More of the same. Each chapter is a new location, a new client, a new mushi. The clients often have emotional problems that run parallel with their mushi problems.
The author does a good job of keeping things fresh, with rainbow mushi, calligraphic mushi, demon baby mushi, false god mushi, etc. Its pretty creative.
There is little action, little intensity; events unfold quietly. Often, Ginko eschews direct intervention. The stories don’t have happy endings, but bittersweet or melancholy ones. Giving Mushishi a meditative, wistful air.
We still know little about ginko. He is reserved and calm, honest and compassionate, knowledgeable, a little world weary. A character asks at one point why he wanders, whether he has a goal or purpose, but he doesn’t answer.
For now, the story is sustained by the novelty of its unique mushi, and by its unusual structure and tone.