ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Kelechi Egbezor First of all, the soundtrack for 'Shiki' is wonderful which really adds to the experience. Shiki started off a little bit slowly, but it's definitely worth the wait. During this time you'll get to know the characters and most likely take sides. However, it quickly changes paths. I have never been into vampires, werewolves or anything of that sort and if I had known beforehand that this would be a vampire anime, I probably wouldn't have given it the time of day. I'm happy that I didn't know and that I did watch it. (Possible spoilers) You start off siding with the humans (Of course) However, towards the end of the anime you'll definitely find yourself questioning who the true monsters are. You might find yourself thinking about things such as eating meat, and whether it's so different to the vampires/humans. I don't want to go into too much detail as it will spoil the anime for those who haven't watched it, but this anime is definitely worth a watch all the way through.

dandbone Anime series are special in that however bad they are, there is a cult following. Shiki does have its own cult following, but, unlike most anime, deserves it. The obvious things: animation is great, vampires are done right, characters are well developed and the story is entertaining.While I did not particularly like any of the characters, I appreciate that they are well done. Cartoon characters have a way of being too generic, their actions are determined by very few parameters (a wish, a feeling). This is not the case here. Both vampires and humans seem to have complex personalities and that's what makes the drama here more interesting.One of the themes here is the possibility of peaceful coexistence of people and vampires. The questions about this are settled in the final episodes in a quite disturbing way.Vampires are done right in the series. They can only walk at night, they can be killed with wooden stakes, they are burned by the sunlight and must sleep during the day. They also have the ability to hypnotize their victims and they look different. Their eyes look different, and that subtle difference is what I liked. Murdered people transform into vampires with a 30-50% probability which is quite unsettling from the mathematical standpoint, but that's just a technicality.To me, the most interesting was the relationship between the priest and the vampire girl, Sunako.

tusharlalmohan At first I read about Shiki on various rating sites as I was looking for an anime on horror and dark themes. Little did I realize that I was going to stumble upon a vampire story. If I would had known it was a vampire story I am sure my interest would have faded out, and I am glad I didn't. The story starts slowly, but doesn't bore the heck out of people with unwanted episodes. It is direct and it grows on you. The music is also really well matched, as it suits the darkness that is there in the anime. The series makes you wonder whether the plight to survive can make us all into monsters, or is it just that there is a monster waiting to come out in each and every one of us? Happy watching! ;)

Max Prodanov Shiki is a story that gathers pace and becomes more and more interesting as it goes on. I haven't read the novel, but having seen the anime, this wasn't immediately obvious after the first couple of episodes. It's a relatively simple premise at first - vampires trying to take over a small village, protagonists teaming up to stop them. Some of the characters are shallow and stereotypical at first and their behavior is often counter-intuitive. But as the plot and characters start to develop, as the story unfolds, everything changes very quickly for the better. In the end, it's a profound and deeply engaging experience.To backtrack a little, I was expecting something like "Higurashi no naku koro ni" (When Cicadas Cry), and although Shiki isn't as complex, it keeps your mind moving, and, very importantly, it doesn't become preachy or easily predictable. Without spoiling the story too much, there's a very satisfying moment near the end, which is followed by a graphic turnaround (the hunt in the sewers) that makes you rethink your position completely. Personally, I love this game with the reader/viewer's moral compass - to make them choose a team, to make them cheer, and then to show another side of the story that totally changes their perspective. I don't doubt this was well done in the novel, and I love how it was done in the anime. I would recommend Shiki because it's a surprisingly deep story.