For the uninitiated, Kara no Kyoukai is a series of seven films animated by Ufotable and penned by Nasu Kinoko ranging from 45 minutes to two hours each. These films tell the story of a series of events revolving around a woman named Ryougi Shiki who was born with a power called Chokoshi no Magan (mystic eyes of death perception) a power that allows her to see the very lines of mortality that bind all things together into existence, along with the power to sever them. She is accompanied by a man named Mikiya Kokutou, a highschool friend of Shiki's and an investigator for a woman named Touko Aozaki, the boss of both Shiki and Mikiya who is also a Magus who formerly attended at clocktower in London.
If any of this terminology seems familiar to you it's because it is. Kara no Kyoukai takes place in the same universe as Fate, as in Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero and Tsukihime as in well, Tsukihime. Because of this a couple locals and characters might be familiar to you, so if you're already familiar with the Type-Moon universe (or Nasuverse as it's called) you stand to get a bit more out of this.
Kara no Kyoukai is essentially the seedy underbelly of the Nasuverse. In this you get into the grimdark and the gritty bitty details of what can go on in this universe. It doesn't shy away from gore, gratuitous violence, rape, and drug use so watchers be warned.
For those still around, this is where it's important to note that the first four films are not in chronological order. You are very much being dumped into the middle of the story with the first film with no explanation as to who, why, or what is happening. It can make you feel a bit lost, but that's ok. This isn't like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya where the non-chronological airing was done to be "super cool and unique". It was written this way for a purpose, and over the course of the next 5 films you'll be able to put together the pieces and draw the lines yourself as to how this all fits together. I'll say this right now, Kara no Kyoukai has a high barrier of entry and is not for the faint of heart. It asks you to actually think about what is going on in order to be able to unravel mysteries and draw the lines between various plot threads. It isn't going to hold your hand through everything like so many of the shonen action shows many of you may be use to. If you aren't actively paying attention to what's going on it's very likely that you may become lost.
Now without further adew, I'll try to provide a relatively spoiler free review/synopsis of the entire thing. Details might be scarce, but this is to try and get you to watch it yourself. Not to act as a supplement for the real thing.
Movie 1: Overlooking view
Who are you? Where is this? What's going on?As said earlier, the first film dumps you right into the middle of the story with no explanation as to who these people are or why how this world works. It's a far cry from the introductory episode of Fate/Zero that so many of you might be use to where they spent the first 40 minutes (and subsequent 2 episodes) info dumping so you could understand what's going on before the story actually starts. If you have familiarity with the Nasuverse though this won't be as jarring as you'll already understand or at least have an idea of the underlying mechanics of this world. You might not know the who and the where, but you'll know the what and the why of this place.
During the course of this film you'll follow Shiki as she investigates (and ultimately solves) a bunch of strange suicides and setting up a premise of this movie series in the process. This is very much a supernatural, magic infused action/thriller series. This first movie is supposed to get you interested in the world itself, if you're already interested in the Nasuverse or a specific portion of it this will probably be enough. For those of you just getting into the Nasuverse however this whole adventure will probably be confusing to you and make you feel lost by the end of the movie with a "what just happened?" thought lingering in your head.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) the second movie will be much slower and bring you up to speed.
Movie 2: Murder Speculation (Part 1)
Down to zero we go Thus begins the second movie. In this we end up going back to the beginning. Both Shiki and Mikiya are in high school. In this we'll watch them meet for the first time, their relationship will grow and we'll ultimately only come half way to understanding what leads to where they are today. This is in my opinion, the second weakest film of the series. It's not something you'd really watch every time you'd want to see these films again (much like the first three episodes of Fate/Zero), but it's still integral to the overall story as it sets up just who these characters are and it gives you perspective on just what was going on during the first movie. It may possibly force you to reassess your judgement on what you had witnessed beforehand, tying back into what I said near the start of this. This is a movie series that challenges you to think and reassess your views and perceptions. It demands that you pay attention and to be engaged.
In all the second movie though very character based, and unlike the first movie while it may seem slow it at least feels like it has a purpose for a first time viewer.
Movie 3: Remaining Sense of Pain
Back to the presentThe third movie starts off before the first. So while it's not technically "the present" it's at least within the same time frame. This film returns us to the murder mystery/supernatural thriller premise. This time there have been multiple strange murders around the city and Mikiya is once again investigating them with Shiki taking an interest in them due to their nature.
This is the first time we really get to see that seedy underbelly of the Nasuverse I was talking about. This movie doesn't shy away from anything, so if you've gone through the last two movies thinking "LC doesn't know what he's talking about, this isn't to bad" you're going to be in for a bit of a shock. With the back stories of these characters in tow you'll be better equipped to understand the world around them and be able to connect with them more easily as they travel through what I considering to be the third best film of the series. The third film is nicely paced with multiple plot threads going on that either end up being nicely answered by the end or left to be answered in a future film. The final fight scene in this is extremely well done with a proper sense of urgency being able to be felt by the viewer as various characters are essentially racing against time in order to achieve their desired outcome.
