Number of episodes: 22 + 2 OVA
What Wikipedia says: "Shiki (Eng. Corpse Demon) is a horror novel by Japanese novelist Fuyumi Ono, originally published...in 1998. An anime adaptation by Daume began broadcasting on July 8, 2010. The story takes place in a particularly hot summer in the nineties, in a small quiet village called Sotoba. A series of mysterious deaths begin to spread in the village, at the same time when a strange family moves into the long abandoned Kanemasa mansion. Toshio Ozaki, dean of the only hospital in Sotoba, initially suspects an epidemic. But as investigations continue and the deaths begin to pile up, he becomes convinced that they are the work of the undead plaguing the village. A young man named Natsuno Yuuki, who hates living in the village, begins to be pursued and surrounded by death."
What tTPO says (mild spoilers of a very general nature): Shiki is an interesting twist on the currently popular vampire genre. The animation is smoothly done with appealing character drawing though I know of a few people somewhat disturbed by the eyes of the vampires. The story opens slowly, but don't be mislead by the walking pace of the early episodes. They are a reflection of the slow pace of life in Sotoba, and necessary to start introducing the massive cast (which seems to cover most of the small villages occupants). Thankfully, there are a more manageable number of main characters to follow. Events turn bad only slowly with the tension gradually building in a somewhat Shakespearean way culminating in Dr Osaki proving he is one of the hardest bastards ever to hit anime. (There is another main character who is the yin to his yang and turns out to be one of the most spineless characters anime has seen for some time. But that is the sort of extremes typical for this series.) After that the conflict is well and truly on right to the end of the series and the body count on all sides is staggering. As in most wars, there no real winners and the moral high ground, initially held by the humans is all but left abandoned by the end of the series.
There are many striking moments during the conflict (no punches are pulled) including one of the blackest humorous deaths I can remember in the last episode - you will know it when you see it. Another interesting aspect of Shiki, courtesy of Dr Ozaki in the early part of the series, is the consideration of vampirism as a disease. This scientific approach (and being trained in such things his science is pretty solid for a piece of fiction) appears to fuel his apparently dispassionate attitude, which contrasts with the ironically more emotional approach of his adversaries. All this irony just adds to the central question of the series - just who are the monsters here?
How about the music?: The music is distinctive and works very well for the series. The OP1 reflected the tension in the earlier episodes and the ED1 the sadness. The second half series songs are a bit more dramtic, with the OP2 a faster paced more Evanescence-esqe number (not my style but still very appropriate for the increasing action in the series). The reflective but pulsing ED2 is probably my least favourite, but in amongst the good company here, that does not mean much and it remains orders of magnitude above much of the generic J-rock dross that pollutes the credits of anime.
So how does it end? (Spoiler Free): Plot heavy series need good endings. Shiki does not disappoint. The series is wrapped up well in episode 22 with the two OVA filling in some of the missing details of some of the events only heard about by the main characters in the main body of the series. There are only a few minor plot points left unexplained. These are easily forgiven.
Overall Grade: Grade A (Compulsory viewing). This is a headstrong, deliberately paced, plot driven anime with strong characterisations within its massive cast (which keeping track of would be my only small complaint). Avoid if you are not prepared for significant violence, and a less than optimistic view of humanity. For everyone else, it is like a slow-motion car crash, and hard not to watch.
What Wikipedia says: "Shiki (Eng. Corpse Demon) is a horror novel by Japanese novelist Fuyumi Ono, originally published...in 1998. An anime adaptation by Daume began broadcasting on July 8, 2010. The story takes place in a particularly hot summer in the nineties, in a small quiet village called Sotoba. A series of mysterious deaths begin to spread in the village, at the same time when a strange family moves into the long abandoned Kanemasa mansion. Toshio Ozaki, dean of the only hospital in Sotoba, initially suspects an epidemic. But as investigations continue and the deaths begin to pile up, he becomes convinced that they are the work of the undead plaguing the village. A young man named Natsuno Yuuki, who hates living in the village, begins to be pursued and surrounded by death."
What tTPO says (mild spoilers of a very general nature): Shiki is an interesting twist on the currently popular vampire genre. The animation is smoothly done with appealing character drawing though I know of a few people somewhat disturbed by the eyes of the vampires. The story opens slowly, but don't be mislead by the walking pace of the early episodes. They are a reflection of the slow pace of life in Sotoba, and necessary to start introducing the massive cast (which seems to cover most of the small villages occupants). Thankfully, there are a more manageable number of main characters to follow. Events turn bad only slowly with the tension gradually building in a somewhat Shakespearean way culminating in Dr Osaki proving he is one of the hardest bastards ever to hit anime. (There is another main character who is the yin to his yang and turns out to be one of the most spineless characters anime has seen for some time. But that is the sort of extremes typical for this series.) After that the conflict is well and truly on right to the end of the series and the body count on all sides is staggering. As in most wars, there no real winners and the moral high ground, initially held by the humans is all but left abandoned by the end of the series.
There are many striking moments during the conflict (no punches are pulled) including one of the blackest humorous deaths I can remember in the last episode - you will know it when you see it. Another interesting aspect of Shiki, courtesy of Dr Ozaki in the early part of the series, is the consideration of vampirism as a disease. This scientific approach (and being trained in such things his science is pretty solid for a piece of fiction) appears to fuel his apparently dispassionate attitude, which contrasts with the ironically more emotional approach of his adversaries. All this irony just adds to the central question of the series - just who are the monsters here?
How about the music?: The music is distinctive and works very well for the series. The OP1 reflected the tension in the earlier episodes and the ED1 the sadness. The second half series songs are a bit more dramtic, with the OP2 a faster paced more Evanescence-esqe number (not my style but still very appropriate for the increasing action in the series). The reflective but pulsing ED2 is probably my least favourite, but in amongst the good company here, that does not mean much and it remains orders of magnitude above much of the generic J-rock dross that pollutes the credits of anime.
So how does it end? (Spoiler Free): Plot heavy series need good endings. Shiki does not disappoint. The series is wrapped up well in episode 22 with the two OVA filling in some of the missing details of some of the events only heard about by the main characters in the main body of the series. There are only a few minor plot points left unexplained. These are easily forgiven.
Overall Grade: Grade A (Compulsory viewing). This is a headstrong, deliberately paced, plot driven anime with strong characterisations within its massive cast (which keeping track of would be my only small complaint). Avoid if you are not prepared for significant violence, and a less than optimistic view of humanity. For everyone else, it is like a slow-motion car crash, and hard not to watch.
Hello tTPO,
ReplyDeleteAgree with your review. Really digged this Anime. Slow start, but that's just the warm up for some seriously twisted plots and turns as it progresses.
Cheers