glover.marvin - 2014-12-29 22:02:20

Kara no Kyoukai - The garden of sinners

Note: this is a short review of the entire series.

It is my opinion that this film series is one of the greatest things that have come out, like, ever. All the aspects of it are top notch, which logicly means that everybody should watch it. However, this is not a series for everyone. It contains a lot of disturbing content as well as beeing very confusing at times. You should watch this series if you know what it is and if you like it. If you do not like confusing shows with a serious undertone and a lot of disturbing content, then you should not watch Kara no Kyoukai.

This does not change the fact that quality-whise, this is a really amazing series that should be checked out by everyone that it fits.

Story:

Kara no kyoukai is about a girl named Ryougi Shiki, whom after an accident gets laid in at a hospital and laid there in koma for 2 years, while beeing watched over by Mikiya Koktou, a boy who fell in love with her during theyre highschool times. When Shiki wakes up, she has developed a special ability called the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception", which allows her to see the death in things. She and Mikiya gets hired by Aozaki Tokou, a magus who drives a detective bureau. There Shiki is sent to tackle incidents of supernatural nature while at the same time trying to balance her friendship with Mikiya.

Animation:

Top notch

Sound:

Probably the best soundtrack which Yuki Kajiura has ever made.

Characters:

On the outside very flat, but accually enormously complex and fitting, the characters are nothing but a pleasure to watch.

Enjoyment:

 As high as it gets

casimir.johns - 2014-12-28 23:10:36

This movie is like a piece of a puzzle. You have to see the entire thing before you can truly judge. But if I have to judge this movie, I can't do anything but love it. It's atmospheric and have one of the greatest combination between the animation and music. 

shanahan.waino - 2014-12-25 23:52:21

This film was fantastic can't wait to watch the rest. However the characters aren't very interesting and the pacing is extremely slow. 

fgulgowski - 2014-11-18 02:50:52

Every movie of Kara No Kyoukai is masterpiece-tier is you can handle the lengthy amount of dialogue.

terrence41 - 2013-08-22 05:09:50

** WARNING** This show is DARK. This series will show people getting butchered and raped… I’m not lying there is legit rape in this series. I don’t recommend this show to people who don’t like blood, or don’t like more mature shows that can be very violent are gory. On the other hand if you think you can stomach this then go right ahead, if not I still encourage you to try and see if you can get past movie three. This is a long review if you want a summary go to the Final Verdict.

This is a review based on the ENTIRE series. Not just the single movie, this is because if you do it just based on a single movie, then you might see mixed feelings about each one, for an example if you watch the first movie (where the review is) you might think it's strange and might not continue onward. So this review might help you change your ideas.

Synopsis

Kara no Kyoukai or as its other name, Garden of Sinners, is a seven film series that was produced by Ufotable, who also animated Fate /Zero and Gundam SEED. The original series is a series of five light novels written by Kinoko Nasu, who also wrote the original visual novels for Fate/Stay night, and Tsukihime. The time period is from 1995 to 1999, meaning everything is pretty modern, besides the latest of technology. A special note is that each movie has its own run-time, some being an hour long while movies 5 and 7 are both 2 hours, then the OVA is only 30 mins.

Story

Kara no Kyoukai is under the action, supernatural, horror, and thriller genre, and has some hidden romance that loves to peak out and poke fun at you every once in a while. The one thing if you’re familiar with the series that you should know is that, the movies are not in order. The order of the movies are 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 7. Now you can watch it in 3 ways.

1.you can watch it in release order (recommended)

2.Watch in in timeline order.

3.Do the Toramelle way which is 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6, 7

Now onto the real story! The story starts off in September of 1998, taking place three years before the true start of the series. The first movie “Overlooking View” follows our main heroine Shiki Ryogi, as she explores the mystery of these girls jumping off of a building committing suicide. The first movie basically sets you up for what you are about to watch, giving little to no character development or any major overarching plot.

However the 2^nd movie, “Murder Study part 1“, which is the true start of the series, is where you get to see more of our main male protagonist Mikiya Kokuto, how he meets Shiki, and their friendship during the first year of high school. This movie will make you think “hey… this… THIS LOOKS INTERESTING!” The thing the 2^nd movie also does is basically explain what Shiki is, and is a major character development movie to make the characters interesting so you will be attached to them if something happens.

The third movie, “Remaining Sense of Pain” is the most graphic. This film brings in another female character with powers to rip her opponents, limb from limb in a blink of an eye.

