Mushi-Shi, Vol. 1 [DVD]

Mushi-shi is not your action-type anime; no giant robots or sword-wielding ninja or vampires. But I find myself returning to Mushi-shi more than I do the other anime series I own. So many series get placed on the shelf and not visited again except for one or two key episodes once I've watched it through to the end and know how everything turns out. But I return to each episode of Mushi-shi again and again, and find something new to appreciate in it each time. I'm not waiting anxiously for the next volume so I find out who lives/dies or how my favorite character fares: I'm anxiously waiting because this is a series that I enjoy every moment of every episode and enjoy it just as much the fifth time I view it as the first.

Great series woild recommend if you wanted to ease into anime

this is one of my favourite, if not my very favourite, anime of all time. it's really beautifully done, in concept, animation, and individual stories. i like also that one can watch the series in any order, and still not be lost. it's worth watching again and again.

I've been dying to get some good anime for a while now and this really hit the spot. It's so beautiful and almost hippy-esque. I love it!

Mushi are the oldest lifeforms in existence, even below microorganisms and fungi. They evolved so long ago that most humans cannot even see them in their true form. Most of the time they appear as floating, almost plankton-like organisms drifting through the air and effortlessly passing through anything material in their way. Some can even take human form. Mushi are neither good nor evil. They simply are. But on occasion the very presence of mushi can lead to problems for humans. For example in one of these episodes, a girl becomes extremely sensitive to sunlight and has to stay in the dark all the time with a cloth over her eyes because mushi have taken up residence there. When mushi are involved, using the standard problem solving procedures such as doctors and such meets with very little success. No, someone with special abilities has to be called in. Enter the unassuming and serenely calm Ginko, a travelling Mushishi who tries to end any negative consequences caused by the interaction between humans and mushi. A lot of the victims of the mushi tend to be young such as a girl following a moving swamp which is actually a collective mushi. Or a boy whose drawings come to life and another who has grown extremely sensitive to noise and has grown horns!The problem that keeps Mushishi from being a great show is its single-minded devotion to the mushi. Because of its monster of the....I mean mushi of the week, the show can get a bit repetitive. Kinda like Inuyasha's over reliance on Naraku as the main antagonist which can suck the life out of original ideas. I mean the writers had to somehow turn every episode of Mushishi into a hunt for mushi. I will admit that the writers did a good job making us sympathize with all of the supporting characters. If you don't care for the people Ginko is helping out, you must be really emotionally remote. I haven't read the manga but the director of the anime, Hiroshi Nagahama took very careful steps to keep the anime version as close to the manga as possible and was a big fan of the series before he got involved with the anime version. Really, the show reminded me a bit of Sergio Leone westerns in which a lone gunfighter comes to town and straightens out the world temporarily. I look forward to finding out more about this mushishi in the next couple of volumes.

i can't add whats already been said other than this is alot like watching a miazaki film in its pace and depth. buy the first volume, and you'll be buying the rest, i guarantee.

I've seen the entire series and I have to say this is one of the most beautifully written and soulful series out there (anime or non). Please note, this is NOT an action-packed anime although there is action from time-to-time. This isn't particularly a tear-jerker either, but there are stories of profound sadness. What it is, is a drama that lets itself take itself to develop the story.The plot over the series is that Ginko - a Mushi-Shi (kinda' like a shaman or doctor specializing in supernatural ailments) travels Japan to investigate and solve people's problems. Each episode is an independent (but loosely continuous and connected) short story. Endings are often surprising and thoughtful.Volume 1 covers the first 5 episodes.EPISODE 1 - About an isolated boy whose writings and pictures come to life, but is haunted by a quiet ghost.EPISODE 2 - About a girl with mushi-infected eyes locked away in total darkness and her cousin who comes to visit and play with her.EPISODE 3 - An isolated snowfallen village is infected by mushi which eats up all noise. One child is infected so badly, he mysteriously grows horns like his mother.EPISODE 4 - A man's dreams are infected by Mushi which gives him dreams of disasters to come (and avoid), but the dreams aren't the prophecies he thinks they are.EPISODE 5 - Ginko finds a travelling swamp which disappears and reappears and a special woman looking to belong who becomes the swamp's companion.

Mushi are living organisms in their purest form. Ginko is a Mushishi, a man that studies the Mushi. Not everyone can see Mushi. Those that can are either scared of them or fascinated by them. Ginko travels the country helping people who have encounters with the different varieties of Mushi.Each episode of this series is a different story. Ginko's travels lead him to many people that need his help. I am blown away by this anime. The animation, music, and plot are all superbly done. I can't say enough good things about Mushishi. I hope you check it out. It's great that Funimation put this title in the SAVE edition. I think that's the cheapest way to buy the complete series, so I would go that route instead. It's a steal for the money.

Mushi-Shi is an anime that i would describe as a rarity. The engaging yet calm and wonderfully paced stories of each episode yield much satisfaction, with little more than a beautifully drawn scene and quality voice acting from both the Japanese and English production teams.Unlike many of the manstream anime series that we see all too often relying on flashy cut scenes, unbalanced (and usually pointless) comedic characters and predictable story arcs, Mushi-Shi gently flows from episode to episode giving the viewer new and interesting perspectives on the world around the main character Ginko, (The travelling Mushi Master) and little by little we learn more about him and the Mushi who inhabit their place between worlds.The Mushi creatures themselves are often strange and unusual in design, but suited the story of each episode and are created with the quality and detail we have come to expect from the the Japanese imagination.It can be said there are no samurai fights, no battles on ethereal planes against dark gods or bored kids who find a notebook from another realm, but the show is every bit as enthralling as any of the more popular series available, and is even more enjoyable by simply telling a good story.

This is excellent viewing ... if you like your mecha and fighting it may be too slow for you... the storylines are gentle with sometimes sad results but compulsieve making you want to watch more ...the voice actors are first class and beautifully drawn ...I wont put up spoilers. The stories are of strange creatures called mushi which exsit in our realm mostly harmless they are life in it's purest form, sometimes their behaviour can affect humans with sometimes strange,spooky or even tragic results. Mushi masters are those who study and can sometimes control their effects. These are the stories of one masters wandering encouners with mushi.

this is not for you if you want action and fighting, but it's a brilliant series, dreamy and beautiful while alternating between being bizarre and touching. each episodes stands on its own, but every few episodes you learn a little more of ginko's back story. he's a great character mysterious and interesting who's rarely fazed by the strange mushi that he helps cure people from. the mushi themselves are very varied creatures so each episode is fresh and original. a great series to wind down with.

terrific introduction to a great series. Explains a lot for later series