Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season Review
Friday, August 07, 2015
It’s been a good decade of yearning for more Mushishi and unfortunately that time has come and for me it’s the end of the final chapter for one of the greatest anime series out there. No comedy, no stereotypical tricks, no salacious gimmicks were needed to draw me into watching Mushishi Zoku Shou 2, just some great story telling.
The story of Mushishi Zoku Shou is a continuation of what the first season and Zoku Shou set out to accomplish, and that was beautiful and well developed/thought out arcs within 20 minutes. What I really enjoyed about Zoku Shou 2, or the entire Mushishi franchise, is that there was nothing predictable. Meaning in every episode there’s an air of mystery and surprise, so it’s difficult to anticipate what can happen in each episode; which I think is the formula to its success. I’ve read a few reviews online saying, “oh the final season was not that good, there’s something missing but I can’t put my finger on it.” Honest to god, in my eyes there is no difference when Mushishi premiered 10 years ago to the final season that aired just recently. It’s the same amazing storytelling and Ginko has not changed one bit, so nothing has really changed.
That whole slow-paced aurora of each episode of Mushishi Zoku Shou 2 further extends to the animation and music. The art and colour adaptation is really neutral, so no extravagant colouring. The gorgeous sceneries seen at times add more extravagance and personal appreciation, credible to the amount of work the producers put in to make Mushishi Zoku Shou look as great, if not better, as it originally did. Music on the other hand worked in union with the whole relaxed vibe that Mushishi puts out there, and there’s a vast amount of those calm and very soft tunes you’d hear in the OST. Although the music was nice to listen to, it wouldn’t be something I’d enjoy personally – it just worked perfectly with the tranquil façade of Mushishi.
Overall, nothing has really changed when comparing the big debut of the first season to the final season. If anything the quality of the animation was upgraded to the quality of 2014/2015 standards. It’s an episodic anime, meaning that each episode delivers a different story. To my demise I decided to marathon the first 6 episodes and found myself going insane due to the calm and slow-paced movement of each episode. For those who want to start the Mushishi series, I’d recommend watching one or two episodes and day, and that’s it. It’s sort of hard to marathon a relaxing and soothing anime without getting bored really quick; and that totally ruins the impact Mushishi attempts to deliver with each episode.
Anyways, that’s it for this review – thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the Mushishi franchise leave a comment below about it or comment below about my review!
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