Ranked #7

Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen

Kara no Kyoukai review Part 5

Wow. I have to say that this movie is enough to leave one speechless at times, for a variety of reasons.

The fifth installment of the Kara no Kyoukai series, Mujen Rasen (or Paradox Spiral), is somewhat of a departure from the previous four outings, not just in terms of its running time (almost two hours), but also in terms of art direction and story.

The movie is set around two months after the first movie, and carries over into the beginning of 1999. The movie begins with a disjointed sequence of events that are gradually cleared up as the movie continues. The story itself centres around a boy named Enjou Tomoe, who is saved from a group of thugs by Ryougi Shiki. She invites him to stay with her after he begs her to hide him somewhere, as he believes that he has commited a crime.

During this time it seems that Kokuto Mikiya is away on some business, and Aozaki Touko is investigating an odd rumour she has heard from a policeman she knows.

The one problem with the story direction is that many people will be confused by the path it takes. There are numerous sequences that are repeated several times, and the story has a tendency to jump about from one time to another, and also from one event to another (a style similar to that used by Luc Besson at times). The result is something more along the lines of a Satoshi Kon production, and whilst there will be many people who enjoy the numerous twists, turns, loops and whorls that take place in the story, there will be just as many who will be put off by the somewhat overwhelming amount of information one has to process at times.

The art and animation throughout the series so far has been top notch, however there is a noticeable drop in quality in this movie. Given the length of the movie, it may be that Ufotable were forced to cut some corners with the designs and animation, however there are some scenes where their normal quality really shines through. The CG is, as always, of a very high standard, and runs smoothly in conjunction with the normal animation. The backgrounds and backdrops are all well designed, and a lot of thought has gone into ensuring that certain elements of the design in this area follow the concept of the story.

The drop in quality I mentioned is noticeable with the characters in several scenes, and in one scene in particular the character looks constipated rather than hysterical. In addition to this the animation of the action sequences, whilst being excellent overall, suffers towards the end of the movie, with one key sequence being more dizzying than breathtaking.

The sound is on par with the other movies and is well executed overall. The effects are extremely good, however the old problem of sometimes being too overwhelming has reared its head once more. The score used throughout the movie lends to the general atmosphere, however there are times when the score seems a little out of sync with the on-screen action.

With regards to the characters it seems my prayers have been answered, as more is revealed about Touko, especially as the antagonist in this film, Araya Souren (who appeared briefly at the very end of the previous movie declaring himself to be a magus), has a history with her. In addition to this, there is a secondary character named Cornelius Alba who also has a history with both Touko and Araya.

The other plus on regarding the characters is that we get to see some different sides to Shiki. We are also given some insight into why Touko was so interested in her during the events of the fourth movie.

The downside though, is that Mikiya continues to be more of a supporting role in this movie, and Tomoe, whilst generally being a decent character, can at times be annoying.

Even with those flaws, this is still an excellent movie (especially if you can get your head around the plot). Fans of the series should generally be pleased with this latest addition, and whilst it does drop a little in terms of animation and artwork, it will hopefully herald a new direction for the show (I would advise anyone new to the series to watch the first four movies before watching this though).

I'm expecting good things from the sixth movie...

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*/Edited from first time after rewatching!*
BBCode has been disabled, so the layout of this review is somewhat troublesome. I will add a little tag to help a little.

*/OK so some of the review got deleted... wtf? I'll try rewriting a little, but I can't guarantee success.

OK, so this is version 3 of my KnK 5 review after watching the movie for the second time and getting part of my first review deleted. The full summary part has been taken off to keep the size down (I spent a lot of time on that too). I will be more in-depth and critical this time around. Before you read this review or watch the movie, make sure you've watched the first 4 KnK movies. Scores are based on 2nd time around. Comments and private messages are appreciated to help me review better next time around.

[STORY]
First Time: 8.5/10
The thing to note for #5 compared to the other 4 is that this time, the movie is nearly 2 hours long. That's more than double any of the previous movies. However, the story is by no means slow, and there are more than enough turn-arounds and absurd twists to keep it enjoyable. Odd installments of flashbacks and repeating scenes make the whole thing a bit difficult to follow, but overall, the story was unique compared to the other Kara no Kyoukai episodes and understandable if you've watched the other 4. By this time, you should be quite familiar with Shiki's as well as Touko's abilities.

