Shiki - Episode 21.5

As per the first of its two special Blu-Ray only instalments, episode 21.5 of Shiki (which slots between episodes twenty-one and twenty-two, in case you hadn't figured it out) takes on a side story from the main events of the show's final few episodes to add some individual flavour (albeit a decidedly brutal one) to proceedings.

While episode 20.5 dealt with its immediate chronological surroundings, this second bonus episode takes a broader view as we follow it mostly through the eyes of Motoko Maeda.  Indeed, before we know it the clock is turned back to before the threat of the Risen was anything more than a folk tale, as we soon learn that Motoko is a doting mother - perhaps overly so as she frets over the safety of her offspring and generally worries too much as a whole.

It's this personality trait that looms large over the episode as it progresses and the "epidemic" begins to take hold in the village - first Motoko's father dies, but it's only when her husband is taken ill and passes away do things really begin to unravel.  As time goes by and the rest of her family succumb to the Risen (unbeknownst to her of course), so Motoko breaks down, teetering on and then passing the brink of insanity as she almost literally loses her mind.  By the time the truth has been outed to the village and the hunt for the Shiki begins, she's little more than a vengeance-fuelled husk who blames her father for everything and cares about nothing more than somehow getting her revenge.

Although this episode doesn't have quite the same sharp, non-judgemental analysis of the human condition as it relates to both the living and undead, this second bonus instalment is nonetheless another grotesquely compelling take on its core scenario powered along by its largely individual focus to produce a disturbing and occasionally downright chilling depiction of a woman's complete mental breakdown.  As such depictions go it is perhaps a little over-the-top, but it nonetheless adds another layer to the show's horror mantel to prove its worth as more than just a frivolous bonus episode, and again coming into the episode "cold" rather than as part of a week by week viewing of the series itself only serves as a stark reminder of just how brutal and unremitting the series could be.  I'm sure I've said this before, but Shiki really is horror "done right", and these additional episodes have certainly been a powerful reminder of what it is capable of achieving.

Shiki - Episode 20.5

If we're honest, Shiki isn't the kind of series that really needed any bonus episodes - its main story was delivered more than proficiently, and it certainly isn't the kind of show that has room for a slice of life spin-off it's fair to say.  Nonetheless, here we are with the first of two additional episodes, with this particular instalment slotting in between episodes twenty and twenty-one of the series proper.

This brings us to the point in the series where the townspeople are now all too aware of the threat of the Risen, and thus are slap-bang in the middle of exterminating them all one by one.  More specifically, this episode tackles this cat and mouse pursuit from two angles - that of Nao Yasumori on the side of the Shiki, and from the viewpoint of café owner Hasegawa on behalf of the living.  While the opening to the episode flashes back to see the former chatting merrily to the latter whilst drinking coffee, we soon move back to the present to find Nao and her group of Shiki cornered in a series of underground drains beneath the village.

From this point forth, the episode brings you everything you might expect from the latter segment of this series, as we see the initially wary villagers sent to flush out the Risen in the tunnels gain first confidence, followed by a blasé attitude towards those they have to drive stakes into the heart of to the point where some of them actually begin to enjoy this opportunity to settle old scores and the like.  On the flip side of this, the initially frightened Shiki have no choice but to attack their pursuers as they find themselves cornered, before even this fails and Nao in particular is left as little more than sobbing wreck of regret and sorrow, although even this isn't enough to overtake her simple, overbearing will to live.

Having come into this episode cold after six months without watching or even really thinking about this series, the full horror of Shiki and what it depicts hit me... hard.  As it progresses and its violence more bloody, brutal and eventually tortuous so I found myself more and more emotionally affected and disturbed by it - and not just by the horrific scenario, but also by the fact that the reactions of the characters we see here feel so believable.  I never really noted it while watching the series proper, but this particular episode really struck me on account of how I could genuinely imagine this kind of scenario playing out in a given set of circumstances, where even former friends could take enjoyment from seeing one another killed in the name of being different.  As is also par for the course from Shiki's later episodes, there are also plenty of moral questions to ponder here, most pertinently surroudning Hasegawa - yes, he perhaps respectably in comparison to his comrades, but does his unwillingness to see the Risen suffer mean anything when he quietly lets those around him commit atrocities without a word?  It's food for thought, but for the unprepared by warned - it's a tough chunk to swallow.

Shiki - Episode 22 (Completed)

So, at last we reach the end-game for Shiki, with the Risen on the brink of being wiped out completely; with Sunako on the run and Muroi injured, it seems like there's nowhere left to run for the remaining major players in this story.

This is certainly the case for Megumi - having introduced us to both the series and the village it resides in, we see her "life" brought to an end in a torturous and painful fashion that it's almost impossible not to wince at whilst watching it.  Is it a fair end for such a self-centred individual?  Well, that's another discussion to add to the huge amount of philosophical discussions one can have about this series.

By the time of Megumi's demise, we're also well aware that a raging fire has started at Yamairi, and it quickly becomes clear that its fast spread and direction means that it's going to wipe out the village that Ozaki and company has fought so hard to protect.  In short, the climax to the series looks set to be the destruction of everything in near-absolute terms, with no real silver lining to this cloud.  As things wrap up however, we still have a final face-off between Natsuno and Tatsumi to consider, while Sunako's fate also hangs in the balance until the very end and a timely intervention by Muroi; one which grants us one of the few positive moments to come out of this climax, if indeed you can view it as a positive at all.

Depressing and difficult though it is to watch, this finale of Shiki is a fantastic example of what the series as a whole has achieved - a single story which can be interpreted and (more importantly) reacted to in a number of different ways.  Do we cheer the defeat of the Shiki and mourn the destruction of the village?  Do we see both of these developments as a horrible loss driven by the bestial instincts of humanity?  Do we breathe a sigh of relief that the small village and its intolerant ways are destroyed and ponder whether the Risen would have been hunted down and slaughtered by a more "liberal" society?

