Line #12 Characters/Mushishi


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder:Recurring Characters]]
4	!!Ginko
5	!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YutoNakano (JP), Creator/TravisWillingham (EN), Creator/MiyukiSawashiro (JP, child), Creator/AaronDismuke (EN, child)
6	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ginko_9.png]]
7
8	The main protagonist. A wandering Mushishi, or Mushi Master, Ginko travels the land solving the troubles of those afflicted with ''mushi''-related illnesses. His analytical mind and somewhat unique stance of 'live and let live' when it comes to ''mushi'' makes him rather effective at his job.
9	----
10	* AllLovingHero: Ginko is a firm believer that all things have a right to live, and does his best to preserve the lives and happiness of both the people and mushi he comes across.
11	* AmnesiacHero: Ginko has no memories of his early childhood, [[spoiler:because of a powerful ''mushi'' that wiped his memories and devoured one of his eyes, turning his hair white and his remaining eye green in the process.]]
12	* BadassPacifist: Ginko refuses to harm the mushi unless he absolutely has to, but this doesn't stop him from being extremely successful at his job.
13	* CelibateHero: Since Ginko can never settle down without drawing too many ''mushi'' in, he doesn't exactly have the chance for romance. There are a couple women who are implied to be interested in him, and another young woman actually does flirt with him, but he stands firm.
14	* TheComicallySerious
15	* CrazyPrepared: Travels around with a large, wooden backpack containing all the equipment he needs to deal with the mushi.
16	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ginko has been wandering for as long as he can remember, as he attracts mushi with his mere presence and thus can't stay in any one place for long. It's even mentioned that a few unscrupulous mushishi took him in to use as mushi bait so they could attract more customers.
17	* HidingTheHandicap: His haircut covers one eye. [[spoiler:Or rather, the lack of one eye.]]
18	* IgnoredExpert: It's practically a running joke of the series. Ginko is one of the most intelligent and efficient Mushishi in all of Japan, if not the world, and he is well known for his work. That being said, the conflicts of most episodes stem from one of the following:
19	** Ginko warns a person that something bad will happen if they do 'x'. The person proceeds to do 'x', either out of curiosity or not believing him.
20	** Ginko warns a person that the benefit they receive from a mushi is only temporary and will bite them in the ass eventually. The person is too attached to said benefit to let it go.
21	** Ginko warns a fellow Mushishi that they are doing something wrong and is ignored out of pride.
22	** Ginko warns a person but his strange appearance and status as an outsider generates distrust and he is ignored.
23	** Ginko warns a person but they don't believe him because they can't see or have never heard of mushi.
24	* MartialPacifist: Ginko won't actively harm anyone or anything unless he has no other choice, and even then he tries to find another way.
25	* MrExposition: In almost every episode, he explains to the VictimOfTheWeek (and the audience) what the episode's resident mushi does and how best to deal with it.
26	* MysticalWhiteHair: His mop of unusual white hair was caused by [[spoiler:the same ''mushi'' that stole his memories.]]
27	* NiceGuy: Though serious and focused when it comes to his work, Ginko is kind to both humans and ''mushi''. An official book outright describes him as having a gentle heart and a sense of justice.
28	* SmokingIsCool: He's always smoking a special kind of cigarette whose smoke repels mushi.
29	* TheStoic: Ginko almost never loses his cool, which make the rare moments when he does all the more effective. This even extends to his childhood, where he was just as unemotive then as he is as an adult.
30	* SupportingProtagonist: Is usually this to whoever the WoobieOfTheWeek is, sometimes only having a couple minutes of screentime in an episode despite being the show's protagonist.
31	* VagueAge: Because of a combination of the art style and the series' episodic nature, it's impossible to tell how old Ginko is. In fact, [[spoiler:Ginko himself doesn't know how old he is, because the memory of his childhood was destroyed by the ''mushi'' that he got his name from. He reckons he was about 10 when that happened, though.]] While years must go by in-story (his trench coat frequently changes color in the anime, not to mention the many times the narration indicates that periods of months or years have passed) he always looks more-or-less the same. As such, he could be anywhere between 20-50. The author's note in Volume 5 says that he's pictured as being in his late 20's, though.
32	* WalkingTheEarth: Ginko is always on the move, as he attracts mushi with his presence, which would wreak havoc anywhere he might settle down.
