Знаток муси. Том 1

蟲師 / Mushishi #1

by Yuki Urushibara, Юки Урусибара, Наталья Румак (Translator)

Они могут съедать звуки, они могут воплощать сны в реальность, они могут поселиться в ваших глазах. Некоторые из них безвредны, некоторые таят в себе опасность. Они не похожи на животных или растения. Они - муси, исходная форма жизни. Мало кто видит их. Но если происходит что-то необъяснимое, вам нужен знаток муси.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Supernatural, Seinen

228 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2000

About the author

Yuki Urushibara (漆原友紀) is a Japanese manga artist from Yamaguchi Prefecture.
She is best known for the series Mushishi, for which she received an Excellence Prize for manga at the 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival and the 2006 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.

She is also known by the pen name Soyogo Shima (志摩 冬青 Shima Soyogo).

Reviews

[Lois Bujold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished rewatching the entire anime version of this, which after years of media exploration still holds its place as my #1 favorite anime series. This was triggered by stumbling across the complete second season (but not the first) on Crunchyroll, which I'd only seen part of before, so that was like unexpectedly finding gold coins in the sofa cushions. While the storyline is very episodic, I do think it worthwhile to begin at the beginning with season one, if you can find it. The anime sticks unusually closely to the manga upon which it is based, but the subtle color, music, movement, and voice acting add greatly to it without changing it. Either or both formats are highly recommended.

The tales, usually complete within each chapter or episode, follow the adventures of Ginko, a mushi-shi (which translates literally as "bug master"); but the mushi are semi-supernatural sub-life entities that come in all the complexity of living organisms. Ginko is part mushi naturalist, part traveling doctor and medicine seller, part shaman, and altogether enchanting, in his own low-key, dogged, chain-smoking manner. Each chapter features Ginko encountering a different mushi problem, or mushi vs. people problem, sometimes solving it, sometimes not, all slowly accumulating to a whole greater than the sum of its parts. As the tales wend on one picks up scraps of Ginko's backstory, which the reader or viewer gets to piece together in their own mind much as they have to piece together the meaning of the stories that unfold, and the structure of the timeless rural world through which Ginko passes. By turns quiet slice-of-life, deeply creepy, gentle, exciting, mysterious, moving, and profound.

I have never found another anime or manga, or anything else, quite like it; it appears to be sui generis.

Ta, L.

Later: Oooh! The whole series is available on Kindle now. Last time I tried to fill out my paperback run, some years back, two of the volumes could not be had anywhere, anyhow.

Mine now. Heh.

Later still: one picture, thousand words, etc.: let's see if I can add this YouTube link, to a fan songvid that I think doubles quite well as a taster for the anime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2lfP...

Much later: sadly, the above vid sample link is now broken -- silly, as it's a great ad for the show. Humph.

Later still: Oooh, I see Crunchyroll streaming is now carrying Season 1, good. Good place to go check it out.

[Jokoloyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review for whole series.

I start the review with one warning: this manga has sloowww pace storytelling.

That's it. Now some backgrounds.

The story of Mushishi happened in an alternate Earth with setting around late mid 19th century Japan. In this universe, there is life forms called mushi. Mushishi is a person who studies mushi. We follow the journey of Ginko, a mushihi, studying mushi and helping people that affected by mushi (some mushi treatments are like disinfected from micro organism).

The rest of the review will be my praise. This manga has strong ideas, round characterizations for most stories, and unpredictable plots. The sole protagonist, Ginko, is a mature scientist with cool head but kind hearts. He is not a doctor, but he treated people who are infected by mushi.

Mushi sometimes showed as some kind sprits or supernatural creatures, but mushishi approach to study mushi is pretty much scientific. I like the scientific approach, it makes the magic system of this series as pretty hard.

There is not a simple good vs. evil story. The stories are mostly around people's life that affected by mushi. By the premise alone, you can bet this manga has unique idea. Actually, I rarely find a simple bad/evil person in this series. So, basically the conflicts in this series are man vs. nature, and man vs. self.

