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

To start off, I never thought that I would write a review for any of the "Kara no Kyoukai" movies, let alone anything from Type-Moon. Also, this is one of those anime's that I had literally no choice but to give a 10 mainly because I could not find any fault with it. So it falls under the category of "Giving it a 10 because it doesn't deserve a 9 or lower because I can't find anything wrong with it, and it may have been sort of enjoyable". (i.e. Terra e...). This movie has changed my opinion on the "Kara no Kyoukai" series, and now I am going to archive it because of this one movie.

Ultimately, two aspects of the movie stuck out to me: plot and plot development and character relations and development. You may be asking me why animation or soundtrack don't really stand out that much; that's because I'm just comparing it to other "Kara no Kyoukai" movies rather than just the movie itself. I'll get more in depth about that later.

There's a lot that happens throughout the movie. A distorted time line (you can even say it was in medias res at the beginning), different perspectives from the characters, and varied time lapses which may seem like weeks but actually span over months. Throw in a decent plot that ties in all the past four movies' plots and characters and you have this masterpiece of a movie. The plot was absolutely spectacular; a mix between psychological thriller and semi-mindfuck as we follow mainly Ryougi Shiki and Enjou Tomoe. You can get a sense of what the plot will be like by looking at the title "Paradox Spiral". The plot truly spirals into a paradox and messes with your mind. The story was fairly fast-paced, especially towards the end when everyone was fighting and everyone was bleeding somehow. However, if you like more fast-paced/action animes, the first third of the movie may bore you because it's mainly all talking and running around.

It's hard to review the plot thoroughly for these kinds of animes without spilling out every spoiler that I possibly can, so I'll just summarize things: the plot is really, really good.

As a whole, the animation in this movie was amazing. Action sequences and time lapses stood out of the ordinary and definitely delivered. All in all, the animation was more or less similar to that of the previous four movies. All was smooth and flowed well, nothing too hard on the eyes, and it complemented the atmosphere that the director was trying to create, which you can see in the previous four movies as well.

The soundtrack for the movie was more or less exactly the same as the previous four movies. Even though it was similar to the previous four, that does not mean that it was bad at all. It was mostly subtle, being "action-y" when needed and calm when it didn't.

The development between the characters, especially Ryougi Shiki and Enjou Tomoe, is intriguing, causes you to think, and is a little cute at the same time. From complete strangers after Enjou's "incident" to what I would call "best friends" (In quotes because Shiki doesn't know how to have friends) at the end. Yet again, with the plot, it's hard to review the character aspect of the movie as I can't thoroughly review it without giving out spoilers, and I try to refrain from spoiler tags in reviews because they're just so goddamn clickable, and I don't want to ruin your experience. I know what it's like to click on spoiler tags and realize that watching the rest of something is pointless.

To sum things up, "Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen/Paradox Spiral" is an excellent follow-up for the previous four movies as it does it's job in tying up the loose ends and answering questions which any viewers may have had. Everything else (soundtrack and animation) was almost exactly like the previous four, but that's not a bad thing. Whilst watching this, be sure to look out for the plot and character development as it does get out of order, such as when sequences are repeated, and try not to lose track of what's going on because when you understand everything, it's truly a mindfuck.

If you like action/psychological/mindfucks, this is the movie for you, but be 100% sure that you have seen the previous four movies or else you will be lost and out of order, completely.

Oh yeah, Shiki gets a katana, get to it. read more

What's with the hype with these movies?? I finally saw this one and I want to know what's the effing point of any of time.

So... a hot girl likes to kick ass? Wow, masterpiece! This is so much better than motherf--king snakes on a motherf--king plane, motherf--kers!!

Hey-zeus Christ! This was one of the most uneventful crap-fests I have ever seen, but say what, it's Type Moon, and anyone would watch their boring turds. Fate/Stay Night, anyone?

It has a convoluted boring storyline, the characters are all moody and bland and if you've listened to an emo song before, you can figure out their personalities, the fight scenes were just guh-inducing.

Only the art and sound productions were pretty high. Off of drugs.

If you've seen pain dry before, then you've seen this movie. Don't watch it. Or you know what, watch it, you mindless sheep, because you're gonna be all, "That fabulous Joe character was so totally wrong about this masterpiece of a movie."

Masterpiece? Yeah, master piece of my ass. This movie sucked. read more

The 5th chapter of Kara no Kyoukai brings a new level of epicness to the series. Chapter 5 is arguably the most exciting chapter of the movie series, it surely lived up to its expectations!

Like how it was mentioned previously, this was a good long 2 hour movie. A major villain of the series is actually featured here, and it was packed with impressive action and drama. The camera works of the action scenes were the best in the series yet.

