Shiki simulwatch [RS] (15th September)
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Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Heh they're as good as some of the other music is bad!I was just listening to the awesome Buck-Tick singles today!
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
I'll decide on my avatar by episode 3 I think, see who I like
That was a user called Phobos. You can see that that avatar is still in place if you check out this thread he started:
So what’s your MyAnimeList statistics?
I figured I’d start this as a few folks have posted theirs in the viewing journal thread and rather than bog that down with unrelated posts I thought a dedicated thread might be better. No idea if one already exists though... Anyway... this is mine. After sorting through the a’s, (there a few...
forums.animeuknews.net
Eternal chibi
Student Council President
As this is a Shiki thread truck kun make way...
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Absolutely, so sorry I was being very presumptuous but inadvertently if that helps heh.I'll decide on my avatar by episode 3 I think, see who I like
Ah yes I remember now thinking they've got good taste in avatars!That was a user called Phobos. You can see that that avatar is still in place if you check out this thread he started:
So what’s your MyAnimeList statistics?
I figured I’d start this as a few folks have posted theirs in the viewing journal thread and rather than bog that down with unrelated posts I thought a dedicated thread might be better. No idea if one already exists though... Anyway... this is mine. After sorting through the a’s, (there a few...
Aha to be isekai'd Konosuba style! Two shows that would not be expected to have crossovers heh.As this is a Shiki thread truck kun make way...
Episode 1 - re-watch
Reminded of the great op, but mainly down to the banging Buck-Tick song (didn't know of them until watching this show and their style reminded me of Echo & the Bunnymen).
In the opposite of village life being depicted as beautifully idyllic in our recent Barakamon simulwatch, Shiki's village is very much viewed as the height of mundanity with old people, cows & a yet-to-isekai-anyone tractor-kun, for Megumi our trapped teen with big dreams who has no patience for the village or its inhabitants. She's obsessed with the surly looking Yuuki, who dishes a disdain for her that is equal to what she does for the villagers - match made in heaven methinks. Having just watched Future Diary only recently, I found this scenario very reminiscent with a pink-haired, nutty stalker girlie going "Yuuukiiii" in a sickly deranged voice - must have been the in-thing a decade back. And on fashionable hairstyles, I'm guessing the cat-boy craze didn't take off, or maybe it's just meant to represent foreign hairstyles.
Some strange happenings hinted at in the background with a possible murder mystery (or is it?!) and of course the spooky newcomers in the village. The character designs are clearly not what I had expected of a horror show and made me think of CLAMP, based on their reputed style and my relatively recent watch of their handiwork in Blood-C. A bit of bad karaoke for the ed - it is not often I skip end credits but I'll have to make an exception for this.
Overall that was very more-ish and I had to hold off watching the next one heh.
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Episode 1
As a first time viewer I had no pre-conceptions really at all on this one, first 2-3 episodes of any show are usually kind of setup for me where I get to gel with the setup a bit, get a feel for it, and see who is who.
Megumi is trying her best to be out-of-place, even rumours of murders from her friends are met with "don't care" replies. I can't think that tiny umbrella she has is doing much to keep her in the shade. I thought exactly as you did @Geriatric hedgehog , she reminded me heavily of a certain pink haired yandere of Future Diary fame.
Ash Ketchum stops chasing Pokemon and gets a job as a police officer for a change of pace.
That new family are clearly very suspicious, certain aspects of this episode seem to suggest the presence of your standard horror supernatural elements such as vampires and werewolves. Moving into the house at the dead of night, talk of wild dogs, anemia, and of course the house itself is a creepy castle which gives off mist even in the daylight.
The wacky hairstyles in this though, you weren't wrong!
Poor Megumi is the first victim who wasn't a side character.
Interested to see where this goes next!
As a first time viewer I had no pre-conceptions really at all on this one, first 2-3 episodes of any show are usually kind of setup for me where I get to gel with the setup a bit, get a feel for it, and see who is who.
Megumi is trying her best to be out-of-place, even rumours of murders from her friends are met with "don't care" replies. I can't think that tiny umbrella she has is doing much to keep her in the shade. I thought exactly as you did @Geriatric hedgehog , she reminded me heavily of a certain pink haired yandere of Future Diary fame.
Ash Ketchum stops chasing Pokemon and gets a job as a police officer for a change of pace.
