Shiki - Reviews

Really good show. Loved everything about it. Don't really like that there isn't a main protagonist and kind of sad about ending but overall super good anime. Worth watching. Keeps your attention at every moment. Very entertaining. Little spooky as well.

Imagine that you are in a village where vampires are infested like a disease and you are trapped in a dangerous world where you might be in deep trouble. However, on second glance, some vampires have feelings and care about someone he or she loves and you sometimes sympathized on their treacherous and painful life as a vampire. That’s what Shiki wants to express to the anime viewers and WOW! All I have to say is the director, Tetsuro Amino really compels on how humans and vampires interact for their survival of the fittest. Shiki is 100% NOT CLICHÉ like Twilight Saga or True Blood which I absolutely pissed me off with those love antics and teen fangasm (I’m talking about you, Bella and Edward fans. Not to hate them but the series is not my cup of tea.) So I’m glad that Shiki has a plot that surely compels everyone in the long run and I’m truly satisfied with the overall anime quality.

Story (8.8/10)

The director, Tetsuro Amino, sure has something in his sleeves when plotting a great script for this anime. I never heard about the Shiki novels and mangas that were released at first but soon as I watched the anime fully, I am blown away on how this apparent horror story could become something unique and fascinating to see. No love clichés, no fan service, just straight reality check on how humans and vampires live and fight in this one-on-one war for survival. It all starts at a village called Sotoba which experiences mysterious deaths that spreads like a pandemic that all focuses on one mysterious European classic house that was just suddenly appearing out of nowhere. As the story progresses, the mystery gets more interesting until found out that vampires are spreading the plague to the villagers and some brave souls, including the handsome and deadly Natsuno Yuuki and the serious doctor, Toshio Ozaki, are investigating this horrific phenomenon that wreck chaos to the village. What I like about the story here is how the story develops smoothly in 24 episodes and how the director resolute the entire vampire-human war in a unique way that even I sometimes care about some vampires who still have a humane heart surprisingly. Even though the pacing is a bit slow for something from 2010, but I have to say that the director really outdone the impossible by packing the plot into one fluid and solid story telling. The overall plot gives the entire dark horror feeling of Twilight but with balance in the characters. Plus, the final few episodes really manages well on one important decision: Self-preservation or Murder. Some might think that humans should survive and beat the hell out of those evil vampires but what about some vampires who still cares about his human life and then there are some who is being mind-controlled by those evil vampires as the villager’s threat for survival. One things for sure, the directors have indicated for the viewers to think on their own opinions about the humans and vampires’ self-beliefs right until the final Survival War and I got to give credits to them for imagining this creative idealism on human-vampire interaction. However, even though the ending feels like a decent wrap up for the story, I might have a feeling that they could make a second season because the ending felt too open for everyone to tell their opinion. However, all in all, solid storytelling and the mystery vibe that lives up to expectations surely makes Shiki the horror anime that made the grade.

Animation (6.7/10)

The design of the characters gave Shiki some horror vibe that the anime supposed to be. With those glaring red pupil on the sinister antagonists makes the tone of this anime dark enough to realise that Shiki’s horror and scary and not another cheap rip-off. Plus, with the darkness envelop Sotoba during night time, it has a perfect tone for this anime to attract those who wanted a darker, more cutting edge horror anime to be perfectly tone in animation. Though some of the animation designs are questionable sometimes like lack of hair movement in characters like Ritsuko’s ponytail (as cassiesheepgirl pointed) and some characters are not that visually attracting to those who wanting quality. However, luckily, some gripe from the character’s animation is balanced out with the perfect dark and eerie tone of the surrounding environment that surely has some meaning to this anime and although the art is not as breath-taking as today’s anime standards, this anime still provides some gem in enhancing those horror fanatics to enjoy.

