Shiki

I've seen my fair share of vampire anime; and I have to say, it was under vast number of genres, as well as themes. Shiki however, pulls you back in to what the traditional myth of vampires; added to it that it's a thriller, it will move anyone who's a vampire fan.


Story: 10
Compared to many other vampire themed animes, such as Blood+, Rosario + Vampire, Vampire Knight, and Trinity blood; this anime comes back to the roots of vampires and their myths. In this anime a town is plagued with death with no reasonable explanation; though thought of a possible epidemic, Doctor Ozaki, ... the head doctor of his clinic cannot find any actual symptoms related to any known disease, besides Aplastic Anemia, which is the loss of red and white blood cells. As the body count rises, he becomes desperate to find an answer until he comes up to a conclusion, albeit a far fetched one, that it might be a work of Okiagari, or vampires. His next problem then is to convince the village; of course such a mythical conclusion would "never" exist in the rational world. As he tried desperately to prove the existence of okiagari, death sweeps through the town faster and faster, until soon, more than half of the population has been wiped. Still they did not believe him. That is until he killed a vampire, named Chizuru, in front of everyone. Then the vampire hunt begins. There are mini plots within the whole series that I will not divulge, go watch it to see. At first, the anime's plot progression might come up as slow to most people. Even I had a hard time dealing with the first 3 episodes. But it get's really good. The fact that the anime went back to the original vampire myths alone made me smile, such as that they can not enter a home until they are invited in, or that they die if stabbed with a stake at the heart, and the fact that they are UNDEAD; just including those classic myths already got me hooked. This anime has definitely gave back the respect of vampires that Twilight has taken away. And contrast to the other animes I've mentioned, very little gore is shown, at least until the way later episodes, even then, it was there as part of the ambiance, and not for its own sake.


Art: 7
The lines were sharp, and the colors were almost fluorescent. The art of the animation just didn't look like it fits with a subtle setting and plot like that. Not to mention the crazy hairstyles that almost every relevant character had. It was like watching bakemonogatari but with better details. The animation would be more fit for shounen anime in my opinion.


Sound: 9
The1st season OP got me the first time I heard it. It was almost celtic, and goes perfectly with the whole theme. The BGM, it was not intrusive, but yet it'll make you want to jump at times; some even sound like something out of the catholic church, which is awesome due to the ties of religion to vampires;the good thing about it is that they also barely use BGM. The 2nd season OP for some reason reminded me of one of the OP's of Rozen Maiden, i don't know why, but I didn't like it as much. The 1st season ED is that like something off a romance anime though, but once you get to the later episodes, you will figure out why. The 2nd season ED I liked because it was indie/soft rock for me, and it was calm yet eerie, which what the anime was about.


Characters: 8
There were really only 4 main characters in the anime; Sunako, Ozaki, Seishin, and Yuuki. However, you will definitely be able to tell that EVERYONE is important, even the ones who died, or risen. This is because of the sub-plots, as I mentioned earlier, and they are awesome. However as much as that's a good thing, the downside is that no one really has any room to grow. The viewer really can't see if there is any character progression. However, that really isn't necessary due to the big-picture nature of the plot.


Enjoyment: 9
Like I said in the Story section, it is at first slow, but as the people die, and the vamipres close in to the main characters, it becomes a classic thriller. At one point I actually jumped off my seat. This take on the classic vampire is really something that needed to be done.


Overall: 9

Basically, if you hate twilight, you would love this. It puts back the vampire's reputation of being mysterious, scary, and are considered "monsters". It went back to the classics of vampire myths, and made it work quite well. I really do hope that this anime becomes a classic; in case everyone needs to refresh that vampire actually DIE under the sun, and not sparkle like a disco ball.

This is my first review.I'm going to write it because so much people are talking bad about Shiki.But I think Shiki is awsome.It's unique,it has a great storyline.I enjoy watching it !

Story: 10
The story takes place in a village named Sotoba.Sotoba is a quite and peaceful village,till the chain of bizarre deaths started to occur.Nobody knows the reason but more and more people are dying.Toshio Ozaki is the hospital dean and he suspects an epidemic. But what first starts as an epidemic, turns out to be much more. The first episodes might be boring.I didn't really enjoy watching them but later the show really gets ... good.There is nothing such as an epidemic the reason of the deaths are Okiagari ( Some people might call them vampires ). Dead ones who come back to life. I'm really glad this anime is here. Because I'm sick of the shows who show only romace between humans and vampires. This anime is different. If you miss old school vampire animes,this is for you.

Art: 7
The art is very abstract and I think the style is unique. Please don't be one of this people who hates Shiki because they say the art is weird. What? They are having interesting hairstyles.Really I never saw so much crazy hairstyles but this is not bad.The art could be better but I like it like it is.

Sound: 10
I love the openings! The first opening really fits the anime. To be honest I didn't like it at the beginning but later I just started to love it ! The endings are ok to,but they look like endings of some romance animes. Shiki is just amazing. It has everything !

Characters: 8
They aren't much main characters but that doesn't mean other are not important. You don't like Shiki because much people die? Well this is a part of this anime and if you give Shiki a chance you will see that everybody is important. The dead ones to.

Enjoyment: 10
Like I said the story is amazing. It's just to good to be ignored. If you still didn't choiced to start watching Shiki you're going to miss something. Clannad or Death Note didn't get popular in one day and look at them now ;)

Overall: 10
What is the next thing you have to do? :O
Right go and watch Shiki you will make me and every Shiki fan very happy. If you don't like the anime I'm sorry that I wasted your time. But I think it's worth watching.Do you love Twilight and hate vampires who kill and are "scary" you won't like this.But if you miss old vampire storys without a vampire and werewolf who are fighting for a girl,vampires who can go outside days and they sparkle -__- and stupid " I love you " that is every second sentence in Twilight. Sorry to all Twilight fans but I just want to tell you there is no romance in this anime. Well not that much,but sure there is,so Twilight fans there is something for you to ? ~ :)

Something strange has been going on in the quaint village of Sotoba... Ever since those wealthy outsiders built their lavish mansion at the top of Kanemasa Hill, there has been a succession of mysterious deaths... People of all ages will become lethargic and anti-social, refuse to go to the doctor, and then die after only a few days... Could it be an epidemic? Some new disease? And are the rumors true that the dead are still walking around?

Those newcomers are certainly strange, and Sotoba does have ancient legends about Okomiyagi, or the dead coming back to life... ... But those are just stories, right?

Based on a series of novels from 1998, Shiki tells the story of an entire rural Japanese community as it deals with one mysterious death after another, slowly whittling their population down as their efforts to explain it... And hopefully put a stop to it... yield no results, no answers, and an ever diminishing sense of hope. It isn’t until a few open-minded individuals start to consider the supernatural that they finally begin to make some real progress... Unfortunately for them, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

With a cast of hundreds like this show has, it’s essential that you set aside a special handful of characters for the audience to follow, so we can explore the story from several different perspectives. Shiki has this requirement covered, as it gives us three very different pairs of eyes to look through. First, we have Natsuno, a disgruntled teenaged boy who’s been forced to move into this village with his new wave, idealistic parents. He despises the village, and refuses to make any long term connections, believing that doing so will make it difficult when they finally move back out. Of course, despite his best efforts, a close circle of friends do form around him. In fact, Megumi... One of the very first people to be killed by the mysterious epidemic... Had an obsessive one sided crush on him... and it seems that even death can’t take her away.

Our second leading role is Toshio Ozaki, the director of the primary hospital in Sotoba. Having taken over the clinic from his deceased father, he’s a driven and tenacious doctor who’s initially baffled by the amount of people inexplicably dying around him, and having come up against a challenge like this, he will stop at nothing to overcome it... And I mean nothing, as his quest for a solution leads to him experiencing and performing some of the cruelest acts imaginable.

And our final lead is Ozaki’s childhood friend, Seishin Muroi, a local priest and a moderately successful author. His novels tend to be on the poignant side, dealing with subjects like loss, betrayal, and abandonment by God. This attracts the attention of Sunako, the little daughter of the newcomers, who’s apparently a huge fan of his work. He forms a connection with her over time, as his pacifist religious beliefs gradually lead him to develop a sense of sympathy for the beings that his best friend Toshio has sworn to destroy.

