Mushi-shi: Next Passage Part 1

If I were to describe Mushishi in just a few words, it would have to be 'story-telling masterpiece'. Mushishi held this title and I'm proud to say that Mushishi Zoku Shou holds it as well. When such an eloquent blend of story writing, narration, atmosphere, art and sound come together it creates a fantastic, bone-chilling new world that those whom have the pleasure of viewing can't help but gawk at. Whether there is sadness, happiness, anguish or joy Mushishi Zoku Shou has delivered these feelings in a presentation so well-wrapped even its flaws cannot be seen. Mushishi Zoku Shou has been a remarkably soothingand yet exciting adventure that I can only say I am delighted of experiencing first-hand. Story(10/10): Mushish Zoku Shou is an episodic anime that I feel is one of the very few that succeed in its field. Being episodic only leaves the 21 minute time-frame to tell a story, which can be a difficult challenge; However, just like its prequel, Mushishi Zoku Shou is not only able to set up the plot and characters, but resolve it as well with ease in such a small frame of time. The Mushi, the very essence of life itself, and Ginko, the Mushi Master are at the heart and center of our stories. Ginko, always travelling and meeting new people, adventuring to exciting places and encountering strange beings all around are simply tagging along in our adventure as Ginko plays the part of mediator between Man and Mushi, helping both in times of need. This is how every story begins and ends and is delivered perfectly in a small 21 minute package. Art(10/10): Another reason why Mushishi Zoku Shou is able to present itself so well is not only for its story, but how the world is created. Beautiful scenic backgrounds, gorgeous vibrant colors of the Mushi and the fantastic distinction of characters using art are all perfectly-crafted. Whether a scene is meant to look beautiful or ominous Mushishi has no problem of displaying what it wants creating some of the most illustrious depictions of art to be seen. Sound(10/10): Once again, Mushishi Zoku Shou delivers superbly in this category as well. Whether we were panning out of a gorgeous mountainous scene or needed to feel the panic of those in the anime there was no failure in giving the audience what was needed to push what needed to be felt. The sound embodied any emotion it needed to and got it across well, giving me many moments where I just had to replay a scene to get that same 'chill down my spine' feeling over and over again. Without the sound, a lot of key moments would not have the same impact, but thankfully that problem never arised. Character(10/10): One thing that always surprises me is how well-established the characters were with this season granted the small time frame given. In just one episode the characters had to be introduced and fleshed out in order for us to have a sense of 'caring' for them otherwise the story would not have the same influence on us. Ginko of course is our main character, whom we learn of very early on what his profession is and what he does is very easy to get attached to. Where the real challenge occurred was creating the people Ginko meets and giving them a personality worthy of our interest in just a few minutes. This was done splendidly as the story progresses we learn of many of their conflicts with the Mushi and how it effects them on a personal level where we actually can feel the same sadness or joy they do whether it be through a back-story or a present event. In a funny way, the bane of a lot of their lives, the Mushi are also what really bring out a lot of the characters. Enjoyment(10/10): This was truly an enjoyable experience. Every episode told a new tale and even when there were times of distress there were times of calmness. Mushishi Zoku Shou tells a story with me just being able to sit back and enjoy without having to think about anything, but just purely become entranced with it. It doesn't end or begin with questions, nor pointing out faults, but just relaxing and experiencing everything it had to offer. Overall(10/10): Without a doubt Mushishi Zoku Shou lives up to its name. Those whom loved the first season should have no problem adoring this one any less if not more as they only fine-tuned what was already fantastic. This wasn't just simply an anime to watch, but to experience and it delivered well in every field to do just that. I cannot stress enough on that, which is why I'm going to leave it to you the viewer, to watch and experience it for yourself. I certainly hope you'll come to immerse yourself in this world and see for yourself what it has to offer.

