, or a path un-managed, or a footbridge falling apart? Local folks just make do with what remains of it and repairing the whole thing is too big of a project for any one person to do on their own, so the psychological effect of the diffusion of responsibility ends up coming into effect where no one does anything until the bridge reaches a critical point of under-maintenance, like falling entirely (though here it seems like Hana's mother just axed it sneakily one night, to keep the mushishi there). 5) The mushi aren't just making a bridge and staying like that. They are ultimately trying to cross the ravine to the other side and leave the village area entirely. You even see them moving dynamically as they worm their way forward in place. Logically, it makes sense that as time goes on, the bridge's rear side will weaken and become thinner as more vine mushi complete the crossing. The bridge they make is temporary for only one night. We even see that as the bridge disintegrates overnight, it withers away from the village-end. Again, not hard to imagine. It's not so much that this was "convenient" but that that's what would happen if you think about it with any level of common sense. |
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Reply to Randomega
So what is the reason that the vine mushi will break when a person steps back? Seems like a random trait to fit with this episode's theme...
| The vines are crawling forward to leave the ravine. The bridge is getting weaker and weaker as more mushi successfully cross and leave. It gets weaker from the village side first and progressively unravels until all mushi vines reach the far side. If the bridge is strong enough at one point for a human or two to cross it, it stands to reason that the area of the bridge behind the human making the crossing is going to be weaker than the part of the bridge the human is on or the part of the bridge in front of the human. The mushi are constantly moving forward to leave. The bridge unravels slowly from the village-side. So you can't go backwards on it without risking your life since the mushi vines behind you will be thinner and weaker than the ones in front of you the more time passes and the more mushi successfully cross the ravine each minute. It's very logical, adherent to physics, and understandable rather than "random" really. |
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