Review of Shiki

This show is kind of like a mediocre adaptation of an early Stephen King book. It has a very interesting and intriguing setup and a ton of characters with great potential, but it doesn't hit the mark quite right and ends up being a good horror anime, but nothing spectacular outside of that. The art isn't bad, but the design for the characters is pretty ugly and just weird looking (not just with the monsters, either). Most of the music is average, nondescript, but some just seem completely out of place. The three main characters range from mediocre, to good, to great. Most of theside characters are rather forgettable, but some stand out.

In terms of being scary, this show was at its strongest at the start before hitting a climax at the end; nothing out of the ordinary for horror. This is one of the few anime that are truly "horror" that I'd say is decent. It tries, and often hits, but some potentially creepy moments are ruined by the music.

I also just wanna say that I don't really recommend this show's English dub. It lacks emotion for many characters and has odd pronunciations for Japanese words.

Overall, if you want an anime that is different from the rest, give Shiki a shot, especially if you are a fan of classic horror. It isn't the best and doesn't always hit the mark, and avoid the English dub if you can, but it serves as one of the only true horror anime out there.