Rating: 4 for Studio Ghibli level creativity and atmospheric wonder
My Thoughts:
This collection of stories/manga is so novel to the kinds of stories that I know that it is difficult to really explain what this is about. Although I did not know this before hand, I found that this is a collector's item piece because of the limited publication exposure the original series has gotten outside of Japan.
Basically, these are short stories as the main character, Ginko, a mushishi, or mushi expert, travels around the countryside to track down unusual, strange happenings and behaviors. Most times these happenings, even in the way that people change are tracked down to the influence of mushi, these small nature spirits with sprite like beings who can be harmless, but also vicious and naughty at the same time.
The artwork is beautiful in the best manga style and although I got this as a ebook from NetGalley, this is one that I am going to order as a hardcover just to hold on to it.
I describe this as Studio Ghibli level creativity mainly because there is a good balance of mystery, innocence and spookiness. Also the mushi remind me of those living dust bunnies in My Neighbor Totoro.
From the Publisher:
Though invisible to most, tiny creatures known as mushi lurk beneath the surface of everyday reality. They exert a strange and occasionally terrifying influence on people's lives, and only experts known as mushishi carry the knowledge of how to deal with them. A mushishi named Ginko wanders the Japanese countryside, following rumors of various unusual occurences: a young man who dreams the future; a child with horns growing from his forehead; a boy with the power to write creatures into being; and more...
Publication Information:
Author/artist: Yuki Urushibara
Publisher: Kodansha (November 4, 2025)
Print length: 464 pages
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