What's considered to be beyond our world are creatures that are completely different from the lowly and grotesque ones we're used to seeing. As time passed, people put their fear and respect into these creatures and began calling them "mushi". A man with a cigarette and a backpack walks a dense forest and senses that someone or something is watching his movements. However, he cannot see anyone around and turns his attention to the unusually vivid colour of the greenery around him as compared to most forests.
In nature, greenery and water are what bring forth life. Humans who have that power rarely exist.
A little boy is writing a letter with his left hand as his right hand is injured. In actual fact, he is a lefty so he has no problems doing this. Suddenly, the words on his letter come alive where a bird derived from ink flies around the house before the boy can catch it. The man is standing outside and grabs hold of the bird but is surprised to see ink left on his hand.
When the boy finally comes out with a net to catch the bird, he sees the man who said that he saw the bird. He then asks the boy if he is Ioroi Shinra and mentions that he had sent a letter to him previously. Shinra realises that the man is Ginko, a Mushishi who wanted to learn more about his ability to make words and pictures take on a form of life.
Shinra had rejected all requests of such nature because his grandmother had specifically told him not to use or let anyone know about his power. That is why he was writing a refusal letter to Ginko before the latter came to see him. Since Shinra was a child, whenever he drew, the pictures would gain life even though they may be just doodles of things which do not exist in reality. As giving life to creatures is not what a human should do, Shinra's grandmother stopped him from drawing with his left hand for fear of incurring the wrath of the gods. Nothing would happen if he draws with his right hand.
Although Shinra refuses to accede to Ginko's request, he still offers to let the latter stay for the night. Besides, it's been some time since he has met anyone so Shinra offers the fruit wine he made to Ginko while they chat. Shinra has been living alone in this secluded place since 4 years ago when his grandmother passed away. Ginko feels that this is a wise move since Shinra will not be able to live peacefully if anyone finds out about his power.
Shinra then shows Ginko some drawings and says that he saw these strange-looking things while he was alone. However, Shinra's grandmother felt that he was just dreaming and told him to forget these terrible dreams. This was the only thing which they couldn't agree on until she passed away.
Ginko explains to Shinra that the creatures he had seen were mushi which are closest to life itself and also known as midori mono. This results in them taking ambiguous forms and can only be seen by some people. Ginko advises Shinra to get over this since it's hard to convince those who have never been in contact with the world of the mushi and convey the feelings about seeing these extraordinary creatures.
In the middle of night, Ginko walks around the house to find the bathroom while Shinra is sound asleep. He sees something walking along the corridor and takes a pin out from his pocket. Suddenly, a young girl's voice appears from above and she mocks Ginko for being a disgusting guy who captures mushi using the mushi pin. Ginko is not bothered by her remarks and uses a smoke mushi to grab her from the ceiling. This results in a half sakazuki falling from her clothes which Ginko grabs it immediately. The mushi tells Ginko to scram from her house so he realises that she was originally a human who became a mushi. However, being imperfect, that was why Ginko could overcome her resistance easily without using the mushi pin.
From the broken sakazuki, Ginko deduces that the mushi is Renzu, the grandmother of Shinra. He offers to mend the sakazuki and asks Renzu if she's interested to hear about it.
The next morning, Shinra is surprised to hear that Renzu is still living in the house but she's somewhere between a human and a mushi. Ginko reveals that Renzu was invited to the Mushi Banquet where mushis take the form of humans. The guest would be given something to drink in the sakazuki where they would lose their human characteristics and become a mushi. However, in Renzu's case, the banquet was interrupted thus she left half of her body in the mushi world and returned home with the other half. When Renzu passed away, the half self in the mushi world stayed on to take care of Shinra who couldn't see her as she was incomplete.
In order to make Renzu a complete mushi, Shinra would have to use his power to recreate the sakazuki. Shinra makes Ginko promise not to peep while he draws but the latter goes back on his word without Shinra's knowledge. Although Shinra has never seen the sakazuki before, he is able to come up with the image since he and Renzu are related by blood. The sakazuki comes to life and breaks into two. Ginko then combines the half held by Renzu with the new sakazuki's half where a glowing liquid emerges from it. Renzu drinks the liquid which enables Shinra to see her. When Shinra drinks it too, he sees what happened to Renzu in the past.
Years ago, Renzu was led into the Mushi Banquet by a group of mushi draped in white cloth. She was then given a liquid made of the creature, Kouki which swims around in a large vein it makes in the deep darkness. The sakazuki was thus made for Renzu to tap into that vein. Actually, the mushi held this banquet for Renzu because her grandson i.e. Shinra to be born 31 years ago will have the power to change the structure of the world. That was why Renzu will be able to protect Shinra once she finished the drink. However, before she could do so, a crow bit into one of the mushi thus disrupting the banquet. Even though Renzu did go home after that, she left behind half of herself in the mushi world. Shinra starts to cry uncontrollably after seeing these as if he has gone through Renzu's experience personally.
The next morning, Ginko prepares to leave without a word when Renzu asks if he plans to give up the investigation on Shinra. Renzu suggests that Ginko can come to visit Shinra in future but he feels that there is no need to do so since she will accompany Shinra. When Shinra wakes up, he realises that Ginko has left and Renzu remarks that they do not have anything to offer to him as a reward. However, Shinra notices that Ginzo had taken the sakazuki away...
The first impression about this new series is that the whole atmosphere seems so serene. There is no sense of urgency and the nature shown enhances the peacefulness felt. Everything just feels like an artistic piece of work.
I was initially unsure of what mushi meant but after Ginko's explanation, everything became clear to me. Although I still have no idea where the story is heading towards, I think I should have the patience to stick around for more episodes before I judge whether this is my cup of tea. And I think I need more information on what exactly a Mushishi does.
As for the OP, it matches the theme of the series well but I guess it would better to let viewers hear more of the song. That little section is not enough for me to see whether I like the song.
With regards to the characters, it feels as if Ginko is the only regular character at the present stage where he will meet new people with each passing episode. Ginko seems like a mysterious person who should provide interesting revelations as the series progresses.
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