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Plot Synopsis

Tohno Shiki was severely injured in a large accident in his childhood. Miraculously survived the event, Shiki was sent and sent away from the family to recuperate.

As a result of the injury, he is now able to see "life lines" on objects and people which, when cut, will destroy them, until one day, a mysterious women gave him a pair of glasses to prevent him from seeing such lines.

After years away from home, he moves back home following the death of the head of the Tohno family. He was walking back from school as he meet a beautiful woman named Arcueid Brunestud, and was drawn to kill her.

He thinks that her murder was all just a nightmare at first, until she reappears in front of him.

It appears that Arcueid is a vampire princess. and recruits Shiki afterwards to help fight Roa, the antagonist vampire who has been commiting many murders at the moment.

Story & Characters

Of the numerous vampire anime series out there, Tsukihime particularly stands out as one of the more powerful shows. It focuses primarily on the life of a high school student named Tohno Shiki, who is abruptly swept into the affairs of battling vampires. Shiki is "gifted" with a somewhat dubious talent: the Gaze of Death. This allows him to see the lifelines of all things (humans included) that when broken destroy whatever they cover. It is this gift that allows him to kill a young-looking but in fact 800 year old vampire princess known as Arcueid Brunestud. Amazed that a mere human could kill her, Arcueid resurrects herself and attempts to enlist Shiki in her fight against a group of vampires known as the Dark Apostles. This sect arose when vampires known as True Ancestors, who in their pure state did not thirst for blood, became corrupted and began feeding on humans. The victims became the Dark Apostles and the vampire Roa their leader, a person responsible for a slew of murders happening in the city. In addition to this story, there is, among others, the mysterious one concerning the Tohno family's past. After watching Tsukihime, one can tell that it is intended for an older (and smart) audience. In addition to the subject matter being rather mature, things are very rarely spelled out completely. This saves the show from treating the viewer like a child, and leaves you to fill some of the gaps, instead of filling them for you. The result is that the viewer becomes more involved with what is happening, therefore making the show much more gripping. The storytelling is one of Tsukihime's strongest points. The characters and the relationships between them are surprisingly well developed for a series of this length (12 episodes) and are done so in a very realistic manner. One might think it difficult to connect with characters such as an 800 year old blond vampire princess, but Tsukihime pulls such things off with great precision.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Art

As with the story telling, the art direction of Tsukihime is top-notch. Character designs are both pleasing to the eye as well as appropriate to the story. They also have an originality to them. It is rather disappointing when illustrators use the same template for a majority of the characters, making them all look the same. Tsukihime's characters don't look like they came out of a Lego set, with only minor differences such as hair color, they have varying features and builds just as real people do. Also, throughout the series there is a consistent lack of bright primary colors, which if present would dampen the melancholy atmosphere. Despite this, the color is by no means washed out. Rich dark tones play a key role in setting the right mood for the show's darker moments. Overall, the visual presentation is quite Baroque, making strong use of dramatic lighting effects and sharp contrasts and is therefore successful in creating a gothic feel that befits a show of this nature.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Sound

If there is one weak point to Tsukihime, it is its sound. While the music and voice acting were by no means bad, there are times when they falter. In terms of the music, Toshiyuki ?mori created just the right type of music (for the most part). The opening music, the music during the show itself, and the exit music usually fit within the realm of melancholy vampire tunes. The only point where the music degraded was in the some of the fight scenes, when it began to sound quite video game-esque. This might only seem like a minor flaw, but to me it greatly diminished the power of such scenes. Plus, overall the music (particularly at the intro and the exit) could have used more melancholy. However, I was very pleased to hear that the intro and exit music complements, rather than contrasts, with the show's mood. Occasionally shows, such as Elfen Lied for example, have ended with music that is in almost complete contradiction to the feeling of the show. As for voice acting, this too was overall of rather high quality. Where it faltered was in the voicing of some of the villains, who, like the music, sometimes sounded quite video game-esque.

Rating

7 (above average)

Presentation

Tsukihime is one of the most powerful anime series I have seen so far. Though it is often categorized as action, at its heart it is a moving drama. At the center of story is the relationship between Shiki and Arcueid which flowers into a beautiful tale that is utterly emotional. The story evoked stronger emotions inside of me than most things I have experienced as of late. I can't help but relate with Osiris in his review when I say that it made me shed a few tears. But over what exactly, I will leave to the viewer. While watching Tsukihime I kept waiting for a let down to appear, because every aspect of the story was of such high quality, but fortunately none appeared. It is through and through an excellent show. I highly recommend it to any anime fan who enjoys a good story

Rating

10 (excellent)

Final Verdict

9.50 (excellent)

Reviewed by ikebana, 1y 7wk ago