Dennou Coil (final thoughts) ~ people are connected through narrow paths

Interesting color palette, striking use of framing elements ... Dennou Coil often exhibits an incredible sense of visual style.

There’s a rumor on the ‘Net about an anime called Dennou Coil (AKA Coil — A Circle of Children). In it children fight against cyber-lifeforms using the power of augmented reality glasses, metatags, and “codes”. Dennou Coil, which originally aired in 2007, can fairly be classified in the branch of Science Fiction called Cyberpunk. A common theme of Cyberpunk is the connection between computer technology (including networking) and what we call consciousness. Sometimes this can lead to a fusion of Science Fiction with Horror, after all, a common term for a disembodied consciousness is “ghost”. Dennou Coil follows this theme in Cyberpunk, and the horror aspects are specifically hinted at in the show’s OP, most obviously in the beginning.

Shiki 14 – gruesome violence

Thankfully all marriages don't end like this.

Episode 14 of Shiki was absolutely horrifying. It included some gruesome imagery that I won’t repeat here. While various things happened that are, no doubt important to the advancement of the plot, it was Toshio and Kyoko Ozaki’s story that was truly disturbing.

Shiki 4 – death is terrible (love could be worse)

Sunako discusses death with Muroi.

Episode 4 of the horror anime Shiki sees the “epidemic” spreading. Things are getting pretty bad in the village, and the good folks at the clinic are struggling to find a way to protect the village they love. Sunako stops by for another chat with bou-san Muroi, and Natsuno can’t shake off the feeling that he has a visitor of his own.

Shiki 2: worst case scenario

They have yet to learn what "worst case" really means.

Shiki episode 2 managed to build solidly upon the excellent start made last week to this small town horror story. I was very impressed with the sound work; I’m not sure I would enjoy listening to the OST, but it was very effective at creating a mood of suspense. This episode really opened up the characters and our understanding of the town. We also get several more deaths, and a well-intentioned, but somewhat naive resolution to save the village.

Shiki 1: idle speculations

Visitors arrive in the dead of night.

Shiki is a horror anime, based on a novel by Fuyumi Ono. Rather than attempt to recap the first episode, I shall use my time to engage in speculation based solely upon having seen it. I have no knowledge of the novel, nor of the manga adaptation, so conclusions drawn here are just as likely to be wrong as anything else. You have been forewarned. If you are looking for a more traditional review check out RP’s first impression, or the one provided by Epi on Sea Slugs. For a spirited defense of Megumi, check out Hyper Parfait. Also, if you are having a hard time with all of the characters introduced, check out Hashihime for another of his excellent cheat sheets, which ties character portraits with seiyus (note: it only covers major characters, so I’ll be covering a few more characters below the break).