Review of Shiki

Story 7/10 + epidemic, vampire, race, survival of the fittest, horror, thriller, started off really strong with a good rhythm and strong storytelling: awesome contrasting styles in the story itself (in addition to beautiful contracts in art and characters), supporting each other and heightening the experience, having quirky yet baffling details like a fluid timeline and playing with flash-backs without letting the viewer know this until a certain point, keeping you on edge constantly. The only reason this became a 7 score are these early moments where my hair literally stood on end, no cheap jump-scares and still expertly exciting. The more I think about it,the more details I notice which makes the storytelling here a true masterpiece because as much as has been put into it, it' doesn't go into overload or restrict anything to the slightest, every little thing works together. Like clockwork.
- falls a bit flat in the second half, not very original altogether, impact of the earlier episodes declines greatly as the story progresses.

Art 8/10
+ dark style, perhaps a bit crude but fits perfect with the edgy genre, nice contrast with some moe/lolita styles, especially the first few episodes are a-ma-zing when we see the vampires come to action, easily identifiable vampires (to the viewers only, not the characters themselves),
- needs a bit getting used to, doesn't always seem coherent as some have tiny eyes and then another has huge sparkly eyes, declines in quality as the series progresses.

Sound 9/10
+ superb soundtrack, silences in the perfect spots as well, and at least the OST doesn't decline as the story progresses and remains absolutely beautiful.
- in the second half of the series perhaps a bit overused 'tension' songs that didn't really fit well with what was actually happening in the story; the story or characters weren't really as nerve-wrecking as they were before and it felt like the songs were put in there in an attempt to nonetheless make them exiting.

Character 8/10
+ Characters building is quite extensive and for a bit cast if you look at the overall picture of the entire series, which is quite refreshing. Psychological implications and effects are a very strong point which made the mediocre story stand out - suddenly it made a general story you've seen several times worked out alive and ... realistic if that makes sense?
- As more characters were explored, it happened at the cost of other characters which is a great shame.

Enjoyment 7/10
+ the first half is an absolute gem and might've gotten 10/10 on its own. It's hard to make a horror story exciting without cheap tactics, and Shiki executes it to absolute perfection balancing the crude drawing style with sudden fluid animations, using the visual and audible aspects to complement each other wonderfully and heighten the experience altogether.
- The second half is nice for those who want a story with a conclusive ending, taking the close-proximity view of the characters and actions from the first half to a more elevated level at a further distance to also explore other characters and the culmination of actions. Perhaps that might've been best in between all the chaos, but I found it to be a true shame as it took away all impact the first half had dedicated so much time and effort into making it so beautifully dark.

Overall score of 8 which is entirely due to the strong impression it left at the beginning. The score for the first half would have an overall of 10/10, just to show how disappointing the second half was. My hair literally stood on end and my heart beat like crazy. If it had stopped half-way, I would probably not even be able to sleep at all. But, as a whole, not a waste of time, I'm glad I finished it.