Mushishi
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| Beautiful episode with a somber ending. It's a shame that it ended the way it did, for most of the episode I was certain it was going to end with the three of them all going back to the fishing village triumphantly. Then... that did not happen. It was beautiful regardless, just so well done. A perfect 5/5 episode yet again. |
| This episode showed that curing wouldn't necessarely be the best way to go. Nice to see some variety in the ending's and also like the fact this and ep 5 started with a bit of focus on the main character. Also like how this differ's from other ''know it all'' character's and show even one which people rely on to cure them can make mistakes (reffering to ep 4) And also needs to discover/learn new thing's and as well show his actual interest while in dialogue with a friend (ep 5) -People don't like change -One can not decide which way to live would be most benefitial for another as perception's differ. Though it seemed to me that some ''recap'' could have witholded the city from returning to their former state. On the other hand longetivity gives more dread for the future. Or the feeling of being ''reborn'' could just be addictive.. I don't get how this is abusing the Mushi though. Since most Mushi would want to leach of someone's body. And it's whole existence is ''inviting'' or rather ''tricking'' people into letting them in. |
live2win said: The way it was crafted, the escapism theme it represents, the melancholic music, the poem of the cycle of sun and flowers found in the beginning and at the end of the episode. So poignant and tragically beautiful. Agreed, this was great directing. The poem used in the beginning and end of the episode also signified how the people who are infected with the mushi lives, how everyday resets for them. Respectican said: Weeeeell, I guess it's normal for people to associate that girl's behaviour to a drug addict, but for a very different reason I actually thought it was very interesting how that girl felt when the mushi took over. We often don't realize it, but every species (not talking about mushi here) has a different lifespan. We live many many years, some animals live over hunderd years, some trees even live over 300 years and then you have species like bugs that only live 1 day. Different lifespans, probably also mean different lifestyles and approach towards life. This episode looked upon this fact ^.^ Maybe I think too deeply.. but that's why I also love this anime so much. Too bad she got controlled again, but at least she's happy now. No I completely agree with this :) That's how I approached it too, how it's a different perspective on life. It would be bliss to reset everyday, knowing that you don't have to worry about tomorrow, and I can see why the girl wanted to go back to that. This was yet another beautiful episode with a beautiful theme. |
| Is it just me? I associated this episode in "drug issues" in our world. This really explained how people get addicted to weeds. O_O |
mythical020 said: Is it just me? I associated this episode in "drug issues" in our world. This really explained how people get addicted to weeds. O_O I think I can vaguely remember feeling the same way. This anime is like that, you can take most episodes as analogy for real world situations. |
| "...our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; our weary eyes looking still, looking always, looking anxiously for something out of life, that while it is expected is already gone – has passed unseen, in a sigh, in a flash – together with the youth, with the strength, with the romance of illusions.” - Joseph Conrad ('Youth') |
| This was a nice episode. It was a little sad but not entirely sad as that girl didn't want to be cured as she was happier living in her mushi condition. To her, ignorance is bliss. I agree with drug analogy that everyone here has mentioned. |
| Armageddon was yesterday, today we have a problem. |
| Basically 'ignorance is bliss' indeed. Though I'm somewhat not liking what the girl chooses at the end. She basically chose the easy way and not face the hardship of the life, the definition of drug addicts. What does matter if she smile more but it's actually she's not having a single care about anything in world? That is just an empty smile. |
| That episode made me much sadder than it should have... Episode by episode, I'm loving this anime more and more. |
| ~SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY |
| Beautious. Deep. Love the show. |
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| this episode was depressing by talking about uncertainty and especially their location, how you can't enter or leave the place but on a certain day when the tide is right. i would hate to live in that place, i feel no sympathy for Akoya, it was disgusting to see her sitting before the food offered to her, how she ate in front of all those people who probably didn't have much to eat, how that mother wouldn't let her child eat because it was being offered to the "living god". and the father, there are people like him in the real world, using religion to get wealth, like people on TV telling you to call in with donations. and the flower, I would associate that with drug use, seems to me Akoya was depressed, being frightened and uncertain of the future, so she went back to the flower, and let the mushi do it's thing. sounds like a cop out to me, and the ending, Ginko telling the boy to open up the entry, yeah, that's hopeful, I get depressed just thinking about their location, swear, I'd leave that place. I don't understand what Ginko meant when he said you can count on the endless time ahead, yeah well no one's time is endlesss |
