With High Ratings on both sites like MAL and IMDB, you would expect at least something to get from this show but alas, there is nothing.
Watching Mushishi is like staring into the abyss. If you wanna be episodic, at least make every episode somewhat interesting or intriguing in some way. Mushishi doesn't want to do that. At least more than half of its episodes feel the exact same. The stories are too similar and formulaic, so you'll feel at times like you've already watched some of these episodes, despite it being your first time viewing them.
And it's so repetitive that it induces you of extreme boredom, not because there isn't enough action or fanservice or whatever. It's because every episode with few exceptions is the exact same.
This could be excusable had we been given interesting characters or themes. But alas Mushishi doesn't even want to do that. The most interesting episode is Episode 21 because it actually presents us with a Moral Dilemma, but it happens to be the only episode where this is done. Most of these episodes deal with conflicts that are one dimensional and uninteresting.
The side-characters are given these problems that then Ginko has to come and solve, but the biggest problem is that these side-characters are irrelevant by the next episode and so there is no meaningful progression and it feels like a waste of time. And this wouldn't even be a Problem if they impacted the Main Character: Ginko in some way, but they don't.
If only the main character learned something from these experiences, I would find it interesting, but alas, he learns absolutely nothing. He is completely static and doesn't develop. Not only that, he doesn't even have an interesting motivation for his actions or for being a Mushi-Master. He just does it because of plot-convenience. (Lol, he attracts Mushi, so he can't stay in one place for long) - that's it.
That's the only reason we are ever given. We don't even get any meaningful introspection on how this kind of life makes him feel, he has no thoughts on it. It's left completely irrelevant. Even the backstory of Ginko only explains his character design and explains his attraction to Mushi. But that's it. He doesn't even care to learn about his Past or find out who he was before or question if it even matters. It's a complete after-thought. None of these Ideas are ever explored.
So Mushishi suffers from a boring protagonist who can't keep this show interesting, a concept that is rarely explored beyond surface level. Multiple side characters that feel the exact same and have the same range of boring personalities. Episodes that are formulaic and rarely written with any creativity.
It makes one wonder.
Why should I give a damn about this show? It has decent artstyle and backgrounds, but that's it. That's so superficial and stupid. And it's not even like groundbreaking in Animation, the majority of it is just Average at Best. It's not reason enough to like something.
It doesn't present you with any interesting themes to think about, nor does it give you a good cast of characters and neither does it give you a meaningful story. What is there to like?
So I end this Review with this Question. To all of you who like Mushishi, do you feel intelligent? You like a show that is about as shallow as any other fan-pandering action TV show but without the action or fanservice? Does that make you feel intelligent? The simple answer is that: It shouldn't.
Watching Mushishi is like staring into the abyss. If you wanna be episodic, at least make every episode somewhat interesting or intriguing in some way. Mushishi doesn't want to do that. At least more than half of its episodes feel the exact same. The stories are too similar and formulaic, so you'll feel at times like you've already watched some of these episodes, despite it being your first time viewing them.
And it's so repetitive that it induces you of extreme boredom, not because there isn't enough action or fanservice or whatever. It's because every episode with few exceptions is the exact same.
This could be excusable had we been given interesting characters or themes. But alas Mushishi doesn't even want to do that. The most interesting episode is Episode 21 because it actually presents us with a Moral Dilemma, but it happens to be the only episode where this is done. Most of these episodes deal with conflicts that are one dimensional and uninteresting.
The side-characters are given these problems that then Ginko has to come and solve, but the biggest problem is that these side-characters are irrelevant by the next episode and so there is no meaningful progression and it feels like a waste of time. And this wouldn't even be a Problem if they impacted the Main Character: Ginko in some way, but they don't.
If only the main character learned something from these experiences, I would find it interesting, but alas, he learns absolutely nothing. He is completely static and doesn't develop. Not only that, he doesn't even have an interesting motivation for his actions or for being a Mushi-Master. He just does it because of plot-convenience. (Lol, he attracts Mushi, so he can't stay in one place for long) - that's it.
That's the only reason we are ever given. We don't even get any meaningful introspection on how this kind of life makes him feel, he has no thoughts on it. It's left completely irrelevant. Even the backstory of Ginko only explains his character design and explains his attraction to Mushi. But that's it. He doesn't even care to learn about his Past or find out who he was before or question if it even matters. It's a complete after-thought. None of these Ideas are ever explored.
So Mushishi suffers from a boring protagonist who can't keep this show interesting, a concept that is rarely explored beyond surface level. Multiple side characters that feel the exact same and have the same range of boring personalities. Episodes that are formulaic and rarely written with any creativity.
It makes one wonder.
Why should I give a damn about this show? It has decent artstyle and backgrounds, but that's it. That's so superficial and stupid. And it's not even like groundbreaking in Animation, the majority of it is just Average at Best. It's not reason enough to like something.
It doesn't present you with any interesting themes to think about, nor does it give you a good cast of characters and neither does it give you a meaningful story. What is there to like?
So I end this Review with this Question. To all of you who like Mushishi, do you feel intelligent? You like a show that is about as shallow as any other fan-pandering action TV show but without the action or fanservice? Does that make you feel intelligent? The simple answer is that: It shouldn't.