Mushishi Zoku Shou 11-12
Well this secret path certainly ain’t leading to Totoro
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The final 2 episodes of Mushishi were delayed until now, when I haphazardly found them listed on the usual torrent site. I had completely forgot about it. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t excited! Mushishi IS a beautiful and powerful show capable of many great things, and I was willing to wait as long as it was needed to see these episodes. In the end, it was well worth the wait. |
What’s it like to live without feeling joy or being able to appreciate a sunset? The very existence of the soulless Kumoda asks us things along this line of reason as he listlessly goes from day to day without pleasure. Everything about him is pitiful and hollow. What’s it like to live such a miserable life chosen by fate? In many ways, Mushishi once again asks us to re-evaluate how we see people with depression and what it means to be truly depressed.
“No one is ever satisfied. Darkness never satisfies. Especially if it takes something away, which is almost always invariably does”
-Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves
Isolation and depression were a common theme for this season. Not just depression, but Depression with a capital D (as I see it). The depths of sadness we see in Kumoda are so deep I can’t help but see it as anything but depression. He doesn’t experience a fleeting sense of being sad – there is literally nothing brings him joy. His sadness has no reason behind it, and he is completely indifferent about everything. It was heartbreaking that after an intense, life-threatening fight with a mushi and going through so much that even then he can’t appreciate life enough to discern whether the matcha he’s drinking is even tasty or not. There’s no joy in surviving and savouring the moment because for him there’s nothing to savour. In many ways, his condition mirrors depression…which is chilling because that’s as if to say that depression is akin to losing your soul.
Everything about Kumoda was just so sad to see. His past was the most terrible combination of events possible and his future is just as bleak. Without any purpose except to fight a mysterious mushi that might not even exist, he’s truly a cursed being. As much as you want to look for any spark of happiness or the twitch of a smile, you will not find it. Even the most joyous events could not stir his heart in the slightest. Maybe it is actually quite apt to compare depression to losing your soul, because it is simply something you cannot fight. You can’t just tell Kumoda to “snap out it” or that he’s just “in a phase,” after all.
In fact, Kumoda never does “snap out of it.” He is still unmoved by the scenery, nor the tea warming his finger, nor the company provided by Tanyuu and Ginko. Despite the attempts of Ginko and Tanyuu to get close to him, Kumoda shows no change. The episode ends with Tanyuu and Ginko happily bickering while Kumoda gazes at the horizon with no expression. You can arguably have a flicker of hope that Kumoda is staring at the scenery with nostalgia and a bit of fondness, but that hope is unfortunately very slim. I believe he will never find happiness. He is cursed to be a fake soul housing a body, and being replaced whenever necessary. When Kumoda says that he feels the same wherever he goes, does he also mean that no matter how many times his “soul” changes he is also the same? The promised eternity of his sorrow is terrifying to think about, and I would never wish such a thing on anybody.
Going into this episode, I had heard this was one of the darker stories. Given that Mushishi is already grim at the baseline level, I wasn’t sure just what to expect. Indeed, this episode goes into incredibly creepy and offputting territory. I think true horror isn’t having blood splattered everywhere or watching some blonde chick run screaming from an axe murderer. True horror is the quiet of sitting in a dark room and hearing strange noises. It’s the ordinary things we all have to face that scare us most. I love horror that is subtle, quiet, and leaves you shivering at the implications of what you’re watching. The near silence that accompanied the fake soul entering Kumoda’s body was more powerful than any music could have been. It was subtle, simple, but oh so devastating. Everyone’s afraid of the dark, but this takes it to a different level.
Seriously, the dark is terrifying even without monsters or mushi in it. I love how Kumoda complained about noises and asked if they were mushi. He was basically told “naw, you’re just slowly becoming paralyzed with fear and paranoia.” Being kept in the darkness was enough to make his soul literally leave his body. That’s it! What a terrifying thing! This episode skillfully and methodically told us a horror story about Kumoda and then left my heart in pieces. He never gets his soul back and lives a life of sadness forever and ever. The end.
The storytelling in Mushishi is slow, but it’s so deliberate and careful in the timing, delivery and set-up that you get these huge moments of pay-off every now and then. I’m amazed so much is accomplished without even including Ginko for most of it. He’s there as a familiar sight to us, but he doesn’t do much else. If anything, he’s there just to contrast Kumoda. Their differences are so stark that it’s almost humorous to see them try and work together. Kumoda has no regard for his own life, so he plows ahead recklessly. He also couldn’t give a damn about any mushi other than the one he was born to destroy. But we get the sense that this isn’t how most mushishi are. Ginko is careful, because he knows how truly dangerous mushi are. He takes the time to learn about every species he comes across so he has a knowledge base wide enough to cover problems in the future. He’s a smart guy. But Kumoda acts as if he’s going to die any second and as if the future doesn’t matter. He actually wants to die, so it makes sense.
So although Ginko really doesn’t do much (I kind of wish we saw more of younger!Ginko), he’s still an important set piece to show us just how far gone Kumoda is. But really, it’s all about the soulless mushishi who can’t enjoy anything he does. This episode is depressing, eerie and heart-breaking all at once. But I loved it so, so much.
“Did you know stars have shadows? They do. And can you imagine what it feels like to walk upon the shadow of a day? I can’t but I don’t have to.”
-Mark Z. Danielewski, The Fifty Year Sword
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 Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Sorry for the late post. Most of my tries to find and download the episodes were a bust because they weren’t on the usual site I visit. Even my last resort, watching from an anime site that needed buffering, which I hate with a passion, failed me miserably.
Nice to have a return to the eerie healing anime Mushishi, even if it’s just a taste until the second half comes along. This is about the darkest entry to the series yet and the life Kumoda had to live gives a lot of relief that you’re in his place but seeing him go through it is still unsettling. Leading an existence like that with nothing good to look forward is hell in and of itself.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
No need to apologize! Sometimes shows I’m blogging don’t show up on my usual site either and it really slows me down.
Ahhh, I can’t wait until the next season. It’s such a wonderful show to watch and write about! Kumoda was such an interesting character because of his situation…I kind of hope we see more of him in the future but that is highly unlikely.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I doubt we’ll see him again either. I’ve come to accept that Mushishi isn’t the type of series that revisits past victims.