The most fascinating part of this all is that right now I can't even answer that question for myself, let alone anybody else - the end of this episode just leaves me feeling sadness with no concrete explanations as to exactly what aspects of this ending are responsible for it.  I feel no joy at Sunako's escape, yet I would have felt no joy at her death... does that make me an apathetic member of modern society, or simply a misguided idealist who wants the best for everyone even in a scenario where that clearly isn't possible?  Certainly, Shiki seems to be a series that is ripe to be watched again and again - it was incredibly slow to start and get moving, but the reasons for this soon became clear in the latter half of the series where much of its power was reliant on that intimate relationship with its setting and characters.  Once that base was set and things really started to progress, Shiki proved to be one of the most startlingly fascinating anime offerings of recent years - it all seemed to simple as it set vampires against humans, but ultimately proved to be anything but to leave a melting pod of philosophies and emotions that are hard to compartmentalise and rationalise.

Thought-provoking anime is always something which should be treasured and rewarded, and Shiki has the ability to provoke thought and discussion by the barrow-load.  Its quiet, steady way of doing so may not see its name shouted from the rooftops but, to be honest, it ultimately deserves all the plaudits we see fit to throw at it.

Shiki - Episode 21

Shiki's penultimate episode begins with people going about their business; laughing, chatting and eating together as people are want to do.  This wouldn't be quite so chilling if these same people weren't casually handling masses of bloodied bodies, some still twitching with life, while they do so.  Thus begins another day in the current life of this village's inhabitants.

As is unavoidable by this point, episode twenty-one of Shiki is a bloodbath, plain and simple - on the one hand you have scared yet confrontational villagers willing to do anything to protect themselves and their way of life, and on the other you have the remaining Risen who are desperately continuing their struggle (their insurgency, if you like) in the face of the force now massed against them.  Throw in what seem to be wild cards in the form of Seishirou and Natsuno (the latter of which we don't see this episode), and you have yourself... well, even more bloodshed, basically.

The violence only accelerates further with the escape of Yasuyo, who is in turn able to let Ozaki know where she's come from, turning the massed hordes of remaining humans to tear the place apart and add another huge pile of bodies to the Risen "dead again" count.  While some voices (well, one) cry out for this to be the end of the slaughter, there's nothing to stop this runaway juggernaut now, and the hunt for Sunako soon reaches its peak as the possibility of a hidden basement at Kanemasa dawns on some of the residents.  This leaves Muroi in charge of Sunako's escape while Tatsumi distracts their would-be assailants, but even this angle of the series doesn't look likely to end prettily as it causes yet more brutality and pain to heap on to the pile.

It's tough to know what to say about this episode of Shiki - it's masterful in what it does, but it's also relentlessly depressing just as it sets out to be.  After all those weeks of despair at the growth of the Risen, as we hoped for a way back for those remaining, now we have that way back to normality for the village only to find that it's one which involves sister killing brother, living humans being torn apart as "traitors" and mass destruction all around.  What makes it all the more depressing is that this is simply the way it has to be - kill or be killed and hunter versus hunted is pretty much nature in a nutshell, and it's only a bit of luck and evolution that has allowed humanity to break that cycle somewhat.  So, what should we think or feel as Shiki comes to a close?  Honestly, I'm not sure, but I'm thoroughly enjoying trying to figure it out thanks to this eminently cunning series.

Shiki - Episode 20

After turning thing around in favour of the remaining, living humans, Shiki's previous episode saw those who have survived thus far going on the hunt for the Risen in the hope of eradicating them all.

With the Kanemasa house now in Doctor Ozaki and company's hands, it's time to go about the brutal business of putting those Risen still within the building to the proverbial sword - something which most of those involved seem to feel uncomfortable with initially as you might expect, although such doubts and discomfort seem to dissolve rather quickly once the first stake is hammered through a Shiki heart.  What follows is a brutal cull of any Risen still within the building, with Ozaki seemingly needing to offer up a reminder not to engage in any further brutality once the "job" has been done on a particular individual.

That said, all the death and destruction isn't limited to the living, as Ozaki and his comrades return to the former's clinic to find Ozaki's mother violently murdered as a warning to those engaged in the current set of actions.  With daylight already upon the village, finding the culprit takes no time at all, meaning that justice is served by father upon son swiftly and chillingly.

Elsewhere, Ritsuko's fight with her new-found Risen nature continues, much to the growing distress of Tohru, while Tatsumi continues to look for a route out of trouble for Sunako and Muroi despite the worsening situation.  Throw in an appearance from Natsuno and Seishirou indulding in a little "sport" and you have plenty to occupy us this episode, rather the way through to an ending which suggests that the cycle of violence is only going to deepen and worsen beyond even the current hunt of the Risen.

Above all else, this twentieth episode of Shiki has to be applauded for not shirking from its subject matter at this point - we aren't denied any of the gore and horror of the task that Ozaki and friends decide (and arguably must) carry out, and these shocking scenes serve the remainder of the episode well as we begin to see signs that the end of the Risen isn't where the bloodshed will end, thanks to a growing thirst for revenge and to secure complete safety for the remaining villagers from any potential danger - a concept that you could debate for some time on a socio-political level alone I would imagine, even removed from the overall concept of this series.  That aside, there are still lots of fascinating unresolved plot threads which are shifted forward a step this episode as we roll on towards the end of the series, and you certainly get the feeling that there will be some twists, turns and uncomfortable moments as we hit those last two instalments.

Shiki - Episode 19

After so many episodes which brought us an increasing sense of hopelessness as the show's titular "tribe" took over the village, last week's episode of Shiki finally brought us the payload we'd been waiting for, a glorious, fist-pumping, shout out loud with excitement moment as the tables finally seemed to have been turned on the Risen thanks to the cunning of Doctor Ozaki.

Of course, it's Chizuru that bears the brunt of this change in fortune, and with her true nature revealed in the midst of the village's Kagura festival, this instalment begins with a brutal, uncomfortable yet entirely unexpected revolt against the "demon" in their midst as she's pelting with stones, attacked, and finally killed.  Suddenly, last week's feeling of triumph feels rather tainted as blood flows freely across the festival stage, and it seems that this is only the beginning as Ozaki reveals the entire extent of his knowledge of the Shiki and how to defeat them.

