The Haunting Calm of Mushishi 

I always thought of Mushishi as being like a horror series but the emotion it was trying to evoke was wonder instead of terror

Never heard anyone ever say....."I hate Mushi-Shi" Never

I am ecstatic anytime anyone talks about this series. Its quiet eeriness, slow-burninig interactions, meaningful and meditative tone of story-telling is so unique and unforgettable. It is, at once, creepy and beautiful in the way it treats both the mushi and the humans in its world. I can't say enough about this series and even with your meticulous and articulate exposition of your experience, there is still something so painfully enigmatic and luxurious about it that I cannot express through words alone after all these years. I hope your accurately and lovingly crafted video will introduce more people to this masterpiece.

You watched it just like me, and honestly, it should be recommended before every episode: "warning! Watch only one episode before going to bed, so that the story can stay on your mind while you're dreaming"

This may be an odd thing to say, but Mushi-Shi is an anime that has taught me life like nothing ever could..Because of Ginko's teachings, I found a peace that I did not believe could be possible..Just yesterday, my closest uncle had been taken by COVID..and we cried..I cried..but I found myself unable to become angry or feel anything but a acceptance and understanding because COVID is like Mushi..As it was said in the show, Mushi do not mean to cause the harm that they do, neither are they trying to stop what they do. They simply exist and strive to survive just as you and I..A virus or illness is similar in that manner..it evolves and adjusts to its surrounding just like us to continue existing. It does not mean to take the lives of our loved ones and it doesn't particularly avoid..It simply is..and as Ginko said, we are the ones with the ability to think freely, so we should be the smart ones and avoid it..This show has helped me to regain a love for life that I had thought I lost and has given me a sense of peace in a time of loss. Its taught me not to fear the emotions I have or to be afraid of the things that many have believed and convinced me was wrong with myself. It has taught me so much that I believe true peace is obtainable...and that's why I agree that this show is definitely worth watching..this show helps me to relax..to not worry and to always remember to look at life from more than one perspective. I think that I'll be okay in the future because of the lessons I learned..again, i apologize for the oddness of this comment, but it was something I had to share for some reason...

Jst a reminder, do not skip the opening...

I can, with confidence, say that Mushishi is my number one anime of all time. There isn't anything like it. Especially not the way it impacts me.

Whenever i think of Mushishi i feel an overwhelming sense of beauty, and i'm often brought to tears within moments. Thank you for doing it justice.

Mushishi is just fantastic. It's so etheral but it's not an etheral of the space, of the far beyond and never to be understood. It's an etheral of the earth, the ground and the life and world around us. The characters, their lives and the inexplicable connection we have with the world around us. The nature and creatures in a bond we cannot understand. Like you said, and you really did strike at the heart of the tale, it is about understanding, it takes a look at the horrifying unpredictability of the natural world, the unknown forces of nature acting upon us and makes us see that this most existencially horrifying thing can be a thing of beauty too. It really is a good time to watch this show right now. In fact I believe it is the right time for me to rewatch it too. Living in Japan now, well living anywhere now, is a good time to find calm and harmony in the grim reality of the inescapability of the natural world. (sorry for spelling, also I'll become a patron as soon as I'm graduating Uni next year!)

I remember stumbling across this on Netflix, the brief time it was there a few years ago. I was surprised at how calming it was, despite its often unsettling stories. It was a perfect anime for me. It was the first time I had really seen anything "quiet", and since then I have sought out similar content. It filled my soul in a unique way, that still affects me years later.

As others have already expressed: finally. Mushishi is truly a wonderful work of art. It is unlike any anime I have watched before, and it holds a special place in my heart. It takes the "monster of the week" formula that we are accustomed to seeing in battle shounen or crime series and utilizes it to explore the diverse world of mushi - not an enemy or an evil being to fight against, but a "species" of organism that is only trying to survive. There aren't any traditional fights in this show, and in fact episodes often end in the opposite happening: healing.

I only recently completed watching mushi-shi, which I did so slowly and on and off over 6 years

I tried watching this back in 2005 when I was about 10-11 and thought it was boring. As an adult I really liked this show Ironic you talk about it's calmness because I watch your videos when I have night terrors they calm me down

I love this series, that chapter of the husband who travels in time without knowing of it, it´s a masterpiece.

