Episode 01

The Beginning of the Dream (夢ノ始マリ Yume no Hajimari) is the first episode of the Mushi-Uta anime. It first aired in Japan on July 05, 2007.

Plot

 * A young girl finds herself in a street covered with snow, wondering how things ended up for her as they are. She is approached by a boy in a black coat, wearing goggles and holding a gun at her. He tells her that their existence alone is hurting people, whereupon the girl responds that she would like to give her dream to him in that case. He promises that it will be remembered. A cleridae bug flies on top of the boy's gun, morphing into its surface. They then shoot the winter firefly belonging to the girl.


 * Four years later, a door opens for the girl.


 * Night time - a man is reading information about so called Mushi on the internet. Rumors say that those being the host to the Mushi will be taken away by an organization, others state they simply erase the existence of the host and their Mushi. It is said that those who do the job are always dressed in a black coat and goggles and will get their victims at precisely 4:00am each time. Just then, the clock hits 4am; A van stops in front of the apartment complex, a man with a black coat and goggles getting out, then knocking at the door asking for the person they are looking for. The man from the room, called Yuuki, tries to flee through the window. As he trips and falls, his fall is stopped by a giant centipede.


 * Scared, Yuuki runs away from the scene, deeper into the city. After a short moment, he takes a break in a telephone booth. Just then, a huge beetle shows up near the booth, the hunter from before introducing himself as a member of the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau. Failure to accompany him would result in Yuuki's Mushi being eliminated. Suddenly, the phone starts ringing, a voice at the other end telling the host to run away, while simultaneously the centipede from before comes to his aid.


 * Yuuki tries to escape by fleeing to the top of a high building, only to be yet again confronted by the beetle and its host. The beetle, dubbed Kabuto, starts its attack, but Yuuki is saved last second by a grasshopper Mushi which carries him away from the rooftop. The host of the centipede tells them to head to the river, where his leader would be, while he would hold off Kabuto.


 * Waiting by the river, a woman with a ladybug Mushi waves to the approaching Yuuki. However, before he can reach her, a shot takes his Mushi out of the sky. The young man responsible for the shot tells Yuuki that "his time is up", then leaves Kabuto to deal with the rest of the situation. Meanwhile, the hosts who tried to help their fellow retreat from the river.


 * A girl sitting on the fence of the bridge the group is standing on starts talking to the shooter, Kakkō, asking him whether he felt too mighty to pay attention to her as a lower rank type or if he simply hates her, whereupon he responds that it is her who hates him, not stopping as he is taking his leave. A car drives up to Kakkō's side, a man inside of it stating that the leader of "Mushibane", a so called "Lady Bird" has finally been classified as First-Class, Kashu-Type host - the same rank as Kakkō. The topic shifts to Kakkō starting a mission in a school the next day. Following the information, he disappears out of listening range, so the girl from before, alias Minmin, lands on top of the car, implying that there is something their boss, Haji is not telling him. Haji responds that it is a secret between the two of them, which appears to please Minmin.


 * As the sun rises, a teenage girl, Rina Tachibana, makes her way to school. In the crowd of the Ouka Station, she notices one of her male classmates, who is absent-mindedly staring into space. At school, three of her friends are briefly discussing Mushi when she enters the classroom. One of the girls shows around alleged photos of Mushi, unconvincing in the eyes of her classmates. When Rina sees the giant centipede from the night before in a blurred photo, she tells the girls to cut it out.


 * The teacher comes into the room, introducing a new student, Daisuke Kusuriya. He appears quiet, not talking much before going to his new seat. The teacher then informs the class that a painting made by Rina has been awarded for a contest without her knowledge. Although the class cheers for her, Rina seems displeased by these news.


 * After school, Daisuke finds himself in the school's art gallery. Rina's painting catches his attention, the former entering the room that moment. Even though Daisuke compliments her work and congratulates her on the award, she seems angry that he is laying eyes upon her painting and tells him to leave.


 * Daisuke makes his way home. He calls his boss, Haji, who tells him that it is time to exterminate Mushibane and that he should enjoy school life as long as he can. For that, an own apartment was given to Daisuke, alias Kakkō.


 * Rina remains in the art gallery room after the sun has set. A group approaches her with the name Lady, which she tells them not to use in public. The oldest of the group informs her that a Host with the alias Fuyuhotaru escaped from GARDEN, which is the first case such a thing has occurred.


 * The next morning, Daisuke awakes from a nightmare. He makes his way to school and halts in front of a railroad crossing. At the other side, he sees a girl - the girl from four years ago. A bright smile appears on Daisuke's face and he eagerly heads into her direction.

Differences

 * Daisuke joins the school and meets Rina only one day before meeting Shiika once more. In the light novel, Daisuke has been an established member of the class for a long time before this occurrence.
 * While in the anime version, Rina directly appears annoyed by Daisuke for seemingly no reason, the two share an uneasy relationship in the novel that was built through development over their different natures.
 * Originally, Shiika and Daisuke reunite at an actual train station, rather than a railroad crossing.