There is a common saying that lightning never strikes twice at the same place. We can apply the same analogy to how a sequel of a classic never reaches its predecessor's quality. However, both statements are far from the truth; it’s just that we don’t often see both happen very often. But when we do see it, it's nothing short of magical. What transpires in the discussion of Mushishi Zoku Shou is how it can keep the spirit of the original series alive and well. When you get right down to it, there isn’t any need to try anything new or different to the sequel tomake it seem fresher. This is how Mushishi structures into different story arcs centered on its mythological lore of Mushi. The arcs supply a deeper meaning to the characters as we learn about the different types of Mushi we come across. From this perspective, Mushishi doesn’t need to do anything other than give us more than what we bargained for; they sure as hell made another accomplishment for the ages. From a stylistic perspective, Mushishi Zoku Shou follows the same atmospheric tone as before. It transcends itself into a breathtaking journey into what the world of Mushishi brings to the table. From my previous review of Mushishi, I criticized it for how the world didn’t feel like the actual world that it wanted it to be. It tried to go far, but at the same time, it didn’t go far enough. With Mushishi Zoku Shou, it is apparent that we are shown a closer look at the various mythical structures of its world. This is one aspect of the sequel that I think improves more than the prequel in many ways. Here, more meat is to be explored, and it's gratifying to experience the rich landscape and how the Mushi engulfs the world. As there are many plot arcs in each episode, there is the question of whether these new plot arcs hold a candle to the original series. While there were many great episodes of Mushishi that I can name, I could also name some that felt rather underwhelming compared to others. In many respects, Mushishi Zoku Shou offers more episodic stories that are stronger and more vibrant. From beginning to end, there was never an episode where I thought it was average, mediocre, or even decent; they are all merely good to magnificent. What makes them more vital is how the characters that our hero, Ginko, comes across in his travels are more memorable to the viewing experience. Many of them garner praise because they manage to fit in in-depth characterization in only under 24 minutes. Like in previous episodic iterations, they all lead to a well-crafted conundrum that Ginko has to solve. This problem can vary in how they are approached in how the tone is settled. The mood is always the main focal point of Mushishi, ranging from mystical and transcendent to dark and unsettling. All are accomplished with high tenacity and wit that won’t fail to impress many who want a lucid experience in their anime viewing endeavors. Animation has evolved since 2004, and Mushishi had a minimalist methodology for its artistic aesthetics. Although it may not look like it has changed its vibrant colors and lighting, it indeed flows in its animation more fluidly. New designs of Mushi pop up that look stunning to the eyes. Characters now have more range in movement thanks to the higher budget. Amazingly, it still feels freshly new, although it doesn’t do anything too drastic to make it more “modernized” for modern anime fans to enjoy. Music has never been a prominent hallmark for the Mushishi series regarding how repetitive it becomes after the fifth episode. Not that it is unlistenable by any means, it is good by its standards, but I would’ve appreciated it more had there been more variety. The noteworthy thing to mention is the new opening to Mushishi Zoku Shou, which is far more welcoming than in Season 1. The first one’s problem stems from the fact that the singer was trying to do a bad Bob Dylan impersonation throughout. Mushishi Zoku Shou’s opening, sung by Lucy Rose, feels more in line with the peaceful tone that defines Mushishi. In closing, I would call this a triumphant swan song for Mushishi to end on. Its efforts in bringing it back to show these remaining stories in animation form are admirable. The series continues to be considered a classic from the 2000s. Now it’s become a future classic in the 2010s. I can’t say I’ll be surprised by that assessment if it becomes a reality. Grade: A

"once the rain stops and real tears can be shed, I will put down roots. Until then, with the rain by my side, I will continue to drift like the clouds" Mushishi Zoku Sho continues the episodic chronicles of Ginko, the white-haired, laid back, chain-smoking, wandering ‘Mushishi’ (Loose TL: Mushi-master). For the fans of the much praised 2006 series, Zoku Sho is, in every technical and aesthetic sense, true to its predecessor. The studio behind it (Artland), and the staff is the same, and there have been no dramatic stylistic changes, making Zoku sho, except in its more enhanced visuals and polished presentation, the direct continuationof the first season in every aspect. For those unfamiliar with this masterful adaptation of Yuki Urushibara’s seminal magnum opus, it is advisable to start with the first season because, despite the whole series being strictly episodic, Zoku Sho assumes that you are familiar with some parts and concepts of the Mushi lore, such as Komyuka (the river of life), its significance, mountain-lords, some recurring characters, and some part of the main character’s background story. With the above mandatory preface done, I can move on to describing the series, and what the second season is about. Mushishi is set in ‘imaginary rural Japan’ with the technology and fashion Coeval to 19th Century period. The world of Mushishi is inhabited by supernatural and otherworldly creatures called ‘Mushi’, which exist in various sizes, shapes and types (much like