Full Series Review!
In the small Japanese village of Sotoba, a series of mysterious deaths causes the resident doctor, Toshio Ozaki to suspect an epidemic. Upon further investigation, he begins to believe the deaths may have a dark connection to the arrival of a strange family. Upon discovering the truth that the Kirishikis are Shiki (literally translated to “corpse demon”), vampiric creatures preying upon the village, Toshio, as well as teenager Natsuno Yuuki take it upon themselves to open the eyes of the villages to the truth.
I’ve read this manga twice and watched the anime three times now and while it’s a vastly entertaining story, what I adore about it is its complexity. I notice new things with each read/watch as it’s certainly not a narrative that spoon feeds you anything. There are many plot points that make you connect the dots or come to your own conclusion given the character motivations and philosophies.
The tone is quite tragic overall as family and friends are torn apart by the increasing number of the undead in Sotoba. It’s also dangerous to get attached to any character, as they may just turn into a vampire (for better or for worse). As the story progresses, characters go insane with grief (one especially chilling scene is the description of vampires who choose to bite their own lips in order to experience a numbness akin to an alcoholic stupor) or give into their darkest sides when confronted with the horrifying existence of the Shiki.
The series does a fantastic job with its nuanced portrayal of the humans vs. vampire plot line (you’ll start to wonder who is actually antagonizing who), as well as presenting the hardships of living within a stifling traditionalist and rural environment. There are several characters I have a love-hate relationship with, but in the context of growing up in families where they have little choice or control over their futures, they are much easier to understand and empathize with.
Speaking of characters, although we see perspectives from a variety of the vampires and villagers, Shiki has three primary characters with their own distinctive and dynamic story arcs. The character with the most chapters dedicated to him (and my personal favorite) is 15 year old Natsuno Yuuki. He’s often grouchy and hates that his parents moved them from a big city to the village. He makes it a point not to make any friends, although that changes when circumstances force him to take up arms against the Shiki. Depending on your perspective, he, along with Toshio are the “heroes” of the series, although their arcs and motivations take vastly different directions. While Natsuno’s ill feelings toward the villagers and general apathy change into a will to stop the endless deaths, Toshio’s good natured motivations gradually transform into something much darker.
As part of the three most important families in Sotoba and the heir to the Ozaki clinic, Toshio was born to become the sole doctor in the village. He is reminded me of this utmost important and serious duty often by his overbearing mother, although it is hinted in flashbacks that if not for this pressure, he might not have necessarily chosen this path otherwise. Nevertheless, Toshio has grown into a competent and determined doctor, making him all the more distressed when he cannot pinpoint the cause of death for so many villagers. Once he discovers vampires are to blame, Toshio has already been rapidly approaching a point of madness. His plan to eradicate the vampires to take back his village leads him to embrace a destructive and violent path.
The third main character, Seishin Muroi, acts as both a foil and parallel character to Toshio. As Junior Priest of Sotoba who will take on the role of head following the death of his ill father, his role in the village has always been spelled out crystal clear for him. It is revealed he despises the village and resents the residents for using his family as a tool for their own spiritual peace of mind. Although as children, he agreed with his best friend, Toshio that they need not be vehicles for the continuation of family tradition, neither of them end up living up to that statement as adults. Seishin finds personal enjoyment in writing essays and novels, however he knows he cannot hope to break away from his duties as priest. This inner turmoil is perhaps why he ultimately sides with the Shiki and welcomes the destruction of the village. He cares for Toshio and is saddened by his initial helplessness, and later, his dark descent, but knows they must part ways as their motivations no longer align.
I love the snippets of perspectives from all the other secondary and tertiary characters, as well. They are all realistically portrayed, with morally grey characteristics or possessing both positive and negative traits. Even arguably the worst villain of the series, Tatsumi can be praised for his unwavering loyalty to the Kirishiki family. Their leader, Sunako’s plan to turn Sotoba into a Shiki village comes from wanting a safe haven where they don’t have to hide, which is quite sympathetic. On the flip side, it is also reasonable to understand the motivations of the angry villagers hunting down the vampires who have claimed their loved ones (although as one brave villager points out in a later volume, his son, along with other’s family members might have become undead and states he’d rather abandon the village than kill his own boy despite what he may have become). What is more difficult to justify are the increasingly heinous actions toward the Shiki and other villagers.
Other effective elements of the manga include the art style and suspenseful narrative structure. The shading in many of the panels is quite dark and eerie, creating the perfect atmosphere and mood for a horror manga. Many of the events are told out of consecutive order and because chapters often focus on one of the three main characters or a secondary character, there are instances where you won’t see certain ones for quite awhile after a tense scene and wonder what the hell happened to them. The chapters themselves are given seriously creepy titles like “Rotting and Decay” and “Grief and Slaughter,” constantly reminding you that this is indeed a tragic story.
Besides the major themes of man vs. monster, moral decline, and family tradition, I also find some interesting queer subtext between Natsuno and his best friend, Tohru. It’s difficult to delve into all the complexities of their dynamic without venturing into major spoiler territory, but the fondness with which they speak to each other (using the Japanese honorific of -chan is a very intimate form of address between two male friends) and the lengths Natsuno in particular is willing to take for Tohru is profoundly evident of deeper feelings.
So as not to ramble on until the end of time, I’ll wrap up this review by saying now that I’m understanding how I conceptualize my enjoyment of manga, I’m finding I have nothing negative to say about Shiki. This series gets a full five stars from me and I’m calling it a hidden gem and a slow-burn masterpiece. It’s the sort of fiction that provokes deep thoughts, a great love for its characters and plot development, as well as causes you to feel like you aren’t the same person as you when you started reading.