From here, everything is in place for a good old fashioned torch and pitchfork session of decimating the invaders, but of course Kanemasa's residents aren't going to let them have it all their own way.  While most of the Risen head for the hills, Tatsumi is naturally primed as the main line of defence for his employers, while Sunako is left in the care of Seishin, who seems as intriguingly accommodating to the idea of helping his new hosts as he does to the thought that he might die in the revolt about to take place.

Although you might expect watching the surviving villagers taking back their homes, lives and safety to be a thing of joy and celebration, this instalment of Shiki is anything but flag-waving exultation.  From Chizuru's death onwards, we still aren't spared the horrors that have befallen those on both sides of the human/vampire divide - on the one hand we have Tohru's tears and Sunako's abject loneliness, and on the other we have those who have lost loved ones and the broken psyche of Kaori.  This is, of course, entirely the point - there are no winners here and this isn't the "good versus evil" of a Hollywood movie; instead, every action simply brings more pain, yet at the same time there seems to be no other way of breaking the cycle of death and ruin which surrounds this series.  Right now we should arguably be cheering on Ozaki and company, but can we honestly do that in the face of so much heartache and suffering?  Of course we can't, and this is where Shiki plays upon our humanity and emotional turmoil exquisitely... and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Shiki - Episode 18

Come the end of Shiki's previous episode it seemed as though all hope was lost, with even Doctor Ozaki falling victim to the growing threat of the Risen.  Is it really game over for the normal humans still alive within this story?

Certainly, as this episode begins it seems as though the "Shiki" have everything well and truly under control, all the way down to the preparation of a number of huts to monitor for recently deceased village members to see if they come back to life or not.  Amongst this number is Ritsuko, who appears to have succumbed to her attacker last episode and now is amongst the Risen herself, although at this early stage she refuses point blank to drink blood or do anything of that sort.  Can she hold out and live up to that promise though?

Away from Ritsuko's own personal dilemma, it's no real surprise that much of this episode is focused upon Ozaki himself after finding himself a victim of Chizuru Kirishiki's particular whims at the climax of last week's instalment.  Of course, with his medical knowledge and access to vital equipment replacing the blood he's lost from Chizuru's "meals" is a trifle, but despite this he seems more than happy to spend time with her, even offering to accompany her to the village's Kagura festival on a "date".  It probably isn't too much of a spoiler to say that there's more to this offer than meets the eye - is this the point where the Risen's plans suddenly take a turn for the worse?  Besides which, what of Natsuno's meeting with Tatsumi, which confirms what I'm sure we already knew about this potential hero of the day's status...

After working through so many weeks of dark, depressing stories and developments within Shiki, as its village seemed on the brink of being over-run by its unwelcome guests, it was always going to be a fist-pumping, adrenaline-inducing moment when the tables first threatened to be turned against them, and of course this is the episode where exactly that happened.  This whole scenario was played out perfectly to deliver an immensely satisfying experience, and you can't help but get carried away with the euphoria that the Kirishiki's plan has finally been laid bare for all to see.  Of course, there is still time for numerous twists and turns before this series is out, especially now that we realise that Sunako is at the helm of what is going on, but for now I'm happy to simply wallow in the satisfaction of this episode's victory for the hero of the day... and what a wonderfully depicted victory it was too.

Shiki - Episode 17

Every time we think that Shiki has reached rock bottom in terms of the rise of the... well, Risen, so we find that the next episode pulls us even deeper still into the mire.

For a large portion of this episode our focus moves to follow Seishin Muroi, who aside from having nightmares following stumbling across Ozaki's experimentation on wife is also finding himself with numerous other problems to contend with.  Arguably topping that list is the disappearance of his sickly, elderly father from his room - he soon comes to realise just what's happened to him as he finds a copy of the letter sent by his father to the Kirishiki family, inviting them to come and visit him but explicitly telling them they don't have permission to visit anybody else in the house.  In other words, he knows exactly what is going on, as one might have expected from his behaviour not so long ago.  If that wasn't enough to confirm to Seishin that the Risen are real, he bumps into and engages in conversation with Tohru, before also finding himself visited by a distraught Kaori, who seems to have lost both her sanity and the will to live with her parents dead and her brother missing.  But what is Muroi's answer to everything he's now heard and seen?  At first glance, it may not be what you expect...

While all of this is going on, things aren't exactly getting better elsewhere in the village, with the Risen now living unashamedly around town and happily attacking those who have not yet been drained of their blood.  These attacks eventually reach the staff of Doctor Ozaki's clinic, with Kiyomi kidnapped (for some reason - guess someone must have liked her in her lingerie...) and Ritsuko attacked by the Risen as she attempts to held her colleague and friend.  Come the end of the episode, even Ozaki himself isn't safe from the attentions of the Kirishiki house...

It may not have laid out its moral questions and probing like last week's instalment, but this was another gruesomely entertaining (and it feels almost wrong to use that word) episode of Shiki - I can't help but wonder just how deep the hole we are travelling towards is going to get before things turn around (assuming that they will of course), but the series is handling its increasingly relentless tone of hopelessness and depression well, creating some horrific and creepy moments while keeping its story moving apace and in an increasingly fascinating fashion.  If nothing else, it's nice to be able to enjoy a series which leaves you with no real feel or assumption for how it's all going to end, and it seems pretty certain that there will be some major twists and turns before this show is through.

Shiki - Episode 16

Just as Doctor Ozaki looked as though he had run out of options, so I bolt from the blue has put him well and truly back in the frame when it comes to ridding the village of the Shiki menace.  However, that's something to keep largely on the back burner for the duration of episode sixteen, as our roaming eyes wander elsewhere.

Indeed, this particular instalment really turns things around somewhat by primarily focusing on some of those Shiki themselves during the course of this episode - perhaps most prominently, we get to hear Sunako's story and come to realise just how central she is to what is going on if we hadn't fathomed it already.  Just as (if not more) importantly in terms of adding a little more texture and thought-provoking material to the show, we also see the moral and emotional dilemmas that torture the Risen as they find themselves conflicted between their instinct to survive and their morals, topped off with the results of an almost over-bearing loneliness.  Of course, we've already seen some of this on Tohru's part but things certainly aren't getting any easier for him, while Nao Yasumori finds herself in a very dark place and Akira and Kaori's father is left torn as his requirement to find his way in the world as one of the Risen manifests itself.

