Mushibugyō (ムシブギョー) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroshi Fukuda. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday Super from August 2009 to September 2010, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes. A second series, Jōjū Senjin!! Mushibugyō, a retelling of the original series, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from January 2011 to September 2017, with its chapters collected in 32 tankōbon volumes.
A 26-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Seven Arcs Pictures was broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo from April to September 2013, with three additional original video animation (OVA) episodes released in 2014 and 2015.
Contents
Plot
Mushibugyō is set in an alternate Edo period of Japan, where giant insects known as "Mushi" began to appear and attack people 100 years before, and since then have brought terror and death to the country. To counter the threat of the Mushi, the Shogunate establishes the City Patrol who acts under the Mushi Magistrate (Mushi-bugyō) to assemble warriors strong enough to fight them. The story follows Jinbei Tsukishima, a young and cheerful samurai who is the newest member of the City Patrol answering a summons to his father by the Magistrate, but as he is not able to fight anymore, Jinbei takes on the burden of protecting Edo from the Mushi in his place.
Characters
Jinbei Tsukishima (月島仁兵衛, Tsukishima Jinbei)
Voiced by: Kenn
A young samurai and the newest member of the City Patrol. The son of a samurai who was forced to cut off his own leg in repentance for an incident involving Jinbei and the son of his master, despite not being at fault. When his father is summoned to join Mushibugyō, Jinbei departs for Edo to join the magistrate in his place to make up for his sacrifice and to help restore honor to his family. Despite being far stronger than a normal human, Jinbei is the weakest member of the team, making up for his inexperience with determination and an unyielding spirit that ends up earning him the respect and admiration of his peers. In the last chapter of the manga it is revealed that Jinbei ended up marrying Kuroageha, Oharu and Hibachi ending up with nine children.
Hibachi (火鉢)
Voiced by: Rumi Ōkubo
A female ninja who specializes in the use of explosives, Hibachi's determined to prove her worth as the successor of her grandfather's techniques, despite the fact that he does not accept them being inherited by a woman. She admired Mugai greatly, but might have developed feelings for Jinbei too, as shown in Episode 15 where she showed hidden jealousy at the idea of him marrying Oharu. She married Jinbei and together they had three children.
Mugai (無涯)
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima
The strongest warrior of the City Patrol, Mugai is a swordsman capable of feats that seem impossible for a human (fittingly, his name means "Limitless"). Mugai was once the leader of a group called the Mushigari (or the "Insects Hunters"), but for some reason he abandoned it to join the magistrate. Both Jinbei and Hibachi look up to him and dream of one day being as strong as him to repay the several occasions on which he saved their lives. He seems to be emotionless and ruthless on the surface, but his actions suggest otherwise. His sword is as big as his whole body and has the ability to absorb insects and imitate their abilities.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Hiroshi Fukuda, Mushibugyō was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Shōnen Sunday Super's from August 25, 2009, to September 25, 2010. Three tankōbon volumes were released by Shogakukan between April 16, 2010, and January 18, 2011.
A second series, Jōjū Senjin!! Mushibugyō (常住戦陣！！ムシブギョー), a retelling of the original series, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from January 4, 2011, to September 20, 2017. The 316 chapters were collected in 32 tankōbon volumes, released from June 17, 2011, to October 18, 2017.
Anime
An anime television series was announced in January 2013. The series, directed by Takayuki Hamana and produced by Seven Arcs Pictures, aired on TX Network stations from April 8 to September 30, 2013, for 26 episodes. The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll. Three additional original video animation (OVA) episodes were bundled with the 15th, 16th and 17th volumes of the manga on July 18, 2014, October 7, 2014 and January 16, 2015. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series and OVAs and released them in 2022.
The series uses four pieces of theme music. The two opening themes are "Tomoyo" by Gagaga SP and "Denshin∞Unchained" by FREE Hebi&M, while the two ending themes are "Ichizu" by i☆Ris and "Through All Eternity" by ayami.
Video game
A video game, developed by Namco Bandai Games, was released for the Nintendo 3DS on September 19, 2013. It is an action role-playing game featuring all of the Mushibugyo members as a playable characters.