Shingetsutan Tsukihime

**Poparteeb** · 01-13-2008, 09:10 PM

For all the Fate/Stay Night fans out there, Shingetsutan Tsukihime is made by the same company, Type_Moon, and also is based on a visual novel. The premise and themes are similar, ones of struggle against evil, and hidden sometimes unrequited love, yet the plot is considerably different.

Tsukihime chronicles the story and life of a teenage boy named Shiki Tohno. As a young boy, Shiki suffered a life-threatening injury. As a result of this injury, Shiki became able to see "death lines" on objects and people; if Shiki traces these lines with a sharp object, the person or object that they belong to will die or be destroyed. Soon after discovering this power, he is given a special pair of glasses by a mysterious woman. While wearing these glasses, Shiki cannot see the lines, and can thus live life as normal. Later, Shiki discovers that he can also see "points" on objects and people; these act as more immediate and powerful versions of the "lines." Eventually, it is revealed that Shiki is not merely killing a person or destroying an object when he cuts its lines or pokes out its points, but is instead removing the meaning of his victim's existence.

The plot begins during Shiki's high school days. After years away from the Tohno household, which he was banished from after his injury, he moves back home following the death of the head of the Tohno family, Shiki's father. Shiki's sister, Akiha, assumes the responsibility of being the new head, and decides to let Shiki come back. As the story progresses, Shiki gradually discovers his mysterious past, and becomes implicated into strange adventures. Primarily among these events, he meets Arcueid Brunestud, a beautiful vampiric princess who does not need to drink blood. He becomes her ally after some initial misunderstandings, and together they fight the dead apostles or humans turned vampire and chief among them, Arcueid's nemesis, Roa.

This anime is superbly plotted out, just like Fate/Stay Night, with touching characters and believable storylines. The viewer is simply drawn into the anime like FSN did, creating an incredibly surreal world in which you can lose yourself in. The action is taut, character development superb, and everything moving at an extremely fast pace, quite unlike Naruto. The sometime funny sections only add to this well crafted anime and thus the entire story is incredibly well made and connected. The romance makes this anime even more memorable, as it becomes quite apparent how short the time the lovers will have. It is truly a pity that it is only 12 episodes long, for many I know that we would all like to see triple the amount.