Review of Mushi-shi: The Shadow that Devours the Sun
There's a perpetual sense of wisdom that can be attributed to the series called Mushishi. Each story is unique and offers a diverse spectrum of intricate stories. These stories often portray something similar to life lessons and are beautiful representations of teaching tolerance through a creative medium of animation. Despite this feeling of attaining an essence of enlightenment and understanding, it's also quite difficult to express what the actual lessons are that you've learned. That's the beauty of Mushishi. The story of Mushishi Special: Hihamukage holds an almost identical feeling to that of the first season of the series. It's calm, likeably strange, intelligent, and intriguing.It holds a lot of ambiguity and showcases what a mysterious, yet creative species Mushi are. The episode progresses at a fairly slow pace, but it's hard to notice if you're like me and captivated by how serene this series is. Basically, this special simply feels like a longer than usual episode. One thing I will say is that this particular special didn't really wow me. What do I mean by that? I mean that based on the nature of an episodic series, some episodes will be more enjoyable than others and this one wasn't the best nor worst. There were episodes in season one of Mushishi that left a lasting impression and I didn't quite feel that here. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the special very much and I'm excited for the second season, but I didn't think this was the best story that Mushishi has had to offer thus far. Just my two cents.
The art and animation of Mushishi is still as wonderful as its preceding season. Artland has a unique sense of animation style and there's a certain beauty in its distinctiveness. The conjoined world of Mushi and Humans make the setting interesting in itself. The backdrops and environment in general were vibrant and colorful. Everything had detail and seemed full of life, which was great. I really enjoy the sound criteria of Mushishi. It's very tame and somewhat mysterious which compliments the vibe of the series. Art, animation, and sound were spot on and I can't think of anything negative to say.
The main character, and only real consistent appearance in Mushishi, is Ginko. Since you're reading this review and have watched the first season presumably, I can assume you know what kind of character Ginko is. With that being said, I'd like to touch upon the supporting characters of the special. The characters in this particular story were fair and do their part in presenting the theme of the episode well. There's also cameos (notably Adashino and Tanyuu) from the side characters of the first season which was a very sweet, nostalgic touch.
If you enjoyed Mushishi, you'll likely enjoy the special as well.