屍牙姫

SHIGAHIME

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
5
RELEASE
March 25, 2019
CHAPTERS
31

DESCRIPTION

“Are you sick?"

"Well, I guess you could say that."

Osamu Hirota is an ordinary high school student. That is, until Soichi, a student from the next town over, takes him to a mysterious mansion with promises of meeting a seductress. Out walks a voluptuous woman named Miwako, who, as she undresses, reaches inside of Soichi and rips out his heart! The next day, Hirota awakens. Was it all a dream? Or have we just started to pull back the curtains on this dark and suspenseful story?

(Source: Comikey)

CAST

Miwako
Osamu Hirota
Souichi Tachibana
Chika Murase
Tamaki
Kaede Hirota

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

PixiePudding
80/100
A horror, gore manga with an actual decent plot
Shigahime is a story of an ordinary high school boy that got his normal life tangled into the world of supernatural. Throughout history, the Blood Race have been called a lot of names but we are maybe more familiar with the term “vampire”, creatures that eat human hearts to live. Miwako is one such a creature that took a fancy to the young, earnest boy Osamu Hiroto. The story opens with Miwako wanting to make him his familiar.

What I like about this manga is its overarching theme of loneliness. For the creatures damned to live forever and cannot die, the loneliness of their existence alone is a curse. For the humans, even though they only have mortal lives, they still feel lonely unable to connect with other fellow beings.

Ultimately, the information about the Blood Race has not been shed any light. There is no conclusive ending and some say it could have been more expounded. But I think it suits the mysterious aura surrounding these vampires. What we got for an ending is a glimpse on the characters’ true psyches.

There’s nudity in this manga, which I consider to be a double-edged sword. Some readers might be put off though, especially at the beginning where the majority of the nude scenes show. I don’t think it needs nudity but in some scenes, I believe that it is necessary in conveying the state of vulnerability of the characters.

Our main character, Osamu Hirota, is a highschool boy that just wants a normal life with his new girlfriend, Murase Chika. Osamu really likes Murase and he is willing to do anything to preserve his perceived normal life. Murase is a kind-hearted girl that just wants to spend more time with her boyfriend Osamu. Unfortunately for her, this fact is what also drags her to the dark world of the Blood Race. Souchi is a bullied classmate that comes from a dysfunctional family. Hungry for attention, his feelings of loneliness is what led him in wanting to become a familiar of the mysterious and alluring vampire, Miwako. Our human characters are all in their teens so in the story they do make a lot of emotion-fuelled decisions to their demise.

Art style is pretty average. Nothing impressive to look at, though it does show a lot of gore. Compared to other gore manga, it actually feels cleaner and easier to read. I want to make a special mention of the way the mangaka drew the character’s faces since it feels so expressive.

Conclusion
It was short but it managed to convey an interesting story. This is for you if you don’t mind nudity and gore. I can say, that this is probably the best written horror manga I have read. The characters actually have desires and motivations and are more complex than a body of meat waiting to be sliced that so often plagues this genre. Maybe at this point my expectations for horror manga are just too low that I'm already pretty happy with one that has an actual decent plot. Anyways, check this one out.
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femboydirt
75/100
Very tragic yet beautifully drawn horror manga.
Shigahime is a tragedy before it's a horror manga. Through the 31 chapters, it pulls the reader along a very rocky path and ultimately I do think going down that path is worth it.

