Life in Its Purest Form
Getting away from the heavy stuff, I intend to go on about Mushi-shi,a supernatural anime based on a manga by Yuki Urushibara. I watched the dubbed version on Netflix. I could see some anime purist shaking their heads because it's not the subtitled version. Well to me, it all depends on the voice casting, directing, and acting. I had my fair share bad/good dubs and subs (e.g., Baccano! sounded better in English than in Japanese). As for Mushi-shi, both versions are okay.
Not much plot in the Mushi-shi, each episode focuses how people deal with Mushi whom Ginko, the protagonist and expert on these enigmatic creatures (Mushi-shi). The interesting thing about this show is how the locals are never alarmed by Ginko's unusual light grey hair considering how xenophobic Japan was in the past. He travels in rural places and isolated islands in Japan helping people who are ailed by the Mushi. At times, a treatment is available or futile. We are left with poignant ending that can be sad, bittersweet, or happy. It gives an impression how humans are not entitled to this world that any form of life is just there to live. The Mushi are not bad, as Ginko said repeatedly, and that there has to be balance.
Despite the serious undertones, there are comical moments that pop in, yet not jar the flow of the story. The anime does not go into a linear nor chronological fashion, hence, one can watch it out of order.I enjoyed all twenty-six episodes where I have a hard time picking which is my favorite. I would choose "Pickers of Empty Cocoons" and "String from the Sky" because the happy endings bring out the optimistic and positive feelings from the depths I never knew existed. Too bad that there won't be a second season.