Review of Shiki

Overview: "Shiki" is yet another anime based on a series of novels by Fuyumi Ono, the same person who wrote the novels of "The Twelve Kingdoms" and "Ghost Hunt". It certainly shows as well, as "Shiki" does to horror stories what "The Twelve Kingdoms" did to isekais, providing a highly nuanced take on the horror genre that you rarely find in any form of media even nowadays. Overall, however, I would say that "Shiki" has held considerably better than its older sister over the years, with any of the problems it has being largely inherent rather than the result of not aging well. Story (8/10): The setting for"Shiki" is the fictional Japanese village Sotaba, a sleepy village in countryside miles away from anywhere, with nothing standout about it besides a medieval-looking castle on a hill. During one hot summer, a mysterious family moves into the castle, and not long after that, a string of mysterious deaths begins to strike the village, with not even the village's doctors begin able to figure out the cause. It soon becomes apparent that these two events are no coincidence, and there is a lot more to these new residents than meets the eye. Eventually, the people of Sotaba come to realise that they are under threat from a race of vampiric beings called Shiki, and they will have to take very drastic measures if they wish to survive the coming weeks.

One thing you'll notice right away about "Shiki" is that it's an ensemble piece, which is made apparent when the very first character to get some focus and development is also the first to be killed, though she doesn't stay dead due to how Shiki operate. In general, while they're never actually called such, Shiki (which is translated as "corpse demon") have a lot in common with vampires- they're vulnerable to sunlight, they can't enter buildings unless they're invited and they turn people into them by biting them. Given that stories where vampires are completely different from how they were originally portrayed tend to be the norm rather than the exception these days, there's something oddly refreshing about a story that portrays them a lot closer to the original legend, though of course there are still some differences. Above all else, Shiki aren't necessarily evil, or at least not all of them are. Like any good deconstruction, "Shiki" starts off appearing to be a typical example of its genre only to later reveal itself to be anything but, with the conflict seeming like a typical "humans vs. monsters" feud at first, but overtime you start to ask yourself more and more just who the real monster is, or if there even IS a real monster. Essentially, what "Tokyo Ghoul" attempted but largely failed at, "Shiki" very much succeeds in doing.

All of that being said, the story does take a while to really get going; for starters, when the deaths first start, it is believed (understandably but frustratedly) that they are the result of some kind of epidemic, and it isn't until about a third of the way through that someone finally begins to understand that what's happening in the village is NOT natural. Ultimately, the series does get better little by little as it goes on, but even late into the series there were still a few scenes that annoyed or bored me, particularly when they revolved around characters I didn't like, of which there were a fair few. Overall, though, the plot did keep me intrigued all the way to the end, and while the conclusion wasn't exactly to my tastes, it still felt like the only way the series could possibly have ended, and personally I wouldn't change it.

Art & Animation (8/10):
"Shiki" was animated by one of the lesser-known studios around, that being Studio Daume. As such, the series is good-looking overall, but the characters and environments are all fairly standardly-drawn and the animations are serviceable but won't leave you in awe or anything like that. What felt very out-of-place, however, was the hairstyles. Ridiculous hair is hardly rare in anime, but "Shiki" manages to take it to a whole new level, to the point that it would honestly take less time to list the characters who DON'T have implausible-looking hair, which looks especially odd in such a dark and dramatic horror story. Overall, the series does look good, but far from fantastic, though the quality is consistent if nothing else.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Shiki"'s music is outstanding, composed as it is by Yasuharu Takanashi of "Fairy Tail" fame. The series features a lot of extremely moody and atmospheric tracks that really make you understand just what kind of series you're watching. The two openings and two ending themes are particular highlights, with me never skipping any of them, and I honestly don't have a favourite between them for the simple fact that all four of them are brilliant. The voice acting is excellent as well, with John Burgmeier, Jerry Jewel, Cherami Leigh and David Wald delivering great performances as Seishin, Natsuno, Sunako and Toshio respectively, and the dub cast in general having plenty of great names including Colleen Clinkenbeard, Alexis Tipton, Tia Ballard, J. Michael Tatum and Ian Sinclair for a very abridged list. As a whole, the sound design is easily the show's highlight.