Some stories are so bizarre, I cannot even imagine how the stories will end, or I don't have any idea what should be the happy-ending condition.

Recommended for readers who seek untraditional fantasy, and fiction that could entertain both our minds and hearts.

[Brandon Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely and will forever be my favorite anime/manga of all time. It astounds me that such a compelling story can be forged from such a simplistic, yet deep concept.

Normally, the type of anime/manga I enjoy consist of nonstop heart-slamming action with little but developed plot. However, this anime takes me from that, and holds my tight. There is little to no fighting in this series, yet its grasp on the concept of life in general has me stroking my chin and gazing up at the sky every time.

What really gets me about this anime/manga is that it is brutal and sincere all together. It has you really connect your life to some of the most basic concepts we often forget about: love, anger, depression, happiness. It makes you take these emotions and dive into, considering what they really are and how they really affect our lives.

Not to mention the main character, Ginko, is the understanding genius we all strive to be.

There won't be an anime/manga anytime soon that will coddle my heart like this one did.

[El Tapiz de Fionavar · Rating 5 out of 5]

En el mundo del manga, Mushi-Shi, de la autora japonesa Yuki Urushibara, es uno de mis preferidos.

Tiene unos dibujos hermosos y las historias de Ginko, el Maestro de Insectos, son muy poéticas y bellas. Está ambientado en el Japón Feudal.

Los Mushi son insectos, criaturas con formas de palabras, de luz, de sonidos, etc. que se vinculan con el mundo de los humanos y los afectan de diferentes maneras. Algunos afectan el sabor del sake, otros viven en vetas de luz, otros que se encuentran en los copos de nieve...

El Maestro de Insectos, es quien resuelve casos vinculados con los Mushi.

No dejen de leerlo, es poesía dibujada...

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manga about a man named Ginko who travels around Japan's countryside investigating ancient creatures called mushi. The mushi are in an interstitial state between animal, plant, and spirit that seems supernatural at times. The interactions between the humans and mushi are at times positive, at times, negative, and at times, ambiguous. This has some of the flavor of Miyazaki, and some of the flavor of folk or fairy tales. It has also has been turned into a quite good anime series. If you are looking for a manga that is slow paced, and is not about teenagers who have to save Japan from the apocalypse, this may be a good bet.

The publisher has chosen to add notes on cultural references at the end of the volume. This is a good idea, excepting that here is no linking from the panels to the specific notes, so you end up reading them after you read the manga. It is also not that easy to check back to the pages in the manga, because the notes have page numbers, and the pages generally do not.

[Rusty Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a very beautiful manga. I loved it's muted yet mysterious atmosphere. It's about Ginko, a man who travels around helping people with cases concerning Mushi , creatures which are the base of life. Yuki Urushibara's art is gorgeous. Really recommend to anyone who want to have a chill time while reading.

[Kaśyap · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is beautiful. The sketchy, wide, detailed backgrounds of lush wilderness and slow paced conversations with simply designed and underdeveloped characters makes way for relaxed storytelling. The main theme of the manga is man's relationship to nature. This is dealt with in a series of short stories. The only continuity is the main character. The stories itself are quite haunting, they will stay with you.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow-paced manga which wraps its unsettling short stories in an imaginative premise: the protagonist is an investigator of the world of mushi, primordial microorganisms which interact with time, reality and the human body in eerie ways. Essentially it's a way of telling horror stories - especially body-horror stories - where the agent of the uncanny is microbial. (Though not always small - mushi can cluster behind your eyelids; they can also form a gestalt the size of a small swamp).

The result mixes two enduring themes of Japanese horror: the spectral qualities of liminal places and beings (mushi are between animal and plant, dead and alive), and the dread of mutagenic agents. Ginko, the trench-coated, chain-smoking investigator, is a liminal creature himself - largely friendless and drifting from one spirit-haunted cranny of old Japan to the next, like John Constantine if he'd been created by Miyazaki. The fluid quality of the art, with lightly drawn figurework against lush impressionistic backgrounds, adds to that drifting effect.

