Mushi-Shi (2005–2006): Season 1, Episode 1 - Midori no za - full transcript
They are kept at a distance...
Coarse and mysterious...
They seem to be completely different
from the flora and fauna
that are familiar to us.
This group of strange looking creatures
has inflicted fear onto
humans since long past,
and have come to be called... "mushi.”
"Mushi”
and have come to be called... "mushi.”
"Mushi”
Someone's coming...
Someone strange is coming...
Someone's coming...
What was that just now?
A monkey, maybe?
The green that surrounds me
is extraordinarily vibrant...
...here...
Once in a blue moon, you will
come across a human who is born
with what you might call a predisposition,
to bring forth plants, water, life.
Ah! Looks like it's safe to write characters,
even with my left hand.
Let's see... "The sunlight
has gradually softened.
The trees are beginning to bud,
and the birds also..."
I've always been left-handed anyway.
It's easier to write with this hand.
Darn... I had forgotten.
These Chinese characters
are based on drawings.
They're so-called pictographs.
This'll take care of these.
Hey! Come back here, bird!
What is this thing?
Who gave you permission to go outside?!
Ink?
Oh!
D-did you see it?
Yeah, with my very own eyes.
Are you Shinra loroi-kun?
Huh? Yeah...
Did you read my letter?
Oh, then, you're Ginko-san,
the mushi-shi?
I was just writing you a reply
declining your request.
Until now, I've had several
research solicitations,
but I've turned them all down.
It was the dying wish of my grandmother.
She said I was not to
broadcast my special ability...
and, as much as possible, not to use it.
As you just witnessed,
for as long as I remember, it's been
the case that if I draw something,
even if it's a picture of something
that doesn't exist, it will come to life.
But my grandmother said that it's not right
for humans to bring a new creature to life,
and that it'll anger all
the gods and goddesses...
So she forbade me from
drawing with my left hand.
Oh, if I draw with my right hand,
nothing happens,
but I injured my finger the other day.
That's how what you saw earlier happened.
I see. That was one of
your amazing creations.
I was surprised, too.
I never dreamed that even
something like that would start moving...
although I've had a lot of weird things
start to move on me until now.
Really? For example?
Like an umbrella and a backscratcher...
I don't want to be researched.
Tsk!
But I won't make you leave this instant.
It must've been hard to trek
this deep into the mountains.
Please stay the night and relax here.
And, to be honest, it's been a while
since I've spoken to anyone.
So I'd love to hear what's happening
out there in the world.
Please have some.
It's fruit wine that I made myself.
1 usually have some by myself out here.
I see.
You live all alone
in a deserted place like this?
Yes, since my grandmother
passed away four years ago...
because she told me I was
never to leave this house.
And I can see why.
If he were to live in a village
and accidentally bring to life
a creature in front of others...
they probably won't allow him to lead
a peaceful life as he is right now.
His ability is far beyond human intellect.
It sounds like your grandmother
was a wise person.
Yeah. She always looked out for me.
But...
Will you take a look at these?
You drew these?
Yeah. When I'm by myself, creatures like
these sometimes appear out of nowhere.
I've always wondered what they were.
It was fun watching them.
Sol drew some pictures
and showed them to Grandma. But...
-
I don't understand why you
always see these phantoms.
I'm sure it's because of that
frightening power you possess.
Forget about these phantoms.
How dreadful... just dreadful...
You poor child...
That's all she would say,
and she never believed what
I saw until the day she died.
Sol myself sometimes wondered
if something was wrong with me.
That was the only thing Grandma
and ll couldn't see eve-to-eve about.
That's because these
creatures are all "mushi."
Mushi?
Yeah. They're distinct
from insects and reptiles.
Let me give you an analogy.
Let's say these four fingers represent
animal life and your thumb is plant life.
Humans are here, at the point
farthest from your heart,
at the tip of your middle finger.
The farther you go down
on your palm from there,
the lower the life forms become.
As you continue to go lower,
around your wrist,
your blood vessels
combine into one, right?
Yeah.
Fungi and microorganisms would be here.