If Mushishi isnt goated in its own way I dont know what art is.

What I loved most about this anime was it's quietness and that, as you pointed out, no side is depicted as good or bad. Too many stories have this clear distinction between what is right and wrong, when in reality there's not always ill will behind everything, just creatures living their lives. It really made me appreciate nature, calmness and solitude... Thank you for the great video!

Quiet, contemplative, calm, and haunting, Beyond Ghibli is a RU-vid channel quite unlike any other.

This show like a calm river ...... flowing peacefully

Mushishi gave me my favourite Japanese word - Midori. Green. Evoked in the minds of Japanese by the hues of cedar groves, the dark tones of saemidori tea leaves ever present in the shadowy cool of Fujisan or blazing heat of the Uji foothills. Even now, far away from the essence of green Japan, and long past the wondrous days I spent nestled on the forest floor outside my high school with my laptop and a DVD of Mushishi, I fondly sense the mark it has left with me. Just prior to discovering Mushishi, I had become infatuated with Miyazaki's vision of a place where engineered fungi, lichen, plants and insects adapt to a world of poisons and war, inevitably using up the resources they adapted to depend on, and transforming the landscape back into something us humans consider clean and pure. The manga called Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. A tale of sentient and intelligent yeast, giant telepathic pill bugs, horses that are birds, and humans that are as humans always are; ignorant, naive, scared, determined, loving, innovative, adventurous. A tale of the love of humans and the power of nature. I was particularly taken by the bioweapon yeast spores dug up by greedy priests from an ancient laboratory far beyond their comprehension, and through their folly unwittingly unleashed upon the world. A yeast that can adapt, absorb and assimilate the adaptations of what it touches, sense its environment, react to stimuli, and learn. What an amazing thing, I wanted to create such a fungus for myself. I wanted to see the world of Nausicaä, see how anthropogenic climate change and the manipulation of the workings of life processes could shape organisms and ecosystems. Mushishi brings us into the past, and down to the root of life. To bring both of these planes into our field of vision, it sets them side-by-side, juxtaposing them on a canvas through a fictional world. It appeals greatly to Japanese sensibilities, and likewise general human ones. As a Biologist in practice and at heart, Mushishi is the world I most long to involve myself with, to be in, to explore. Mushishi is compelling in its characters, and story, animation, music, pacing, atmosphere, drama, and whole world. It is the anime which is most important to me.

Mushishi is my favorite anime, i always watch it when i’m sad or need something calm for rainy cozy days. A pure masterpiece

Shout out to my boy Ally Kerr, he is the artist of the english intro for season 1; without that particular intro i dont think the show would have struck such a deep cord in me, the intro perfectly set a mind frame for the whole show. Excellent stories and soundtrack, absolutely fantastic series.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. This anime is easily one of the best when it comes to expressing the mystery of nature and its beautiful silence. Living in rural Japan for quite some time now, it feels eerie and magical at the same time, seeing dense nature and old forests here, and because of watching Mushishi, I feel more aware and appreciative of nature.

I've re-watched this masterpiece dozens of times and have been listening to the OVA for over 10 years. It's unlike any other.

I used to watch this series one or two episodes a day, in the mornings. I’d wake up earlier than I needed to on school days and on weekends to lay in bed or sit in the chairs on the veranda with a cup of coffee and watch it all alone in peace before the rest of the household woke up. It was honestly amazing, and still sticks with me as somewhat of a comfort series.

I’ve watched dozens of anime. Watch and loved too many to name, including the most famous. Mushishi is my absolute favorite because of the Zen it delivers. You feel peaceful and calm when you watch it. It’s an anime for those you don’t watch anime. You will feel something when you watch it. Every episode is a solitary story yet it belongs to something much bigger

I wrote an essay about this series for my cultural anthropology class in college. I wish I still had access to it, or that I could at least remember the conclusions I made in that essay, but I’ve been in a coma since and have memory recall issues

It's also worth noting the wonderfully moving soundtrack which is available on various RU-vid channels.

This video felt as calm, soothing, and meditative as an episode of Mushishi. I loved every second of it. As always, thank you for an amazing video

Wonderful show. The episode of the two sisters and the silkworm cocoons still haunts me. Loss, acceptance but with everlasting sorrow. Beautiful yet devastating. And stay out of that Succubus brothel!