There are occasional visceral shocks but mostly Urushibara prefers a more gentle kind of unease, and it took me two or three stories before I felt I was 'getting' what he was doing. But even if some of the individual tales don't quite hit the mark, the overall effect lingers - Mushishi presents a world in which human presence is a precarious, temporary thing, always being reclaimed or changed by a nature deeper and stranger than we can understand.

[Carol Rodríguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primer contacto con el manga de "Mushi-shi". Vi el anime hace mil o dos mil años y lo tengo muy olvidado, así que estoy redescubriendo la historia.

Historias cortas, mitología japonesa, sucesos paranormales y un personaje principal enigmático y con carisma. ¿Qué más se puede pedir?

[Ilias · Rating 5 out of 5]

anime>manga. The anime is beautifully done

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

It sure took me a long time to get this volume read. I've been meaning to read Mushishi for a while (as is the case with pretty much all manga I read :p ) so I was excited it got chosen for one of the monthly book reads in the Manga Book Club.

What I was grateful for because of my busy schedule is that each chapter is it's own separate story, so the volume is made up of a handful of short stories. The only thing you really need to know going into each chapter is that Ginko is the mushishi who is sort of a mushi exorcist. So I appreciated that. It was an interesting first volume. I think that this series has great potential depending on how creative Urushibara-san gets.

I'm looking forward to reading the next volume.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why does this manga seem so tedious to read when I've already watched the anime? The story and art though, is just freaking great that I have to rate it so high.

[Jinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bản dịch siêu tốt (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
Đọc online chưa mặn mà gì lắm mà cầm cuốn truyện trên tay cảm xúc khác hẳn.

[gio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tapping out at vol. 3, this just worked better as an anime for me tbh. It’s good, I’m just not motivated to read through it considering I’ve seen most of it already.

[Raj]

Mushi are supernatural, most ubiquitous, primordial life-forms in existence that are oblivious to the general population. A select number of people can see them. One of them being Ginko, a Mushishi, wandering around to research the life-forms and help people suffering from problems that stem from them. I hate summarizing but felt like it didn't hurt.

It's an episodic slice-of-life, supernatural, seinen manga with a loose artwork that's at once relaxing and pleasant to look at. Whole vibe is delightfully calm. Look at the cover — look at all of them! Mushishi is also set elsewhen and elsewhere to our world apart from a slight resemblance, a cabined alt-universe fond of mountain vistas and river bends and forestry.

I very much recommend the anime adaptation by Artland. It captures the essence of the manga awesomely, all the ambience and serene imagery in color. It may be more digestible in that format too. Whenever you feel on the edge, an episode is a hushed lull to the nerves. I alternated between both so yeah. Get it!

[xenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ecological displacements are much like moral transgressions at the plane of global, rather than social, catastrophe.

And becoming is capable of generating grief as much as it generates beauty.

—

Recently, someone I'd known died. Though everything returns and recurs across an infinite span, I will only live for a short while. Some systems break, fall back into their constituent parts. Beyond the limit experience is death, disarticulation and silence.

To affirm change is to live in grief. To be vividly aware of the passing of all things. The sad state of existence that permits all things beautiful and dreadful to occur. A state where there is no morality, only accidents in a chain of becoming, which you'd never consented to, but have to deal with anyway. It's often unfair, but if you don't accept it, you'll live in a different sort of suffering.

Grief isn't a step beyond melancholia, just a different form of suffering. Grief and melancholia co-exist. Grief is merely accepting the pain of the material, rather than the spectral.

[Rafia Rahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

যা যুক্তিতে আটে না তা নিয়ে মানুষের জল্পনা-কল্পনা ও আতঙ্কের শেষ নেই। প্রকৃতির বহু রহস্য আজও আমাদের অজানা তাই "অতিপ্রাকৃত" ট্যাগ লাগিয়ে দেই আমরা। তাই বলে কি প্রকৃতির রহস্যের সমাধান কেউই করতে পারবে না?

