Shiki simulwatch [RS] (15th September)

[Lordhippos]

Episode 13

This is from yesterday, Episode 14 is today so will post that later

I think it may take more than a medic to save these villagers, possibly a portable sun would do the trick?

The father of the priest knows what's up, he's seen it before.

Yuuki making himself food even to the last. I wonder if he's hoping he gets to rise up so he can cause chaos from within? Sometimes the best way to fight an enemy is to infiltrate and break it down from the inside. His dad probably doesn't have long left either now.

Poor Megumi, I think she is misguided here as she thinks Kaori wanted to steal away Yuuki from her.

Docs wife is kind of dead, by not letting her leave as a corpse, is he hoping to catch her awakening? Like Yuuki he will probably offer himself as food, either that or he may get the chance to use her in experiments like he wanted. Still can't see him wanting to be that horrible to his own wife even if she is now a vampire.

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 14

It's dark and raining like a tropical storm here, perfect weather for watching Shiki

So the elephant in the room, or in this case the test subject, is none other than the docs own waifu.

My own post about the two choices I think he had came true, and he went for the distasteful option, but I suppose he is desperate. Poor doc, he is clearly at the end of his tether, but as a man of science he isn't going to let this chance slip to run a battery of tests.

I think this is the first time that the humans have gotten the upper hand over the vampires, until now they always managed to intercept the ones waking up from their graves, the doc has stolen a march on them and has his own agenda.

I really liked seeing the almost candid way in which he showed all the testing being done, calm and methodical, he didn't lose his cool even once. Even at the end, to the priest, he just asked him to help "clean up the mess".

To treat his own waifu like that really took a lot of guts, and I wonder what kind of doc we'll see next episode!

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

So sorry to leave you in the lurch @Lordhippos, and have just caught up on the three episodes I've been behind on:

Episode 12 - Lots to ramble about on this episode! New opening that's okay but pretty generic compared to the previous one, though the cutting it in to the previous scene is still a great touch. Thankfully we have a swap around in quality with a great set of closing credits now with another great tune from Buck-Tick.

We get a glimpse of the Kirishiki household with Sunako pretty authoritative at the head of the table. Great discussions on the points regarding the relation between predator and prey, with the added conundrum of both parties being sentient with the predator still retaining knowledge of ethics/morals/rules whilst challenged with the insurmountable requirement for nutrition - the latter urge could be akin to someone attempting to stop breathing, whereby as much as one may try voluntarily the body will override any mental resistance, take over and resume the process. Toru's retorts and Sunako's talk imply that draining small amounts of blood at a time would not be enough to sustain them. It's likely that even if at the start, in their lower numbers, the Shiki were upfront with the then numerous villagers (surely enough to sustain the few Shiki) and came for peaceful coexistence, they would likely find themselves staked. Maybe the originals had even tried this in the past elsewhere in vain, hence by experience coming to the conclusion that there is no other way.

Regarding the lore, I've been wondering about the use of of mind control. We see Natsuno's mum as the latest victim (to ventriloquist girl perhaps? Or is it an open invitation to any Shiki??) who is very much towing the company line. Toru, as a Shiki, does the same despite being self-aware but is clearly too scared of the bosses & likely also too hungry/thirsty to respond to his friend's offer of searching for a way to co-exist (exactly what we were talking about earlier True Blood style). In all this Natsuno still does not seem to be signing up to team Shiki entirely willingly it seems, whilst his dream of an escape from the village (to the life of a big city office-worker!) literally fades away. On that matter Megumi similarly even further trapped in her idea of hell in this Hick-town.

Other thoughts on the daddys:

• I wonder if daddy Shiki is a daywalker at all, like Tatsumi, or rather a human guard/carer in the vein of "Let the Right One In".
• Natsuno's dad not buying any of the superstitious thoughts of the silly village folk - his limited "city" enlightenment/knowledge resulting in enough hubris that will likely come back to bite him in the @$$, uhhh, I mean neck

Episode 13 has some more on the mind control used by the Shiki on most of the villagers including Natsuno's mother. But as for Natsuno, he didn't seem to be so much under overt mind control as willingly letting his friend feed on him in the hope that he would eventually come around to his way of thinking - foolish human! Perhaps his stronger will let him overcome overt mind-control (or it just wasn't required with the emotional manipulation of using Toru) but if comes back as a daywalker, would be the equivalent of Blade in this show I wonder...

Somehow I don't think doctor-kun was on the best of terms with his wife, living far off previously, then when under the same roof being unaware that she had locked herself away for three days and now getting ready to use her for his experiments, what a meanie!

