Review of Shiki
Tl:DR review: Still a better vampire story then Twilight. Shiki tried hard to present a sort of a grey world where there was no clear cut good and bad and both sides were justified in their actions. Well it tried.. But it failed terribly. From the opening to the almost 18 episodes, all the vampires are shown to be these cold, calculating killers who are methodically exterminating an entire town and all of a sudden after episode 18, the show asks us to feel bad for them. Why? Because humanity decided to fight back. Yeah thats it. The show is peppered with pointless philosophy whichis prattled on by a fucking retarded no-balls priest. This shitty priest is so addled with the retarded philosophy he spouts that he goes on about how humans shouldn't judge the actions of vampires when there are people dying by the dozens day by day. Great job priest. To add to this irony, this fucker decides that joining the vampires makes the most sense because "no one understands him like Sunako" Dude was probably just a closeted lolicon.
Lets not even get started on the Vampires. They waltz into the town and systematically start wiping out the populace and yet somehow they are tragic, misunderstood creatures. Yeah right. Seems pretty black and white to me. Oh and the hierarchy makes absolutely no sense. Why in the blue hell is Sunako the leader when she is neither wise nor good at fighting? By all accounts she is utterly average. But muh loli vampire mascot.
The show does nothing to make the vampires relatable. Megumi was a spoilt, self-entitled teen who remained the same albiet more psychotic post death, Tohru was a somewhat likeable guy who becomes a wailing cry baby post death, Nao was a loving mother and wife who systematically kills her son, husband and in-laws post death and Masao was cowardly dick pre and post death. Why the fuck should I care for any of them? Ohh bu-bu-but humans will killed them.. good fucking riddance.
The show is saved from being an utter trainwreck by a decently characterized town doctor Ozaki who seems to be the only one who actually acts like a normal person would and its easy to get behind him. The human side is generally relatable. A close knit village decides to resort to violence when faced with the threat of extermination. I can not only relate, I also wholeheartedly support their actions. They didn't start the fight, they didn't kill anyone. They lived their lives peacefully until vampires came in and forced them to fight. Bu-bu-but they are violent. Well you should thought about that before killing half the village shouldn't you.
Character models is alright. A number of them sport outrageous hairstyles that defy the very laws of gravity and physics. There is nothing to write about in terms of animation. Its serviceable. The music in parts is surprisingly good.
In spite of all its shortcomings, I founds myself wanting to watch more and finish the show. The story is deeply flawed but in spite of it, dare I say enjoyable. The last few episodes are essentially a gore fest where they try so hard to portray the humans as bloodthirsty, violent creatures where in fact they are simply fighting for their existence. Overall a good decent watch.