At the same time, it talks about one of deepest concepts at the center of the series. What the main villain is trying to accomplish. It's so vague and difficult to comprehend if you don’t pay attention. Well, even if you don’t understand the logic, it’ll surely make you feel like it

There were some interesting effects with the movie in term of composition. For example, a scene will occasionally jump in advance in timeline, they will sometimes repeat the same scenes over and over, and at another point, they will show what a character thought it happened but didn’t. This kind of follows the subtitle of the chapter: Paradox Spiral in an interesting way.

Three new characters are featured in this movie:
- Tomoe Enjyou

A red haired boy who was a track sprinter and had high expectations but had to quit and work because of family issues.

- Cornelius Arba

A blond haired man wearing a red coat and a hat. An acquaintance of Tohko at the London Mage’s Association and just between you and me, this guy is insane and just loves killing :P

- Souren Araya

A dark mysterious man who appears in the spiral apartment that Tomoe used to live at. He’s supposedly Touko’s colleague at the London Mage’s association.

The music, back ground songs were just excellent, i personally loved the music being played during the fighting scenes, no one does them better then Yuki :D

Over all i would say this was an epic masterpeice with so many twists through the plot, well there is still much to be told but you can only imagine what the last two movies will be like. I can't wait. Arguably this has got to be one of the best anime series or movie series that i have seen in a long time.

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***I have decided to change the format of my reviews to provide more to-the-point ups and downs of the subject in review. I hope people like this new style since the old essay style reviews are tl;dr and just take too long to write. Anyways here is the second anime I'll review under this new format***

I had made a review of this before but i lost it on the MAL crash a while ago ;-; so here it goes again. Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen is the fifth and currently the longest running KnK movie to date. This movie really is something special for those who enjoy getting mindfucked. Trust me.

Story:
+ Very unique presentation for the plot
+ Very interesting plot itself once you realize what is going on
+ 2 hour long movie improved the amount of development for characters and plot itself

- It can very easily confuse the viewer if they are not paying full attention at the movie. Since events in a way are not happening in chronological order.

Art
+ Fantastic background art
+ Awesome animation considering the fast pace of some scenes
+ Detailed look at decomposing and served people >_>

- Some slight weird faces there and then but nothing major

Sound
+ Fantastic background music, there really isnt much else to say...it was flawless in this category. Hat goes off once again to Kajiura Yuki

Character
+ Aozaki finally gets some decent screentime and development
+ Shiki is just a very mysterious and interesting character in general
+ Great character development overall, a notch up from the previous movies

- Kokuto is once again useless and non important >_>

Enjoyment: Easily one of the better anime movies i've seen, and by far my favourite Kara no Kyoukai movie yet. This movie made me a fan of the series. Can't wait for more.

Overall: If you enjoy deep and complex plots with lots of gore and unique presentation. Then this movie is perfect for you, it brings a very interesting plot, a lot of fantastic action scenes, and overall just a lot of entertainment. Fans of KnK will cum buckets over this. Those who havent watched any of the Kara no Kyoukai movies yet I highly recommend you watch them first, it just makes this movie more awesome and the time spend to just get to this movie will be worth it read more

~ Enchanting, contemplative, deep, exciting, fantastic...

Kara no Kyoukai 5: Musen Rasen is a rare kind of work among the other movies from the series and even anime in general. Right from the get-go, the viewer gets immersed in a story so deep and enticing that it becomes almost impossible to pause. Now, it's rather complex, without a doubt, but answers slowly find their way out as everything seemingly connects to each other. As incredible as this movie is, there are a few bits and pieces that need work, giving it a 9/10.

Story: The most impressive aspect of this work, the story begins with a scramble of scenes which are admittedly brutal, but far from boring. As the title suggests, the plot is like a paradox in that nothing seems to come together and the order of events is very erratic. Don't worry because it all makes sense once you near the conclusion. You could always rewatch it in the case nothing makes sense the first time around. The movie has an expanded scope compared to the other episodes of Kara no Kyoukai since we see mages other than Touko. For the first time, the audience gets introduced to who the mages are and what their goals consist of. Although the focus happened to be more on Tomoe than the mages, Kara no Kyoukai 5 maintains a commanding storyline that entertains viewers from beginning to end.

Animation: Although I've seen cleaner animation from other anime movies, KnK dominates with its fluid action scenes and clear textures. However, I feel that they could've drawn Araya's face better, considering that all you can see are hidden eyes and emphasized wrinkles. I get that there's a mysterious factor in casting a shadow over his eyes, but that's a bit too far. Also, there are indeed drops in animation quality from here to there, but I'm no perfectionist, so this isn't a big deal.

