I shouldn't be too harsh on judging the film's story, since this is an addendum to the series' story and doesn't necessarily have to be seen in order to understand the series' main plot. In fact, there really isn't a plot to speak of, since it is simply a conversation between Shiki and Mikiya, What is interesting about it, however, is that it acts as a sort of bookend for the entire series as a whole. The series begins with a meeting between these two characters, and if you include the epilogue in the series' main plotline, then that is where it ends. Normally, I would give the character and the plot two separate ratings, but in this case, they both share the same rating because this film is nothing but character interaction. I use the term "character interaction" loosely because Shiki's lines mainly consist of one monologue after another while Mikiya simply responds with a few sentences. The film might as well be renamed "Shiki Ryougi Waxes Philosophical for 30 Minutes" due to how much she speaks here. Luckily, what she has to say may prove to be very interesting to those who like the psychological aspect of the series. Keep in mind that if you decide to watch this, you should have a fresh idea of how some of the key elements of the series play out, because she refers to them quite a bit. Otherwise, you'll sort of feel detached from what she is saying, almost like you have never seen the series before. Her monologues also do stretch out longer than they should be and take them from a level of meaningful character analysis to melodramatic ramblings. Seeing how this is, once again, an added bonus to the entire series, do not watch this unless you have seen all of the movies, because you will be spoiled and confused. What the "story" and characters are able to do, they do well, but other than that, it's nothing special.
The animation is also nothing to marvel at in this film, which is a surprise, given studio ufotable's technical expertise shown in all of the films in the series. Seeing how the film only takes place in one location, I can understand that they were limited in their expression because of that, but they could have done more than place the camera on Shiki for a lot of the time. There were several opportunities in which the animators could show Mikiya's reactions to Shiki's monologues outside of the moments before it was his turn to speak. It could have been worse, though. ufotable could have been lazy and edited stock footage from the previous films in, but being true to their craft, they decided to animate as much as the could for the sequence. In contrast to the nearly-stagnant animation, the artistry held up very well. The characters looked as beautifully-designed as ever and you could see the lights on every individual building in the far-off city. Even for a half-hour sequence, ufotable did not give anything less than their best. Had it not been for the artistry of the film, the animation would have bothered me even more.
Rarely, I would describe the audio aspect of any form of visual media as hypnotic, but in this film, i can't help but feel drawn in by the hushed tones of the soundtrack and the voice acting. Keeping to the intimacy of the characters' conversation, Maaya Sakamoto give Shiki an almost motherly sound to her voice, sounding different than the two previous "Shiki" that she played throughout the series. She gives this "new" Shiki a wise, poised, and almost otherworldly personality. The sincerity in Kenichi Suzumura's Mikiya reciprocates that nicely, making him seem well-grounded and mature in front of this graceful, almost intimidating woman. Accompanying the film is several new pieces by series composer Yuki Kajiura, who does not approach the film with her usual theatricality, but with music as delicate as the snow falling around the characters. The ending theme is another Kajiura composition, "snow falling", performed by the songstress trio Kalafina. It is a version of the last instrumental piece to play before the credits, but features the group singing in the composer's signature "Kajiuran" vocalization style. Although the music seems tacked on to such a short film, the pieces that play are beautiful enough to be remembered.
The film treats its audience in a way that "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" treats its audience. It expects the viewer to know every important aspect about the film in order to understand it. Watching this without having any recollection of the series' events will have you scratching your heads over "SHIKI and Shiki" and "what Touko Aozaki said". It's probably the main reason why people would want to give it such a low rating, but judging it as its own entity rather than as part of a whole spectrum would make it unfavorable to some. This film isn't reserved for those who watched the series in its entirety, but for those who watched it and relished every minute of it. Even if you qualify as one of those people, this is the kind of film to watch to say that you did, in fact, watch it, and that you have fully completed the Kara no Kyoukai viewing experience. You can say that, for you, the story has truly ended.
