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Tohno Shiki is an ordinary kid when he is involved in a near
fatal accident. Following the accident Shiki is sent away
to the care of a relative. But, after the accident Shiki can
see lines of death. In order to lead a normal life he is given
a pair of glasses by a woman he meets that he knows only as
Teacher. When his father dies he must return to his own household
and start school, but he is haunted by a memory of killing
a young girl...
Tsukihime (2003) volume three contains episodes nine to
twelve of the twelve episode run. Having had an opportunity
to see the show in its entirety I'm quite willing to stick
my hand up and say that the show is better than my original
review of the second
disc. The story is a very slow burner with a scarcity
of dialogue but an excess of beautiful images. You pretty
much have to watch the show in a small space of time, it's
a bit like Sapphire and Steel was when it was on television,
it's way too easy to forget what happened in previous shows,
so very easy to get lost.
The
series has a form of inner ennui. The world that has been
created has all the elements of a traditional horror story,
vampires, zombies and a lot of death. However, Tsukihime transcends
all of the clichés and presents a world of almost beautiful
sadness which shrouds the characters in a creeping malaise.
Mood is important here, which is most probably why the initial
batch of episodes seemed almost random in its storytelling.
In
episode nine, Death, Shiki is taken back to the family
house after he has been attacked by Roa. While he is recovering
he sees visions of a woman impaled on a tree. Confronting
his sister after his wound heals too quickly, she denies being
a vampire but does tell him that there is something in the
family's blood. Shiki is even more determined to find out
the secret of his past, to this end he searches the house
and finds a small dungeon room with the words "Help Me"
painted in blood on the walls.
Vermilion Crimson Moon: Shiki is refusing to leave
his room. He knows that something is really wrong and that
everyone has lied to him about his past, his wound has started
to re-bleed. Arcueid turns up to get him to go on a date with
her as it's something she has never done before, pretty understanding,
I thought, as he killed her the first time they met. Arcueid
gets to go all Buffy as she saves Shiki from a band
of vampires.
Misfortunate Night: Things are really starting to go
wrong for Shiki. Arcueid is drawn to his bleeding wound and
he has to be rescued by Ciel. After Arcueid runs off Ciel
tells Shiki the story of the Moon Princess and her fall from
grace at the hands of Roa, Arcueid's story. When he returns
home his sister finally gives in and lets him read her father's
journal - the journal which holds the truth about Shiki and
Roa.
The
truth, as they say, is out there and in episode twelve, Lunar
World, the truth regarding everyone's real past is revealed,
with this confrontation between Shiki and Roa is inevitable,
but who will survive?
There's
not much in the way of DVD extras, only a set of trailers
and the DVD credits. Shame, really, as this spoils a very
good disc. It would have been nice to have some info from
the creators of the show. Audio comes in either English or
Japanese stereo, with subtitles. The sound remains clear as
a bell, but the soundtrack, by Toshiyuki Omori, is so good
it really cries out for a 5.1 treatment. The title song remains
haunting; in fact the music in this series is of such superior
quality that I'm surprised that it's not available separately.
Continuing their run of good prints the picture is clear and
artefact free.
So,
a good end to a fine, if short, series. Hopefully there will
be a box set some time in the future, with some interesting
extras thrown in.
Charles
Packer
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