Mushishi has been my favourite animated series ever since I discovered it in 2014, and I am very glad to finally see someone properly describe its magnificence and encourage others to watch it

I found the effect of smoking weed was an unusually perfect match with the vibe of the show, Ginko even looks like he's always puffing away at a joint... one thing about Mushi's character that stood out for me was during the episode where, I believe, a woman and her village wanted to burn down a mountain to get rid of plants/weeds/mushi. Ginko tells her that they should use their minds, as mushi-masters, to observe and find a more elegant way to deal with the mushi. Given that their time was running out to act, even as a luxury and a gamble, the amount of faith Ginko had in their intelligence was memorable

I have currently finished episode 12 of mushi-shi. I absolutely love this anime ao far , it's extremely peaceful. 16th Dec 2023 I completed Mushi-shi, watched all seasons and movies. One of the best anime I have ever seen. Extremely relaxing . Ginko is a fantastic character. Love Mushishi :) 29th Dec 2023

Hard to binge, cause its so cozy itll slow your heart rate. my favorite episode is the rainbow river bridge from season 1.

I swear Mushishi perfectly captures spirituality in an audiovisual format. Makes for a meditative experience through its entire run.

Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. "Are my headphones too low?" *DING!*

This is by far and away my favorite anime ever. I could feign eloquence and try to sum up why I adore it so much, but you've managed to capture everything so perfectly, far better than I could. Well done.

Mushishi was a rare anime, with its sound tracked which actually calmed me.

Finally someone besides me knows this exists & appreciates the gentle harshness of this slice of life! Thank you!

The time-loop mushi has got to be my favorite anime episode of all time. It's eerie and unsettling, yet, at the same time, warm and full of love. That episode alone could become a masterpiece movie by itself.

I just found this gem and i can say i have never seen anything like it. The pacing, the melancoly is out of this world.

This is my favorite anime. There is just no other kind of feel to it, and the backgrounds are so beautifully done that I can't help but pause the episode just to soak in the details. Mushishi has such beautiful backgrounds that not even Ghibli films can compare to its environments, and more than anything I want to be able to create such detail in my own art. Thank you for covering this series, its criminally under talked about and definitely the kind of show we need these days. ^^

I love Mushishi! I wish more people knew about this gem.

The feeling i'd get from watching Mushishi (or each time I rewatch) is just like the feeling I'd get as a kid when I spent a little too much time at the park playing basketball and the walk home. When I was the last person at the park and the sun had just set but there was an aura of blue light cast over everything. It was as beautiful as it was surreal to walk across the field of grass with the wind blowing through the trees and shrubs being the only noise I'd hear. It was beautiful but it also scared and chilled me to my bones like I was in a world that was very lonely and different from my own. Absolutely terrifying but also incredibly beautiful

This series was so calm and easy on the nerves that i have forgotten about it for 5 years and only remembered I watched it when I read the title of the video...

As I remember, once I read that Mushishi is an anime for evenings after hard days work with a cold beer in hand.

I watched this anime years ago while I was stuck inside my mind and depressed. This anime came to me at a perfect time and really spoke to me. I'll always keep it in my mind.

This show is poetry in motion

The series inhabits that elusive space between sadness, dread, and beauty. I’m tearing up all over again.

This has to be the Calmest Anime i have ever seen, nothing matches the calmness that comes when watching this masterpiece, sad it ended early, glad they didnt draged it forever.

"I found an episode before bed worked wonders"... honestly captures how I feel. I always have to be in a good state of mind before viewing one of your videos they invite me to stay, wait and listen. Something ganna happen soon and it doesn't disappoint. -The animations just beautiful.

This series has literally been my favorite anime for years on end; its like staying home by yourself on a rainy day and drinking a hot cup of coffee while staring outside from the warmth and coziness of your home as the water falls from the sky accompanied by its beautiful sound, and the smell of earthiness somewhat intoxicates you. Great review and thanks for promoting this amazing series !! Keep it up.

Watching Mushishi is the closest I have ever gotten to successfully meditating. It is my chill pill zen place.

