[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Mushishi episode 7: Chasing rainbows
One thing that never ceases to amaze me about Mushishi is the imagination that created it; every episode is so unpredictable and fantastical each new instalment is a pleasant surprise. So far we’ve had parasitic creatures, rivers of life, travelling swamps and many others besides but this is a story of a man who is literally chasing rainbows!
While sheltering from a rainstorm Ginko meets a man with a large pot on his back. After a few polite questions he learns that this stranger intends to use it to find and catch a rainbow - not any old rainbow but the very one that had somehow wrecked his father’s life. Ginko soon realises that this is another mushi-related incident so offers to help the man find the rainbow and understand the affliction that has struck his family.
To be honest a mushi rainbow sounded a little far-fetched even by Mushishi’s standards but as always it is the human or humans affected that is as much a focus of the story as the ethereal mushi. Seeking out the strange rainbow is more of a supporting element to the heart of the story: as they journey on the man opens his heart to Ginko and explains the circumstances surrounding the rainbow, his father and even his own name. While I shared Ginko’s mixed feelings about the stranger’s motivations it was easy to see how he and his family had suffered because of the strange ‘rainbow’.
The final explanation of the mushi/rainbow’s nature was a little vague however (even if I wanted to spoil it and explain it to you I wouldn’t be able to) but the episode’s final scene carried much more meaning. Some aspects of this latest mushi-manifestation are not explained fully; for that reason this is probably not the strongest episode so far but the character aspect made up for the weirder fantasy elements. Even though there are several other unlicenced series catching my interest right now Mushishi is too damned good for me to let it go.
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