Customer Ratings & Reviews

Been waiting on this one to come out for a while as I've seen a few AMVs with content from this series. I'll leave out any spoilers until the end of this for those that want to watch the series without knowing anything about it beforehand. Most will already have suspicions by the 1st or 2nd episode, but Shiki does a wonderful job at building the suspense and mystery throughout the first season. I loved the assortment of characters that we're introduced to here, but there isn't much in the way of character development. Surprisingly, the "Shiki" seem to develop more than the regular cast. Toshio Ozaki, the village doctor, is probably the best developed character so far seeing as how he starts out completely calm and composed but by the end he's lashing out at everyone because of his frustration. He regains his composure in an effort to combat the village's situation. The artwork and visuals from Shiki are phenomenal #might be something to do with the Blu-ray...#. It's not just about the graphics, though. The character designs run the full range of everything that you'd expect to find in a backwoods village in the middle of nowhere with a population of only 1300. You have the few kids/teens born into the village, a couple "aliens" that have moved from the big city, and the majority of older/elderly residents that comprise the location. Aniplex/Funimation hit a home run with the voice cast in this one, too. Haven't had any English voices that made me want to box my own ears...#looking at you "Vampire Knight"# and haven't touched the original audio, yet. I enjoy series where I have to read the subtitles, but it's a lot more enjoyable when I can focus on the whole screen instead of trying to read what they're saying. SPOILER ALERT: SPOILER ALERT: Now, that's out of the way. Little bit of coverage for the story through the end of the first season. "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." The story mainly focuses around Natsuno and Toshio, but occassionally you'll get scenes shown from the point of view of the supporting cast. What's the story really about? Vampires! Actual vampires...not the freaks from Twilight that glisten in the sun. Stake through the heart, decapitate, burn up in the sun Vampires! The village also calls vampires the okiagiri who are a local legend. There is no peace-making between humans and vampires here. It's just kill or be killed. This season pretty much ends on a high note for the vamps as they seem to be knocking off those who suspect them one-by-one. Time to see how season 2 is! Definitely recommend this series to anyone. Little bit of blood but not enough to be gore so far. Fanservice is pretty much non-existant. Tons of suspenseful moments. Will probably be my favorite release this year unless they release "Mirai Nikki" in English. Go, buy it now.