The review is going to be formatted with the big negative points first then the comprehensive review after it.
__Negatives__
The most obvious and glaring issue for me was the excessive use of nudity. This isn't to say the nudity was pointless, as many times it did serve a narrative or thematic purpose, but many times the manga would go out of its way to show the nude bodies of its high school aged cast. This above the gore, sexual assault, and depressing nature is probably what would turn away the most people and its totally fair if it does. Nudity representing vulnerability is common and used well at times in this manga, but a lot of the time it was unnecessary.
Besides that, this manga suffers from lazy writing at times. Using very extreme visuals and actions or having certain characters somehow end up near each other at the perfect moments. While I wouldn't say it ever ruins the experience while reading the manga, there were definitely points that made me roll my eyes.
There are also some more minor issues like the pacing being off near the middle of the story, the ending all feeling a bit rushed, the world building never really getting to a point it probably should have and other minor writing things of similar nature. None of these impact the overall experience, but the sum of all its faults do hamper the overall story.
__Writing__
The dialog is fine. The overall pacing has some flaws, but it rarely drags and the increased pace near the end doesn't overwhelm. The logic of the world is simple and consistent and its worldbuilding is the same. There is nothing glaring to complain about, but I also find myself struggling to really praise it as well. Exposition is done well and never interrupts the flow on the panels, dialog serves its purpose. This will become a trend, but the manga does most things fine enough, a few things not so well, and overall is pretty good.
__Story__
Shigahime is a somewhat basic story. It's very similar to Tokyo Ghoul, it's about a high school boy becoming a monster to serve what is essentially a vampire. It's a very violent and gore filled manga with very few happy moments. It really is fully committed to be a complete tragedy. But nothing about the story or plot ever truly stood out to me. It's pretty easy to follow narratively and it never really tries anything too crazy. In that sense it manages to stay cohesive even if some of the finer details can be missed.
The ending, while fine, also feels very rushed. The pieces of a great conclusion are all there, but it feels like moments that should have been spaced out more happen one after the other. I get that the story is ramping up towards its big climax and ultimate finale, but with how the pacing is in the first half of the manga, the last third of the manga feels way too fast.
The main character is also given little time to really sit and reflect on things. The quiet moments of the manga are done well enough but there were simply too few of them to appreciate our MC's shifting morality and mindset. But overall the story does enough to keep you invested and engaged.
__Characters__
Probably the strongest part of the manga outside of the art is its characters. The MC is pretty good. His motivations, logic, feelings, and overall ark are done quite well.
Miwako is a really good villain. She is a great representation for predators and abusers. The entire familiar system felt earned with how well it managed to carry the themes of control, exploitation, and obsession.
The main rival and love interest are ok. Both improve as characters as the manga progresses but for me Souichi never feels like a complete character for me. It's like there is a great character there, but just missing the core piece to make him that character.
Chika as the main love interest is fine. But again, it feels like there is a piece missing from her character. Hints of her wanting to be controlling and somewhat obsessive aren't explored nearly enough for when she also becomes a monster. And her turn from normal girl to complete monster feels unearned and rushed. Even just one more chapter of her transitioning from conflicted to accepting would have done wonders.
The characters do eventually hit and you do care about the MC and Chika very early on. They do a good job at being sympathetic characters stuck in a grim tragedy.
__Art__
Quite easily the best part of the manga is the art. From character design to angles, to paneling, to detail, etc. The gore is wonderfully drawn and it's clear that is where the artist's passions are. Each grotesque scene is drawn with such visceral energy. The manga is devilishly stylish at points and it's really good at drawing exactly what is needed to highlight a certain part or trait of a character. Miwako is predatory and uses her body as a way to control people so when she is drawn, she is drawn exceptionally well, each curve done with care.
The sheer variety in facial expressions and visual metaphor the artists managed to capture is very good. If you are a fan of gore, then this is one of the best manga I can recommend.
The character designs themselves deliver essentially every time. From the one off familiars that die in two pages to the important characters we see throughout the whole manga, there is a level of thought and care put into each of them.
The art is the one thing I can nearly give universal praise to. Even when the manga looks rough, it seems to be on purpose for certain characters or locations. The only true knock against it is what I mentioned at the start with how nudity is overdone with the high school aged main cast.
__Overall Thoughts__
This manga will range from 5/10 to 9/10 depending on who reads it. I imagine there are people who can identify with the main character or his girlfriend and really appreciate the characters and story on a level I could not. And in the inverse, there are people who will see all the negatives I pointed out and then not get into the story because of a lack of care for the characters or general plot.
I am somewhere in between. This review likely came across as mostly negative, but I did enjoy my time reading this manga. There were enough positives to keep me reading and while the gore at times felt excessive, it never truly came across and disgusting. It's nothing special, but for the people into the tags and genre, you will find enjoyment reading through it.
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