Sound: Again, amazing from beginning to end. Nothing was clearly out of place and Kalafina sings great as usual. I admit some sound effects may have been overly stressed, particularly when body parts are snapped, but the weapons and effects were well-executed.

Character: Some ups and downs with this one. I am satisfied to see development in Touko and the mages, seeing that they were shrouded in mystery for the past several episodes. She also participates in a battle, much to my delight. However, we see much less development in Kokuto when he had plenty of potential with his new skills in detective work. Considering that he's the male protagonist, I was expecting much more out of him. Conversely, we see too much development in Tomoe (Yes, too much). Although he's a new character, he lacked any sort of appeal and I found pitying him rather difficult. Most of the time, I just wished he would just exit the scene so we could move on. I only hope that the next episodes of KnK will develop the characters of Shiki and Kokuto now that the topic of mages has come into the light.

Enjoyment: I couldn't stop watching honestly as the movie kept me on the edge the entire time. Somehow, the idea of a chaotic plot just kept me glued to my screen. Actually, the plot's so complex that a second viewing is necessary, adding in some replay value. However, there are about three action scenes in a period of two hours which might trouble some viewers. In reality, the story is what drives the plot all the way to the end, so don't expect a pointless video of non-stop fighting.

Despite minor flaws, KnK ranks as one of my favorite movies with its intricate storytelling and masterful use of special effects. Just the way how the events all link together brings a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment, even with the chaotic timeline of events. Sure, it'll get you thinking a bit, but then again, what's wrong with that? read more

First off, this review is, in fact,
*tick tock*
Like all KnK episodes, the animation is fantastic.
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on a sugar rush.
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- moderately, not extremely -
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Other scenes progress backwards, making
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Certain pieces simply don’t click unless you’ve already seen it,
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as though you’ve seen the same scene several time, while, in actuality,
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all remain coherent at the same time.
*tick tock*
it’s like Baccano!
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presented in the same manner
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them difficult to follow, yet
*tick tock*
In a sense,
*tick tock*
Certain pieces simply don’t click unless you’ve already seen it, and very minor details, that are easy to miss, play a huge part in figuring out how one thing lead to another.
*tick tock*
At times, it feels as though you’ve seen the same scene several times,
*tick tock*
Now, the movie, itself, can be very, very confusing due to it’s presentation,
*tick tock*
Not to say the movie’s plot or storytelling was uninteresting, to be fair, it was the most interesting out of the first 6
*tick tock*
at the same time, had it been shown in the proper chronological order,
*tick tock*
but,
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but the way everything fit together by the time KnK5 ended was brilliant.
*tick tock*
it feels as though you’ve seen the same scene 10 times, while, in actuality, you’ve really only seen it
*tick tock*
complex, intriguing, thought-provoking, and all-around enjoyable simply by mixing and repeating scenes.
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despite it’s unorthodox portrayal.
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characters rather well. They definitely get enough developement to be sustained for 2 hours.
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Most motions are fluid and, appear, very human,
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WAH WAH
It’s a boy.
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Though, the budget was somewhere in the same ballpark as the previous installment, and twice the length,
*tick tock*
You see, Kara no Kyoukai 5 jumps around, rather spontaneously,
*tick tock*
Certain pieces simply don’t click unless you’ve already seen it, and very minor details, that are easy to miss, play a huge part in figuring out how one thing lead to another.
*tick tock*
most interesting out of the first 6,
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Other scenes progress backwards, making them difficult to follow, yet they all remain coherent at the same time.
*tick tock*
It, seamlessly, followed a - moderately,
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The biggest flaw most movies of the type have, regardless of being in chronological order or not, is that they don’t manage to make sense, KnK5 had no such problem,
*tick tock*
but, those are totally meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
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despite it’s unorthodox portrayal.
*tick tock*
At times, it feels as though you’ve seen the same scene several time, while, in actuality, you’ve really only seen it a couple times.
*tick tock*
play a huge part in figuring out how one thing lead to another.
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that are easy to miss,
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everything would have been fairly less interesting, and certain plot point would be too obvious or get revealed too quickly.
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What really makes KnK5 excellent is how a relatively basic mystery/fantasy story becomes complex,
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extremely - simple storyline and molded it into a masterpiece. The biggest
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while the over-the-top action sequences make the highest budget series look as though it were constructed with tissue paper and paste.
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so, every once and a while, there are small animation errors - but,
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While, KnK5 isn’t known for having stellar character developement, 5 handled the characters
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So, if you don’t want to think, it’s probably not for you. If you want an engaging, thoughtful thrill-ride built with awesome, Kara no Kyoukai 5 is a great selection. Art is great, as usual; storyline is genuinely amazing; characters, while not being a primary focus, develope far greater than within previous installment and become a bit more human - and Araya is full of win.

10/10 read more