Mushishi: The Shadow That Devours the Sun (蟲師 特別篇「日蝕む翳」)

Perceived as strange and alien...

Inferior and grotesque...

These are beings who appear entirely unlike flora and fauna familiar to us.

Since time immemorial,

man has feared the misshapen ones.

Over time, they came to be known as mushi.

Mushi

The two once lived together in harmony.

Over time, it was forgotten,

and so the invaluable light

and the warmth of shared understanding was also lost.

Mushi-shi Special Episode

One more month...

The Shadow that Devours the Sun

Oh, Doctor Adashino.

What're you looking at?

Hmm?

Oh, there's supposed to be an eclipse a month from today.

What's that?

The sun's going to hide behind the shadow of the moon.

Really?

Will that be fun?

Yeah.

It'll get dark for a while around here,

and according to my mushi-shi buddy,

the mushi will become really active.

So even those who can't normally see the mushi may see them.

That's why I'm kind of looking forward to it.

Huh...

You never change, doctor.

Leave it.

Will that mushi-shi come by again?

I tried sending an invite,

but he sent a letter saying he has something to take care of.

Huh.

I wonder if he's busy because the mushi are gonna act up.

Could be.

Who knows what he's up to?

Miss Tanyuu.

Hm?

I believe these are all the records we have about eclipses.

Ah... thank you.

Records of what behavioral changes are said to occur to mushi

when the sun is eclipsed

and how to deal with said changes.

Many mushi favor the altered light and gain strength,

consequently increasing those under the mushi's influence.

The many records that remain cite the following.

One, the formation of the mushi pillar.

Mushi will gather and form a column.

Do not tarry long near the pillar,

for you may fall under its influence.

The pillar shall disperse

not long after the eclipse passes.

Should it not disperse,

the mushi sending ceremony should be performed.

Two, those who fear the sunlight.

Following the eclipse,

there will be those who will fear the sunlight

and no longer act as their former selves.

This will be due to their having been possessed by the Yain during the eclipse.

Curing them will require

three-tenths more than the usual amount of the mushi purging drug.

Three, those who cannot sleep.

There will be those who have damaged their eyes

from flagrant exposure to the sun during the eclipse.

They may continue to be plagued by its brilliance even after sundown

and be prevented from sleep.

This anomaly is caused by the Shirayami.

They can be cured by continued exposure

to light from the Light Vein or light emanated by mushi.

Four, those who vanish.

There will be those who vanish after the eclipse.

These will be limited to those who possess the innate ability to see mushi.

Falling under the mushi's influence,

they will follow the mushi into the mountains,

and many will reappear at an elevated place.

It is common for such men to remain forever invisible to human eyes.

If they retain their form, the only cure

is to bring them back and treat them with great compassion.

However, many choose to return once more to the mountains,

never to return.

What did you find?

Ah. Most of the recorded incidents

have been caused by mushi the mushi-shi will find familiar,

so this eclipse will not cause much confusion.

However, there is one phenomenon of concern.

If that should come to pass,

it will prove troublesome if we do not make appropriate preparations.

Indeed.

However, given that these are the only records that remain...

Hihami

I do hope that we can predict where the phenomenon might occur.

The day has come.

I wonder if I'll be able to see it despite the clouds...

In any case, that Ginko...

I asked him to teach me how to capture the mushi,

but all he sent me are these medicines and such.

Doctor!

We told everyone that there'd be an eclipse, but not to panic.

Also, we told them not to look at it for too long

because it'll get your eyes.

I see.

Good job.

You kids make sure not to look at it, either.

What?!

I wanna see a little.

Yeah.

I can, because I have these.

Hey!

That's not fair! Why just you?

Lemme take a look!

Hey, gimme!

C'mon!

Hey, don't break it, idiot!

Miss Tanyuu.

You should seek shelter in the cellar soon.

You need to protect yourself from the light.

It should be fine.

I'd like to have a look for myself, at least once.

You need to take good care of yourself.

All right.

I hope nothing will happen to any of you.

It's about to begin.

Oh, look! There!

It's missing a piece!

I see it! Wow!

Thanks to the clouds,

you can see it with your own eyes.

It's so terrifying.

What? Something like this happened when I was a lad.

Everything returns to normal right away.

It's cold...

What're these things?

Where?!

There... and there, too.

Arghhh!

I can't see them!

The sun's gone away.

Eh, it's all right.

It'll be back in due time.

But remember it well, this fear.

If we do not have the sun,

we cannot continue living.

There.

Wow! It's so warm!

Thank goodness.

Well, that was a surprise.

Indeed.

Hm? What's that?

Did it come?

What in the world is going on?

This has never happened before.

It's vanishing again.

Strange things are gathering 'round, too...

Huh? Where?

Look! They're going up in the sky

and making that shadow bigger and bigger.

You're right.

Huh?

There's nothing there.

Please quiet down, all of you.

Just the other day, this man here...

What was your name again?

I am Ginko, a mushi-shi.

He came to me yesterday,

and said that strange things may occur to the eclipse in these parts.

And now, what he said has come to pass.

He's saying that all of your help will be needed to set this right.

At the center of the shadow obscuring the sun,

there is a mushi called Hihami.

It is calling smaller mushi to it,

and creating the shadow by causing them to multiply.

It typically remains hidden deep underground,

but it separates into a "core" and a "root" during an eclipse,

and its core ascends into the sky.

It's said that in order to vanquish it,

we must find where the Hihami has spread its root in the ground around here

and expose it to the sun.

However...

All that is known about its location is that it is near this village.

All we can do is to dig in areas that feel different from before.

"Different from before," huh.

Have you noticed anything?

Well...

How about it, folks?

We can't just idle here.

Can you all split up and look around?

How's it going?

Nothing seems off in particular.

Nothing here, either.

I see.

Well, please keep looking.

In the end, we found nothing.

Yeah.

Well, come tomorrow,

maybe the sun will be back out like nothing happened.

You may be right.

Tanyuu?

The eclipse ended without incident.