is a horror novel by Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 novelist Fuyumi Ono

Fuyumi Ono

is a Japanese novelist who is best known for writing series, on which a popular anime is based. Her name after marriage is , but she writes under her maiden name.- Biography :...

, originally published in two parts by Shinchosha

Shinchosha

is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.-Monthly:* ENGINE* Foresight* nicola*Shinchō-External links:*...

 in 1998, which is later reprinted in five parts in 2002. A manga series adapting the story is drawn by Ryu Fujisaki

Ryu Fujisaki

is a Japanese manga artist born in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture.He won the 39th and the 40th Tezuka Award. He made his professional manga debut with WORLDS in 1990. All of his works are published by Shueisha under their Shōnen Jump labels. He has also illustrated three light novels and released two...

 and currently serialized in Japanese monthly magazine Jump SQ. from December 2007 onwards. An anime adaptation by Daume

Daume

is a Japanese animation studio.- TV series :* D4 Princess * I Love Bubu Chacha * Hanaukyo Maid Team series * Please Teacher! * Please Twins! * DearS * Strawberry Marshmallow...

 began broadcasting on July 8, 2010 on Fuji Television

Fuji Television

is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....

. North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment

Funimation Entertainment

Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...

 simulcast the series on their online video portal.

Plot

The story takes place in a particularly hot summer in the nineties, in a small quiet village called Sotoba. A series of mysterious deaths begin to spread in the village, at the same time when a strange family moves into the long abandoned Kanemasa mansion. Toshio Ozaki, dean of the only hospital in Sotoba, initially suspects an epidemic. But as investigations continue and the deaths begin to pile up, he becomes convinced that they are the work of the undead plaguing the village. A young man named Natsuno Yuuki, who hates living in the village, begins to be pursued and surrounded by death.

Main characters

He is one of the two main protagonists in the series, a 15 year old boy who lives and attends school in Sotoba. He hates living in the village and would prefer to be in the city. Originally a city dweller, Natsuno reluctantly moved to Sotoba with his parents when they wanted a change of environment. He often exhibits a cold exterior, especially disliking Megumi Shimizu, who has a crush on him. He is kind and friendly toward those whom he considers his friends (Toru, Toru's younger siblings, and the Tanaka children). He is then approached by a resurrected Toru, and he allows Toru to drink his blood until he dies. Natsuno then comes back as a jinrou and helps Toshio Ozaki destroy the rest of the shiki.

In the final episode of the anime, he falls down with Tatsumi, in a hole where the dead shiki were thrown. He takes out a bomb and lights it, then it explodes, killing him in the process, however in the manga his death is left up to the reader.

One of the two main protagonists in the series. The dean of the hospital in Sotoba, Toshio resigned from university hospital, returning to take up his father's position when he died. He is fondly given a nickname, "Waka-sensei"(young doctor), by his colleagues as well as the residents. Toshio dislikes both his mother and his late father, as both of them often put reputation of the Ozaki family before anything else. He is childhood friends with Seishin Muroi and Mikiyasu Yasumori.

Toshio is 32 years old and married to a woman, Kyoko, whom he rarely sees, and he is a chain smoker. He is baffled by the mysterious deaths and swears to solve the case and protect his village. He is one of the first people to discover the existence of the Shiki and later becomes the leader of the resistance against them. In the final episode, he has no choice but to escape the village as it burns to the ground.

A 13 year old girl who moves into the Kanemasa mansion atop the hill with her family. She claims to have a rare genetic disorder known as SLE

Systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus , often abbreviated to SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage...

, which forces her to stay inside her home during the day and only come out at night.

She and her family are fans of the essays and novels written by Seishin Muroi, and is the reason they moved to Sotoba. Sunako dislikes people calling her name with the honorific "chan".

It is later revealed that she is the leader of all the shiki in the village and is over 100 years old. In the final episode, she escapes the village with Seishin.

Seishin is the local priest in Sotoba, as well as an author of several novels. His current work is called Shiki (Corpse Demon in English), a story about Cain and Abel and why Cain killed his beloved younger brother. He has a sense of the supernatural and detects the presence of the real "shiki". He is childhood friends with Toshio Ozaki and Mikiyasu Yasumori. He is 32 years old, single, and once attempted to commit suicide in a drunken state during his university days.