33	* WeirdnessMagnet: Bordering on DoomMagnet. Ginko attracts ''mushi'' just by existing, and has to constantly be moving. Were he to settle down anywhere, the place would soon be overrun by an infestation.
34	* YourDaysAreNumbered: It's hinted, although never outright confirmed either way, that [[spoiler:just like his mentor, Ginko will eventually succumb to the curse that turned his hair white and turn into another Tokoyami like she did. After all, the curse is said to be inevitable once one eye has turned green...]]
35
36	!!Adashino
37	!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YujiUeda (JP), Creator/ChuckHuber (EN)
38	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adashino.png]]
39
40	The resident doctor of a small fishing village and a good friend of Ginko's. His obsession with mushi, despite not being able to see them, and all items related to them tends to get him into trouble.
41	----
42	* CollectorOfTheStrange: He collects items related to ''mushi'', and frequently tries to get Ginko to sell him items from his own supplies.
43	* FriendToAllChildren: There's usually a small gang of children following him around whenever he's not seeing patients or hanging out with Ginko.
44	* HighClassGlass: His most distinctive feature is his monocle. It makes him look refined and, at times, sinister.
45	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: He's absolutely crushed when the "mushi fossil" inkstone he bought goes on to nearly kill three village children when they inhale the still-living mushi within it.
46
47	!!Tanyu Karibusa
48	!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AiKobayashi (JP), Creator/StephanieSheh (EN)
49	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tanyu.png]]
50
51	A scribe who is responsible for sealing away a destructive mushi by transferring it from her body to written scrolls. She's also a close friend to Ginko.
52	----
53	* BirthmarkOfDestiny: The ''mushi'' sealed away in her body manifested itself as a coal-black birthmark, identifying her as a scribe destined to continue eradicating the ''mushi'' curse plaguing her family for generations.
54	* IJustWantToBeNormal: She had this attitude as a child, not fully understanding why she had to spend so much time cooped indoors studying or why her leg was black and couldn't move.
55
56	!!Tama Minai
57	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5103f7860a.png]]
58
59	Tanyu's caretaker and a former Mushishi.
60	----
61	* DeadpanSnarker: She's a tough old lady and isn't above snarking at Ginko.
62	* IntergenerationalFriendship: She cares deeply for Tanyuu and does everything she can to make the girl's life easier. Tanyuu looks up to her in turn.
63
64	!!Isaza
65	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isaza.png]]
66
67	A young man who lives with a wandering tribe, following the flow of Kouki.
68	----
69	* TheBusCameBack: He returns during the ''mushishi'' gathering in "Banquet in the Farthest Field".
70
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:One-Off Characters]]
74
75	! Jin
76	[[quoteright:188:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jin_23.png]]
77
78	A swordsmith with prophetic dreams.
79	----
80	* BeardOfSorrow: He's got some very noticeable stubble when Ginko visits him again, after the rest of the village has been wiped out.
81	* DrivenToSuicide: In despair, he overdoses on the medicine Ginko gave him to treat his condition, but Ginko intervenes in time to save him.[[spoiler:However, it’s said by cutting his pillow, he killed a part of himself. The epilogue reveals that his mental state continued to decline in spite of Jin's attempts to return to a normal life, and he ultimately stabbed himself on one of his own blades.]]
82	* HappilyMarried: It's clear that Jin and his wife Kinu loved each other very much.
83	* RealityWarper: This is the real cause of [[spoiler:all the "prophetic" dreams he has. His dreams are simply normal dreams, but the Imenonoawai escape his head and come out into the world to make his dreams come true. Unfortunately, this also means that any ''bad'' things that he dreams about occur in reality as well, and it only gets worse if he realizes what the Imenonoawai are.]]
84
85	!Nui
86
87	! Aya and Ito
88	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aya_ito.png]]
89
90	* AngstySurvivingTwin: Aya has never forgiven herself for the accident that resulted in her sister's disappearance. Even five years later, she's still trying to contact Ito through the ''uro'' passageway messaging system, despite Ginko telling her repeatedly that it's a lost cause.
91	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: During the flashback segment of the story, the twins can be told apart by their hair. Aya has sideswept bangs, while Ito's bangs are straight.