Once you come to that point,
it becomes difficult to distinguish
between plant and animal life.
Yet, there is life still past that point.
Go up your arm...
...and past your shoulder.
And, the life that is around here
is called "mushi,” or "green matter.”
They are similar to life itself.
Because they are so close to life itself,
their shapes and existences
are ambiguous.
Some you can see, some you can't.
Yeah. Some are transparent... like ghosts.
Even some ghostly apparitions are mushi,
since some can take on the
appearance of humans, as well.
Your grandmother was probably
unable to see mushi.
It's difficult to share a sensory experience.
Just as it's impossible to describe the
feel and texture of an object to someone
who has never experienced
that feel and texture...
...it's not easy to have someone
understand the world of mushi
if they've never seen it before.
But Grandma, you don't
know how happy I am
to have those weird creatures
in this world of ours.
Now where is the bathroom?
What a rambling house...
and pretty old, too.
I'm surprised Shinra lives
alone in a place like this...
I just saw something pass by...
Well, I guess there's no way
this house wouldn't have any mushi...
Now, where did it go?
Oh... you have a mushi pin...
Are you going to pin a mushi
with that for display?
You lowly mushi-shit!
Lowly?
1 don't want to be called that by a mushi.
Wh-what's this? How can smoke do this?!
It's mushi. Just like you.
It's cute, isn't it?
It clings to fellow mushi and won't let go...
It disappears right away, though.
Wow! It's a sake cup that's broken...
but what a pretty color!
Did you used to drink
with this while moon gazing?
Shut up. Give it back! How dare you
brazenly come into my house.
Get out already!
You sure talk big for a mushi.
You're saying... this is your house?
Yeah, that's right.
Aha!I see.
1 get it now.
You were once a human, but now you're
a creature with mushi characteristics.
You're not a full mushi.
That's why you're so weak.
And this half piece of green sake cup...
it gives me a clue as to
how you came to be like that.
It also tells me who you are.
Your name is...
Renzu.
I did some research on Shinra
before I came here, so...
1 have an idea as to how to
make this sake cup whole again.
Want to hear me out,
Grandma Renzu?
Grandma is still here in this house?
But not in human form, of course.
She's in limbo between human and mushi.
What do you mean?
There's a phenomenon
called the Mushi Banquet.
It's where mushi take on human form
and invite guests to their banquet.
It's there humans are given a sake cup.
When humans drink the sake
they are offered,
they lose the laws
of being a living creature.
In other words, they become inhabitants
of the other world... the world of mushi.
So Grandma was at one of those banquets?
Yeah. But the banquet
was interrupted midway.
Because of that, your grandmother
was saved from becoming a mushi,
but when she returned home,
she was no longer the same as before.
She left half of herself on the other side.
Shinra, the grandmother that
you knew was only half of herself.
But the other half was
watching over you inside this house
from the day you were born, too.
...had no idea.
Since she isn't fully mushi,
you can't see her.
But if we use your power,
she can turn into a complete mushi...
though once she does, she will never
be able to return to our world.
What do you want to do?
Is that true?
Is it really true that if
we go through with that,
1 will be able to see Shinra again?
Your grandmother didn't
need long to decide.
You will help her out, won't you, Shinra?
Don't watch me draw, okay?
I know, I know.
Okay, Shinra. With your left hand,
try drawing the sake cup
that your grandmother
received from the mushi
at the banquet ll described earlier.
What? But you never told me
its color or shape.
It's okay. Just try drawing
using your imagination.
My imagination...
You should be able to draw it,
because the half of the sake cup
your grandmother received is
something that has been passed down
from her to her child
and then to her grandchild.
When someone tells you not to look,
you just can't help looking...
I get the feeling it's green...
just like the green of this country...
Rich and vibrant...
And, it's flat and round in shape...
Bingo!
Wow...
Oh, it's cracking!
Renzu!
Are you there, Grandma?
I'm going to put the halves together.
What's this?
Now drink it, Renzu.
Grandma?
Why are you guys so shy all of a sudden?
Well, she's a lot younger than I expected.
Here, you take a sip, too.
It's a celebratory sake.
