Review of Shiki

beginning note: I'm not a review person really, but seeing how so many people wrote lame things in their reviews about Shiki I just had to write something. Really,most of the reviews that have small scores are saying that the plot is not original and it's Higurashi rip-off. Well if you're asking me, those people haven't really seen the show, and the Higurashi rip-off proves it -_-' oh and there are small spoilers so if you don't like spoilers be sure ti finish Shiki before reading this review. Story 9: I personally love it. At first I was lost with all those deaths but soon after thatthe mystery started to reveal to me. I find Shiki very similar to Stephen King's Salem's Lot. That is the only place where I've seen some real vampire action before, and that's why I give the story 9 of 10. I'd say that compared to Salem's Lot, Shiki is much more deeper and emotional. Those who have seen Shiki and really understand it, will see my point. The first part is about all those creatures in the night but somewhere near the end, we have the villagers drown in fear,and when human is afraid, it can be more scary than any vampire out there, I really love the fact that human ugliness and darkness are shown in the story. Yeah we have Vampires, but they don't kill of pleasure, they kill because they need to feed themselves, they kill because they want to make the village their base where they can live isolated..basically they kill for survival. Humans on the other hand, when they'll find out the truth will decide to defend the village, and that's ok so far 'cause it's logical...but we do have scenes where actually people start going crazy and even start killing human beings....like I said ugliness and darkness of human mind.

Art 9:

The art was different compared with other anime I've seen,and I love different kind of art. The only thing that bothered me were some crazy hairstyles which were disgusting and didn't fit with the story IMO -_-' I was satisfied with the effects. I mean this is not a magical genre so don't expect something shiny or dunno swords of light, or this is not a paranormal thing so there are no ghosts that will shine around...I guess it all depends from which point of view you'll see it. For a Vampire anime, with lots of deaths, in everyday village, I find it perfect.

Sound 10:

I love Shiki OST. The music in the anime was awesome. It gave scary and sad feeling, which is perfect for this kind of anime. The openings were really fun to watch...I mean you don't see so much people in one horror opening like you do in Shiki XD also ahh the dark feeling of the 1st opening, it was really enjoyable. At first I didn't like the 2nd opening, don't get me wrong but my ears were bleeding :D but I got used to it and now I'm loving it. Ending songs were cool as well.

Characters 10:

I must say that Shiki surprised me. There are so many characters in the opening, so it was something to be expected, but usually there are more supporting characters and the story is focused more on the main characters when we see that many people in the opening. Shiki is not one of those stories.
Every character that was shown in the anime was clearly defined, which made the story more enjoyable. Yes we have two main protagonists, but in the anime it's not all about them.It's all about the village and people that are living in it.

Enjoyment 10:

Well not many anime can hold me down to my chair and make me watch them like crazy. I was hooked on Shiki from the 1st moment. I'm a mystery/horror lover so this was like a joke to me, since usually those type of genre in the movie/anime world are really lame and not very original. So I did a little research and find out that Ghost Hunt and Shiki have the same creator Ono Fuyumi and I thought WOW :)) They are both so different but really awesome and intelligent stories.

Overall 10:

I don't have a heart to give it anything smaller than that. Shiki is awesome story that deserves no less. If you love a great mystery and intelligent horror story (Ghost Hunt, Ghost Hound etc.), that actually is logical you should definitely try it. But don't try it if you are a blinded Higurashi fan..I mean I do love Higurashi but the only word that I'll ever use to describe it it'll be the word "SICK". Don't get me wrong but when it comes to real mystery/horror masterpiece Shiki wins all the way.

~ helpful or not helpful,I really don't care. I'd probably be attacked by Higurashi fans lol :D But nooo they can't hide the truth from the real mystery lovers ;)