[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Mushishi episode 20: A Sea of Brushes
And so the initial run of Mushishi finally draws to a close. This episode is an understated and insightful (temporary) conclusion to a series that has, without exception, been one of my all-time favourites.
A Sea of Brushes concerns itself with a young woman who, because of a mushi-related curse that has left her with a birthmark and a physical disability, chronicles the stories from visiting mushishi and stores her writings in a vast library; needless to say that the library and its dedicated author are of immense interest to Ginko.
This is another moving tale of how mushi can have a detrimental effect on human life and at the same time how people can come to terms with these problems and make the best of what life has handed to them. In terms of heavy drama this is not the strongest episode but it is one of those rare ones in which Ginko’s more caring side shows through; he gets on very well with the writer Tanyu and the exchanges between them are a fantastic portrayal of old friends trading stories, hopes and feelings.
Tanyu’s story is, as you might expect, a rather sad tale of a curse handed down the generations, a particularly unpleasant mushi and the inspirational way in which she goes about her work while still finding time to enjoy life. We also hear the stories from other mushishi, who seem to have a more confrontational and unsympathetic attitude towards the mushi.
It is probably this reason that makes Tanyu so comfortable around Ginko: his adventures are more varied affairs in which he seeks to understand the mushi and strive to live alongside them, not kill them. Tanyu has grown tired of the tales of mushi killing from the others so Ginko’s more open-minded outlook compliments her own.
This was a great episode as always - there’s no end to the overall storyline, of course. Ginko will continue to seek out mushi while Tanyu will continue to record the exploits of he and the other mushishi. It doesn’t stop here - I’m now looking to see Ginko’s endless journey resume and show some more of the strange and beautiful world of this spectacular series.
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