Indeed, it'sYoshikazu Tanaka's actions which set the wheels in motion for the second half of this episode, as his first attack upon his wife to feast on her blood leads to Akira and Kaori realising that what remains of their family is in danger.  Akira swears to avenge both Natsuno and his father and is the first to take action as he sets about planning how they should defend themselves, before a throwaway comment within the village puts him onto an attacking footing as he learns the whereabouts of one of the Shiki - a rather knee-jerk reaction in hindsight which could well have severe consequences...

All of this adds up to another excellent episode of Shiki - it succeeded in being creepy and worthy of a shudder or two as it went about its business, but it also gained a lot from giving us an alternative perspective on the lot of the Risen for a while, mixing just a tiny edge of sympathy towards these serial killers who are given very little choice in what they do; if you haven't asked yourself the moral question "what would I do if it were me?" yet, this is the episode that outright prompts you to do so.  Throw in some intriguing developments regarding Akira on the one hand, and Natsuno and Ozaki on the other (Natsuno in particular is going to become a hugely important and influential character from now on, it seems), and I'm once again left impatiently waiting for the next episode as this show's payload really starts to pay dividends - and how...

Shiki - Episode 15

After subjecting us to the horrors of Ozaki's experimentation upon his dead wife Kyoko last episode, it's tempting to expect this next instalment of Shiki to offer Ozaki immediate recompense for this hardship given the knowledge that it has granted him.

If that is what you're expecting from episode fifteen however, think again.  For starters, Muroi's reaction to walking in on Ozaki after his experimentation upon Kyoko is probably not what he was hoping for, and his subsequent efforts to get other influential village members on his side also fall upon deaf ears as logic and common sense rule over the seemingly crazy things coming from Ozaki's mouth despite his own stature amongst them.

Thus, this episode is really all about Ozaki's isolation from the rest of the community, as his invaluable knowledge proves to be useless as those around him either fail to understand or simply refuse to acknowledge what is happening to them, while the increase in the population of the "Risen" means that they're exerting an ever greater influence over everything that happens within the village, from their overly flamboyant funeral home (a rare moment of comedy in all these recent dark episodes) through to controlling the reports of deaths in the vicinity, which is now officially recorded as zero thanks to their clever manipulation.  Does this leave Ozaki all alone to deal with the problem?  Not quite, as on individual appears out of nowhere to suggest that he still has at least one individual on his side...

After really getting its fangs (sorry, bad joke) into a bit of truly horrific and unsettling story-telling last time around, episode fifteen of Shiki concerns itself with getting to the heart of the village's current psychology - something that it does pretty well by following Doctor Ozaki around and seeing him ostracised despite the information that he holds which could save them all.  This allows the show's recent trend of portraying a relentlessly dark and depressing scenario to continue, before granting us a tiny slither of hope come the end of the episode - by this point it's probably fair to say that the series has a lot of us drawn in hook, line and sinker with this strategy, as we wait and hope for what is surely the inevitable turn-around to allow a triumph for good over evil.  Needless to say, I'll be eagerly tuning in to see just how (and indeed if) this pans out.

Shiki - Episode 14

While Shiki's trail of death continues apace as per the rest of this series so far, we can't help but have our attentions focused in one specific direction for the show's fourteenth episode, that being what happens next to the now-deceased Kyoko.

Before that however there are still other important moments of progress for the wider series.  For starters, further misery inevitably befalls Kaori and Akira's family, as the former is woken by Megumi outside her room in the dead of night to inform her that her father is dead - a claim that is revealed, unsurprisingly, to be absolutely true.  It looks like things won't be getting any better for that household given the nature of the visitor from the Ebuchi clinic who comes to check on the victim.

Then of course there's Natsuno, who is still nowhere to be seen - what is his fate to be, and indeed where is his body?  Megumi in particular is distraught at the possibility that he may have been cremated rather than buried, thus denying him any chance of becoming one of the Risen, but as I mentioned last episode it seems hard to imagine that we've seen the last of him.  With other victims lured into the Risen's plans and yet more people going missing entirely, the sense of despairing inevitability is hard to avoid.

Which brings us back to Kyoko, whose dead body is kept in secret by an increasingly fatigued Ozaki as he waits to see what happens next.  Days after her death it appears as though he may be clutching at straws, until he finally begins to detect some brain activity from his deceased wife.  As Kyoko slowly regains her faculties, Ozaki sets up a video camera to record everything that happens next, as he uses this newly "born" member of the Risen to learn more about what makes them tick, and perhaps more important what makes them stop ticking.

It's these scenes that really throw this episode of Shiki absolutely into the "horror" category - animation or otherwise, watching Ozaki experimenting on and effectively torturing his wife in such a calm and collected manner makes for hugely uncomfortable viewing that is both distressing and spine-chilling.  What perhaps adds to that feeling of abject horror is the fact that it all makes so much sense - can you really begrudge Ozaki this opportunity to save the village and rid them of the "Shiki" threat, even if it is his wife on the other end of his experiments?  What would you or I do if presented with a similar situation?  It's a horrible decision to even contemplate, and that's exactly the point, which makes for a hugely compelling if uncomfortable experience.  Put simply, this is the best episode of Shiki so far, and it doesn't become so by accident - its credentials as the peak of the show to this point is entirely by design.

Shiki - Episode 13

I supposed you could say that Shiki has never been the most upbeat of series by its very nature, but recent episodes in particular have seen things taking a darker turn, fostering a sense of near-helplessness as character after character seems to have been bested by the Risen.

Certainly, this thirteenth episode of the series does nothing to dispel such feelings; in fact, it only preys upon them all the more strongly as we see numerous characters moving inexorably towards their deaths with nothing that anybody can do to help them, with those afflicted seeming to have been told explicitly by whoever is feasting upon them not to allow themselves to be hospitalised or taken under the care of Doctor Ozaki.

