Shiki Tohno has the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception: the ability to see the threads of death that hold all physical objects and beings together, allowing him to break them at will and physically destroy them. When he was a child, a mysterious woman who called herself a ‘Mage’ gave him a pair of glasses that prevented him seeing the lines and allowed him to lead a normal life. Now his father has died and he has moved out of his aunt and uncle’s house and returned to the family home to live with his sister, Akiha. Soon afterwards he meets a young woman named Arcueid Brunstud who not only claims that she is a vampire, but also informs him that he had killed her the previous day. After this revelation Shiki reluctantly agrees to be Arcueid’s bodyguard while she recovers from the injuries he had inflicted upon her and helps her to track down the vampires that have been responsible for a series of murders in the local area.

The first thing that is apparent with Tsukihime is the dark, moody atmosphere. This is partly down to the soundtrack, which consists of a mixture of classical and cool electronica — the opening theme tune is especially outstanding. There is also an emphasis on portraying seemingly unrelated people and events, resulting in the first viewing being rather confusing and almost frustrating. Numerous themes are presented in a short space of time including Shiki’s awkward relationship with his outwardly cold yet over-protective sister, his encounters with the beautiful and mysterious Arcueid, the series of murders and the fragmented memories of his own childhood. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that an accident when he was younger was responsible for his fragile health and recurring moments of amnesia, which explains how he brutally murdered Arcueid using his Death Perception ability and scarcely noticed.

It is these lapses of memory that could be responsible for the strange occurrences that Shiki is experiencing, because there are signs scattered around these first four episodes that suggest nothing is as it seems. There is also an interesting supporting cast, including several young females who may or may not provide a source of romantic interest for the rather absent-minded Shiki, and probably know more than they are letting on.

Despite all of this there is a nagging feeling that something is missing from Tsukihime; whether it is the somewhat deadpan voice acting, the fragmented way in which the plot plays out or something different entirely, I can’t quite put my finger on it. The animation is as crisp and clean as most series that have been produced in the last couple of years with some great action scenes and it has a really appealing gothic atmosphere, but the story doesn’t seem to have got moving very quickly and it seems to try too hard in being ‘mysterious’. Of course, it is probably a lot to ask in expecting a series consisting of shadowy vampires and a protagonist with recurring memory problems to explain itself quickly so it’s probably best to put this to one side for the time being.

In Summary

At this early stage Tsukihime is a very intriguing show with an unusual atmosphere aided by a superb soundtrack, interesting characters and a supernatural theme. Will it continue to improve or turn into a muddled and disappointing supernatural-thriller-by-numbers? From what I’ve seen so far, I honestly don’t know. What is clear is that it has the potential to be a very good series.