92
93	! Amane
94	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amane_8.png]]
95
96	A wandering ''biwa'' player.
97	----
98	* BlessedWithSuck: She was born blind, but after a mushi entered her eye, she was able to see things with perfect vision. She was also able to see absurdly long distances, visions of the future, and other things. As time went on, however, she was able to see ''all of these at once'', and as a result she has to keep her eyes shut anyway to lessen the sensory overload. Not that this does her much good when she starts seeing through her eyelids...
99
100	! Yahagi
101	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Yes, she and her fellow village adults wanted to burn their mountain, but at the time that was the only solution they could find to the problem of a fast-spreading, unidentified ''mushi'' that poisoned and killed surrounding plant life. If the toxic ''mushi'' spread to the village's fields and killed their crops, people would starve to death once winter came.
102
103	!! Sayo and Kaji
104	* CuteClumsyGirl: Sayo, as her son claims. Mind you, he says she was like this before her memory loss, but she's just as clumsy after it.
105	* GenkiGirl: Sayo is a cheerful, pleasant enough woman in the manga, but the anime emphasizes her peppiness.
106	* TraumaInducedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Ultimately, Sayo loses most of her memories after discovering that her long-absent husband has made another family on the other side of the river. The next time she went to sleep afterwards, the Kagedama took every single memory that's not about her daily habits, herself, or her son. Ginko theorizes that since Kagedama only take memories their host doesn't think about too often, she desperately wanted to forget everything that had to do with the man she loved.]]
107
108	! Masaki and Saho
109	A mysteriously beautiful woman and the landscaper that takes care of her.
110
111	! Masumi
112	* SmittenTeenageGirl: While she's devoted to any one of her crushes, she's portrayed as "fickle" in her pursuit of them. Her previous lover wasn't keen on her desire to come with him out of town, and once she got over him she was yet another victim of Ginko's charms.
113	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Ultimately, her chapter hands her this message. She's been in a funk because her previous lover didn't even take her seriously, and gives consideration to simply letting the Mizu-kagami take over her life. Ginko tries to make her realize that she (and humans) are stronger than she gives herself credit for, and in the end gets rid of the ''mushi'' without using her lover's mirror.
114
115	! Kaya and Yoshiro
116	A fourteen-year-old girl who became the rare human Mountain Master, and her worried older brother.
117	----
118	* GodivaHair: Over time, Kaya's hair went from a short cut to flowing over her feet and several meters beyond that.
119	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Kaya gives up her life in order to spare Ginko the fate of the Light Circle absorbing him.]]
120	* WildChild: Years of living alone on the mountain and becoming preoccupied with the mountain's concerns has made Kaya a more animalistic girl.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Pilot Characters]]
124	Characters from the two one-shots that preceded the current ''Mushishi''. Taking place in a modern Japan, with two different protagonists instead of one.
125
126	! Kiku
127	The protagonist. A 14-year old Mushishi who tries to act more mature than he really is.
128	----
129	* ArbitrarySkepticism: While Kiku is a Mushishi, there are some ''mushi'' that he's unwilling to believe exist, such as the Sanshi (although he does have justification in that it's never been caught on-camera).
130	* EmbarrassingDampSheets: When he had a Kan ''mushi'', his ordeal resulted in him frequently wetting the bed thanks to the Kan's overstimulation of his body.
131	* NeverGetsDrunk: Even for his size and age, he can hold down on an impressive amount of sake, as we see in "Banquet on the Rooftop".
132	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: In "Azure Music", he's able to give Natsume (who is also a child) sound, mature advise for dealing with the Kan/Yoimachi ''mushi'' and her complicated feelings towards her mother and piano playing. Part of it comes with the job of being a Mushishi, part of it is unknown.
133
134	! Toujuurou
135	The other focus character. A laidback adult Mushishi who looks for easy opportunities when he sees them.
136	----
137	* BunnyEarsLawyer: He fashions himself as a layabout and somewhat of a ConMan in public, but he does know his ''mushi'' like Kiku and can even capitalize on it.
138	* ConspicuousGloves: For some reason, he never takes off his black gloves, even during drinking parties.
139	* EveryoneHasStandards: Toujuurou can have some real bastard motivations, but even he isn't going to profit off of a kid with no life experience yet.
140	* SmokingIsCool: Never seen without his smokes no matter when he shows up. Just like Ginko after him, the smoke can also serve a purpose -- in one case [[spoiler:as knockout gas when he puts Kiku to sleep]] in "Banquet on the Rooftop".
141	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / Mushishi