Review of Shiki

*Everybody who reads this: PLEASE understand that this is my opinion, and even though you might not agree, I have an opinion too, and I would like it to be respected, just how you expect to have your opinion respected. Just because I thought that something was better than you thought or worse than you thought, doesn't mean that I did a "Bad review". If I did a "Bad Review" than I wouldn't have cared to make a review in the firstplace. Also, I can understand if I might have said something that offended you, upset you, or whatever, but I literally can't quite helpthat. I certainly can make a review that deserves "Constructive Criticism", but I certainly don't intend on EVER making a "Bad Review" of anything. Anyway, rant over. Onto another review.

Have you ever watched a vampire anime, and thought that it was just going to be awful and somewhat reminiscent of Twilight? Then watch this and see for yourself, because I was VERY surprised when I saw this. I thought it was going to be a very stupid anime, and I was DEAD wrong (No pun intended).

The Story was about a small village in rural Japan, isolated from most parts of developed society, like the city or the town a few miles away. Everything in the village was fine, until a new family moved into the new Mansion that was built on top of the hill overlooking the village. One day, Megumi, a girl seeking a new life in the big city, went up there to see what its like and wasn't seen again until she was nearly dead. The strange occurrence of people getting sick with a mysterious disease baffled the village doctor and his nurses. It continued to baffle everybody. More and more people ended up like Megumi. The doctor was baffled and started looking into it. More and more strange things keep occurring and before you know it, many of the people that have been known and loved in the village either have died, moved away, or were stricken with grief over the fact that their loved ones have died. This plot was very intriguing, because I literally was baffled and I couldn't quite tell what was going to happen next at all. it was literally like one of the biggest mysteries of all time, except for the fact that once you know what the dead people were, you knew at least some of the same attributes of a vampire were the same, but they were different in several different aspects. Also, there were "Special" vampires that could look like normal humans and could walk out in the sun too. That was also very cool. (9/10)

The art was simply amazing. It didn't quite look as good at different moments when the "vampires" were walking around at night or appeared at night, at different times. But it just simply looked amazing. Even the blood looked realistic, at times, and that was also cool. (9/10)

The music in this was simply astonishing. It may have been the same song played in the anime, but my word, they used different pitches and tones for the song to fit different settings and situations. The openings and endings were great too, but nowhere near as good as the music within the anime. (10/10)

The Characters were probably the weakest part of the anime, but they are still very well done, for the most part. My favorite was the Doctor, and he literally was one of the smartest people in the village, understandably so. He knew how to combat the situation in a way that befitted science. However, you get the contrast of ideals with his best friend, the priest at the temple, who tried to welcome and accept the vampires as living creatures as well. The priest wasn't really even as great as the doctor, but he sure did play his part well and seem like an individual. All the other characters were great overall, but some of the supporting characters were literally characters I despised and was glad that they had died. You could find some trope of people within this village to at least sympathize with and that is what makes them great overall. Like, I didn't particularly like Megumi very much, but it just was unfortunate that she had to become a vampire. (8/10)

Overall, this anime left me BAFFLED and STUNNED at how good it was. It wasn't the absolute best anime out there, but it was SO much better than I expected. Literally, I was left guessing, for the most part, at what would happen next, because they used the story and the characters in a way that helped to add some creepiness and yet some somberness to it. You didn't know who was going to die next, until maybe later on, when it became more apparent whom was on who's side. (10/10) for enjoyment and (9/10) overall.