The fourth movie, “The Hollow Shrine”, is the introduction to Toko Aozaki, as she helps Shiki learn how to use her “Mystic Eyes of Death Perception”. This movie focus more on the magical aspect of the show, as Toko is a mage.

The next film “Paradox Spiral” is most fan’s favorite out of the series. This series follows Shiki, and her new friend Tomoe Enjo, who just killed his parents and is running away from his problems. However the apartment he was staying at has a twist, a time paradox! Also in this movie we get to know Toko’s backstory of being a mage and who she worked with, which are the two major villains in this movie.

The sixth movie is “Oblivion Recorded” In this film we get to experience Mikiya’s little sister Azaka, in action. Shiki and Azaka work together to discover the happenings at private school and why they are trying to hide the crisis about fairies. It’s more on the detective side not showing as much action as the others, but was still a nice glance at Azaka’s personality and how she works as Toko’s apprentice.

The final movie “Murder Study part 2” is my personal favorite and is the ending to the series. This movie follows mostly Mikiya as he finds out that the same murders what where going on when Shiki still had her split personality, soon came back. We then meet Lio who was introduced in the 2^nd movie as he turned into the number a Shiki fanboy. Other than that we get to see what it’s like when it’s just Mikiya and Toko work on a case, while Shiki is out trying to kill the murderer.

Then there’s the Epilogue which takes place after all the movies and basically is Shiki and Mikiya talking for 30 mins. Then there’s the remix and HAHAH NO ONE WATCHES THE REMIX! The remix is a summary of movies 1-6 in timeline order, which used similar if not the same parts from the movies.

EDIT (July 2014) - The latest movie came out subtitled in February so I thought I should add my thoughts even though I am kind of late. The new movie Mirai Fukuin or Future's Gospel came out Fall of 2013, and is an extra movie that has some nice sprinkles for fans of the series. It is two stories one about a girl that can see in the future, and the story of Mana who is a child that is taken care of by a bomber Shiki scared the living shit out of years ago. Even though it is an extra movie it was still enjoyable and if you are looking for some more Kara no Kyoukai then you should check it out.

Art and Animation

Anything current day by ufotable is beautiful. This series was made back in 2007 to 2009 and still looks amazing compared to even something of their current work like Fate/Zero, which was made in 2011-2012. All I have to say for Holden’s sake is GRADIENTS MAN. If there’s one this this show does 10/10 is its lighting. Everything is lighted to a realistic perspective and makes the show seem much more mysterious then it already is. The animation is also top notch especially in the climax parts, and the suspenseful scenes of each movie. Sure sometimes the animation quality drops but they are 2-3 times per movie and are hard to notice.

Music

Characters

The first character I want to talk about it Shiki Ryogi, who is the main female of the series and has the special “death perception eyes” where she can see lines that once she touches will cut or in one case unlock a door. She usually wears a Kimoto, and then when she’s out on a job she wears her blood red colored leather jacket. She’s very mysterious not talking a lot and had split personality while in high school. Her weapon of chose is a knife; however she can also use a sword.

Next up we have Mikiya Kokuto, our male protagonist. He is a rather outgoing guy that does not fear anything, besides he’s only friend wanting to kill him. He is attracted to Shiki and instantly falls in love with her, leading to the start of their friendship. Mikya is a rather smart guy, everyone in the series saying he should be a detective.

Toko Aozkai is a puppet mage that runs the jobs for the other two to work on. She is a very powerful sorceress that also has a small split personality once she removes her glasses. She knows how to out maneuver people she used to work with and is a force to be feared in this series.

Final Thoughts

Overall I greatly enjoyed Kara no Kyoukai. Being a fan of dark mysterious anime’s this one is in my top 5 favorite anime. The story can be deep and interesting leaving almost nothing unexplained. Animation and art look fantastic almost on par with Fate/Zero despite being over 3-5 years younger. Music is fitting and sounds great on its own when I sit down and draw. The main characters and even some of the side characters are never boring, and help bring more to the show. Overall this series is a must watch if you don’t fear blood and can get past movie 3. If you’re looking for a dark series that has action, a hint of romance, with an engaging story then this should be a must watch. Currently you cannot watch Kara no Kyoukai legally on stream, but it is on the internet somewhere.

In the end this series should not be missed. As this series is one of my personal favorite anime.

Here are some other reviews you should watch of you want different opinions.

violette.dooley - 2013-08-19 18:33:20

As always, my reviews are spoiler free.

