The anime in question this time is Shiki, an anime that left me with many tears in my eyes while and after watching due to its sad and dark nature. It involves mystery and supernatural elements although we're not allowed to say what these are because it is actually a spoiler. I am not as fond of this particular genre as some other people mind you, but this anime was just too good for me.
Story - 10
I congratulate this anime for the story it has brought all of us to enjoy! The basic idea behind the plot is to keep the identity of the real enemy hidden to the main characters but give the viewer a pretty accurate guess as to who/what the enemy is. Whether you realise who is threatening the village or not, this anime is going to keep you from not wanting more. There are many elements in this anime that excel in the particular setting like the ambitions of people and the fact that humans are fragile creatures and can break with a small push, and this is what I enjoyed most.
Art - 9
First I would like to give huge props to the animation studio that designed the main antagonists. The whole concept is expressed beautifully through the colours of the eyes and skin, whilst giving off a sad aura that touches the viewer. More in general, the rest of the characters are very well made, uniquely representing everyone's character in some way or another. The backgrounds and environment were really colourful and detailed at all times. I have no complaints from this, although some people might find the hairstyles of some of the charcacters weird or too much. I personally liked them.
The thing I am amazed with is what I always call "the death faces". It's basically a dead man's/woman's face right before/after they die. This always sent chills down my spine whenever I saw it and, since it happens a lot, you can guess I felt like I was in a refridgerator for more than half of the anime.
Sound - 9
The BGM was really fitting the mood in most cases, which enhances the feeling being given off from the anime even more.
The 2 Openings were very beautiful, namely "Kuchizuke" performed by Buck-Tick and "Calendula Requiem" performed by kanon*kanon, with the latter being my favorite of the two. The first Ending theme, "Walk no Yakusoku" by nangi was really not to my liking while the second one, "Gekka Reijin" by Buck-Tick was really good. These songs tried their best to fit the dark theme of the anime and I have to say that they succeeded in doing so.
Characters - 10
Now comes the good part. Every, single, freakin, character is unique and their purposes different. Seeing how there is so much death in this anime most characters don't go in too much depth, but there is a crapload of them and they all ahve unique characteristics which help you distinguish them. There are a few main characters which I will mention independently.
Ozaki Toshio - is what you call the main protagonist of this series, if you view the anime from a point that I don't. Watch the anime and you will understand what I'm talking about. He is the village's doctor and runs his own clinic. This guy is the generic badass of the series, always having a cigarette lit between his lips. He is the one suspecting and acting first before everyone else, trying to save everyone from their tragic fate. A very interesting character, maybe a little too strong for the anime's standards, but his weak side is exposed a hell of a lot.
Muroi Seishin - Toshio's best friend, the local priest of Sotoba whose hobby is writing books, mostly novels. Seishin is pretty much the opposite of Toshio, being the voice of reason many times and keeping a generally neutral stance in all this. He is also the one human who comes in contact with the other main character the most in the whole series.
Kirishiki Sunako - The main character of the series, if you view the anime from the point that I do. Whilst being the main character she is also the main antagonist of this series. She is a little girl whose past is shrouded in mystery and has been shutting herself in the European style mansion on top of the big hill of the village. Only she and God know her true purposes. She may look like a ten-year-old girl but the speeches she presents to basically Seishin placed me in deep thought.
Yuuki Natsuno - Another character that deserves mention in this segment since he does some pretty important stuff. Right. This is the boy who recently moved in Sotoba and hates the place. Literally loathes it. His one and only wish is to leave this place and return to the big city whence he came. At first he was holed up within himself, never opened up to anyone because he did not want anything to have with these "primitive" people. One day he met a fellow villager when he had a flat tyre on his bicycle, who helped him repair it. Thus he opened up to this one and only person who became his sole friend. What he noticed from the start though was a young girl's stares and later a tragic involvement with her that would change his life forever.
Enjoyment - 10
I have to say that the air the anime gave off was really heavy, certainly an anime not for everyone. This anime needs you to have a good stomach and a not-so-easy-to-break heart if you want to go through it in one piece. Since I am pretty open when it comes to anime and will watch pretty much anything, I really felt this was really my kind of anime, making me enjoy it a lot, so much that it deserves a 10/10 for this.
Overall - 10
This is my third favorite anime and for good reason. I would like to say right now that I didn't want to begin with such a difficult to review anime but I wanted to test my skills in this to see how far I can reach. I would also like to add another grading, being the rewatchability of the anime. I know plenty of people who like to watch the same anime over and over again when they have nothing better to do, so rewatchability of an anime is pretty important to some people.
Rewatchability - 7
Note that this score does not count to the overall since it is something that is not applied for all people and clearly comes down to personal preference.
Moving on, I hope you enjoyed reading through this tedious wall of text. Any constructive criticism and feedback is kindly appreciated. If you find any faults in my grammar or english in general, well, you won't.