The rest of the cast is made up of smaller roles, the basic types of people you’d expect to see in a tightly-knit little community... You have business owners, rebellious teenagers, concerned parents, comfortable elders, nurses, teachers, happy go lucky children... All of whom deal with the growing problem in their own unique ways. And for such a large cast, the dub is surprisingly on point. It”s a Funimation effort, but it’s a really odd Funimation effort, where the lead characters are all portrayed by actors that you normally wouldn’t see attached to such high profile roles. Toshio is played by David Wald, a long time actor who’s somehow stayed completely off of my radar until just now. I’m going to have to keep an eye out for him in the future, because he rasps and grumbles his way into the jaded, chain smoking doctor as though he was born to play the part.

Seishin Muroi is played by John Burgmeier, a man who rarely ever steps out from the technical side fo a dub for anything other than a bit part... He directs, he writes, but when he acts, his subdued performances are normally outstanding. He plays down-trod, broken men as though it were a second language, and his role in Shiki is probably one of his best voice performances since Gunslinger Girl. Jerry Jewell also does a commendable job on Natsuno Yuuki, and you’ll find pretty much every Funimation voice under the sun sprinkled here and there... Hell, even Anastasia Munoz gets an appearance... but the star of this dub has to be Cherami Leigh, who plays the ominous Sunako, who looks very much like she was taken directly from a Katy Towell cartoon. I wish I could tell you why her performance in this role is so perfect, but to go into detail would mean giving away some serious spoilers.

There’s at least one bad egg in the dub, however, and surprise surprise, it’s Tia Ballard. Tia plays the role of Megumi Shimizu, a sixteen year old girl who dreams of getting out of her quaint, suffocating home town and going to a college in the big city. And she will not shut up about it. I know that in anime, non conformists are often portrayed as loud, disruptive nuisances, and they did a very thorough job of it with this character, but when you combine that archetype with tia’s shrill, screechy voice, she single-handedly renders the first episode almost completely unbearable. Thankfully, she only really has a strong presence in this episode. Spoiler... She dies in it.

Now, when I tell you that this story is about a small group of protagonists struggling to put a stop to the mysterious deaths happening all around them, with ticking clock being their worst enemy, you may think that concept sounds suspiciously familiar. Well, that’s because you’ve seen this same plot before, as Another and Hell Girl: Two Mirrors have both tried... And failed miserably... at making you care about it. But where those two regrettable shows failed, Shiki succeeds with flying colors.

Unlike Another, Shiki doesn’t make over-the-top, ridiculous spectacles of it’s death scenes, choosing instead to focus on word of mouth and the sad faces of relatives, so that it can liberally float between tragedy and statistic depending on the tone that any given death calls for. And unlike Hell Girl Two Mirrors, Shiki paces itself, putting just enough time between each death so that it can drain the hope of the viewer, little by little, as it spirals down towards one hell of a catastrophic ending.

And with that manipulation of hope, Shiki is one of the most well executed horror anime titles that I have seen in a long time. There’s almost no filler in it’s entire 24 episode run, as every single event that occurs has a distinct purpose, and is placed exactly where it needs to be in the narrative. The first ten or so episodes are admittedly slow, building up the tension in the village to an almost OCD-like degree. Very few answers are found here, as tragic death after tragic death drives the residents to either blind paranoia or complacent acceptance of fate. By the second half, the nature of this menace has been all but revealed to the audience, even as our three main characters slowly come to terms with a truth they know they shouldn’t accept, and with a terrifying threat that comes to face them almost immediately after they come to face it.

It’s a brilliant, gripping story that will have you skipping through the otherwise beautiful openings and closings just so you can catch the next development as quickly as you possibly can. While you may find yourself hard-pressed to experience any emotional reactions through the majority of the story, as death will inevitably become commonplace in this kind of story, there’s enough disturbing, unsettling material in the final act that will not only horrify you, but will also completely subvert your expectations of a horror story.

As much as I would love to continue to praise this series, and call it one of the most excellent horror titles i’ve ever seen, I can’t. It’s time to talk about the artwork and animation, and I can already feel my hand reaching out to grab hold of my bottle of Haterade. Why? Because this is one butt ugly show.

Okay,. maybe that’s not fair of me... It’s not the artwork itself that’s bad, as it doesn’t look sloppy or anything. If anything, the backgrounds and environments are easily on the high end of the scale. No, what I really have problems with is the art design. The characters look ridiculous, with angular faces and giant, cartoony eyes, and so many bizarre, gravity defying hairstyles that even a Pokemon animator would say “Hey, dial it back a bit!” No, you know what? Forget Pokemon. Looking at Shiki’s character designs is like watching someone from Clamp come up with their own Yugioh Spin-off. It would be okay if this were some wacky comedy, but it’s not... Shiki is a mature, poignant show that asks you several profound questions and dares you to come up with your own satisfactory answers.

And if you really want to see this show go from ridiculous to horrifying in the blink of an eye, just wait until one of the characters starts to cry. These characters don’t cry the way normal anime characters cry... They cry thick, opaque marbles of liquid that could make a serious claim at being one of the scariest elements of the show. If you were to take a frame of it out of context, you’d think you were looking at an image from some ill advised Eiken sequel... And no, I am not even remotely joking about that. The art design of this show is distracting as hell, and took me out of the story more times than I can count. And the animation quality is no prize either... It’s one of the cheapest looking shows that Bones has ever produced, and if you know Bones, you know how big a claim that is.

In spite of this, Shiki is a very strong anime title that has a lot to offer you... It’s bold, thought provoking, and without a single hint of pretense. It succeeds at exploring ideas and concepts that cause other shows to flop face down onto the floor, and if you’re looking for a very broad hint at what these ideas are, one of those floppers is my old arch-nemesis Blood C. Unfortunately, with an irritating first episode and a constant assault of distracting and sometimes even inappropriate eyesores, you have to put up with a lot of abuse to appreciate this show, so I really can’t see it reaching the level of quality that it deserves to. It’s still a great show, and I strongly recommend checking it out, but I can’t give it any higher than a 7/10.

Death is terrible for anyone. Young or old, good or evil, it’s all the same. Death is impartial. There is no especially terrible death. That’s why death is so fearsome. Your deeds, your age, your personality, your wealth, your beauty: they are all meaningless in the face of death.

Shiki is a very hard series to talk about without spoilers. It’s a show that you really need to see for yourself. Still, I consider this to be the best show to have debuted during the past half year, so I’ll at least try to vaguely explain why I consider it ... such an awesome and unique series.
Shiki is another one of those series set in a tiny Japanese village that’s set in the middle of nowhere. One thing that immediately stands out is how well it manages to colour that village: even the simplest of residents are given an identity. The entire town has about 1200 residents, and this show manages to make them so life-like that you actually feel like part of the village as the series goes on. It creates a truly excellent backdrop for the series to take place in.
First and foremost, Shiki is a horror series. It’s got a really thick atmosphere and most of the time it’s just building up and dragging the viewer within this atmosphere. It’s got plenty of disturbing scenes though, and that’s really where it’s at its best at. Now, there are times at which this show feels like this series is moving a tad slow and that it’s building up a bit too much. But trust me: it all pays off in the end with a fantastic conclusion. That’s all I’ll say about it.
The character designs in this series are… unique. I admit that they take their time to get used to, but that’s not really a problem considering the charms of the different characters. It’s perhaps not the series with the best characterizations, but they are written really well: when they’re developed, it’s done very boldly. The characters are also incredibly diverse, ranging from teenagers to adults well in their thirties, forties and fifties and that overall makes it into a great and huge cast to watch.
Most of the best episodes of Shiki are located at the end so it takes some perseverance to really get to great parts of the series, but the weak moments are very few and far in between. It’s got a haunting soundtrack and a stunning atmosphere. It’s not something you should watch when you can’t stand gore, but it’s a must-watch for anyone even remotely interested in horror.

If you want vampires done right then this is the show for you.

The story of Shiki takes place in a rural Japanese village called Sotoba that the only thing the residents do is gossip. New residents called the Kirishiki's moved into town and from then on mysterious deaths occur throughout the town and there are reports of the dead coming back to life. The one that suffers the most because of this is Toshio Ozaki, the doctor of Sotoba, because he wants to know why these mysterious murders have been happening. He later believes that the cause of the deaths are something more supernatural and ... decides to investigate. Until he reaches a conclusion that the vampires are the cause of the murder and from there on it's just mass genocide of the vampires where the town decides to eliminate the epidemic and reclaim their town.

The major problem with this show is the first half. Not gonna lie I almost fell asleep during the first half of the show, but after episode13 then the show gets really good.

Shiki has a really disturbing tone. The one soundtrack that plays throughout the show is a little girl sing "Lalalaaaaa, lalalaaaaa" while a piano note plays in the background. That just gave me the creeps.