Characters (7.5/10):
Since Natsuno Koide is the character we see most of early in the series, I'll start by talking about him. When first introduced, Natsuno comes off as very cold, aloof and uncaring, to the point that his reaction to learning that a girl has died is that he no longer has to close his window. The only person he's shown to be friends with is a boy a few years older than him named Tohru Mutou, and everybody gets along with him. Overtime, however, it becomes clear that much of his attitude is due to frustration with his life, as he hates living in a rundown village like Sotaba due to the fact that he used to live in the city, combined with growing up under a pair of idiotic parents who think that their way is the only way of doing things, to the point that they never officially married because they don't believe in it. Furthermore, while Natsuno can be pretty rude to most people he talks to, even those who are nothing but nice to him, he never really goes out of his way to antagonise anyone, instead keeping to himself until others approach him. And when push comes to shove, he actually proves himself to be one of the show's most likeable characters, as he always stays true to what he believes in no matter how much people try to tempt him, which is very commendable. Sadly, his role ends up being greatly diminished in the second half of the series, and overall he doesn't get that much character development.

Next up, we have my favourite character in the series, Seishin Muroi, the village's monk who also writes novels in his spare time. On the surface, Seishin is polite, gentle, kind, and respectful to the people of Sotoba, and rarely gets angry at anyone. While his kindness is genuine, it's shown later that he's actually deeply disillusioned with his role as a monk, as it's a role that was chosen for him at birth and forces him to preach a lot of things that he doesn't fully buy into. While not outright stated, this is the likely reason why he took up being an author as a side job, which in turn enables him to bond with the leader of the Shiki, Sunako, who has read and greatly enjoys his stories. Above all else, Seishin is probably one of the only characters who actually understands what kind of story he's actually in, in that he's one of the few characters to try and understand both sides of the conflict; he comes to realise that neither side is truly good or evil, and most of them are just trying to survive, and draws his own conclusions based on the actions of those around him. This makes him by far one of the show's most open-minded characters, since much of the story's conflict is caused by people's inability or just plain refusal to understand each other. Add in the fact that he goes through a fair amount of character development, both for better and for worse, and he ultimately ends the series as probably the story's most complex character, even if I can't say I agreed with all of the decisions he made.

The last of the three primary male characters is Toshio Ozaki, the head doctor of Sotaba and the lifelong best friend of Seishin, with whom he has a closer relationship with than his own wife, who doesn't appear to live with him and I honestly couldn't figure out why they were even married. At the start of the series, Toshio is easily the most proactive character, being the one attempting to figure out what's going on in the village and one of the first villagers to suspect that the deaths are being caused by supernatural phenomena. However, the more desperate he becomes to save the village, the more humanity he loses in the process, and overtime he starts to engage in increasingly ruthless and assholeish behaviour. The fact that he's been trained as a doctor, and so must have taken some kind of oath to do no harm, makes a lot of his actions later in the series come off as especially jarring, and overtime I found it harder and harder to like him, though I DID understand and sympathise with him.

While she doesn't appear as often as the male leads, Sunako is nevertheless part of the main cast, and is a very complicated character. She's the leader of the Shiki and the instigator of the plot, but it's debateable if she's THE villain of the story. This is due to the fact that she's actually one of the more sympathetic Shiki, as she's only doing what she has to in order to survive, or at least what she THINKS she has to do in order to survive. She also serves as the conscience to one of her subordinates, in that she's the only reason he has any kind of restraint. Sadly, it's very hard to talk about Sunako in detail since doing so would risk giving away the entire plot. In general, while most characters are somewhere in the grey area in terms of morality, there are a few who have next to no redeeming qualities whatsoever, a prime example being Megumi Shimizu, who can easily be summed up as a much less sympathetic Yuno Gasai (or rather, Yuno is a much more sympathetic Megumi, since Megumi existed first). What's more is that the fact that there are so many characters in a 22-episode series (24 if you count the bonus episodes, which you should) means that many of the characters only get the bare minimum amount of characterization... and that's if they're lucky.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
Really, this cannot be stressed enough; "Shiki" isn't just a horror story, it's a deconstruction of horror stories. As such, it should go without saying that, while it may be exciting and suspenseful, it's also extremely bleak, with a dark, gritty tone and deaths too numerous to list, both of those who deserve it and those who definitely don't. What's more is that the series goes with the rather cynical interpretation of humanity that people will do anything to survive when backed into a corner, regardless of their original personality, which may rub you the wrong way depending on your worldview.

Overall:
"Shiki" is far from being free of problems, but it is still easily one of the better horror stories out there, and definitely one of the most original. It has deep, layered characters, a complex, interesting and suspenseful plot, fantastic music and voice acting and serviceable art and animation. Sure, some may find the bizarrely weird character designs off-putting and those who don't like horror would do well to stay well away from it, but if you're a horror lover or want a more unique take on the genre, then "Shiki" is a series that you will not regret spending your time on.

Score:
8+8+9+7.5+7.5=40/50=8.0/10