*Nitsuj arrives back at the Jack Bros. house after checking his house*
(Nitsuj): Hey guys I’m back.
(Jack Frost): Took you long enough what kept you.
(Nitsuj): I was only out for like 5 minutes.
(Jack Frost): Really? It felt like a week.
(Pyro Jack): No that’s just your imagination. So how’s the situation over there?
(Nitsuj): Well my house is still standing and there are still bugs swarming the place so that means the AI girls still haven’t eliminated the nest yet. Or they’ve been captured.
*Explosion goes off near Nitsuj’s house*
(Nitsuj): They were captured and now they’ve escaped. Here comes the turnaround. They’ll have this messed cleaned up soon. With that said let’s get back to reviewing Mushibugyo.
Opening/Ending Theme
As always with these 20+ episodes we get a new opening for the second half. This time around the opening is Denshin Unchained by Free. This one definitely takes its role a little more serious than the first one. The song has a good beat and the singer does a good job with the build-up as the song progresses. The song matches up with the opening quite well and it conveys a sense that things have gotten a lot more serious this time around. The ending this time is “Through All Eternity ~enishi no kizuna~” by ayami. Much like the first opening the song conveys a sense of sadness and loneliness this time focusing on Kuroageha. The song conveys to us her inner feelings of loneliness but for a short few seconds it picks up the temple telling that even though Kuroageha is lonely she’s found hope and will continue to fight. It’s a good song and I definitely like this ending over the first one. As for which opening I like the best I’ll have to go with the first one. Again, it’s totally out there but that’s its charm.
Episodes 14-17
In episode 14 Jinbei is still gone for his training so everyone else decides to leave too and go train leaving the city in the hands of the Samurai Patrol and Shrine Patrol (they’re not as cool and strong as they sound). While everyone is away a strange creature makes its way into Edo looking for Jinbei and anybody who doesn’t know him he kills them. Before long the guy slaughters a whole block of people and the Samurai and Shrine Patrol go to stop him where they find out their weapons and cannon fire have no effect on him (quick, use your flamethrower). They discover that the mysterious person isn’t a person at all but instead an insect-man an insect that walks like a man, talks like a man, and acts like a man but in truth he’s an insect. The insect slaughters the forces of the patrol that is until Jinbei shows up to fight the abomination (damn dirty bug) and slices it in half killing it. But the bug gets back up and splits into 2 beings (you cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail Mushi) and Jinbei continues to slice them up creating more abominations (stop with the slicing and more with the smashing) backing himself into a wall until help comes in the form of *Protoman whistle* Hibachi, Shungiku, and Tenma who despite going on a journey of training really haven’t improved all that much (except for Tenma who is riding the pre-evolutionary form of Porygon, Origamigon). Even with all of them together the insect-man still can’t be defeated until they look around and find out that the only way to really kill him is to destroy his head (took them long enough, I figured this out like 10 minutes ago). Jinbei puts to use his training and uses the Fuji Hammer on all the insect-man killing them and saving Edo (for now).
Not much happens in episode 15. We find out that the Insect-men have begun eradicating villages all over Japan. We get some funny moments with Kuroageha and Nagatomimaru where we get to see his room and see that he has a lot of paintings and dolls of Jinbei (dude you’re starting to scare me). Hell, he even spies on Jinbei from his castle using a telescope (you’re like half in love with him aren’t you?). While spying on Jinbei we here the story of how his father and mother met. Just like the father is a crazy swordsman the mother is also a crazy swordswoman (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and the crazy are attracted to the crazy). Both were determined to be the best in the land so they fought each other for one-year straight with their match ending in a draw and during that time they got married and had Jinbei (she fought while she was pregnant? No wonder the kid loves fighting). Shortly after Jinbei was born she mysteriously vanished for some reasons unknown forcing Jinbei’s father to raise him alone. Back on Kuroageha and Nagatomimaru’s part she discovers that there might be a way for her to regain her powers and in order to do that she must travel to Kishuu but the shogun doesn’t want her to travel alone so he sends his most trusted samurai Tadasuke with her and she pulls strings to have Jinbei accompany her as well.