The characters that I am going to give mention to is Toshio Ozaki because he arguably the best character in this show. Another character is the local priest Seishin Muri who develops a relationship with Sunako Kirishiki and the bond they share is believable. The other character is Natsuno who is one of the few characters who believed early in the series that there were vampires and eventually becomes a jinrou, a vampire that possesses human traits like walking in the sun and eating regular food.

There is one character that is voiced by Todd Haberkorn that is just so FUCKING annoying. Now he is one of my favorite voice actors, but god dammit is his voice annoying in this show.

Like I said this is a show that does vampires right. It also adds a few layers to modern day vampires like different types of vampires and the process of turning into a vampire. The series starts out slow, but picks up towards the second half. Shiki also towards the end makes you feel really sympathetic towards the vampires because they are suffering not being human. In addition this show has very graphic scenes that I can remember just how grotesque the art and animation was for this show. However, the second half of this show is best part. That's why I'm giving it a 8/10 and give it a recommendation.

“Death is impartial to everyone, be it the young or old, rich or poor. Thus death is not particularly tragic.”

Shiki is by far the most riveting, suspenseful and thought-provoking series I have seen all year. Truly a category of its own, it not only contains elements of horror and mystery but also makes you question what truly is considered good or evil?

Story

The story is set in a small village where a string of unexplainable deaths start to occur. What is suspected to be an epidemic proves to be something the villagers would never suspect. The main plot and characters are introduced ... in the first few episodes, while pacing is slow, it provides an important backdrop to the rest of the episodes. As the story progress, we start to see what is really going on. What I like most about this series is it’s nack for detail and realism. Even as some of the characters gradually figure what is going on, there is a vehement disbelief from the villagers in general. The anime pays tribute to vampires well, but even better it addresses our society’s inability to accept those who are different (be it humans or the supernatural). In addition, what I think is the highlight of the series has been the last few episodes where the line between good and evil, humans and vampires have been crossed. What defines a ‘human’, can someone who still feels emotions be considered a ‘monster’? Shiki makes us questions that.

Characters

With Shiki’s large cast, it seems likely that characters who don’t get as much screen time to be very shallow and two-dimensional. However, I didn’t get that feeling in this anime. Most of the characters have enough background story told to ‘flesh’ them out. And they aren’t ridiculous or unbelievable background stories, you could say we all knew these kinds of people at some point in our lives. I would say the two most intriguing characters are Muroi and Ozaki. Both carry the great burden of knowing the truth behind the deaths but make completely different decisions in the end. And many other characters surprise me by fighting against expectations.

Artwork

Rich colours, dark lines and detailed shading. Some of the horror scenes are reminiscent of Higurashi with its emphasis on the eyes.

Sound

Gothic opening song and melancholic ending. Background music is very appropriate and adds to intensify the scenes.

Enjoyment

I literally marathoned 18 episodes non-stop. It always kept me guessing as to what would happen next. Shiki is also one of the few animes that has underlying meanings to them, it really made me think about the actions of some characters and what some characters have said (particularly Sunako). I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the series.

Overall

I highly recommend this anime to anyone who has a fondness for thought-provoking shows. It’s definitely not comedic, if that is what you’re looking for. But if you appreciate mysteries, dark themes and some psychological reasoning, then do give Shiki a try.

EDIT: Now that I've finished the series, I'm dropping the score from a 10 to a 9, simply because the ending wasn't as great as the middle. Perhaps my expectation were too high for the ending, I just found it wasn't what I expected. It is also is pretty up in the air, which might suggest a second season.

Based off the light novel written by Fuyumi Ono in 1998. Shiki is not your typical vampire themes, it is a rare breed of an anime. If we discuss vampire in anime, many words that come out. The phrases that often comes out are romance (Rosario to Vampire etc), and action (Hellsing and Trinity Blood) Many vampire anime got mixed up by those set-up while Shiki did a different thing than the others. Shiki throws tons of mystery to the plot, the story itself is more focused to the plot and fewer fillers. The story set-up in Sotoba. A village with large numbers of mysterious ... deaths that never happen before. The villagers didn't know what threat that will come to haunt them.

Another interesting from this story are they take a different viewpoint of the storyline. It's just so rare to found an anime that does that in the right place.The story has 3 leading roles, with a different point of view. While the pacing is different, The story goes with medium-slow pace, while the individual elements of mystery discovered one by one. Shiki has a little dull feeling in the early episode , but as the story evolves with mysteries & excitement in the air. My eyes just ask more, and more. The enjoyment shines in the finale. In just the end of 10 seconds of this anime, I saw a cyclone right in front of my eye.

I know that many viewers dislike the art of this anime. It's similar with 90's anime.
But, if you looked deeply, the art really represents the feeling of the story itself. The animation is done well, it represents fear and darkness in the night, and bring bright feeling when the morning in the story comes.

The sound settings are one of the most brilliant ideas. I'm not talking about quality, I'm talking about how much darkness feeling that spit out from the opening theme. While the ending was decent. The seiyuu did well in bringing such characters to the screen.

With millions of peoples within Shiki, it's really dangerous for the balance of the story. While other people think Shiki need do more development in their character, and they do have.. But, if we think logically, "How can we make a deep character in just 22 episodes, while the cast is crowded?'', even the best writer will be confused with this kind of question. But Shiki answers that ''We just need the major development in the essential characters, and throw a proper role to the rest...". The characters had their own proper roles, it's not perfect but it's enough to balance the story up.

And that's all about Shiki, a rare breed vampire theme. The anime do more to the plot although have some lack of points in the characterization, but it's worth to watch. If you seek a deep character, you won't get a bonus. But, if you interested to see a serious plot with a real vampire in the anime form, then the anime is for you.

As with all of my other reviews I decided to write a review about the anime Shiki because I found it to be really enjoyable (so far) and wanted to spread some of the love by hopefully persuading people to try it out for themselves! In my review I will talk about what I find to be good about the show and which aspects could do with some improvement.

Story: 10
I’ve watched a total of 16 out of 22 episodes of the show and have so far loved every single episode of it! Vampires singling out a small remote town and picking off each of the ... (mostly) unsuspecting residents one by one, the story may seem clichéd when presented to those who haven’t watched the show, after all vampires are no new occurrence are they? But the vampires featured in this show (referred to as Shiki or moving corpses) are a breath of fresh air to those sick and tired off the angsty, misunderstood veggies vampires rife in today’s media. These vampires return to their original Stoker-esque roots, not being able to go out in sunlight, fearing crosses and not being able to enter a home unless invited making the show far scarier overall than if it were just another cheap imitation of the Twilight saga.

Characters: 8
There’s no single main character in this series, every character no matter how minor plays some kind of role in adding to the rich tapestry of the overall story. However the story mostly revolves around the Shiki and those with direct experience with them. The three main protagonists, Natsuno, Akira and Kaori are you three average teenagers until the Shiki strike. Yet they’re forced to grow up pretty sharpish as they start to work out what’s really been going on behind the facade of a supposed epidemic and go about trying to save the blissfully clueless town. That’s about it for character development which is a shame but necessary as if the show were to focus on each and every character it’d never end!
It’s important to note that everyone in the show’s expendable, even the main characters. This I love as it helps to increase the tension felt by the viewers as their favourite characters are caught in rather sticky situations.

Art: 6
Frankly, I’m not a fan of the kooky art style. It kinda ruins the overall look of the show to plop crazy looking characters (sometimes with hair bigger than them!) into such beautiful backdrops. But if you’re into art a little bit unique and out of the ordinary you may find you like it! The show has a good range of ugly and beautiful people, making it far more realistic than the average anime which could be considered a positive I suppose! The animation of the show however is superb. It’s hard to describe but it was great to see scenes in which the animators would try to do something a little different to keep things visually exciting!

Sound: 10
All four of the opening and ending themes are so beautiful it’s almost impossible to say a bad word about them. The second opening is in my opinion the best as it adds puts a beautifully eerie spin on the show capturing it rather nicely. The insert themes are pretty creepy too. They’re not noticeable to the point of annoyance yet you hear enough of them to know when shit’s gonna hit the fan!

Overall enjoyment: 9
I’ve immensely enjoyed this show so far. After recovering from an arguably slow start the show keeps getting better and better and the character’s situation becomes increasingly dire. Each episode ends with an edge-of-the-seat cliff-hanger leaving me desperate for yet another episode each and every week. I’d definitely recommend this show to any fan of the horror genre of anime, lovers of the traditional vampire, and haters of Twilight alike. I hope this has helped you a little on your decision of whether or not to watch this show! Bye~!

First three episodes of the show will get you wondering as to what's really happening to the village and it's inhabitants that are dying one by one, with no hint at all as why such disease that resembles "Anemia" was turning into a widespread epidemic throughout the village when victims show no signs of internal or external bleeding at all.

