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After finishing up Stoker's Dracula, I felt a lingering desire to enjoy more tales of vampires; upon reading that Shiki drew some of its design from the novel, I began to watch it the following day.

Wow. I'm sure glad I did.

At first I felt somewhat childish picking up an anime after finishing a classic in literature--as pretentious as that may seem--and noted the anime-like take on the subject of vampires. Meaning that the tones were in a way flippant; characters did not seem to have depth, the take on vampires was childish, etc. Yet, that was only my first impression, after watching a handful ... of episodes. What made me continue was the atmosphere built up in the show. The eerie soundtrack, the mystery surrounding the deaths, the selection of details. Although the characters gave me a negative impression, the overall feel of the show was somber and dark--which belied my initial criticisms.

Shiki, as I kept on watching began to captivate for different reasons. The childish feeling I had at the beginning began to fade away as substantial, heavy questions arose within the story.

How do you define evil? What (Who) is a monster? How does one differentiate between human and monster?
Who judges right and wrong? What is judgement? etc.

These questions aren't usually explicitly mentioned, yet the creators were sure trying to stimulate thought in these types of questions.

That was all over the place and unclear ^ . It's 4:30 AM right now and I just finished watching the show.

Onto a more cohesive review.

The soundtrack was wonderful and suited the show, adding a touch of cold suspense and eerie vibes to the show.

The character design was a tad lackluster in my opinion, but as someone noted, the creators did a good job in varying the appearances of the characters. The depth of the characters really begins to come out towards the ending of the show, as the pace begins to fiercely pick up around the latter teens (10s) episodes. The environment is also befitting to the tale and adds to the story; the isolation of the village, figuratively and literally surrounded by death, is made with fine detail. The side characters of the show gossip, they show human weakness, perseverance, and frailty quite well. The characters' reactions to the events happening in the village and responses are incisive because they show such a varied spectrum of character and human emotion.

The story has some plot holes here and there, but they do not take away from the main story. The story itself is pretty simple, but the themes and arising from the tale are the true gems I believe. Given that and the somewhat slow pace in the beginning of the show, it manages to balance out nicely with the rapid "rise to action" in the latter half of the show. The conclusion was wrapped up quite well to top as well.

tldr; give this show a try if you're in the mood for something dark, and mystery orientated. If you're anything like me and drop shows easily, I'd advice you don't and finish it completely to have the full experience. Good show. I enjoyed it.

now gg, i gotta sleep it's 5am and it's also my first review. pls be gentle.