Mushishi

2005 • TMDB 8.1 • 2 seasons • 46 episodes • Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Fuji TV

Overview

Mushishi follows Ginko, a wandering Mushishi, through a rural, timeless Japan where most people cannot see the creatures that shape their lives. Mushi are the most basic forms of life — neither good nor evil, neither plant nor animal — drifting invisibly through forests, rivers and villages, and sometimes causing illness, strange weather or eerie phenomena. Ginko travels from place to place, cigarette in hand, listening to rumors, studying the Mushi and helping the people they afflict, even when the cure is bittersweet or impossible. Each episode is a self-contained, quietly devastating folktale, animated with lush, painterly beauty and a gentle, melancholic score. Based on Yuki Urushibara’s acclaimed manga, Mushishi is one of anime’s great meditative masterpieces: slow, strange and deeply humane, a show about living alongside forces we can never fully understand.

Main Cast

• Yuto Nakano as Ginko (46 episodes)
• Ai Kobayashi as Tanyuu Karibusa (46 episodes)
• Yuji Ueda as Adashino (46 episodes)
• Mika Doi as Narrator / Nui (46 episodes)
• Miyu Tsuzurahara as Young Tanyuu Karibusa (21 episodes)

Seasons Snapshot

Season 1 ran for 26 episodes, premiering on October 23, 2005. Season 2, titled The Next Passage, ran for 20 episodes, premiering on April 5, 2014, and concluded with “Tree of Eternity” on December 21, 2014. A separate 6-episode Specials collection (2006) is not counted in the 46-episode total.

Why Watch Mushishi?

• One of anime’s most acclaimed and meditative series — a true masterpiece of atmosphere.
• Each episode is a self-contained folktale, so you can dip in anywhere.
• Ginko is a wonderfully understated hero: calm, curious and quietly kind.
• Gorgeous, painterly animation and a haunting score that stay with you.
• A rare anime that trusts silence, nature and ambiguity to do the talking.

Trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube (Crunchyroll Dubs).

Where to Watch

As checked on JustWatch US on October 30, 2026, Mushishi is not available for streaming in the United States. It is available to buy on Amazon Video (1 season). Related films and specials are listed separately on JustWatch.