At the start of episode 16 the leader of the Insect-men Sanada and his generals arrive in Kishuu where they work out a deal with the local lord saying they won’t kill any of the citizens of Kishuu as long as Kishuu builds him a warship (with plenty of sugar on board) and keeps his presence a secret from the outside world (I must build suspense for my reveal. Don’t question it, I’m a very artistic person). The local lord agrees to his terms and puts the ship makers to work. While that’s going on Jinbei, Kuroageha, and Tadasuke make their way to Kishuu where we see that Tadasuke is a stickler for the rules of a samurai and reprimands Jinbei for not having the proper knowledge of acting like a true samurai (but that’s what makes him so enjoyable. What he lacks in proper etiquette he makes up for it in heart and comedic slapstick). They arrive at Kishuu where the guards won’t let them in (sorry, you’re not on the list) so they have to use the back door where the guards spot them and they hide in the nearby forest. As they’re hiding an insect-man by the name of Jinpachi comes in and kills all the guards for failing their duty and seeks his sights on Jinbei and the others. Jinbei fights him while Tadasuke and Kuroageha reach the gate to open it. They get the gate open and Jinbei manages to defeat Jinpachi but he survives Jinbei’s attack. The group enters Kishuu and Sanada hears of their arrival and orders the local lord to find and kill them.
In episode 17 the people of Kishuu are threaten by Sanada to find Jinbei and the others or face death (what’s the difference you’re gonna kill them all anyway). Jinbei and the others reach a village where they get captured despite saving the town from bandits (ungrateful bastards). Two insect-men arrive in the town where they want information on Jinbei and the others and since Jinbei and Tadasuke saved the village the villagers can’t bring themselves to turn them in. The insect-men threaten to kill a little girl by the name of Inori who we find out later is Hibachi’s little sister. Jinbei springs into action and gets sliced in the back as well as squashed by one of the Insect-men (banzai) but he shakes it off as if it was nothing (shonen characters, nothing hurts them). Tadasuke takes out the dragonfly insect-man using his quick draw technique and Jinbei takes out the caterpillar like insect-man crushing him with the Mt. Fuji hammer (you crush Jinbei he crushes you, how’s that for irony). We find out that Inori sent a message to Hibachi telling her that Kishuu is in danger so the rest of the Magistrate office rushes off to Kishuu to fight. Also, Inori has fallen for Jinbei (Jack Frost: It was still illegal back than right? (Nitsuj): I hope so otherwise I’m calling the cops. (Pyro Jack): He technically is a cop).
Episodes 18-22
Not much happens in episode 18. Jinbei’s group meets up with the rest of the City Patrol at one of the noble’s house and work out a plan to accomplish their mission and liberate Kishuu. They decide to split into three teams. The 1st team contains Mugai who will escort Kuroageha beneath Kishuu’s castle where she will reach what’s known as the Eternal Well which will hopefully restore her powers. The second team will be the local resistance force who will help get people to safety and the third group is Jinbei and the rest of the Magistrate Office taking on the Insect-men directly with Tadasuke. We also get a cute moment with Jinbei and Kuroageha (these two are so cute together). Sanada’s ship is finally finish (too ugly, do it again) and he decides to celebrate by killing everyone in Kishuu because they failed to capture Jinbei and the others (man guy knows how to start a genocidal massacre for no reason). The next day when he’s about to kill everyone Jinbei and the others appear to fight.
The fight is on in episode 19 where Jinbei calls out Sanada (come down and fight you piece of chicken shit) but he decides to send his elite troops to face them instead on castle grounds. The group goes in where Jinbei gets separated from the others (his sense of direction is almost as bad as Zoro’s) and takes on Jinpachi again in the water which is bad because Jinpachi is a water bug. While that’s going on the rest of the group runs into Saizou leader of the elite troops and a warrior from Hibachi’s region. Hibachi decides to take him on while the others go on ahead (typical shonen fighting, you never cease to entertain me). Back on Jinbei and Jinpachi’s fight Jinbei manages to use the Fuji Hammer which gets rid of the water momentarily and counterattack Jinpachi. Jinpachi decides to start getting serious and sheds his water bug skin (well that’s just gross) to turn into a human with the powers to control water. He uses the water to his advantage once again but Jinbei reaches deep down and unleashes his newest attack the Fuji Storm which counters Jinpachi’s control of water and allows Jinbei to deliver the final hit to defeat Jinpachi once and for all (now curve stomp him so he doesn’t get back up). After defeating Jinpachi he runs around the corner to find Hibachi struggling against Saizou.