At the end of the final episode, it is revealed that he became a (jinrou or a okiagari) and escapes the burning church with Sunako and leaves the village.

Secondary characters

A 15 year old girl attending the same school as Natsuno, Megumi also hates living in the village and longs for city life. She has a one-sided crush on Natsuno and often daydreams of a relationship with him. Megumi encounters the Kirishiki family in the beginning of the series, and disappears without a trace until the residents find her lying in the middle of the forest. She is thought to die from a complicated case of anemia

Anemia

Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...

 and is later revived as a okiagari/vampire.

After she was revived, she became much more malicious, using her new powers to stalk Natsuno and target any friends of his (and old ones of hers). In the final episode, she is run over by tractors and is finally staked in the heart.

He is the eighteen-year-old son of the director, Takeshi Mutou, of the Ozaki Clinic. He is the older brother of Aoi and Tamotsu, and Natsuno's best friend. He likes games and has a kind of happy-go-lucky personality. He has a crush of one of the nurses, Kunihiro Ritsuko, who teaches him how to drive.

He is killed by Megumi, as she was jealous of his closeness with Natsuno, but he then revives as a okiagari Shiki. He is a reluctant killer, consumed by the grief of killing his best friend. He is very subdued and seems more 'human' than many of the Shiki. He dies in episode 20 with Ritsuko beside him.

Kaori is Megumi's childhood friend. She is 15 years old, and is a friendly and kind girl who ignores the fact that her "best friend" Megumi dislikes her. She and her younger brother Akira find out by chance that some of the recently deceased villagers are returning to life and killing the rest of the inhabitants, so they team up with Natsuno to stop them.

After her father is killed by Megumi, he revives as a shiki and bites Kaori's mother. Then her brother disappears while trying to avenge his family and friends, and she ends up becoming unstable. Eventually, in self-defense, she kills her father. She is seen last (in the manga) when Natsuno catches her after she faints and he compliments her for staying alive. In the final episode, she reunites with Akira at a hospital in Mizobe and sees the village burn.

He is Kaori's younger brother and he is in 7th grade. He is childish but he can also be very brave. He is also Megumi's childhood friend. When he sees one of the villagers who was supposed to be dead, he and his sister start spying on the Kirishikis, which is when they meet Natsuno, who also believes that those who died are behind the murders in Sotoba.

After his father and Natsuno are "killed" by shiki and his mother has been bitten, he decides to avenge them by trying to kill a sleeping shiki. Just as he was about kill the shiki, he was found out by Tatsumi and tied to a beam to become "food" for his former target. In the final episode, Natsuno helps him escape the shiki and reunites with his sister, Kaori and watches the village burn from a hospital in Mizobe.

One of the main servants to the Kirishiki family, Tatsumi is a special kind of vampire called the "jinrou", who can withstand the sunlight unlike other Shikis and cannot be easily killed. He is a sadistic individual and enjoys tormenting his victims. He also acts as the commander of the Shiki-turned villagers. He has a great respect for Sunako.

During the final episodes, Tatsumi fights with Natsuno. They fall down a hole where the remains of dead shiki were thrown. Natsuno takes out a bomb and lights it up. Both Tatsumi and Natsuno die during the explosion.

Anime

An anime adaptation of the manga version of Shiki was first announced in Japan on December 2009, with the official website unveiled. Although Aniplex

Aniplex

, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...

 was listed as handling production for the anime, the website stated that the company will be in charge of distribution duties while Daume

Daume

is a Japanese animation studio.- TV series :* D4 Princess * I Love Bubu Chacha * Hanaukyo Maid Team series * Please Teacher! * Please Twins! * DearS * Strawberry Marshmallow...

 is responsible for the animation production. Gackt

Gackt

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his mononymous stage name, he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer....

makes his first regular cast debut on Shiki, as revealed during Noitamina's late-night timeslot lineup.

External links

• Manga official website
• Anime official website