That new family are clearly very suspicious, certain aspects of this episode seem to suggest the presence of your standard horror supernatural elements such as vampires and werewolves. Moving into the house at the dead of night, talk of wild dogs, anemia, and of course the house itself is a creepy castle which gives off mist even in the daylight.
The wacky hairstyles in this though, you weren't wrong!
Poor Megumi is the first victim who wasn't a side character.
Interested to see where this goes next!
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Episode 2
Lots of stuff happened here, still chewing on events, but I like this kind of thing where you have to try and work out what's going on.
What is clear is that there are lots of people dying, a lot more than usual, and they mentioned the last time this happened notably was about 20 years before, although they also said there were quite a few deaths the year before the current one.
They suspect a pandemic, but I think it's clear there is more going on, and the castle is at the centre of it all somehow.
I wonder if we'll get at least one death per episode!
Lots of stuff happened here, still chewing on events, but I like this kind of thing where you have to try and work out what's going on.
What is clear is that there are lots of people dying, a lot more than usual, and they mentioned the last time this happened notably was about 20 years before, although they also said there were quite a few deaths the year before the current one.
They suspect a pandemic, but I think it's clear there is more going on, and the castle is at the centre of it all somehow.
I wonder if we'll get at least one death per episode!
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
I love that about Shiki, with the horror lore being standard old-school! Another example from the next episode, and probably also in the first, was the disembodied eyes over the dark background. The creepy old-school horror music score also sets the tone perfectly.
Yeah I really find the design aesthetic quite jarring, except for one character, yet to be introduced, whom I think it fits perfectly somehow.The wacky hairstyles in this though, you weren't wrong!
Episode 2 loses the comedy with the sombre atmosphere around Megumi's death. It gets pretty busy introducing loads of villagers, that is hard to keep up with, and also:
Gone up exponentially eh and does quite fit the contagion pattern which any society with access to contemporary scientific principles would correctly assume.
We also get to spend more time in the company of the utterly charming Yuuki... And the hairstyle that was arguably the inspiration for the monster from stranger things:
Looking forward to having more stranger danger from the new inhabitants brazen enough to tear down the old Japanese house on a hilltop to construct a European castle over its grounds to lord it over the village. Next thing you know they'll be stealing their jobs & women...
RadFemHedonist
Mad Scientist
That made me chuckle XD
I'm not actually rewatching Shiki rn but wanted to add that when I did watch it it was interesting to compare and contrast with Fuyumi Ono's not-really-a-horror as such fantasy series The Twelve Kingdoms, now, some pretty grim stuff at least almost happens in TTK NGL but it's intriguing to think about how the anime versions perhaps might divert more than the original written material because of the differing creative staff and stuff like that, especially given that Ono appears to be primarily a horror writer, yet TTK is the series of hers that I'm utterly obsessed with! Kind of like how the manga series Bitter Virgin is a pretty drastic departure from the other works of Mayumi Ohashi (pen name Kei Kusunoki) and her twin sister Kaoru Ohashi (I just found out they are twins today!), which are mostly horror (though Mayumi also writes comedy from what the Wiki said)
Twelve Kingdoms is less cynical than Shiki, though it's in it's own way somewhat ruthless about certain things. Certain things in Shiki that stick with me even now I will try to take the time to comment on when the simulwatch reaches those episodes
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Which I hope it will inevitably kill off!
Certain things in Shiki that stick with me even now I will try to take the time to comment on when the simulwatch reaches those episodes
Sounds good to me
Planning to watch episode 3 when it gets dark later on!
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Heh guess you'll just have to wait and see! Death toll limited to just one in the third episode, though the open invitations these villagers seem intent on throwing around are rather disconcerting. Was priest man plagiarising Berserk somewhat at the start? When it comes to annoying teens, Masao does a great job at being effortlessly obnoxious, I feel for anyone joining a family with him in it...Which I hope it will inevitably kill off!
And we get to meet the European family (with Japanese names mind you) who are effectively creepy. Sunako quite the precocious enigma who you don't want to make angry, and yes the crazy hairstyles are just perfect for her character!
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Haven't experienced any of Ono's other works but shall definitely keep an eye out now. The Twelve Kingdoms I have heard and hopefully will eventually get around it after working through my various to-do/watch-lists.
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Episode 3
I'll keep this brief as it's late and I'm tired, and I've been trying to fix a stupid half-broken hard drive that works in windows but not on my NAS
So we do indeed get another death today, Nao is dead, and Yuuki seems to be coming down with the same thing potentially.