But I have to say, for anyone who's actually seen or read either Bram Stoker's certain novel or Fright Night, By Episode 3, you should now be aware of what's going on.

This is probably one of the only firsts in Japanese anime & manga wherein the ... contents of the story are actually quite accurate to it's reference, Vampires not being sparkly as twilight or as godlike as hellsing, but vampires that actually go by the actual vampire myth, first one would have to be this:
"Some traditions also hold that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner, although after the first invitation they can come and go as they please."
-Vampire, Wikipedia.org

More polished than Higurashi, which had a similar setting, this is quite a good show. Overall I'm quite impressed with the author's ability to go by the whole myth regarding vampire myth without twisting anything at all, regardless, I would've given this anime a 10 if only Stephen King's 'Salem's lot didn't do it first.

Until maybe a decade ago vampire stories were at their prime. I, as well, used to be a big fan of such stories. In my eyes, those tales were thrilling, grasping me the whole way through and leaving me mostly utterly terrified. After hundreds of movies, books and tv series based on the vampire myth,though, vampires started to lose their original shine. They were just so overused that one could easily stop caring anymore. If anyone of you came asking me what I believed a vampire was I’m not quite sure of what my answer would be. Can they die from sunlight or do they ... glitter like the sun? Are they really fearsome or do they look like they just came out of a beauty pageant? Questions like these, that many of you might have, at one point, thought, made me stop watching about vampires whatsoever. And then came Shiki, taking the vampire story onto a whole new level, returning them back to their former days of glory.


Story: 9
I think the true success of Shiki’s story is the fact that this time such a tale was told through the eyes of Japanese creators, making it effective in two particular ways. First, it was a fresh approach of a legend that belonged to different cultures than theirs, so that automatically helped the creators move off the beaten track. And then comes the slight mix with their own traditional myths of the “Okiagari”, which literally means the Risen.
Vampires in this show are just as they should be, afraid of light, can’t come out in the day without burning themselves, they don’t like holly water, charms and crosses, they drink the blood of their victims after completely hypnotizing them and they don’t fall in love with them..*ahem*
They also can’t enter a house uninvited. Then again, they have everything that a traditional vampire would be proud of, in addition to the so well know wooden stick killing method, that in contrary they so much loathe.

The myth of the undead, blood thirsty killers, this time, unfolds in a quiet, isolated village and at first look, common village, were sudden disappearances start to occur after a strange family moves in to the big mansion on the mountain. A few people are becoming aware of something out of the usual going on and that is how it all starts moving.
At first the story runs slow, just as the unaware victims continue to carry on their daily lives. So the pacing of the first part of the series might throw some of the viewers off, especially those who are fans of full time action. Well, how I saw things, this choice of pacing was indeed a clever one, not throwing the viewer into the middle of an already unfolded story, but slowly and steadily shroud him into its mystery. As it rolls, you will find yourself entangled in it, with questions that you just need to find the answers for, doubts about the actions and choices of some of the characters and some very clever twists here and there to spice up your viewing experience.
What I love about this show’s story is that it isn’t focused on the events around only one or a small group of characters, but it rather expands itself to cover the events on the whole village and its people and view the story from both sides, both the humans and the Okiagari. So, that will help you get a feel of the broader plan of what is going on. Yes, it’s quite common to expect the endless battle of humans versus vampires, but this time you get to see both sides. In fact, you might be even puzzled about actually labeling what is wrong and right, bad and good, from some point on. It’s a fight for survival, after all, and each side naturally decides in favor of their own kind.

~~ 友引 – Tomobiki Good luck, except at noon~~
A thing that’s fascinating about the story, which shows the effort of the creators, is this small detail of the dates shown at the start of each episode, that is crucial though for one to complete the puzzle. Until the 19th century Japan used a lunar calendar of six days, each having a special meaning of bringing luck or misfortune. Shiki uses this in each episode to determine what the nature of this day is, usually foreshadowing the events to follow.

Shiki always loves cliff hangers in the ending of each episode, so you will find yourselves trapped in a roller coaster viewing ride, which will be getting more and more intense until it reaches its peak. But when starting watching, you’re nowhere around guessing what would come out of all this in the very end.
I will admit that some of its final conclusions weren’t so satisfactory to me, a few things felt abruptly wrapped up, so only there, is where I deduct a point, because the ending is very crucial to me. But, of course, it always depends on what everyone expects to find as a final resolution. So all in all it was one of the most intense anime rides I’ve ever been on.



Characters: 9

Another thing that I loved about this show was its characters. Oh, they were plenty of them, and all so versatile. One can never get bored watching this, since you will find all type of characters, and you can easily pick one or two with whom you maybe will relate and follow throughout the story. A lot of people are accusing Shiki of shallow characters. My answer to them is that not every story created should be character driven, and this isn’t a story about teenage angst or a forbidden romance. You know were you got yourself into beforehand, am I wrong? So if you prefer stories focused on one character only, don't watch this.

To the rest, you've made a good choise, since you’ll find yourselves in front of many familiar types of characters, not in terms of anime norms, but relating to real life-types of people. And you won’t be the least disappointed about the depths of their personalities, despite the big number of characters existing in the show.

“What a wonderful day! No one in the village doing anything.”

Now, I don’t know if some of you might have an experience of living or even staying for a while in a small village. If you do, as I have in my vacations, then you would recognize some types of people in Shiki.
There are the small minded people that can’t compromise with thinking outside their little shells, focusing their lives entirely on their daily village routines, forgetting about the rest of the world. There are the gossipers, who of course want to know every single news of the village, since the news isn’t many anyway. There are the usual working people, who just do their jobs quietly each day. And there are also those who sit around in a chair doing nothing but watch the passers by and chit chat about mindless things. You can also find kids that want to escape this narrowed life experience and make their way to the big city and also a priest and a doctor who both try to find their own way to balance the life in the village.

When the events of bizarre deaths start to unfold, everyone will act differently according to their character and beliefs, and that is what’s the most fascinating about them. You’ll see bravery, stupidity, cunningness, understanding, fighters and whiners, some even getting advantage of the whole thing. Generally you’ll find many approaches and that is what makes the characters so enriched. Concerning most of them, you will never really learn any solid background information, and yet they feel so fleshed out and real. For a story driven show this is definitely a success.
Also, don’t forget that you’ll get to know, many of the opposing threat side of characters, the Shikis, as they all have their own unique personality to show. Being the supposedly “bad guys” who everyone fears, doesn’t mean they can’t be diverse.
All in all I’m more than satisfied from this show’s variety of characters.

The only point I deducted from this section is because of the use of some of them by the creators. I felt that characters like Natsuno, Megumi, Masao and a few others, could have been involved a little more in certain points of the story. They still are there and active, but they didn’t intertwine with each other as much as I hoped to.



Art, Animation: 10

Now this is, mostly, the section were haters of the show focus their flaming on. I won’t try to persuade anyone that what I see is more right than what they see. But then noone can try to change my way of experiencing things, respectively. That needed to be said, before I say that I found the art and animation both to be brilliant!

The art is indeed unique. I am not trying to play it cool saying that.
Unique and different doesn’t always mean it’s good. If those same looking characters were dragged and dropped into any other type of show I would at least thought the people making it tasteless. But not in this case!
The people who designed the characters knew exactly what they were doing. The faces have rough angles and the shape of their characteristics is unproportional. The hair is also so crazy that stands out from miles away. They all are like a weird cubistic imitation of some of Picasso’s craziest paintings. But were other people find this unattractive, here is exactly how this fact elevates the story. This specific oddity makes Shiki stand out, looking like an old creepy fairytail that comes out of a dusty old book or from one of those bedtime stories that a grandma used to tell her grandchildren around the fireplace. They remind me of Tim Burton’s seductive dark style and where could it fit better than in a story about vampires?

Vampires are anything but usual, they are extravagant, they are lavish but they are also fearsome and killers. So, the roughnesses of the sketches as well as the crazy colors depict the wildness of the story itself. Also the eyes of the Okiagari that don’t have pupils make it feel like you are looking inside an empty shell, as referring to them not having a human soul anymore. The backgrounds are drawn very nicely making this look really to be this enclosed village that the story describes, one that is far from civilization.
A small detail I found very beautiful is the part where the eyes of the Shiki were glowing red in the night and then their shadow slowly appeared, making it very creepy to watch.
The animation is equally good. Some movements may seem abrupt, but I think it adds more to the roughness of the story better than having gentle moves that create a smooth flow. So I really don’t find anything wrong with the animation being more rough than usual.



