It's a bit difficult to write about a series that has been hailed as one of the anime industry's greats. The first season was an atmospheric work of art, an enrapturing experience that sent chills down my spine with the end of every episode. But I'm not entirely sure that Mushishi's second season has necessarily lived up to those memories. It's still an excellent anime, and while it is better than almost anything that has come out in the past few years, there's this constant sense that something - just something - is missing.
Perhaps that 'something' is the fact that the series has gone ... on for a long time now and no longer feels as fresh as it did at the beginning. Maybe it's just that I've gotten older since I watched the first season and am no longer capable of feeling those same emotions again. Or maybe the staff just haven't been able to fully reproduce the magic of the first season. Even so, whatever the case may be, it turns out that Mushishi's second season, even if it is a slightly inferior Mushishi, is still one of the most pleasant experiences I've had watching an anime in quite a long time.
An interesting detail about Mushishi is how not all its stories end on a happy note. Many of them are bittersweet or flat-out depressing, which eliminates any of the predictability that often comes with storytelling. The episodes are not merely different in their content, but also deliver completely different emotions at the end of each episode, ensuring that the series never reaches the point of staleness. Mushishi always has something new to offer to its audience. And it never goes the route of preaching morals, as even its villains are deep and human enough to be empathised with. Nobody is inherently right or wrong in Mushishi; even Ginko cannot say for sure what the best path would have been.
Not surprisingly, Mushishi delivers on the atmosphere front. It is minimalistic in nature and focuses once again on quiet rural life -- the supernatural issues plaguing a modest farmer or small group of villagers -- rather than the usual city problems we have seen in so many anime before. And that's for the better, I think, as there haven't been many other anime out there that have captured rural life in the quiet, subdued way that Mushishi has. It makes you want to roam around the woods or raise a family where things are calm and peaceful, even if those thoughts are only for a fleeting moment.
There are only two minor issues I have with Mushishi's second season. First, the show focuses exclusively on mushishi incidents and the victims surrounding them and does surprisingly little with Ginko himself. The entire story is about Ginko's travels, yet at the endgame of the story, we know very little about him or his thought process. Secondly, the mushishi incidents feel far too numerous, perhaps owing to the episode count. It feels like Ginko just comes across some world-changing event every second day, which makes one wonder what he's doing in-between all the episodes. Showing those quiet moments, the moments when he's not dealing with mushishi, would be just as interesting as the supernatural.
Mushishi continues to have some of the best scenery in anime. It looks absolutely fantastic, with nearly every shot of a forest or a lake being embodied by a simple sort of beauty, similar to the wabi-sabi aesthetic in Japanese culture. The animation itself leaves some room for improvement, though, as characters will sometimes have missing faces, and the show seemingly prefers panning shots far more than movement.
It also has an incredible soundtrack, much like before. Mushishi is a master at timing its music. Often a quiet piece will start playing in the background without you even noticing, and gradually it will pick up and seamlessly lead right into the credits. Small little touches like this do a lot to enhance the emotional value of the show. And of course I would be silly to not mention the opening track, which is one of the most relaxing things I've perhaps ever heard. It is medicine for the soul.
Mushishi's second season may be a bit weaker than its first, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's disappointing. It still delivers the same mature themes and atmosphere that you'd come to expect from the series. It just doesn't carry those same awing moments of before, the ones that screamed "I'm watching a masterpiece". But I don't think that is necessarily a problem. If its greatest sin is being merely great rather than a masterpiece, then Mushishi's second offering is already leagues ahead of its competition.
Alternative Titles Synonyms: Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season Japanese: 蟲師 続章 Information Type: TV Episodes: 10 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Oct 19, 2014 to Dec 21, 2014 Premiered: Fall 2014 Broadcast: Sundays at 00:30 (JST) Licensors: Aniplex of America Studios: Artland Source: Manga Demographic: Seinen Duration: 23 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older Statistics Score: 8.731 (scored by 107,065 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #502 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #912 Members: 267,503 Favorites: 1,487 Available AtResources | ReviewsMay 9, 2015 It's a bit difficult to write about a series that has been hailed as one of the anime industry's greats. The first season was an atmospheric work of art, an enrapturing experience that sent chills down my spine with the end of every episode. But I'm not entirely sure that Mushishi's second season has necessarily lived up to those memories. It's still an excellent anime, and while it is better than almost anything that has come out in the past few years, there's this constant sense that something - just something - is missing. Perhaps that 'something' is the fact that the series has gone ... Dec 20, 2014 I have forgotten now how I came to watch Mushishi Zoku Shou. But whatever that reason is, I surely don't regret it. It may be appalling at first how it may seem slow-paced or even stagnant. Looking closely, we'll realize that it is this stillness and calm that give Mushishi its distinction, making it worthy to be called a masterpiece. After all the action and drama that anime can flaunt, Mushishi gives us a refreshing retreat, a break from the hustle and bustle of trite anime antics, and presents to us its own brand of action and drama enveloped in its unique and perhaps unpredictable storytelling. We follow ... Mar 15, 2016 As understood by most sensible viewers that dissect the content they watch, anime, throughout the years, has become an expressive form of art in its own way. It's a medium that utilizes and relies heavily on audiovisuals in accompaniment with a script to bring a story to life; a story that takes on new impressions and interpretations depending on the creative choices taken up by those involved. Sometimes this art is used as a vehicle to service self-indulgent shows, and other times, it's used for