Mushishi Mini Review (manga)
February 13th, 2008 by Nothayama
PG-13/16 for vague scariness official series website
Everybody seems to like Mushishi. I’ve read multiple glowing reviews that praise its storytelling, characters, moral ambiguity, and tone. There’s just something about this series that critics seem to love.
I’ve got to say, though, I just don’t see it. I like the concept that mushi – the pseudo-magical natural forces that affect humans in strange ways and that the main character Ginko is an expert on – aren’t good or evil, just powerful natural phenomena. Mushi have to be dealt with in the same way people deal with natural disasters – this story is less about exorcising demons and more about telling people that if they don’t want their house washed away, they should move out of the flood zone. This is a neat idea, one that I hadn’t seen expressed in quite this way before. There are many stories about the power of nature over humans, but not many where nature is portrayed this neutrally.
That’s it for interest from Mushishi, though. A single idea does not a good story make, and the rest of Mushishi is nothing but a little tone spread over stock characters. Human beings don’t have nearly the moral complexity of imaginary plant-spirit thingies; almost every human character’s personality defaults to “calm, vaguely good-natured, and a little sad.” Toward the end of manga volume two we get “generically evil” to mix things up a bit – not exactly breaking new ground from a character perspective. As far as storytelling is concerned, each chapter seems more like a tutorial on imaginary folklore than a story. The serene, zen-like tone and pacing help to distance the reader even more from the characters, just in case he or she could empathize with these people in any way.
Look, I’m not saying that this needs to be some sort of hack-and-slash bloodfest or melodramatic sex romp to keep my attention. I just want to be able to get involved with the things I read and watch. I like stories that illicit an emotional response – empathy or disgust for characters, surprise at plot twists, illumination when new ideas are presented, sadness at serious bits and laughter at jokes. Mushishi seems like it’s aiming for the opposite – it wants to keep me from feeling anything. I can’t think of anything more boring than that.
Initial impression: Pass. Or, well, chances are you should give it a try since so many other people seem to see such great things in it. Just read the first chapter of the manga in the store before you decide whether to buy it – I can assure you, the rest of the volume will be more of the same. (NotHayama)
[...] At Sleep is for the Week, NotHayama doesn’t see what the big deal is about Mushishi. The Comics Villagers have posted this week’s set of reviews: Lissa Pattillo on Poison Cherry [...]
I think Mushishi’s really really beautiful. I love the art – so unusual and graceful for manga (where the art can tend to seem fairly standardized/manufactured).
I do think Mushishi’s best read chapter by chapter though – it can get a little tiresome.
anyways, love this site!
I had volumes 1-4. I read 1-2, and just traded them all in. The color illustrations are gorgeous. And each story serves better as a stand alone short story. But you either love it or leave it.
I get what you’re saying about the characters and such. The way I look at Mushishi though is more like a collection of myths surrounding around one particular Mushishi. In mythology you usually deal with stock characters “Oh woe is my life and so I’m not going to listen and do something stupid” but the appeal to Mushishi, at least for me, is the mushi. The author has the ability to take something normal for us like seeing our reflection, rust, and bamboo groves and she can turn it into something unknown and bizarre. She has an interesting way of explaining something strange and somehow it will make sense. I dont know if you got far enough to see Ginko’s past but I liked that part a lot, especially since his past doesnt bother him at all. Thats not something you really see often.
I have a lot of patience and maybe thats why this kind of show bothers people since its very simple in many ways, but Mushishi is still one of my favorites. Good to see you at least gave it a shot
This isn’t the kind of manga you read every day. Actually, this isn’t even the kind of manga you read every week. The overall storyline is “slow”. In actuality there’s only a few chapters that look into Ginko’s (protag.) past and progress with the overall storyline. Each chapter is a completely different story and you’ll realize why when you meet Tany? Karibusa in chapter 20. Which also gives you hopes for a romance-life for your beloved ginko and a little more progression to the story.
As I was saying before I got side tracked… each chapter has nearly no relation to the previous or next (except of course Ginko and mushi) so you can’t go rushing into the next one without enjoying the last. Most of the time each of them have a life lesson. If you take it slow (like the rythm of the storyline) I’m sure you’ll enjoy it like i did.
As a side note: If you like anime/manga like Naruto/Bleach/One Piece/D. Grayman/etc. then you’ll most likely not like this one. Because the anime/manga I just listed focus souly on the main-storyline which is the exact opposite of what this anime does. Contrary to those listed, if you liked anime/manga like Jigoku Shoujo and the sort you’ll like this one.
1 more thing before i go: The anime and the manga match up exactly. As in, episode 10 in the anime is chapter 10 in the manga. The anime goes up to 26, therefore it ends at chapter 26 and the manga still continues on. The anime is word-for-word right from the manga so you’re not missing a thing if you start with the anime and continue on with the manga.
This series seems to receive so much praise, especially for “people who watch more mainstream anime” (which I believe I do), that I keep telling myself to watch this. Sadly, this line in your review pretty much states my fear of what this show was gonna be:
“I like stories that illicit an emotional response – empathy or disgust for characters, surprise at plot twists, illumination when new ideas are presented, sadness at serious bits and laughter at jokes. Mushishi seems like it’s aiming for the opposite”
Another show with characters I won’t give a crap about. My opinions differ from the norm yet again.
Mushi-shi is a very nice series of bedtime stories. I’ve actually used the anime to get to sleep or relax… but this is one of those shows that you don’t need a lot of brain power to understand everything, if you even care enough to pay attention to the minor attempts at plot. If you have seen one episode, you’ve basically seen them all. Don’t get me wrong, however, I still enjoy it, but do I wish I knew what I had been getting myself into before I bought it.