Episode 14 has the highlight return of the Masao!!! and a much deserved instant beatdown straight off the bat heheh. The additional revelation of the big-city unit to meet the Shiki's additional livestock needs is concerning. The Ebuchi dude, seen seated at the Kirishiki's dinner, is formally introduced. Ozaki continues his scientific enquiry on the birth of a Shiki (and doesn't need a microscope to visualise on a cellular level...). Aaaaand then he proceeds right on to sadism in the name of science...sheesh that was pretty cruel to someone you supposedly love/d (not that they ever implied there was love here and maybe he just always reaaaaally hated his wife...). Would all this not have been easier on a faceless unknown Shiki that he only ever knew as a monster? Either way, for a character we've barely had much insight into to form much of an opinion of, that was still pretty effectively gut-wrenching & heartbreaking to watch. Things are getting darker...

makes you wonder, what would you do in the same situation?

Move somewhere with lots of long, sunny days like the Bahamas or Middle East!

I'm sorry that doesn't sound ideal, I am lucky as I can watch stuff whenever I want without issue!

Nah it's all good man, I'm very, very lucky but I do remember those bygone days of independence and freedom very fondly too heheh.

I'd wondered if they had developed some really good suncream

Excellent point, like the True Blood coexistence one, with both begging the question "why not?!". Though like on the feeding aspect, I will assume they tried, fried and cried/decided it wasn't feasible.

Tip of the cap to you, man.

And for being able to still fit in some anime viewing around it as well!

Thanks dude, I'm still very fortunate amongst my colleagues relating to my work schedule. And as for anime, I definitely make time for them (at the expense of some sleep every now and again heh) given the happy escapism that is sometimes required from the ennui & headaches of first-world problems!

The father of the priest knows what's up, he's seen it before.

He's certainly suspicious isn't he? Given his welcome letter to the Kirishikis, I wonder if he is planning a parley, an ambush or a request to join them and live forever!

Ugh my comments order is all confused, and I'm temporarily back on your takes on episode 12:

What I find interesting is that the vampires don't seem to be all that strong supernaturally, Toru was really kind of struggling running after Yuuki.

Very good point, apart from the usual abilities they certainly don't seem significantly stronger, and remain fearful of humans if in small numbers. Toru was maybe limited by his guilt & hesitation, but same point likely to apply still.

Natsuno's mother does not seem like herself, I'd guess she is also become food.

I wonder why Natsuno's dad was spared? So far anyway...

I did chuckle at the Megumi greeting near the end, almost as is if she never died!

That was brilliant! The added focus on her in these last three episodes has been pretty good, with equal measures of comedy and spookiness.

Honestly I'm not that crazy about cat girls or boys in most of the shows I watch, the one exception being Neko-Hanekawa in Monogatari.

Hahaha that is a brilliant video! I couldn't agree with you more, not fussed either way about the cat-ears/accessories also, but Neko-Hanekawa really is adorable in that scene!

Back in order:

Yuuki making himself food even to the last. I wonder if he's hoping he gets to rise up so he can cause chaos from within? Sometimes the best way to fight an enemy is to infiltrate and break it down from the inside.

Ye olde Trojan horsey trick - good plan! But as the others mentioned, the hunger & thirst are irresistible so he would still likely need to make victims of the villagers he loves so much (well two of them at most anyway), though he could try out his plan to co-exist if possible.

Like Yuuki he will probably offer himself as food, either that or he may get the chance to use her in experiments like he wanted. Still can't see him wanting to be that horrible to his own wife even if she is now a vampire.

Ah I thought it would be the former too, but alas we got some real horror with the latter instead...

I really liked seeing the almost candid way in which he showed all the testing being done, calm and methodical, he didn't lose his cool even once. Even at the end, to the priest, he just asked him to help "clean up the mess".

Yeah he was pretty cold but the same logic for survival's sake as the Shiki's could be applied here and the whole need a monster to fight a monster adage.

Okay so will try and keep up with the watch, but apologies in advance for any days I miss and have to catch up on.

 

[RadFemHedonist]

Yeah so that scene I was talking about was the doctor experimenting on his wife... that was utterly chilling for me like... shudders ;-; I think I have more to say about it but not sure how to say it rn.

 

[Lordhippos]

Yeah so that scene I was talking about was the doctor experimenting on his wife... that was utterly chilling for me like... shudders ;-; I think I have more to say about it but not sure how to say it rn.

