Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Mushi-Shi is an anime TV series marketed by FUNimation. Mushi-Shi originally aired from October 2005 through June 2006. Hiroshi Nagahama is the director on the TV series. Voice actor Travis Willingham does the acting for the main character in Mushi-Shi (aka Ginko).

The series focuses on the travels of a Mushi Master known as Ginko. Mushi are ethereal spirits that are in touch with the primal forces of nature and the essence of life. Most people cannot see Mushi at all. Ginko can see Mushi and even attracts them if he stays in one place for too long. Since Mushi can be dangerous Ginko is often on the move. His uses his considerable Mushi knowledge to help people deal with Mushi that they may be encountering. Mushi-Shi is set in ancient Japan. The exact time period is not defined.

Mushi-Shi is a hard anime to classify. I think I would classify it as a drama with horror elements. The episodes are primarily episodic in nature. There is really no overarching plot in the series. Some of the memorable side characters make appearances more than once in the series but even this is kept to a dull roar. Ginko is the only character that shows up in every episode.

There is no nudity in Mushi-Shi and very little violence. Any violence in the series is performed off screen or with shadows. There are some adult themes but even these are scarce. Mushi-Shi is rated “14+” at RightStuf.com and I think that rating is actually a bit high.

I purchased the standard edition Viridian Collection version of the DVD set. Mushi-Shi is comprised of 26 episodes that cover roughly 625 minutes of content.

-== What I Like ==-

The stories are the star of Mushi-Shi. They are well paced with nice twists at just the right moments. Each episode shows an extreme attention to detail. Characters and subplots will venture into and out of an episode at precisely the correct times.

The animation in the series is fantastic. Character animations in Mushi-Shi are exquisite. Clothing is detailed yet not overstated. The field of expressions shown by the characters is kept simple. It really works for the series. As Mushi are creature of life a lot of care is taken with background, weather, and shadows. The backgrounds in the series are lush and really draw you into the world. More than once I paused the DVD on a shot of the environment. Shadows in Mushi-Shi are intricate and reflect a lot of depth. As some episodes have a horror theme there can be a lot of dark scenes. This is some top notch animation.

The music in Mushi-Shi really adds a lot of depth. The opening credit piece is lilting and haunting with a vocal feel that reminded me of Tori Amos. The end credit music different for every episode! This allows the director to convey emotion that really sticks in your mind well after viewing. The effect makes one ponder what was just watched.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The biggest drawback to the collection are the extras. There are only extras on last DVD in the set. Here is a list of the extras in Mushi-Shi with some comments.

• Commentary On Last Episode – Instead of a commentary on the last episode this is really an interview with Travis Willingham. Although mildly interesting the commentators do not talk about the episode at all really. It is a poor implementation in my opinion. I would much rather have had them conduct a live interview for 20 minutes instead of calling it a commentary.
• Manga Page – The original artwork and manga pages are fine.
• Studio Tour – The Mushi-Shi studio tour was VERY strange. None of the employees are smiling. For some reason they are all very serious and stoic. Another strange thing is that their animation studio was in an old house that looked like a cave. I actually felt sorry for workers after watching this extra.
• Director Interview – The interview with Hiroshi Nagahama is also kinds of bizarre. The director explains that the world of Mushi-Shi is the highlight of many stories. He goes on to talk about the music. During the entire interview he never smiles! He also speaks in very soft tones. I actually felt that this interview made me NOT want to watch the show.

The extras are the only reason Mushi-Shi is not getting 10 out of 10 paws. Believe it or not I might have liked the series even more is there were NO extras at all!

-== Summary ==-

Repeat some buzz words that define this series for me. Serene. Exquisite. Touching. Enchanting. These are not common when describing media of any kind let alone anime. If you are looking for stories to feed your id then look no farther than Mushi-Shi. I cannot recommend this series enough.

You can get if for $17.93 at Amazon at this URL. RightStuf has it for sale at this URL for $17.99.

I give it 8 out of 10 paws.

Date At Start Of Game: September 6th, 1935

[Author's Note: This is the log for the 3rd session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Following Up On Leads In The Walsh Case

After discussing the clues that the group uncovered at the Walsh Estate the PC decide on their next course of action. Detective Keagan decides to follow up on the bodies that were dumped under a local bridge. On his visit to the coroner he meet Officer William Arnold and Officer Chad Gee. They are discussing the bodies in hushed voices when the Detective approaches. After a brief conversation he moves into the morgue to speak with the coroner, Dr Thomas. Dr Thomas shows the Detective two bodies. One is a 60 year old man and the other is a 20 year old man. Both bodies have been stripped of their clothes and personal effects. Their hands and feet are tied tightly with seaweed. On their chests is a pentagram with the star point facing the ground. Their throats have been slit from ear-to-ear and appear to have been drained of most of their blood. Based on the amount of bruising on the wrists the coroner is under the impression that they were bound then slain. The body of the older man is bloated much more than the younger man. Dr Thomas guesses that the old man has been under the bridge for about 2 weeks. The younger man has been there roughly 3 to 5 days.