In episodes 20-22 we see Hibachi, Shungiku, and Tenma fight against the elite members of the Insect-men. Hibachi continues her fight against Saizou who is a master at taijetsu creating illusions that always catch Hibachi off guard and even fools Jinbei a couple of times. To make matters worse he also makes himself an illusion so Hibachi’s attack don’t do much damage to him (talk about being OP and this guy is only second in command imagine what Sanada can do). With the help of Jinbei, Hibachi is able to land her attack on Saizou and finish him off. But in truth he’s not dead, he’s instead with Kuroageha’s group in disguise (what! When did he sneak in with them?). Shungiku takes on Seikai and Isa, two monks who are cockroaches who believe salvation comes from death (I need to introduce these guys to Genkaku from Deadman Wonderland. Oh wait he’s dead). Shungiku keeps slicing them but they keep regenerating (look, I know these things can survive a nuclear blast but they’re not wolverines or homunculus. If I step on one and kill it it’s dead it’s not gonna magically come back alive). Shungiku manages to beat them by slicing them up faster than they can regenerate. Tenma’s fight is probably the dumbest of the fights. He fights against Kosuke an insect-man obsessed with justice (either he has the wrong definition of justice or he is just an idiot) and wants to teach Tenma what justice really is (by beating it into his skull). Tenma defeats him by combining his familiars to create one super familiar that punches Kosuke into outer space where he explodes (Pyro Jack: Really, that’s what we’re going with?).
Episodes 23-26 and OVAs
Things start to heat up in episode 23. Mugai attacks Saizou in disguise and fights him while Kuroageha reaches the Eternal Well that will restore her powers but an order to restore them she must face her past and accept it (sounds like Persona 3). If she fails she will be destroyed on the spot (and then that will only leave Haru as the only choice to be Jinbei’s wife). Jinbei and Tenma rejoin Tadasuke, Hibachi, and Shungiku where They take on the last two members of the Insect-men Yuri and Kakei in the snowy mountain room (Jack Frost: Oh hey it’s just like my room back home). When the group sees Mugai fighting Saizou, Jinbei and Tadasuke go on ahead where they split up. Jinbei goes to protect Kuroageha while Tadasuke buys him time and takes on Sanada himself where he gets owned big time and dies (such is to be expected from a side character). Jinbei reaches Kuroageha where she’s about to tell him who she really is (Nitsuj, Jack Frost, and Pyro Jack: FINALLY) but is interrupted by the appearance of Sanada (Nitsuj, Jack Frost, and Pyro Jack: DAMN IT).
At the start of episode 24 Mugai defeats Saizou and absorbs his powers into his sword (it’s a Megaman sword). After that Jinbei takes on Sanada while Kuroageha dives into the well to regain her powers and face her past (burn your dread). Jinbei is obviously no match for Sanada (it’s hard to believe this guy is the main character in this shonen series) and Sanada tosses Jinbei into the well where he sees the sad past of Kuroageha. It turns out she’s lived for over a century (she age gracefully) and when she was a child she took care of a baby insect-man that was injured. One night when her kingdom was attacked and she was hit through the heart the baby insect-man gave its powers to her to keep her alive. Because of this she gain her poison powers and accidently killed both of her parents and bought about the destruction of her already doomed kingdom (silver lining…she grew up into a pretty lady). Kuroageha begins to wonder if saving that insect-man was the right thing to do and Jinbei tells her it was because it is the duty of the strong to protect the weak (and it is duty of the main character to support the love interest). She than hugs Jinbei thanking him for all that he’s done for her and sends back up out of the well where Sanada tells him that once Kuroageha regains her powers she’ll lose all of her memories and destroy Japan (silver lining…the insect problem will be taken care of).