I did wonder if that was the scene you meant, as it was fairly brutal. I know his wife wasn't human anymore, but yeah, really brutal stuff!

So sorry to leave you in the lurch @Lordhippos, and have just caught up on the three episodes I've been behind on

Not a problem at all sir, happy you are here watching with me so I'm not alone, with the vampires..

If a day or two slips it's fine

New opening that's okay but pretty generic compared to the previous one

I do kinda miss the old one, I was getting into it more and more as the episodes ran through.

It's likely that even if at the start, in their lower numbers, the Shiki were upfront with the then numerous villagers (surely enough to sustain the few Shiki) and came for peaceful coexistence, they would likely find themselves staked

Definitely true I think, people are racist against vampires, they just want to suck some blood and party all night long.

I wonder if daddy Shiki is a daywalker at all, like Tatsumi, or rather a human guard/carer

That is an interesting theory, we've not seen any evidence either way yet, but certainly having a prominent household figure who is human would provide good cover.

comes back as a daywalker

I think Yuuki has to come back, I sense rebellion from the inside

Somehow I don't think doctor-kun was on the best of terms with his wife, living far off previously, then when under the same roof being unaware that she had locked herself away for three days and now getting ready to use her for his experiments, what a meanie!

I didn't really get a loving kind of impression between the two of them either tbh. I chalked it up to him being scared and not wanting her to be there, but it didn't seem like he wanted her to show up at all when she did.

Episode 14 has the highlight return of the Masao

that was still pretty effectively gut-wrenching & heartbreaking to watch

Yeah it takes a real cold fish to swim those waters for sure, and zero emotion shown whilst doing it, all very matter of fact. More like it was an obituary.

Move somewhere with lots of long, sunny days like the Bahamas or Middle East!

I definitely make time for them (at the expense of some sleep every now and again heh)

Anime > sleep to be fair

Ye olde Trojan horsey trick - good plan! But as the others mentioned, the hunger & thirst are irresistible so he would still likely need to make victims of the villagers he loves so much (well two of them at most anyway), though he could try out his plan to co-exist if possible.

He could do a Megumi and find a villager he dislikes! To be honest I kind of suspect if that is his plan, that he won't care if he lives, seems he doesn't need to feed every day, so he just needs a few days to get stuff done and then die with the rest of them.

I'm going to watch the next episode #15 soon and comment on it

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 15

Laying flowers for the one you killed is kind of wrong isn't it Toru-chan? Yuuki is back, knew he wouldn't vanish

The priest was right to walk away from "operation cleanup this mess". Sunako is moonlighting as his editor apparently

Even when the doc tries to tell people what is going on, no one believes him.

Waltzing into that office crawling with vampires at night was a bit of a mistake, and the gourmet vampire has declared her intent to seduce and/or eat the doc.

The real reason for the funeral home has become clear, and it's to make new vampires more efficiently. What I said before is still true though, how many do they want? how many people do they need to kill to feed them all? The funeral itself was like some strange game show.

Yuuki showing up at the end kind of proved what I thought, he isn't interested in killing randomly, work the problem from the inside!

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

people are racist against vampires, they just want to suck some blood and party all night long.

True dat! Sigh, ain't that the life...

Yeah it takes a real cold fish to swim those waters for sure, and zero emotion shown whilst doing it, all very matter of fact. More like it was an obituary.

Maybe doc is just a psychopath with zero empathy but can feign it in the rare instances we have seen him expressing any emotions to the odd patient or so.

He could do a Megumi and find a villager he dislikes! To be honest I kind of suspect if that is his plan, that he won't care if he lives, seems he doesn't need to feed every day, so he just needs a few days to get stuff done and then die with the rest of them.

Very true and that does fit very nicely. More a Trojan suicide bomber within the Trojan horse with no plan for long term survival.


Episode 15

The priest unsurprisingly refuses to help his sadistic friend, acknowledging the humanity still within the Shiki and throwing out the argument for supposedly greater good and noble causes being used to justify murder. Will he remain neutral in all this, or pick a side? Sunako's helped out with editing his new work with some nice pointers on the definition of murder including intent to kill. I'm a bit muddled as to whether the murder in his story is meant to only be a reference to him trying to snuff himself out previously, or something else he has done that I've missed hints to?