Sound (9.3/10)

Shiki’s main attraction point however is amazing musical scores and sound effects that set up the entire gory horror tone to the anime. Yasuharu Takanashi have amazed me as an anime fan with haunting choral tracks and scary violin rhythm just scares the hell out of me, the soundtrack is absolutely a win in my books and I have to give credits for the music director for arranging a spectacular music score particularly to set the dark tone up. Plus, the sound effects also gives this anime life at its fullest and gives the viewers the real world experience into the entire vampire plague situation. On top of that, the seiyuus have done a wonderful job on portraying their characters well. Who could not forget the ever lovable Natsuno Yuuki, played by Kouki Uchiyama, who I adore so much with his serious expression on how the survival war goes and let’s not forget other seiyuus who have done well in making their characters amazing like Shinya Takahashi, Haruka Nagashima, Haruka Tomatsu (Hate Megumi so much, but ADORE her voice perfectly) and let’s not forget the KICK BUT AWESOME Toru Ohkawa. (Gotta love the Doctor Ozaki there) Overall, they have outdone themselves in managing the vocals and the voice behind this anime that I would feel like watching A TRUE horror anime thanks to the beautiful sound effects and character voices. AMAZING!

 Characters (7.7/10):

The characterization in this series is quite interesting and wide in variety, which I like it decently. Yeah, some characters might be too annoying or rubbing too much salt to the viewer’s eyes like Megumi (that darn goth girl…) but some characters were pretty decently executed like Doctor Toshio who I think he executed his job well as the doctor who always keep focused on stopping the vampire plague and save the village although he’s a bit annoying with his smoking attitude sometimes… I also like how Natsuno still being in confidence to end the vampire-human war although I felt that Natsuno was a bit nervous when fighting vampires before becomes one of them few episodes later and that’s when Natsuno becomes an awesome cunning character that I love so much. The only problem with this anime is that with the abundance of characters, the creators might be in a rough edge to define each of the characters in the limited number of episodes. Some characters are one-episode wonder but then, they’re just forgotten in the midst of main plot. Don’t get me wrong, a few of those characters are interesting to watch but some… well, you get the point. However, the most compelling aspect of Shiki is the mass characterization of the Sotoba villagers’ reactions to their own villagers becoming vampires and how would they cope with the entire survival war. I am quite impressed on how some of the main characters interact each other and how would they impact their mentality in some sort of form. This is not just vampire kill’em all spree. Some vampires do left some caring perspective towards themselves and afraid of killing their enemies: humans, obviously. They just felt that being a vampire does not make you immortal and have super strength. They sometimes struggle to felt the guilt of exterminating humans with no mercy. Sure, there are some generic vampires who always kill humans LIKE A BOSS, but with the contrast of feelings of care and sympathy towards his/her dignity, I guess this anime surely delivers the punch it needs to make this anime really compelling to observe, especially making viewers rethink about all those assumptions that VAMPIRES ARE MONSTERS or VAMPIRES ARE EVIL and prove to them that even the hunger for blood really have their costs in their lives.

Overall (8.5/10)

Overall, Shiki left some enjoyable feelings to those die-hard anime fans, especially those who love vampires and eerie mysteries. Tetsuro Amino have delivered what it supposed to be one of more interesting horror animes that many fans have enjoyed. However, do in mind that this anime is not about comparing vampires or humans like being the antagonists or protagonists; hence this is not call a typical action anime that is the bread and butter of anything with action. However, this anime is more towards the value of humanity and reimagining the survival of the human race in a whole new meaning. Definitely, after you watch this anime, you will understand that not all humans are good and trusted and not all vampires like to suck blood and kill humans. It’s what their perspective in their hearts that is important and Shiki surely delivers this really well. It’s a horror, dark, eerie anime fill with mysteries and shocking truths that will satisfy your senses in all aspects. Shiki, a horror anime, redefined like no other.

Definitely worth watching if you're a fan of Another and Higurashi.

WARNING - SPOILERS

Story

As typical with most anime horrors, it's set in a small, secluded village called Satoba. We follow three primary protagonists: The junior monk Muroi, the head doctor Toshio and new resident Natsuno. In the beginning of summer, the small town becomes plagued by a series of deaths by an unknown epidemic, however the truth is far more sinister. Shiki sets out to be a genuine vampire horror and it pulls it off beautifully. I did feel it a little hard to watch and get in to during the first few episodes, but to be honest, i find that with most new animes. However, after the stage has been set and the ball starts rolling, this show really comes alive (no pun intended). A new family moves in to the giant european manshion overlooking the village (would be kinda hard to not think something was fishy) and it turns out that they are a family of "Shiki" aka vampires, who's intention is to turn the village of Satoba into a haven for their kind, a place where they can be themselves. As the show goes on and the remaining villagers realise what's happening, they take up arms and become almost animalistic in their hunt to wipe out the vampires, who were friends and family of everyone one of them.

