Shiki

In the rural town of Sotoba, mysterious deaths force Doctor Ozaki Toshio and monk Muroi Seishin to investigate. Upon examining the bodies, Ozaki finds that the victims suffered from a rare case of anemia and had mysterious insect bites somewhere in their bodies. Other than those, he has no more clues passing it off first as an epidemic. Coincidentally, the deaths began occurring when the Kirishiki family moved into town, but with so little evidence of their involvement, no one but an old lady suspected the family. As the numbers piled up and an attempt to cover up the deaths was discovered, Ozaki thinks he is up against something more terrifying than a disease.

Meanwhile Muroi meets one of the Kirishikis, a girl named Sunako, who has a disease preventing her from going out at night. The two seem to get along very well especially when Muroi brought up his novels including the latest called Shiki. 

Although Muroi wanted to help with the investigation by interviewing the victims' families, Ozaki disagrees pointing out that Muroi's approach isn't helpful. It was the beginning of the falling out of the two, culminating in a gruesome discovery later.

Natsuno

At the start of the investigation, the doctor believed that the first victim was Shimizu Megumi. Megumi, a girl noted for her choice of outfits, dreams of a life outside Sotoba. She admittedly hates the rural townsfolk including Tanaka Kaori whom she ignores. Her attention is set on Yuuki Natsuno, who unfortunately dislikes her. Natsuno finds Megumi bothersome and creepy. Her death only worsened things. Not only does he suspect that Megumi is still around but that she is planning something against Natsuno's friend, Mutou Toru.

The isolated setting of Sotoba is a perfect setting for the buildup of the mystery of deaths. The characters are slowly and literally trapped until there is almost no solution. The climax is all the more exciting because of that trap set up by the perpetrators of the "plague" and it seems like only three residents have uncovered the truth. What they will do about it is something to look forward to in the 22 episodes and 2 OVAs. The complete turnaround of the situation in the last few episodes to me was epic. 

Ozaki and Muroi

When I read that there would be blood-sucking creatures involved I was hesitant to watch because most tv series/movies/books that have the same theme are predictable, boring, and have nothing new to offer. The genre usually attempts to romanticize the characters and even make them more appealing than their human counterparts. Shiki attempted that as well but it did not downplay the humans. There was an attempt to retain human qualities in the shiki therefore allowing a striking contrast between the humans' reason for survival and the shikis' reason for holding on to their lonely existence.

The Kirishikis

Some of the outfits and hairstyles look really funny considering that this is a bloody, horror and mystery series. The excellent manipulation of multiple characters (an entire village) and the fast pace of the series is no laughing matter however. Based on the novel by Fuyumi Ono, author of the equally impressive Ghost Hunt, you wouldn't expect anything less.

The shiki

Shiki is a gut-wrenching, emotionally stirring series. It's difficult to stop watching halfway through it. Shiki kept me on the edge of my seat. It was the first time in any anime that I literally cheered on for the characters in the last few episodes. Within 23 minutes of each episode I found myself angry or sad or excited with each new discovery. Don't let the genre and oversaturated theme turn you off. Shiki is way better than the current blood-sucking theme trash you'll find these days.

Rating: 10 out of 10