Other villagers growing more suspicious but too scared to undo the modern age's "brainwashing", as they nicely put it, and get their heads out of the sand to accept supernatural causes as the reason behind the deaths. Doctor-kun getting frustrated but is shown to have been exactly the same in his response when the priest raised his suspicions on the deaths and families "moving out". That brings us to the Shiki being very clued up to using bureaucracy to their advantage with confirmation that the residents "moving out" all having been a guise to cover up the death toll. What government institutions will send help now, with the lack of said bureaucratic evidence being the perfect justification for the expected "computer says no" response.

The funeral home bosses antics were disturbingly funny, in making a spectacle of the funeral process to the horror of relatives. Tatsumi has super smell abilities and was referred to as a jinrou, which reminds me of the jin-roh: the wolf brigade movie, so is this meant to be a term for a werewolf then?

The return of Yuuki as an ally gives the doc some hope when at his lowest he's resigned himself to his fate with the villagers refusing to wisen up to his warnings.

Sunako is moonlighting as his editor apparently

The real reason Shiki came to the village!!

the gourmet vampire has declared her intent to seduce and/or eat the

Heheh gourmet vampire - love it! The rare few would no doubt be super excited at that proposition.

The real reason for the funeral home has become clear

Yes, as you alluded just earlier:

to suck some blood and party all night long.

Yuuki showing up at the end kind of proved what I thought, he isn't interested in killing randomly, work the problem from the inside!

Yup, you were definitely on that one. My argument would be though, there is now a perfectly good vampire office for him to live up his implied office- aspirations within so why is he throwing away this chance?!

Coming back to your point on increasing the number of Shiki and sustainability, it doesn't seem practical does it? Even if they were creating a Shiki hub and sending them out to harvest from various cities, they would still need to keep up appearances for visitors from the outside world with enough activity within their village from normal folk during the daytime (seeing as I don't see them sprouting daywalkers right, left & centre) to avoid suspicion. Oh well, I don't see this weakness in logic being addressed somehow.

 

[Lordhippos]

I'm a bit muddled as to whether the murder in his story is meant to only be a reference to him trying to snuff himself out previously, or something else he has done that I've missed hints to?

There is so much killing being done that it's hard to keep track isn't it?

What government institutions will send help now, with the lack of said bureaucratic evidence being the perfect justification for the expected "computer says no" response.

Computer can't even really say no, it will just say 0 results found, perfectly safe place, nothing to see here.

Tatsumi has super smell abilities and was referred to as a jinrou

He's definitely a bit of an enigma, werewolf would get my guess, especially with those ears on

Oh well, I don't see this weakness in logic being addressed somehow.

Probably they will just make more and more vampires, and then if they get too many, they can re-make battle royale, vampire edition.

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 16

Things are really picking up pace

Is the vampire we see at the start with Sunako the same guy as the head of the household? the hair colour is not the same, but that doesn't mean it isn't.

Was good to get some more background on Sunako actually, and how she must have been living for a very, very long time. I always find it an interesting concept, how living forever eventually things get boring/mundane.

Nao's motive for attacking the family she loved was to turn them into monsters, and she is upset when instead she just kills them, A little short-sighted there love if you ask me!

Sunako wearing the cute outfit! made it my new avatar

Fairly sure that Kaori's brother always has bed head.

Kaori's dad being all sanctimonius with Megumi one minute, then the next he's taking her advice to go see his family.

Kaoris dad: "Todaima!"
Kaoris mum: "Okaeri! okiagiri!"

Well that trip to the family home went about as well as I would expect it to. It's funny that he couldn't go in, but he could as soon as the door was open, so not even an invitation, just an open door?

I couldn't agree with them more, what is the point of school when everyone is dying around them?

True to form, the old folk are still more interested in gossiping than anything else, and being nosy. In this case I think the old woman who noticed him running off on his vigilante mission may well prove pivotal to any hope of saving him.

Major point of this episode was around Yuuki and his plans, learnt two things:

1) That Yuuki is able to walk in the daytime like Neko-boy.
2) That some of the vampires don't seem to know he is back? Not sure how they wouldn't. Masao doesn't seem aware of it, and Toru keeps going to lay flowers for him.

Speaking of neko-boy, he turned the tables on the staking attempt quite handily, one minute the hunter, the next minute the victim. How will he get out of this situation?

I must wait until tomorrow to find out

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Episode 16 started with two tragic backstories. One of poor Nao who didn't seem to have the best life until she joined her husband's family, with the irony at herself being able to resurrect as an "evil" Shiki because she is from bad stock but her attempts to turn the good adopted family into Shiki being in vain and just sending them to straight to heaven! She was clearly not impressed:

And we also get Sunako's tragic backstory, who is now confirmed to be the real boss. Seems that her original family were very Japanese but just with a penchant for European houses. Her happy life was cut short in childhood thanks to a paedo-vamp, she woke up absolutely terrified being buried alive, survived by feeding off of kind strangers and was completely abandoned by her family and only went on to spend their entire lifetimes searching for them in vain whilst the world around her completely changed.

