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Jan 24, 2012 3:24 AM
#1

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I see a “Rate all the KnK” thread, but I don’t see many actually posting their thoughts about KnK as a whole, instead breaking up thoughts in each episode discussion.
So go wild.


Here’s mine:
Disclaimer: I’m one of those nobodies that actually did not enjoy KnK much. I don’t mean to flame; I'm simply posting what I honestly thought after completing it, and reasoning my dissatisfaction with a bit more than the usual cop-outs.
FauxAznMar 7, 2012 12:42 AM
Jan 25, 2012 4:38 AM
#2

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Aren't the individual episode discussions (the 7th one), personal blogs and review sections exactly for this stuff? You're welcome to express your opinion, but making two threads seems kind of pointless.

To avoid making my reply completely useless

why was Kokutou sitting lifeless in the first movie?


Urufuzu_reinJan 25, 2012 5:34 AM
"This Forest isn't going to reveal all its secrets for the likes of you."
Jan 25, 2012 5:16 AM
#3

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Well, like I said, I didn't find many actually expressing their thoughts on all of KnK in the individual episode discussions, finding most breaking up their opinions on each episode instead of thoughts about it holistically. Personal blogs rarely incite much discussion among others. And there's no point to a review with spoilers, and without spoilers I'd have drastically less to say with more difficulty conveying it. Besides, being of the nonexistent minority that only slightly liked this vaunted behemoth, I'm sure any review I'd write would get downvoted to obscurity, even if it's only due to my low overall score.

Urufuzu_rein said:
why was Kokutou sitting lifeless in the first movie?


Ah, I imagined it was something along those lines, though I guess I didn't find it very clear that that's what her power did. I thought she simply controlled people's bodies like she tried to with Shiki, not stealing souls for some nonsensical reason. Steers back to my obscure "magic effects" musing.
FauxAznFeb 29, 2012 8:29 PM
Jan 25, 2012 5:27 AM
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Well, a discussion thread is always welcome. I see your point now.
However, on an unrelated note, reviews can contain spoilers as long as you mention that in the beginning, as far as I know.
Also, I've seen a 'good few' expressing their dislike towards the series. Maybe not all of them are on this site, but you're definitely not alone.
"This Forest isn't going to reveal all its secrets for the likes of you."
Jan 25, 2012 5:37 AM
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Urufuzu_rein said:
reviews can contain spoilers as long as you mention that in the beginning, as far as I know.
Thanks for that info. Unfortunately, I still don't see the point of a spoilered review, considering that reviews are meant for those that have never seen the work. Definitely not for discussion purposes either, considering you can't really directly "reply" to a review here. The only point to a spoilered review I can think of might be to publicize an opinion, but it seems a bit silly to expect people who have already completed a work to garner their opinions from the most popular review, bandwagoning their opinions that way.
FauxAznFeb 29, 2012 7:18 AM
Jan 25, 2012 5:52 AM
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FauxAzn said:

Thanks for that info. Unfortunately, I still don't see the point of a spoilered review, considering that reviews are meant for those that have never seen the work. Definitely not for discussion purposes either, considering you can't really directly "reply" to a review here. The only point to a spoilered review I can think of might be to publicize an opinion, but it seems a bit silly to expect people who have already completed a work to garner their opinions from the most popular review, bandwagoning their opinions that way.

Well, as far as I know, a lot of people read reviews for their already completed series because they're interested in what the author has to say (and if they agree/disagree with it) or simply because they want to judge the quality of the review. I think publicizing your opinion is the basic point of every review despite the fact that it needs more elements to make it helpful.

Also, about Kirie, the nature of the series makes it hard to completely 'pierce' the characters or to make sense of them. That might seem annoying, but I personally like the urban fantasy + 'metaphysical' dialogue / motivations combination.

I don't want to stray away from the purpose of the thread any farther so I'll stop here.
Urufuzu_reinJan 25, 2012 5:57 AM
"This Forest isn't going to reveal all its secrets for the likes of you."
Jan 25, 2012 6:01 AM
#7

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Urufuzu_rein said:
Also, about Kirie, the nature of the series makes it hard to completely 'pierce' the characters or to make sense of them. That might seem annoying
Yup, certainly does. But hey, more power to you for enjoying that aspect! I wish I could have.

Urufuzu_rein said:
Well, as far as I know, a lot of people read reviews for their already completed series because they're interested in what the author has to say (and if they agree/disagree with it) or simply because they want to judge the quality of the review.
Oh, I guess I considered the "helpful"/"not helpful" votes to be just that, if a new viewer finds it helpful or not helpful, or if a finished viewer finds it more or less helpful for new viewers, not indicators of how many people agree or disagree with the review's opinions. But you're right, that's probably how it really works in part.