chinupchick said: I don't understand what Ginko meant when he said you can count on the endless time ahead, yeah well no one's time is endlesss I agree, our lives are in fact limited. The mushi however lacks the experience of a long stretch of time for they are reborn anew each day. From its point of view, the human's (i.e. the hosts) life must in fact appear eternal. The "living gods" are limited to that short lifespan, the present, the now wheras ordinary human beings may not be immortal, however they have the power to shape their own lives since they remember their own past and consequently possess the ability to shape their lives and plan their future (the comparatively "endless" time ahead). Nagi has a chance of self-improvement (becoming a fisher) and a different self-consciousness in contrast to the living gods who cling to their drug, the mushi, and end thus up being locked in perpetual stagnation, the present. I think Ginko's words are to be understood in a more metaphoric way^^ |
ZinnoberflammeJun 15, 2014 7:07 AM
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| Such a beautiful analogy to drug addiction. Absolutely brilliant. |
| Men always seem to think about their past before they die, as though he were frantically searching for proof that he truly lived. |
| It was a good episode. It's amazing how Ginko knows every Mushi there is. |
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| It's beautiful how the episodes don't really have a concrete ending |
| sad story this time happy the father died it's almost like a drug to them still a great episode |
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| And then she decided to live as a vegetable. Good for her. It's not about drugs, but about living as a flower. You appreciate life more when you die and reborn every day. Didn't care much about this chapter in manga and didn't like the episode. |
| Meh. I don't know what's that last Ginko's sentence supposed to mean. |
| I watch this show with my grandmother, and it often sparks some very interesting discussions. <3 |
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| Kinda cruel and ugly how the headman died... but you can argue that he deserved it by scamming all the villagers. The concept of time and happiness in this episode is a weird one to think about. (The animation for time passing was superb, btw.) Ayoka felt so fulfilled living a new life everyday without accomplishing anything, while regular humans work and struggle to survive but find happiness in their families and the things they accomplish. It seems understandable that after being cured from this mushi, one would experience some depression. (Also, Ayoka's father died, and she blames herself for his death. Holy shit, I'd want to get doped up too.) Ginko stays on this island for about two months... The longest I think he has stayed in one place. He spent his time curing all the villagers, but according to Nagi they all eventually became living gods again... It seems like nothing changed (except the loss of a sham-religion), but then "an endless amount of time" ... In Nagi's lifetime, the island might become a different place where people can live a little more happily. |
DalPuriAug 19, 2014 11:08 PM
| Damn, one, weird episode. I lol'd at the plant's explanation at the end ~ Let's try LSD. |
| Nice episode... koroX said: Wow, I didn't expect them to kill him. Same here... |
| First episode I'm rating 5/5. That bit of romance there put it over the top. |
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| This episode was different... different event progression, and somehow slower as well. It didn't speak to me the way the previous have, and I didn't like it quite as much as a result. Still good, still beautiful, just a little less so than the previous episodes. The ending in particular was very powerful, though. I love how each episode tends to end with some type of philosophical statement that really tugs at the viewer and makes them think. I also love the beautiful music that closes the episodes. |
 ☩ Discord: the.path.to.pathos ☩ RateYourMusic ☩ last.fm |
| Family politics do tend to confound things. |
| "Let Justice Be Done!" My Theme Fight again, fight again for justice! |
