- As Ginko says, if our four fingers are for animal and the thumb for plant life; the human sits at the tip of the middle finger which is the furthest away from the heart and as we climb to the heart all the veins and arteries start to connect and are like fungi or bacteria. The heart is what mushi is/are.
We humans can never be entirely connected to nature and remain human, although we perhaps could have a long time ago. But now even the wisest of humans often only think of themselves and destroy all (and each other) so that they may prosper. Alas, Ginko is one of the few who remains with an unselfish soul, thinking and acting in favor of both mushi and people he encounters. Here we have exactly that, the ultimate collision of human and mushi or nature. To live together in marriage, two persons have to make a compromise and sacrifice for one another. And as we had in the final episode of the season, where the great old tree offered itself for the village, here (in the special) the little girl does the same for the mountain, but still, neither of them vanish completely.
In the end, Ginko continues his travels as the spiritual medium that binds the two worlds which is his biggest sacrifice, to forever be balancing on the line of life.
- However, this special isn't without its problems as it suffers from a slow pace that usually doesn't happen in regular episodes as those are shorter. It also has two fake endings (fade to black) around the middle in this two-act structure which makes you think that the show is over; just for it to unsurely start building up to another act that feels a little abrupt as in walk, stop, walk. Having said that, it finishes adequately and beautifully cements its themes with a strong atmosphere in directing. Without the second act, the episode would have ended in a shy and incomplete way à la those lesser Mushi-shi episodes.
I've been on this hike with Ginko for quite some years now and it finally ends in this one form, but I'll continue walking.
Every single night and day, I'll search for you, mushi.
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