Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Mushishi – Bugmaster

April 25, 2009 — 5 Comments

Now, let’s see… I wrote this review a long while ago. So long ago that I ended up watching the anime series xP

I’ve re-checked this review to try and have a balance between someone who didn’t know anything about Mushishi, and someone who saw the anime, and I think this review serves its purpose. Many of the things I felt weren’t properly built up, are in fact because the anime is very episode-based, and not much of a series… which I liked by the way. The anime is really REALLY great, so if you’re thinking of watching it after (or before) the film, go watch it.

Anyway… here we go~~

Something about the film:
(from Wikipedia)
This is a 2006 Live Action adaptation of the Manga series by Yuki Urushibara, featuring ubiquitous creatures called Mushi, which most humans are incapable of perceiving. However, there are few who possess the ability to see and interact with them, one of them is Ginko who refers to himself as a Mushishi (or Bugmaster), traveling from place to place to research Mushi and help people suffering from problems caused by them.

The film corresponds to chapters 2, 7, 9 and 15 of the Manga.

Genre: Fantasy
Starring: Joe Odagiri, Nao Omori, Makiko Esumi, Yu Aoi
Duration: +2hrs

You know the drill. Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

Mushishi - Poster jpThis film begins with a scene of a little boy, his mother, and a landslide, which ends up killing the mom. This little boy’s name is Yoki, who will become Ginko (Jo Odagiri) in our story. It is important to point out that the scenes with Yoki are never clear as to where they truly belong in time, until halfway through or so…

The pace of the film is quite slow, and lacks much action if that is what you are expecting from a film based on an manga/anime, but it holds its own with the concept of Mushi. If you are like me, and haven’t seen or read either, you will find yourself interested in checking them out. However, the ending of the film seems kind of flat, and anticlimactic compared to the scene between Odagiri and Yu Aoi, who plays Tanyu.

I am not entirely sure of who Tanyu is in the story, but her character and the interaction between her and Ginko reminded me of my Harry Potter days (if you catch my drift). Tanyu, I think, has a faulty leg so she has trouble moving, despite her request of running away with Ginko… they both can’t be together. And their scenes after the “high point” of the film are cut short, which I think was a pity. At some point by the end, I was expecting Tanyu to show up again and sort of save the day because Ginko didn’t look his best after the incident with the Mushi.

Yu did pretty good with her short screen time, and I think she did this either right before, or right after “Welcome to the Quiet Room,” because she looked skinny… which actually served well with the shots showing how creepy her limbs looked after she got Mushi-infected. My only pet-peeve would probably be the scene after she “gets better” and she seems TOTALLY fine, like nothing happened… too fine for someone who was one step too closer to the other side, if you know what I mean. Despite that, I dug that scene with the “writing on the wall” and putting that back on the scrolls.

Story:★★¾☆☆ 
Characters:★★★☆☆ 
Direction:★★¾☆☆ 
Acting:★★★☆☆ 
Visuals:★★★½☆ 
Overall:★★★☆☆ 
Yu Aoi Participation:★★☆☆☆ 
Yu Aoi Performance:★★★¼☆ 

Favorite Scene: I liked that bit with Tanyu and the sticks, which kinda looked like a dance… but I will choose the scene with Tanyu looking down on Ginko’s moonlit face. I don’t think she said anything, but it was something about that moment that I liked.

Here some posters and some stills~~~

5 responses to Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Mushishi – Bugmaster

  1. having watched both the anime and the film, I must say that I was quite pleased with the movie. Not sure it’s totally understandable if one doesn’t know the anime but I think the rendering of the atmosphere was good.

    Joe Odagiri is one of my fave male actors, so I guess it helped. Small role for Aoi Yû but she was good and looked particularly beautiful.

  2. it was a little confusing to me, especially when you just sort of figure out Yoji is Ginko, and the big ‘ending’ it just felt a little boring compared to that previous scene with the mushi writing… but maybe I’m biased. This is after all a Yu discussion~~ LOL

    The feeling of the film is exactly like the anime xD with a few tweaks, I could have given this nearly 4 stars~~ Anyway, it did get me to watch the anime. I thought mushis were fascinating things!

    And I should really look for the manga.

Trackbacks and Pingbacks:

  1. personal.amy-wong.com - A Blog by Amy Wong. » Blog Archive » The Ultimate Fan Activity - May 24, 2009

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  2. personal.amy-wong.com – A Blog by Amy Wong. » Blog Archive » Yu Aoi’s Updated Wiki Entry - May 16, 2011

    […] be a prolific year for her as she participated in the live action adaptation of the manga series Mushishi alongside Joe Odagiri, as well as WOWOW’s Don’t Laugh at my Romance, Welcome to the […]

  3. Yu Aoi Films Ranked *Fancy Edition* | personal.amy-wong.com - A Blog by Amy Wong. - June 26, 2013

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