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Shiki Shiki |
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Atria35's Review Unfortunately, Shiki didn't get me from the opening. The theme song is one of the least frightening, least atmospheric, most blunt and obvious ones I've ever seen. Too bad, since immediately after that it so clearly conveys the tension the characters have. Megumi is dying to get out of the town, while Natsuno just doesn’t care. The town doctor is dealing with a bunch of deaths that have no explanation, while the junior monk is dealing with the stress of being stalled in one of his stories and having to deal with an unusual amount of deaths in the village. Each episode brings you into a little more of the story, with the Shiki gradually being revealed, seeing how they start taking over the village, how the families are affected, how the affected are controlled, and what’s going on in the minds of the Shiki. This goes a route that few vampire stories today do- it brings in the various feelings of different Shiki, from those who are happy to be murderers, to those who merely want to be with their loved ones forever, to those who are tortured by how they must survive, and those who refuse to become killers because of the shame they would feel. At the same time, you see how the few who do recognize what’s happening deal with the Shiki invading the town, while the other villagers scoff at them and rationalize the events. There are a few downsides to the interesting story- the pace for the first half is pretty slow. Apparently, they animated one chapter per episode. For some, this will prolong the tension that is in the episodes- some won’t even feel bored. For others, this will drag out the story and prolong it more than necessary. Even so, with the 14th episode and the last 5 episodes, there is definite payoff. You get a very good idea of what can and can’t kill the Shiki, as well as finally seeing the bloodbath that a vampire hunt can become. You get a definite look at good and evil in them, with the villagers becoming the predators instead of prey, and in some cases becoming monsters that are just as bad as the ones they’re hunting. Unfortunately, this didn’t have a very conclusive ending. You see the destruction of most of the Shiki, the destruction of what the villagers were trying to save, but the ending implies that things aren’t quite over between the Shiki and the villagers. Violence/Gore- The violence gets very graphic, with episode 14 all about finding out how you can kill a vampire in great detail, showing various surgeries and really more torture than anything else. The last 5 episodes are about hunting them and anyone who might be associated with them down and killing them. Lots of blood and death, such as having stakes being driven through hearts, some bodies being hacked to pieces, and one Shiki’s head being crushed before she was staked. There's also a few people who are discovered after they have died, and their bodies are desicated/decayed. There are some deaths that can be attributed to the vampires. Theological Themes- There are vampires. It's all about vampires. One of the main characters is heir to a temple. |
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Added: March, 2012 |