Ginko's backstory! And why he keeps on travelling, it's just so very TT____TT.
The mushi seem kind of like...not a metaphor, even, but an expression of nature, both the possible hostility and wonder of it. The series normally shows what happens when humans have to face that. A lot of the time it feels as if mushi are almost supernatural diseases ^^;, so plenty of scope for heart-ripping. While I haven't read ch46 of NY, I find that overall in NY there's always the feeling that Natsume will be okay - things are slowly getting better for him as he grows up and meets more people. Whereas in Mushishi, the characters pretty much have no choice but to accept some quite heart-rending things, and it doesn't get any better than that.
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The mushi seem kind of like...not a metaphor, even, but an expression of nature, both the possible hostility and wonder of it. The series normally shows what happens when humans have to face that. A lot of the time it feels as if mushi are almost supernatural diseases ^^;, so plenty of scope for heart-ripping. While I haven't read ch46 of NY, I find that overall in NY there's always the feeling that Natsume will be okay - things are slowly getting better for him as he grows up and meets more people. Whereas in Mushishi, the characters pretty much have no choice but to accept some quite heart-rending things, and it doesn't get any better than that.