Warning: this review contains spoilers. First impressions: Before i got into this show Id heard it was one of the best horror anime ever to come out of the anime medium. Not only that but and it has a lot of thematic depth and grey morality and hearing that kinda got me interested. Its about a small town and there odd things going down with people dying by a mysterious sickness and there apparently sighting of the recently departed hanging around town at night. Story5/10 During a normal summer in the small rural town named Sotoba all seems well. But after this new family has moved in there has been Theses case of mysterious deaths that have Been happening in the village With people dropping like flies. the local doctor Toshio is trying his best to find the root cause of these deaths with the help of his best friend the local monk named Seishin While there investigating. Local City boy Natsuno Yuuki has this feeling that someone is watching him after the mysterious death of his best friend toru and his local stalker Megumi. So are these deaths caused by some mysterious virus or is something more sinister afoot. Well spoiler alert its actually vampires. So to start off there is a general consensus in quite a few circles that anime and horror dont really mix well and feel that Shiki is no exception to that mindset because even if its a more realistic take on vampires in a modern setting. I wasnt really scared and the only reason I kept watching was that I felt was a small case of morbid curiosity to see where the story would go. Because at face value it has quite a bit going for it themewise as it talks about survival criticisms of human society and the evils of humanity. Which honestly has been done to death already at this point in time and done better but I digress. Now I feel that Shiki does a great job of building up its story the first few episodes of Shiki are probably some of the best episodes setup wise and when I first originally watched this show I had this feeling of morbid curiosity as I wondered what was going to happen next and shiki does a very good at pulling you in and getting you intrigued in a similar vein to Higurashi where you dont really know whats happening and your just along for the ride. Now when it comes to the conflict between the humans and the Shiki which is the main focus I feel from a collectivist standpoint both sides are pretty much as bad as each other in my viewpoint of morality ethics and etc. But from an individual standpoint i would say certain characters are more justified in their actions and behavior than others because most of the people in this village are to put it nicely are assholes during life and during unlife. one of the villagers who becomes a shiki is actually a pedophhie who exclusively targets little boys and one villager who is so xenophobic towards outsiders to such a degree that she would even make the ku klux klan seem tolerant by comparison so none of these people is innocent or clean as some people may think and it kinda takes away the moral ambiguity of the conflict as human/shiki seem to use this conflict to justfly there inhuman acts towards each over. Which causes the major underlying issues that I have with Shiki is that it tries to play off as an emotional series with deep themes to make it seem mature. but handling wise its anything but because it pretty much plays out like a slice of life/ soap opera with vampires and it not like I am against this more emotional driven narrative but the problem is it doesnt really work past a gimmick when they try to expand upon the story you start seeing these big holes in logic which evidently makes me not care about what happens. Like to list a few examples of things not making sense One of main themes of shiki is survival and the reason i bring this up is It was established that Shiki take at least a cup worth of blood per feeding until the person dies or becomes a shiki. yet why didnt the shiki just cycle through different people in rotation because if your a shiki who doesnt want to kill humans then surely thats a more efficient way of survive with the added bonus of not having an angry mob after you. Because whats the worst that could happen? cases of mild anaemia popping up at random. when I think about thats it kinda makes the grey morality conflict kinda Null and void and any drama that comes from it now feels forced and to make it worse. I have seen people trying to defend it by saying the shiki had no choice and the humans are truly evil for trying to defend themselves against the bloodsucking undead that will suck them dry. Another example is the main villains the Kirishiki goal of making a vampire village so that shiki can have a home and not have to worry about humans that all well and good but my question is how exactly is this vampire village going to work exactly if they dont have any blood. I know that people will say they can just kidnap people from other towns But people will notice. For the basic reason that soba doesnt the ecosystem to support such a village in the long run and to prove my point sotaba was a village with give or take 300 people and when the local shiki set up shop in the span of a few months they reduced the local population by half With an attrition rate like that they would have a better chance of making a vampire ghetto in a city than a village in the countryside. Also even though they wanted to make this vampire village they seem to be doing things that are very counterproductive. because its also established that Shiki can mind control anyone they have bitten so why didnt the shiki just bite everyone and then mind control people to do what they want. Which is more safer and easier than killing people to build up this undead population. Because having a bunch of the undead running around at night is totally not suspicious at all? The other little nitpicks i have is that this series is that I wish it had more episodes because there are actually scenes that were cut out from this series and to add insult to injury the scenes that were cut out had a lot of background details. which takes away from the experience as a whole and makes it seems hollow. I also feel that shiki supernatural elements