The first half of the anime is truly terrifying. I don't remember the last time I was properly scared. This anime is about jump scares or gore (even though there is a lot of it towards the end) it is truly frightening. Lights off, hiding under the covers, seeing Natsuno being tormented by see through visions of Megumi and when Nao was floating outside the clinic window were probably the most scariest things i've ever seen. Being a horror fan this was hugely entertaining, and watching the junior monk and doctor scrambling for answers just made the whole package. 

The second half is primarily focussed on what the humans do when they find out the truth. The anime here takes a very strange turn. It goes from a nightmarish horror into a gore flick as the humans brutally hunt down each vampire, I even found it difficult to watch Megumi's death. However, this doesn't lower the standard of the anime as it brings up an interesting topic. We witness what humans are willing to do to survive, and it's nasty. The black and white good and evil story we saw in the first half switches violently into a huge mess of grey. We see the vampires as humans who are just controlled by a hunger, who still feel and cry. You stop rooting for the "good guys" and start to think who really are the good guys? The vampires just want a small village to call their own, and the humans are defending themselves. Sure reading that you may think "Oh it's obvious the humans are the good guys", trust me, watch the hunting and you'll see it becomes very hard to watch, but it was done really well and you feel pity and anger for both sides of the story. If anything i wish they ended it a little better because the after credits didnt make much sense, but it didn't take away from the hugely entertaining story.

Animation

Right now this is a tricky one. I like the fact that it's a modern style but i really disliked how pointy everyone's nose and chin was. However, as it progressed, it kind of grew on me, and with all the wacky hairstyles, it made me feel like i was watching a Tim Burton esque anime, which fits the horror bill quite nicely. Where the animation really shines is the eyes. I don't think i've ever seen eyes like this in any anime and it's amazing. The human eyes add a sort of depth and character to them. The vampire eyes on the other hand are just awesome. The mood is instantly set with a dark night and you see a silhouette of a person and two bright red eyes, it's seriously unnerving. Not to mention the lack of eyes from Sunako and Chizuru which also made it really creepy. apart from the already creepy character animation, the enviroment was breathtaking. Everything about it sent chills down my spine, especially the night scenes in Natsuno's room. 

Sound

Wasn't a huge fan of the opening and ending songs, but due to th animation that went with it, especially the first opening, at the end with the blood rain falling in time with the song, made it really grow on me. I guess the sound was ok, but it wasn't anything too memorable, and it didn't add much to the already intensely scary atmosphere, but nonetheless, it was ok.

Characters

Again this is slightly tricky. Since we're jumping about from character to character, we don't really develop strong bonds with many of the characters, except for Natsuno and Toshio (and maybe Megumi if you pitied her as i did). Natsuno was a little boring, but i couldn't help but root for him and be glad whenever i saw him. Toshio on the other hand was great, we see him really change as an individual, especially throughout all the trauma he goes through and sleepless nights. Didn't like Muroi, found him to be a bit too much of an annoying, bland and self righteous nob to really care what happened to him, however i do see his importance and accept his role in the show. But, i rate the character score highly because of the collective; the villagers themselves. We see them as frightened, gossiping folk in the first half, but their transformation into deranged vampire hunters adds a sense of realism. If someone murdered your family, you'd go all out of the monsters that killed them, however you're still human, and you find it difficult to kill someone. And Shiki displays those emotions extremely well; you get some who downright refuse to kill the vampires, and you've got some who whistle while they "work". Seeing humanity's ugly side in such a brutal way really adds to the show and makes an irrational subject, rational.

Subbed or Dubbed?

I only watched this dubbed and to be quite frank, it was not bad. I'm presonally not a nazi when it comes to watching things subbed or dubbed as I dont mind either, however i do know a bad/good dub when i see one. It didn't feel forced, it flowed nicely and the voices fit the characters pretty well. Especially if you're hiding beneath your covers, you wont be able to see the subtitles. I'll definitely watch it again in the future with subs, but in all honestly, dubbed didn't take away any of the atmosphere or enjoyment.