মুশি মাস্টার জিঙ্কো বহুবছর ধরে এক স্থান থেকে আরেক স্থানে ভ্রমণ করে চলেছে। অনেক মানুষ তার অপেক্ষায় থাকে তাদের সমস্যা বলার জন্য। প্রকৃতিতে বহু রহস্যময় জীব বাস করে তাদের রহস্যময় প্রকৃতি আজও মানুষের অজানা ফলাফলস্বরূপ কখন কে সেসব জীবের সংস্পর্শে চলে আসে কেউই বুঝতে পারে না। যার পরিনতি অনেক সময় ভয়াবহ হয়ে থাকে! জিঙ্কো "মুশি" নামক অতিপ্রাকৃত, প্রাণীর মতো সত্ত্বা দ্বারা সৃষ্ট সমস্যাগুলোর সমাধানের কাজ করেন। কিন্তু জিঙ্কো কীভাবে মুশি মাস্টার হয়ে ওঠে?

মুশিশি সিরিজে মোট বই বা ভলিউম ১০টা। প্রতিটা বইয়েই বিভিন্ন ধরনের মুশি দ্বারা আক্রান্ত ব্যক্তিদের কাহিনী ও ব্যাকস্টোরি আছে। কীভাবে মুশি মানুষের শরীরে প্রবেশ করে একের পর এক ঘটনা ঘটিয়ে চলেছে রাইটার দারুণভাবে ফুটিয়ে তুলেছে। অধিকাংশ গল্পই আমার অনেক ভালো লেগেছে। প্লট, ডিটেলিং, ইলাস্ট্রেট, ক্যারেক্টার বিল্ডিং সবমিলিয়ে অসাধারণ একটা হরর সিরিজ যেখানে এডভেঞ্চার ও রহস্যের কমতি নাই। মাঙ্গা নিয়ে বানানো অ্যানিমেও আছে সেটাও সুন্দর। মুভিও আছে কিন্তু মাঙ্গা ও অ্যানিমেই তুলনামূলক বেশি ভালো লেগেছে আমার।

[Brooke (Books are my Favorite!!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Japanese lore of the Mushi is very well done, intriguing, and enjoyable. In this first volume investigator Gingko encounters a number of characters plagued by different types of Mushi. It was like getting an introduction into the lore. I am curious who Gingko will team up with in the coming installments. The artwork has some really nice texture and panel designs. It seems like this volume is a slow-burn build up to a rich world.

[szpieg z krainy deszczowców · Rating 5 out of 5]

już uwielbiam tę mangę

[Marcos Ibáñez Gordillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un seinen muy clásico. Largos capítulos autoconclusivos, bellas ilustraciones y bellas emociones. Me gustó más que na el derroche de imaginación que muestra creando para cada historia algo completamente nuevo.
La pega es que no va a ningún sitio y se hace un poco repetitivo. Es como pa verlo como se lee un poemario, a cuentagotas y viendo cada parte como un todo.

[Rolando S. Medeiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reconfortante, com beleza mesmo nos traços simples e nas cenas puramente introspectivas, Mushishi, da japonesa Yuki Urushibara, é uma experiência única que exige, sobretudo nos dias de hoje, um desacelerar, uma calma e uma sensibilidade para acompanhar o Mushishi Ginko — um tipo de médico num mundo de fantasia que mistura o Japão atual com o Japão Edo — simplesmente viajando pela terra dele para tratar de doenças causadas pelos Mushi. É menos entretenimento e mais algo semelhante a observar uma aquarela, uma pintura em movimento, com muito mais silêncio do que som, muito mais cenários que pessoas; e, ainda sim, com histórias tocantes. Nesse primeiro volume a gente tem cinco histórias diferentes.

Mushishi é episódico, mas há uma sequência e um desenvolvimento que aponta para frente, conforme mais mistérios desse mundo são revelados. Mushis são pequenas formas de vida que são na mesma proporção místicas e naturais, e cada episódio trata de um Mushi novo que o Ginko encontra. Cada episódio, também, revela um pouco mais sobre esses seres, mas tudo é muito implícito e cifrado. Até a forma deles no traço da autora é curiosa. Às vezes, o Ginko faz o papel literalmente de médico, matando ou expulsando o Mushi com remédios, receitas ou rituais; em outros, quando a coisa é mais complexa, ou quando envolve não uma pessoa afetada, mas toda uma região, uma floresta, um lago, etc., ele age como um conciliador. Nem sempre, porém, ele consegue resolver as coisas. É um vagante e está sempre aprendendo, tendo que lidar com o suicídio de pacientes, o ostracismo, o fato de não ser capaz mais de se fixar em lugar nenhum, e outros problemas.

