As one of the lesser known series from the 2013 Spring lineup, Mushibugyou might of slipped under some people's radar. In fact, I wasn't aware of this show until a friend told me about it. No, it's not because I hate bugs. I mean, I'm sure a lot of people hates them in real life as well but this series fits within more of the 'underrated category. Anyways, it is adapted based off the manga known as Joujuu Senjin!! Mushibugyou. (take note that it is adapted from the alternate version of the Mushibugyou manga). Otherwise, the series stars Jinbei Tsukishima, a young man who becomes a new recruit of the City Patrol. The boy is inexperienced but joins the unit to honor his family and protect the people.
The series takes place in an alternate Feudal Era Japan setting. Thus, expect some of the architectures' designs to look like some of the more traditional style of Japanese culture. The country in which the series takes place at is simple though with no complex technology. Rather, there is a system where people tries to follow to maintain order. But then of course, that order is disturbed thanks to these monsters known as the Mushi, the giant insects as well as the antagonists of the series. They disturb peace and causes destruction. Now, who you gotta call? The Ghostbust- I mean, City Patrol.
I'm not a big fan of historical theme series but there's something about Mushibugyou that seems to have more interest than meets the eye. The first few episodes aren't very impressive though so patience is required in order to progress through the series. In fact, we meet the members of the Mushi Magistrate City Patrol. Its members are specialists and quite diverse in terms of their appearances, abilities, and personalities. Jinebi is the most cheerful of the group with his personality. Despite being the weakest member of the team, he makes it up with his heroic efforts to protect the people as well as determination. On a complete different scale, there's Mugai, a mysterious individual whose skill is almost unrivaled in the team. In terms of skills, they are worlds apart and it's fun to see how they balance out during battles.
The other members of the City Patrol consists of the tough guy (Shungiku Koikawa), action girl (Hibachi), and and shy boy (Tenma Ichinotani). All of their skills complicates the team's efforts in some way or form despite their conflicting philosophies. These often result in hilarious belittling of each other to a point of almost absurdity. Speaking of that, there's some absurdity in this show besides the repetitive arguments. I'm talking about the insects involved as they seem to attack humans out of nowhere for little to no reason. Then, there are some of the character designs like Mugai's hair style. Some other forms of absurdity involves the deus ex machina scenarios involving our hero Jinebi when he pulls out a victory from nowhere.
As for the show itself goes, it balances between seriousness and comedy. The seriousness part comes from the Mushi as they truly are bloodthirsty for destruction. In fact, there is actual deaths involved in this show and some moments are even graphic with no censorship. The fact that the Mushi wants humans as food (or more like for dead) is a reality in this series. Make no mistake as the bodies do pile up especially in later episodes when some of the stronger Mushi are introduced. Jinebi also takes his work seriously as he trains hard to honor his family. His determination is unrivaled in his team and often strives to protect those who cares around him. There's also some back-stories involving the supporting characters that shows why they are members of the City Patrol that are spawned from tragic stories. For comedy, there's the frequent actions from Jinebi that usually results in some sort of undesired result at first. This typically starts in the beginning in the show due to his lack of experience as well as some of his lack in common sense. Then, there's the fan service. There's fan service more than just the blood and gore. Thanks to a particular fan service girl (Haru), there's skin showing and cameras fixed on angles that are lascivious. In fact, Haru seems to be the kind of girl in this show that serves little to no purpose beyond the fan service as she has no skill to fight against the Mushi or brains to formulate plans for attack. Instead, she has to rely on her knight in shining armor (Jinbei) to save the day. But of course, Jinbei always gets some sort of reward from her in the form of a 'thanks' or sometimes more...
The plot originally follows more of a the 'monster of the week' format but later transits into a more complex story. In the center of that story is Jinebi and another mysterious girl known as Kuroageha, the Insect Magistrate. She represents a more mysterious side to the overall series with her gifted powers behind that noticeable white silky hair. There's also dangerous foes later on (including an organization) that really takes the action and plot to the cake. If you survived the slow pace of the first few episodes, then this show might not be disappointing for you at all.
As for the Mushi, their designs gives off a dangerous vibe along with their behavior. Most of them are modified after real life insects such as mantis, stag beetles, dragonfly, etc with abilities that matches their rights. Some of them do looks more silly than they should be though with their enormous heads and some of their humanoid/hybrid designs. There's also plenty of action of course! It generally involves the struggling conflict between the Mushi and the City Patrol. There's bloody spilled and heads falling off here and there. The movements and fights are generally fast paced with quick successions. Among other factors, Mushibugyou also has some potential romance development later on. The problem here is that Jinbei is way too dense to notice it. In terms of the romance, the show only gives signs and teases. Thus, don't expect some form of love story as this would be the wrong show to watch.
Overall designs for the characters are fine that shows why they are part of the City Patrol. The Edo like feeling is obviously there with the architectures and village like settings. Then, there are the dangerous insects that shows why they are enemies of humanity. The fan service might be more than meets the eye but even ignoring that aspect doesn't make this series' artwork outstanding.
The soundtrack of the show is noticeable but nothing earth shattering. There's the action scenarios, the comedy tones, and then some more of the emotional parts accompanied by soft paced music. Most of the VA plays their roles well. In particular, Jinbei's VA (KEEN) has that tone of determination coming from his voice whenever he wants to protect someone. There are two different OP and ED songs and both of them fits within the theme of the show with the Edo-like atmosphere.
All in all, Mushibugyou is a show that is underrated but can be worth a watch if you have some patience. What I mean by that is getting through some of the introductory episodes and then later on to the main plot. I mean, the show is dominated by man eating insects as the enemies. I'm sure most of us hates insects in some way or form. There's also fan service so be prepared for some gratuitous camera angles and bloody gore. The show is more intimating than meets the eye though so once it gets to the main dish, it can be a somewhat enjoyable ride. Just don't forget to fasten the seat-belt unless you want to become insect food.