Music and Sound: 10

The music section is many times the most neglected in a series. As a big music lover, I hate it when, otherwise good shows, have some lame BG music and sound to support them. Sometimes I do find one or good Opening and Ending themes that stand alone though, because usually the background music of those series keeps me indifferent.
In Shiki though, the music is so brilliant that I don’t know where to start the praise from. The melodies aren’t just pretty or simply fit well, they are one with the show, the same entity. They blend so perfectly in each frame and time of the show that I’m positive Shiki wouldn’t be the same without its music score.
The first OP is mysterious, seductive, special. The second OP is eerie, magical, like a dark lament. The endings are equally seductive, particularly the second one that reminds me of music of past decades, having a passionate and also sorrowful sound.

The background music is equally awe-striking, it’s sometimes playful, sometimes harsh, others soft or sending chills down your spine. The various tracks use from natural sounds to human voices. Some voices sound like a jukebox, others chanting or making creepy but melodic sounds. Each and every single piece used, elevates the show.
As far as the voice acting is concerned, I saw a few new actors involved in this, which I find good for a change. They all did their work marvelously well, projecting each of the character’s unique personality. And then they went through many phases, having to show pain, anger, fear, scream or whisper. They all had a hard job, but pulled it off perfectly.



Enjoyment: 10

Many times during a show I find myself indifferent about what is going on with the story and the characters. Some stories manage to grab my attention back again, but usually I always experience one or two times of boredom that I just have to be patient until the good parts come in. Not with Shiki. Every time I started watching this I felt like I was glued to my screen, completely forgetting what was going on in my surroundings or how did I end up watching this at those late hours, hearing and watching nothing else but the show itself. I found myself so concerned about everyone’s fate, the art and music working like a magnet on me, that I just wanted this to go on and on as much as it was possible.



Overall: 9 - 9.5/10

For those of you who love intense experiences and look for a little more thought provoking shows Shiki will come as a real treat. It will keep you excited, at the edge of your seat, and at the same time it will make you the player of a big puzzle were you have to be very careful on what you see to finally create the whole image. What is equally cool about the whole viewing experience is that there are so many point of views from which you can observe this show that I’m sure that watching it a second time you’ll come up with different notes about it.

So if you love vampires or just love to watch a little deeper emotionally shows with a complete lack of pantie shots and silly fanservice, then this is exactly the show you’re looking for. A traditional, creepy, mystical, magical, dark, haunting and twisted fairytale. So just grab a mug of hot milk and join us near the fireplace.
Have a nice and creepy ride! :)


Thanks to everyone for reading this relatively long review. Please feel free to leave a comment on my channel with your thoughts about it or about the show.

I'll be honest; this is my first review. As so, I am open to all criticism and feedback. After all, I'm here to inform you, not fan-boy rant or spew obscenities about a show. So, without further ado, onto the review! (I promise that was not intended to rhyme!)

It's been a while since I dared to pick up a vampire anime. The modernization and romanticism of these blood-suckers in titles such as Twilight and other anime like Rosario + Vampire left me with much despair for this genre.

Luckily, Shiki rekindled my appeal towards the night stalkers.

After watching the entire series, I have to say I ... was pleasantly surprised. I went in not expecting much, and came out finding a hidden gem among anime. But, Frag, what makes this show such a gem? I'll do my best to answer that question in the following paragraphs, my dear readers!

Shiki's story starts off fairly simple. A small back-hill village that seems trapped in it's own little world. And it's because of this simplicity that the producers were able to catch the viewer off guard. Just when things seemed normal enough, there's just the smallest, slightest flash of insanity that reminds you you're watching a very mind-boggling show. As the story went on, the simplicity began to evaporate. What was left was more insanity. More horror. Shiki goes back to the roots of the vampires most older individuals remember. Burning in sunlight, fearing religious objects (such as crosses or buddha statues) and faith, coma-like sleep during the day. I don't want to say too much, for I wouldn't want to spoil anything, but I will tell you that Shiki does vampires justice after shows such as the Vampire Diaries. As the story progresses, you begin to become more enthralled within it's mysteries. Just as one mystery is figured out, more appear. It's what hooks the viewer, and it did so marvelously (I watched the entire series in one weekend.) Some people found the ending to be not what they were expecting, but I thought it matched the series as a whole perfectly; full of mystery.

I've seen quite a number of anime's in my time, and I've really come to appreciate good art when I can get it. I find there are two categories; shows that normalize their art to fit in with other anime, and shows that shape their own style. Obviously, it's impossible to be completely unique when manga itself is a repetitive art, but there are shows that manage to create a style that works well for it. Shiki is one of those anime. Watching it in HD, the animation was incredibly fluid. The scenery was vibrant and colorful where it should of been, and dark and horrifying where it ought to be. The horror scenes are really what entranced me, however. The way that the artists conveyed the terror of being watched during the night, of wondering if you'll wake up the next morning truly enthralled me. It's been a long while since I got chills watching an anime, and Shiki delivered quite well. Major props to the art team.

I had some mix feelings about the sound of Shiki at first. Loved the initial opening theme, but the choir and gothic music felt almost cliché at first. Over time, however, the anime's original soundtrack really grew on me. It didn't completely "WOW!" me, especially at first, but as the story progressed, the music really began to fit in with the emotions that this show stirs inside of you. The ending theme, like many other anime, really didn't impress me, however. It felt out of place for the type of anime Shiki is. Overall, Shiki's soundtrack did a great job after giving it time to settle in.

Now, what really made me adore this anime wasn't any of the above, but the characters themselves. I can't really say that there's a "main character" in this story, but some characters perspectives are highlighted more so than others as the show progresses. The thing about Shiki is that it hosts a massive cast; that cast being the village. You would think that spreading so much of the story throughout many characters would be a bad idea, reducing the chance the viewer can become attached to them, but Shiki manages to do quite the opposite. The key was the fact that the characters were believable. I've yet to have seen an anime (other than Clannad Afterstory) that manages to sport such realistic characters. From Megumi to Natsuno, to Toshio and Seishin; all of them feel like people I've met in my life, people that I can relate to or say I know. It's because that these characters are believable that you so quickly become attached.

Did you enjoy Shiki, Frag? Well, if it wasn't apparent enough already, it has truly been one of my greatest pleasures of anime to watch this year. When a company can piece together all these delicate categories of anime in just the right way, it can create a genuinely memorable experience for the viewer. Shiki is an anime I'm proud to add to my collection of favorites. Something I should mention is that the show really manages to get you to think about morals. What is truly right or wrong? Is there such a thing as pure good or evil? The best part is that Shiki leaves it up to you to figure out the answers yourself.

To sum it all up, I urge you to give the show a chance. Two episodes in, I was hooked, and I'm willing to bet it'll do the same to you. I'm surprised this show isn't more popular; it's a real breath of fresh air when it comes to the long neglected genre of vampires. Even if you've never been one for blood-suckers, you might find the genre more appealing after sitting down and watching Shiki.

Shiki is definitely one of those nice surprises you didn't expect would be so good, considering the level of uninspiring and unoriginal anime fluff we see on the shelves nowadays. Despite receiving rave reviews by so many people from all walks of life, I was still a total skeptic especially when it comes to people praising any modern anime. Mainly since there is very little modern anime has to offer... beyond titties, panty-shots, moe, toothy grinning shounen-types with big weapons or powers, and giant robots... miraculously all within some kind of school setting. If you've seen one, you can basically say you've ... seen them all. So imagine my surprise when i picked this title; after seeing these kids with bizarre hair and the cheery (somewhat simple) art style, I genuinely expected some type of "Pokemon's rendition" of vampires. Well, I was wrong, and I'm not embarrassed to admit it. What I've learnt, is that regardless of it's appearance, there is some level of depth and complexity to this story that will make you enjoy it a lot more than perhaps you originally intended.

SOUNDS:
Let's start with the music first. I didn't like the first OP, Kuchizuke, I dunno what about it got on my nerves, maybe the howling/haunting male vocals or the fact that it fell between rock and pop. The howling voice does suit the overall creepiness of the series... but it just was not my cuppa tea. Strangely enough, I loved the second ED theme, Gekka Reijin, which is by the same band... with the same howling/haunting male voice but music and beats sounded smoother and the guitar sounded sexier. Can't say I felt the same way about the first ED, Walk no Yakusoku, it's not a particularly bad song, but this singer's voice got on my nerves a little bit as well. However, I really liked the 2nd OP theme Calendula Requiem, I like upbeat songs and liked the speed of the words.
I watched this series twice, once in Japanese and the other in English... either way is fine. I suppose, but I don't particularly feel the need to score Japanese audio that much considering people seem to generally like that more than English dubs, personally I will always pick English dubs because I prefer to not have to read subtitles. The English dub was
really good fit Shiki.