MAL-era import review; please excuse my lack of experience.

This is a review of the entire series of episodes/movies, but as this is the first it seems the most appropriate to review. I will keep this review spoiler free, but it assumes you understand the premise for the story.

Story - 6/10

Kara no Kyoukai follows the lives and actions of those surrounding the mysterious Ryougi Shiki, a girl with eyes that can see the "seams" of the of world, and her friends Mikiya and Toukou. The episodes/movies are generally done in a "one arch per episode" format, but recurring characters' plots tie them together. What makes this different from most anime of this type is that it is told almost completely out of chronological order. This can make things a bit confusing during the first watch, especially if you are used to anime that slowly reveal the characters and plot points to you. You are thrown headfirst into the world, and it is a bit hard to wrap your head around at the beginning. Once you know what is going on, there will still be enough twists to keep you on your toes.

Peel back the strange style, however, and you will find a relatively average story. There are a bunch of bad guys who the good guys have to get rid of. It is, at its core, a monster of the week show. Due to the confusing style covering a not-particularly-special story, I have to give this a "passable" 6/10.

I saw nothing.

Animation - 9/10

One would be hard pressed to find a better looking series. The character models are beautifully detailed and colored, and care is used in the backgrounds. The action scenes are very fluid. Nothing to complain about here.

Sound - 6/10

The soundtrack was nothing special, but it fit the scenes well. I never have much to say about sound unless it was outstanding or abysmal.

Character - 8/10

It is difficult to get into this without spoiling the show, but I can assure you that the majority of the characters and the entirety of the main cast is well developed. Even the side/episodic characters are generally well developed, and a motivation for their actions is explored. The relationship between Shiki and Mikiya is developed throughout the series, and comes to a somewhat meaningful end. While most of the characters are simply adequate, Shiki has an incredibly deep level of characterization which spans the length of the series.

Those eyes, man.

Enjoyment - 7/10

Each person will have their ups and downs in the series, with some episodes' stories varying widely in depth and darkness. I would recommend watching at least two other episodes/movies if the first doesn't agree with you.

I was never bored in this series (with the exception of the epilogue episode). There is plenty of plot to keep the action scenes tied together intelligently (for the most part), and enough action to keep that type satisfied. My enjoyment was somewhat brought down by the release style mentioned in the story section, but I was hooked and could not stop watching to see things tied together.

Other Thoughts

This story contains intense violence very often, occasional sexual themes, and many scenes and themes some may find disturbing. I would strongly recommend avoiding this show if you can't handle this sort of thing. I use Elfen Lied as a standard for violence as many have seen it (leaving all else on that show aside), and this is on a totally different level. It is somewhat amplified by the great animation, making it all the more graphic.

kane.osinski - 2013-08-16 03:24:27

I'm reviewing these movies for how they stand on their own, that may not be fair in some ways but it is how you will feel when you watch the movie and it also helps keep things fresh in my mind. After all, saying something like well this was a great plot twist in movie 14 showing how it tied in with movie 1 isn't really reviewing THIS movie is it? Besides, others will probably review these as a whole. So if that's what you want by all means read theirs.

Plot: Of course nothing makes sense yet, but it's not so confusing as to be a bit irritating like other anime I have seen do. There is definitely a sense of a bigger picture at work - the characters interact in a way with each other that you can obviously tell they have some sort of history. This is a good thing since it keeps you in the dark in an entertaining way.

Animation. Very good animation here. Once in a while (mostly indoors) things look worse than they normally do, but it's still good animation comparatively. What I really like is that the city doesn't look so... clean like most anime do. You wouldn't want to sleep on the sidewalk in this anime since it actually looks dirty.

Sound: Great voice acting, can hear the small nuances that mean something other than what they are saying and the soundtrack is pretty as well.

Characters: It's a bit early to tell just how good these characters are but there isn't anyone annoying yet and that's always a good sign =)

Overall: With solid sound, animation and characters that show promise I can definitely recommend the movie. It contains some blood so if your squeamish to those kinds of things you were warned. It's not a lot nor is it gratuitous just something I thought I would mention.

sophia.stracke - 2013-08-05 20:09:45

Spoiler free of course! Lets begin, Kara No Kyoukai: Movie 1.

I watched this movie knowing there was a certain "order" to watch the animations in for it to make sense. But I thought I'd watch it the way the creators released it for more enjoyment.