A vida e a relação entre Mushis e seres humanos é o tema aqui — e, em geral, da série. A relação entre o mundo natural e o mundo humano, e entre o real e o sobrenatural. A adaptação em anime (mais os filmes) é incrivelmente bem feita, com um lance genial de adicionar uma narração meio folclórica nos episódios, sendo um ótimo complemento ao mangá. O tom de mistério e misticismo é patente em ambos: muita coisa fica em aberto às nossas próprias interpretações. Como cada episódio só tem um fiapo de enredo, vou me abster de falar muito sobre trama aqui. A graça é ler.

As cinco histórias do volume são:

The Green Seat: a história de um menino que tem um dom: seus kanjis esboçados no papel ganham vida. Qual a origem da capacidade desse menino? Que eles, os Mushi, são de verdade? Há um grupo onipotente de Mushis? Donde surgiram? Eles são sencientes ou só existem?

The Soft Horns: Aqui somos convidados a cobrir nossos ouvidos e mergulhar pelos místicos sons internos do corpo. Nos aprofundamos no conceito de som e silêncio (e também do som do silêncio) por meio da história de um menino surdo, sua mãe, e um vilarejo quieto cercado por montanhas.

The Pillow Pathway: Um capítulo mais melancólico, que difere um pouco dos anteriores, com um Ginko impotente. Dessa vez, trata-se de um homem que sonha com eventos que se realizam. Há um Mushi preso em seus sonhos.

The Light of the Eyelid: A história que premiou a auora e fez o mangá ser publicado. Ginko visita uma garota chamada Sui, que sofre de uma doença causada pelos Mushi que torna seus olhos hipersensíveis à luz; por isso, ela começa a viver em um galpão escuro. Por ficar tanto tempo na escuridão, e devido ao Mushi que a aflige, ela começa a vislumbrar o maravilhoso Rio da Vida, ou, Rio dos Mushis. Que é esse rio, que só pode ser visto quando alguém ''fecha a segunda pálpebra’’ e se desliga do mundano? É a pergunta deste episódio; que, aliás, tem grandes consequências para as histórias seguintes.

The Travelling Swamp: Ginko está viajando pelas montanhas para ver seu amigo, Adashino, um doutor, assim como ele, e colecionador de objetos que tenham relação com os Mushis. O pincel da primeira história, um dos chifres da segunda, por exemplo, são comprados por ele e é assim que o Ginko arruma grana. Ao longo do caminho, ele conhece uma garota chamada Io, que vive dentro de um pântano viajante, um pântano vivo que desce a montanha em direção ao mar.

O posfácio da autora no término desse primeiro volume também é bastante interessante e revelador do tom do mangá:"Após deixar o material pronto para publicação, estava imersa em sentimentalismo, como 'puxa, acho que depois disso, não terei mais oportunidade de publicar nada.' Consciente do limite da minha capacidade, comecei a procurar um emprego que não envolvia desenhar. E, quando já tinha esquecido completamente do concurso, fui informada que havia sido premiada. Pensei comigo 'A realidade as vezes é maluca'. E mesmo após meu trabalho virar uma publicação regular na revista, minha capacidade não mudou em nada, fazendo com que o meu editor passasse por maus bocados… e sendo honesta, ainda passa. Os mushi são seres complexos, mas adoráveis. Ficaria contente que, através das histórias, as pessoas pudessem sentir a existência desses pequenos seres a sua volta.’’