Somewhat removed from this we have Natsuno, who isn't seeking help for an entirely different reason as he continues to allow himself to be used by Tohru while still vainly hoping that something will emerge to allow them both to escape and live their lives to the fullest.  This hope brings about Natsuno's death this episode as his family almost literally falls apart, bringing us a feeling that we haven't really felt from this series up until now - genuine grief.  Prior to Natsuno's fate we've always been able to watch proceedings with a somewhat detached countenance, but having followed this particular individual so closely throughout, and specifically having seen him trying to prevent both his own and the village's fate, it's hard not to feel a little upset at his passing.  Of course, I get the feeling that this isn't the last we've seen of him, but it's still a surprisingly tough and depressing pill to swallow... which brings us to Ozaki's wife Kyoko, who collapses and later dies during this episode and leads us towards what is likely to be the most disturbing aspect of the series thus far, which looks set to allow it to live up to its "horror" billing.

This broadening of the show's emotional spectrum coupled with its now relentless nature is really bringing out the best in Shiki - after that slow start it now feels like the show I started tuning in to watch, and it's becoming increasingly adept at handling its large (albeit ever-dwindling) roster of characters and darkening storylines.  Put simply, I want more and I want it now... after being so indifferent to its earlier episodes, I'm now starting to reach the point where I wait impatiently for each new instalment, which can only be a good sign.

Shiki - Episode 12

Probably the last thing Shiki needed just as it was hitting its stride was a three-week long break, but that's exactly what it got to allow itself to realign with the new autumn anime season for its second half.  So here we are again, ready to return to the world of the Risen with gusto.

After putting Natsuno in a decidedly tight spot a couple of episodes ago, it's about time we revisit him, and understandably we find him looking a little peaky at best as he meets with Akira and Kaori only to urge them both to leave the village - something that they point-blank refuse to do despite the fact that they must realise they're in almost as much danger as Natsuno himself.

Although Natsuno still has the strength to escape or protect himself, he nonetheless finds himself torn as to how to deal with Tohru, while Tohru himself seems equally troubled by the thought of having to ultimately kill Natsuno.  This results in a tense face-off between the two, with Natsuno looking set to use crosses and wooden stakes against his friend but finding himself unable to go through with his plans, while Tohru's wavering emotions are soon pushed aside by his instinctive hunger.

With Natsuno weakening, his father also proves to be a further obstacle to any chance of his son's survival on account of his refusal to believe in the village's superstition - a believe set further bolstered by both his wife (who appears to be the subject of some Risen blood-sucking herself) and the head of the Kanemasa family, as they agree that there's no place for such stupid ideas as part of their own agenda.  Thus, Akira and Kaori are pushed away from helping Natsuno, while their own father looks set to "teach them a lesson" at the behest of Tatsumi.

So, despite those few weeks on hiatus, Shiki has come out swinging by continuing with its darkening tone and delivering another excellent episode.  Refocusing on Natsuno's plight was always liable to make things interesting, and so it proved here as he stoically tries to help his Risen friend while also staying alive in the hope of finding an answer that will allow both parties to benefit and survive - quite the idealist is our Natsuno.  While things still aren't moving particularly quickly within the series, we're now at the point where this slow build-up of tension and a seemingly hopeless scenario for those remaining is adding to the sense of the series worth rather than detracting from it, and by the look of things there's a whole lot more fascinating and horrific things to come.  Bring it on!

Shiki - Episode 11

Just as Shiki finally broke into more than a simple trot and threatened to deliver us some seriously good episodes, we find ourselves having to say goodbye to the show for a little while as it goes on hiatus for a few weeks. Before we get ahead of ourselves however, we have episode eleven of the series to content ourselves with as Shiki reaches its half-way point.

As we should probably have learned about this series by now, it doesn't always rush to resolve its cliff hangers, and so it goes here as Natsuno's fate is left hanging in the balance until the end credits and what seems to be a glorified preview for the second half of the show. Instead, we find ourselves following Ikumi, that crazy old witch of a lady who, on this occasion, turns out not to be quite as bonkers as she suggests, blaming the Risen for the spate of deaths and planting the blame squarely at the door of the Kanemasa house.


While Ikumi goes around charging for scrolls and scriptures before shouting like a banshee about her theories to anyone who will listen, Ozaki is taking a very tact despite its more substantial (and substantiated) knowledge, keeping what he knows to himself while almost coldly planning how best to tackle the problem of the Risen and, more importantly, how to persuade the other villages that he hasn't gone crazy. For Ozaki, the only way in his mind to do this is to catch a Risen when they first rise from the dead, show said individual to the residents, and then experiment upon the captive to find out what makes them tick... or more precisely, what stops them ticking.

These differing attitudes on how to approach the current problem end up with a face-to-face encounter between Ozaki and Ikumi, leaving the first to shrug off the second's tale of the Risen as fantasy in front of a gathered group of villagers. Nonetheless, Ikumi continues her single-minded tirade against the Kanemasa household, turning up at their doorstep with her accusations no less. At this point we see exactly why Ozaki has been keeping his powder dry, as the head of the household turns out in broad daylight and allows Ozaki to verify that he is very much alive and kicking, leaving Ikumi to seem like the nutjob she outwardly appears to be. So, what next for Ozaki? And what of Natsuno? All in good time my friends, all in good time...

After really getting into the meat of its story over the past couple of instalments, this episode did feel like it slowed the pace a little, but necessarily so given the points it wished to make and cover, and I really can't deny that it did it all effectively even if it wasn't as gripping as recent events by any stretch of the imagination. So, this wasn't the most memorable way to leave us hanging for a few weeks until the second half of the series kicks off.... at least, it wouldn't be if it wasn't for the merciless teasing of what we can expect when we return to Shiki during the end credits, which suggests that it'll be worth every second of that long, long wait.

Shiki - Episode 10

Despite putting Natsuno in a tight spot a couple of episodes ago, last week his plight was largely ignored in favour of focusing on events as they panned out for Doctor Ozaki and his patient Setsuko - events which didn't turn out favourably for his patient's well-being, it has to be said.