Okay.
Why, it's... Grandma's memories...
I have to hurry before the sun sets.
Mushi...
I can't get out of line.
Now, drink, Renzu loroi-dono.
This is a banquet held in your honor.
How fragrant...
With each sip, I lose the ability to think.
Do you like it?
That is a living entity called
"Kouki," the sake of light.
It's normally found swimming around
as a giant vein of light
at the bottom of complete darkness,
but we created that sake cup,
which can extract it, especially for you.
It has been gushing out ever since
there has been life in this world.
When it nears soil, it makes
grass green, blows life into buds,
and when it moves away,
the land dries up.
In other words,
it is the water of life.
You will not taste anything
mote delicious in this world.
The reason why we are exchanging
a drink and treating you so well
is because we have a favor to ask of you.
Thirty one years from now, your grandson
will be born with a special power
which can change
the world of living things.
We want you to watch over him for life.
My grandson...
That will be best for both
him and the world.
If you agree to this,
we will grant you powers.
Now, drink the sake to the last drop.
It's empty.
I have to get home.
Shinra?
Huh? What's happening to me?
Shinra's tears would not stop.
He said he could feel Renzu's emotions
and senses flowing into him.
He said he was just terribly sad
that the sake cup got broken.
And, as if responding to him,
Kouki, too, continued to flow
from the sake cup.
Ceaselessly, it continued to flow.
Leaving already?
Whoa! The ground is covered with moss.
Yeah. This is probably the area that
was saturated with Kouki last night.
Are you giving up your research on Shinra?
I suppose, since a meddlesome
watch guard has been revived.
If it's not for your research,
why don't you stop by
the next time you come
around these parts?
Even though it can't be helped,
Shinra is probably lonely being
in a place like this by himself.
I don't think that will be necessary...
because from here on,
he'll always have you by his side.
Huh? Where's Ginko?
He left already.
Without even saying goodbye?
We didn't do much to thank him,
so I feel bad... I feel bad.
Well, but...
...that green sake cup is gone...
Thereafter, I never heard of new rumors
about the boy with the god-like left hand.
"The Light of the Eyelid.”
Coarse and mysterious...
They seem to be completely different
from the flora and fauna
that are familiar to us.
This group of strange looking creatures
has inflicted fear onto
humans since long past,
and have come to be called... "mushi.”
"Mushi”
and have come to be called... "mushi.”
"Mushi”
Someone's coming...
Someone strange is coming...
Someone's coming...
What was that just now?
A monkey, maybe?
The green that surrounds me
is extraordinarily vibrant...
...here...
Once in a blue moon, you will
come across a human who is born
with what you might call a predisposition,
to bring forth plants, water, life.
Ah! Looks like it's safe to write characters,
even with my left hand.
Let's see... "The sunlight
has gradually softened.
The trees are beginning to bud,
and the birds also..."
I've always been left-handed anyway.
It's easier to write with this hand.
Darn... I had forgotten.
These Chinese characters
are based on drawings.
They're so-called pictographs.
This'll take care of these.
Hey! Come back here, bird!
What is this thing?
Who gave you permission to go outside?!
Ink?
Oh!
D-did you see it?
Yeah, with my very own eyes.
Are you Shinra loroi-kun?
Huh? Yeah...
Did you read my letter?
Oh, then, you're Ginko-san,
the mushi-shi?
I was just writing you a reply
declining your request.
Until now, I've had several
research solicitations,
but I've turned them all down.
It was the dying wish of my grandmother.
She said I was not to
broadcast my special ability...
and, as much as possible, not to use it.
As you just witnessed,
for as long as I remember, it's been
the case that if I draw something,
even if it's a picture of something
that doesn't exist, it will come to life.
But my grandmother said that it's not right
for humans to bring a new creature to life,
and that it'll anger all
the gods and goddesses...
So she forbade me from
drawing with my left hand.
Oh, if I draw with my right hand,
nothing happens,
but I injured my finger the other day.
That's how what you saw earlier happened.
I see. That was one of
your amazing creations.
I was surprised, too.
