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REVIEW: Shiki LE Blu-Ray + DVD 1

I own the first BD + DVD set and have watched up until episode 12. I'm not sure I'll be going any further.

Trouble is, I'm not feeling the oft-mentioned sense of dread, nor much atmosphere at all for that matter. Shiki was intriguing at first, when there was still a certain air of mystery, but then characters I didn't care about kept getting offed and the most visible antagonist in these first 12 episodes is just too goofy looking to carry any real menace. Without atmosphere or any real scares to speak of (and no, Shiki slowly descending from trees or floating at windows does not make me crap myself), all I'm left with is a show that feels oddly-paced and, well, a bit boring. The stiff character movement hardly helps either, brutally diffusing what little tension the show is able to build.

At least the ridiculously OTT Masao, who managed to stink up every scene he was in and whose voice in both languages was like nails on a chalkboard, didn't stick around for too long. But I fear the show hasn't seen the last of him...

I must be the only person who actually liked the character designs for Shiki.

I'm not a fan of the style in general, but for this series they looked out of place enough to give a somewhat creepy vibe that worked for me.

I also agree that the pacing is slow and that it took too long for the villagers and the doctor to realize what was going on. But I also think the second half gets much better

Finally I don't think Shiki is horror at all--at least it didn't feel like one to me. It shines as a tragedy (but one with closure) A sad downward spiral for most involved that only has one positive outcome at the end to give a bittersweet flavor, instead of leaving it as a pure tragedy. I started to sympathize with the vampires spoiler[(or those infected)] and the OVA/extra episode detailing the story of that hunt with one of the girls is just sad.

The show gets a lot better during the second half. You would be doing yourself a great disservice by not finishing it.

I absolutely loved Shiki, it was my favorite show of 2010. The only complaint I had was the ending, but that's a discussion for another day.

No, you shouldn't be feeling the opposite. They purposely made Megumi extremely annoying so you wouldn't care. Hell, I was extremely happy with her death, particularly that her disdain for the village was ultimately the cause of it.

Megiddo wrote:

No, you shouldn't be feeling the opposite. They purposely made Megumi extremely annoying so you wouldn't care. Hell, I was extremely happy with her death, particularly that her disdain for the village was ultimately the cause of it.

Then I don't see how this is serving the series as a horror piece. Shouldn't the death of a character be an unpleasant shock, not a relief? In the next episode Megumi's friend ruminates on her fate in a decent attempt to drive the fear of death thing through. Isn't it trying to get the audience to take death seriously?