Shiki

Shiki is a brilliant take on the mentality of small towns and how it relates to mob justice.

It's portrayal of the ethics and morality of critical choices is second only to that of Monster.

Shiki is a piece that treats Vampire Culture differently than you would expect in western cinematography, providing a deeper insight to personality afflicted by eternal living, and slowly pulling you inside a questioning of human soul and nature. Can you be corrupted life form that has usual wish to pursue happiness? Can you be "normal" life form, but still be cruel and evil, selfish and a beast? This is not just an anime about vampires, this is a piece that slams big questions about life in your face without hesitation. Are you a traitor if you cherish and accept every person as they are cut out to be, and why do we have to choose sides from the start of mankind's existence, determined to root-out everything we assume to be different from ourselves? Is it just the fear of death that turns us into animals, or it's life as we imagine it just a mask behind which a beast slumber...

Shiki will not provide answers, but it may make you think a bit deeper about human nature.

Those seeking action and quick resolutions I'd suggest skipping this, but anyone who enjoys a well crafted tale should really take the time to watch this.

The animation style is a bit dated, but it holds up pretty well.

Shiki is a wonderful anime and manages to build suspense while also having a more slow-burn approach to horror. I have seen many horror anime/anime in general, and Shiki is one of the only ones where I find myself revisiting scenes or listening to the soundtrack regularly to relive it.

Dramatic throughout, unlike most anime this isn't based purely on teenagers at school being promiscuous, in fact there are no school scenes involved at all which makes for a decent story without wondering about if there were going to be style changes in the animation or overly exaggerated almost nudity.

There are some very good character build ups, which leads to tense moments in the series. This series got to me in a slow burning way, characters die who you don't expect too, things happen that way too, which is what should be expected of a good horror plot.

The story line is almost as expected towards the end of the series, however it gets a lot more graphic as the mysteries unfold. Nicely put together guys, I'd look forward to another possible season of this..