mkuvalis - 2017-01-19 13:50:47

[Please note, this article deals with the troubling matter of rape and those who are intensely sensitive to the issue, I’d advise against reading if that’s the case. Thank you and be safe.]

It’s not been too long since our previous review of the film series Kara no Kyōkai, known as The Garden of Sinners. Yet the focus of these reviews has remained somewhat the same if you’ll pardon the somewhat abbreviated review of the previous two films I’ll provide for you now; a series that focuses on serial killings and the strange motivations of those who cause them to happen. The first film, Overlooking View, seemed to be about loneliness and suicide. The second film, A Study in Murder: Part 1 was perhaps a theme closer to emotion and personality. The third film and our focus for this review, Remaining Sense of Pain, has no less an odd title then befitting of this curious series of films. But the difference perhaps is that this finally confronts something the previous film began to build upon; consequence.

Remaining Sense of Pain is, as a film goes, not exactly as complex as the previous ones in terms of motivation or at least, not initially so. A series of killings have begun once again and it turns out, they’ve been triggered by a horrific gang rape, which the film opens on. The killer is a woman called Fujino, who is seeking the last remaining member of the gang that has raped her, though her reasoning is not as clear cut as simple revenge for a rape as time goes on. This leads to our protagonists, Ryougi and Koukutou to seek vastly different means of dealing with her as her killings start to become a rampage; one through blood and one through understanding. However, nothing seems quite as it appears to be in this film and perhaps that is where the interest can be found.

If you are hoping for the situations in these films to feel as uncomfortable as their dark tendencies tend to lean towards, you have little to fear. Remaining Sense of Pain oddly for me entirely kept true to its title; it took what I thought were dulled feelings of wariness towards graphic themes such as rape and murder which have been used for countless animations, television show’s and dubious films and strived to make me feel truly uncomfortable about them again. What’s happening matters because the inherent tragedy of the events that are identifiably linked to a character who is reacting to the world around them, rashly and wild. They also, importantly, are desperately trying to convince themselves they are not a monster. And sadly, that is where I found the most interest in the story.

The themes of revenge, of lashing out at those that have hurt you, deeply, is a theme that can easily be identified within my heart. Perhaps not to this extent as after all, murder is murder. But it’s important if you’re going to approach a story like this and present themes of such an intensely personal manner that you can create a character that can be empathized with, even as they pursue a path that you know they shouldn’t be going down. Fujino is reactionary and her insanity is born of an oddity that exacerbates the pain she is experiencing; she can’t feel pain, or has for most of her life been unable to experience the sensation. During the traumatic opening, something happens which impacts a heavy experience on her that leaves her injured and wildly seeking a sense of closure upon the intense crime that has been leveled to her. The writing is superb when it addresses the nature of what this kind of horrible event can mean for the people involved; the complexity of leaving someone almost branded with the horror they’ve experienced and what we’re expected to do and deal with when it comes to that. Normally, I’d praise the music, the writing for the protagonists, the animation. I mean, they’re all very good, but the reason we’re focusing so much on Fujino is she is where the writing lies as a crux and it’s her conflict, her tragedy that elevates the story and the concepts of consequence and pain to a higher standard.

This isn’t a story I’d advise you watch if you’re incredibly sensitive to these themes. In all honesty, I’m not sure I’m the best to address them myself, but it captured me and it brought something forward I didn’t expect; people go through traumas that are incredibly intense and can mark us, with feelings we didn’t expect to feel and not all of them in ways we consider. Though the creator of the Type-Moon universe and this series, Nasu, seems more focused on moe characters or obtuse ideas of powers and magic, I’m thankful some really well thought out writing was placed into this. And I hope if you do watch this, you can see what I mean when I consider the intense possibilities of interpreting subjects like these.

gblock - 2016-07-09 04:16:50

PLOT
    Taking place before the first movie, a girl is beaten, stabbed, and raped by a gang. Yeah, its that kind of opening. Left at a street corner, Kokutou finds her and helps her, taking her back to his place. By morning, he sees that she left, but of course like the other movies, weird and strange murders are happening around town with their limbs twisted and torn apart from the bodies. So, Shiki and the rest of the team is now on the case. They soon conclude that the have found some one like Shiki because of how the bodies were torn apart. Soon after, they discover that the "killer" is none other than Fujino, who has a strong ESP and doesn`t feel pain.... sometimes. Shiki then explains that Fujino is enjoying murdering the gang members that assaulted her. Hell, I would enjoy murdering the gang that beat me to a pulp and raped me if..I....had... ESP. Am I the only one? Yes? No? Maybe? Just me? Okay.....
    This turns out to be the movie were we see Shiki`s character instead of just her views and see how they contrast with Fujino. Its great to final explore her character in depth. In all, Shiki and Fujino are opposites, not just physically of what they can do but their viewpoints of life and death. What we saw in the first movie was elaborated here. Why she thinks that way and enforces why she murdered in the second movie.

Characters Shiki

Seeing the exploration of her viewpoint of death was great to see. She sees the joys of life, that`s why she doesn`t kill Fujino. Fujino enjoys killing, but Shiki understands the weight of life and death. Another opposite that`s pretty obvious is that Shiki has two personalities, or at least had, and doesn`t really care about her body. Fujino, on the other hand, has a very strange body. Her body has some kind of on and off switch. There are times that she feels pain and there are time she does not. It is great to see the similarities and differences between the two and the development of their characters.
Fujino Asagami

Seeing the exploration of her viewpoint of death was great to see. She sees the joys of life, that`s why she doesn`t kill Fujino. Fujino enjoys killing, but Shiki understands the weight of life and death. Another opposite that`s pretty obvious is that Shiki has two personalities, or at least had, and doesn`t really care about her body. Fujino, on the other hand, has a very strange body. Her body has some kind of on and off switch. There are times that she feels pain and there are time she does not. It is great to see the similarities and differences between the two and the development of their characters.
Fujino Asagami

Like I said above, she has an on and off switch with her body. For most of the time, she doesn`t feel pain, but when she does, it is theorized it is from the stabbing she took from the gang. Soon after though, its revealed that her parents tried to suppress her powers, unlike Shiki where her father wanted to increase it. But of course that didn`t happen. Instead of suppressing it, it was amplified with one draw back, the lost her sensitivity, meaning she can`t feel pain. However, it does comeback from time to time and the pain that she feels was not from her being stabbed but from a organ that is about to burst. She denies it because, as she thinks, it was from the stabbing because it serves as a scar and a reason to kill.

Kokutou

We see more of him now compared to the other movies. He`s not stalking Shiki and staking outside of her house. We see him investigate Fujino`s past, where did she come from, how was she like, and we see him theorize about her and her actions. It`s so refreshing to see him work, the relationship he has with Shiki and Touko when they are investigating is also great to see. Now one thing that did bother me at first is the cliche that he knew the "villain" from back in the day. It seemed he had a thing or just the luck to run into people with these strange powers and circumstances. However, it was explained that this is what he does, he looks for people with these flaws.

Music + Animation  
    Should come as a surprise that both the animation and music are so good. At this point, I should not say a thing because it should be a given by now.

Overall
    This was a very entertaining to watch not just for the action, but for the development of the characters. What we learn from them and how the came up from their ideals. I`m interested we it goes from here.

heber.hoeger - 2014-11-18 02:52:40

Every single movie in the Kara No Kyoukai series 1-7 is masterpiece tier is you can handle the lengthy amount of dialogue.