Art/Animation:
The art for this series is pretty nice... It's a mixture of quirky and childish character designs with the set designs being far more detailed and sophisticated. The character designs are definitely of the shounen variety: thick outlines, fierce eyebrows, funky hairstyles and a bright, solid colour palette is used. The real art is shown thru the various settings and backgrounds: walls have visible imperfections and textures, furnishings look believable, the woods look dark and foreboding. What I really appreciated was that we were taken everywhere thru the village, some homes were more modest than others, some were extravagant, the doctor's clinic, the gazebo, the shrine, etc. so many shows would have taken a lazier approach and not have made these settings as detailed. I will say however that the animation was pretty standard, considering this wasn't a type of show that had complex battle scenes then we can forgive that much. The "camera" pans, 360 rotations and semi-rotations used for dramatic effects were smooth enough.

STORY:
Shiki starts out with the story of Megumi, your typical kind of frilly teenage girl with a sour attitude--we all know the type! She moans on and on about being stuck in some hick town, completely devoid of any sophistication or panache... we can't blame her though, I know I'd be the same. Anyway, her bitchiness aside, she develops a little crush for the main character, Natsuno, then she becomes a little stalker, then dies in some freakish yet mysterious manner. Her death coincides with the rash of other mysterious deaths occurring in the village, and that's all I can really say about that without going into spoiler territory. Using "mysterious deaths" as an opener for an anime isn't new or rare but at the very least it serves it's purpose by making things very interesting right away. You will immediately have some sort of interest to find out what's wrong with that town... and that's when the narration can take it's time to slowly peel away the layers to reveal the mystery. I thought the pacing was really great, it was never slow and boring, but it never rushed into big excitement right away either, it was a well controlled and deliberate on a steady climb to a big finish... and it wasn't predictable-Another big plus in my book! Some episodes definitely toyed with your emotions, such as episode 14.

CHARACTER:
the character designs aren't too shabby, they're drawn quite attractively as far as general face and body shape is concerned... which is always a big plus in my book (who wants to look at ugly people?) But there were some minor niggles that worked their way under my skin. Let's talk about some of the hairstyles, some of them looked about as wild, hard and as immovable as tree bark...especially that little devil-child Sunako. I know according to Twilight, today's vampire likes to play around with a little mousse, maybe some hair wax, but her shit was just straight up ridiculous! Same goes for the nurse, Ritsuko, as much as I liked her character, that hair was silly. it was as if some green rattlesnake bit her on the back of the skull and hung there for all eternity. Then we had some chin problems, chins that ended in a very sharp point, a style I haven't seen since the 90s. And possibly the weirdest, most "perplexingly" annoying aspect of their character designs were the eyes... no I'm not talking about the black pupil-less eyes, even though those were creepy as fuck. No I'm talking about the fact that they drew eyelids above eyelashes on everyone. Really??? was this intentional or did someone fail Anatomy and Character Design 101? Eyelashes are at the end of eyelids, so why it's it that when these people lower their lids halfway, it also conceals their eyelashes? that's virtually impossible unless their eyelashes are tucked inwards and scraping their eyeballs. Also the monk's irises are too large! All that being said, these imperfections or designs don't bother me too tremendously and do not detract from enjoying the story.
There is a nice mix of characters in this series. You have young people, old people and everyone in between, each with varying personalities and stations within this small hick village. They were all drawn with somewhat realistic proportions and attributes, we didn't have freakishly busty 13-year olds or well fit looking old men. I particularly enjoy this diverse type of ensemble, because I believe the more diverse the cast, the richer the story will be. And this cast is pretty developed... well, at least as developed as 26 episodes can allow.
The story centres around three central characters: a stubborn gruff doctor, a pensive monk and a brooding teenager. These are the most fully realised characters with completed backgrounds and the narrative shifts from one perspective to the other. This is definitely a character driven series, which is probably part of the reason why I like it so much. Because besides these three central characters I mentioned before: Dr. Toshio Ozaki, Seishin Muroi and Natsuno Yuuki, almost every person in the town is given some kind of past or history no matter how inconsequential they are. You get to know these people personally, know their family, their story, empathise and feel their pain, their loss... even some of the so-called "bad guys." Which I especially liked! Nowadays, simply saying bad guys are just bad because they are, is not good enough. A good story goes beyond that, we need to ask; why are they bad? And are they really bad in the first place? Just because they are vampires, does that make them inherently evil? Shiki explores this really well.

VERDICT:
I gave this show a "9" because I saw something different about this anime. Vampires attacking a town isn't exactly a new concept here, but perhaps I appreciated this interpretation of the vampire... a more human-like vampire, ones with feelings and regret. Not feelings to the point of pure sappiness like Twilight but more along the same vein like "Interview with a Vampire" where vampires have their own personalities and behaviours... yet still have the obligations that come along with being a vampire. I also gave it a "9" because there are fewer anime clichés in this one, no high-schools, no unnecessary guns or explosions, no young grinning shonen with some big sword or robot saving the world...one power up at a time, no love polygons or dramatic death scene where someone screams "nnnnnoooooooo or akiraaaaaaa" for seven minutes. This was a proper story with a beginning, middle and a heck of an ending! Definitely worth the watch.

I always hate when people do animes and mangas with the theme of 'vampire' because it's always ridiculous. The mith is put aside and the only things that remain are the fact that they have fangs and they drink blood. Mangakas and producers forget that they can't go out in sunlight and that exists pretty good ways to kill vampires.

Somehow, the vampires in anime/manga are ALWAYS too strong to the world bear they existence and there's too much romance to enjoy the mith. It's like they're humans, but they are dead and kill others to live. And this is SO ridiculous.

But Shiki is different. The ... vampires in this story are excellent. They're not humans anymore. Thay are selfish, evil and don't care about the ones who they left because they only want to eat. That's how the real vampires are and that's the reason I liked of this anime. Oh, and they can be killed like Buffy taught us, too, what is good because it looks like the old mith, but it's a little more modern.

The only problem is Megumi. That bitch needs to die.

Shiki was my first anime that is all about vampires and werewolves. If you are a vampire story enthusiast then you will like this one. Ja! Vampire enthusiast or not read my simple review so you can get an idea on how did I finish this one even though I am not into vampire stories.

Maybe at first you will hesitate to watch this one and I admit that I am one of them but for some reason I managed to finish the story and leave me "Amazed" and "Satisfied"

Ja! Let's start this one.

Art 7/10 : Art for location is really nice. Simple and very ... detailed. Art for Shiki is not totally good when it comes to its character. I can rate it as an above average only. Lines are too sharp especially on chins, and there are also some issues when it comes to colours. Especially when it comes to the "Risen" features. I've interpret this one as they were emphasizing the viewers on what is the difference between a normal person and a vampire. ( I think )
But, maybe behaviour and eye colours are enough to determine this.

Sound 8/10 : Sounds are really nice but still in an average tone. I've never encountered any issues when it comes BGM and SFX. Totally rhymes with the theme of the story.

Character 8/10 : I am really amazed with this part as handling a huge number of characters is not easy. Although Shiki has only "Four" main characters; the other characters are not generic and they had difference with each other when it comes to 1) Behaviour 2) Characteristics 3) Personality and 4) Traits.
Also I enjoyed the town atmosphere when elders are chatting outside their houses very typical. (Thumbs UP)

Enjoyment 9/10 : I am not a Twilight or Vampire enthusiast but I really enjoyed this one. The idea of the plot and the story is really impressive.

Overall 9/10 : Ending was really impressive.

Note : This review never intended to persuade or to please everybody. All of the words that you read are only based in my opinions.

Okay, lets try this again since my last review didn't go so well :p

I finished Shiki just recently and i was very pleased with it especially in the beginning. The exposition was suspenseful and exciting. I noticed some people didn't like the slow start, i guess it's preference because i seemed to enjoy the build up. There was a vast cast of characters, typically these characters would be cannon fodder or they would lack substance. The cast of Shiki was the opposite. The show made you care for the characters and developed them well. Dr. Ozaki specifically had an really good voice acting performance. There ... were one or two characters that were slightly annoying and came off as whiney, or were slightly underused, but saying this is nit picking. Now back to the story, there was a slow build up but it was necessary to introduce the large cast of characters, and to build tension and anticipation. It also acted as a hook to keep me wanting more. Also, it felt pretty grounded even though it's obvious fiction. The animation looked great, all the colors and designs were pretty and fun to look at. The first intro suited the series well and the second wasn't half bad. And the score for the series sounds really good and suits the anime well. The sounds are very eerie and dark which is good. The middle of the anime is the best in my opinion. For some reason the ending didn't set as well with me as i was expecting. There were some things that were left un answered and some characters i felt just died for no reason at all. But overall there weren't really any plot holes and the story was great all the way through. I liked how in the beginning there was a mystery element which was interesting. So overall this was a great anime, i'm gonna buy it on blue ray and i most definitley recommend this as a starter anime for those just getting into the genre like i am. Or i'd recommend it to anyone in general.

