Otakuism

Story:

In a Japan that is niether past or present, where folktales are common and everyone wears yukata, there exist Mushi. Mushi are like insects, yet not like insects. More like beings that are the closest to the source of life. Mushi can infect people and cause numerous problems, like making anything you draw come to life or eat away your eyes. This is where Ginko comes in. Ginko is a Mushishi that knows how to get rid of the bad ones and use the good ones. He travels around Japan relieving others of their mushi-induced problems. Volume 1 contains five stories of Ginko’s cases: a boy who can make anything he draw come to life, a boy that grew horns and can hear the noises of the world, a man whose dreams can affect the future, a girl who can see the river of life at the cost of her eyes, and a girl in a swamp that always moves.

Art:

Yuki Urushibara’s art is probably best described as sketchy but incredibly beautiful. It’s not the most detailed art in the world, but instead perfectly conveys the natural scenery and sense of wonder that surrounds the mushi. The art invokes a sense of timelessness, where man and nature live as one and mysteries are everywhere. of course, that timelessness also comes from the reader having no idea what time period Mushishi is set in, with Ginko in modern clothes and everyone else in yukata and living in edo-period mansions. I quite like that, though. Recently I’ve been interested in the” aesthetics of medieval Japan, ” if that makes any sense, that Mushishi seems to embody. I blame touhou. Kudos to Del Rey for it’s excellent production values for the book. A real feast for the eyes I think.

Opinion:

Mushishi to me is a series of supernatural slice-of-life stories, where everyday events are depicted along side the existence of the mushi. Each individual story exists strongly on it’s own, with individual moments of happiness and despair. Each story is different enough from the next to not feel boring or cliche, and the idea of the mushi allows for an infinite amount of interesting tales. The mushi themselves are fascinating in the varied forms they take and their effects. Ginko himself is a suitably cool guy and plenty gar I think. Mushishi is hard to describe as it falls into no other categories. It’s merely a series of beautiful stories about nature and people. You’d would be doing yourself a disfavor not to read this excellent manga. Sadly, volume 2 won’t be out till May. How am I suppose to wait that long for more Mushishi goodness?