Series · 2005
Mushishi
蟲師
Ginko travels between communities affected by mushi, forms of life that are neither plants nor animals. His work is to understand what happens when their existence crosses human lives. One visit brings him to an isolated boy whose drawings become real, turning a local mystery into an encounter with unfamiliar life.
Another early encounter begins with the light visible behind closed eyelids, then imagines a second eyelid beyond it. Mushi living there can take that light away. The mystery starts with something as familiar as shutting one's eyes, so a change in perception becomes evidence of life that people would ordinarily have no reason to notice.
The journey changes with the landscape. In a snowbound mountain village, people begin losing their hearing, and the apparently peaceful silence is connected to mushi that consume sound. A boy called Maho develops horns as his ears become affected. The episode makes a quiet winter setting unsettling without needing a visible attacker: Ginko has to investigate what people can no longer hear, as well as what he can see.
Original series · Approx. 10 hours · 26 episodes
Original 2005–2006 animated series, episodes 1–26, including the six episodes beyond the initial terrestrial run. Excludes Next Passage, specials, compilations and the live-action film. Viewing time is approximate.