"A man can only do so much against the tide" I'm a medical student, and with the weight of helping those who are cursed with the 'mushishi' of real life, such a heavy burden to carry and any medical worker would carry it involuntarily, seeing and observing those with temporary or eternal suffering and actually studying how to treat them and how to at least relieve some of their hardships, all of this may leave you with nothing but an intense desire to provide something for those in need of our help, such feeling with the knowledge of our limitations to provide such help can always be a burden in our hearts grieving our thoughts and purpose, making you feel bad even if you've done your best. Seeing the world through the lense of Ginko, who observes in silence, nothing can be done to stop suffering, nothing can stop mother nature, we can but do our best to help who we are in the range of our arms, accepting death and grief, disabilities and disasters, all of those are but part of us, we long to them as they they long to us. This is how it helped me, how mushishi changed my view of suffer.

be serious, this anime change my way of thinking about life. it took me more in direction of shintobhuddism and animism and im very, very happy for this change. this anime should be used as education. i never see a other show so deeply like mushishi. either the music. im glad i can this listen till my end comes.

One of the finest spiritual shows I’ve seen.

I rewatch Mushishi often, and i watch this occasionally alongside. It's like a foreward in the novel that is Mushishi. An overview of the gentle emotional release that the story gives and also takes. You just don't get this anywhere else, nothing hits this hard and yet so gently. Even typing that I feel tears well up. What even is this?

I am working through it night by night - which is completely the best way to take part in it. It is also a significant microbiology science-fiction/fantasy manga and anime - quite unique in that way. The series and OVA are wonderful, and beautiful - cannot thank you enough for this introduction to it.

The way you enunciate words and take us through the world of mushi gives me warmth. This review is very calming. Please keep it up.

This series has always captured the most delicate and most intricate of human experiences. One part folklore another part soul searching, it is probably the most insightful series in anime history. The series is not meant for everyone's taste. Some people may even fall asleep to the series which I've been guilty of on time to time. But after watching it from the beginning it feels me with a tranquility that is very rare and becoming more more rare these days. The series also does the most rarest of abilities which is it teaches a humble lesson in the appreciation of life even at the most basic level.

The first série is one of my fondest Anime memories I have from my late teenage year! The world building is mesmerizing

I recently came across this series whilst looking for a proverbial palate cleanser between other, more intense anime haha, and it's been so refreshing. I smiled ear to ear throughout your whole video because I felt exactly the same about this anime, and strangely enough I also felt it wasn't right to binge it, but rather take time to process each episode. It's really beautiful and understated

Thank god im not the only one who cherishes this work of art.

Goodness god. Thank you so much for making this. It’s beautiful. I love how you called ginko a “professional bystander”

I remember watching Mushishi for the first time and I was instantly struck in a profound way by the calm beauty of it and the distinct aesthetic and music. It's so incredibly special and unique. Thank you for making this video.

Everything I think about Mushi-shii it nearly brings me to tears, watching this wonderful video gave me that same feeling. I used to let Mushi-shi lull me to sleep at night when I have trouble sleeping; so your comment "Mushi-shi is more than content to say goodnight" really hit me hard. Thank you.

Mushishi weaves sorrow and beauty in equal measures into its stories, capturing that same bitter sweetness familiar to our own lives. That’s why it’s so resonant, I think.

This anime is one of the best. It's eerie but comforting at the same time. It gives me chills but it feels like home. I'm afraid of the unknown but also curious about it. I love this show

Exactly. I think an episode or two before bed is the perfect way to watch

Mushishi first came to me as a depressed and abused teenager. I remember being able to sleep better during that time watching Mushishi. Back then, I didn't quite understand why I was so enchanted by it. It gave me calm in the chaotic world I was in, it gave me understanding when nothing made sense. I hold this series so close to my heart and thank it for being there when I needed it. I rewatch it every now and then, and everytime it brings me back to a place that feels more centered. Thank you for the video.

I don't know how many times I must've seen this video. It has to be one of the absolute best reviews for anything that I have ever seen. Just wonderful. And of couse I watched Mushishi because of it, just a wonderful experience.

I remember watching Mushishi last summer. Sometimes my dad watched multiple episodes with me, something he almost never does, and really enjoyed it. The beauty of the animation always inspired me to draw and paint, but sadly my brush could just never quite capture the certain magical feeling this series carried :)

i always watched one episode before going to bed. The vibe of mushishi realy sucked me in and slowed down my restless thoughts. it kinda prepared me for the night.