something that's worth its salt. Regardless of the quality of the title, or the effort on the part of the ... Aug 10, 2016 "Mushishi" - perhaps one of the greatest anime I've ever seen. "Masterpiece," as corny as it may sound, is the first word that comes to mind -- and not only regarding the second half of the second season, but regarding the entire franchise as a whole. There is, however, a catch: Mushishi is the kind of series that practically defines the phrase "not for everyone." First and foremost, there is nothing in here that you would usually expect to find in Japanese animation. In Mushishi, giant fighting robots, spaceship travels, and scantily clad schoolgirls are absent -- and if you expect or require your anime to ... May 8, 2021 It took me almost three months to complete the Mushishi series, the same time I needed to finish more than 900 episodes of one piece. Surprisingly I don't feel like I watched Mushishi, it's more like I ''experienced'' Mushishi. There's something so dark, something so melancholic about the whole thing yet it's astonishingly beautiful, soothing, and philosophical at the same time. It's like watching Tarkovsky films. Mushishi is about Mushi, the mysterious beings that exist somewhere between life and death. well, it's not true! Mushi(s) have never been the central character of any episode. The show is all about us, humans and how to understand humans ... Jun 17, 2023 It was only a matter of time before I began writing reviews on MAL, seeing as writing reviews, or just writing about things I care about in general, is something I enjoy nonetheless. Just like with the previous season, not much has changed between this and the first one, and that certainly isn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s exactly what I, and probably many others, kept watching for. If there’s any substantial deviation from the regular “Mushishi formula” that’s worth mentioning it’s the fact that Ginko kind of takes a seat back in many of the episodes. He enters each individual story much later ... Jun 8, 2016 Ginko smokes it out while thinking about what to do. Instead of making real choices he lets the creature in the forest come to him as he continues to smoke. He smokes some more as he seems confident that he can smoke through just about anything. As the never ending blunt between Ginko's mouth continues to burn, the story picks up through out the season. You will get the urge to smoke throughout this anime. I suggest smoking the entire you watch this good tale of how to smoke as you find whatever it is you are looking for. ... Dec 20, 2015 before you'll start reading this review i'll say that i've never written one before but i feel i need to write one because to many people overlook this hidden gem. story: 10 each episode contains its own story with its own new caracters (except our protagonist). that works very well for this anime because it allows it to tell stories with all kinds of diffrent settings. each episode is very well written and sometimes leaves you with a tear. art:9 i feel like this is a very importand part of mushishi. the mushishi are drawn very well and settings have alot of detail in them. ... Dec 27, 2016 This is an example of a truly remarkable and artistic masterpiece for the anime, and perhaps entertainment world in general. It is such an atmospheric experience, with many compelling characters and even more compelling and mind-blowing stories with each episode. It is episodic like the seasons before, but that kind of setup ultimately proves to be done masterfully and with great nuance. Ginko continues to be a fantastic and thoughtful protagonist who encounters these various Mushi-related incidences in some very resourceful and interesting ways. Some of the episodes in this series are absolutely breathtaking, containing a large amount of emotional baggage, as well as some ... Dec 4, 2021 “Kept as distant, inferior and abnormal beings. They were very different beings from the fauna and flora we were used to. They were, in fact, a group of grotesque beings more fearsome than you since the days of yore. Unnoticed common sense recognized him as 'mushi'”. This is an excerpt from the work that explains about the Mushis (which can be translated as 'insect'), supernatural beings that inhabit the natural plane, although they can only be seen by people with special abilities. Mushis are extremely basic life forms, and several species can be found representing the near-mythical forces of nature. Few people have the ability ... Jan 2, 2019 Mushishi is more... natural, than supernatural. Watching Mushishi makes you really see the world around you. It makes you wonder how phenomenon occur and why miraculous events occur. On the one hand you are seeing a world filled to the brim with the supernatural, and yet strangely real. You feel as if Mushi could exist, that another dimension could be present that science or religion cannot explain, a guiding hand that determines why some things happen and others don't. But what strikes me most about Mushishi (from the first season to the end of Zoku Shou) though, is the human side of it. When faced with ... Dec 8, 2018 Mushishi Zoku Shou season 2, or as it truly is, Mushishi season 3, steps in, giving us more of what has made so many love the Mushishi-universe. Story: We continue our travels with the Mushi-shi Ginko as he meets more people and solve more problems. The show gives us those bittersweet feelings that Mushishi always has, and makes us think about what, truly, is right or wrong. Art & Sound: Stellar soundtracks and nice art style has always permeated this series and I'm relieved that it never seems to stray away from that. Characters: We get more characters, more realistic backstories (at least as realistic as you could ... Mar 15, 2018 "They seem strange and alien, primitive and peculiar. They are unlike any flora or fauna known to us. From time immemorial, men have feared these shapeless entities which came to be known as “Mushi”." Speaking of slice-of-life anime, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Mushishi is one of the "conductor" in this "train". I myself was curious about it when I first got into anime 2 years ago, and it sure had my attention since then. However, took me long enough before I got the chance to finish it, and wow, what a ride it was. To begin with, Mushishi is, IMO, not an anime for ... Nov 21, 2019 I'm gonna do my best to find new words to say about Mushishi in this review that I haven't gone over in the past, but let's just get into it and see what happens. The things that are easy to love about Mushishi are still very present in this second half of Zoku Shou. Of course, the atmosphere is one of the many things Mushishi does better than a lot of anime out there. Its art looks like a fine oil painting and its music highlights the tone of the moment perfectly. It still definitely delivers in the story department as well. Particularly, for this season, ... |