The backlog. Almost every anime fan has one, and as season upon season piles up the simulcast watcher hardly has enough time for everything. In this feature the intrepid Glorio Crew will be talking about shows they missed the first go around and finally gotten back to.

I haven’t always been the most devoted fan of horror, and so far most animated attempts at the genre had fallen flat for me. However, with the recent success of Another, I found myself longing for more examples of the genre done right. Thus I was brought back to Shiki, and I did not regret a single second.

The world of Shiki is one not different from ours. In rural mountain towns life is as average as it can be. The young live, the old die. However, unbeknownst to modern man, a primal, supernatural force is in existence. They are quiet but powerful, threatening mankind’s very survival. They embody the darkness, thrive in it, cursing the light of day. They are known as Okiagari, they refer to themselves as Shiki, but in our tongue there is one word that at once invokes in the old fear and the taboo, in the young a kind of seductiveness and intrigue.

Vampire.

In Shiki you will not find the enfeebled pop culture icons of the Twilight generation, these are complex creatures you may have seen from the old stories. They are beings aware of their twisted existence, but in it still finding rationality in their continued survival. The experienced are suave and all too aware of the intricacies their existence requires, masking their presence so easily that if it weren’t common fact you may not even realize their supernatural origin as the truth behind the sinister disease befalling old and young in the quiet mountain town. Those newly turned are forced to come to terms with their new forms in their own ways.  In the quiet rural village of Sotoba, these beings cast out from society have decided to make a home.

You may not have ever been to a small town, but it seems it is an environment that seems to share may characteristics in our two nations. To those from the outside like myself, one can find themselves feeling frighteningly isolated. Miles can separate towns, in my own state of Illinois it can feel like these places are simply islands floating in oceans of corn, or in Sotoba’s case, rice paddies and mountains, creating a kind of seclusion from the outside world.

Our story opens with the fiery Megumi, a resident malcontent longing for the lights of the big city. Sharing in her discontent, but not necessarily her affection, is Natsuno, taking a page from Footloose as the city boy moving to a small nothing town and hating every minute of it. Joining them in their everyday school life is the caring Kaoru, the object of Megumi’s ire, and Touru, the first person to really extend a warm hand to the new arrival. If not for the opening scenes of the show, one would be forgiven for thinking a cast like this indicative of an average story about high school friends living out their lives in a small town. As the show closes, and tragedy hits, the reality of an underlying evil appears.

As tragedy upon tragedy starts piling up, unrest rises in the quiet town, and town physician Dr. Toshio Ozaki finds himself in a practitioner’s worst nightmare: an epidemic spreading, and he is powerless to stop it. At the local shrine, a young monk Seishin Muroi is troubled by the events going on around him, with more bodies entering his funeral home than ever before. Quietly slipping onto the scene are the biggest players, the Kirishikis, a reclusive family with a rare condition, recently occupying the abandoned western mansion that overlooks the scenic mountain village.

While the first episode mainly focuses on the dynamic between the young characters, the relationship between Ozaki, Seishin, and the Kirishikis is the heart of the story. As more and more people succumb to the mysterious illness, it is primarily up to the resourceful Ozaki to fix the problem, one that leads him to a truth so unbelievable it is only until he has hit the last dead end that he accepts it the only solution.

Pay attention to Ozaki as you watch the show, his change from frustrated doctor to cold, calculating hunter is incredibly fascinating and a main theme of the entire tale. How far can one go to protect those he’s been entrusted? Is the line between human and monster really so clear cut? In a way the show leaves it up to the viewer to finally judge if the actions of the monsters known as Shiki really warrant as much contempt as they are given.

As a horror tale, Shiki is truly excellent, but one may find themselves needing to be patient. Often the pacing in the first half is quite slow, and much of the overall payout in the conflict between Ozaki and the Kirishikis does not even come to a boil until the latter fourth. However, the sheer dread created by the Shiki is masterful. As you watch Ozaki struggle in vain as person after person succumbs, the feeling of the Kirishiki’s oppressive invasion grows worse and worse. Still, if slow burns are not your style, Shiki’s buildup will definitely not garner any favors from you. As every valiant attempt turns sour, one cannot see anything but complete victory in the cards for the vampire clan. The climax of the struggle is quite impressive, and well worth the wait, deserving of the intensity of the dread that builds as the series progresses.

While these main character clashes bring the focus of the story, Shiki has also managed to make an entire town of characters all notable and deep. It is very impressive how despite having such a large cast of named characters, there are very few that seem unnecessary and including the bonus episodes they all have their own chance to shine. Subplots abound through much of the main conflict which definitely helps reconcile the long wait to the finale.

On the technical side, I cannot stress how good of a dub Funimation has put out for this production. No character feels off. Tia Ballard’s Megumi is stuck up and annoying, fitting of her shallow aspirations. David Wald’s performance belies the cynical nature of Dr. Ozaki whilst also understanding his duty to the people of Sotoba, counter to John Burgmeier’s Seishin, a world weary man battling to understand his own desires in light of the knowledge of these immortal beings. Cherami Leigh’s performance is also interesting as Sunako Kirishiki, the Matriarch trapped in a child’s body, struggling to find a home for her kind. Special mention must be given to J Michael Tatum as father of the house Seishirou Kirishiki, as his voice is always a joy to hear nomatter the situation. Whether irritating or intimidating, each voice brings its own personality to the widely different cast, and even the most bit of characters does not feel phoned in or spiritless.

Sound is as critical to horror as any tool in the trade. A fantastic soundtrack can turn any horror story from a memorable title. I have to applaud the localization staff for hitting you right out of the bat, with a menu screen filled with sounds that gave me Silent Hill 2 flashbacks. The soundtrack itself oozes with dread and slowly creeping fear that turns into panic. It sets the mood perfectly and rounds out a show which really excels in all aspects.

The conflict between mankind and the malevolent supernatural is a story as old as time. Shiki honors the noble tradition of the vampire as a force to be feared, while still giving them a fascinating complexity that makes them more than simple hunters in the night. While pacing may have had some issues in the beginning, I still found myself hooked on every episode, waiting to see what new development would occur. How would Dr. Ozaki find a way to the truth? How will the Kirishikis try to stop it? If you are a fan of horror at all, Shiki is a no-brainer selection.

Shiki can be found subbed online for free at Funimation’s website or on Hulu, albeit without the two extra episodes. They also include the first four episodes dubbed, which is really convenient in case you’re a real stickler for testing the quality of the dub before purchasing. At retail Shiki can be found on Amazon  and Rightstuf, with the cheapest being Rightstuf at $41.99 for part 1 and $38.99 for part 2. With around 80 bucks for a solid 24 episodes of anime I think Funimation has once again set a benchmark for bang for your buck. The parts are not chock full of extras, but the superlative dub and a few extra commentary tracks really give some increased value well worth its asking price.