Review of Shiki

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 fromtime 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.