With that part of the story tied up neatly, episode ten of Shiki thus has plenty of room to adjust its focus back to Natsuno while also tying its time-line in with the events of the previous instalment for good measure. With Tatsumi running operations in light of the discovery of what is going on in the village by both Natsuno and Ozaki, his primary concern is of course to silence and/or intimidate these knowledgeable voices. While Ozaki escapes with his life on this occasion, Natsuno's fate looks far less certain, leaving Megumi Shimizu torn but ultimately more than a little upset at the prospect of her unrequited love being killed.


Although Tatsumi refuses to let Megumi attend to their business with Natsuno, after handling affairs at the hospital with Ozaki she rushes to his home anyway, only to find that she's been beaten to it... by Tohru at all people, who is of course himself horribly conflicted about what to do with Natsuno, confronting him but unable to attack him in a fit of shame and emotion. Of course, Megumi volunteers to do the job that Tohru couldn't, but while Natsuno searches for Tohru after his initial shock of seeing his dead friend looking veyr much "alive" he finds himself confronted and outnumbered by Megumi and Tatsumi - and that isn't even the worst of it as this episode reaches its seemingly terrible climax...

After its steady climb of improvement in recent episodes, this tenth instalment of Shiki has certainly raised the bar as high as we've seen it so far - the cat and mouse game between Natsuno and the "Risen" was interesting enough in itself (especially once his "hippie" parents were thrown into the mix), but things have now taken a far, far more fascinating turn by throwing him into the mix with the girl who loves him that he hates and his best friend, both of whom are gunning to literally take a bite out of him with a hard to decipher mix of love and lust... which I guess it what vampires are all about at the end of the day.

It's the emotional side of the Risen and their goals which is what really makes this episode interesting - Megumi knows that Natsuno dying and coming back to "life" would bring her closer to him, yet if he doesn't come back to life then he's lost forever - a tough call for a girl to make, especially when she also needs to drink someone's blood just to stay alive. Tohru's dilemma is arguably even tougher - he clearly doesn't want to do anything bad to his friend, yet doing nothing leaves him at the mercy of the other Risen. Judging what actions these characters will take and why is what has suddenly twisted Shiki from "just some wannabe horror anime" into something much, much more fascinating; I just hope it continues to explore this path now we've finally reached the crux of matters.

Shiki - Episode 9

Although the end of Shiki's previous episode seemed to spell peril for Natsuno after his discovery of the truth surrounding all of the deaths in the village, we actually get to see next to nothing of him in this ninth instalment of the series, instead focusing our attention once again upon Doctor Ozaki and his own efforts after figuring out that vampires are causing the aforementioned spate of deaths.

Thus, much of the episode is spent following both himself and priest Muroi as they keep the old lady Setsuko under the clinics care, watching her night and day to see what is going despite the physical toll it is clearly taking on Ozaki in particular. Even after the first night of keeping watch the young Doctor is showing obvious fatigue, concerning his mother enough to send his wife to look after him, although ironically it appears to be her who endangers him most (albeit inadvertently) later in the episode.


After an uneventful first night, it's the second night shift of carefully watching Setsuko that finally yields results, with her dead daughter Nao "dropping by" to pay her visit and thus proving their worst fears. With no invitation to enter the clinic, any danger passes swiftly, only to return as an even more major problem the following night, with Tatsumi able to enter the clinic while a number of other "Risen" are on hand to do their worst and drain Setsuko dry to grab their fill of blood. So, despite his best efforts Ozaki has been foiled again, so what on Earth do they do now?

As I discussed last week, Shiki is finally beginning to emerge as a decent series from under the burden of its expectations and initially glacial pace to start demonstrating the abilities we looked to see from it right from the start. In these terms, this was certainly the best episode yet once again, proving to be reasonably adept at being somewhat creepy while also holding a fair amount of tension throughout - not enough to make it a classic or a memorable piece of horror story-telling, but a definite improvement nonetheless. Now that the last couple of episodes have manoeuvred the pieces on its chess board into prime positions, this should be time for the series to shine from this episode forth - let's hope it makes full use of the scenario it has so painstakingly set up to deliver its payload with full effect.

Shiki - Episode 8

Following one of those ever-more frequent and somewhat highbrow conversations between Sunako and Muroi, episode eight of Shiki gets right down to the heart of recent matters, with Natsuno, Akira and Kaori getting down to the serious business of digging up Megumi's grave in their pursuit for the truth about the deaths occurring throughout the village.

In a sense, there's barely any need to dig up Megumi's coffin, as Kaori finds the present that she'd put in alongside Megumi's coffin at the time of her burial out in the open, but nonetheless they proceed and sure enough Megumi's coffin proves to be completely empty, thus confirming their fears about the "Risen".


In fact, that isn't all they should be fearful of, as Kaori finds herself dragged away from the scene by an unknown assailant, forcing Natsuno to come to the rescue via a solid shovel blow to the head. As it becomes clear that this attacker is not only dead, but was dead before he attacked Kaori, this only serves as further proof of their theory. Of course, at this point you might expect this trio to try and get some help, be it from adults or pretty much anybody else, but at this juncture they continue their investigations and planning alone - a decision which already looks to have put Natsuno in grave danger indeed, as a decidedly strange girl named Shizuka managed to get herself and her brother invited into his home...

This accelerating of (or, rather, sharpening focus on) the goings-on in the village as Natsuno et al finally unmask them almost unequivocally has certainly upped the pacing of the series, which has in turn increased the tension and feeling of threat surrounding the series from something rather vague into something decidedly more specific. This certainly makes the entire affair far more watchable, and hopefully this will continue to be the case now that things have gotten much more interesting. Shiki still isn't quite as "horrific" as I'd expect of its genre, but as long as it continues to warm up nicely my complaints about it thus far are slowly melting away.

Shiki - Episode 7

Although it may seem like a flight of fancy to some, Natsuno's growing conviction that the spate of deaths surrounding the village is down to the "Risen" coupled with the strange Kanemasa mansion is starting to take hold with others; not just village doctor Ozaki, but also Kaori and Akira, who Natsuno finds staking out said house - it's a good job he does too, as he clearly isn't the only one watching them...


After explaining his thoughts to this pair, he convinces them that there's only one way to know for sure what is going on - to dig up Megumi's grave, a rather unsavoury prospect but one that all three agree to go along with, although as the time to carry this out draws nearer so Kaori's doubts grow ever larger. Meanwhile, Doctor Azaki is conducting his own tests on his theory, keeping a sick patient at his clinic where he can watch her day and night and perhaps even catch the "enemy" red-handed.