The Animation in the movie was outstanding! Each and every movement was extremely smooth and fluid, esp. the action scene. The movie had dialogue so complex I ended up rewinding the movie a few times just to re-read what they were saying just so I could try to comprehend it. At times there were points where some characters would say things that just didn't quite make sense to me or would leave me going "okay, what?!" but overall the movie didn't bore me one bit. I went into this movie expecting a few combat scenes but to my surprise there was only one. Which was the only thing that disappointed me.

I really enjoyed the music in the movie as well, it really captured the moment in certain scenes and really immersed me into the movie. Alongside the music the color was very well done too. I personally think this art style is amazing and its just so different from the typical anime i see now-a-days.

All in all, I think I need to re-watch the movie a few more times to completely understand the motives behind some of the characters decision or and even the entire plot in general. I didn't understand the main antagonists motives COMPLETELY, but I do understand it a little. Again, I'll re-watch it to understand it more. One other thing I didn't completely understand was why 8? (you'll understand this when you watch it) I did end the movie slightly confused, but i did more so understand it than i was confused. I say watch the movie for yourself and tell me what you think! Thank you~ Bye bye!

Don't wanna read the full review above? No problem below is short paragraph summary of what you missed above.

The movie was amazingly animated with beautiful color, sound and fluid movements. At times the dialogue was a bit wordy and left me mind blown but, I accepted that and continued the movie anyways. Some of the plot points I didn't quit grasp completely as well. I overall think this is a movie that needs to be viewed more than once to completely understand it and that's the beauty of it. Its a movie that you can watch over and over again.

Movie Reference.

I heard this movie thorough Podtaku, On Youtube. Thank you guys for the mention!

cthompson - 2013-07-05 10:41:26

Kara no Kyoukai would have to be one of my all time favourites anime's of all time simply because I like the the detail to which the producers went. The story, at times, was a bit weak and a bit confusing, but on the whole I enjoyed Fukan Fuukei a lot. The fight scenes during the movie were outstanding (probably the most colourful i've seen) and the music to go with the fight scenes hit the mark. The characters were human at most times but some times they seemed to lose themselves. Overall, I would have to say the Kara no Kyoukai series is one of my favourites and the movie truly was outstanding.

enrico.lindgren - 2013-06-28 08:18:31

Scores out of 100. 35 for Story, 35 for Characters, 15 for Sound, and 15 for AnimationStory (28/35) Good start to this series, with thought provoking dialogue but with few character details. Characters (24/35) Since we know so little of the characters, it is hard to give them good scores. The antagonist in this movie is pretty good. Sound (15/15) Simply amazing. Animation (15/15) Simply Amazing. Overall: 82/100Movie 1 was a very good start to this series, and will be a tough movie to beat. While this movie (and the rest of the series) is a murder mystery, it is more the kind of mystery you want solved for you than a mystery you are actively engaged in trying to solve, at least that's how it was for me. The story of Movie 1 deals mostly with suicide and loneliness, and those seem to be the problem the villain is facing. Overall the movie does a good job in telling the story, but lacks any character details. The dialogue between the characters are great though. (28/35)Because we are thrown basically in the middle of the story, the characters will seem like a mystery to you in the first movie. You aren't told much about them, perhaps we are told too little about them. Regardless, the characters are somewhat interesting, even if we aren't sure of their purpose yet (and why they have such dangerous jobs). I think the character we are supposed to focus the most on is the villain, as this is her only time to shine in the series. I thought she was a good antagonist, but certainly not the best in this series. (24/35)If you have read anything about Kara kn Kyoukai, it probably has something to do with its production values. The music in this show is simply amazing. It is composed by Yuki Kajiura, who composed music for way too many shows to list, but some of there recent ones include Fate/Zero, Madoka Magica, Sword Art Online, and the .hack series. I haven't heard all of her work, but this is one of, if not the best of her work IMO. I really adore this soundtrack. (15/15)The animation is just as good as the music. This movie was made by ufotable, who is also responsible for the beautiful Fate/Zero series. So think animation like Fate/Zero, only better. From what I hear this series had a big budget, and from the looks of it they spent their money very well. At first glance it may not look special because of the setting is a Japanese city and the story always happens at night. But when you look past that and actually see the animation for what it is, you will end up in love with it. (15/15)This is a great start to a great series, a personal favorite of mine. One thing I really like about it is they it can be enjoyed simply because of its production valued alone. The action scenes in this movie are great, and the score that accompanies it is equally amazing. But you can also enjoy this series for its dialogue and story almost as much as you can its production values. (82/100)