Mushishi ep.24

October 28, 2006 | 13 Comments

If you haven't seen it before, there is actually a trailer for the live-action Mushishi available at the official website. You can find this by clicking on the blue button on the right hand side of the screen and choosing the desired size. Unfortunately the quality is not that great but at least you can see a few snipets from the film, which includes the boy with the horn and Ginko facing off against the sound Mushi. I took a few screenshots from the trailer and put them at the end of this post if you're interested to see them. I've read some mixed reviews about the film and not too surprised about it since I don't think a live-action series can replicate the feeling that the manga and the anime managed to capture thus far. It's unfortunate since I was really excited about the live-action film. I'm just hoping the story is not radically changed.

This episode itself begins with young woman looking at a small fireball that floats along a burntdown crop fields. She becomes horrified when she sees a family warming themselves in front of the fireball. The woman then wakes up from this nightmare and starts coughing violently. As she does this, several burnt leaves come out of her mouth. The woman is convinced that this is her retribution, causing her to wonder if she should have done what 'that man' suggested. A flashback then shows Ginko arriving at the village and asking two kids if they know the whereabout of a Mushishi who lives in this village. The little boy think that Ginko is looking for "Yahagi" so he told Ginko that Yahagi is in the field with his father investigating some unknown weed which are killing the trees. When Ginko arrived in the crop field, he picked up the weed in question despite Yahagi's warning about the danger of doing this.

After picking up one of the weeds, Ginko realised that it is actually a Mushi. He explains to the kids and Yahagi that if a person only encounters one of these, it's probably hard to distinguish. However, since this many gather in the area, then it's obvious that they are Mushi. Ginko then introduced himself to Yahagi and told her that he heard that there is a new species here so he wants to research it. Much to Ginko's surprise, Yahagi told him that she has concluded the research. Ginko then remembered that he's heard the name "Yahagi" before because he's read a few of her research papers. Because of this, he believed that her research on the new Mushi must be good as well. Yahagi, however, informed him that it's only half-completed. Ginko was confused to hear this because Yahagi told him not too long ago that it's been completed. Yahagi explains Ginko that she believed there is no reason for her to continue the research.

Yahagi revealed that the villagers are planning to burn the Mushi along with the mountain tomorrow. Everyone was surprised to hear this. The children were worried about the animals on the mountain but Yahagi told them that the villagers have tried to evacuate as much as possible. She claimed that if they leave the weed as it was, everyone's life will be in danger. Yahagi was convinced that this is the only way for them to survive but Ginko believed there could be other way. When he asked Yahagi to tell him the entire story, she informed him that it all started 2 months ago when the villagers cultivated the land to make it fertile. It was then that they found a large black rock. Since the area is close to volcanoes, it's not rare to find volcanic rocks so he villagers decide to move the rock. One day later, Yahagi noticed that there is a single weed growing out of the rock. However, back then she didn't think much about it.

After 3 days of cotinuous rain, Yahagi and the villagers found out that the weed has spread out. Because the weeds share the same root, no matter how often the villagers pick and cut them, they grow back immediately. By the time Yahagi realised that the weeds are actually Mushi, they have bloomed like flowers, releasing poison to the surrounding trees and killing them. Yahagi and the villagers tried several ways to stop the Mushi but none of them worked. Before they could find a way, the weeds overtook the mountain and getting closer to the village. Upon hearing this story, Ginko told Yahagi that it's too dangerous to burn the entire mountain. Moreover, since this is a new breed, Yahagi won't know what will happen if she burns them. He believed that she should gather people and pull all of them out. Yahagi, however, argued that they have no time to do that because the crops will die and the villagers won't be able to survive winter.

Ginko told Yahagi that this is more reason not to jump into conclusion. He believed that if she wants to make a bet on something she should only do it with her own life. He understood that Yahagi is bothered with the fact that she didn't notice the Mushi sooner. Having said that, she should not fear them. Yahagi told Ginko that she just wanted to save her people. She will give Ginko her research but she would like him to go now. Despite this, the next day Ginko tried to stop the villagers to stop cutting the trees, asking them how much they were planning to sacrifice to save their village. Yahagi, however, told everyone that she just found the weed at the entrance of the village so she thinks they should cut the trees quickly and proceeds with the burning of the weeds tonight. That night while captured inside one of the village hut, Ginko read the research papers that Yahagi had wrote and realised that she's been thorough in researching the Mushi.

His thought, however, came into a halt when he noticed the villagers carrying fire into the mountain. Ginko suddenly realised that the Mushi came from a volcanic mountain and felt that it's probably not a good idea to give it a fire. However, before he could stop them, the villagers already torch the weeds with fire, burning everything in the mountain area. All of a sudden, however, they could hear the sudden appearance of a strange sound coming out of the burnt areas. Soon, a few fireballs can be seen rising into the air. Ginko who noticed this from a far realised that those are Mushi known as 「陰火」 - Kagebi (Shadow Fire). Meanwhile Yahagi tried to warn everyone to go back to the village and ensure that they don't allow the fire to get into their house. In the middle of her speech, however, a Kagebi managed to enter her mouth, Ginko tried to warn the villagers to close their door and windows otherwise the Mushi will enter their house.