| I have seen the entire series years ago, but for some reason never found this particular episode memorable. Now that I have revisited it, I'm pretty amazed by its content. I've noticed that a lot of people are saying what I thought to myself after watching it -- the flower symbolizes drug use. However, I think it's actually more general than that... I think it's an analogy for an escape from reality -- but in the girl's situation, it would specifically be an escape from her anxiety. Just before the 15 minute mark, she starts to explain her feelings of anxiety: Akoya: I feel anxious, uneasy... When I was the "living god," after the sun would set and I'd begin to age, I could always close my eyes with a feeling of great satisfaction. It was comforting somehow... But now I'm frightened... When I wake up, all that awaits me is the continuation of the previous day. I feel overpowered by the uncertainty of everything that lies in front of me... The thing about anxiety is that, in a more severe form, it actually causes the very symptoms (known as, "Catatonic Anxiety") that she suffered from when intoxicated by the flower... So the flower has a dual nature to it; it represents both the illness and the cure (which is actually indicative of this series: 'Within the curse lies the cure' -- this can be found written beneath the anime title). At the end of the episode, Ginko explains the antithesis to the girl's issue: Ginko: You should just live a normal life. Things will be a little better once you're able to fish... You should get everyone to help you open up the cave to allow more boats to go out to sea. It's not going to be easy... But there's one thing you can count on to be on your side: the endless amount of time that waits in front of you. That very last line... "The endless amount of time that waits in front of you." isn't literal (unless it also alludes to an after-life), but it's useful. Anxious people typically over-think what's about to happen next... Ginko essentially took the same thought she had about time, except with the opposite perspective. She feared the prolonging of her days, but Ginko, on the other hand, finds assurance in the idea that there is always room for new beginnings. There are other elements to this episode too, of course, but this main string of events really impressed me. |
AnimeculeDec 4, 2014 6:35 AM
| "A physicist is the atoms' way of thinking about atoms." |
| Even on my rewatch this episode was good enough. More development on Ginko never hurts as well. |
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| An edgy episode, the father got what he deserved |
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Respectican said: Weeeeell, I guess it's normal for people to associate that girl's behaviour to a drug addict, but for a very different reason I actually thought it was very interesting how that girl felt when the mushi took over. We often don't realize it, but every species (not talking about mushi here) has a different lifespan. We live many many years, some animals live over hunderd years, some trees even live over 300 years and then you have species like bugs that only live 1 day. Different lifespans, probably also mean different lifestyles and approach towards life. This episode looked upon this fact ^.^ kiz-chan said: I was more focused in the discussion about hapiness/sadness and time. I have never considered that one of the reason that make us humans miserable is the long time ahead of us, but it does make sense. To the ikegami all the experiences are new and unique, everything is so fast and breathtaking that they can't even think about it, only feel. Living a new life each day. Dying to be reborn as a new being. It's a really interesting concept. you guys said it best. it's interesting that some people got "addicted" to the Mushi. they preferred to wake up each day like a newborn baby, not remembering anything from before. "ignorance is bliss", after all -- they didn't want to face the realities of life... i don't want to be harsh, but i kind of think that makes them cowards. and this is slightly off topic, but it's also kind of like when people kill themselves -- are they selfish and cowardly for choosing "the easy way out" and making all their loved ones suffer? or do they have the right to take their own life away? but this is a less permanent version of that, of course. EDIT: @Animecule i agree with everything you said! very eloquently said, too. i was thinking about those quotes, but didn't notice the whole "the cure is in the curse" thing at all. good observation! |
laputiaFeb 8, 2015 6:51 AM
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| Another good episode |
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| So sad, that this girl was infected second time, but if she wanted it... |
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| How far does escapism go? Happiness that comes at the cost of yourself may not be real but some might choose it anyway. Cuz to some, that is enough. And they will be the only ones not seeing how tragic their choice is. Which might just be the bigger tragedy. Poetic. Beautiful. 5/5 |
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| Another good episode. 4/5 |
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| This time the topic was on time and aging. |
