The WORST episodes of Mushi-Shi

Every episode of Mushi-Shi ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Mushi-Shi!

They are neither plants nor animals. They differ from other forms of life such as the micro-organisms and the fungi. Instead they resemble the primeval body of life and are generally known as "Mushi". Their existence and appearance are unknown to many and only a limited number of humans are aware of them. Ginko is a "Mushi-shi" who travels around to investigate and find out more about the "Mushi". In the process, he also lends a helping hand to people who face problems with supernatural occurances which may be related to the "Mushi".

Last Updated: 9/24/2026Network: Tokyo MXStatus: Ended
The Sound of Rust
star
8.50
56 votes

#1 - The Sound of Rust

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/28/2006

In a cold mountainous region, Ginko is wandering around the snow cover plain when he hears a sound ringing through the cold air and he also notices some rust on a tree. Ginko enters a nearby town to find the rust covering everywhere, including the people. The village chief tells Ginko that this is a sickness that has been affecting the town for 14 years that the people have been slowly losing the movements of the limbs and it's said that a girl called Shige is the cause of it.

Directors: Osamu Yamazaki
Tender Horns
star
8.53
57 votes

#2 - Tender Horns

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/6/2005

On silent snowy nights, when no sounds can be heard, many people go deaf in one or both ears. The doctors can't do anything, so they think it might be paranormal. Ginko looks into some of the villager's ears and he tells them that the cause is a Mushi called "Un". After dealing with their small problems there is one more person who has lost sound in both of his ears and his condition is very different than the other people's, as he has also grown four horns on his head.

Directors: Tatsuyuki Nagai
The Green Seat
star
8.67
85 votes

#3 - The Green Seat

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/23/2005

Shinra, a boy living in a forest with mysterious powers, calls for Ginko, The Mushishi, to help him with his problems. While Ginko is staying with Shinra, he tells him all about Mushi and his powers. Later on, while walking in Shinra's house at night, Ginko finds a Mushi... But this isn't an ordinary Mushi, it's Shinra's grandmother!

Directors: Hiroshi Nagahama
The Pretense of Spring
star
9.00
56 votes

#4 - The Pretense of Spring

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/5/2006

"When all are sheltering within, there comes an imitation of spring. Linger in bliss for too long and your flesh will soon be frozen..." Caught in a blizzard, Ginko is decides to look for shelter and finds a home where the owner, Suzu allows him to stay the night. The next day Ginko sees a boy, Miharu who seems to be fascinated by Mushi. Ginko learns that Miharu once disappeared into the mountains in the winter and then suddenly came back in spring, able to see Mushi. Miharu has been repeating this since and it may be caused by a "Harumagari" so in the end, Ginko decides to teach him more about Mushi.

Directors: Dan Odawara
Fragrant Darkness
star
9.93
30 votes

#5 - Fragrant Darkness

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/26/2014

A man feels something vaguely familiar, yet terrifying, as he smells the scent of flowers at night. As an old man, walking through the woods, he finds a tunnel, and is compelled to enter it. While going through it, he reminisces about important events in his life up to that point, but it seems there is something he can't quite recall. Perhaps long ago, the visit of a traveler looking for shelter on a rainy day, might help shed light on the unsettled feeling he has.

Beneath the Snow
star
9.93
30 votes

#6 - Beneath the Snow

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/19/2014

Ginko visits a village where it snows most of the year to study snow mushi. He finds a boy with a strange affliction that causes snow to fall on him perpetually. He's become insensitive to the cold, and warmth is painful for him. It's dangerous for him to expose himself to the cold so much, but he doesn't even seem to care.

The Hand That Caresses the Night
star
10.00
29 votes

#7 - The Hand That Caresses the Night

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/26/2014

A young man has the power to lure animals to him using a scent issuing from his hand. He inherited this power from his father, and it makes hunting easier. But it makes the meat from his prey taste foul. More serious is the risk of losing his mind to the power and confusing family with prey. There's a cure, but will the boy be willing to give up his power?

The Warbling Seashell
star
10.00
29 votes

#8 - The Warbling Seashell

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/12/2014

Near a village by the sea, a girl lives with her father on a secluded crag. She wants to make friends, but her father, for some reason, doesn't want her associating with the village people. When Ginko arrives, he finds a mushi that's an omen of disaster. Will the girl's father be able to forgive past events and help the village?

Mirror Lake
star
10.00
29 votes

#9 - Mirror Lake

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/3/2014

Ginko encounters a young woman being followed by a mysterious, watery creature. The woman becomes weak, and her family believes it to be lovesickness. Ginko reveals the truth of the mushi attached to her, but the woman must decide whether to give up her body to the mushi, or to dispel it and continue living.

Floral Delusion
star
10.00
29 votes

#10 - Floral Delusion

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/10/2014

Ginko meets a woman with a striking beauty that lacks all five senses and according to the man who takes care of her, is over 80 years old and has lived in his family for generations. While investigating the mushi responsible for it, Ginko discovers an even darker secret involving the two.

Cloudless Rain
star
10.00
29 votes

#11 - Cloudless Rain

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/24/2014

A woman afflicted by a water-type mushi decides to make use of her condition to help those in need.

