Little Mushroom has been once of my most anticipated novels this year. It’s also the one where I went in completely blind, only knowing it was about a mushroom. As it turns out, knowing absolutely nothing was a blessing and made for an amazing reading experience. I can see why so many people hold this story near and dear because even after reading only book one, I will carry this little mushroom with me forever.
About Little Mushroom
Little Mushroom is a danmei series by Yi Shi Si Zhou, published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. In this world, the future is bleak. Humans have been pushed to the brink of extinction as terrible events after terrible events have occurred. Humans now live inside a base, protected by the government from arbitrations, aka nonhuman life attempting infect humans and kill them. When one of those humans takes a spore from a mushroom, that mushroom disguises himself as a human to get on base and retrieve his spore.
When the mushroom, who names himself Anzhe, arrives at the base, he meets the Judge, Lu Feng. The Judge has the power determine if a human is infected or is an arbitration, and can kill them on sight. From this first meeting on, both Anzhe and Lu Feng keep getting thrown into situations together, and they start to question if they can trust each other.
My Thoughts
There’s something to be said about how a little mushroom can feel so unassuming but before you know it, its tendrils have locked into your heart. You can’t help to root for someone who has lost something so dear to them that they are willing to put their very existence at risk in order to get it back. Anzhe and his journey to recover his spore warmed my spirit in ways I can’t describe. So much so that when I was reminded of the cruel and awful world they are living in, I felt psychically sick. It was jarring and inescapable. But that makes Anzhe’s journey to his spore and his learning of what it means to be human so much more impactful.
The juxtaposition of having this little mushroom learn about humanity while the humanity as the current world knows is unraveling is not lost on me. This distant future is made up of rules and schemas designed to keep the humans at the base safe. Yet every decision, every rule, every system strips away everyone’s humanity. You’re not just a person: you have a role to do, to better the society at large. To keep the systems in check. The cost of safety and survival is freedom, and it’s not an easy price to pay. It’s something that the Judge, who with a look can decide if you’re a human or an arbitration, carries with him. And when this large of a burden lies on one man, what becomes of him?
From start to finish, this story is unpredictable. Both in the events that transpire but also in the feelings it elicits. From moments that are so whimsical and awe inspiring, to others that are devastating to the core, no feeling stone is left unturned. I’m so captivated by this story and since the minute I started it, it has consumed my every thought. I can’t help but think new ideas, new theories, or looking at certain moments from different perspective. I’m so excited to finally know why Little Mushroom is so loved in the danmei fandom and I am eagerly awaiting it’s conclusion.
Where to Buy Little Mushroom Vol 1
Little Mushroom Vol. 1
Written by Yi Shi Si Zhou
Translation: Yu, amixy
Adaptation: Lex Reno
Book design: M. A. Lewife
Copy Editor: Ami Leh
Proofreader: Jack Hamm, Hnä
Quality Control: Meg van Huygen
Editor: Harry Catlin
Dust jacket, hardcover, painted edge illustrations by Ruthie
Interior illustrations by kKEN
Color spreads by Tamtam
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Little Mushroom Volume 1 is available for preorder now and will be out on August 4.