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| i don't like to get into the topic of drug use as I've seen others who casually smoke pot stay on top and others not, but to me, this episode has something to say in terms of destitute communities and those who exploit the community, and the way how communities are disappointed when they learn that they were exploited and return to the ways of those who exploit them. to me, that's the way i see it. like, whether the community should continue to use the flower just to go by a day when they don't have a lot to turn to. on that note, i fear how long it will take Nagi to expand the cave before he gives up. it's roughly an ambiguous ending for a group of people i didn't care for, but at the same time, i don't believe most of us are destitute enough to understand how a community could get wrapped up in this. i didn't like this episode though, and i feel like it highlights the shortcomings of this show, mostly shallow character development for characters i don't care for, especially the headman (i rolled my eyes when Nagi overheard the headman criticize everyone for being fooled by him.) |
neanderthalOct 12, 2015 8:04 PM
| "...ask yourself what evidence we have indicating that consciousness only exists within bodies. There is exactly no evidence suggesting this, just a materialistic and anthropocentric assumption. As a matter of fact, all of us spend half our time dreaming. To this day science has zero definitive explanation of why this is, which is something I found more than a bit fascinating as a psychology student." -Thad McKraken |
| I had mixed feelings about this episode. If I were to view the episode in a more negative light, I would say that it's understandable why she would want to be infected by the mushi. After all, her father was just slaughtered, and I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to live with the guilt and shame of deceiving the village people and eating their offerings while they lived in scarcity. She was charged with the crime of betraying the entire village's faith and their last hope of a cure for illnesses was destroyed. What would be better than escapism under those circumstances? What would be better than to be in a state where you live for the day and didn't have the time to think about the past or the future? You didn't have time to ruminate over your situation, didn't have time to feel sorry for yourself, didn't have time to be aware of the calamity that just befell you. In a more positive light, living each day as if my lifespan is only 1 day is not a bad idea either. Yesterday's mistakes and sadness will not affect today. Tomorrow's worries and uncertainties will not cause me to be afraid today. I'm just living in the present, because the 'present' is a 'gift'. I can wake up to a brand new day, where I am a new person, where I can look forward to new experiences with fresh enthusiasm instead of being cynical and jaded because of the repetition of life. It's not a such bad way to think about life either. |
| hmmm, this episode is pretty weak compared to the 5 episodes before. Just like Ginko said "Some people don't appreciate being cured". Akoya is one of them, I feel nothing for her. She basically just don't want to face reality. Rather, I really pity Nagi. His efforts is in vain. Same to Ginko. |
korewaItaiNov 7, 2015 2:23 AM
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| This episode was so dramatic and deep... <3 |
| Most interesting episode so far. I found the 5 previous episodes rather mediocre and lacking in meaning, but this one handled its themes really well and gave me something to think about for a while. 5/5. Grey morality FTW! |
| Ah, so it seems I wasn't the only one to compare her to a drug addict. Even after they were cured they just went back to the cave to get infected again. Shame the solution was just to leave them in that state, how can you even call that living.... |
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| The girl was experiencing the lifespan of a creature which lives for only 1 day with the same feelings as of an average human life span. And when they mushi got out of body, she got really anxious. Man I can feel her. Such a horrible father. But I can see why she felt responsible for his dad. Also, she wasn't getting used to human life span. Great episode. |
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| This show is really unique, I've never watched anything like it. Sometimes It has scenes like a horror anime and sometimes so peaceful. Somehow, I feel at ease watching this show. The part where the 'living god' memtioned her anxiety toward the idea that tomorrow will be a contonhation of today amd it'll be full of uncertainty was really nice. The unknown is sure scary, but it's an indispensable part of human life and we need to deal with it one way or another. |
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| Dunno why she still loves her asshole, deceiving father, but okaaayyyyy >.> Weird that she still wants to be in that state, where you only live for a day every day. To me, that's like running away from all your problems. ANNNDDD poor Nagi has to watch out for her ass now that she's forever wandering in a delusional state. How selfish can you be? >:T |
| So, the girl didn't get cured at all because she chose to be Ikigami for life? That's just stupid, imho. Haha. This episode pissed me off. The girl's gone in the head, I guess, just like what Ginko said with the people using Mushi recklessly. I need to stop. This is my least liked episode of Mushishi so far. |
     "Maybe he's trying to take a shit, but the shit just won't come out." Captain Levi, 2014 (／^-^)／☆♪  ♪☆＼(^０^＼) |
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