Yuki Urushibara

Mushishi, Volume 7 by Yuki Urushibara was originally published in Japan in 2006. It was the first volume of the award-winning manga series to be released after the first of several anime adaptations began airing. 2006 was also the year that Mushishi earned Urushibara a Kodansha Manga Award, having previously won a Japan Media Arts Award in 2003. In English, the seventh volume of Mushishi was initially published in print in 2009 by Del Rey Manga and then was later re-released in a digital show more edition by Kodansha Comics in 2014 along with the rest of the series. Mushishi is one of my favorite manga and one of the first series that I made a point to follow and collect as it was being released in translation. I love the manga's atmosphere, subtle horror, and the obvious influence that traditional Japanese folklore and legends have had on Urushibara's storytelling in the series.

The seventh volume of Mushishi collects four stories. Interestingly, the mushi in these particular chapters tend to be somewhat tangential to the real issues that the characters are struggling with. While the mushi have an impact on the way events unfold and develop, it is the interaction between people that forms the core of the individual stories. "Lost in the Blossoms" is about several generations in a family of skilled landscapers who obsessively care for the embodiment of a peculiarly beautiful and ancient cherry tree. In "The Mirror in the Muck," a young woman falls ill after the man she loves leaves her behind, her love sickness putting her life in real danger. A young boy has become a host to a mushi that attracts lightning in "At the Foot of Lightning," but the even greater problem is the nearly nonexistent relationship between him and his mother. The volume concludes with the series' first multi-part story, "The Ragged Road," about the head of the Minai, a clan of mushishi responsible for investigating forbidden mushi no matter what the personal cost.

While Mushishi generally tends to be episodic, "The Ragged Road" directly ties in with an early story, "The Sea of Brushstrokes," collected in Mushishi, Volume 2. The Minai family serves under the Karibusa family which is responsible for recording and protecting information about mushi; the fate of both families is intertwined with that of the forbidden mushi. I especially like "The Ragged Road" because it further develops the world of Mushishi. The other three stories in Mushishi, Volume 7 technically do as well, but because they're only loosely connected to previous chapters their contributions to the series' lore generally add more breadth rather than depth. Still, bits of the characterization of Ginko, the manga's protagonist, continue to be revealed with the telling of each story, showing just how much of an outsider he is even within the community of mushishi.

Although the plots of the individual stories collected in Mushishi, Volume 7 aren't directly connect to one another, they do all share some similar themes. In some ways, the manga feels more horror-like than some of the previous installments of the series. Mushi in the case of this volume are creatures that can steal away a person's senses, identity, life, or even soul. But as terrifying as that can be, the most chilling thing that Ginko encounters aren't mushi but failed human relationships. I find these four stories to be some of the most heartbreaking in the series for that reason. Ginko is faced with situations where, while he can deal with the mushi, he is powerless to completely ease the distress of the people involved and their troubled families. However, as sad and tragic as some of the stories in Mushishi can be, there's still an underlying sense of hope that in time people will be able to heal and move forward through their pain.

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Mushishi, Volume 3 by Yuki Urushibara was originally published in Japan in 2002. The volume was initially released in English in print by Del Rey Manga in 2008. Although that particular edition is no longer available, Kodansha Comics did re-release Mushishi, Volume 3 digitally in 2014. I count myself lucky to own the entirety of Mushishi in print. I fell in love with the series after reading the first volume and so made a point to begin collecting it. Fortunately, Mushishi was being released show more in English around the same time I first started to really get into comics and manga and I didn't have a difficult time finding the series. To this day, Mushishi remains one of my favorite manga. I like its quiet yet often creepy atmosphere and its folktale-like nature. I'm not the only one who appreciates Mushishi. The series was a recipient of a Kodansha Manga Award and has also been the basis for a live-action movie as well as multiple anime adaptations and other media.

Unseen to most people but found throughout nature are mushi—creatures that are still very close to the original form of life. They can be benign forces but often their presence is a source of trouble when it encroaches upon the human world. Illness and disease and even seemingly natural phenomena can all be attributed to mushi. Some people with the ability to see mushi make their living as mushishi by traveling across the country, studying the creatures, and trying to return balance where disturbances have occurred. But there are also those who can see mushi who are not mushishi. Frequently they are unaware of what the creatures truly are, and many times the people around them don't believe them when they try to describe their experiences with mushi. This lack of understanding can cause significant strife, even within tightly knit communities. People who can see and are aware of mushi, whether they be mushishi or not, are treated differently, sometimes out of concern and sometimes out of fear.