Hope this review was helpful (:

[Note: This review contains minor spoilers.]

To say that the vampire’s image is but a shadow of what it once was before the massive influx of “twilight vampires” would not be an inaccurate statement. Slowly but surely, vampire’s have turned from sexy, murderous beasts into little more than humans that sparkle with no fangs. However, there have been a few shows that have truly re-established the old dynasty and mystique of the vampires that people used to fear. I can confidently say that Shiki is one of these shows.

Shiki (or 屍鬼, if you prefer) is a suspense/horror show adapted from a novel that surrounds the town ... of Sotoba, a quiet town secluded away from the rest of the world. When a new family (known as the Kirishiki, ironically) moves in, people in the town mysteriously start getting sick, dying off, and otherwise disappearing when they shouldn’t. As the doctor of the town, Toshio Ozaki, begins to panic and look for a solution to the supposed mass outbreak of this ‘killer disease’, many of the other members of the town fear that something much more sinister than an epidemic is at hand. From here, we meet NatsunoYuuki, our main character who desperately searches for an answer as to why he keeps seeing a girl, Megumi Shimizu, who supposedly died. A Fair warning to those who do not like slow-paced stories: Shiki starts out very, very slow. The first 3-4 episodes are filled with the Exposition, and it can be tedious to watch, especially if you’re expecting something that hits the ground running, like Deathnote. Think Monster when watching this. The story moves to go at a slow, crushing pace, and each episode has eagerly had me awaiting the next as one mystery is solved, only for another to be introduced. Overall, the plot so far has kept me on the edge of my seat, and I can’t want to see the conclusion.

In terms of the characters, I would say they are the weakest aspect of Shiki. There are 20+ characters that play some important role in the show, and with a majority of them being introduced in the first couple episodes, it can often be hard to keep track of just who is who, or who they’re related to, or what exactly they’re trying to accomplish. Additionally, many of the characters are fairly two-dimensional. Natsuno is a typical male ‘ice-queen’ lead with a girl hopelessly in love with him, Seishin is a failure at life and completely useless (never seen that before), and there are many other characters that all act very predictably throughout the series. Not that this is a bad thing, as you can sometimes feel yourself rooting for a character to (not) do something, and yet they do it anyways. However, none of the characters seem very memorable aside from the insane (literally) Toshio, who I greatly enjoy watching.

As if a complete opposite, the music is one of the higher points in the show. The first OP, "Kuchizuke" (くちづけ) by Buck-Tick, is one of the better openings I’ve heard, and the lyrics are quite relevant to the show. The second OP, "Calendula Requiem" by kanon x kanon, is also an excellent opening, but weaker than the first. Neither of the ED’s are especially good, although they give off a nice ‘evil’ feeling for the end of the episodes.. The background music is fairly well done, and the strange, melodic chorus’ that Shiki features add a lot of depth to some of the scenes. While the music isn’t especially top notch, it makes sense, although I still would have preferred something a bit more involved with an orchestra.

The animation seems to fall in the middle of the pack. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible either. There have been a few times when I’ve noticed the animation getting a bit jittery, however there are not many action-packed or frame intensive scenes in the show, so it hasn’t really been a problem so far. The character designs also seem to be just okay (personally, I despise the long, lanky characters, but I know that many people enjoy them.) On the whole they aren’t inherently bad, and they fit the style that Shiki was aiming for. One thing that was very impressive were the eye designs. They range from interesting to downright creepy, and they make watching the show just that much more enjoyable. They’re also a key plot element, so pay attention.

While the show isn’t completed yet – Shiki is a very strong show based on the 17 episodes that have aired so far. If it keeps up the way it has been (and I plan to update this review when it finishes) Shiki may just be the best suspense show I’ve ever seen. It certainly rivals the ‘big’ suspense shows such as Deathnote and Monster, and I am eagerly awaiting the conclusion of this show, as it’s been one hell of a ride so far.

[To the Reviewers that didn’t find this helpful (or even if you did find it helpful) – feel free to drop a comment on my profile suggesting anything that I could improve upon.]

Vampire anime has never been my cup of tea. I’ve seen a fair amount of such anime and for me, they usually turn out to be really corny (such as Dance in the Vampire Bund), boring (such as Shingetsutan Tsukihime), shallow and chockfull of fanservice (Rosario + Vampire) or just plain lame (Black Blood Brothers). I’ve gotten tired of seeing vampires presented to be as majestic, perfect, idol-like creatures, leading glamorous lives and just happen to suck blood for nourishment. Are vampires really monsters, or just sissies?

Then I saw Shiki.

It’s surprisingly good. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece but it’s interesting, not to mention actually ... quite frightening, as horror stories should be. The first few episodes hint on what is happening, but you’re not completely sure what it is until the characters discover it for themselves. Because of that the pacing is quite slow for the viewers, but for the characters it’s actually timely and realistic.

Speaking of the characters, there are a lot of them and as expected with a large cast, development is hard to manage. There are some characters who disappear from the story for a bit, and when they come back, clearly a lot happened but not a lot about it is said so you’re left to ponder on it. There are some scenes that I would have liked to see, and I’d like to give some examples but I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoiling anyone.

Fortunately though, the most interesting character in my opinion is the one who is most developed, and that is the doctor Ozaki Toshio. You get to see a lot of what is going on in his mind - what he discovers as the story progresses, how he deals with it, what kind of person he is, etc. I really think his character is very fascinating, and will make you think what you would do if you were in his place. How far will you go to survive? Ozaki and the other characters all answer that question in their own way as the story progresses.

It’s generally a likable cast, and the voice acting only makes them even more so. Among the roster of the voice actors chosen for this anime, I noticed that a good portion of them are relatively new/under the radar, including the young and promising Yuuki Aoi. Regardless of tenure, all members of the cast, even those with the smaller roles, are good, capable and convincing.

What isn’t entirely convincing though, is the art. Sometimes the facial expressions of the characters are too exaggerated, that it seems fake, such as this scene: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lha4faBeSw1qdbg2p.jpg
I get that she’s really happy to see Natsuno, but I don’t think she’s that happy.

The character designs in general are a little cartoony, with the weird hairstyles and all, but only for the more dominant characters. The lesser characters look more subdued. The gore seems a bit over the top too, but I think it’s acceptable in this case because it’s part of the story-telling.

Overall, the art is okay. The visuals really compliment the story. It’s a little inconsistent now and then and the colors clash sometimes but I like how they went for something a bit more colorful, because usually with horror anime the visuals are dark and gloomy.

As for the music, I think the soundtrack is very well done. From the subtle sound effects to the background music, it all really contributes to the feel of the story and makes each scene more special. The OPs and EDs are very good too. I really like the first OP, “Kuchikuze” by rock band Buck-Tick. I think it really goes well with the series. The vocals are really good, the lyrics relate to the story and it’s quite catchy and memorable.

I think the main reason why I like Shiki is because it’s not shallow like most vampire anime. It allows us viewers to think, instead of blinding us with how “cool” vampires are. Sure, vampires are amazing beings with many traits and abilities that normal humans don’t have, but they are still monsters, and to survive, they need to feed on humans. If you think of it that way, vampires aren’t really that cool, huh? It seems that in the latest vampire anime, as well as in general media, they fail to emphasize that in their representation. Thankfully, Shiki does well in that aspect and in many others. If you don't mind gore and you want to watch a horror anime that’s a little more deep than the usual, then surely Shiki is for you.

The opening scene, in which a search party of villagers find in the woods the body of one of their own, a young girl, sets the tone for the 22-episode funeral that is Shiki. In terms of narrative, it breaks no new ground; a remote village is infested by vampires (not romanticized here as has been the trend in recent years, but portrayed once more as malevolent predators with whom the living cannot coexist) who kill the villagers one by one and replace them with their own kind.