are poorly defined as a result and also the fact the original source material never expanded upon it like what makes a person rise up as a shiki or in some cases transform into super vampires with cheat mode enabled. The only thing we know about shiki is that they defy medical science along with other laws of nature and that only the special snowflake people get to rise up or if youre super special snowflake transform. Which translates to plot convince and plot holes as the definition of special is very vague and allows anything to happen. It would have nice been if they had said that humans with certain personality traits morals and life philosophies that arent common or strays from the norm have a higher chance of becoming a Shiki because of X and Y reasons. Thats would be more grounded and it also makes you think what kind of person are these characters really underneath all the surface level social interactions and obligations but no we couldnt have depth or good writing. when you take away the creep factor and the horror element this series dose feel like twilight the animation. Characters: 6/10 There are three Main Characters in this series so Im going to talk about each of them separately rather than as a group. First main character Natsuno Yuuki is this emo/loner teenager with a heart of gold something I initially found slightly interesting and out of the main cast I could relate to him the most in some ways but which disappointed me all the more when he turned out to be by far the weakest link out of all the series mains. Even though hes most certainly better written than your usual highschool protagonist outside of that he isnt really that interesting because of his lackluster handling. To add insult to injury after 11 episode they kinda drop the ball on him and dont give him the screen time he deserves afterwards even though he continues throughout the story to play a big role. it like they didnt know what to do with his character so they decided to push him to the sidelines and also out of the main characters he is the one that gets the least development and fleshing out. he pretty much treated like background character after a certain point and I didnt really like it. Considering he had some potential because of what type of person he is and what happens to him in the series. but in practice this potential wasnt fully realized. Second main character Toshio Ozaki Who is very determined and serious about this job as the local doctor as he will go through whatever it takes to make sure his patients are safe and healthy. even if he sometimes he comes of as rough around the edges And throughout the events of the series he goes through so much pain and turmoil because for once in his life he doesnt have the answers and he cant do anything to stop these mysterious deaths and the vampires behind it. In fact his inability to stop these mysterious deaths pushes him to the braking point of where the lines of human/inhuman really start to blur for him as a person Which was very interesting and asks the question for his character how far is he willing to go to protect the villagers at the cost of his own humanity. Which he learns the hard way and has to live with his actions for the rest of his days as he almost loses everything in his blind pursuit of justice which I find quite funny in a very tragic and ironic way because a doctor duty was to protect and save lives but now you have a doctor who is now destroying and taking the unlives of the former villagers he once tried to protect. Now the last main character seishin Muroi who is the local priest and on off writer in the village. Who on outside seems like a pretty calm and wellnatured guy basically he like the total opposite of the dr Ozaki. but underneath this calm exterior lies is a very deep rooted hatred for the village that has made him and his father life miserable because of the roles there were assigned to in their local community without any choice or anyway to escape from it and he also a person with a very bleak outlook on life which was created by his environmentWhich probably makes him one of the more interesting characters in the series and also goes through some pretty nice development and fleshing out which was pushed along with his friendship with Sunako who is probably one of few individuals that truly understands him . This relationship and the dr actions eventually leads to him having an a ultimatum forced upon him He can give up his morals and save the village that he Hates or keep to his morals and pursue his only chance at freedom. Of course I am not going to tell you what choice he picked but his inner conflict to reach a conclusion was very interesting to watch and also does well from a thematic standpoint as one of the series other themes is how human society places roles on people and expect people to stick to those roles whether you want to or not. So when it comes to side characters. I feel this series sufferers from the same issue that Tokyo ghoul had where they have a lot of characters with personalities and etc but not enough time is focused on them for character fleshing out or character development and it doesnt really help when most of the supporting cast feels very distant and it hard to feel invested emotionallyespecially when the horror element of the series is banking so much for you to care about these characters. why should i feel bad or care about characters that i dont really know. the only few characters i cared about was toru who becomes consumed with guilt after murdering his best friend who tried to help him or Ritsuko the local nurse who goes out of her way not to feed on anyone because she would rather die than willingly bring harm others so she could live and these characters are the most human and some of the more realistic characters in the series. But the other shiki didnt really consider the consequences of their actions until it was to late like for example Megumi who like many of the characters were strong armed into becoming shiki yet she takes the whole vampire thing way too far. Like I understand that she has to drink blood to live and she kinda a bitch but does she really need to start enjoy killing people which