In episode 25 Jinbei dives back into the well and convinces Kuroageha not to go through with this and that he will defeat Sanada (um last time you fought this guy Jinbei he completely owned you. What makes you think you can beat him now when only 5 minutes have gone by since your last fight?). She of course trusts him and they try to escape the castle while Mugai holds off Sanada. Back in the city, Hibachi, Shungiku, and Tenma’s fight against the two remaining Insect-men comes to an end with the arrival of Kotori who takes both of them down easily (and that right there is why he’s the chief). Sanada manages to stop Jinbei and Kuroageha from leaving the castle where he threatens to kill Jinbei unless Kuroageha dives in the well and she agrees to do it (man this girl is changing her mind a lot this episode). She dives into the well just as everyone else shows up and re-emerges having white butterfly wings on her back and stabbing Jinbei through the chest while having a demonic smile (Kuroageha…the fuck). Oh we also find out that Sanada is actually a servant of Kuroageha’s kingdom. When the kingdom was under attack and he was looking for her a plank of burning wood fell on him trapping him. The baby insect-man offered to help by giving him power but he refuse. The insect-man ignored his disapproval and trapped Sanada into a cocooned where he spent the last century turning into an insect-man (must have been running on Windows).
In the final episode all kinds of epicness happens. First off Jinbei dies and his body absorbs the powers of the well which revives him and he goes through that mysterious transformation again that fans like to call Hollow Jinbei. Kotori tells us that Jinbei much like Kuroageha, Sanada, and Mugai carries the blood of an Insect Hunter meaning he has bizarre powers as well. He begins attacking Sanada totally losing himself in the heat of fighting until Mugai pulls him down and knocks some sense into him. Jinbei regains control of his conscious and joins the others to fight Sanada and Kuroageha. Jinbei takes on Kuroageha where she tries to use her poison to stop him but Jinbei’s body absorbs the poison and he’s able to hold her hand which allows his memories of her to flow into her and she remembers everything (Jack Frost: You should of kissed her you fool). With her memories back Jinbei turns his attention to Sanada where they have a battle through the sky and Jinbei unleashes his family’s ultimate attack on Sanada which turns him into dust (Pyro Jack: What is he a Looney Tunes character?) saving Kishuu. We end the series with everyone returning to Edo, Jinbei still not knowing Kuroageha is the Insect Magistrate, and taking down giant bugs.
There is an OVA that came out for the anime last year. In the OVA a child living in poverty wants to be a samurai but because of his social standing he can’t go to the dojo and is often bullied by the students of the dojo. After coming across Jinbei and Mugai he begs them to be his sensei and Jinbei moved by his determination decides to train the boy to be a samurai while Mugai just watches from afar. Eventually the others come to see how the training is going and near the end a praying mantis (which ironically attacked near a shrine. I guess he was praying) attacks the dojo boys but they get saved by the poverty boy and Jinbei and the others deal the final blow to the praying mantis. While the story in this OVA is pretty cliché I do like the message they deliver throughout it. Nobody is born strong, being strong is something you work at on a continued bases and your social standing shouldn’t be an excuse on whether or not you can be strong. Everybody has the potential to be strong no matter what their social standing is and we shouldn’t look down on people or ourselves because of our standing. Overall I don’t think this OVA is worth your time, as I said before the story is cliché and doesn’t advance the story in anyway but if you wanna check it out go ahead it’s a pretty harmless.
The second focuses on Hibachi where we see she struggles with her feelings for Mugai and Jinbei. In her eyes Mugai is perfect but she can’t shake her feelings for Jinbei as there’s something about that keeps making her think about him. When she finally gets to go on a mission with Mugai all by herself to investigate a base that attacked by a mushi she uses this chance to try and get close to Mugai. All of her attempts fail and they finally reach the base where a villager is drowning in the river but Mugai only cares about killing the mushi that’s in front of him. This actually shocks Hibachi and she dives in the river to save the villager only to get washed away with him in the current. After defeating the mushi Mugai saves both Hibachi and the villager with Hibachi figuring out that his plan was to first destroy the mushi than save the villager. He had to take the bug out first otherwise it would of either attacked him or escaped into the woods. They return back to base where Hibachi’s feelings for Jinbei are still being questioned. Once again not really worth checking as nothing seems to change all that much.
