there it is, plain as daylight.

Wednesday evening, while flipping through advertising materials that came with our Fullmetal Alchemist DVDs, Paul’s eye was caught by an anime series called Mushishi. He read about it a bit, and pointed it out to me too. We both thought it looked interesting, so he downloaded a couple of fan-subbed episodes, and we decided that if we liked those, we’d buy the DVDs. Those discs are now on their way to our house, but considering that we’ve now watched through episode 11 of the fansubs, it’s likely we’ll have finished the entire series before they even arrive. I’ll talk a bit about the first 11 episodes now.

Mushishi (episodes 1-11): This series is completely different from anything else we are watching right now, which is wonderfully refreshing. It is mysterious, delicate and gently-paced, and completely beautiful at every moment, even in those that are sad or terrifying. You can find out more about the story from wikipedia or the anime’s official site, but I’ll just tell you here that it involves the journey of a man named Ginko, who is a traveling mushi-shi, someone who researches mushi (primordial beings which are somehow part of the essence of life), and aids those who have been affected by them.

I was enchanted from the very first episode, in which Ginko visits a boy whose left hand draws images that come to life. The boy’s grandmother has passed on, but Ginko discovers that she had, as a girl, been split between human and mushi, and finds a way to bring her mushi-self into a form that allows her to exist with her grandson, who must otherwise live alone. From the very beginning, we are aware that even Ginko cannot know for sure if he is doing the right thing for the people who he helps, and this ambiguity, along with his unwillingness to let people suffer, is much of what makes him an incredibly fascinating and sympathetic character.

As the series goes on, we learn more about both mushi and Ginko, and become more and more enthralled with both. Not one moment feels wasted in this series. It is beautifully crafted and animated, and it is one of the few things I’ve watched that I have a difficult time to imagine anyone not liking. I was concerned, at first, that I would not find the series compelling enough over time, since there is no obvious through-story, but my experience has been entirely to the contrary. Ginko and his journey are the through-story, and I would not wish for anything more. It is worth noting that as of episode 11, we have met at least one recurring character, Ginko’s collector friend, Adashino. I do not believe there are many, however.

This series was adapted from the manga by the same name by Yuki Urushibara, which I look forward very much to reading. I don’t think all the volumes have been released in English yet, but I will be buying whatever I can, whenever I can.

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