Review of Shiki

Set in an isolated region where villages and farms are spread out across the land, an ominous castle sits on a plateau overseeing its rolling fields. Shiki is a story of opposing factions (the humans against the vampires), with many talking heads coloring the story from both sides. The first driving theme of Shiki is utter despair, not only towards the vampires but towards the institutions that have failed the people. However, halfway through, the sole town doctor, in an attempt to save his almost defunct people, incites a revolution; the thematic switch is incredibly satisfying in its suddenness, and Shiki's final episodes feel likea train achieving peak speed.