Wind Raiser
star
10.00
29 votes

#12 - Wind Raiser

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/7/2014

While on board a boat, Ginko meets a young man who has developed a connection to a flock of bird-type mushi able to create wind.

Valley of the Welling Tide
star
10.00
29 votes

#13 - Valley of the Welling Tide

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/14/2014

Ginko falls unconscious on a snowy mountain. He is helped by locals who somehow manage to grow their fields despite the weather, mainly because of a worker with unabated stamina. But at what cost does this vigor come?

Depths of Winter
star
10.00
29 votes

#14 - Depths of Winter

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/21/2014

On his way to answer a summons, Ginko is trapped on a mountain that has been sealed by the mountain lord, and is experiencing an eternal winter because of some trapped snow-mushi. Why has the mountain lord sealed the mountain, and how will Ginko escape this eternal winter?

Cushion of Grass
star
10.00
30 votes

#15 - Cushion of Grass

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/19/2014

After his encounter with Nui and before becoming a mushishi, young Ginko moved from place to place, due to his condition of attracting mushi. At one point he found himself instructed and cared for by a mushishi named Suguro, in the lands of a dying Mountain Lord. Ginko wonders about his place in the world and the natural order, as Suguro worries that the new Mountain Lord hasn't yet appeared.

Lingering Crimson
star
10.00
30 votes

#16 - Lingering Crimson

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/2/2014

At dusk, about to go home after playing with her friends, a young girl named Akane found a shadow without a caster. On that same day, she disappeared. Several years later, Ginko is told the story of Mikage, a girl who appeared with no memories at Akane's village shortly after the vanishing of the latter.

Hidden Cove
star
10.00
29 votes

#17 - Hidden Cove

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/9/2014

Yura and Sumi, the former's caretaker, were close friends. Eventually, as they were moved apart, Yura could still feel Sumi's presence. However, whenever that happened, she'd become like an empty shell, worrying her father. As Ginko comes to know of the case, he proceeds to offer them advice, as the condition is caused by a mushi that can connect people's minds.

Thread of Light
star
10.00
29 votes

#18 - Thread of Light

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 11/16/2014

A young boy named Gen troubles his father by being too rough with other kids, who pick on him due to his absent mother. The child, too strong for his age, also claims to be able to see strange creatures that no one else sees. As Ginko arrives at Gen's place, the story behind Gen's strength is revealed as the mushishi recounts the day he met a woman who'd woven a mysterious seamless garment.

Sea of Otherworldly Stars
star
10.00
29 votes

#19 - Sea of Otherworldly Stars

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 11/23/2014

Izumi is alone in a world that mirrors our own. Having forgotten how she came to be there, she remains trapped while her family searches in vain. Her father believes she has been kidnapped, while her mother and sister Mizuho believe that she is still inside the house, even though they cannot see her. Ginko crosses into the other world to try to save her.

Azure Waters
star
10.00
29 votes

#20 - Azure Waters

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 11/30/2014

Ginko encounters Yuuta, a boy who is excellent at swimming and fishing but has webbed hands and cold skin. After discovering the boy's unnatural affinity for water, he sets out to treat the rain mushi causing his strange behavior.

Lightning's End
star
10.00
29 votes

#21 - Lightning's End

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 12/7/2014

Multiple lightning strikes have been observed hitting the same tree, and Ginko investigates. He meets a strange boy who attracts lightning to himself due to a mushi's influence. His mother believes he is doing it to spite her and struggles with the fact that she doesn't love her child.

Mud Grass
star
10.00
29 votes

#22 - Mud Grass

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 12/14/2014

Shigeru's daughter (Yuri) is found dead in the mountains. A painful skin infection breaks out in his village. Ginko can cure the disease of the villagers but Shigeru has a much more serious case. It turns out that he and the son of his deceased brother brought back the mushi causing the problem to the village when they broke a taboo.

Tree of Eternity
star
10.00
29 votes

#23 - Tree of Eternity

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 12/21/2014

A restless man, Kanta, on his way home to his wife and young daughter (Futaba), sits down to rest in a forest. He is tired and thirsty so he eats a red fruit that was lying on the ground near him, and gives thanks to the plum. Some time after this, he starts having vivid memories both in his dreams and while awake of times going back before his birth. He goes looking for a huge tree but finding it does not make him happy.

Sunrise Serpent
star
10.00
28 votes

#24 - Sunrise Serpent

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/12/2006

It is spring, and Ginko is taking a boat through a river, when the boat's boy, Kaji, asks Ginko whether he could help his mother, who's forgetting things and can't sleep. At first glance it may appear to be progressive amnesia, however something isn't right.

Directors: Ryo Miyata
The Pillow Pathway
star
10.00
28 votes

#25 - The Pillow Pathway

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/13/2005

Ginko hears a rumor around town that a man is has prophetic dreams every once in a while. He suspects that Mushi are living in his dreams. He gives the man medicine to keep them under control and says he will come back when he has used about all of them. When Ginko returns, the village is deserted and torn up. Ginko finds the man alone in is house. The man then tells him about what happened while he was away.

Directors: Koichiro Sohtome