Kara no Kyoukai review Part 2
The problem with movies is that all too often they're lacking in one or two fundamental areas, and unfortunately these are normally the plot or the characters. The first installment of this series suffered from the latter, and while it was still enjoyable even with that flaw, there was always the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Thankfully this episode begins to address that issue.
The second installment in the Kara no Kyoukai ~The Garden of Sinners~ franchise, Satsujin Kosatsu (Murder Speculation), is actually part one of a two part story arc (viewers will have to wait for the seventh movie
...
to see the conclusion of this episode), yet while this small irony is amusing, the are some flaws with this episode which one can only hope will be rectified with the final movie.
This time around the story takes place over two years prior to the events in the first movie, and thankfully the main theme is the developing relationship between Ryougi Shiki and Kokuto Mikiya during their time together as high school students. Kokuto finds himself strangely attracted to the seemingly aloof Shiki, and proceeds to befriend her until a bizarre series of murders takes place.
Now the nice thing about Satsujin Kousatsu Part 1 is that the plot takes a far more measured approach than Fukan Fuukei does, and while the pace picks up towards the end, there's something here that was somewhat missing from the previous installment - a sense of purpose.
While the first episode was entertaining, there was a certain aimless quality about it due to the underdeveloped characters that permeated the quieter moments. This movie begins to shed some light on the actions of both Shiki and Kokuto during that time, especially on certain aspects of her behaviour and personality.
The story is generally much quieter in tone than before, which may not sit too well with those who liked the frenetic action of Fukan Fuukei. This is a necessity as the anime of Satsujin Kousatsu Part 1 is to offer the viewer some perspective on every other movie in the franchise, and the clarity it provides may force viewers to reassess their opinion of the first installment.
Once again Ufotable produce the goods with regards to artwork and animation. The character movements are excellent, and the incorporation of CG is almost seamless in respect of the backgrounds and backdrops. There are fewer action sequences this time around, but they are just as good here as they are in the first movie, especially when it comes to choreography and use of environment. As for the the character designs, they're a little different in that both Kokuto and Shiki have a certain youthful quality about them, which is reflective of the fact that this story takes place two years before the first movie.
Sound is, again, extremely good overall, and the movie uses the various effects well, however there are some issues as there are occasions where the various noises clash to create a veritable cacophony. This doesn't really detract from the movie though and, surprisingly, actually improves certain sequences.
The music throughout the movie is generally utilised to good effect, often enhancing the atmosphere in a particular scene. The voice actors are also very good, and are able to show some real talent with regards to their respective characters, however given that this is the second movie in a series of seven, this should come as no surprise. What is surprising though, is that the lead seiyuu are able to instill their respective characters with a degree of naivety and innocence, something which improves the overall effect of the movie no end.
Unfortunately that's not enough to raise the characters from their stupor.
While there is very clearly some development occurring over the course of the movie, one of the issues that seems destined to repeat throughout the franchise is that the plot doesn't give them enough time for this growth to set as part of their persona, and that leads once more to an imbalance in the storyline. The revelation about Shiki's personality goes some way to explaining why she is the way she is, but Kokuto is the real problem. As a character he is simply bland, and at no point does the movie go into any detail about his goals, thoughts, ideals, etc. Everything in the movie actually revolves around Shiki, including Kokuto, and all of his actions stem from that one driving principle. Unfortunately this feels like a missed opportunity to add some real meat to both the leads, but it may be that all of these concerns will be addressed by the time the series ends.
The other problem was the lack of Aozaki Touko. It would have been a nice addition to have more information on her from that time period as she is one of the mysteries of Kara no Kyoukai, and in all honesty this could have been done simply and easily. Sadly, the fact that she has not been included in this movie means that it has a slightly disjointed feel compared to the first, but again this may be rectified with the second half of this story arc.
We shall see...
Even with those flaws this is still an enjoyable movie, and it's nice to finally see how the two leads met and got to know each other. It would have been nice if the plot wasn't focused so much on Shiki as this would have allowed for some introspection of the part of Kokuto. On the plus side, the slower pacing of this speisode actually adds to the tension this time around, but like the first movie the plot continues to retain a degree of predictability.
Fans of Fukan Fuukei will be pleased at this second offering as it is very much in keeping with the spirit of the series, however I would advise against making snap judgements about the whole franchise simply on the basis of this or the first movie.
As before, I look forward to the next episode.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners Movie 2, Borderline of Emptiness: Murder Speculation, The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder, The Garden of Sinners: …and nothing heart.
Japanese: 劇場版 空の境界 the Garden of sinners 第二章『殺人考察(前)』
More titlesInformation
Type:
Movie
Episodes:
1
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Dec 29, 2007
Producers:
Notes
Licensors:
Aniplex of America
Studios:
ufotable
Source:
Light novel
Duration:
1 hr.
Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Statistics
Ranked:
#10492
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Popularity:
#1002
Members:
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Favorites:
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Your Feelings Categories Feb 2, 2009
Kara no Kyoukai review Part 2
The problem with movies is that all too often they're lacking in one or two fundamental areas, and unfortunately these are normally the plot or the characters. The first installment of this series suffered from the latter, and while it was still enjoyable even with that flaw, there was always the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. Thankfully this episode begins to address that issue. The second installment in the Kara no Kyoukai ~The Garden of Sinners~ franchise, Satsujin Kosatsu (Murder Speculation), is actually part one of a two part story arc (viewers will have to wait for the seventh movie ... Feb 4, 2009
Kara no Kyoukai 2 exceeds the first movie in almost every aspect. There is depth to Shiki that was absent before, new settings are introduced to a much more comprehensible degree, the supporting cast are more prominent and the writers - instead of being cryptic - present a largely compelling and well developed story, solidifying the series' true roots.
The first installment threw audiences into a mystery unfortunately dulled by the lack of depth to the characters, but the second installment lays down the groundwork, exploring the origins of Shiki and Mikiya. The story is well executed and - unlike in the first film - has ... Aug 18, 2015
This is part 2 of the KnK series
This is a sequel to the 1st KnK......kind of....Well, not exactly. You see, KnK is not being shown in chronological order and as such should not be watched in chronological order. I almost made a grave mistake of doing so. [Story]: (8/10) The story of KnK 2 takes place 3 years before the events of KnK 1. Mikiya, while walking home from school, meets a mysterious girl who he thinks is cute and starts falling in love with her. A month later, he met her again during the high school entrance ceremony. The mysterious girl that he met is ... Sep 26, 2023
Kara no Kyoukai is perhaps one of the most acquired tastes in anime, whether you're a TYPE-MOON fan or not. It has gotten a reputation for being a complicated mix bag, whether it's boring and/or pretentious, too hard to understand, or possibly a masterpiece. I've watched the entire movie series and while I barely understood what any of that means, at the same time, I've been amazed at how masterful its craft truly is. A series that yes, it's super complex, but doesn't take itself seriously while still being a serious work of art. All of this is thanks to the golden tickets that are
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Jul 10, 2008
Well here we have it, this is the second movie of seven in this series in which I also mentioned in my review for Kara no Kyoukai: Fukan Fuukei. And as I have mentioned in my other review as well this movie is based on the Japanese novel series, authored by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. I should also state, if you havent noticed in the title, that this movie is actually the first half of 2 parts.
Well anyway onto the review. Warning: Their are spoilers within this review, so please watch the movie first if you don't wish to be ... Jun 4, 2016
This is my first review on MAL !
Kara no kyoukai is a series that I've been willing to try for a long time now and I finally started it yesterday with high expectations. I am watching this in the release order + for the first time : *Art : 9/10 : It is stunning , specially the background and its beautifully drawn details. The light is perfect and matches the atmosphere. The reason I'm not rating this a 10 is the eyes... I find them at times way too blank or big (the male lead's case) and this might sound picky yet it really ... Apr 7, 2013
Hello everyone and welcome to my first film review week. Why am I doing this? Because I've got five different anime films I've agreed to review so I figured it would be more efficient to find two more and take care of them all in a week than it would be to just stretch them out over the course of five. Many of you probably remember that a couple weeks ago I reviewed the first Kara no Kyoukai movie and it was not a well written movie at all. It had some good production values, but nothing of substance. So, why am I watching another
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Oct 29, 2008
[B]Intro
Ok having have the hell confused out of my brain, In my opinion this series totally redeemed itself and brought a fantastic come back with number 2 in the series. Here it goes... Story The story was great and has a nice but unexpected link with the first movie which was the murder mysteries. This episode also explained more about the characters and even answered questions that confused me in the first installment. Looking at it from a periodical point of view this episode SHOULD have been before the first movie to avoid confusiion but having watch the next few episodes maybe there will be a reason ... Jul 8, 2008
Once again Kara no Kyoukai has managed to score a 10/10 in all departments from me. Why? Because once again it has pulled off the story in absolute brilliance, leaving very little out from the original story and using a superb soundtrack combined with the brilliant animation to create another masterpiece.
In terms of chronological order, this movie is first in the timeline, therefore it is much more accessible than the first movie. The movie focuses much more on character development and allows the viewer to understand more about Shiki. Once again Nasu's work has been done justice in this outstanding movie adaptation. For those who ... Jan 31, 2019
Kara no kyoukai 2: Satsujin Koukatsu is an improvement over the first installment of the series and could be enjoyed as a movie to dedicate one hour to experience it's story and development. It presents interesting but not correctly developed characters and a more than decent animation quality that makes it deserving of being watched.