animals and plants); they are as important to the life cycle and ecology of the world as plants and animals. The effect of their interaction with the world and other species (humans, plants, animals) may range from neutral to potentially devastating. There are mushi that can turn the blood inside a human to milk, make cloudless rain to fall wherever their hosts travel, cause various disease/illness, or provide someone the power over life. They can be parasitic, harmless or even beneficial. The catch is that very few people can perceive, and even fewer understand these ethereal creatures. Some of those who do become ‘Mushishi’, people who deal with Mushi. Ginko is one such person, who has dedicated his life to ‘understanding’ Mushi and help those who are affected by them. In the various episodes we see him travelling to various places, and coming across Mushi related phenomenon, which he is almost always able to handle deftly thanks to his exceptional foresight and erudite knowledge (in fact, after watching two seasons, I am thoroughly convinced that Ginko is something of a PhD on Mushi and mushi related stuff). As a man of learning, Ginko does his best to further his knowledge through research, help people, and keep the ecological balance while saving man and mushi from harming each other. But Mushishi is about more than that. Almost every episode, despite the fantastical theme, is relatable to a diverse variety of practical real world philosophical, moral, social, or psychological dilemmas and issues. These range from coping with the loss of loved ones, a disease, failure, moral corruption, family woes, relationship breakdowns, loss of self-worth, natural disasters, man’s relationship with the environment, etc.The wisdom contained in these episodes is sometimes esoteric, and at other times, exoteric in nature. Having said that, every viewer will perceive things from their own lens. Mushishi is not pedantic, and rises above these snippets of existentialist wisdom into the realm of profound and abstruse artistic and aesthetic depth. It transcends to themes and emotions that cannot be easily put in words. The sparse poetic narration of Ginko and his erstwhile mentor Nui, the sublime background score composed by veteran composer Toshio Masuda, the masterful direction by Nagahama Hiroshi, the exquisite and soothing art direction with its lush, sweeping homage to nature’s beauty, Nakano Yuto’s powerful VA performance, all combine to bring alive the transcendental and minimalist piece of art that is Mushishi. The atmosphere and ambiance of the show is so strong that sometimes I almost felt like I was there, and at times felt what the characters were feeling. That is, at least for me, Mushishi in a nutshell. Any comparisons to the previous season may yield variable and subjective results. Many would prefer the first season, largely due to it offering a greater variety of stories, landscapes, themes and music score. Admittedly, there might be some weight to this preference. The incident fact that many of the stories in the second season have ‘parasitic’ mushis and follow a ‘problem, diagnosis, prescription’ format has also been pointed out by some. However, this point is made mute by the fact that every story is unique in some way or the other. To sum up, Mushishi is an important milestone in anime, and easily recommendable to most anime fans.

Mushishi Zoku Shou continues the story of Ginko, a mushishi, which roughly equates to one part medicine man, one part paranormal expert. Mushi exist in a sort of gray area between living creatures and spiritual, other worldly beings. Mushishi's greatest strengths carry on into the second installment, beautiful artwork of natural landscapes and pre-industrial Japanese rural locations. It feels very authentic at every turn. The stories of what Ginko gets into during his travels are very easy to relate to, and I found myself caring about the characters involved even though most of the characters only appear in one episode given the nature of Ginko'stravels. While each episode of Mushishi is a great piece of work in and of itself, beautiful and engaging as it is, there is criticism to be handed out to the series as a whole. Ultimately, almost every episode of Mushishi is based on a simple plot formula with little to no carry over or progression in an overall plot. Here's an episode in a nutshell. Ginko enters some beautiful majestic rural setting...the mountains, the forest, a small farming or fishing village. Ginko discovers Mushi causing some disturbance in people and/or the environment. Through a combination of paranormal knowledge, moral superiority, and his box of trinkets Ginko saves the day, or at least mitigates the problem, gets out alive, etc. The people are happier and better off for his coming, and Ginko wanders off into the wilderness to some other pristine local, never to meet any of the people he just helped again. Almost every episode of Mushishi follows this formula, and it creates really the only serious criticism I have of the series, if you've watched one episode of Mushishi you've basically watched all the episodes of Mushishi. Out of this latest set of new episodes, only 1 or 2 carried over to characters I recognized before and contributed to an overarching plot line. Technically, that episode (or two parter) is a special and listed under a different heading on Animelist so I could say none at all if I wanted to. Now none of this is to say you shouldn't watch Mushishi, you should. It's a great piece of anime. It just doesn't offer much in terms of plot development for this reason. For the most part, Mushishi is simply great single serving anime, which probably explains it's broad appeal, you don't have to marathon the entire series to enjoy it. I'm just left with the feeling that I'll have to read the manga if I want any closure when it comes to this story.