5/5 The Wonders of Nature Explored and Celebrated
  by Travis Johnson (Menlo Park, CA United States)
As an avid Anime viewer, I watch a lot of Anime of varying genres. Mushi-shi is the story of nature, from a fantasy-entrenched perspective. In a different existence, there are life forms called Mushi, which are essentially the purest life forms, that live among people. Usually, they go undetected and do not disturb human beings. Occasionally, however, they sometimes can have negative effects, depending on what they require to survive. Some feed off light, while others feed off the gods themselves. Mushi-shi takes place in a much older period in Japan. Ginko, the main character, is a Mushi master, who travels around helping people with Mushi-related problems. Each episode tells the story of a different issue created by Mushi and how Ginko solves the issue. Unlike other Mushi masters, Ginko doesn't simply resort to killing the Mushi, and instead finds ways for people to live with them.

Mushi-shi is not a series that employs action, suspense, character development, or a connected plot. Instead, it uses beautiful artwork, interesting twists, and philosophical messages to remain an impressively unique series. 26 episodes long, this series is long enough to have an incredible diversity in stories told, and plenty of non-recurring characters. It also stays short enough to not overstay its welcome. Any longer, and the series would likely have lost it's value as a series with vague and transparent continual plot.

What Mushi-shi truly has going for it is it's environmental beauty. Everything is serene and peaceful, and the series has a definite air of mysticism to rival any Anime ever made. The Viridian Collection version has Both Japanese and English voice work (with English subtitles) and the special features are numerous and interesting. Mushi-shi is by far my favorite Anime ever made. Watch it if you desire a slower paced series focused more on philosophical virtues and less on action.