I never dreamed that even
something like that would start moving...
although I've had a lot of weird things
start to move on me until now.
Really? For example?
Like an umbrella and a backscratcher...
I don't want to be researched.
Tsk!
But I won't make you leave this instant.
It must've been hard to trek
this deep into the mountains.
Please stay the night and relax here.
And, to be honest, it's been a while
since I've spoken to anyone.
So I'd love to hear what's happening
out there in the world.
Please have some.
It's fruit wine that I made myself.
1 usually have some by myself out here.
I see.
You live all alone
in a deserted place like this?
Yes, since my grandmother
passed away four years ago...
because she told me I was
never to leave this house.
And I can see why.
If he were to live in a village
and accidentally bring to life
a creature in front of others...
they probably won't allow him to lead
a peaceful life as he is right now.
His ability is far beyond human intellect.
It sounds like your grandmother
was a wise person.
Yeah. She always looked out for me.
But...
Will you take a look at these?
You drew these?
Yeah. When I'm by myself, creatures like
these sometimes appear out of nowhere.
I've always wondered what they were.
It was fun watching them.
Sol drew some pictures
and showed them to Grandma. But...
-
I don't understand why you
always see these phantoms.
I'm sure it's because of that
frightening power you possess.
Forget about these phantoms.
How dreadful... just dreadful...
You poor child...
That's all she would say,
and she never believed what
I saw until the day she died.
Sol myself sometimes wondered
if something was wrong with me.
That was the only thing Grandma
and ll couldn't see eve-to-eve about.
That's because these
creatures are all "mushi."
Mushi?
Yeah. They're distinct
from insects and reptiles.
Let me give you an analogy.
Let's say these four fingers represent
animal life and your thumb is plant life.
Humans are here, at the point
farthest from your heart,
at the tip of your middle finger.
The farther you go down
on your palm from there,
the lower the life forms become.
As you continue to go lower,
around your wrist,
your blood vessels
combine into one, right?
Yeah.
Fungi and microorganisms would be here.
Once you come to that point,
it becomes difficult to distinguish
between plant and animal life.
Yet, there is life still past that point.
Go up your arm...
...and past your shoulder.
And, the life that is around here
is called "mushi,” or "green matter.”
They are similar to life itself.
Because they are so close to life itself,
their shapes and existences
are ambiguous.
Some you can see, some you can't.
Yeah. Some are transparent... like ghosts.
Even some ghostly apparitions are mushi,
since some can take on the
appearance of humans, as well.
Your grandmother was probably
unable to see mushi.
It's difficult to share a sensory experience.
Just as it's impossible to describe the
feel and texture of an object to someone
who has never experienced
that feel and texture...
...it's not easy to have someone
understand the world of mushi
if they've never seen it before.
But Grandma, you don't
know how happy I am
to have those weird creatures
in this world of ours.
Now where is the bathroom?
What a rambling house...
and pretty old, too.
I'm surprised Shinra lives
alone in a place like this...
I just saw something pass by...
Well, I guess there's no way
this house wouldn't have any mushi...
Now, where did it go?
Oh... you have a mushi pin...
Are you going to pin a mushi
with that for display?
You lowly mushi-shit!
Lowly?
1 don't want to be called that by a mushi.
Wh-what's this? How can smoke do this?!
It's mushi. Just like you.
It's cute, isn't it?
It clings to fellow mushi and won't let go...
It disappears right away, though.
Wow! It's a sake cup that's broken...
but what a pretty color!
Did you used to drink
with this while moon gazing?
Shut up. Give it back! How dare you
brazenly come into my house.
Get out already!
You sure talk big for a mushi.
You're saying... this is your house?
Yeah, that's right.
Aha!I see.
1 get it now.
You were once a human, but now you're
a creature with mushi characteristics.
You're not a full mushi.
That's why you're so weak.
And this half piece of green sake cup...
it gives me a clue as to
how you came to be like that.
It also tells me who you are.
Your name is...
Renzu.
I did some research on Shinra
before I came here, so...
1 have an idea as to how to
make this sake cup whole again.
Want to hear me out,
Grandma Renzu?
Grandma is still here in this house?
