Moe Era: Shiki 16

A very sad story...

Very nice episode with a very big revelation.

The episode starts with a flashback on the past of Sunako. It is actually just a small anticipation since the story will be told by her later in the episode. After the opening, the actual episode starts with Tohru (Natsumo's friend and killer) still bringing flowers in front of Natsuno's house.

Later the story of Nao is told and we understand that she really wanted to "help" her family bringing them on the other side. Of course, what she actually achieved was to exterminate them. The strange thing is that at a certain point she start to run and after she stops it looks like she is catching her breath... and I thougth shiki's did not breath!

Later on Tohru is summoned by Sunako who tells him her sad story. She was turned into a shiki and woke up in a grave. She screamed and screamed until an unlucky guy saved her. He became her first victim and after going home she was closed by her parents in a warehouse and was fed. She fed on the women bringing her food everyday. She read books and learned more about what she had become and decides to go back to her house. When she arrives there though, she discovers that her family had moved away. She started looking for them everywhere and went on for years, traveling the country, until she realized that so much time was passed that they would be all dead. It is a sad story, especially if you think she was just a small child.

The second part of the episode deals with the family of Akira and Kaori. Megumi is shown again to be really in good shape and quite happy with her new "unlife". She pushes Akira's father to attack his own family which in the end he does biting his wife. This is a turning moment because the following day Akira, upon finding her mother weakened and understanding what happened (but blaming Megumi) decides to take action. He wants to buy some amulets and Kaori to prepare some stakes. When he hears from some paesants that a house that should be empty seems to be inhabited at night he decides to attack.

Another scene change and we find Natsuno and Toshio talking. They agree that they will attack the shikis when they can be more vulnerable: when they think they have taken control of the village. They also agree that they will kill all the shikis. This is the big revelation, Nakano tells Toshio "including me", revealing he his a shiki too! If that is really the case he must be the same kind as Tatsumi (the butler inumimi shiki) since he can walk in the light of the sun without any problem. So he managed somehow to raise and get back to the village without letting the shiki know.

The final sequence of the episode is quite sad and of effect. Akira goes in the house, judging that it is still 12:00 and he has time before the night. It is not hard to find a shiki asleep, but when he convinces himlself and he is about to plant the stake in his heart Tatsumi stops him. He awakes roped in front of the shiki. A light pointing on a watch and showing the time. It is 16:30 and it is already late enough. The shiki awakes and looks at him with dark eyes, the eyes of the blood thirst. This is very sad... Well at least I hope he will rise as a shiki, maybe he will join Nakano in his fight. A strange look from one of the peasants, an old lady, can hint that she might have alerted Tatsumi. Could it be that there are already normal people aware and cohoperating with the shikis? Or maybe it was just a detail put there to cast some doubts for us watchers :)

Tatsumi is overpowered. I mean, the shikis are very strong and have incredible regeneration capacities, but they also have several limitations. During the day they are completely inactive and vulnerable and even at night they cannot enter a house if they are not invited and looks like they actually fear religious symbols. Tatsumi instead is simply strong. He can walk in the sun and he can go wherever he wants. Maybe also the owner of Kanemasa (Kirishiki Seshirou) is the same kind of shiki. It could be that there is a one in a hundred chance of raising as that special kind of shiki and this happened with Nakano too.

To me it always looked more like Tatsumi wasn't a shiki, but rather a werewolf, most definitely because of his inumimi-like hair. He uses his abilities to deprive people of any mean to figth back. When you think you found a way to stop the shikis, he shows up and ruins your plans. And he has a habit of doing so in a particularly evil way. This happened when Toshio was trying to save a patient by keeping her in his clinic and not letting the shikis in, and it happened again with Akira in this episode.

Well, at least he was not able to stop Toshio from butchering his shiki-fied wife. Wait, I don't even know if that was a good thing!