There is no doubt that Mushishi is a magical read, and I’m not just talking about the supernatural subject matter, but rather the skilled storytelling that bellies bits of wisdom and beauty in each chapter. The world created is so rich it becomes alive each time you open the book. Examination on a chapter by chapter basis can reveal human nature, the strength and weakness present in all people, and the thrill of discovery. Ginko is the perfect person to tell us these stories because he is as curious as the reader in what these beings called Mushi will reveal.
In magical theory there the concepts of sympathetic and antipathetic magic. Sympathetic magic is the idea that you use things that are similar to cast a spell because their correspondence enhances the spell. A voodoo doll works because it looks like a human and it has pieces of the subject to create a link between the two. The concept of antipathetic magic says that things of opposing nature can be used to create just as effective a result. Antipathetic magic would use the trappings of the dead to bring something back to life. In a similar fashion, Mushishi uses two life forms that are on opposite ends of the spectrum to show us more about the human condition.
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