While at the station Detective Keagan examines the police report on the death of Diamond Walsh’s last wife. Her maiden name was Amanda Bell. She is actually Walsh’s third wife. (Dora Smallridge is Diamond Walsh’s fourth wife.) The coroner’s report from Dr Thomas says that she died of an overdose of arsenic. She was being prescribed arsenic by her physician, Dr Peter Smoot, for nerves. Detective Stanley was the officer on the case. (Detective Keagan has strong verbal evidence that Detective Stanley is being paid off by Diamond Walsh.)

The rest of the PC go to the library and newspaper offices to research Dora and Elihu Smallridge. There is very little to find on Dora Smallridge in the library or newspaper. She is the only child of Elihu and Beatrice Smallridge. There are several newspaper articles on Elihu. For many years he has been involved with “cooking” books for various illegal operations. Although Elihu has never been convicted his ties to illegal business dealings are fairly well established. One newspaper article has a picture of the small balding man shielding his eyes from a camera behind Diamond Walsh as they emerge from a courtroom.

Dilettante Leads

At this point the PC decide to also start researching Austin Kittrell and the Hower’s. Austin Kittrell appears in many society papers. The articles claim that he is from a wealthy family in New Orleans.

The Hower’s recently moved into an Arkham estate that was previously owned by a railroad tycoon who has fallen on hard times. The patriarch of the family, Robert Hower, wanted to move to a place where he could be considered one of the elite in the area. The Hower fortune would not have been enough to merit attention in New York so he decided on Arkham.

Robert Hower is a banker who came into money through his father Perry McGill Hower. Under his leadership the Hower’s have nearly doubled their holdings. Other businessmen think Robert Hower has a knack for making investments in speculative areas at just the right times. People who know him personally say that he can be unforgiving to those that don’t perform. Robert Hower has a penchant for symbols of power or authority from various cultures. He has an entire room in his estate devoted to his collection. While digging in a set of archeological journals Dr Peaslee finds an article about a trip that Robert Hower took to Africa. During that trip he recovered what was reportedly an ancient box that was used by shaman of the Ticho-Ticho tribe. This tribe has woman shaman of great power that hold spiritually significant phallic talismans in these boxes. Reportedly anyone who opens the box that is not a Ticho-Ticho shaman will be rendered sterile. There is only one other of these boxes known to exist. (It is in a museum in Cape Town, South Africa.)

At this point the PC come up with a plan to get Oliver Gardiner out of his office so that they can break into his safe. Tredge creates a forged invitation then the PC send it to Oliver Gardiner. They want to make sure he will be in attendance. The plan is to have Cuttling and Archie break in and open the safe while the PC are with Oliver Gardiner at Elsa Hower’s coming out party.

The Coming Out Party

The night of the party the Hower Estate is decked out in all of its finery. There are banners across the four while marble pillars on the front steps and black tie waiters walking the event with champagne. At first the PC mingle with Robert Hower. (Elsa has not yet made her appearance.) Robert is holding court with other important men of Arkham. Robert Hower is a well built tall man with a blond handlebar mustache and a strong personality. He moves with care and efficiency suggesting to Detective Keagan that he has military training.

After a brief time Elsa Hower makes her entrance. She is a 16 year old blonde girl with a big smile. After meeting the PC they find her to be charming. Austin Kittrell appears to have captured her attention as she gravitates to him after meeting all of the party guests.

At this point Robert Hower invites the men to join him in his museum. He shows the PC and several others into a room full of glass cases. There they find a focused and deep collection of artifacts. Robert’s prized items are a set of 12th century samurai armor, a blade rumored to be owned by Richard The Lion Hearted, and a Spartan helmet. In a glass case along one side of the room he has a red box on display.

Dr Peaslee moves over to the box so that he can examine it in more details. The red box is roughly 12″ wide x 4″ high x 6″ deep. It is hinged on the short sides and parts in the middle. One the covers of the box are what appear to be African fertility symbols. It is in immaculate condition based on its age. Dr Peaslee suggests that it must be at least 600 years old. When Robert Hower notices Dr Peaslee looking at the box he approaches and comments that the Dr has good taste. He then explains the information that the PC already know about the Ticho-Ticho woman shaman.

At this point Oren Gardiner approaches Oliver and whispers in his ear. Oliver gives his drink to a waiter and the pair immediately head out of the party towards their car leaving the PC worried that Archie and Cuttling have run into trouble…

Date At End Of Game: September 9th, 1935