Shiki

Shiki (Corpse Demon/Death Spirit) was originally a horror novel published in 1998 only to be reprinted in 2002. The anime version of the manga was then aired in July 8th, 2010 and ended that same year on December 30th.

Plot

The setting is Sotoba, Japan, a small village during a hot summer in the 1990's. After the move in of a strange family to the long abandoned Kanemasa mansion, a series of unexpected deaths occur. From the beautiful, pink haired deviant Shimizu Megumi to nearly the whole village. Not only are these deaths unexpected, but it seems as if the condition for the person worsens along with the fact that they are in a semi-hypnotic state.

Doctor Ozaki Toshio, junior doctor of Sotoba's only hospital, intially defines this random spur of deaths as an epidemic. Of course, as the series continues, he along with a few open-minded characters believe that this is the work of a shiki, "corpse demon", that has been infected by vampires and rose up from the dead only to bring more harm to surviving humans in the isolated village.

While the series initially starts off with the cute and innocent Shimizu Megumi, it branches off with her as the first death to that as a running hell show brandished by okiagari,"ones who have risen".

Overall

I've watched many animes, branching off from the regular Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh might I add, but I've never been overly obsessed with them as I was with Shiki. I think for the majority, I adored the cliffhangers at the end and while a few characters did seem to get on my nerves, it didn't last for a long period of time as it was more so developing that simple being.

Being emotionally invested into this anime was something that hit hard at the end, seeing to how disastrously it all ended for Sotoba and the villagers within it.

There is not a doubt in my mind that dedicated viewers haven't gotten attached to the bad and the good characters within this. Truly tearing my heart down the middle was the fact that even if the okiagari were meant to kill innocent individuals, the torture and pain they felt after committing such heinous crimes showed nothing but true human emotion.

There are so many respectable characters in this as well as real-life ties that made me think, "What would I do if I were in his/her shoes?" and I think that really enhanced that of the anime. It was a very in-depth, slightly nerve wracking and scary bit to watch, but worth it nonetheless.

My all time favorite character is hard to choose. The list is never ending. While in the beginning I rather respected Dr. Ozaki Toshio who simple does some horrid things for the village survivors, I can't help but think that by the end he truly lost his mind after releasing the news of the curse falling before Sotoba.

Junior monk, Muroi Seishin was that of any other person struggling in the works of his life. With previous bouts of suffering from internal depression, I couldn't help but fall for him even more than I already had. The fact of the matter was that he expressed something almost all of us could relate to even myself. The previous incident of self-harm he had inflicted on himself is only a small snippet of his character. Also being a part-time novelist for his own hobbies does an okiagari by the name of Sunako, a child, find interest in him. Previously coming to feed off of him, does she spare his life by the intense love and admiration she feels towards him.

The emotional and religious aspect probably made Sunako and Seishin my all time favorite ship even though there wasn't anything romantically involved.

Aside that, I give this anime a million stars. I can't express how much I adored this.