[Freymuth Sommer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating: 3 Stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This was a very relaxing manga with a close relationship towards nature.
Interesting that I picked this up spontaneously without much previous research. I am in the need to reconnect to nature at the moment, so this came in quite handy.
It had 10 Volumes and each chapter had its own little story.
I think the short story format would be my major drawback towards this manga. I just need more time to connect with the characters and the plotline.

Still there where some nice stories that I ended up putting into a "favourites basket".
The general tone is that people have problems with natural phenomena that are caused by the Mushi. These Mushi often behave in a parasitic kind of way. They inhabit people, animals and plants. Laying eggs, drawing energy or sending out odours to lure in prey.
Our main character is a traveling "medicine man" called Mushishi who likes to hear the stories of the people and solve their problems with the Mushi.
So, in total I had 9 stories that I liked more than the others, here are 3 of them:

1- There was a man who touched a rainbow. Ever since he was very thirsty and needed to chase after rainbow. He was considered mad. He passed his will onto his son to chase after the rainbow. His son after long years and whit the help of our Mushishi caught one. He had to let the rainbow go once he found it and find something else where he could put his life into. He ended up building bridges.

2- The Death Grain was interesting. There was a village that had poor rice cultures. The village master had a grain that will make for a rich harvest. But by planting that grain and getting a plentiful harvest a life of a person would be taken. The dilemma was to choose between saving his village from hunger and the death of one person to save all. Somehow, he got to choose him to die at the end and with the help of the Mushishi he turned out to be immortal by eating that grain when he was "dead". He lived on and collected information for his people to have better harvests over centuries.

3- There was a giant cedar tree on the mountain. It bore a fruit from a Mushi and this was eaten by a man. The man obtained the memories of the centuries old tree even after this was chopped down. So, the tree lived on in him.

If you like nature and its creation packed in a somewhat mystical experience than this might be a good read for you.

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good:
Ginko is pretty cool - love his hair and the cigarette. He cares and really wants to help people.

Mushi are an interesting idea and I love the supernatural element to the events.

The Bad:
The chapters read like short stories. Some are better than others. Nothing much is linking these except Ginko and it makes for differing qualities to the story. There is no tension so very little keeping you reading, the mushi are not enough for me.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm conflicted: interested but boring.

[Zaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read. The stories were pleasant and introduced well the mushis and the problems they create. The diversity in the tales was good, there was some time spent in villages, others in the wild, so I enjoyed the journeys. Ginko wasn't really developed here, we learned about his work and abilities but not really about him.

[Leandro Dutra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful & poignant as the best manga can be.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow-paced, carefully written stories about the life in its all forms.

[Jesus Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay unas cosas que se llaman Mushi, unos seres mágicos que no son ni animales ni plantas, y algunos son parasitarios.
Y esta el personaje principal, el Mushishi, que es como un doctor/investigador viajante que ayuda a "curar" a la gente que es afectada por los Mushi.

Este primer tomo son 5 casos que atiende, y son muy interesantes.

4 stars

[Timur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasent surprise!

Felt a bit like a japanese the witcher, a man travels from town to town where people need help for supernatural deseases.

Something like oh your mother is not sick, she just has sleep paralysis flesh eating worms from another realm behind her eyes, here take this herb.

[Apricus · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Some live in the deep darkness behind your eyelids. Some eat silence. Some thoughtlessly kill. Some simply drive men mad. They are known as mushi—creatures that came into being shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze. They still exist parallel to our own lives and can only be seen by a select few."

Mushishi exudes an atmosphere that makes you want to keep coming back to read more. Reading this evokes a feeling close to that of meditation, with the story expressing importance behind the connection between humans and the nature around them in everyday life; how they can easily affect one another and the environment surrounding them. We follow Ginko, one of the few aware of their (mushi) existence, as he roams from place to place mediating between the mushi and those affected by them, learning more about them and their purpose in the world. Ginko's occupation as a mushishi is entirely out of self interest, and it's easy to see his excitement or frustration when dealing with a new mushi. Reading this alongside the OST for the anime definitely enhanced my experience with atmosphere in Mushishi.

[yel ᰔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➺ 3.5/5 🌟

It's so calming being back in this world again.