Other than dropping a couple hints and moving towards the overall plot, this story is relatively well contained.
Movie 4: The Hollow
Why am I special?This is another back to the past movie. Only this time it picks pretty much right where the second left off. In this we follow Shiki as she tries to rehabilitate and recover from an accident over the course of two years. Mikiya takes a backseat in this story and a woman named Touko Aozaki (the boss in films one and three) is properly introduced for the first time. In this we deal with the awakening of her Chokoshi no Magan (mystic eyes of death perception) and her introduction into the spiritual world and the realm of magic.
There's not much to say here other than it's much better paced than its predecessor back story episode and more directly deals with what's going on in the present (and main plot of the story).
Movie 5: Paradox Spiral
It's the climax!Paradox Spiral is perhaps the best movie in this series and in my opinion one of the top anime movies period. Of course this requires your viewing of the previous four films which all come together in this fifth installment. This is the culmination of pretty much everything you've watched so far. Nearly all the plot threads lead to this point. It's littered with symbolism, philosophy, action, drama, suspense, and for those of you familiar with Fate it explains what the damn origin (root) is that ties the underlying fabric of this universe together that Tokiomi was after along with a character who made a brief appearance in one of Kiritsugu's back story episodes in Fate/Zero.
This films story is told from two different perspectives throughout most of it. One from Shiki, and one from Mikiya. During it they investigate the mystery of a foreboding apartment complex which in turn leads to a whole slew of revelations that take you on a roller coaster of feels and pulse pounding action as the soundtrack (done by Yuki Kajiuara) kicks in. Unfortunately I can't delve to deep into this without spoiling it so I'll have to cut this one short.
Movie 6: Oblivion Recording
Oh boy... filler...This is easily the worst. It's pretty much the "Rins Adventure" of Kara no Kyoukai. Watch it once for the character stuff and the relevent bit of plot near the end, but other than that there's nothing really substantial about it.
Oh and it stars Azuka Kokutou (Mikiyas magus sister who makes brief appearances in earlier movies) with Shiki taking a side role. Really, there's not much to this one you could easily skip it and not miss out on to much when it comes to the final film.
Movie 7: Murder Speculation (Part 2)
In conclusionThis is very much the conclusion of our story. The climax has already happened and this is very much a tying up loose ends tale. Lingering questions from the second film (hence the part 2) are finally answered and the relationships between all the characters reach their conclusions. This one is more of a murder mystery and Mikiya has set out to find who is truly responsible for the recurrence of the seemingly random murders that had happened 3 years prior. While tensions and stakes are raised they don't quite meet the levels of the 5th film in this two hour film. Suffice to say everything is wrapped up in this film and the end seems satisfying. There are no cliffhangers or obvious sequel bait to be found here and the story really could end here with everything wrapped up nicely.
Well, until an 8th film came out, but that's for another time.
Overall Story: 8.8/10
Why an 8.8 out of 10? Because I feel like the story really could have ended with movie 5 without the need for an entire two hour film devoted to tying up loose ends in movie 7. That doesn't mean the 7th film is bad, because it certainly isn't. I just feel that it drags on far to long for a plot thread that really doesn't have that much substance. That and the 6th movie is almost completely worthless filler.
Sound: 10/10
Yuki Kaijura, nuff said. That and Ufotable has always done excellent ambiance work. If you've seen what they did on Fate/Zero you know what to expect, no awkward obviously mashing a banana into a jar of mayonnaise here.
Art and Animation: 10/10
This is Ufotable. They have budgets large enough to buy Belgium and the damn well show it with nearly every shot. The art and animation is superb along with the direction of various scenes. Unfortunately I can't go to much into it because spoilers, however those who watch the films or have already seen them can attest to this. Especially in Spiral Paradox.
Overall: 9.0/10
While the problems with Kara no Kyoukai can be attributed to the fact that this was Nasu's earliest work and therefore bogged down a bit due to his inexperience as a professional writer. Ufotable and Yuki Kajiuara manage to pick up the slack in the art and sound department though so the rather weak story telling in some areas gets overshadowed by the sheer quality and effort both Ufotable and Yuki Kaijuara put into their work. Kara no Kyoukai is very much an audio and visual treat for those willing to hop the barrier of entry and keep up the pace that the film demands of them.
Pros/Cons
+audio and visual work is superb
+story is mostly pretty good
+challenges the viewer unlike so many modern anime that sit back and hold your hand through everything
+grants more insight to the various workings of the Nasuverse and helps those who are interested in one specific part of it to become acquainted with the rest
-high barrier of entry
-easy to get lost or become confused
-can be a bit slow on the uptake
-6th movie feels like filler
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