“I did everything I could. In the end, it may have just been a pointless struggle.”
– Dr. Toshio Ozaki

Villain or Hero? Or Both?

So today, I was feeling very in the mood to watch Shiki. So I did. And now, yet again, as always, I’m left feeling… like the hole to the doughnut. Completely necessary and unnecessary…

Anyways, for those who’ve never seen the anime, it’s setting is a small closed off village named Sotoba in which the residents begin to mysteriously die off. From there it all goes downhill.

And while, particularly an awesome horrorish anime to sink your teeth in (if you’re a fan of that stuff), the anime is more commonly labeled as a psychological anime. Why? Because it’s meant to mess with your head.

At the beginning of the anime, it’s a definite on who our two protagonists are. Yuuki and Dr. Ozaki. Two separate characters following two separate plots that coincide with each other. That’s when it gets into your head.

As the anime progresses, characters are introduced from all angles, all ‘sides’, and at different periods of time. (Times are significant. The dates are always displayed and must be followed very carefully.) And with these characters, comes their point of views, their wants, and reasons for their actions. All too soon the viewer is forced to ‘take a side’.

Hence, why it’s an anime designed to mess with your head. Every character is characterized as someone you know or yourself even. Regardless of who watches it, there is at least one character that you can identify with, but more often, there are many characters you identify with. And they’re all fighting against each other.

By the end of the anime, there are no more definite villains or heroes. In fact, who the protagonists and antagonists are depend on the viewer’s interpretation.

So here’s mine.

These are the divisions of whom people usually side with and coincidently reflect the ‘kind’ of people they are (though it’s certainly not a definite mold):
          – Yuuki (and kids)
          – The Shikis
          – The Kirishikis
          – The Villagers
          – Dr. Ozaki
          – Seishin

But, that’s a bit complicated to explain so I’m just going to narrow it down to the two ultimate most passionate sides: Seishin and Dr. Ozaki.

And boy are they two separate spectrums…

So here’s my challenge to those that care and want to have their minds screwed over. Watch the anime. All twenty something episodes (which are like 25mins long). Then make a post and let me know your thoughts.

It was not that hard of a decision for me (It did take me a bit to think it over though) but I think my choice is ultimately due to having already thought about these kind ofnsituations before.

So…who wants to guess?
   

The Pros and Cons to Anime/Manga

The following are my pros and cons to anime and manga (I watch and read; I have no clue how people can either watch an anime without reading it’s manga companion or read the manga without enjoying the visual entertainment that goes with it…I dunno).