Gin's manga / #seinen(39)

Are mushi insects, parasites, plants, viruses, or nature spirits? Described as "neither good nor evil, they are life in its purest form. An unseen river shaping the path of man, through their presence our life is changed." No one seems to know much about their origins, except that they've been around since the beginning of time. Possibly set in Meiji/late 19th century Japan, Mushishi is a series of related, yet separate short stories featuring Ginko, a mushishi. A mushishi or "mushi master" is a cross between a researcher/scholar/doctor/shaman who travels across the countryside searching for mushi in their many forms. Ginko wanders from town to town to find people, young and old who are affected by the mushi. He offers explanations, sometimes medication or direct intervention to try to cure the afflicted of their mushi-related problems.

After recently moving to Onomichi, Hiroshima, high school student Tasuku Kaname is thrown into despair at the possibility that he may have been outed for being gay. Convinced his life is over, his despair turns into shock when he sees a woman jump out of a window of a nearby house. Tasuku races to the house in a panic only to discover that it's a public meeting lounge owned by the woman he saw before. Tasuku comes face to face with the woman as she walks past him unharmed, but not before she implies that she had been watching him from afar. Confused, Tasuku follows her up to the top of a steep hill where she offers to briefly listen to what's on his mind. Although Tasuku doesn't go into too much detail, he later accepts her invitation to come to the lounge to meet others with similar troubles.

Plot: Includes: She Got Off the Bus at the Peninsula: Mitsuko Kunizaki has inherited a small grocery store from her grandmother. Being a single mother to a little boy, she intends to close it down and move on with life. However, in the solitary store that sits next to the last bus stop at the tip of a peninsula lie some long-buried memories that slowly reemerge as Mitsuko arrives at what used to be her home

In the midst of a blazing hot summer beset by water shortages, middle-school girl Chinami faints from heat exhaustion. Upon waking up, she finds herself in a mysterious town by a beautifully pristine river whose waters hide many secrets...

The twisted and deeply disturbing tale of a sociopathic serial killer...

A man sets out on a journey to go away from his repetitive and boring life. He finds unbelievable things, terrible things. Note: This manga contains cannibalism.

Rather more representative of the Nishioka siblings' writing style than Kami no Kodomo, this is a collection of one-shots that explore the thoughts and feelings of ordinary people in an odd, surrealistic manner replete with atypical and symbolic illustrations. More than one reading may be required if you are to completely grasp the core message behind each of these stories. The first story, A Broken Soul (translated here as A Broken Heart) was featured in the anthology Ax: Alternative Manga.

Strange murders are happening in Tokyo. Due to liquid evidence at the scene, the police conclude the attacks are the results of 'eater' type ghouls. College buddies Kaneki and Hide come up with the idea that ghouls are imitating humans so that's why they haven't ever seen one. Little did they know that their theory may very well become reality.

The brand new sequel of Toukyou Kushu resumes after a time skip and new characters make their appearance.