Watched mushishi before finally deciding to enter medical school. I would say it has influenced me so much. Now that I have become an MD, I would so much like to watch it again. Thanks for this video!

Favorite sound track of all time.

I never clicked on a video so fast. Totally fits your style.

You're absolutely right about this not being a show you can binge..just today I finished season 2 after I began watching mushishi in 2021..it's been my absolute favorite anime ever since and I still have 2 specials to watch so I'm happy my journey's not over yet

I've rarely seen someone put my thoughts on a show so precisely and eloquently! Mushishi is my favourite anime, and I think you've really done it justice with this video, thank you for that

What a wonderful video. I always equated the plight felt by those effected by mushi to that of a natural disaster. The sadness is different with these happenings. Like the 2011 tsunamis.. horrible and astonishing, yet we can be mad at nothing. Just reel in awe. Of course not every episode involves such a grand scale as disaster, but the point remains. This anime is perfect on so many levels, but its existential value is paramount.

This anime helped inspire me to writing haikus and appreciate the harmony of everything natural in existence...thats how good it is...a real masterpiece.

mushishi is truly a work of art, each and every episode left me in a breathless trance, truly something worth to watch it's been years since i've watched it, i will probably do it again now

After watching both seasons numerous times, Mushi-shi became one of those shows where one episode is worth sleeping to every night, like timeless bedtime stories.

I watched this video and didn't even feel like 11 minutes passed. I love Mushishi and I love the way you worded it, even if I don't agree with a few expressions. I'm so glad I found your video. It was almost as soothing as Mushishi itself. Thank you.

I've been wanting to see how you would summarize this series forever - and you have not disappointed! Beautifully elegantly clarified for anyone who hasn't seen it, but was lost in me trying to explain why the series is so special. Thank you!

For the pats four years I have watched an episode of mushi shi before dozing off. I've never broken routine and I remember every single line. The content nature just lifts my stress and worries and I sleep like a baby. Best episode in my opinion is tender horns. You can see it with your eyes closed.

I found this show by chance through an off-handed recommendation some years back and it stays with me still. It's one of the most sophisticated pieces of animation I've seen in recent memory. As someone who grew up in the West, but steeped firmly in traditions and folk traditions of my parents from the East, this series struck a familiar nerve in me: our folklore. Many of the types of stories in Mushi-Shi mirrored much of those I was told by my mother when I was young. They were self-contained parables where the message was never a stark contrast of rights and wrongs, but of life and understanding (if they weren't comical and fantastic explanations of mundanities).

Oh, the long journey for calm that this show brings. A little eerie sometimes, scary a little bit too in some times too, mystery surrounding us, and then, the understanding of healing and coexistence. Mushishi is trully like no other anime.

Its a piece of art which you will come to love and understand when you are mature enough.If you have watched this anime as a teenager and dropped it, then you should definitely give it a try again when you are adult.I am glad that I found such a unique anime from a top profile on MAL.I hope this anime will be cherished by future gens.

My favourite show. Infinitely rewatchable.

I dont remember how I stumbled upon this show so long ago but it instantly became one of my favorite animes ever more than a decade ago. It's so unique and easy to enjoy.

This is my favorite anime of all time. Not for its story, nor it's imagery, but for the way it shifts away all the hard edges of my perspective every time I get the chance to let it play out in front of me.

"An episode or 2 before bed" Exactly what would do with Mushi-Shi. Beautifully conveyed on what to expect from this relaxingly ominous anime.

This show helped me leave an abusive relationship, as well as begin to heal from it. It is precious to me

One of the most unique and beautiful anime ever made, and it's definitely one of my favorite anime

When I first stumbled upon this series, it was unlike anything I've seen before, and after that first encounter I rewatched it multiple times. It still remains a one-of-a-kind experience.

That ending sentence was perfect.

I'm a recent Anime fan. Just started watching about 3 years ago. I came across show last year after watching Natsume Yuujinchou. This show is underrated and Very Relaxing. I'm looking forward to re watching it very soon.

Finally I ve waited so long for this.

Mushishi got me through some tough times. It calmed me enough to allow for sleep.

Whenever someone asks me if I like anime, this is the one that comes to mind. It changes your perspective in such an incredible way... and yet not many know about it. A real hidden gem.

This was an absolute love song to one of my very favorite shows. Thank you.