DVD Review: Mushi-Shi The Movie
Katsuhiro Ôtomo Directs Film Based on Yuki Urushibara Manga
Sep 10, 2009 Dominic von Riedemann
Mushi-Shi (loosely translated as Bugmaster) was originally a popular supernatural manga by Yuki Urushibara. Running from 1999 to 2008, it's been successfully translated into TV anime before director Katsuhiro Ôtomo (Akira) decided to turn it into a live-action feature film.
Featured at the Sundance, TIFF, Seattle, Stiges and Venice Film Festivals, FUNimation now brings Mushi-Shi to DVD. A slow-moving, yet absorbing fantasy film, it somehow never quite comes together
Jô Odagiri, Yû Aoi Star in Mushi-Shi, Directed by Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Prematurely gray, one-eyed Ginko (Jô Odagiri) is a mushi-shi, who protects humanity from mushi, supernatural, amoeba-like creatures that prey on humans. Forced to wander by the very power that helps him combat the creatures, he walks the land, destroying mushi infestations and healing the afflicted.
However, when Ginko tries to heal the woman he loves (Yû Aoi) – a fellow healer/sage who has lost control of her mushi – it not only forces him to use his powers to the breaking point, but also makes him confront his long-forgotten past.
What makes Mushi-Shi such a fascinating film is how it elevates Yuki Urushibara's manga to the status of legend. Ôtomo gives the material more mythic connotation than it perhaps deserves, crafting a poetic tone to this tale of lethal beauty and lost memory. He conjures indelible performances from his actors – whether it's mushi-shi who fight against the very powers that make them special or the humans caught in the middle – giving these characters weight and substance.
Yes, the CGI effects are primitive by Hollywood standards, but they are nonetheless effective as luminescent beings float through the air, and kanji script flows across the floor to menaces our hero. Visually, this film is stunning, and beautifully photographed.
Yet somehow Mushi-Shi fails to gel. Perhaps it's the film's slow pace that doesn't allow the usual rise and fall to occur. Maybe it's the fact that Ôtomo is trying to graft a film structure onto a serial story that never really had one in the first place. Either way, the film doesn't quite come together the way it really should: it's probably because the first act – where Ginko heals a mushi-afflicted little girl – doesn't really tie into the rest of the film. All it does is demonstrate Ginko's powers.
DVD Extras
Other than the previews for other movies, the most interesting extra is the deleted scenes. Most of them should have been left in the film, since they add a great deal to the film. Also, the alternate ending is arguably stronger than the one actually used in the film.
"Mushi-Shi Premieres" shows the main cast and director treading the red carpet and talking up the film, both at various film festivals and at the Japanese premiere.
The Final Analysis
Mushi-Shi is an interesting fantasy film that elevates a manga to the level of myth. On the other hand, it is slow-moving, feels disjointed in places, and it never quite gels. It gets a 6/10.
Mushi-Shi DVD cover
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