Shiki ep. 15: The BLOOD thickens! (geddit?)

Shocked!

After watching Shiki ep. 15, it made me wonder.... what will be the end of the people of Sotoba? And what's more important, what will happen to Sotoba itself, if ALL the citizen become the Okiagaris?

All of them are vampires!!! Gasp!

Can you see Natsuno in this pic?

What really happened to Natsuno (the supposed protagonist)? Is he cremated? However, in this episode he had made a comeback twice. I reckon he had become one of the vampires but something is amiss here... So, he is a vampire with a mind of his own, meaning, he is not affected by Tatsumi and the Shikis...

Blood everywhere! But I thought vampires don't bleed....

The plot is interesting but it's way too slow....

TADAIMAA....Back from shopping!

Tadaimaa minna-san.. I am home.

Well, it has been ages I haven't updated anything. Well, actually I have my own reason for it. I went shopping! Yup... I was shopping for new animes series...

For this season, I have decided to stick to 3 + 1 animes. They are, KURAGEHIME, PSYCHIC DETECTIVE YAKUMO, OTOME YOKAI ZAKURO and SHIKI (the only anime from previous season)

For this post, I am going to talk about KURAGEHIME a.k.a Princess Jellyfish. I think I am going to stick to this anime like a glue! Simply love the theme and the plot. Ang most important of all I love the the characters design in this series as well. This is absolutely my kind of anime!

The series is about a spinster jellyfish otaku (and hence the title). She is called Tsukimi (Moonsea - tsuki means moon and umi means the sea). She is not exactly your kawaii type female protagonist. She is short, unkempt, unpolished and a nerd. She lives with other 4 spinsters as well in a complex apartment called Amamizu-kan. They are known as the amars a.k.a Buddhist nuns and that means all of them are still virgins. Each of the amars has her own freak-point. For example, Mayaya is a freak who has an excessive obsession on The Three Kingdoms. Banba has a insane obsession of toy trains...

Introducing Tsukimi, your sub-par jellyfish otaku protagonist....

From right to left: Banba, Chieko, Jiji and Mayaya

Then enters a cross-dressing male protagonist: Kuranosuke.... Heck, at the beginning I thought he was actually a 'she'. Ironically, Kuranosuke is much prettier and sexier than any of the girls. With his long legs and slender figure none of the amars suspected anything funny...

By some freaky circumstances, Tsukimi and Kuranosuke have become fast friends... and right now I am on episode 3. From where I am standing, I have a strong feeling that their friendship will develop to another level... If you get my drift!

I am so bummed!

Oh no!!!!!

OMG! ALL my favorite animes have come to an end....

Occult Academy, High School of the Dead, Kaichou wa Maid-sama! (KWMS), and worst of all K-ON!! have ended. Frankly speaking, I am sad and dejected the fact that I am not looking forward to anything anymore. I am still 'shopping' for the new anime series to download.

Among the anime series that I mentioned above, the best anime series of my choice- hands down - belong to OCCULT ACADEMY. The reason be, I really love how the story is wrapped and resolved. And I also love how the relationship between Bunmei and Maya has 'shifted' to another different level...

I also love how K-ON!! ends everything. Instead leaving the fan in wonder about the future of the Light Music Club and Azu-nyan, the creator has managed to fill in the gaps and satisfy the fan simultaneously.

Deep inside, I believe there will be 2nd season of KWMS if we look at how the series is resolved. And based on the manga, I believe the next season of the series will be much more conflict-riddled. I am so crossing my fingers now!

Hmm.. I wonder what is happening to Shiki????

Ninth Coffin: Setsuko's last night...

In the midst of grading exam papers, I should be thankful I managed to download and watch SHIKI episode 9. Well, let's get on to our business...

I am a tad disappointed with this epi, though. I was hoping to see what really happens to the Yuukis and Natsuno. But anyway,this week's epi did not let me down at all.

In this epi, we're finally introduced to the family of Dr. Okazaki: his wife and mother. I always thought he is single since he spent much of his time in the clinic surrounded by young and pretty nurse... Maybe not all are young and pretty.LOL

What's with her hair?!

In the previous epi, Toshio was trying his best to save the dying Setsuko by keeping her in the clinic. Based on his previous experience with the dead patients he believed the okiagari could not drink up the victims' blood in one shot hence keeping her in the clinic is the best action. After 3 (or was it 2) days, her condition was improving thus proved that the Okiagari need 4 day to drain their victims' blood. This was actually agreed by Muroi Seishin.

However, that night -while staying vigil- Muroi and Toshio were startled by a strange screeching sound coming from the window. Realizing that the room was actually on the second floor and and there was no foothold at the window, both of them decided to unshed the blind. To their surprise it was Nao (who had died few weeks ago) floating outside the room! Fortunately, she couldn't enter and claim Setsuko since she was not invited (remember the previous epi?). Meanwhile, Setsuko was thrashing in her sleep as if she was having a nightmare...

Sheeeesh! This is so freakin' crazy! I would faint if I were there...

Nonetheless, on the 4th night, the clinic was suddenly ambushed by the okiagaris and Setsuko was kidnapped by the guy with the weird hairdo... (which I can't seem to remember his name).

Inuyasha???? I dunno you are in this series?

Since the rest of the okiagari could not enter the clinic, this guy snuck into the clinic and attacked Toshio from behind. As Toshio was overwhelmed by the Inuyasha look-alike, Setsuko was kidnapped and brought outside among the okiagari. She was killed that night by Nao (her daughter) and then her blood was voraciously drained by the rest of the okiagari. According to Toshio, it seemed that the ambushed was planned so that Setsuko's blood could be drained in one shot. Question: Since Setsuko was killed by the okiagari will she become one of them?

