I recently decided I wanted to watch some of my old favorite anime shows, so I decided I would pick up Shingetsutan Tsukihime.  It’s been long enough since I’ve seen this one that I remembered very little beyond a few plot points, which made watching it again quite a bit more rewarding.  I also decided to get this on DVD and watch it dubbed, rather that the fansub I watched back in the day, which allowed me to pick up further details and nuances that I hadn’t before.

One thing in particular I noticed in watching it this time around was the very nuanced relationship Shiki has with the women in his life – Akiha, Ciel, Arcueid, and Hisiui.

Shiki’s relationship with Akiha most resembles that of a mother and son rather than (younger!) sister and brother.  I think this is mostly because Akiha has the more formal upbringing and so is more comfortable in the role of head-of-household.  Still, I find it odd that Shiki takes no ownership in shaping his role in the relationship with his sister, and instead falls exactly into the role of the rebellious teenager.

Similarly, Ciel forces her way into Shiki’s life in the role of a mentor and friend.  The odd thing about this relationship, however, is that Shiki obviously doesn’t trust Ciel, but does seem to entertain her nosiness.  I think this comes from him genuinely liking her, but also recognizing that something is off with the way that she treats him in particular and the advice she gives (which is obviously suspicious and externally motivated).

Arcueid and Shiki’s relationship is obviously the focal point of the series and thus has the most content for comparison.  To oversimplify, Arcueid entrusts Shiki with her life, and Shiki responds (instinctively, I think) as a protector.  This type of relationship obviously has the potential to grow into a romantic relationship, and Arcueid starts to (clumsily) pull the relationship in that direction while Shiki is still focused on the events going on outside of their relationship.  Specifically, Shiki has to deal with the violence of Arcueid and the life she leads (both being a vampire and hunting monsters), the issues with his family (both his tyrannical sister and the mysteries around his childhood), and balancing his school life with responsibility to Arcueid.  I think this is why Arcueid’s desire to date (i.e. escalate their relationship) is so absurd – it’s one more thing that Shiki can’t really process.  But when everything else is suddenly resolved, Shiki is left with that thought, was he in love with Arcueid?

Finally, Shiki and Hisiui have a very obvious friendship where Hisiui wants more but is too shy to escalate their relationship explicitly.  Shiki obviously already sees himself as Hisiui’s friend and protector, and, I think, until Arcueid decided to escalate their relationship, Shiki would have eventually wanted more as well.  However, after Arcueid leaves, Shiki had already decided on Arcueid, and not Hisiui.

All that being said, the reason I like this anime in particular, is that it is about people doing heroic things in the midst of a train wreck of emotional turmoil.  In this setting, every act has consequences, and the show isn’t afraid of exploring them.  Sure, this limits the action somewhat, but I find that it makes the story much richer, and is very worth it.