Mushishi

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Mushishi
蟲師
(Mushi Master)
Genre Seinen, Historical fantasy
Manga
Authored by Yuki Urushibara
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha

Flag of Canada Flag of United States Del Rey
Serialized in Flag of Japan Afternoon
Original run November 22, 2000 – (Ongoing)
No. of volumes 8
TV anime
Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama
Studio Artland
Network Flag of Japan Animax, Fuji TV
Original run October 22, 2005 – June 18, 2006
No. of episodes 26
Mushishi (Live Action Film)

Mushishi or Mushi-shi (蟲師?) is a historical fantasy manga and anime series. The original manga is drawn by Yuki Yoshiyama (吉山友紀 Yoshiyama Yuki?) under the pen name Yuki Urushibara (漆原友紀 Urushibara Yuki?). It is ongoing; as of February 2007, 42 chapters have appeared in Afternoon magazine, and eight tankōbon consisting of the first 40 chapters have been released in Japan. The anime series, directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, had 26 episodes and completed its run on June 18, 2006. The series implemented several unusual techniques, including disjointed storyline and no official ending theme or animation. At the 2006 San Diego Comic Con, representatives from Del Rey Manga announced that they had licensed the manga series for release in the English language. The anime series has purportedly been licensed by Funimation after a "cease and desist" letter was sent to several fansub hosting sites on October 10.

At the 5th Tokyo Anime Award competition at the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2006, Mushishi won grand prizes in the categories of Television Series and Best Art Direction (Takeshi Waki). [1]

A live-action movie based on Mushishi was produced in 2006, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, famous for creating the print and film versions of Akira. Its world premiere was held at the 2006 Venice Film Festival[2] and it opened as a roadshow theatrical release in Japanese theaters on March 24, 2007.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The story features ubiquitous creatures called Mushi that often display supernatural powers. Mushi are described as beings in touch with the essence of life, far more basic and pure than the grotesque creatures we are accustomed to. Due to their ephemeral nature most humans are incapable of perceiving Mushi and are oblivious to their existence, but there are a few who possess the ability to see and interact with Mushi. The Mushi depicted in the anime look similar to floaters, which the author most likely got the main idea for "Mushi."[citation needed] "Mushi" in the Japanese language actually mean "insect."

One such person is Ginko (ギンコ?), the main character of the series. He employs himself as a Mushi master (蟲師 mushi-shi?), travelling from place to place to research Mushi and aid people suffering from problems caused by them. The series is an episodic anthology in which the only common elements among episodes are Ginko and the various types of Mushi. There is no over-arching plotline.

[edit] Characters

Ginko, as portrayed in the anime series...
Ginko, as portrayed in the anime series...
...and portrayed by Joe Odagiri in the movie
...and portrayed by Joe Odagiri in the movie

Due to the episodic nature of the series, there are very few recurring characters, and the number of seiyū is fairly lengthy. Ginko is voiced by Yuto Nakano.

Ginko's unusual white hair and green eye color is the result of an incident involving a mushi that occurred when he was a child. No explanation is given as to why his rather modern clothes do not seem to match the time period reflected by all other characters. Ginko is a rare person that attracts mushi, and thus the reason he wanders constantly. Staying in one place too long will gather a potentially dangerous amount of mushi. He also smokes constantly in order to keep mushi away. In terms of personality, Ginko is rather laid back, but can be very serious when it comes to protecting people from mushi. He also often stresses that the mushi are not evil, but merely trying to survive like everyone else.

The only two other characters who have repeat appearances are Adashino, who appears in episodes 5, 10, and briefly in 18, and Nui, who appears only in episode 12, but whose voice can be heard narrating some of the opening and closing lines characteristic of each episode. Veteran seiyū Yuuji Ueda and Mika Doi voice those characters, respectively.

The live-action movie cast consists of Joe Odagiri, as Ginko, Esumi Makiko as Nui and Aoi Yuu as Tanyuu who appears in episode 20, among others.

[edit] Relationship between, the manga, anime and movie

The anime series is a straightforward adaptation of the manga. Each episode tells a self-contained story and is not dependent on prior episodes for background. This made it possible for the producers of the anime to change the relative order of the stories. However, aside from a slight abridgment of the dialogue, this is the only major difference between the manga and the anime.

A table detailing the relationship between the anime episodes and the manga volumes:

Main article: List of Mushishi episodes
Anime Title Manga
1 The Green Seat (緑の座) Vol 1 Chap 01
2 The Light of Eyelids (瞼の光) Vol 1 Chap 04
3 Tender Horns (柔らかい角) Vol 1 Chap 02
4 The Pillow Lane (枕小路) Vol 1 Chap 03
5 The Traveling Swamp (旅をする沼) Vol 1 Chap 05
6 The Herd That Drinks Dewdrops (露を吸う群) Vol 2 Chap 08
7 The Rain Falls, A Rainbow Forms (雨が来る虹がたつ) Vol 2 Chap 09
8 From the Sea Border (海境より) Vol 3 Chap 12
9 The Heavy Seed (重い実) Vol 3 Chap 13
10 The Whiteness that Dwells in the Inkstone (硯に棲む白) Vol 3 Chap 14
11 To Sleep in the Mountains (やまねむる) Vol 2 Chap 06
12 One-Eyed Fish (眇の魚) Vol 3 Chap 15
13 The One-Night Bridge (一夜橋) Vol 4 Chap 17
14 Inside the Cage (籠のなか) Vol 4 Chap 19
15 Pretense of Spring (春と嘯く) Vol 4 Chap 18
16 The Snake of Dawn (暁の蛇) Vol 5 Chap 25
17 The Hollow Cocoon Picker(s) (虚繭取) Vol 3 Chap 11
18 Clothes that Embrace the Mountain (山抱く衣) Vol 5 Chap 23
19 The Thread from Heaven (天辺の糸) Vol 6 Chap 26
20 The Sea of Brushes (筆の海) Vol 2 Chap 07
21 Cotton Spore (綿胞子) Vol 2 Chap 10
22 Underwater Shrine (沖つ宮) Vol 5 Chap 21
23 Twitter of Rusts (錆の鳴く聲) Vol 4 Chap 16
24 Bound for Bonefire Field (篝野行) Vol 5 Chap 24
25 Fortune Eye and Misfortune Eye (眼福眼禍) Vol 5 Chap 22
26 Sounds of Stepping on Grass (草を踏む音) Vol 4 Chap 20

Thus, the anime covered each chapter from the first five volumes of the manga and the first story from volume six. This represents the first 26 chapters of the manga.

The live-action movie consists of episodes 3, 7, 12 and 20 of the anime. [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ 東京国際アニメフェア2006 (Japanese). http://www.taf.metro.tokyo.jp. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
  2. ^ Mushishi (English). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/u/s/Mushishi.html"