Shiki's specials exist to force you to watch good people become complicit in atrocity. These two episodes don't expand the plot, they suffocate you with the moral weight of every choice the main cast made, turning hindsight into a kind of horror all its own. You need to have finished the series first; there's no entry point here, only the slow recognition that nobody in this story was ever really a villain or a hero, just terrified people making the only decision they could live with.
An epidemic grips the quiet, isolated village of Sotoba, and three women are caught up in the worsening crisis. Nao Yasumori is haunted by visions of the dead. Kanami Yano guards a secret that could cost her someone she loves. Motoko Maeda sinks into overwhelming grief as the strange illness moves through her family. As pressure builds and family bonds are strained, even a small misstep can break them apart. These two previously unaired episodes, numbered 20.5 and 21.5, were released with the eighth and ninth home video volumes of the Shiki television series. They bring supernatural horror and mystery with a thriller edge.
