Peace, Love, and Mushi: Mushishi

Greetings, peoples!  I’m back this week with another anime review.  But before I get to that, I want to apologize for not posting last week.  As I said in my “No Post this Sunday”, I was busy with a project and really didn’t have a chance to think about what to do for a post.  Again, it happens when you’re a college student.  Anyways, back to this week, I’ve got a review that’s just right for the occasion.  Many of you who are reading this post are off, or have been off, for Spring Break-myself included.  So to commemorate the occasion, I got a show that’s got just enough to help you unwind.  So I’ll get right on it and start on my review on the lax anime show, Mushishi.

Mushishi ‘s plot follows a man named Ginko as he travels around the country studying Mushi.  What are Mushi?  In a nutshell, they are mysterious creatures that are so pure that they cannot be seen by humans.  Well, okay, there are special human beings that can see and interact with them, like Ginko.  But still, much of the series documents Ginko’s adventures in studying Mushi as well as helping people with Mushi-related problems.  There is no other real plot; much of the series episodic.  Still, if you like shows with almost zero violence but are still pretty interesting, then Mushishi is the perfect show for you!

I haven’t seen all of this series, but I’ve seen just enough episodes to get a pretty good feel for the show.  Regardless of what all I’ve seen of it, I give Mushishi a four out of five star rating.  There’s a lot of good things going on with this show.  Animation is pretty decent overall, and the overall plot is pretty good.  Plus, considering that this show is episodic, there’s no on-going plot, which means if you miss an episode, you don’t have to watch one or two episodes back to understand what’s going on.  Plus, each episode has its own interesting story.  And in general, the whole concept of Mushishi is pretty unique and imaginative.  And even though Ginko is the primary character of the series, a large portion, if not the majority, of the show focuses on the Mushi.

There’s actually not that many downsides to Mushishi.  There’s hardly any language, no violence, and even no nudity or sexual content.  So the show is pretty clean.  But, if there’s one flaw that this show has, it has to be that for some, Mushishi maybe too relax.  Like, so relaxed you fall asleep.  So in laments term, some people may think it’s boring.  Now granted, the first few episodes are a bit dull, but I think the show really starts to move pretty well later on.  It’s fair to say that this is a show that’s a little slow to warm up.  Still, I’ve been enjoying it so far and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

So overall, Mushishi is probably one of the calmest animes I’ve ever seen.  But still, it’s laid back mood and natural setting make it a worthwhile show and a fresh idea to anime.  Mushishi is available on DVD on Amazon, but that’s not to say it’s not available in stores either.  As far as finding episodes online goes, Funimation- the company that owns the rights to the English dub-has them online.

That pretty much ends this week’s review, but before I sign off, I have some news I need to share.  I know that last week there was no post, and again I’m sorry for that.  But unfortunately, I will not be posting again next Sunday.  Although this time, this was planned.  I will be in Ireland on a school trip starting this Thursday and won’t be back until the following Friday.  So yeah, I think it would be kinda hard to do a post while on a trip, especially on an overseas trip.  But I will be posting the weekend I get back.  Anyways, that’s all that I have for this week.  You won’t hear from me again until March 22.  Until then, sit tight and stay tuned for more!

-Hanime on Anime
Mushishi Trailer (Fan-made)