That aside, this episode also sees the return of Masao (sadly), who finds himself buried alive in his own coffin, which probably isn't the most pleasant experience to wake up too. It isn't too long however before he's dug up, at which point he learns that he has become a vampire himself. For all of its benefits (not being dead is always a good start), there are of course drawbacks, not least the need to drink human blood, which sees Masao meeting an early test of his staying power in his new, "improved" form.

So, things are certainly picking up the pace now seven episodes in to Shiki, yet it still doesn't really seem to be doing a good job of getting under my skin in any discernible way. Sure, it has content which could be deemed horrific in this episode, be it the thought of having to kill a child for its blood to survive or being buried "alive" in a coffin, but there's no real impact to these scenes that I can discern - they "just happen" and I can't find myself feeling anything much about it. It probably doesn't help that the victim of these terrible moments is the incredibly unlike-able Masao; maybe the impact would have been stronger had we seen a different character go through these new rites of passage? As it is though, Shiki is still failing to grab me and get its teeth into me (with every pun intended) as I was hoping and expecting it would.

Shiki - Episode 6

It's time for another episode of Shiki, and still the deaths keep on ramping up - Hiromi is one of the latest to up the body count, while Masao is (thankfully) on his way out as we first join this episode.

Naturally, the continuation of this ever more horrifying trend of deaths is getting to local doctor Ozaki - A little too much you could argue, as he snaps first at a patient and then at Muroi despite the latter trying to help by mentioning the odd connections between these deaths and the number of people who have quit their jobs while others have skipped town entirely. The only ray of hope from Ozaki's point of view is one patient who seems to recover slightly after being given a blood transfusion, but even this improvement doesn't last for long before the same old symptoms and problems set in once again.


However, that isn't the only piece of progress made against this "epidemic" by any means. For starters, the end of summer postcard from Megumi discarded outside of his window by Natsuno has some pieces missing by the next morning, confirming in his mind (and indeed to our own eyes) that Megumi is still wandering around on the loose somewhere, somehow. On a whim after seeing this, he starts looking into vampires and the like, renting a bunch of horror movies before finding that, intriguingly, Muroi has already emptied the library's stock of vampire books. Come the end of the episode, Natsuno isn't the only one whose thoughts are traversing this path, as a throwaway comment to Natsuno by Ozaki suddenly clicks a number of pieces of the puzzle into place. Add in a couple of other characters seeing a supposedly dead man walking into that fancy house on the hill, and it appears that the tide of whatever is going on might well be turning at last...

Certainly, as these thoughts, theories and revelations begin to roll into place, so Shiki is starting to become just that bit more compelling - although it struggles under the weight of its sheer number of characters at times (no matter how many of them have died), it finally feels like a show that is beginning to rise above its slow start to piece together something genuinely worth watching with plenty of intrigue to back it up. It's taken six episodes to get here, but I now feel like I can officially say that Shiki is starting to warm up nicely for me - long may it continue.

Shiki - Episode 5

Come the end of Shiki's previous episode, we were finally beginning to get to the root of the spate of mysterious deaths which have plagued its village, as we saw the seemingly returned from the dead Megumi putting in an appearance and getting her teeth (quite literally) into Tohru.

Or did we? Revisiting those events again, we see Natsuno waking up from what appears to be little more than another of his nightmares, in turn waking Tohru to find that everything appears to be just fine. Everything, that is, until Tohru stops turning up at school and instead spends his time lounging around in his room as though in a trance, before eventually dying like so many before him. Of course, Natsuno is still unable to properly connect his "dream" with the reality of the situation, and even the arrival of a postcard from Megumi doesn't seem to faze him.


Away from all of this, young priest Muroi is continuing to investigate these deaths himself, quickly noting an obvious connection between many of them, as it transpires that many of these individuals quite their jobs (or attempted to) just days before dying. How this ties into the deaths themselves remains unanswered, but it's suddenly another piece in the puzzle... as it seems will be Masao come the end of this episode, as his childish whining and attention-seeking look likely to be near their end, for which I am eternally thankful.

After that slow start to the series, things are certainly starting to move within this series, although still at a relatively pedestrian pace, much like a stingy friend dishing out sweets one at a time rather than giving you a handful to enjoy in a single hit. To be honest, for me personally it's still too early even now to decide whether those proverbial sweets are tasty enough to warrant savouring on an individual basis, but for now I'm willing to chew on them and wait to see if the after taste makes it all worthwhile. Anyway, enough of my confectionary-laden analogies; if nothing else I took great pleasure in seeing Masao get his come-uppance - an occurrence that can only make this series infinitely better, God he was annoying even in the realms of deliberately annoying anime characters. I really just hope that I have something rather more concrete to write about next episode, otherwise I'm going to have to find even more ways to compare Shiki to chocolate. Hmm... Maybe Megumi is like a chocolate bar that's past its sell by date - It comes back to haunt you days after you thought you'd gotten away with worrying about it?

Shiki - Episode 4

As we join Shiki for its fourth episode, we soon see the death toll from the town's supposed epidemic ramping up and up, bringing us close to twenty fatalities by the latter half of this episode and with the medical professionals in the area still no closer to pinning down the cause of so many deaths.

Against the backdrop of this disease which seems to be striking at random amongst both old and young, relatives and strangers, Natsuno continues to have a struggle of his own as his dreams (or rather, nightmares) about Megumi become both more frequent and more terrifyingly real. No matter how he tries to escape or where he goes, these nightmares follow, and come the end of the episode (after some further hints earlier on in the instalment) we finally begin to see some light shed on what actually seems to be going on in this previously sleepy backwater.


As the son of a nurse of some years standing, I have to admit that I got a bit of a kick out of the overall technical accuracy of the medical jargon used this episode, with the show's doctors and nurses musing over the possibility of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria as the cause of this spate of deaths amongst other things - It adds a little reality to the show and is most welcome in that sense.