Urufuzu_rein said:
I don't want to stray away from the purpose of the thread any farther so I'll stop here.
Hah, same here. Got carried away as I usually do.
FauxAznFeb 29, 2012 8:28 PM
Mar 4, 2012 5:29 PM
#8

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@FauxAzn:

I'll post my thoughts here on Movie 7 from the other thread as I think it'll clear up A LOT of your questions and issues about the series:


And no I'm not trying to be rude, and if it comes across as such then I'm very much sorry. I think KnK is a really great series, it's just that a lot of the issues and points you brought up can easily be attributed to ignorance or lack of close attention to the series, which I'm more than happy enough to help in providing explanations. Maybe then if I do, hopefully you might look at the series in different light. :)
ronriSep 8, 2014 9:26 AM
Mar 6, 2012 1:15 PM
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Hey, thanks for your notes, ronri! How in the world would I find your opinions and clarifying help rude? You must deal with quite a few on the immature side to include that statement. And sure, I'd love to read your take on Lio, and your general impressions of KnK.

Despite reading what you wrote about Mikiya, I still find him absurd. So we've got this crazy killer on the loose, and Shiki finds a chance to finally stop him, but Mikiya thinks it a great time to test "her and their relationship"? Mikiya's words pretty much handicapped Shiki, distracted her during her fight with Lio, and with Lio being so batshit insane, anything could have happened. Shiki could've gotten hurt badly, or killed. But no, Mikiya doesn't care if she gets hurt or dies, so long as Lio stays alive and he can test their relationship. Or he's somehow so confident in Shiki's abilities against Lio that he chooses that moment to disable her a bit, reign her in, and keep Lio alive so he can continue killing (this italicized point irked me the most), just so he can test their relationship. Woo, go Mikiya logic!

Even then, he's useless. He doesn't help Shiki by suggesting an alternative to killing Lio, or consulting Touko to figure out an alternate route to dealing with Lio. He just repeats that useless line over and over, nothing else. And never really communicating to Shiki why he doesn't want her to kill Lio (sorry, I'm a bit hazy on this point: KnK's not very fresh in my head. If he actually did clearly tell her why, I take back that last line), thus going back to my "characters don't interact" musing in the OP.

ronri said:
Shiki was on the brink of becoming a true killer (and willingly so to the point of leaving Mikiya behind) when she decided to hunt down Lio. If anything, it was Mikiya's words that saved her from becoming a true homicidal maniac, when by all means, she should've become one given her mental state.
Isn't that jumping to conclusions? Or was it really that set in stone? I don't have the seventh movie fresh in my mind, but I honestly can't remember enough inclination in the seventh movie that Shiki was "on the brink of becoming a true killer (and willingly so to the point of leaving Mikiya behind)". It's possible it's a bit clearer in the novels, but it wasn't clear to me when I gave the movie a very objective view. I found her incredibly sane and logical after KnK's beginning, partially resulting from, as you note, "her attachment and days spent with Mikiya that allowed her to soften up and resist her murderous urges."

But honestly, even if there were enough hints, the entire thing was so slow-moving and empty that I just could not enjoy the watch. The absurdness I found from the "ignorance or lack of close attention to the series" you acknowledge in me only added frustration to boredom, but there's no getting rid of the boredom. KnK just isn't my slice of pie, honestly, even if you cleared up all the absurdity. The endlessly sparse events with all that empty space in between, and that dialogue, and those stiff & stillborn characters (except Shiki), and that believability... and how in the end, all that glorified nonsense amounted to nothing more than a fairly simple story that really could and should have been condensed to one-fifth of its size.
FauxAznMar 7, 2012 12:33 AM
Mar 6, 2012 5:40 PM

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Haha fair enough. Sadly I recently just had a long conversation with someone else about Movie 7 in the other thread addresing the same issues you just brought up, and I wouldn't really wanna re-post the same thing here to make my point. It pretty much explains what was going on in Movie 7 and why it would've been quite hard for the average viewer to understand. I suggest you head over there and read my conversation with "VictimOfFate", as it clarifies a lot of things about Shiki and what her deal was in Movie 7. Not to mention I've also outlined the reasons behind Mikiya's actions, which will hopefully put him in a better light (and look a bit better in your eyes). I thought Movie 7 was great, but as evidenced by some people's confusion, I'd say that some of the approach it took wasn't necessarily the most effective in conveying its intended message (hence why I think Movie 5 is the best out of the whole series as it condenses the whole thing really well while even pushing the original material to its limits in terms of the characters' emotions and story).