Hohoho! Secret Santa Review

Story:

Shiki is an anime about Vampires taking over a a small town in hopes to grow their numbers.  Now, I for one can't stand Vampire stories.  Everyone always finds out about the vampires way too easily or for some reason already suspect vamipres from the start of the story.  Not Shiki.  For the first half of the show,  nobody even thinks that the dead are rising up as vampires.  This is good since they have left little to no indication of doing so and are purposfully doing things to go out of their way to make sure nobody finds out such as taking over one whole section of town over time so they have a place to keep all the new vampire buddies.  What makes this story stand out os much to me from other vampire stories is how the living go about their everyday life.  Once a few characters finally learn about the vampires, they don't just go run around trying to tell everyone.  They first attempt to get as much facts and proof as they need before showing anybody else, which later pays off.  It is also great to see the towns population wittle down every episode and watching as one of the characters try to find out why so many people are dying.

Animation:

The animation in Shiki helps set the tone of the anime as a whole.  All the vampires has things about them that stick out to make them looks the extra bit creepy.  Their eyes for one, wich range from complete blackness to small dotted red pupils.  The darkness and contrast is always fitting and makes certain scenes blend in amazingly.  

Sound:

The OST is not very uplifiting to say the least.  Most of it blends with the atmosphere that is set up in the already creepy world.  The OP's and ED's while nothing special, are still welcome at the beginning and end of every episode.  They also do well with starting and ending the episodes with the creepy vibe.

Characters:

There is a fairly large amount of characters in Shiki that the viewer will want to remember.  The two most important would be Ozaki, the towns Doctor, and Natsuno, a city boy who moved to the small town and wants nothing more but to leave one day soon.  I consider them the main focus because every other character of importance is linked to either Ozaki or Natsuno in some way.  For instance, Megumi, one of the first victims in the village is in love with Natsuno and would alwasy stare at him and even sit outside his window.  There's bountiful amounts of character development for Ozaki and Natsuno and how they handle the world changing so drastically around them.

Overall:

If you are looking for a horror series with well written characters who experience difficulties from start to finish, I would highly recommend Shiki.  While each episode may not leave off with a cliffhanger, you will want to keep watching more to find out how this story will end.

I went into this with no expectations what so ever. I had never heard of this one before and didn’t do my normal research for it so had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that it was of the supernatural and so wanted to see this for myself.

The story starts out with a woman, Megumi Shimizu, that died and then goes back about 11 days before she died. The whole time, it felt like a mystery like When They Cry and I think that’s why I fell in love with it more. Now I didn’t like this character very much when she was alive. She was a total bitch in every since of the word and always trying to dress up in these really dressed up clothing. She was mean to everyone in the town except Natsuno Yuuki who she had a very large crush on. I hated the character Masao even more then Megumi. I don’t know exactly why though, it was just one of those things that kept making me think he was going to die.

As the story goes on, it introduces us to a bunch of characters that are in the town. When they got to Toshio Ozaki, I really thought he might be related to Yuuki because there hair looks almost exactly alike.

In a way, this also turned out to be like Durarara or Baccano in the way that it hops from character to character, to show little pieces of the story. The story is fast and they show dates for what time has gone by luckily. I kind of see it as a dairy of sorts like the book Dracula. It is also very talkative, not action based although there a lot of times it has an air that something will happen and pretty much blow up. About half way threw, there was a lot more going on and it actually gets more and more fast passed.

The show luckily tries to give you enough information to know what’s going on and for you to try to figure out for yourself but just like a lot of detective shows, it doesn’t show it all.

The opening animation feels a lot like a James Bond movie with how the artwork is placed. The animation looks a little odd, but it’s hard to actually explain what is off about the animation. It seems a bit soft with not many black lines about it. A couple of characters look almost the same and seem like they are actually related but they don’t seem to show that they are related. And what is up with Natsuno’s hair? It’s all over the place and a mess. It’s like he is always walking around with a bad case of bed hair. Actually, everyone has strange stiff hair. Its ether bed head or stiff turns in the hair.

Music is pretty good, a very hunting sound and keeps the tension. This show doesn’t have any comedy really and so in turn, the music doesn’t leave you much to relax. The first opening is rather catchy but the second seems to lack just a bit. The English voices are well put and work with their characters. I found none of them to be really annoying or bothersome except one that showed up in ep 3. The guy is really creepy anyway and I’m happy he hasn’t shown up much.