It's interesting that despite all the human lives lost to them, it is the Shiki coming across as truly tragic figures with these two back stories as an example and also the most horrific & cruel death so far being that of doctor-Kun's wife turned Shiki.

In other news, Yuuki is in fact a daywalker but minus the Neko accessories (it's not really Neko-boy now is it but I'm sticking with it!). His plan is definitely to end all Shiki, himself included. Megumi continues her vendetta against Kaori's family but is oh so funny whilst she is at it.

Probably they will just make more and more vampires, and then if they get too many, they can re-make battle royale, vampire edition.

A vampire battle royale is a great idea for an anime movie!

Is the vampire we see at the start with Sunako the same guy as the head of the household? the hair colour is not the same, but that doesn't mean it isn't.

He does look similar and I wondered the same but I doubt it's the same dude, how can I put it - he has more paedo-looking eyes and teeth heh. The Kirishiki dad and mum/gourmet-vamp both seem to be Sunako's underlings and just a front for the real boss.

I always find it an interesting concept, how living forever eventually things get boring/mundane.

Would do me wonders for catching up on my anime watchlist amongst others!

Sunako wearing the cute outfit! made it my new avatar

She does like her fancy hats:

Kaoris dad: "Todaima!"
Kaoris mum: "Okaeri! okiagiri!"

Hahaha brilliant!

That some of the vampires don't seem to know he is back? Not sure how they wouldn't. Masao doesn't seem aware of it, and Toru keeps going to lay flowers for him.

Yeah that seems odd doesn't it, the same way I find it odd that they control all other inductees rigourously with fear, whilst the most dangerous one is left to roam free. Let's not even get started on leaving doctor-kun to go his merry way...though gourmet-vamp did suggest she had plans for him.

 

[Neil.T]

... referred to as a jinrou, which reminds me of the jin-roh: the wolf brigade movie, so is this meant to be a term for a werewolf then?

It is indeed, yeah. It's written as 人狼, using the characters for "person" and "wolf" in that order.

 

[Lordhippos]

In other news, Yuuki is in fact a daywalker but minus the Neko accessories (it's not really Neko-boy now is it but I'm sticking with it!). His plan is definitely to end all Shiki, himself included

Yeah glad to see my prediction on that seems to be the case, he really wants to burn things down from within. Reckon they'll explain why some of them can go out in the day?

He does look similar and I wondered the same but I doubt it's the same dude, how can I put it - he has more paedo-looking eyes and teeth heh. The Kirishiki dad and mum/gourmet-vamp both seem to be Sunako's underlings and just a front for the real boss.

Paedo-eyes! haha, hope none of us have those in real life!

I get the impression Sunako has made her new family out of vamps because the old family is long gone.

It's interesting that we don't see many vamp children, so far only Sunako and Ventrilo-vamp.

She does like her fancy hats:

She probably never grew out of her fashion outfit days

though gourmet-vamp did suggest she had plans for him.

In a very Hannibal fashion, she clearly just wants to have a friend for dinner

 

[Lordhippos]

Been busy Friday eve so will do Eps 17 + 18 Sat instead

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Episode 17

This was the exact opposite of what we call a filler episode. A further recap of how all are equal in death and the discussion on the need for the Shiki to kill in order to survive. The priest sympathising with Toru, questioning whether wanting to live can be called a sin. Something that would apply to all parties involved, leaving neither in the right and it just being a matter of survival of the fittest then.

Poor Kaori's terror was captured heartbreakingly well as she begged the priest to give her a posthumous name (this is a tradition I am not aware of) for the headpost at the grave she had already dug for herself. A day on now so it seems her brother did become munchies for the commando vamp. Priest man seems to have picked the winning side, just like his dad, though the latter effectively being on his deathbed clearly couldn't resist the chance of prolonging his existence. Along those lines we also get confirmation of the Kirishiki "dad" being a human guardian to the Shiki after all and not a daywalker. Funeral-house grandad realises the hard way about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, with there being no one but Shiki in certain parts of the village. Poor Ritsuko didn't fare as well on this late night jaunt and surprisingly neither did doctor-kun who is now fed up and in true nihilistic mode wants to witness the bloody end, at the hands of the Shiki, befall the villagers that asked for solutions only to wilfully ignore his warnings. Gourmet-vamp sporting the latest Ann Summers winter collection, offering that tad bit of extra protection against the elements. And lastly it seems Yuuki isn't doing much, or maybe he's biding his time, but is certainly being monitored by Neko-boy. How many humans are even left in the village now? It seems pretty done for...