Here's the link to the page, basically follow on our conversation starting from the same notes I just gave you, scrolling down to VictimOfFate's impression and then my long discussion with VictimOfFate: http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=107561&show=220#msg12998121

Afterwards once you've read it (and perhaps replied back to me about it), I'm all for spewing my thoughts and analysis of Lio's character, and hopefully by then you'll be able to understand the deeper complexities of his character (I personally consider him to be one of Type-Moon's best and most effectively developed villains). Not to mention of course, my impression on the series as a whole.
ronriMar 6, 2012 6:13 PM
Mar 7, 2012 12:02 AM

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One point:
ronri said:
the novel emphasizes her cruel and apathetic thoughts much more unlike the silent treatment she was giving in the movie.
...In the 7th film, much of the intended message wasn't conveyed clearly enough as a lot of their thought process wasn't shown in the film, relying on deceiving dialogue and subtle expressions instead.

Second point:
ronri said:
I can't blame you, Movie 7 doesn't emphasize as much on showcasing/mentioning the actual weaknesses and anti-social nature of Shiki's character. It's a shame really, because in doing so, a lot of people assume that Shiki was being headstrong making the right decisions in this film (thus making Mikiya look like the moral-idiot), whereas the novel makes it rather obvious that she was actually being reckless and impulsive.

Third point:
ronri said:
In the novel, it's more simple in that Mikiya tells Shiki that "there's no going back" rather than the more subtle lie of "I won't forgive you".

You call all the above subtle, I call it incomprehensible. Gosh, did I hate that senseless "won't forgive you" line. It would've been 10x better (more believable and clearer) with "there's no going back".

So basically, the novel did a better job, and the movie doesn't stand very well on its own. Doesn't really change my opinion of the movie, because a good film needs no references unless it's meant to be watched with background knowledge. And a good film doesn't require multiple viewings when everything's so dead simple, and could have been presented so much clearer and better. Sure, reading all that might change my views of the characters in the seventh movie, but my point is that I really shouldn't need to read your novel-infused background knowledge to understand the movie (unless I'm retarded) -- the movie should have done it all on its own, and it had a LOT of empty space to work with.

Again, what you call subtle, I call incomprehensible. There's just not enough information without source knowledge.

But really, thanks ronri.
FauxAznMar 7, 2012 4:08 AM
Apr 22, 2012 5:16 AM

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Posting this same reply I had from the other thread simply because it clears up so many things:

Knowing a fair bit of Japanese myself, I always felt dubious towards the KNK fansubs, but I finally had the chance to watch the 7th movie with retail subs and I must admit that it actually managed to convey the ideas of the film much more clearly than the fansubs ever did. For Movie 7 in particular, I highly recommend the retail subtitles as it is far superior than the fansubs.

The fansubs not only make Lio seem petty/annoying, but it makes him sound as if he was just rambling and talking in circles. The retail subs make his goals and intentions clear, and his dialogue has a more condescending tone and finesse that the fansubs completely neglected.

Worst of all, the fansubs presented Shiki's intentions and dialogue with Mikiya to be very vague whereas the retail subs outline their motives very clearly (she clearly tells him that she "can't" return as a normal person, and is supposedly willing to become a bloodthirsty killer). Even worse is that there are parts where it's quite obvious that the fansubs had translated some of the dialogue very differently, to the point that it throws off the whole scene and setup of the plot (arguably the main cause of people's confusion).

In one scene from the fansubs Shiki says "What a blessed man...", whereas in the retail subs she actually says "What an idiotic optimist..." which makes more sense in context of her being needlessly stubborn against Mikiya's pleas.

A lot of the retail subs serve to validate the points I had been making previously, and it serves to show how some simple mistakes in a fansubs can lead to misconceptions towards the story. >_>
ronriNov 15, 2014 1:58 PM
May 5, 2012 2:00 AM

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FauxAzn said:
And what sealed the deal: the 7th movie was the longest pile of nothing that I have ever seen.


It's funny you should say that, because the sixth and seventh chapters were released separately from the first five. In fact, I would say your statement extends to the sixth movie as well, as the final two seem like a meager attempt to expand the franchise's universe.(even if they were originally planned alongside the first five)

Overall, the series was pretty, had a very nice soundtrack, but failed to grab my interest. The action and fights were never really that exciting and they seemed to be in the movie for entertainment purposes rather than story. The story could have been told without any knives or sword fights and would have been the same. I'm not sure what to say, really. I wanted to like this franchise, I really tried to, but it just missed all the beats. It's been a few hours since I finished the movie, and I'm left with an empty feeling that can best be described as sheer anticipointment.
AzureBluesMay 6, 2012 2:31 AM
Sep 7, 2014 6:48 PM
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KnK is the most overrated pile of crap I've ever seen. I want my 9 hours back. I only watched it b/c it got really high ratings on ANN. Now I realize you can't trust those ratings. If this is the direction that modern anime is taking, which is an emphasis of style over substance, then I'm sorely disappointed.

