It has been well over 6 years since the last installment of the Mushishi series. The first season was released in the mid 2000s, airing in Japanese television from October 23, 2005 until June 19, 2006 with a total of 26 episodes. It was licensed by Funimation. In May 2006, there was a recap episode released which gives the summary of the first 20 episodes.
It wasn’t until 8 years later that fans were greeted with the second installment, this time titled Mushishi -Next Passage-, also known as Mushishi Zoku Shou. The second season is separated into 2 parts, with 10 episodes each. Both parts were released in 2014. Both seasons are adapted into anime by studio Artland and directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, the same director of the upcoming adaptation of Itou Junji’s Uzumaki.
The series was originally a manga series, written and illustrated by Yuri Urushibara. The manga ran for almost 10 years, from 1999 to 2008. It was originally serialized in Afternoon Season Zoukan, but switched to Monthly Afternoon in December 2002. The manga has 10 volumes in total. The author later released 2 additional chapters in 2013, titled Mushishi Tokubetsu-hen: Hihamukage. There was a tribute anthology for the manga titled, Mushishi Gaitanshuu, which was done by various artists and was published in 2014.
Other than the main series, the series also has some special releases. The first one was released in early 2014, called The Shadow That Devours the Sun, which was adapted from the 2 additional chapters of the manga with the same title. Another special was released in August 2014, titled Mushishi: Path of Thorns, which aired between the first and second part of the second season. The last special was released the next year in 2015. The special is titled Mushishi: Bell Droplets and is based on the last arc of the manga.
Mushishi Season 3 Release Date
As a series, Mushishi is very well received by its audiences. This can be seen from its rating on MyAnimeList. At the time of writing, all of the releases from the Mushishi series are in the Top 100 Anime, with the exception of Mushishi: Path of Thorns. Moreover, both parts of the second season managed to stay in the top 50 even after 6 years. And so, after waiting for more than 6 years, fans have been wondering whether they will see Mushishi Season 3 or not.
Currently, there has been no news from the creators about Mushishi Season 3. Unfortunately, both seasons and special releases have already adapted most of the content from the manga. Although some content is skipped from the manga, there are not enough chapters to turn into its own season. Therefore, this is likely why Artland has not adapted Mushishi Season 3. For now, fans would just have to wait for the creator to pick the series back up.
The Plot of Mushishi
The story of Mushishi revolves around a being called “mushi”. In essence, they are described as the most primitive and basic forms of life. They are magical creatures who exist without any goals or purposes. They simply exist, therefore they can’t necessarily be called good or evil. Mushi comes in various forms, and most of them depend on other lifes in order to live, which leads many to consider them as parasites.
However, there isn’t much information about Mushi, since most humans are unable to see them and thus unaware of their existence. There are some that are able to see them and have dedicated their lives to studying mushi in hopes of understanding them. They are called “Mushishi”. The series follows the journey of a mushishi named Ginko who travels around, solving cases involving Mushi.
