Tenth of Awesome the Fifth
So, I was inspired by aeirol 's post on Satoshi Kon to share another of my favorite anime series. Mushishi is twenty six episode series, set in old-timey Japan ( I do not know enough about Japanese history to say a definite name for this period, but 'feudal' comes to mind) wherein our protagonist, Ginko, is in the profession of getting rid of 'Mushi', invisible (to most) bug-like spirits who trouble humans and sometimes cause fatalities. Wait, don't roll your eyes and think ' There are about a million animes that could loosely fit that description, Jess, and they are mostly terrible' quite yet! There are a few distinguishing factors to this story that make it pretty interesting, I think.
First, and probably most important, Ginko is not a Mushi hunter. Ginko, even when faced with a Mushi that is highly dangerous, solves the problem by either peacefully removing the Mushi and explaining how to prevent infestations in the future, or by educating the humans about how to coexist with the Mushi.
Another thing I like about the series is how very understated nearly everything is. There is not a lot of action or drama, and often episodes end without fanfare, sometimes the problem even resolves itself without help. Perhaps realistically, there are also a few episodes where there is no resolution, and Ginko merely has to continue traveling, unable to fix things. Ginko's past is marginally explored, again, without drama. Though he had a somewhat traumatic childhood, he is not 'scarred' or 'twisted', he has merely learned to accept it and move on. None of the characters are very quirky or outrageous, though Ginko himself has a few slightly anachronistic tendencies. When questions are answered or information revealed about how this world functions, it is done so in passing, as if the characters just happened to mention it and you were lucky enough to catch it.
The series is visually pretty gorgeous, especially for an anime. There is a lot of Ginko walking through lush forests, and gooooooosh are they green!
This is not a very character driven series, unfortunate for anyone who likes that kind of thing. Not to say that I don't find Ginko interesting, it is just that the series isn't really about his own progression as a person (which there isn't really much of), but moreso about the things and people he encounters, and a sort of overarching philosophy. There are a few episodes where Ginko is actually barely present, merely shows up at the end for a little while, maybe helps out, maybe doesn't. Personally, I find the sparseness of insight into Ginko's thoughts and emotions ends up making what you do get even more precious by result.
Lastly ( I could probably go on, but this is the 'jist' of it, and look how dang long it is) the Mushi designs are just so neat. How they look visually and what they do are always pretty interesting.
Here's episode 17 (they don't need to be watched in order at all), one of my favorites:
There is also a live action movie, but I haven't watched it yet, so who knows if it's any good.
P.S. If you know me in Real Life and have any interest, I've got the entire series :P
First, and probably most important, Ginko is not a Mushi hunter. Ginko, even when faced with a Mushi that is highly dangerous, solves the problem by either peacefully removing the Mushi and explaining how to prevent infestations in the future, or by educating the humans about how to coexist with the Mushi.
Another thing I like about the series is how very understated nearly everything is. There is not a lot of action or drama, and often episodes end without fanfare, sometimes the problem even resolves itself without help. Perhaps realistically, there are also a few episodes where there is no resolution, and Ginko merely has to continue traveling, unable to fix things. Ginko's past is marginally explored, again, without drama. Though he had a somewhat traumatic childhood, he is not 'scarred' or 'twisted', he has merely learned to accept it and move on. None of the characters are very quirky or outrageous, though Ginko himself has a few slightly anachronistic tendencies. When questions are answered or information revealed about how this world functions, it is done so in passing, as if the characters just happened to mention it and you were lucky enough to catch it.
The series is visually pretty gorgeous, especially for an anime. There is a lot of Ginko walking through lush forests, and gooooooosh are they green!
This is not a very character driven series, unfortunate for anyone who likes that kind of thing. Not to say that I don't find Ginko interesting, it is just that the series isn't really about his own progression as a person (which there isn't really much of), but moreso about the things and people he encounters, and a sort of overarching philosophy. There are a few episodes where Ginko is actually barely present, merely shows up at the end for a little while, maybe helps out, maybe doesn't. Personally, I find the sparseness of insight into Ginko's thoughts and emotions ends up making what you do get even more precious by result.
Lastly ( I could probably go on, but this is the 'jist' of it, and look how dang long it is) the Mushi designs are just so neat. How they look visually and what they do are always pretty interesting.
Here's episode 17 (they don't need to be watched in order at all), one of my favorites:
There is also a live action movie, but I haven't watched it yet, so who knows if it's any good.
P.S. If you know me in Real Life and have any interest, I've got the entire series :P