While the previous volume of Mushishi seemed to place a particular emphasis on mushishi, the fourth volume mostly features stories in which Ginko—a mushishi and the series' protagonist—is dealing with incidents where people who can see mushi but who are not formally trained as mushishi are somehow involved. In "The Cry of Rust," the unique quality of a young woman's voice attracts mushi, bringing calamity to her village. "From the Ocean's Edge" follows a man whose wife has been missing at sea for three years after they both saw peculiar creatures in the water. "The Heavy Seed" tells the story of a village that has strangely bountiful harvests during times of famine. Children fall deathly ill in "White Living in the Inkstone" when they accidentally release dormant mushi while playing in Doctor Adashino's storehouse without permission. (Adashino is one of the very few recurring characters in Mushishi; his slightly antagonistic relationship with Ginko is absolutely delightful.)

Although during serialization it followed "The Cry of Rust," the final chapter collected in Mushishi, Volume 3 is "The Fish Gaze." The episode is particularly notable because it reveals some of Ginko's backstory. Even though it's a past that he himself is unable to remember—a rare example of a time when the reader is more knowledgeable than he is—this specific part of Ginko's life story plays a very important role in who he later becomes. Mushishi tends to be episodic, but elements of Ginko's character and personality have been revealed throughout the series. However, "The Fish Gazee" is the first chapter to really delve into his history. Like many of the other stories in Mushishi, Ginko's tale has elements of darkness and tragedy, but the emphasis placed on the ultimate perseverance of life in the face of death and sorrow remains. Mushishi frequently incorporates sadness, but the manga is not without hope; Urushibara seems to be able to navigate a fine balance between melancholy and wonder with ease.

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⭐ Supernatural Anthology | Thoughtful | Haunting

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I haven’t watched or read Mushishi before, so this was my first experience with the series. The main character, Ginko, is a traveling mushishi who encounters both other mushishi and mysterious beings called mushi along his journey. Mushi are described as life forms that exist close to the essence of life itself, sometimes visible, sometimes not, often resembling show more ghosts or spirits. Mushi exist their presence can accidentally cause strange phenomenas sometimes harm. Mushishi is a human that studies or interacts with mushi. They investigate mushi related cases and heal those affected. Ginko travels place to place to help people who are troubled by mushi.

One of the first stories follows a mushishi who can bring his drawings to life with his left hand, a gift his grandmother advised him to stay isolated from others. The concept of mushi feasts, where humans are invited to join another world and become residents there, was both eerie and fascinating. In this particularly haunting story, the boy’s grandmother partially becomes mushi, existing between two realms after her death.

The collection explores deep and unsettling themes like grief, misfortune, and the fragile boundary between the natural and the supernatural. What life is like coexsisting with the unseen world.

Some mushi act like parasites, feeding on human, causing misfortune or altering reality in strange ways. What I found most interesting is how the stories make you rethink ordinary experiences, like temporary hearing loss or even a pillow being called “a storehouse of the soul.” And that is just a few examples form the earliest stories in the collection.

Mushishi Collector’s Edition 1 feels like a quiet, meditative horror anthology with gentle yet unsettling beauty. Ginko’s compassion for those he meets adds warmth to an otherwise eerie world, making it perfect for fans of slow, supernatural slightly horror storytelling that lingers with you long after reading. show less

I love this quiet and thoughtful collection of stories. Ginko is a mushishi, someone who both attracts and can deal with mushi, which are kind of spirits, between living things and nature. He travels from village to village to study interesting mushi that occur and help the people whose lives have been affected by them in one way or another. There isn't really an overarching plot that connects the vignettes other than that fact. We never learn more about Ginko or his motivations, but this is show more okay. It is not the focus or the point of the series. A quiet exploration of *what if* is what it seeks to do and it achieves that goal charmingly. I recommend this collection both if you've read or watched the series before or if you're new to it and want a contemplative exploration of strange beings. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for this honest review. show less