Story: (9/10)
So basically, the story is set in a small village called Sotoba. People start dying mysteriously and it's mainly told through the point of view of Yuuki Natsuno, Ozaki Satoshi, and Muroi Seishin, as well as a few other characters. The viewer knows what's going on, but the characters don't know of the existence of Shiki until a little bit later into the anime. I thought the story was pretty unique, except the whole small town setting seemed some what cliché to me, so that's why I give it a 9.
Art: (9/10)
The art is a bit strange, as in the hairstyles are a bit weird. When I watched the first episode, I was actually really put off by the hair, even to the point to where I considered dropping the first episode because it bugged me so much. But I decided against it. Once you get used to it, the art is actually very unique, which I really like. The hair isn't just the standard long, flowing girly hair you typically see, it has character to it. It almost gives characters their own individuality. So don't be too put off by the art, you'll come to appreciate it more as the series progresses. The backgrounds, too, were done nicely. They weren't sloppily done and actually looked really good. I give the art a 9 only because the art style wasn't something I was used to at the beginning of the series.
Sound: (10/10)
The sound was fantastic. I thought it went along very well with the theme of the anime. Some of the songs on the soundtrack had a creepy, gothic feel to it which I thought went along great with the vampire genre of this anime. The music was also played appropriately with certain scenes. During comedic scenes, there would be a more upbeat song to match the mood. I also enjoyed the opening and ending songs a lot.
Character: (9/10)
The characters were damn cool. For once, in an anime, there weren't any characters I hated. At first Megumi kind of pissed me off, but in the end I thought she was pretty cool. The main characters in this anime and even some of the reoccurring characters have nice background stories, nobody was really left out save for a few people. The characters also had awesome and different personalities. No two were the same. I give it a 9, though, because even though their back stories were explained, I still thought they could have gone into a bit more detail with them.
Enjoyment: (10/10)
I can guarantee you that if you enjoy vampire stories or the whole vampire concept in general, you'll like this anime. It's not too bloody, which was kind of disappointing for me, but it has just enough blood in it to satisfy you. I loved this anime and it is definitely an anime I will come back to in a few years and watch again. It is re-watchable.
Overall: (10/10)
The characters, story, art, and sound were all incredible. This was a damn good anime. If you like Higurashi or anything like it, you'll love this anime. It has mystery, vampire, and even religious themes to it. Even the few comedic moments it has you'll love. I found them to be hilarious. Also, this anime has a bit of a gothic feel to it, especially the way Sunako dresses. It's cute. So give this anime a try, and I'm sure you'll fall in love with it!