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 17

The priest met some very real evidence that vampires are real and not just some story, and finds himself repeating the words that Sunako spoke to him.

The priests dad was clearly in on the game, getting himself invited over. I guess he wants to live forever, but living forever as an old senile dude doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Maybe the vampirism will cure him of most of that.

Kaori has worse bed-hair than her brother now, but she wants to dig her own grave and put her own grave marker up. I hope she doesn't meet a bad end but it's not looking good for the human side, numbers of people who know and are willing to fight is dropping.

Her confirmation of Megumi existing is even more evidence for the priest.

Old dude out for a stroll met some bad people who just wanted a light snack.

Poor Ritsu, think she'd make a great looking vampire though, especially with that hair.

I mentioned it below but think Yuuki his testing the limits of his leash, Neko-boy won't want to be chasing after him all the time as it will stop him monitoring much else.

The doc finally gives in to the inevitable, but as I mentioned below maybe he wants to get in on the act to find a way to stop it along with Yuuki. I was quite surprised that he was so easily defeated by gourmet-vamp!

The priest sympathising with Toru, questioning whether wanting to live can be called a sin. Something that would apply to all parties involved, leaving neither in the right and it just being a matter of survival of the fittest then.

It's an interesting question, humans kill animals to eat them, but could we do so if the animals could speak English and show intelligence on par with our own?

Poor Kaori's terror was captured heartbreakingly well as she begged the priest to give her a posthumous name (this is a tradition I am not aware of)

Oh she is not doing well at all I wasn't aware of that tradition either, never seen it before in other media I've watched.

A day on now so it seems her brother did become munchies for the commando vamp

I wonder if that's the case or not? possibly still got time to be saved, we've had a couple of time-skip episodes so far showing events occurring on a different track, I think we may cut back to showing what happened to him soon.

Priest man seems to have picked the winning side, just like his dad, though the latter effectively being on his deathbed clearly couldn't resist the chance of prolonging his existence

I am actually not convinced priest man is entirely on their side, but we will see. I think he wants to see more so he can judge for himself. Especially after his dad left to join them.

Along those lines we also get confirmation of the Kirishiki "dad" being a human guardian to the Shiki after all and not a daywalker

Yep, human confirmed!

Poor Ritsuko didn't fare as well on this late night jaunt and surprisingly neither did doctor-kun

I know right! I was most surprised about the doctor being so easily defeated, thought for sure he had a trick up his sleeve. Maybe he wants to be turned so he can aid Yuuki in destroying it from within?

Gourmet-vamp sporting the latest Ann Summers winter collection, offering that tad bit of extra protection against the elements

looking fashionable and functional all at the same time.

And lastly it seems Yuuki isn't doing much, or maybe he's biding his time, but is certainly being monitored by Neko-boy. How many humans are even left in the village now? It seems pretty done for...

I wonder, maybe he was seeing how far his leash will extend, he was probably testing Neko-boy.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Reckon they'll explain why some of them can go out in the day?

That would be handy wouldn't it, seeing as Neko-boy is actually Jinrou-boy and the dad is human, really leaving only Yuuki as a possible true daywalker vampire, unless he's using your sunscreen strategy!

Paedo-eyes! haha, hope none of us have those in real life!

The eyes are the windows to the soul after all so all is revealed in his case heheh.

I get the impression Sunako has made her new family out of vamps because the old family is long gone.

It's interesting that we don't see many vamp children, so far only Sunako and Ventrilo-vamp.

On that point, yeah you wouldn't expect many kiddie vampires (unless attacked by said paedo-vamp!), it would just seem heartless, unless a vampire is truly desperate with starvation, to be attacking children. Then again Masao was offered one up, so it doesn't seem that they're ageist in that regard. Good point on Sunako refashioning a new family for herself, and not to mention that it would also act as the perfect front/guise to project the image of a standard unremarkable family to the outside world.

living forever as an old senile dude doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Maybe the vampirism will cure him of most of that

Exactly and one thing I quite like about Shiki is how the vampires are not remade into their perfect youthful selves but rather are not that different from humans apart from their daytime somnolescence & thirst for blaaaad! Just the case of the funeral grandad, easily outrunning two much younger late-night snack-seeking vampires (and what you said about Toru before) and dropping by his other geriatric friend who has definitely not gotten younger from being turned.