There is a third one but this one hasn’t been subbed yet so I can’t give an accurate description on what’s happening it. But from what I can gather the OVA is taking place in an alternate setting where Kuroageha is a new transfer student and Jinbei has been tasked with showing her around campus. There’s also something about a talent show going on and some fanservice. The OVA was made for laughs and really doesn’t add anything new to the story but out of all the OVAs I will say this is the one I enjoyed watching the most just for its comedy.
Final Thoughts
Do you see why this was an underrated anime? While I admit it’s not the best shonen anime I’ve seen there’s a certain level of fun and uniqueness to this anime that pulls you in and sets it apart from other shonen animes. The anime starts off slowly with your monster of the week deal as well as establishes who the characters are and what their role is on the team (from what I’ve heard people say it’s quite similar to the formula in Bleach). While the anime starts off slow when it starts to get into the complex stuff such evil organizations and plans to take over Japan the anime does start to get interesting and good. Characters are pretty basic shonen characters but they each have their different philosophies and fighting styles that separates them from each other and allows them to be their own character. Jinbei is your typical shonen hero however he’s the weakest character in the anime but makes up for it with his spirit and determination. There are a few times when he wins his fights deus ex machina style but that’s to be expected from a shonen hero. Shungiku is the tough drunk (I like to think of him as the Wolverine of this anime), Hibachi is the ninja girl, Tenma is the shy boy, Mugai the mysterious overpowered and quiet fighter who opens up to no one and the person who the main character admires the most.
The show does a good job balancing out the comedy and seriousness of this anime. There are a lot of comedic moments between the teammates fighting amongst themselves and Jinbei’s naïve and innocent personality. Nagatomimaru was probably the funniest character in this anime and I wish they would have added more scenes with him. At the same time there’s some serious moments in this anime as well. We get a few sad scenes as some pretty violent scenes. We actually see people die quite a bit in this anime and they don’t censor out the deaths of the characters. As far as romance goes we get a little bit of it but it’s just for show, they don’t really explore all that deeply but I’m currently cheering for Kuroageha but I won’t be surprise if it’s Haru who ends up with Jinbei. Speaking of Haru the fanservice in this anime is pretty low. We get a few fanservice scenes here and there but it’s nothing that’s too over the top or shameless. The animation is alright. It’s nothing that blows you away but it is well done. The buildings, landscape, and character designs are all nice and cool. It really does look and feel like the Feudal Era of Japan. The bugs can be a little silly looking at times but overall the designs for them were good. As far as action goes it’s not overwhelming or nothing that gives you that wow effect but it is well choreographed and the sound effects used in the fight scenes are very effective. Music is passable. It doesn’t leave an impact on you but it matches up with the scenes. The main problems this anime has stem from a lot of unanswered questions such as Jinbei’s hollow form, his mother, Mugai’s past, the Mushi’s origins, Kuroageha, and many more questions that the anime either presents or ignores. The anime never sets aside time to address unanswered questions and really leaves you hanging.
Final Score
The final score for Mushibugyo is a 6.5/10. In the end Mushibugyo is an interesting anime and if you’re looking for a good shonen anime to watch I say check this anime out. It can be slow at first but just be patient and it will really get your interest. Mushibugyo has that old school shonen charm to it that just makes it so enjoyable to watch. It’s an anime that’s straightforward, with some good characters, a good story, and a good moral of wanting to protect what’s important no matter what.
*The AI girls come in with their clothes all tattered up and staggering to walk*
(Jack Frost): Woah you girls look like you just got back from a war.
(Nitsuj): I take it the house is now safe to enter?
(Isis): A-Okay master. All bugs have been eliminated. We’ll leave clean up to you.
*The AI girls pass out from exhaustion on the floor*
(Nitsuj): Well let’s go see what the damage is. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj. My insurance company better cover this.
*Nitsuj walks out of the Jack Bros. house to go check on his house. The Jack Bros. stare at the AI girls for a few seconds and take selfies of themselves with them unconscious*
(Pyro Jack): #Mushifanservice.
(Jack Frost): #SuckItBlackFrost.
*King Frost likes Pyro Jack’s post*
*Black Frost responds to Jack Frost’s post: Well screw you too.*
*All videos, pictures, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respected owners. All rights reserved.*
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment, feedback, or request down belong or send to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com