An episodic supernatural tale about a mushishi named Ginko travelling the world to solve problems caused by mushi beings that transcends the understanding of reality and possess god like powers.
Because of this set-up each episode is unique, inviting and is executed to its fullest potential.
Due to fact that mushi can see and interact with people but people can't interact or see them(except for a minority) its interesting to watch the effect they have on the human society and how some people use or abuse the power that the mushi hold. For example an island town uses a certain mushi to reincarnate citizens on the verge of death.
The art in Mushishi is godly to put it simple. That being a bit of an exaggeration but they are really god. The scenery for the anime is stunning, vibrant and gives the impression that this anime is based in the early times. The character designs are rough yet mature and match the anime very well, you won’t find any moe girls or walking breast in this anime which is definitely a plus. The only flaw to the character design is the fact that basically all supporting characters look the same but this doesn’t hinder your experience as the mushi design in the stronger selling point. As stated in the synopsis mushi are depicted as beings from another world and this really shown in the art. The mushi come in all different colours and sizes with some accompanied by a mystical glow. SO to wrap it up I give the art 10/10
The sound has been used really well. The voice actors all did a decent job in matching the characters and the protagonist was given a voice in which don’t mind hearing for 26 episodes. The background music is matched well with the setting of the anime , you’ll be hearing the tune at the right times with causes this anime to transcend above others.
The OP is a wonderful song that in some way matches the whole travelling aspect of this anime, the OP is also visually appealing with its water coloured paintings filling the screen. The ED is quite peculiar in the fact that it is just text with a black background for about half of it, then pictures of fauna fade in from the darkness. But what’s really peculiar about the ED is the music, there’s no vocal just instrumental with a supernatural twist but it leaves me with goose bumps and the urge to watch more of mushishi.
All of the supporting characters in this series only stick around for one episode max with the exception of a mushi collector but despite this the guest characters of the episode get a background story with a tinge of character development and it’s not done half assed so you’ll definitely be hit in the feels to some degree every episode . The star of the show Ginko is a perfect match for the series. To put it simple he has a carefree attitude, intelligent, wise and get serious when the time calls for it. What’s nice about ginko is that he also provides some comedy relief and the timing of it is good.
This is anime is no doubt one of my all time favourites and out of all the supernatural themed anime it stands on the top, overtaking natsume yuujinchou. Despite how much I love this anime and how good I say it is, I don’t recommend it to everyone. The anime is quite slow and when I say this I mean it feels its length. You’ll come across a lot of series that feel longer or shorter than they actually are for example how mars of destruction felt like 40 minutes then 20. Because of the slow pacing in each episode a few heads will turn.
An anime that feels like a fairy tale
This anime is a once in a decade series and should be given a go.
