Hey, guys welcome back to Kaizetsu.com. Today we are going to provide you the list of Anime which are very similar to anime named Mushishi.
Short introduction to Mushishi
“Mushi”: the most basic forms of life in the world. They exist without any goals or purposes aside from simply “being.” They are beyond the shackles of the words “good” and “evil.” Mushi can exist in countless forms and are capable of mimicking things from the natural world such as plants, diseases, and even phenomena like rainbows.
This is, however, just a vague definition of these entities that inhabit the vibrant world of Mushishi, as to even call them a form of life would be an oversimplification. Detailed information on Mushi is scarce because the majority of humans are unaware of their existence.
So what are Mushi and why do they exist? This is the question that a “Mushishi,” Ginko, ponders constantly. Mushishi are those who research Mushi in hopes of understanding their place in the world’s hierarchy of life.
Ginko chases rumors of occurrences that could be tied to Mushi, all for the sake of finding an answer.
10. Ookami to Koushinryou (Spice and Wolf)
Description: Holo is a powerful wolf deity who is celebrated and revered in the small town of Pasloe for blessing the annual harvest. Yet as years go by and the villagers become more self-sufficient, Holo, who stylizes herself as the “Wise Wolf of Yoitsu,” has been reduced to a mere folk tale. When a traveling merchant named Kraft Lawrence stops at Pasloe, Holo offers to become his business partner if he eventually takes her to her northern home of Yoitsu. The savvy trader recognizes Holo’s unusual ability to evaluate a person’s character and accepts her proposition. Now in the possession of both sharp business skills and a charismatic negotiator, Lawrence inches closer to his goal of opening his own shop. However, as Lawrence travels the countryside with Holo in search of economic opportunities, he begins to realize that his aspirations are slowly morphing into something unexpected.
Number of Episodes: 13
Release Year: 2008
Both Mushishi and Spice and Wolf give you the same feeling when watching them. They are both slow passed yet interesting enough to keep you going, they both focus on traveling, and both take place in fantasy worlds (although it is more prevalent in Mushishi). Even though Mushishi follows one character and Spice and Wolf two, the way the main characters act in some of the situations are similar.
9. Bakemonogatari
Description: Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student, manages to survive a vampire attack with the help of Meme Oshino, a strange man residing in an abandoned building. Though being saved from vampirism and now a human again, several side effects such as superhuman healing abilities and enhanced vision still remain. Regardless, Araragi tries to live the life of a normal student, with the help of his friend and the class president, Tsubasa Hanekawa.
When fellow classmate Hitagi Senjougahara falls down the stairs and is caught by Araragi, the boy realizes that the girl is unnaturally weightless. Despite Senjougahara’s protests, Araragi insists he help her, deciding to enlist the aid of Oshino, the very man who had once helped him with his own predicament.
Number of Episodes: 15
Release Year: 2010
Both of these animes are about people who deal with the interactions of otherworldy creatures and humans. The series are divided up into short segments. However, Bakemonogatari’s short stories can last a few episodes long while each episode of Mushishi is seperate. Bakemonogatari is more eccentric with unique animations and a cast of very developed characters. Mushishi focuses more on nature and harmony and has only one main character.
8. Fumetsu no Anata e (To Your Eternity)
Description: An Orb, known only as It, is cast to Earth to be observed from afar. Capable of changing forms from beings whose reflections It captures, It first becomes a rock and then, due to the rising temperature, moss.
It is inept of movement until one snowy day, a wolf at death’s door barely crosses by. When It takes the animal’s form, It attains awareness of its consciousness and starts to wander with an unclear destination in mind. Soon, It comes across the wolf’s master—a young boy waiting for his tribe to return from a paradise abundant with fish and fruit in the south. Although the boy is lonely, he still hopes those whom he holds dear in his memories have not forgotten him and that he will reunite with them one day.
Number of Episodes: 20
Release Year: 2021
Overall very similar feeling. Emotional, thoughtful, and heartwarming feeling. There’s a Mushi creature that’s important to the story. They both travel and encounter different people and stories.
7. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)
Description: With the rise of the Iron Age in feudal Japan, man and nature grow increasingly at odds. As mankind infringes more and more into the kingdom of the beasts, many of the elder animal gods begin to succumb to their rage, cursing themselves as they lash out at rural and urban settlements alike. When a young Ashitaka, hero of his village, is imparted with one of these curses after slaying a crazed god, he forces himself into exile to prevent further harm to his village. As he ventures out into the world, however, he discovers just how dire the straights have become – with man and beast ready to break into all out war, his curse becomes the least of his problems. As both sides teeter dangerously on the side of outright slaughter of one another, Ashitaka sets his own problems aside and, using his charisma and honor, seeks to quell the hatred before it gets beyond repair – but will he be in time or is he simply delaying the inevitable?
Number of Episodes: Movie
Release Year: 1997
Obviously both anime deal with themes of nature, Japanese tradition and mythology. Both authors question the “common sense reality” by introducing magical elements and experiences to consider social developments of fictional pre-industrial Japan (towards a more rational and modern society). Mononoke and Mushishi rely on music and intensive drawing as primary sources of cinematic atmosphere.
6. Dororo
Description: The greedy samurai lord Daigo Kagemitsu’s land is dying, and he would do anything for power, even renounce Buddha and make a pact with demons. His prayers are answered by 12 demons who grant him the power he desires by aiding his prefecture’s growth, but at a price. When Kagemitsu’s first son is born, the boy has no limbs, no nose, no eyes, no ears, nor even skin—yet still, he lives.
