Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 10

This episode of Mushishi told a story of a man whose memories and physical being merged with a supernatural tree. The visual narrative sets up the fusion between man and tree with the use of color, tone and space.

These wide shots of Kanta blend him with the color and tone of the woods as if he’s almost part of it. Kanta’s clothing share the same brown color and moderately grey tone that dominate his surroundings. The limited color and tonal separation between Kanta and the woods served as visual foreshadowing of his eventual transformation.

Another thing to note is the use of shafts of light as leading lines. Even though Kanta blends with the environment the leading lines keep the audience’s attention on him

In the scene leading up to Kanta’s fusion with the tree, regression in spatial depth were used in the wide shots to reflect his transformation. The first two wide shots use deep space composition to emulate a three dimensional world. The first accomplishes deep space by having Kanta moving in the z-axis (away from the camera) and the second shot does it differently by using a high camera angle that creates perspective lines (tree stump). As the scene approaches his transformation the sense of depth decreases as evident by the last two shots. These shots have limited spatial depth; strong depth cues that are perspective lines and z-axis movement are gone. Frontal planes (background, mid-ground and foreground) become the main but weaker depth cues. By limiting depth the spatial separation between the tree stump and Kanta decreases and helps create a visual build up of his transformation.

Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 5

Mushishi just does simple and subtle composition so well. Upon first viewing it’s unnoticeable but nonetheless effective in telling the story and quite fitting for the understated drama the show is going for.

The shots above are from the dialogue between Ginko and Gen’s father prior to the flashback about the mother. The first shot is a simple off center shot of the two. The camera is angled on them from the right side. This angle conceals the right side of the room and tells the audience to ignore that area. The dialogue progresses to the second shot, where Ginko looks off screen to his right, suggesting that there’s actually something of interest there. It then cuts to a shot of Gen, showing that Ginko knew all along that he was listening from behind that side of room and he means to reveal the truth to him unbeknownst to his father. This sequence is a good example of misdirection (concealing the right side) and redirection (shifting Ginko’s eyeline to the right) to build drama in a subdued manner.

These shots are after the flashback. As you’ll notice in the first shot, the camera is now angled on them from the left side, effectively showing the right side of room (sliding door). By doing so, it now includes Gen into the conversation from behind the sliding door. This also sets up the emotional part of the scene when Gen finally opens that door and pleads his desire to see his mother.

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The intro to this episode was beautifully done. Not only does it build interest in a key story element but also uses it for an elegant wipe transition.

Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 3

Visual repetition is an effect often used by the Mushishi series to convey the importance of certain story elements. Often times, the repeated visual is related to the Mushi’s affect on humans. When implemented properly, repetition can lead to visually meaningful scenes. In this episode the repeated story element are shadows, specifically during sunset.

The last shot (bottom right) is the dramatic culmination of the repeated images of shadows. The insert shot of the husband’s shadow sets up the moment when he offers to switch places with Akane's shadow as a form of repentance.

You can go back as far as Season 1 – Episode 2 (The Light of the Eyelid) to see examples of visual repetition. In this episode you’ll see repeated shots with bloomy sunlight and sunrays.

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This shot is a well balanced composition that demonstrates the equivalent visual of weight of the two characters. The husband is in the background but draws attention with the use of frame within a frame and by being centered. Mikage provides counterbalance by appearing bigger in the foreground. This balance not only enhances the impact of the revelation but also reflects the burden they’re now equally carrying.

Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 2

This was a riveting time loop episode where we witnessed a man relive both his regrets and his happiest moments in life. Each loop of Kaoru’s life were shot slightly differently in order to avoid being overly repetitive. That in itself wasn’t very interesting but there were some subtle changes that complemented the tension building done by the superb pacing.

These shots are the first and second time that Kaoru was shown entering the tunnel. In the second shot, Kaoru is farther into the tunnel which visually communicates how he’s being absorbed deeper and deeper into the time loop.

Time loop stories are built on sequential patterns. The insert shots (first two) of Kaoru taking a step into the tunnel were part of that pattern. After being made aware of his situation by Ginko, we started to anticipate if he will break the pattern. The first two insert shots helped build this anticipation that made the third insert shot of him stepping away from the tunnel even more gratifying.

After Kaoru entered the tunnel to save his wife, the loop was restarted from her perspective. The top row is Kaoru’s time loop and the bottom one is the wife’s. As you will notice, the wife’s time loop was consisted of POV, over the shoulder, and side view shots done from her vantage point.

Mushishi Zoku Shou 2nd Season - Episode 1

The repeating imagery of this episode was that of the open hands. When framed from different perspectives the open hands can express a different meaning.

In the above images the open hands were framed from a perspective that’s more likely associated with receiving or taking. In those shots Ginko’s was tempted to take the mountain lord’s egg for himself with the thought it might fill the void created by his isolation and lack of purpose. Symbolically, the egg could represent rebirth to Ginko who has been dealt a bad hand in life.

These shots presents the open hands in a way that's more likely associated with giving or offering. In this scene the hands are actually taking something from Ginko but it could be seen as an offer to take the burden of the broken egg off him. Then with one simple gesture the hands offered him reprieve and a second chance in life.

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Much of the first few exchanges between Ginko and Suguro were shots of them facing away from the camera and each other. Showing just Suguro’s back was a subtle way of creating a sense of wariness and mistrust.

After Ginko explained his predicament of being taken advantaged of by other mushi-shis, Suguro is then shot looking back at him. This could be seen as a gesture of understanding and dissipating suspicion.

Mushishi Zoku Shou: Path of Thorns

Darkness and isolation were the major themes of “Path of Thorns.” Simple usage of different shades of black background, single subject composition (the hut), and slow tilt movement communicated these themes powerfully.

While shots of darkness dominated this double episode, the more interesting part is the use of small light, specifically candle light. If the shots were constantly dark, it could start feeling monotonic and lose that haunting effect. The shots of candle light provide contrast that help exaggerate the darkness. Losing that small amount of light is more haunting than constant darkness.

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The above shots are so simple yet very effective. In the first image, Kumado is staring at the door and waiting for it to slide open. This conveys his feeling of isolation and how he seeks just a brief relief from it. This sets up the second shot, where the audience most likely assumes that he’s again waiting, which makes the cut to his soulless body more unsettling.

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Again, the above images are just simple but strong composition. By having the characters off center (Rule of Thirds) we get a better sense of space. These shots illustrate the emptiness, seclusion and gloom Kumado is going through.

Mushishi Zoku Shou Episode 9

This episode neatly used long/scenic shots not just to establish the setting but to briefly introduce the peculiarity of the story. The opening scene begins with shots of snowy mountains, barren trees and typical winter conditions that are obviously unfit for agriculture. The scene ends with a shot of the green rice patties in the middle of dull winter colors. This contrast subtly introduces the viewers to the supernatural aspect of the episode.

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The next images show the use of one-point perspective.

This scene uses the layers of sliding doors to create a subtle one-point perspective view. Even as a conversation takes place, the view creates such an eerie and captivating effect that it draws the viewers' attention to the background. The scene above cleverly uses the layers of doors to convey progression to the point of interest. The camera progresses through each layer of doors, until it finally gets to very end to reveal the oddity of rice patties in the middle of winter.

The shot above again uses the doors to create a perspective line. While the previous scene used it to create intrigue, this shot uses it give the viewers an observer's point of view to the emotional exchange that occurred between father and son.