It's an interesting question, humans kill animals to eat them, but could we do so if the animals could speak English and show intelligence on par with our own?

And this is the second bit I love about the show so far, regarding the dilemmas involved when both parties are sentient, in particular with Sunako's meditations and the constant guilt experienced by the newly turned vampires. Certainly a fact every vampire show covers but Shiki does it with grace & tact.

Poor Ritsu, think she'd make a great looking vampire though, especially with that hair.

No doubt, as also previewed with her looking scarily cool in the second cour's closing credits. The only person left human from the credits now is Kaori, though it's not boding well for that poor terrified soul. Though have to keep in mind that neither Ritsu, doctor-kun, or bedhead boy (as you rightly mentioned) have definitely been shown as having died and resurrected as vampires yet.

I am actually not convinced priest man is entirely on their side, but we will see. I think he wants to see more so he can judge for himself.

I was most surprised about the doctor being so easily defeated, thought for sure he had a trick up his sleeve. Maybe he wants to be turned so he can aid Yuuki in destroying it from within?

I wonder, maybe he was seeing how far his leash will extend, he was probably testing Neko-boy.

Completely agree with your points there. The priest I definitely feel is for neutral ground and supporting the oppressed to equalise things whilst remaining open-minded about the humanity in all. However, apart from the human prejudice element towards the Shiki, the latter are overwhelming the humans so if anything I would expect him to go and reason with the Shiki rather than join them like his dad. Good points on doctor-kun & Yuuki, I did not think about those and they certain seem a logical given their motivations. Though I can certainly see the doctor's desire to see the world burn, and his being jaded with his people being very understandable. Also unlike Yuuki, unless he is only pretending to be under the control of gourmet-vamp, he seems to be happily following their orders and the loss of one's mental faculties would be too high a risk to take when strategizing.

 

[Lordhippos]

Episode 18

Nice episode, it's getting hard at this point to stop myself binging the rest, but I will persevere!

We get to see the vampire grunts at work, doing an unsavoury but fulfilling job.

Neko-boy, what are you wearing? lmao

Yuukis dad seems a little coco bananas if you ask me.

We get to the heart of the matter, both Yuuki and Neko-boy are the same, except Yuuki does not get the neko-ears.

Masao is still fairly lame as a vampire tbh, I was hoping he'd somehow get cooler, but nope. I wish for him to do more than just act like a vampire weasal before the end of the series

Megumi ignoring the senpai thing the Japanese have, she has really come into her element as a vampire, and the gothic outfits she pick really become her.

Poor Ritsu, we learn her fate and it's not what we wanted, but she is still very much her usual self. I wonder if she can afford to starve herself or if the hunger will overtake her.

The old folk are too scared to even gossip anymore.

The real meat of this episode is the 2nd half where the doc checkmates gourmet-vamp expertly.

She thinks she has the doc under her spell, but really he has her right where he wants her.

This whole segment felt very much like the doc was continuing his experiments, only without the macabre torture. He is learning what works and studying them all the while. We get a bit of a glimpse back into her past as well, she is clearly very old indeed.

Manoeuvring her to the temple despite her reluctance, we finally see how he can avoid her commands, another vampire has bitten him, I am guessing it's Yuuki, and that has overridden the previous suggestions he had with new ones. An interesting peek into how the vampire powers work.

Now the doc has what he wants, gourmet-vamp under his control, and he has shown real proof to the villagers that the vampires exist, not only explaining the deaths they've had lately, but presumably some villagers with pitchforks may well join the fight now.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Definitely a good episode this number 18. The doc had a plan from the very start and showed gourmet-Chan you don't need no Ann Summers outfits, or even much of a personality for that matter, to expertly seduce an old lady. Checkmate! Finally the villagers eyes will now be opened. Also it seems that any type of religious ritual induces a visceral fear reaction in the Shiki. The meathead family dynamics are hilarious, with the boisterous son, despite turning vamp, is absolutely terrified of his dad driving off with gourmet's hubbie before he has a chance to save her from the villagers clutches. Can't entirely blame him though, that is one pretty damned scary human heh.