This child is disposed of in a river and forgotten. But as luck would have it, he is saved by a medicine man who provides him with prosthetics and weapons, allowing for him to survive and fend for himself. The boy lives and grows, and although he cannot see, hear, or feel anything, he must defeat the demons that took him as sacrifice. With the death of each one, he regains a part of himself that is rightfully his. For many years he wanders alone, until one day an orphan boy, Dororo, befriends him. The unlikely pair of castaways now fight for their survival and humanity in an unforgiving, demon-infested world.
Number of Episodes: 24
Release Year: 2019
The main characters spend a great deal of time travelling from place to place, dealing with the supernatural. In Dororo, “dealing with” means slaughtering, in Mushishi it means coming to an understanding, usually through experience and knowledge of the world. They both feature very distinct color design when it comes to the worlds themselves. While the actions and motivations of the main characters might be polar opposites, their intentional and focused attitude is very similar.
5. xxxHOLiC
Description: Kimihiro Watanuki is cursed with the ability to see evil spirits known as Youkai. Due to this power, the Youkai are attracted to him like a magnet, and each time he is close to being devoured. One day, fate drew him to a strange store and there, he met Yuuko, who was dressed in a very exquisite fashion. As destiny would have it, Yuuko has the ability to save Kimihiro from seeing the Youkai, but for a price: Kimihiro must work for Yuuko by performing chores around the store and other odd tasks, until she deems fit. With his “friend” Doumeki, and his secret crush Himawari, they will discover that the world they live in is nowhere close to ordinary!
Number of Episodes: 24
Release Year: 2006
Mushishi and XXXHOLiC both deal largely with superstitions in Japanese culture and religion, but handle the subject in different ways – if you are looking for a light-hearted Anime with great characters and humour then you can’t go wrong with XXXHOLiC, and if you’re looking for a more surreal and slower-paced series dealing with these subjects, then Mushishi is highly recommended.
4. Haibane Renmei
Description: A young woman quietly falls to the earth, escorted by a solitary crow. This sort of dream, as many other before have dreamed, comes just before being reborn as a Haibane, a charcoal-winged angel. On the outskirts of the walled-in city lies Old Home, a haven for Haibane to study, live, and learn, while waiting for their chance to ascend to the heavens and escape the confines of their new world. Rakka is the newest inhabitant of Old Home who wants nothing more than to remember her past and discover the secrets of her kind. Together with Reki, Kuu and plenty of other new friends, Rakka will laugh, explore, and search for the meaning of their existence in the process.
Number of Episodes: 13
Release Year: 2002
It’s almost difficult to put a finger on what Haibane Renmei and Mushishi truly have ‘in common’, but they are drawn together by a certain feeling that is uplifting yet ominous at times. These are both very dreamlike anime, with mystical beings who you want so badly to understand.
These two anime also have a somewhat similar style of animation. Haibane and Mushishi both make great use of darker and less flamboyant colors and have wondrous landscapes and background sceneries.
3. Mononoke
Description: The “Medicine Seller” is a deadly and mysterious master of the occult who travels across feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits called “mononoke” to slay. When he locates one of these spirits, he cannot simply kill it; he must first learn its Form, its Truth, and its Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight against it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—an extremely dangerous step, as he must first confront and learn about the mononoke before he even has the means to defeat it.
Number of Episodes: 12
Release Year: 2007
Mononoke and Mushishi both tackle the supernatural with a feel of suspence and a dash of fright. Not only are the themes very similar but also the main character in both is a wandering “shaman” if you will. These are both excellent anime for those of us that like a little suspence and a great ghost story told with the lights turned off.
2. Kino’s Journey
Description: In another world, there exist many countries, each with different cultures, customs, and traditions. From technological marvels to folk legends, each location yields a vast wealth of insight of its people: their hopes and their dreams, their failures and fears. Kino is a traveler whose goal is to visit as many new places as possible, learning about others’ ways of life, but also making sure to stay clear of their affairs. Together with the talking motorrad Hermes, Kino sets out to explore the beautiful world and meet its inhabitants, wherever they may be.
Number of Episodes: 13
Release Year: 2003
These are both episodic anime that center around someone who travels from town to town and they usually wind up helping someone through a difficult situation at each stop. While Kino’s purpose is only to travel and to see different countries, Ginko’s is to find and research “Mushi.” Both stories have beautiful animation and offer up “life lessons.” Although these lessons may be a little easier to see in Kino’s Journey, they’re there in Mushishi, as well.
1. Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends)
Description: While most fifteen-year-old boys, in one way or another, harbor secrets that are related to girls, Takashi Natsume has a peculiar and terrifying secret involving youkai: for as long as he can remember, he has been constantly chased by these spirits. Natsume soon discovers that his deceased grandmother Reiko had passed on to him the Yuujinchou, or “Book of Friends,” which contains the names of the spirits whom she brought under her control. Now in Natsume’s possession, the book gives Reiko’s grandson this power as well, which is why these enraged beings now haunt him in hopes of somehow attaining their freedom.
Number of Episodes: 13
Release Year: 2008
Natsume and Mushishi are both about the interaction between spirits and humans and nature. Both shows do an amazing job with the storytelling, the characters, and playing with your emotions.
There are others also that are similar, But these 10 are far most Similar To Mushishi. Consider subscribing to our mail list to get notifications about all news about anime, also join our anime discord server to talk with other anime fans. Discord Server
