Review of Shiki

Until maybe a decade ago vampire stories were at their prime. I, as well, used to be a big fan of such stories. In my eyes, those tales were thrilling, grasping me the whole way through and leaving me mostly utterly terrified. After hundreds of movies, books and tv series based on the vampire myth,though, vampires started to lose their original shine. They were just so overused that one could easily stop caring anymore. If anyone of you came asking me what I believed a vampire was I’m not quite sure of what my answer would be. Can they die from sunlight or do theyglitter like the sun? Are they really fearsome or do they look like they just came out of a beauty pageant? Questions like these, that many of you might have, at one point, thought, made me stop watching about vampires whatsoever. And then came Shiki, taking the vampire story onto a whole new level, returning them back to their former days of glory.

Story: 9
I think the true success of Shiki’s story is the fact that this time such a tale was told through the eyes of Japanese creators, making it effective in two particular ways. First, it was a fresh approach of a legend that belonged to different cultures than theirs, so that automatically helped the creators move off the beaten track. And then comes the slight mix with their own traditional myths of the “Okiagari”, which literally means the Risen.
Vampires in this show are just as they should be, afraid of light, can’t come out in the day without burning themselves, they don’t like holly water, charms and crosses, they drink the blood of their victims after completely hypnotizing them and they don’t fall in love with them..*ahem*
They also can’t enter a house uninvited. Then again, they have everything that a traditional vampire would be proud of, in addition to the so well know wooden stick killing method, that in contrary they so much loathe.

The myth of the undead, blood thirsty killers, this time, unfolds in a quiet, isolated village and at first look, common village, were sudden disappearances start to occur after a strange family moves in to the big mansion on the mountain. A few people are becoming aware of something out of the usual going on and that is how it all starts moving.
At first the story runs slow, just as the unaware victims continue to carry on their daily lives. So the pacing of the first part of the series might throw some of the viewers off, especially those who are fans of full time action. Well, how I saw things, this choice of pacing was indeed a clever one, not throwing the viewer into the middle of an already unfolded story, but slowly and steadily shroud him into its mystery. As it rolls, you will find yourself entangled in it, with questions that you just need to find the answers for, doubts about the actions and choices of some of the characters and some very clever twists here and there to spice up your viewing experience.
What I love about this show’s story is that it isn’t focused on the events around only one or a small group of characters, but it rather expands itself to cover the events on the whole village and its people and view the story from both sides, both the humans and the Okiagari. So, that will help you get a feel of the broader plan of what is going on. Yes, it’s quite common to expect the endless battle of humans versus vampires, but this time you get to see both sides. In fact, you might be even puzzled about actually labeling what is wrong and right, bad and good, from some point on. It’s a fight for survival, after all, and each side naturally decides in favor of their own kind.

~~ 友引 – Tomobiki Good luck, except at noon~~
A thing that’s fascinating about the story, which shows the effort of the creators, is this small detail of the dates shown at the start of each episode, that is crucial though for one to complete the puzzle. Until the 19th century Japan used a lunar calendar of six days, each having a special meaning of bringing luck or misfortune. Shiki uses this in each episode to determine what the nature of this day is, usually foreshadowing the events to follow.

Shiki always loves cliff hangers in the ending of each episode, so you will find yourselves trapped in a roller coaster viewing ride, which will be getting more and more intense until it reaches its peak. But when starting watching, you’re nowhere around guessing what would come out of all this in the very end.
I will admit that some of its final conclusions weren’t so satisfactory to me, a few things felt abruptly wrapped up, so only there, is where I deduct a point, because the ending is very crucial to me. But, of course, it always depends on what everyone expects to find as a final resolution. So all in all it was one of the most intense anime rides I’ve ever been on.

Characters: 9

Another thing that I loved about this show was its characters. Oh, they were plenty of them, and all so versatile. One can never get bored watching this, since you will find all type of characters, and you can easily pick one or two with whom you maybe will relate and follow throughout the story. A lot of people are accusing Shiki of shallow characters. My answer to them is that not every story created should be character driven, and this isn’t a story about teenage angst or a forbidden romance. You know were you got yourself into beforehand, am I wrong? So if you prefer stories focused on one character only, don't watch this.

To the rest, you've made a good choise, since you’ll find yourselves in front of many familiar types of characters, not in terms of anime norms, but relating to real life-types of people. And you won’t be the least disappointed about the depths of their personalities, despite the big number of characters existing in the show.

“What a wonderful day! No one in the village doing anything.”

Now, I don’t know if some of you might have an experience of living or even staying for a while in a small village. If you do, as I have in my vacations, then you would recognize some types of people in Shiki.
There are the small minded people that can’t compromise with thinking outside their little shells, focusing their lives entirely on their daily village routines, forgetting about the rest of the world. There are the gossipers, who of course want to know every single news of the village, since the news isn’t many anyway. There are the usual working people, who just do their jobs quietly each day. And there are also those who sit around in a chair doing nothing but watch the passers by and chit chat about mindless things. You can also find kids that want to escape this narrowed life experience and make their way to the big city and also a priest and a doctor who both try to find their own way to balance the life in the village.