Neko-boy, what are you wearing? lmao

And here we have Neko-boy, sporting the latest creation of Valentino, chosen designer of the undead. I always wondered why he has two pairs of ears, and now with Yuuki not having any we know his Neko ones are just an accessory! For shame Neko-boy! A bit more on the lore here and the jinrou confirmed as being variants of Shiki, not a separate species, and are certainly very rare and with a few extra abilities as well as strength. But Neko-boy is smart enough to not trust Yuuki, unlike Sunako whose mission has been to increase the Shiki numbers however possible and establish a safe haven for her family.

Yuukis dad seems a little coco bananas if you ask me.

Can't blame the poor sod for completely losing the plot! The stabby stabby invitation was pretty funny heh.

Masao indeed does remain as he was in life, a nasty weasel but yeah Megumi the badass is certainly loving and rocking her Goth outfits. Ritsu's sad demise was rapid and it seems her family didn't fare much better either. She remains noble in undeath, only to rile up Toru's guilt further, though he doesn't have much doubt in that she be able to hold out indefinitely. With her humanitarian streak it will be interesting how she feels about the Shiki in relation to the morals & dilemmas the priest and Sunako have been discussing. Hoping to see more of those two soon as well.

Nice episode, it's getting hard at this point to stop myself binging the rest, but I will persevere!

Couldn't agree more, must resist! Or not, I'm cool with whatever dude heh. Certainly interesting to see how what's left of the humans will react to the Doc's revelations.

 

[Lordhippos]

That would be handy wouldn't it, seeing as Neko-boy is actually Jinrou-boy and the dad is human, really leaving only Yuuki as a possible true daywalker vampire, unless he's using your sunscreen strategy!

The sunscreen strategy was a bit far fetched I think!

I didn't want to reply to you until you'd confirmed episode 18 as seen, because I think that showed some new developments.

On that point, yeah you wouldn't expect many kiddie vampires (unless attacked by said paedo-vamp!), it would just seem heartless

Some of them do seem kind of heartless at times, at others more or less human.

Exactly and one thing I quite like about Shiki is how the vampires are not remade into their perfect youthful selves but rather are not that different from humans apart from their daytime somnolescence & thirst for blaaaad

bllllaadddd!

Completely agree with your points there. The priest I definitely feel is for neutral ground and supporting the oppressed to equalise things whilst remaining open-minded about the humanity in all. However, apart from the human prejudice element towards the Shiki, the latter are overwhelming the humans so if anything I would expect him to go and reason with the Shiki rather than join them like his dad

I kind of get the impression with the priest that he is a little more on side with the vampires, especially with how he's latched onto Sunako's words.

I don't think he wants to hurt people though at least, but may do so indirectly by not trying to stop the vampires.

unless he is only pretending to be under the control of gourmet-vamp

That was a good shout by you

Finally the villagers eyes will now be opened

The approach in the next episodes seems like it might be a case of hunting down the vampires, fully automatic pitch forks at the ready.

With her humanitarian streak it will be interesting how she feels about the Shiki in relation to the morals & dilemmas the priest and Sunako have been discussing. Hoping to see more of those two soon as well.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how this progresses!

Couldn't agree more, must resist! Or not, I'm cool with whatever dude heh. Certainly interesting to see how what's left of the humans will react to the Doc's revelations.

I often watch anime at a slower pace of only 1-2 eps a day, so this is fine, I think I enjoy it more when I don't burn through something incredibly fast. I shall watch at the scheduled pace.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

I kind of get the impression with the priest that he is a little more on side with the vampires, especially with how he's latched onto Sunako's words.

I know what you mean here but I don't necessarily think he's on the vampires' side so much as on the side of the underdog/oppressed for the sake of fairness. Hence he is shown to feel more for them, given that in the larger world they are definitely the significant minority & easy pickings, and for that very reason Sunako is trying so hard to carve out a homely existence for them in the village.

That was a good shout by you

Heh you're too kind and have to remember that I've seen this before. Though I do try and re-watch by removing hindsight bias as much as possible which is very conveniently helped but the fact that I do forget most of the finer plot points of what I've seen (really helps with enjoyment during re-watches!). Like I had completely forgotten that doc became gourmet-munchies or that he had planned it this way all along!

Some of them do seem kind of heartless at times,

And that itself is very human of them isn't it, given how any one human individual can choose to behave in a variety of ways on the extensive spectrum of morality & ethics.

fully automatic pitch forks at the ready.

Hahaha I want one of those! Wouldn't be surprised if we see the first one on one of our petrol pump forecourts one of these days...

Well, let's just stick to human madness in this work of fiction in the upcoming & very anticipated episodes (I bet the wacky hairstyles all seem perfectly normal now eh?).