also included her former loved ones like some demented sadist. I understand there was more introspection in the original source for her character but it sure as hell isnt in this anime and I think it was quite needed. It would have been interesting to see considering what she becomes. Because there still things she cares about like her onesided love/obsession with Natsuno which showcases shes isnt just a heartless monster she just kinda a bitch. Last thing I want to talk about is the kinda the main villain Sunako. Who isnt exactly evil per say she more like an antivillain because nothing in her personality or actions really scream evil to me.The goal of having a vampire village so her kind could have a place to call home and not be threatened by humans is quite a noble goal and I am pretty sure lots of people would do the same if being put in her shoes and the humanity still with her is more fleshed out with her relationship and interaction with seishin. But the problem is that even though she lived for about 100+ she has the mental capacity and foresight of a small child and doesnt really understand what exactly she putting people through to reach those goals shes similar to Peter Pan in that respect because she the girl that never truly grew up And Thats her character in a nutshell. she doesnt truly understand or feel anything for the victims of her actions because at this point her psychology is so alien and disconnected from humanity. but what I dislike is how theyre trying to make her overly cute to make her seem more innocent than she actually is and It almost feels at times that theyre trying to manipulate your emotions When It comes to her character as a whole with this very dishonest presentation of her character. Art:7/10 The animation is pretty decent and maintains a very consistent level of quality. Unfortunately the backgrounds that match it leave a lot to be desired. One of the series greatest strengths is the way it occasionally changes the color scheme for certain scenes of tension to create an atmosphere that benefits them. This is by far the most effective visual element the show implements as it adds a lot more energy to the series as a whole which also helps you get through some of the slower parts. The artstyle is fine but I think its a bit too cartoony and over the top at times with the characters expressions which conflicts with the series dark and ominous tone. The artstyles greatest sin though is in the character designs. While not bad on their own theyre probably the worst thing they couldve picked for this show. I mean neon pink hair purple eyes and hairstyles that look straight out of the 80s arent exactly the best thing for a horror show. Im not even joking when I say theres a character that looks like he has cat ears making him perfect husbando material but simultaneously impossible to take seriously. Details like this make the show lose all credibility as a serious show and instead make it look extremely silly and jarring. Sound: 7/10 First off the opening songs are alright to listen to on their own but their pop and rock style doesnt really fit the type show that Shiki is. Even though the lyrics fit the series well that still doesnt fix the fact that the openings dont fit the tone the series is going for. The ending songs while not really the type of music Im more partial towards fit the series way better because theyre more depressing and ominous tone. One notable nitpick is that the openings visuals spoil some major plot points through painfully obvious symbolism. This is unfortunate as it serves to kill a lot of the tension and suspense that is crucial to such a show dead. The ost by Yasuharu Takanashi who also worked on Fairy Tail Naruto Shippuden and Sailor Moon Crystal is pretty decent both as a standalone and in context. It more often than not does an incredible job at building up this creepy eerie and dare I say subtle atmosphere that the show desperately needs. As a matter of fact I had a member of my family listen to it and she said that it reminds her a lot of the atmosphere that permeates throughout the main body of acclaimed author Stephen Kings novels. Sub and dub were alright I didnt really have any complaints about it. Enjoyment: 6/10 Im a big fan of more or less anything with vampires social commentary gray mortality and massive amounts of gore so needless to say Shiki was right up my alley despite the fact that Ive seen series execute the same ideas it brings up better. Besides its basic element that appeal to me though the ending 46 episodes contain some of the best unintentional comedy moments Ive seen in quite some time. This for the most part but not exclusively because it just somehow turns into a massive bloodbath including a huge forest fire people going on massive paranoia induced freak outs and acts of brutality and cruelty that rival Phantom Blood in that special hammy goodness that we all know and love. Thanks to these final episodes I was stuck smiling with glee as the shows cast would turn on each other like wild animals. Overall: 6/10 Shiki is a very mixed bag for me. As a horror series its pretty standard for anime in how much it underplays the strengths of the genre. As a thought piece that delves into the diverse and opposing perspectives of the shows cast for the purpose of blurring the lines of the common perception of morality it only does so to a rather shallow degree. This is mostly due to the hamfisted nature of the shows drama that mostly just comes across as overplayed and pointless with only the main characters and a few of the side characters aiding in stopping the whole thing from completely falling apart. If youre the type of person that doesnt like senseless gore and the comically pretentious execution of relevant moral dilemmas then you probably shouldnt watch this show. Nevertheless as far as series with vampires go Shiki isnt that bad relative to what other series have done with them and even though I have been quite negative about it I feel that shiki is a fun ride and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a good time waster. Special thanks to my paid in Yugioh cards and slightly pissed editor Lonecrit for his help on this project.