Shiki by Ono Fuyumi and Fujisaki Ryu

Though people have always held an interest in the vampire mythos, recently pop culture perception of vampires has leaned drastically towards the romantic rather than the grotesque. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and the television show True Blood (or, if you're more of an animanga fan, Hino Matsuri's Vampire Knight), the vampire of modern culture has increasingly become something glamorous and cultured, an object of forbidden lust with just that extra edge of "dangerous" to make them even more appealing. Somehow, vampires almost seem to be required to be physically beautiful, with just enough tragedy to garner fan sympathy. Perhaps the vampire woes over the fact sie is a vampire. Perhaps it's the pain of living to watch everyone sie loves die.

Shiki is not that vampire story.

Shiki begins with death and very likely will end with death. Set in the isolated mountain village of Sotoba, the story gives the reader a world that is tragically stuck in its ways and ripe for the vampires to pluck. The very environment of Sotoba does as much to foster the feeling of terror as the vampires that have invaded the village do - between Sotoba's closed-off nature and the villagers' determined denial of anything being wrong, the readers are left following with bated breath to see if anyone manages to escape at all.

Because Shiki makes sure to drive in the fact these vampires are monsters. No matter that they may retain the personality and beliefs of their former life, when it is the bloodlust driving them, everything fades in the face of feeding the hunger. Ideals on either side of the equation simply can't hold against it. The reader gets to see what the hunger changes in each character that has fallen to vampirism; with Shiki having no set protagonist but instead having shifting perspectives between all the villagers, the effect the vampire infestation has wrought becomes all the more apparent. Perhaps the most interesting aspect that Shiki explores is the choices characters make when faced with loved ones whom they know are vampires. There have been choices both human and terribly inhuman, and the consequences that follow leave one wondering which choice was right. Is there even a right choice in such a situation?

The beauty of Shiki is that the setting, the characters, the reactions are all just realistic enough to be plausible. It's what makes it so effective as a story. I always wondered why so many vampires of popular culture seemed to be glorified (immortal) humans that just happened to drink blood, glossing over the fact they were dead in favor of the shiny that was immortality and Biting Is Sexy. The nth tragic brooding vampire just got tiring to see after awhile.

Shiki is drawn by Fujisaki Ryu and is based off of Ono Fuyumi's novel of the same name. Fujisaki's very stylised art style lends a lighter air that makes the horror all the more impacting when it hits. People expecting art similar to that of Fujisaki's previous works (Houshin Engi, Waq Waq) might be in for a surprise though; Fujisaki has kept some elements of his old style and then pulled others to the stylised extreme. Nevertheless, it works for the manga.

I cannot recommend this series enough. If you're worried about the fact the manga is still in progress, don't - Ono Fuyumi's previous series (Twelve Kingdoms series, Ghost Hunt series) are ample evidence she knows what she's doing with a plotline. And either way, the novel the manga is based off of is finished already. So if you love a good horror or supernatural storyline, please check Shiki out!

Links for the interested:
Shiki Jump SQ page
Shiki Livejournal fan community

Image scanning credit goes to nataku_kun@LJ.

o5/25/2o1o - Evan Jewett, Silian Rail, By Sunlight @ The Blank Club

Evan Jewett, Silian Rail, and By Sunlight played last night at San Jose's The Blank Club. Despite getting there nearly a half hour after the listed time, I still managed to get there before the show actually started. (Sometimes, following the GPS is not always the best idea! Man, did I get lost.) I am so glad I made it though. The club itself was fairly empty, but then, it was a Tuesday evening.

The night started off with Evan Jewett (of Worker Bee), who kicked it off on a rather experimental note. Throughout the twenty-some minute act, Jewett managed the guitar and what looked like a crazy assortment of mixers, with the occasional vocals and solitary drum thrown in, while his drummer kept a steady beat as a backdrop. Jewett certainly made an impression through some seriously interesting methods of playing his instruments, including banging his mic against the drum, or even banging the neck of his guitar against the rim of said drum. It was a continual build up and crash, build up and crash that actually left me a little bit dazed when it was all over. Perhaps it's just that the style of music isn't my thing. Given how Jewett went the entire time without actually introducing himself or even speaking to his audience, though, the act felt like a whirlwind that had just swept on by.

In contrast, Silian Rail was a lackadaisical summer road trip. If Robin Landy's warm guitar brought the atmosphere, Eric Kuhn's drums carried the backbone of their pieces with intricate beats that kept my attention throughout their set. Kuhn also played harmony guitar in some of their songs, balancing the instrument behind the drum kit to pull off beats that accentuated the music. It was nice to see that they actually talked to their audience as well, introducing themselves and playing both old songs and new before advertising the 7" split with By Sunlight available for sale. They ended their set with another of their new tracks, a strong start and strong finish that at least gained one new fan in me.

Finally, By Sunlight rounded out the evening with their rock sound and sweet vocals. By Sunlight was the band I came to see, and they certainly didn't disappoint. It was a joy to watch them truly get into their music and play their music; my only complaint was that the sound coming from the speakers was almost too loud, with the guitars occasionally drowning out the voices as well. Especially following Silian Rail's set, it was like someone had dialed the volume setting up to 11 - it was just too much. Vocalist and guitarist Mike Sparks was especially active on stage, moving between his mic and the drums when he wasn't singing, and headbanging along as well.

Like Silian Rail, By Sunlight also played their new songs. Though I couldn't clearly hear the lyrics, the music alone lives up to their previous album and has already won me over. John O'Connell on drums was amazing, as was Jack Clemens on bass, and I can honestly say that every time Mike Sparks and guitarist/background vocals Robert Cheek harmonised, it was a little slice of beauty. After thanking their audience at the beginning for sticking around - it'd just hit 11pm by then - they powered through one song after the next, playing both new and old and transitioning with the kind of fills that makes up the intro of pieces like "Summer." Being able to hear "Ghost" live? Was wonderful.

Given the lineup and the genres, I wasn't expecting any major adrenaline high. The cocoon buzz I got was just as great, the product of good songs and that unique breathlessness that comes from the total immersion into music of a live show. Overall, it was completely worth the effort of driving down and navigating the streets of San Jose, just for discovering Silian Rail alone. If you get a chance to see any of these artists live - but especially Silian Rail and By Sunlight - I'd recommend going. (Alas, that I didn't have a camera aside from my dinky phone camera!) If you're from the Bay Area, Silian Rail and By Sunlight will be doing another show in San Francisco tomorrow, 9PM at MilkBar SF.

Now I have a Silian Rail album and the new tracks of By Sunlight and Silian Rail's 7" split to check out. Sweet.

The obligatory introductory bit slash test post.

So let's get this show on the road, eh? Lemme just power through the boring bits first, aka the introduction, which I feel is necessary, but ultimately a little pointless.

Anyway, hi, I'm Yun. My music tastes run all over the sub-genres of rock, with a good dose of pop and folk tossed in. My literary tastes lean towards whatever fantasy and sci-fi/dystopian stories I can get my hands on. I have a fondness for young adult books even though I'm pretty sure I'm a little out of that age range now.

I also love food. A lot. And window shopping whether it be physical or virtual, so don't be surprised if I squee out over, say, some seller found on Etsy.com or a store found in Ximending. And even if I don't watch television much any more, I still love me some manga/manhwa/comics/webcomics and will guilt-freely pimp them out.

Haha, all right, I'm done. That wasn't so painful, was it? Now keep an eye out for a show review soon; I'm heading to see By Sunlight tonight!