But not in human form, of course.
She's in limbo between human and mushi.
What do you mean?
There's a phenomenon
called the Mushi Banquet.
It's where mushi take on human form
and invite guests to their banquet.
It's there humans are given a sake cup.
When humans drink the sake
they are offered,
they lose the laws
of being a living creature.
In other words, they become inhabitants
of the other world... the world of mushi.
So Grandma was at one of those banquets?
Yeah. But the banquet
was interrupted midway.
Because of that, your grandmother
was saved from becoming a mushi,
but when she returned home,
she was no longer the same as before.
She left half of herself on the other side.
Shinra, the grandmother that
you knew was only half of herself.
But the other half was
watching over you inside this house
from the day you were born, too.
...had no idea.
Since she isn't fully mushi,
you can't see her.
But if we use your power,
she can turn into a complete mushi...
though once she does, she will never
be able to return to our world.
What do you want to do?
Is that true?
Is it really true that if
we go through with that,
1 will be able to see Shinra again?
Your grandmother didn't
need long to decide.
You will help her out, won't you, Shinra?
Don't watch me draw, okay?
I know, I know.
Okay, Shinra. With your left hand,
try drawing the sake cup
that your grandmother
received from the mushi
at the banquet ll described earlier.
What? But you never told me
its color or shape.
It's okay. Just try drawing
using your imagination.
My imagination...
You should be able to draw it,
because the half of the sake cup
your grandmother received is
something that has been passed down
from her to her child
and then to her grandchild.
When someone tells you not to look,
you just can't help looking...
I get the feeling it's green...
just like the green of this country...
Rich and vibrant...
And, it's flat and round in shape...
Bingo!
Wow...
Oh, it's cracking!
Renzu!
Are you there, Grandma?
I'm going to put the halves together.
What's this?
Now drink it, Renzu.
Grandma?
Why are you guys so shy all of a sudden?
Well, she's a lot younger than I expected.
Here, you take a sip, too.
It's a celebratory sake.
Okay.
Why, it's... Grandma's memories...
I have to hurry before the sun sets.
Mushi...
I can't get out of line.
Now, drink, Renzu loroi-dono.
This is a banquet held in your honor.
How fragrant...
With each sip, I lose the ability to think.
Do you like it?
That is a living entity called
"Kouki," the sake of light.
It's normally found swimming around
as a giant vein of light
at the bottom of complete darkness,
but we created that sake cup,
which can extract it, especially for you.
It has been gushing out ever since
there has been life in this world.
When it nears soil, it makes
grass green, blows life into buds,
and when it moves away,
the land dries up.
In other words,
it is the water of life.
You will not taste anything
mote delicious in this world.
The reason why we are exchanging
a drink and treating you so well
is because we have a favor to ask of you.
Thirty one years from now, your grandson
will be born with a special power
which can change
the world of living things.
We want you to watch over him for life.
My grandson...
That will be best for both
him and the world.
If you agree to this,
we will grant you powers.
Now, drink the sake to the last drop.
It's empty.
I have to get home.
Shinra?
Huh? What's happening to me?
Shinra's tears would not stop.
He said he could feel Renzu's emotions
and senses flowing into him.
He said he was just terribly sad
that the sake cup got broken.
And, as if responding to him,
Kouki, too, continued to flow
from the sake cup.
Ceaselessly, it continued to flow.
Leaving already?
Whoa! The ground is covered with moss.
Yeah. This is probably the area that
was saturated with Kouki last night.
Are you giving up your research on Shinra?
I suppose, since a meddlesome
watch guard has been revived.
If it's not for your research,
why don't you stop by
the next time you come
around these parts?
Even though it can't be helped,
Shinra is probably lonely being
in a place like this by himself.
I don't think that will be necessary...
because from here on,
he'll always have you by his side.
Huh? Where's Ginko?
He left already.
Without even saying goodbye?
We didn't do much to thank him,
so I feel bad... I feel bad.
Well, but...
...that green sake cup is gone...
Thereafter, I never heard of new rumors
about the boy with the god-like left hand.
"The Light of the Eyelid.”