IGN's list of the Top Anime of 2007. Aoki called it "a rare breed of manga: a smartly-written, original story that's told with simple yet mesmerizing imagery." Similarly, Kimlinger declared that "Its hypnotic rhythm, humanism, and naturalist's eye for beauty give it a charm that far outstrips mere entertainment value." Reviewer Jason Thompson intoned that while it may be "too mellow" for certain readers, he found praiseworthy its "very original vision, with a sort of 'flowing life' of its own, a biologist's precision mixed with creepy fairytales and a surreal, dreamy feel." Its storytelling was highly praised; Isler deemed it as "near flawless", while Pop Culture Shock's Ken Haley labeled it "an enjoyable and intriguing read", and Shirl Sazynski of Sequential Tart lauded its "short, spooky and breathtaking stories." Manga Life's Joy Kim stated that its lack of a central story allows one to enter at any volume, and that "the quality of the storytelling" will make fans want to read it in entirety. The "quiet and subtle stories that evoke strong emotions with great story crafting and a fine tune to the essence of what moves people" is the main appeal of the series, according to Holly Ellingwood of Active Anime. Both Ed Sizemore and Avi Weinryb, writing for Comics Worth Reading and Comic Book Bin respectively, said Mushishi has something to tell to readers, with the former commenting "If you want a manga to make you stop and think, this is the manga for you." Mushi-Shi -Next Passage- was also well received by fans; almost all of its DVD and Blu-ray volumes made the Top 20 list of the Oricon best-selling charts. Jacob Hope Chapman of Anime News Network praised the maintenance of the visual quality and the improvement upon the quality of the stories, declaring that "Mushi-Shi is quickly evolving from an excellent series of fables about the natural world to a wholly unique masterpiece that a written review can't really do justice by." Chapman dubbed it "one of the all-time greatest animated anthology series." The Fandom Post's Kory Cerjak stated the series "is perhaps one of the most innovative shows out there in terms of storytelling." Ben Huber of Japanator praised its "soothing music and beautiful art", noting that "most anime struggle to create relatable and compelling characters in 12 or 24 episodes. Mushishi does it every week in one goddamn episode... and it does it