Mushishi Zoku Shou – 06
It’s cherry blossom season~
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Ahhh, another relaxing episode of Mushishi. Sit back and enjoy the healing power of…wait, hold on, this episode is actually downright terrifying! Where did an axe murderer/mad scientist come from? It still works (somehow) with the theme of the show, but I wouldn’t actually call this one “healing.” |
There are two main issues with our “doctor.” 1) He gives “medicine” to people to ease their pain and numb their senses because he thinks it will help them in the long run 2) His family has kept this catatonic girl alive for centuries by murdering female customers. The first issue is mostly ignored, but it’s a really interesting dilemma. If you were dying from an incurable illness and you had the option to take all the pain away with the caveat of temporarily losing one of your 5 senses, would you do it?
If you were in excruciating pain, you might. You don’t really need your hearing when you’re too busy doubled over in agony. This isn’t exactly an era where you can drop by the pharmacy and pick up some painkillers.This is probably the best they have outside of crushed herbs. If he just warned them about the side effects, he’d be golden. I’m sure a lot of desperate people would still come to him for his famous, painkilling medicine if they knew it would ease the suffering of a loved one. As long as they can decide for themselves, there’s really nothing wrong with his business. He’s properly tested the mushi concoction to create a non-lethal dosage, so it’s relatively safe.
However, I don’t think he gives them a full disclaimer. He doesn’t tell them he isn’t a doctor, that there are side effects, and that the medicine is made from a mushi. If he did, the medicine thing would be fine in my books. Ginko originally investigates how morally correct it is for him to sell this amateur’s brew of diluted mushi foam. Which is vaguely interesting because it’s hard to tell who is right and if Ginko has the right to decide who is right. Does he have the right to decide what this man can’t or cannot do just because he has a deeper knowledge of the mushi? The mushishi title seems to give Ginko some status, as people listen carefully to everything he says – even if they don’t like it. The doctor could easily have told him to screw off, but he lets Ginko in to investigate.
Ginko is not impressed with the scientific design and statistical analyses used u_u
But this is a red herring. The point of the episode is not to discuss the wrongs and rights of medical malpractice, which is a vaguely interesting issue. But no, that’s not what we’re here for. Once again, Mushishi goes for a sharp left turn and suddenly shows us an absolutely insane axe murderer at work. We’ve gotten some guys with attitude problems or temporary bouts of depression, but this guy is 100% insane. In a horrific turn of events, he keeps Saho in a near-vegetative state by grafting her head onto different bodies as if she were a sakura tree. This is only possible because she eats nothing but the foamy mushi that dulls the senses, which also somehow slows her growth.
Needless to say, it’s incredibly creepy on many levels. Saho is beautiful, but her existence is tragic and pointless. She has no use of any of her senses, so she cannot communicate with others. She can’t feel anything, so she can’t be touched (or even touch her own body). She can’t see, hear, taste, or smell. She can’t enjoy anything in life. She’s trapped inside her own mind with nothing to do. Yet she’s kept alive, like a coma patient. She’s kept alive for the selfish reason that her keeper wants to witness her beauty for as long as possible.
Cherry blossoms usually only last a few weeks, and I’m sure we’ve all wished they could bloom forever. But if they did, we might not appreciate them as much. By trying to fool nature and extending the life of Saho, the doctor has made a grave error. In Mushishi, you do not try and mess with the natural order of things. As punishment, Saho dies when the tree is burnt to an ugly, withered trunk. Cherry blossoms cannot bloom forever. You have to accept when it’s time to let go, otherwise you’ll just become twisted, bitter and selfish.
It’s a rough message – and the imagery is extremely harsh. Saho’s discoloured neck and the burning tree were incredibly striking. Seeing her struggle to speak despite not being able to feel her tongue and lips or hear her own words just to get him to stop was haunting. It’s clear that she doesn’t want to live anymore, and she’s being denied that right. It’s also just plain creepy to think of her as a kind of plant-human hybrid that lives off of mushi. Was she the spirit of the tree that enchanted the doctor or just an abandoned baby? We don’t really know. But we do one thing…this episode was hella creepy and now I’m reluctant to go see the cherry blossoms in bloom at a nearby park. So much for Mushishi making me appreciate the beauty of nature!
Next week is a special episode so let’s celebrate with a bonfire! Bring marshmallows!
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yeah, I found this one hard to watch; it felt like a Takashi Miike film; and not the Happiness of the Katakuri’s. There was not singing or dancing!
I have a long standing phobia of being buried alive; and by extension Locked In. I was twisting in my seat seeing this poor girl not live a life and helpless to do anything.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, it’s a pretty terrifying situation. I would hate to be unable to do anything or even interact with the outside world. And you can’t even end it!
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 60 comments
Actually this was my favorite episode of Mushishi. I really liked the dark tones. This kind of episode speaks just as deeply as the other episodes. And it came with two moral questions for the price of one.
I thought this episode was a lot better and stronger than the one that came out with the girl and the water shadow trying to take her form. That to me was the weakest episode of this series.
But this episode was powerful and left some powerful imagery stained in the back of my mind. As the intro said, Wordlessly blooming, wordlessly corrupting, etc. This episode, is by far the most memorable.
Great great episode. Great great series.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It was a good one! It’s cool to see just how dark it can go without feeling like a different show. I thought the water one was the weakest episode so far as well. Still good, but not quite up to par with the rest.
Mushishi is not disappointing us.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 60 comments
No Mushishi is not disappointing us. I love this series.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Beauty can be terrifying sometimes is what I took away from this episode. This was pretty haunting but very much Mushishi signature as usual.
I wonder how special the next episode is that they skipped a week without release. :S