At the same time, Yahagi explained to everyone that the fireballs are Mushi known as Kagebi. It has the tendency to appear on a rainy or cold days and it absorbs heat from people who get close to it looking for warmth. On a warm day, this Mushi tend to hide in pots and some of them probably alread hid themselves. If a person stays too close to a Kagebi for an extended exposure, they could die from freezing. She pointed out that if they are near a fire and it's only lukewarm, they must assume that it's a Kagebi. Inside a Kagebi there is a Mushi called 「ヒダネ」 - Hidane (sparks of fire). That Mushi is Kagebi's true form, a Mushi which lives by sucking heat from humans. Later on, Ginko told Yahagi that he never expected those grass to be the younger form of Hidane. Before he left, Ginko also told Yahagi that if she has trouble dealing with the Kagebi, she could contact him on the adress that he gave to her. He promised to help her if she ever needs his assistance.

A few months later, the Kagebi managed to infiltrate the village, giving the villagers a false impression with their outer form. Yahagi who was in the middle of standing in the mountain area, notices that a single Kagebi could be seen floating above the village. When Yahagi arrived at the village, its people asked her to help their family members who has lost their body heat. However, before Yahagi could help them, she starts coughing violently and vomitted some burnt down, charcoal-coloured leaves. Back in the present time, Winter, Ginko returns to the village and hears the story from Yahagi. As it turns out, 7 people have died since then because their stomach got frostbitten due to eating foods their heat using Kagebi. However, since everyone is being extra careful now, they haven't had anymore tragedies so far. She also thinks that the Kagebi will disappear once they get rid of the Hidane. She believes they are close to achieving this.

However, she also notices that this Mushi has another form. From the body that the Mushi absorbs the heat from, they emerge as another leaf. She thinks the Mushi has used her body as a container. She used to feel cold from the Mushi but lately she just coughed up leaves. She believes the Hidane has started to grow in her body and releases a poison. She already informed the villagers that she doesn't have much time. She's planning to leave soon and find a place to die before the situation gets out of control. Because of this, she wants Ginko to take care of the village. Ginko, however, refuses because he's not sure if he could make the decision that Yahagi made. Besides, this is a fight that Yahagi and the villagers started. Because of this, Ginko won't allow her to die from it. Later on, Ginko is seen hunting a Kagebi with two children from the village. When the children spot one, Ginko quickly use a Mushi pin to restrain the Kagebi on the spot.

Ginko then places the Kagebi into a stove and uses it to boil a water. He points out that the poison that is released by the Hidane are just a by product that forces people to use fire to burn it. Once a Hidane is burned by fire, it gains a new form (a Kagebi) and uses that form to attract people and absorbs their body heat. Since the only mammals creature that utilised fire are humans, they are easily attracted by a Kagebi. However, in the end the fire that Kagebi produces is a fake one. Because of this, Ginko wonders what will happen if the early form of the Mushi that exists within Yahagi's body (the grass/the weeds) is given a fake fire from a Kagebi (which absorbs heat instead of producing it). He believes that they can use the Kagebi to 'burn' (read: destroy - since Kagebi does not really produce real heat) the grass/weeds inside Yahagi's body. He also believes that the foods cooked on top of a fire produced by the Kagebi will give the same result.

In other words, since Kagebi actually absorbs heat, it should produce the reverse effect on the grass/weeds, which normally grows into its real form when it is burned by real fire. In theory, giving the weeds a Kagebi will cool down and probably kill the weeds. Anyway, Ginko then passes on the water that has been boiled using the Kagebi to Yahagi. Yahagi decides to drink the water and upon doing so, she starts coughing up the leaves again. This time around, however, some of the leaves crumbled as soon as Ginko touch them. Yahagi wants to drink the rest immediately but Ginko asks her to slow down and allow her body to recover first. He thinks Yahagi should take her time getting rid of the weeds. In the aftermath, Ginko mentions how Yahagi survived by 'burning' her stomach and coughing up the leaves. The episode ends with Yahagi and two kids noticing a Kagebi moving away from their village and heading towards the valley.

Impression:

The main theme in this episode seems to be a person's ability to sacrifice something for the greater good, something that Yahagi is clearly capable of. However, Mushishi has time and time again believes in the idea of co-existance living between humans and Mushi. As a result, Yahagi was punished for her transgression. The problem is, I don't see how else she could deal with the weeds apart from burning them. It's true that the act of doing this unleashed the Kagebi but if she hadn't burnt down the weeds, there was a likelihood that the villagers would get poisoned by the weeds. I really wish that the story had shown an alternative to burning the forest so the viewers understand that Yahagi was making the wrong decision. I suspect that freezing the grass/weeds will actually kill them since giving it real fire caused it to grow into its real form. Or maybe I've been too many RPG where you have to decimate a particular element with the opposite element.

Anyway, the Mushi from this episode reminds me a lot of the Mushi from episode 21, which is also parasitic in nature. The two Mushi also share similarity in that they are a threat to other lifeforms. In episode 21, the Mushi essentially killed the real children inside a woman's womb while in this episode, the Mushi posed a threat not only for humans but also other vegetations. Because of this, the Mushishi in question, which is Ginko in episode 21, and Yahagi in this episode, decided to terminate the Mushi. The difference is, the attempt to get rid of the Mushi in this episode has lasting effects on the environment while getting rid of the green children from episode 21 does not cause lasting damage except temporary sadness on the part of the parents. In addition to this, this time around the Mushi is not beneficial at all. At least the creepy green children in episode 21 were giving the couple in question temporary happiness from their presence.

Mushishi live-action: teaser trailer

Judging from the promotional screenshots and this trailer, it looks like the film is going to cover so many stories all in the space of 2 hours. I think the stories included are: the boy with the horn, the man looking for a rainbow, Ginko's origin, and Tanyuu's battle with the Mushi in her body. That's quite a lot of story to be covered in 2 hours time.

© memento 2003