Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Mushishi – episode 23

July 23, 2006 on 10:45 pm | In Mushishi | 1 Comment

“The Sound of Rust”

Rust never sleeps.

Ginko is called into a village whose citizens have been covered in something that looks like rust. It is in fact Yasabi, a mushi that normally survives by feeding off of dead animals. Shige, a long silent teenaged girl, is considered the cause by many unsympathetic townspeople.

Another classic case of Ginko coming upon a town where the person “responsible” for the mushi has been rendered an outcast. Ginko has a solution for everything, so it’s interesting to see Shige speak with a wonderful approximation of the voice of someone who has not spoken for ten years. Ginko is right to say that she has suffered for the benefit of the townspeople but, because they are more worried about themselves, they cannot appreciate this.

In the “love interest” for this story, Tetsu, we have a more literal example of an outsider. He is united with Shige in that they are both illiterate, Shige obviously never getting the chance to be taught and Tetsu’s education possibilities cut tragically short. As an outsider Tetsu cannot understand prejudice and is therefore a good choice to stand in defence of Shige.
Through Tetsu I had the worry that this would be another “nothing good ever happens” episode of Mushishi, but I was pleasantly surprised.

A pleasant episode of Mushishi that makes one glad that Ginko is a fixer, warm despite its brown and grey colour scheme.