It works through its cold-blooded commitment to its moribund atmosphere, existing in a perpetual state of grief for ... those already lost and those about to go. The cast is not the most nuanced or memorable, but it is good enough for the repeated tragedies to evoke more than apathy. They are normal people; few with any heroic strain, most unaware of why their parents, children, friends, neighbors and lovers are dying, their love for one another the only vigil against the night where the dead supplant the living and death supplants life.

The series is utterly enveloping in its sadness; from only a few episodes in I could not stop watching except to eat and sleep, and I ended up finishing the whole series within the span of 24 hours. My one major gripe with it is the fanservice. It is thankfully far from ubiquitous, but a few female characters are very unrealistically proportioned and when an especially dramatic scene (a few in the series' second half come to mind, but I can't go into details without spoiling things) has comically oversized breasts bouncing around it is about as distracting and inappropriate as a stripper at a funeral. I haven't read the novel series that served as the basis for this adaptation, but I'm guessing it didn't have this problem.

Ah, Shiki.

If you're willing to put up with a few plot holes, a large amount of rather graphic violence, and some strange stylistic flairs, then you're in for a real treat with this one.

This anime does something few other vampire stories manage to do these days: captivate you with the thrill of the genre. There is a mystery unfolding, a morally ambiguous danger in the air, and a whimsical sort of horror to it all that puts Shiki a cut above the rest.


- Story: 8 -

For the most part, Shiki's plot is very solid. There is a very strong impression of suspense that builds as ... you discover what exactly is going on in the secluded village of Sotoba. Unfortunately, towards the second third of the story, there are some glaring circumstances that seem almost inexplicable, which you may very well shout at as an observer of the whole scenario. It gets to the point where you really have to give the story some liberty, sadly.

That being said, stick around to watch the whole anime (including the 2 specials!) and you won't be disappointed. There is a subtle point to all the absurdities that do transpire, and it is worth absorbing in its entirety. I only wish it made just a touch more sense. But, it is about vampires, I suppose, so how real can it honestly get? Some ridiculousness seems necessary to make the more horrific parts more accessible, oddly enough.

Forgive Shiki of its sins. It recognizes its own fallibility as a fiction, and it often plays off that self-awareness by inviting us to accept the madness the story is all about. Just go with it, and you'll have a great time.


- Art: 9 -

The artwork in Shiki is quite pleasant, but at times, it feels a little less focused than what might be expected. Perhaps that's the point, though. There are moments of raw terror that are exquisitely well-illustrated, but those are occasionally mixed in with lightheartedness and almost comical facial designs. One truly impressive feat, however, which should not be overlooked by any means, is the fact that pretty much every single villager of Sotoba looks unique. The animators painstakingly took the time to create a genuinely new character in every single one of these people, including those that don't have any dialogue.

So, there's something to be said for the diversity of artistic style in the show. A few times, including a few hairstyles and color palettes, it feels jarringly juxtaposed into the horror atmosphere, but if you look past the beady-eye tears and the dyed hair, you will see a strong continuity of creative, stylized characters in a rich, grounded village setting. Some of the angles taken for the backgrounds are very well chosen, harnessing a certain degree of cinematic precision to the whole rigamarole, such as with the 'helicopter' overview of the village and its castle.


- Sound: 10 -

Shiki doesn't disappoint in the audio department. It should be noted I watched in dubbed English, and this happens to be one show you might want to watch dubbed. The VAs do a fantastic job, and each character feels original. A couple of voices are grating, but there is always a reason for it.

Besides voice acting, the sound effects are phenomenal and really on-point. The horror is amplified greatly by careful decisions to accent scenes with crisp, sometimes disturbingly real sounds.

There are a few musical tracks that repeat perhaps once or twice too often, but overall, the musical score for Shiki is also quite impressive. The tracks are always fitting and pull you further into the scenes. Additionally, for such vocal-heavy intros and outros (which I normally find off-putting), Shiki's opening and closing OSTs are rather catchy, and I was pleasantly surprised that I ended up watching them more often than not, since they seemed to build the excitement into and out of each episode quite well.


- Character: 10 -

This is the department in which Shiki really shines. As mentioned already, every character is visually unique and has their own personality. Even the old folks sitting on the bench in the first episode eventually have separate lines of thought established. There is a sentiment that builds around the structure of the show that, while watching it, one is embarking upon a journey to discover just what it is like to be a villager in Sotoba. At the same time, we also gradually learn to understand the Shiki as well, so that the two sides of the story are eventually clashing in the mind.

Some might argue that a few bad apples ruin the core of Shiki. However, if the show is given some liberty, it will not let down. It is well aware of the characters it is crafting, and it feels as passionately about the circumstances that transpire as its audience does. There is a deliberate effort being made to place the audience in the shoes of the main characters, such that we observers feel as emotionally involved as possible. If something disturbing happens to a character we like, be assured it was intentional. This is a classic horror in the sense that anyone and everyone is likely to be a victim, and there's no telling who will be sentenced next.


- Enjoyment: 9 -

Because of its shortcomings in terms of the plot, Shiki doesn't deserve a perfect score for entertainment. Sure, it's a gripping tale with lots of suspense, thrill, horror, and poignant moral dilemmas, but let's just say the second third of the show is a little bit of a letdown. Certain things happen that seem illogical, and it does take a little bit of a mental hurdle to excuse the rationale of some of the seemingly wiser characters. Some of the conclusions of the show actually get foreshadowed a little bit too early, and the logic behind some individuals only makes sense in the aftermath of it all. Again, sit tight and let it run its course, and Shiki will, without fail, be very entertaining.


- OVERALL: 9.2/10 -

As someone who rarely looks forward to the next inclusion of vampires in modern fiction storytelling, I went into watching the anime Shiki, or Corpse Demon, with very low expectations. I came out of it with a smirk and a head full of thoughts, happy to write my first review on MAL.

If you can excuse a bit of graphical intensity, give Shiki a shot. It delivers in full, and it lives up to the genre it seeks to redefine. It may cut a few corners, but honestly, it didn't mean to hurt anyone. If you forgive it for its forsaken ways, you might just let yourself get bitten. Enjoy!

OK Lion Tamers, we'll look at "Shiki"!

I decided to give this thing a look. And I think most people, who like suspense thrillers, might actually go for this thing.

I am usually quite picky about Vampire offerings, because people have done this thing to death (pun intended). More importantly, while almost every authorship has done Vampire stories (comics, novels, plays, movies, and now anime), what is worse is the slow evolution from the original rules for Vampires; a la Bram Stoker- to something where the original idea has begun to evolve into a completely new beast.

While even I have created a new type of Vampire from ... time to time, in fan-fiction; it is refreshing to find a story that actually sticks to most of the original rules of the game.

"Shiki" is such an offering. Even the characters offered share similar character types to the original Bram Stoker novel of Dracula; even though they carry different names, professions, and characteristics (on the surface), they fit the original places for each Bram Stoker character.

In Shiki:

Dracula is a little girl, Sunako Kirishiki

Renfield is a young teenager, Natsuno "Koide" Yuuki

Mina Harker is another teenager, Shimizu, Megumi

Doctor Van Helsing, Doctor Toshio Ozaki

The above is just a short list. You will find other characters that substitute for Bram Stoker archetypes as well. And some of you may differ on my selections. But I think you'll see where Shiki has parallels to Dracula, in characters, basic behaviors, actions, and finally the reactions of all players.

I found it very enjoyable to predict the next thing to happen, because the story is laid out (in general) so closely to Dracula. What a pleasure to see the town becoming less and less of itself; as Vampires increase in number pyramidically. It was even fun to watch, as Doctor Toshio Ozaki finally came to the conclusion that the only way out, was to apply a liberal dose of "... wooden stake through the heart ...", in an attempt to save his town. In the end, instead of a dose of Sunlight, the ultimate solution became a forest fire. Clever!

For those of you who like a dose of humor in your suspense thriller, you are out of luck. Shiki is entirely and totally camp (or in newer English, deadly deadpan serious). Think dialog from Godzilla, and you'll get the idea. This is not a bad thing, in fact it matches the tone intended by the makers, perfectly.

The dialog leads us through each scene, from one nasty piece of work to the next, extracting tension in ways that look innocent enough; but almost always has double meanings. Music is excellent, and fleshes out each scene and major event; always pregnant with expectation. The opening and closing music, while inappropriate at points, has lyrics that matches Shiki's story and intents (which is fairly rare, as the music is usually more important in most offerings, than the lyrics).

There are a few rough spots. Pacing is sometimes irregular, and there are times I do not understand some references that are plainly a Japanese intention (not being Japanese is a handicap for us Anglo's ).

But if you like traditional Vampire tales, you might truly enjoy Shiki. I give it a 7.