The story seems deep superficially and it isn't really deep, it isn't deep because the way they developed it's central point wasn't the way they hoped to develop it and they could have developed it way better than it finally was, the story centers around a lady named shiki Ryougi ... Aug 20, 2020
Pt2. Review
Kara no Kyoukai 2: Satsujin Kousatsu is the 2nd movie to be released in the Kara no Kyoukai series and focuses mainly on the events between Shiki & Kokutou in their high school days. Now, let me start by saying that the after watching the 1st movie, I was instantly hooked into the series and was eagerly waiting to know more about the characters which this movie did focus but the overall character interactions & developments were disappointing to watch. Although at first interesting, the weird pacing of the movie makes the said interactions or developments between our two mc boring. Besides, the male mc ... Oct 22, 2014
Kara no kyoukai 2:satsujin kousatsu(part1) in the chronology of kara no kyoukai this should be the 1st episode of the animation this's when the viewer will see how the main character meet each other and so the supporting character along with the series,its all started here,in this episode it only focus mainly the 2 main character and some sub-char,the viewer will see the relationship between the 2 mains char while still high school and how the progress their relationship along with,the character are well explained their past.
The art and char design is just as fluent and fit for the animation except just lack of action ... May 26, 2009
This is the second part of a 7 part series. With the first movie there was serious lacking in the character development department, with this movie however there was not only a story line but you actually got to understand a bit about the characters and where they're coming from. Story moves quite slowly, and there are many instances where you will be staring at the same pointless scene for far too long. Such as her lying down for bed and a random shot of her room is on screen for about 45 seconds. This may have been done to add suspense, but it didn't
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Sep 11, 2008
I watched the first Kara no Kyoukai last night and wrote a review for it in which I complained about the lack of back story. This second movie really should have been the first movie since it does give you some character introduction (it takes place before the events in the first movie I believe) although it is still not much. Anyway on to the review:
Story (9): Like the first movie the story was engaging and made you eager to find out what was going to happen next. Unlike the first movie, Satsujin Kousatsu had a story that did not feel like you should already ... Feb 7, 2017
The second movie in the Garden of Sinners series focuses much more on explaining character relationships, yet it has a completely different feeling to the first movie. Where the first movie had an eerie and mysterious feel throughout, this movie had some sweet moments included in there and the creepy moments felt WAY more creepy.
So in the first movie, we were introduced to Shiki’s character. Though in the first movie, she acts as a saviour of sorts, in this one, we are introduced to a darker side of Shiki. It is revealed that she has two personalities of sorts, a sombre and supposedly tranquil one ... Jul 2, 2009
When I reviewed the first Kara no Kyoukai movie I was dissapointed with how the story was developing through it. I was hoping to see more than I had been actually shown. Still, I have decided to watch the second movie hoping that the potential which was not realised in the first movie would finally be unleashed in the second one... and it was, to an extent I have not anticipated.
The second Kara no Kyoukai movie takes place before the first one when Shiki was still inside Shiki. Unlike the first movie, the second movie has the qualities of a jigsaw. Although you see most ... Mar 27, 2009
Okay, so if you have watched the 1st movie, you would be wondering if you should continue the series since you are utterly confused. The second movie gives a great insight on the main character Shiki (式) and SHIKI (織) that she has a dual personality.
So, to start things off, the makers of this movie has not reduced the level of blood spilled in this movie, which is good for those "I love gore" people and the romance between the two main characters is not to shabby at all. Most anime romance goes through repetitious, lovey pink bubbles, big glowing eyes waiting for you ... Jul 11, 2015
Didn't expect this to be a prequel. Actually I think it would work better in chronological order rather than like this. I'm a bit bothered that in the end the most important thing was not made entirely clear. Though we are left to infer it, but it just might be asking for a bit too much, in how much it expects us to assume and figure out what went on off-screen. And if that wasn't bad enough, pacing is slow.
I'll admit slow pacing is crucial to the atmosphere and feel they're achieving, but at times it's just too slow. At least 40% could easily ... Apr 6, 2018
Compared to the first film's story line, this film mainly focuses on a fixed story line with character development on Shiki and Mikiya. It mainly shows more in-depth detail about Shiki and Mikiya and how those two interact with each other. Otherwise, mystery side of story is also decently fun is watch.
As expected after watching the first film, the art and animation is still visually awesome and consistent. The art simply matches each scene's scenario and has a lot of detail to it as well. The music given was excellent and suited every scene's setting well. The film fulfilled it's role in telling us how the ... |