After all the hard work done by Toshio... Everything seemed futile...

What I really like about this epi is Toshio's deduction on how the okiagari killed their victims was proven. Even though he failed to save Setsuko, at least he had found the truth behind the mysterious deaths in Sotoba. And from here he will try his best to find their weaknesses. I can't wait for the next epi. What will happen to Natsuno and his family? This is so tormenting!

The freakiest episode ever!

Shiki episode 8 really freaks me out! Seriously! This is the creepiest and freakiest anime to date!

In the previous epi, Akira and Kaori felt something was amiss with the those who were dead. Natsuno believed them and he suggested to dig out Megumi's grave in order to ensure his assumption. After discovering that Megumi's grave is empty, Natsuno believed that Megumi had become The Risen a.k.a Okiagari. This was agreed by Kaori and Akira. Suddenly, Kaori was dragged into darkness by a pair of cold hand. She was almost bitten but thanks to Natsuno, she was saved just in the nick of time.

This has certainly given me a nightmare!

As cold as ice!

Natsuno managed to whack the 'person' with his shovel and he realized that the 'person' wasn't breathing. At first he thought he had killed him but he ruled that out after he realized that the 'person's' body was so cold as if he had died long time even before he had hit him with the shovel. Hence, Natsuno realized that the 'person' was actually one the Okiagaris.

The creepiest part was towards the end of the epi. It seemed that Natsuno's family was visited by a mysterious creepy little girl who was actually using a traditional Japanese puppet Bunraku. Who was she actually? Why was she so eager to see Natsuno? I really can't wait for next week's epi.

WTF!!!!

One of the essential keys of survival against The Risen is NEVER to invite them into your home. However, since the Yuukis were harassed by the girl's tantrum, they finally let her in. Something was totally off with this girl. The question is, will Natsuno be able to save his family members in time? And when she mentioned her 'brother' will be coming soon, who was this 'brother' of hers? My sense is telling me that, these okiagaris were out for Natsuno and his whole family because he managed to dig out the truth behind the mysterious deaths in Sotoba... It's payback time!

BTW, even if you refused to let these okiagaris in, they can always hypnotize you in letting them in. Remember what happen to Masao in the previous epi?

Mystery that kills

The second episode of SHIKI: Second Decay has really spooked me! Even though there are no big event or scene in this episode, the thought of ten deaths within one month is really intense!

What is actually happening in a small town of Sotoba. Was it an air-borne pandemic? Was it a mysterious curse? Was it the summer's heat? Or was it the water?

This is killing me!

Picking up where we left off episode 1, after the death of Megumi, Dr. Toshio realised there was lack of solid evidence to declare the real cause of Megumi's demise. So, he had to declare it was caused by acute heart failure. Then, he decided to run an autopsy on her body only to be refused by the parents.

Natsuno was walking alone heading towards Shimizu's residence in order to attend Megumi's funeral. He then bumped into the town's nurse Ritsuko Kunihiro. Then he told her how he found the village insufferable and decided to leave Sotoba one day.

As he reached the gate of Shimizu's residence, he met with Kaori, Megumi's bestfriend. She handed him a postcard written by Megumi for him. Kaori asked him to keep the postcard as a keepsake nevertheless her requested was rejected by him saying that he didn't know Megumi that well.

Meanwhile, at home Natsuno still had the feeling that he was being watched by Megumi and the thought really bothered him.

Toshio received a phone call about another death. And this time the symptom was almost similar with Megumi. It started with minor health problem and it would get worse drastically within days and finally they would die almost immediately...

Then, through a friend, Toshio was told that there were actually 10 deaths in total and the deaths were also from the neigbouring town Mizobe. Toshio had no choice but to declare it as an epidemic. It means that the epidemic was actually spreading at an alarming rate! However, he would want this to be under the radar of the public since he still hadn't been able to gather enough evidence and information.

My verdict:

Well, this episode really triggers my curiosity. What is actually causing the villagers to die? This is so intriguing! Other than that, I really love the background music as well as the vocalization. Seriously... they really complement the mysterious vibes and moods of this anime....

Shiki: My first impression...

After watching 'The First Blood' (episode 1), I have a very strong feeling that SHIKI will be one anime that will rock 2010.

When I watch the 1st ever episode, I swear it got me spooked. If you enjoy supernatural and horror anime, Shiki should be in your list this year. The story stars with news of several mysterious deaths. When discovered, the corpses were almost disintegrated and disembodied. The police concluded that it was caused by natural causes and probably wild dogs attack.

Then, enters Megumi. A whiny brat who thought that she was too good or too stylish to be in a mundane little town of Sotoba. She was last seen walking towards a European-styled mansion nestled on top of a hill. She then lost for a quite some time only to be found dead after a few hours discovered by the villagers. Another unexplained death, even though the local doctor claimed that her anemic condition is the real reason.



Another unexplained situation is the European Mansion that doesn't really fit in the picture. Then again, that's one of the key elements of this anime. It certainly screams mystery...

Characters wise, I believe they are too many to remember. However, I believe they will be well-introduced through out the season. Each of them looks so mysterious. I vouch that each character's personality and characterisation will be revealed gradually as the series progresses.

Anyway, I can't say more as I have never read the manga.... But I trust that this anime will not disappoint me.

[Note]

- I am trying to watch other than shoujo anime and broaden my horizons and hence this anime.

- Upcoming reviews: Occult Academy & High School of the Dead.