Second Time: 9.2/10
The problem with the first time around was the confusing non-linear story pattern. The montage when Shiki reappears was helpful at clearing this up, and the second time through, I could grasp some of the deeper meaning in some of the obscure statements. Araya and Touko had some really profound quotes that only truly struck me after watching the movie again (this time, I didn't have to worry about catching the plot). Philosophically, it was almost like GiTS for me. I also noticed some real logic lapses the second time around. Stuff like how the police didn't do a follow-up and the lack of blood in some scenes and excess of blood in other scenes. Some of the coming back from the dead and not being fazed by stab wounds are also ridiculous, but within the bounds of a supernatural anime like KnK.

[ART/ANIMATION]
First Time: 10/10
I was going to give this a 9, but I suppose art also entails animation. As always, KnK has some of the best (or possibly the best) animation of all time. The fights are packed full of excitement and every attack is conveyed beautifully. Again, Shiki's eyes are as beautiful as ever, and there is plenty of blood. This time around, there is more than one fight scene, so it's almost like double the awesomeness.

Second Time: 10/10
KnK is basically the height of animation quality. There were a few lapses here and there and some sloppy artwork in some places, but the second time made me concentrate more on how beautiful the animation really is. Sometimes, I take KnK for granted, but compared to other anime, this is on its own level. Since there were 3 fight scenes, I am satisfied that there weren't any blatant drops in quality for any of them. Some criticisms for you picky people include lack of blood during the stabbing scene and some cgi moments that were less than superb. Also, Touko regrows her teeth in her fight and Mikiya is present in the very beginning of Touko's fight on the ground (1:07:32 in the gg-Takajun subs) when he shouldn't be (he disappears in the next set of frames). Overall excellent though.

[SOUND]
First Time: 9.3/10
Every person has their own personal taste with music. For me, the soundtrack of every KnK movie is beautiful, and this is no exception. With mixes of familiar tracks from the previous 4 movies as well as a few of its own, KnK 5 has perhaps the best soundtrack of the entire series so far. Additionally, the ED song is Sprinter, which is my favorite Kalafina song so far. The thing that makes KnK so amazing is not only the animation quality and straight-up beauty of the fight scenes, but also the incredible bgm that backs each fight scene up. Ever since the first movie, the bgm that they play has never failed to engage me more into the story and "feel" the emotions.

Second Time: 9.7/10
I downloaded a rip of the KnK 5 OST after watching it the first time. Lo and behold, the second time around, I loved it even more. Once again, Sprinter is a definite plus. Sure, the soundtrack is a bit repetitive, especially from other KnK movies, but I think that's what makes it great. Why take down a winning formula? That being said, this is the best OST of the 5 movies in my opinion because it combines many great tracks into a full 2 hours, along with adding a few compositions of its own.

[CHARACTER]
First Time: 9.7/10
If animation is the one thing KnK is associated with, character would be a close second. From the utterly confusing first movie to the scene-setting second movie, we've seen Shiki, Mikiya, and Touko develop. Now that I have become comfortable with Shiki, I consider her to be one of the most interesting characters of any anime, regardless of her eyes. Her monotone conversations never cease to amuse me, and she gets in a lot of time talking with Tomoe, the new character. The psychological aspects of KnK 5 rival those of some of the previous movies, and there is some questioning on the side of the "bad guys" as to what "absolute wisdom" is. If you've seen and understood the other movies, the character development in this is just as good, if not better because we get to see a side of Touko that has not been revealed before.

Second Time: 9.4/10
So I HAD reviews of individual characters, but it got eaten up by the MAL system somehow... Basically, there was some fluctuation between characters. Shiki and Touko really shone through this one, but Enjou was just annoying in some ways and Mikiya got almost no screen time. To reiterate, Shiki was just adorable at times, which is part of the reasoning behind the high score.

[ENJOYMENT]
First Time: 9.9/10
I don't really remember what I had written here before, but basically, this is well worth the time to watch. Heck, I even watched it twice... Just absolutely fantastic fight scenes and some serious plot development to think over.

Second Time: 9.2/10
Watch it again if you want. The fight scenes are still top-notch and engaging. Plot elements may drag on for the second time, but it's helpful to know what's going on as it's going on.

[OVERALL]
9.8/10
Extremely impressive movie with some serious psychological elements interweaved into a complex plot. As always with KnK, incredible animation and character development. Basically what I'm trying to say is that this was one of the best things I have ever seen, anime or not, and something that I rewatched a week after seeing it the first time (don't forget that it's 2 hours long). read more