When the events of bizarre deaths start to unfold, everyone will act differently according to their character and beliefs, and that is what’s the most fascinating about them. You’ll see bravery, stupidity, cunningness, understanding, fighters and whiners, some even getting advantage of the whole thing. Generally you’ll find many approaches and that is what makes the characters so enriched. Concerning most of them, you will never really learn any solid background information, and yet they feel so fleshed out and real. For a story driven show this is definitely a success.
Also, don’t forget that you’ll get to know, many of the opposing threat side of characters, the Shikis, as they all have their own unique personality to show. Being the supposedly “bad guys” who everyone fears, doesn’t mean they can’t be diverse.
All in all I’m more than satisfied from this show’s variety of characters.

The only point I deducted from this section is because of the use of some of them by the creators. I felt that characters like Natsuno, Megumi, Masao and a few others, could have been involved a little more in certain points of the story. They still are there and active, but they didn’t intertwine with each other as much as I hoped to.

Art, Animation: 10

Now this is, mostly, the section were haters of the show focus their flaming on. I won’t try to persuade anyone that what I see is more right than what they see. But then noone can try to change my way of experiencing things, respectively. That needed to be said, before I say that I found the art and animation both to be brilliant!

The art is indeed unique. I am not trying to play it cool saying that.
Unique and different doesn’t always mean it’s good. If those same looking characters were dragged and dropped into any other type of show I would at least thought the people making it tasteless. But not in this case!
The people who designed the characters knew exactly what they were doing. The faces have rough angles and the shape of their characteristics is unproportional. The hair is also so crazy that stands out from miles away. They all are like a weird cubistic imitation of some of Picasso’s craziest paintings. But were other people find this unattractive, here is exactly how this fact elevates the story. This specific oddity makes Shiki stand out, looking like an old creepy fairytail that comes out of a dusty old book or from one of those bedtime stories that a grandma used to tell her grandchildren around the fireplace. They remind me of Tim Burton’s seductive dark style and where could it fit better than in a story about vampires?

Vampires are anything but usual, they are extravagant, they are lavish but they are also fearsome and killers. So, the roughnesses of the sketches as well as the crazy colors depict the wildness of the story itself. Also the eyes of the Okiagari that don’t have pupils make it feel like you are looking inside an empty shell, as referring to them not having a human soul anymore. The backgrounds are drawn very nicely making this look really to be this enclosed village that the story describes, one that is far from civilization.
A small detail I found very beautiful is the part where the eyes of the Shiki were glowing red in the night and then their shadow slowly appeared, making it very creepy to watch.
The animation is equally good. Some movements may seem abrupt, but I think it adds more to the roughness of the story better than having gentle moves that create a smooth flow. So I really don’t find anything wrong with the animation being more rough than usual.

Music and Sound: 10

The music section is many times the most neglected in a series. As a big music lover, I hate it when, otherwise good shows, have some lame BG music and sound to support them. Sometimes I do find one or good Opening and Ending themes that stand alone though, because usually the background music of those series keeps me indifferent.
In Shiki though, the music is so brilliant that I don’t know where to start the praise from. The melodies aren’t just pretty or simply fit well, they are one with the show, the same entity. They blend so perfectly in each frame and time of the show that I’m positive Shiki wouldn’t be the same without its music score.
The first OP is mysterious, seductive, special. The second OP is eerie, magical, like a dark lament. The endings are equally seductive, particularly the second one that reminds me of music of past decades, having a passionate and also sorrowful sound.

The background music is equally awe-striking, it’s sometimes playful, sometimes harsh, others soft or sending chills down your spine. The various tracks use from natural sounds to human voices. Some voices sound like a jukebox, others chanting or making creepy but melodic sounds. Each and every single piece used, elevates the show.
As far as the voice acting is concerned, I saw a few new actors involved in this, which I find good for a change. They all did their work marvelously well, projecting each of the character’s unique personality. And then they went through many phases, having to show pain, anger, fear, scream or whisper. They all had a hard job, but pulled it off perfectly.

Enjoyment: 10

Many times during a show I find myself indifferent about what is going on with the story and the characters. Some stories manage to grab my attention back again, but usually I always experience one or two times of boredom that I just have to be patient until the good parts come in. Not with Shiki. Every time I started watching this I felt like I was glued to my screen, completely forgetting what was going on in my surroundings or how did I end up watching this at those late hours, hearing and watching nothing else but the show itself. I found myself so concerned about everyone’s fate, the art and music working like a magnet on me, that I just wanted this to go on and on as much as it was possible.

Overall: 9 - 9.5/10

For those of you who love intense experiences and look for a little more thought provoking shows Shiki will come as a real treat. It will keep you excited, at the edge of your seat, and at the same time it will make you the player of a big puzzle were you have to be very careful on what you see to finally create the whole image. What is equally cool about the whole viewing experience is that there are so many point of views from which you can observe this show that I’m sure that watching it a second time you’ll come up with different notes about it.

So if you love vampires or just love to watch a little deeper emotionally shows with a complete lack of pantie shots and silly fanservice, then this is exactly the show you’re looking for. A traditional, creepy, mystical, magical, dark, haunting and twisted fairytale. So just grab a mug of hot milk and join us near the fireplace.
Have a nice and creepy ride! :)

Thanks to everyone for reading this relatively long review. Please feel free to leave a comment on my channel with your thoughts about it or about the show.