I could not agree more with you, Masao was very creepy and unlikeable!
I think perhaps you could explain away the openness to invite people over as how they are in their close-knit community where being neighbourly is the order of the day, they don't seem to harbour the same suspicions about people as most of us would about strangers. Although with like 10 people or more dead in that month, you may think they'd have some kind of guard up.
Sunako, very creepy, I want to find out more about the family in the big European house and what the agenda is, I can't imagine it's anything good though.
I'll keep this brief as it's late and I'm tired, and I've been trying to fix a stupid half-broken hard drive that works in windows but not on my NAS
So we do indeed get another death today, Nao is dead, and Yuuki seems to be coming down with the same thing potentially.
I could not agree more with you, Masao was very creepy and unlikeable!
I think perhaps you could explain away the openness to invite people over as how they are in their close-knit community where being neighbourly is the order of the day, they don't seem to harbour the same suspicions about people as most of us would about strangers. Although with like 10 people or more dead in that month, you may think they'd have some kind of guard up.
Sunako, very creepy, I want to find out more about the family in the big European house and what the agenda is, I can't imagine it's anything good though.
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Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Episode 4
More deaths! I really hope we get at least one per episode. People seem to be noticing that the death toll is rising.
I figured it was about time the vampirism made it'sbite mark.
Definitely getting flashbacks to Future Diary... "Yuuukkiiii". Megumi is back, and this time more gothic than ever before.
More deaths! I really hope we get at least one per episode. People seem to be noticing that the death toll is rising.
I figured it was about time the vampirism made it's
Definitely getting flashbacks to Future Diary... "Yuuukkiiii". Megumi is back, and this time more gothic than ever before.
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
For him it's more straightforward sleep deprivation due to the hauntings from the girl
Absolutely and I completely agree, I was just being meta-facetious as a viewer watching a vampire anime heh. But yes that small community openness is not unusual, though if you wanted some cynical takes on that interesting point, one could be that they just want to snoop & gossip (nothing better to do in ze village?), and another would be that the welcome only lasts as long as no threats are perceived on an instinctual level from the visitor/s being too different (they definitely want to kill us and take over!) or carrying other transmissible afflictions (disease - something slowly dawning on these villagers; or even beliefs, be they related to religion, culture, sexuality, etc). But for now I digress, so moving on to episode 4.
More indeed, after only the one focused on in the last episode, we now have the exponential increase that would fit with a contagion. The medics have noticed and prove they're very smart indeed by throwing out some more medical jargon & abbreviations. King/chief/boss medic has all the females & other beta gorillas know their place by seating himself in not only a more grand chair, no no no, but in a frigging sofa at the head of the table, with the mandatory alpha Yakuza pose. Made me chuckle heheh.
Sunako mentions some nice insights on the one certainty in life & the great equaliser that is death and how it is tragic regardless of individual circumstances such as age. Priest-man surely getting more suspicious of her being wise before her years and her medical condition (ah isn't there a coincidental epidemic).
Heheh I felt exactly the same. I thoroughly enjoy her classic old-school horror portrayal with music and visuals to match - very, very creepy! When nothing is ultimately scarier than plain ol' man himself, it is a really nice touch that Yuuuukiii-boy is losing far more sleep over the monster version of Megumi, and is not spared in the daytime either. Shame he decides to spend the night with a friend who has an open invitation policy for strangers...
Random thoughts:
- no hair left behind!!! with facial hair and moustaches also benefitting from the gravity-defying grooming techniques!
- do only female vampires get the super-creepy blacked-out-eyeballs look?
RadFemHedonist
Mad Scientist
Just wanna say that I thoroughly enjoyed the ridiculous (I almost wrote riduculous... riduckulous? I guess ducks are quite comical tbf ) hairstyles when watching the OP but was mostly too unsettled while watching the actual show to keep chuckling 
Yeah, they were two of the best characters IMO, though tbf one thing I remember liking about the show is that they do try to flesh out all or at least most of the cast as much as they can, or at least more than a lesser show would have done when it comes to psychology/motivations. Also a valid point about the differing beliefs thing re: the villagers as pertains to outsiders/visitors (I was thinking similar things). To be vaguely optimistic for a second (forgive meeee!
