The essential episodes of Mushi-Shi
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Mushi-Shi — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Shinra, a boy living in a forest with mysterious powers, calls for Ginko, The Mushishi, to help him with his problems. While Ginko is staying with Shinra, he tells him all about Mushi and his powers. Later on, while walking in Shinra's house at night, Ginko finds a Mushi... But this isn't an ordinary Mushi, it's Shinra's grandmother!
- 02
Ginko hears a rumor around town that a man is has prophetic dreams every once in a while. He suspects that Mushi are living in his dreams. He gives the man medicine to keep them under control and says he will come back when he has used about all of them. When Ginko returns, the village is deserted and torn up. Ginko finds the man alone in is house. The man then tells him about what happened while he was away.
- 03
Adashino-sensei is looking to buy some of the items that Ginko has obtained on his journey. He especially wants the wine cup that was drawn by Shinra, But Ginko says it's too rare to be sold to collectors. He tells Adoshenei-sensei about the strange being he met while in the forest and he also explains how the swamp is moving towards the sea. This looks like the work of a Mushi...
- 04
Ginko is on another adventure as he is brought to a very peculiar island, by a young boy Nagi. Ginko is taken to see a girl, who the island inhabitants refer to as "Ikigami" and is said to be able to perform miracles however Ginko discovers that there is more to this.
- 05
On a rainy day Ginko takes a rest from his travels and comes across a man named Kourou who seems to be obsessed with a rainbow. To pass the time Kourou reminisces in his past, with the events which led to him pursuing rainbows whenever they appear. Ginko explains to him that the rainbow which he is searching for is actually a Mushi known as "Koda" but there seems to be more to it.
- 06
Ginko is waiting along the sea shore, for a transport to get him across the bay when he meets a man called Shirou, who lost his wife under strange circumstances. Ginko seems interested and decides to listen to his story about how he lost his wife in a swarm of sea snakes, during fog. Ginko later comes back with information on the Mushi that caused the bizarre events.
- 07
The White Which Lives Within the Ink Stone
Some kids enter Adashino-sensei's shed and find a lot of strange things, but there's one thing in particular that interests them. It's night and Adashino-sensei is called upon to look at one of the kids, a girl who has become bitterly cold, and the cause is a mysterious ink stone she touched. Luckily for Adashino-sensei, Ginko is passing through the village, and he shows him the ink stone, which he identifies it as a "Kumohami."
- 08
"Don't let yourself be blinded by fear and anger. Everything is only as it is..." A boy named Yoki, who's able to see Mushi, was found in the woods by some mysterious lady named Nui with only one eye. It turns out that Yoki was travelling with his mother when a mudslide crushed his mother and he was left all on his own. Yoki's leg later heals itself however he doesn't seem to have anywhere to go so he stays with the Nui and begins to learn some things about the Mushi known as "Tokoyami".
- 09
"There are countless fissures in the physical world. Those who vanish like smoke are lost in such hollows. Without their memories, without their souls..." Ginko receives a letter in a cocoon, but it isn't adressed to him. Rather, it's addressed to an old accquaintance, Aya Tozawa, so he decides to visit her. Ginko is concerned about Aya, as she is still searching for her sister, who has been trapped in an Uroana for 5 years.
- 10
Seijirou is fascinated by the stars and enjoys stargazing. One day he was by the riverbed with the village nanny Fuki when she notices a string coming down the sky and as she tries to pull all of a sudden she disappears, right before Seijirou's eye. Ginko is travelling through the mountains and is being followed by a peculiar girl. It turns out that it's Fuki, who has been exposed to a strong Mushi presence and can't be seen by anyone.
- 11
A lady named Aki discovered a green stain on her wedding gown, one year later she gave birth to a boy who, now grown up, has the same marks on his body. It turns out that the boy was originally born not as a human but as some shapeless green blob, which then turned into a human. Her husband asks for Ginko's help yet he is unable to save her son because it's the work of a "Watahaki".
- 12
"Give birth to me once more. I want to meet you once more. I want to see this beautiful ocean once more..." Ginko arrives on an island asking about the so called "Rebirths" but to no luck. At night he later meets a peculiar lady who happens to be able to see a strange light in the sea and she ends up inviting him to her home. She later explains to him what "Rebirths" are; when a person is about to die they can be taken deep inside the Ryuugu, where they are reborn.
- 13
At dusk, about to go home after playing with her friends, a young girl named Akane found a shadow without a caster. On that same day, she disappeared. Several years later, Ginko is told the story of Mikage, a girl who appeared with no memories at Akane's village shortly after the vanishing of the latter.
- 14
Yura and Sumi, the former's caretaker, were close friends. Eventually, as they were moved apart, Yura could still feel Sumi's presence. However, whenever that happened, she'd become like an empty shell, worrying her father. As Ginko comes to know of the case, he proceeds to offer them advice, as the condition is caused by a mushi that can connect people's minds.
- 15
A restless man, Kanta, on his way home to his wife and young daughter (Futaba), sits down to rest in a forest. He is tired and thirsty so he eats a red fruit that was lying on the ground near him, and gives thanks to the plum. Some time after this, he starts having vivid memories both in his dreams and while awake of times going back before his birth. He goes looking for a huge tree but finding it does not make him happy.
