residentgrigo
I find Mushishi NOT to be boring but i view it as the MOST boring anime(but not sure if manga) ever. The sheer commitment to no service of any kind to the reader/viewer has to be admired ! There is only deep storytelling and the beauty of nature nothing more. The mangaka had a vision to tell and did't care about the reader one bit. Ether you get on the slowest train if all or you go home. A friend of mine i now forced to watch the series described it as gently walking through a forest. I couldn't describe it better. 10/10 and the best Mono no aware of all. The new Mushishi volume is identical to the two sisters episode 11 and 12(or special if you like) from season 2 by the way.
Asadullah Khan
Well this certainly was a different experience. Mushishi is a very episodic anime with each episode depicting a case or a problem or something related to the creatures known as Mushi, which are special creatures present everywhere but only a selected few can see them. And a Mushi master, our protagonist, goes in and tries to solve the problems. I really don't like episodic things but Mushishi somehow managed to make each 20 mins an interesting and beautiful tale, some better than other obviously. That is one hell of a task considering aside from our hero, there really are no recurring characters. There is a very unique beauty in this anime, regarding nature/life etc, which is more complemented by beautiful art and great soundtrack. If only it wasn't this much episodic, I most probably would have loved it way more. Still, really enjoyed it. 8.3/10
siderite
Mushishi is a strangely calming anime. It takes place in almost feudal Japan (they seem a lot more liberal and have access to some technology like microscopes and the mushishi talks about genetics in one episode) and follows Ginko, a man that can see the strange lifeforms that are all around us, called Mushi.In the end the episodes are rarely tense, with no or almost no violence. The mushi themselves are not perceived as evil that must be killed, but as a part of the ecosystem. Unlike most mushishi (a sort of mushi hunter/doctor), Ginko, the lead character, seeks only to restore the balance between normal life and mushi life.The anime itself takes place for only 26 episodes, all self contained, you could watch any of them in any order without losing any continuity. The manga is of course much longer and you can read it online.The calm music and the elements of traditional Japanese life and history are most welcome for a leisurely time when you want to relax and take your mind of things.
tobba_lobba
Well, it's not exactly a nature experience since it's a TV-series. But the thing is that mushishi puts all its' force in depicting beautiful Asian scenery full of life. And at the core of that life are the 'Mushi'.Mushi are not animals, and they are not plants. Mushi are closer to life than anything else on the earth. And those who gathers lore about the mushi and knows how to treat them are the mushishi.I actually got the feeling of watching a horror movie when i saw this, the only thing was that there was no horror. Still, the mood was there, but in a kind and gentle way.The series follows a mushishi named Ginko and his travels and missions in the land. Human emotion is put aside as a theme, and love is more a fact than something that involves you in the story. I don't know if this is something coming from the authors own view of life, but it makes room for a feature where nature is the emotional basis, and it stands strong on the feelings that you get from marvels that lie within the silent whisper of the wind among trees.You encounter characters that all are affected by these mushi. The first one is a boy who can draw anything with his right hand and it springs to life, another one is a man chasing after a rainbow and even a human that is born from a seed. Many of the stories are built on things we notice in nature around us but find it hard to explain, like shooting stars, the end of the rainbow and the fact that a third of your soul remains within your pillow when you leave bed as it is where all your dreams live.The series moves in a slow gentle pace, where the music never gets too eager and nothing ever gets too exciting in manners of rush or panic. It might somehow even be sleep inducing, but in a good way, like the swaying of the trees or a cold snowy night where everything is silent but the sparkling fireplace.Of course, it's up to anyone to have their own thoughts about it, but I think that the series wants to tell us that there is more to life than just being human. If you look around you, and look where there are no cars and high buildings, you'll notice lots of life that fills you up and effects you in ways you never think of. There is beauty in more than just you and me.I was expecting to find some sort of greater story that would unfold towards the end of the series, but that never came. May happen the stories got more dramatic towards the end, but they never stopped being told in the same way as always. There was never any certain resolution to the series, only the soft mushishi music with its' hypnotical drums, and when you had watched the last episode you knew that everything in the world of the mushi would keep on going as it had ever done before. I never got the feeling of saying goodbye to characters i'd miss, but was happy to have been able to come along on the journeys in this world so full of life and wonders.