) I guess my opinion on that is that you are right that that kind of small-town/village "welcoming"/"open door" policy is not enough to make a truly good set of people if the insularity continues to lurk under the surface, BUT I do think that there are cases where enough self-examination/evaluation and combatting of such prejudices has been done in an environment like that that the warmth of the community is actually genuine and you get a lot of the good stuff without so much of the bad? I guess my point is that it's a bit like saying that cities are isolationist and depersonalised and everyone's just out for themselves - having lived in a city there is a fair bit of truth to the alienation bit (not that I'm any kind of hardcore Marxist and I haven't read his books, but he really had a point about that from what I have read about the concept), but there's also kind people, decent people and neighbours and communities and so on. And cities have their own good side, like, you know:
It's like, I know that those two videos I posted have unrealistic and artificial elements (pretty sure that Pogo vid uses footage from something GAP put out lol) but tbf most villages don't end with mass murder, so there!
I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone here who's a live-action horror fan has an opinion on Shiki in relation to that as well, also who's watching sub and who's watching dub? The dub is very good IMO
) hairstyles when watching the OP but was mostly too unsettled while watching the actual show to keep chuckling Yeah, they were two of the best characters IMO, though tbf one thing I remember liking about the show is that they do try to flesh out all or at least most of the cast as much as they can, or at least more than a lesser show would have done when it comes to psychology/motivations. Also a valid point about the differing beliefs thing re: the villagers as pertains to outsiders/visitors (I was thinking similar things). To be vaguely optimistic for a second (forgive meeee!
) I guess my opinion on that is that you are right that that kind of small-town/village "welcoming"/"open door" policy is not enough to make a truly good set of people if the insularity continues to lurk under the surface, BUT I do think that there are cases where enough self-examination/evaluation and combatting of such prejudices has been done in an environment like that that the warmth of the community is actually genuine and you get a lot of the good stuff without so much of the bad? I guess my point is that it's a bit like saying that cities are isolationist and depersonalised and everyone's just out for themselves - having lived in a city there is a fair bit of truth to the alienation bit (not that I'm any kind of hardcore Marxist and I haven't read his books, but he really had a point about that from what I have read about the concept), but there's also kind people, decent people and neighbours and communities and so on. And cities have their own good side, like, you know:It's like, I know that those two videos I posted have unrealistic and artificial elements (pretty sure that Pogo vid uses footage from something GAP put out lol) but tbf most villages don't end with mass murder, so there!
I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone here who's a live-action horror fan has an opinion on Shiki in relation to that as well, also who's watching sub and who's watching dub? The dub is very good IMO
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Yeah for me too, as with the series progressing I noticed the crazy hairstyles less and less, which is quite a testament to the horror it so effectively invokes.Just wanna say that I thoroughly enjoyed the ridiculous (I almost wrote riduculous... riduckulous? I guess ducks are quite comical tbf
Heheh please do be optimistic, I was merely playing devil's advocate with the pessimistic streak. For my simple psychology, people are just people, and not so easily fitting into good/bad/neutral categories, rather having a very fluid adaptibility potential with someone viewed as good & magnanimous potentially being reduced to a murderous lech in certain circumstances and vice versa. So basically my take is generally not to judge or write anyone off when it comes to either potential for good or evil as that is just human nature. One can only hope to make decisions that are ultimately for the greatest good for all and not just the individual, though that is certainly not to say that it is wrong to look out for oneself either. But I digress, and coming back to Shiki, the villagers friendliness is only accelerating their downfall and perhaps they should have been isolationist and not Barakamon-friendly (though of the two villages I certainly know which one I'd rather live in heh).To be vaguely optimistic for a second (forgive meeee!
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Episode 5
Was at least one death in this one, and it was central to the episode as well, Toru-chan. He dead at the hands of the best yandere going, Megumi. "Yuuukkkii..."
It's good to see some actual brains being used to work out what is going on, the link to people quitting their jobs before dying seems to point to it being something more than just a nameless pandemic, and the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fit together.
I was rooting for someone to kill Masao though, he was annoying! Fortunately it looks like I may have gotten my wish, with tree camper-kun at the end of the episode
Side note: I wonder what laws govern the "turned" people, interested to see. It's almost like one person gets turned and goes off to kill someone else before ultimately dying. But I did note that some of the vamps have been around for a while. From previous vampire things I've seen there are sometimes different tiers of vampires, so maybe some are just temporary and don't last.
On the positive side, the funeral business must be booming right now!
You are right, I think I was quite tired myself, and wondered if he got struck down off-screen at some point with the same thing as the others.