Away from that, this instalment was almost left a little bereft of things to do or say aside from its final few minutes and another appearance from Sunako earlier in the episode - The continuing deaths in the series have reached the point where they have no emotional impact, while the question marks over their cause has also almost been going around in circles. Still, at least we finally seem to have reached a point where the story is going to kick up a notch and progress, and I have to admit that it couldn't come soon enough for me - I feel like I've lost any real empathy with the characters in the story by this point, and I'm certainly not feeling much of a sense of horror from proceedings so it's going to take something a little more special to get me back on board; I'm still hoping that Shiki can finally deliver that something before my patience runs out.

Shiki - Episode 3

Despite introducing us to characters by the barrel-load in its first two episodes, it appears that Shiki isn't done quite yet, as this third instalment brings forth another bunch of characters to add to the ever-expanding cast.

Some of these characters are met via our following Natsuno around, as we see a decidedly odd opening sequences which suggests that there is more to him than meets the eye, before we see how one guy named Tohru Mutou somehow managed to break the barriers Natsuno had erected around himself on account of patching up a flat tyre on his bicycle a couple of times. With Natsuno struggling to sleep (I know how he feels right now), Mutou becomes something of a crutch for Natsuno, much to the displeasure of another of Mutou's friends Masao, who seems to be a bundle of problematic teenage insecurities himself.


Meanwhile, Doctor Ozaki continues to struggle with the possible "plague" sweeping through his village, which sees it claim yet another victim, while equally importantly we're also introduced to the members of the Kirishiki family who have recently moved into the European-style house on the hill, only to find that they're a decidedly oddball bunch from parents through to their children - Of particular interest is young (although she'd hate me for calling her that) Sunako, who has in turn taken an interest in the priest Muroi and his writings... indeed, she seems to know everything about him regardless of his literary talents and her ability at comprehending said literature.

So, even three episodes into this series it's still nigh-on impossible to say anything much about where Shiki is headed - It's certainly keeping its cards close to its chest while also throwing out the odd clue (or are they simply red herrings?) about various characters as it goes along. Luckily this slow, pain-staking build up is still working pretty well for the series at this point as it's had plenty of characters and circumstances available to keep things moving, aided along by the polished and stylised animation, but I'm hungry for more at this point so hopefully the revelations will start to unravel themselves pretty soon. There's certainly plenty for this show to get its teeth into now judging by what we've seen so far, it's just a case of waiting for it to get said meat between its jaws for that delicious first bite.

Shiki - Episode 2

The opening episode of Shiki brought us the fall and fall of Megumi Shimizu, culminating in this young girl's death after a brief disappearance which occurs with no real explanation, be it medical or otherwise. Things aren't helped by the Shimizu family's staunch refusal to allow Megumi to be subjected to a post-mortem, leaving the village doctor to do little more than guess at her exact fate.

Of course, following this death a portion of episode two is filled with Megumi's funeral, an event which even the distant Natsuno attends despite his dislike for the village and its continual gossip and talking behind people's backs; a trait noted even by Megumi's friend Kaori who also attends the funeral.


With this incident dead and buried (sorry, bad joke), you might think that it's time to move onto pastures new, but not so as the death toll within the area simply keeps on rising, with our doctor and his monk friend counting seven deaths during a two-week period while the reality is that even more people have kicked the bucket during that spell. For most of these cases the symptoms been the same, with a supposed "summer cold" bringing about lethargy and tiredness before things suddenly take a turn for the worse before death ensues. But what is causing all of this? An epidemic seems like the obvious suspect, but given that this is a horror anime we're watching and not an episode of Casualty I think it's safe to say that we know rather better....

Given its twenty-two episode length, I suppose it's sensible for Shiki to take things slowly and keep us guessing, and it's certainly doing this so far - Aside from some decidedly odd snatches here and there we really haven't been exposed to anything much beyond that experienced by Doctor Ozaki so our guess is as good as his. Luckily the series so far is polished and well-delivered enough to get away with its sloth-like pace to build things up, although I have to confess that I hope it doesn't go on for too long - There's clearly a lot of potential for this series, and I'd like to see some of it revealed sooner rather than later, impatient bugger that I am.

Shiki - Episode 1

As Fuji TV's sole noitaminA anime for this season (its other offering being a live-action version of Moyashimon), Shiki is also the last summer season show I'll be covering on this humble 'blog, although to be honest I'm probably already watching enough new shows to drive the average person to insanity. Good job I'm already insane, huh?


Anyhow, Shiki's opening episode is an interesting medley of seemingly disparate goings on - After beginning the series with an all-out search for a girl named Megumi, we then step back in time a few days to meet this girl for ourselves as we also become a little more familiar with the show's Sotoba village setting. Megumi Shimizu is a fashion-conscious girl who hates her home town for that reason - It doesn't suit her fashion sense, and she feels out of place in this backwards village, with her only dreams being to move to the city or, if all else fails, move into the brand new European-style mansion (we all live in houses just like that here in Europe, honest!) that's been built at the top of a hill with her unrequited love Yuuki Natsuno, a boy who has moved to Sotoba from the city himself.

Megumi's delusions of grandeur is set against other goings-on, from the discovery of three bodies who seem to have died from natural causes through to a family of three moving into that aforementioned mansion. Both of these points are seemingly pertinent to the story going forward - The first on account of the fact that one of the trio of bodies found clearly died some time after the other two despite sharing the same building without raising the alarm, while the second seemingly ties into Megumi's disappearance, discovery and subsequent death. So far, Shiki has certainly served up plenty of unexplained happenings, as you might expect from a story of this ilk.

That said, it's really rather difficult to piece together all of these pieces of information into something coherent at this point, which I'm quite sure is exactly the point of this episode - You can't have a horror mystery serious without mysterious things happening, right? So for now we'll just have to take all of the head scratching as read, while instead focusing on the interesting juxtaposition between the light-hearted and the (literally) deadly serious which, when coupled with the small vilage setting, certainly has shades of Higurashi, albeit with more visual flair and a much broader range of characters. How many of these individuals will actually matter through the course of this series? Again, it's impossible to say just yet - This is definitely going to be one of those "wait and see" series for now; let's just hope it lives up to its big billing.