Yep, when you're bored and nothing else to do, gossip is the way to alleviate it
Yep as if the big black eyes aren't a sign there is a problem as well! Today I learnt that Sunako is voiced by Aoi Yuuki in the sub version, so looking forward to hearing more of her work, she's very good in everything I've seen her in, and was practically carrying the Spider isekai herself.
I like Ritsoku's hair, how does this even work?
So far I've only seen the females have the blacked out eyes I think. We've seen the male ones and they didn't seem to have it.
You're probably right but I can't really watch dubs anymore, they always sound so American to me, subbed all the way.
I don't watch much live action horror to be honest, it's not my fav genre. I don't mind a thriller when I'm in the mood for it. I've seen things like Let the right one in and Interview with the Vampire though.
Clearly the Shiki one! you know you want the whacky hair-do and vampires...
Was at least one death in this one, and it was central to the episode as well, Toru-chan. He dead at the hands of the best yandere going, Megumi. "Yuuukkkii..."
It's good to see some actual brains being used to work out what is going on, the link to people quitting their jobs before dying seems to point to it being something more than just a nameless pandemic, and the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fit together.
I was rooting for someone to kill Masao though, he was annoying! Fortunately it looks like I may have gotten my wish, with tree camper-kun at the end of the episode
Side note: I wonder what laws govern the "turned" people, interested to see. It's almost like one person gets turned and goes off to kill someone else before ultimately dying. But I did note that some of the vamps have been around for a while. From previous vampire things I've seen there are sometimes different tiers of vampires, so maybe some are just temporary and don't last.
On the positive side, the funeral business must be booming right now!
You are right, I think I was quite tired myself, and wondered if he got struck down off-screen at some point with the same thing as the others.
Yep, when you're bored and nothing else to do, gossip is the way to alleviate it
Yep as if the big black eyes aren't a sign there is a problem as well! Today I learnt that Sunako is voiced by Aoi Yuuki in the sub version, so looking forward to hearing more of her work, she's very good in everything I've seen her in, and was practically carrying the Spider isekai herself.
I like Ritsoku's hair, how does this even work?
So far I've only seen the females have the blacked out eyes I think. We've seen the male ones and they didn't seem to have it.
I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone here who's a live-action horror fan has an opinion on Shiki in relation to that as well, also who's watching sub and who's watching dub? The dub is very good IMO
You're probably right but I can't really watch dubs anymore, they always sound so American to me, subbed all the way.
I don't watch much live action horror to be honest, it's not my fav genre. I don't mind a thriller when I'm in the mood for it. I've seen things like Let the right one in and Interview with the Vampire though.
Clearly the Shiki one! you know you want the whacky hair-do and vampires...
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Episode 6
I like how there seems to be at least one death per episode, and will be saddened if that ends. Masao dying was the big one today, he kind of looks like he'd make a creepy vampire so I'm hoping he comes back as one soon (and I hope Yuuki gets to kill him again for good measure).
I forgot to mention yesterday but I knew that ripping up that letter from Megumi would lead to trouble after she discovered it.
The doctor is trying his best to save people, but everything he does is in vain. I think he can't ignore what the priest said about the links between the victims and quitting their jobs for long, and his conversation with Yuuki has made him really start to question the nature of the problem.
I want to know more about Sunako and her willingness to converse with the priest, the others seem more interested in making victims, but she could probably have killed the priest 10 times over and seems to prefer his company to killing him, perhaps she is just showing him favour because she likes the books he writes.
That cliffhanger at the end though! Those kids gonna be in serious trouble very quickly!
I like how there seems to be at least one death per episode, and will be saddened if that ends. Masao dying was the big one today, he kind of looks like he'd make a creepy vampire so I'm hoping he comes back as one soon (and I hope Yuuki gets to kill him again for good measure).
I forgot to mention yesterday but I knew that ripping up that letter from Megumi would lead to trouble after she discovered it.
The doctor is trying his best to save people, but everything he does is in vain. I think he can't ignore what the priest said about the links between the victims and quitting their jobs for long, and his conversation with Yuuki has made him really start to question the nature of the problem.
I want to know more about Sunako and her willingness to converse with the priest, the others seem more interested in making victims, but she could probably have killed the priest 10 times over and seems to prefer his company to killing him, perhaps she is just showing him favour because she likes the books he writes.
That cliffhanger at the end though! Those kids gonna be in serious trouble very quickly!