It's the first anime series that I felt like I was emotionally and mentally raped for watching what amounted to a story of nothing. Were we supposed to identify with Shiki's internal struggle from being a killer b/c I honestly couldn't give a rats behind if She succumbed to the "dark forces". Even the bits of romance between Shiki and Kokuto felt contrived and out of place like they were entirely plot devices.

Was this even popular in Japan? I hope not b/c anime can be such a fantastic medium of artistic expression (Karas, Ranma 1/2, Princess Mononoke) not this crap that felt like a 9 hour-long filler to "something"...

Ah yes, now I remember another reason why I watched this in the first place. I had consulted a review that said that if you can endure the entire 9 hours of monologue and boring camera angles (when Shiki isn't picking a fight with some dude or monster), the pieces fit together to give you a rewarding experience for "enduring" through it all. I say bulls! After the 7th episode, I felt like vomiting more than reaping a non-existent viewership reward...
hirobo2Sep 7, 2014 7:58 PM
Sep 7, 2014 7:24 PM

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And I mean that in the most sexually painful way possible.
Sep 7, 2014 10:56 PM

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@hirobo2: Uh yeah, making a bunch a sweeping statements with little explanation to back it up kinda makes it hard to take your argument seriously...
Sep 8, 2014 7:31 AM
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How in the world do you expect me to explain an anime that is essentially about nothing? Japan makes good stuff and bad stuff. Unfortunately, this anime falls into the latter category... Pretty graphics a good anime does not make. Some of the best anime I've ever watched had visuals that were subpar compared to KnK. And I've seen Naruto filler episodes that left me feeling more satisfied than watching KnK...

It's been more than 12 hours since I've finished the 7th, and I still feel like I'm on a boat rocking back and forth. I've never known an anime that has produced this feeling in me b4. Name an anime that you actually regret seeing!
hirobo2Sep 8, 2014 7:43 AM
Sep 8, 2014 9:20 AM

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hirobo2 said:
How in the world do you expect me to explain an anime that is essentially about nothing? Japan makes good stuff and bad stuff. Unfortunately, this anime falls into the latter category... Pretty graphics a good anime does not make. Some of the best anime I've ever watched had visuals that were subpar compared to KnK. And I've seen Naruto filler episodes that left me feeling more satisfied than watching KnK...

It's been more than 12 hours since I've finished the 7th, and I still feel like I'm on a boat rocking back and forth. I've never known an anime that has produced this feeling in me b4. Name an anime that you actually regret seeing!


Do you need help in understanding the story or what? Again, the fact that you can't even describe or explain what you found lacking isn't really helping your case, especially since all you're essentially saying is that "it's bad" with the reasoning of "because I said so".
Nov 15, 2014 1:16 PM
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It was ok but the main thing that stopped me fully enjoying it was Mikiya. If you fancied a girl for a whole 5 minutes and found out she was killing people, you'd tell the police or your close relative who is a detective.. Not camp outside her house.

I just couldn't understand his motivation or thought process and if it was explained then it was done poorly. He just seemed to be the typical 'do gooder' in an anime filled with amazing and complex characters.

Also how was his sister randomly a magus? Isn't this set within the same rules as the fate series?
Nov 15, 2014 1:43 PM

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carefaces said:
It was ok but the main thing that stopped me fully enjoying it was Mikiya. If you fancied a girl for a whole 5 minutes and found out she was killing people, you'd tell the police or your close relative who is a detective.. Not camp outside her house.

I just couldn't understand his motivation or thought process and if it was explained then it was done poorly. He just seemed to be the typical 'do gooder' in an anime filled with amazing and complex characters.

I wouldn't necessarily say that Mikiya was a typical do-gooder. He actually had his head on his shoulders and was very selective in his treatment of others. Mikiya's motivation relied on his faith in Shiki's kindness, he lied about saying that he had no reason for being like that to Shiki. He was motivated to see it through to the end because having known Shiki for so long, he felt that Shiki really wasn't capable of being a murderer the way she was. People might think that's silly but it wasn't, he was one of the only few people who actually got to know who Shiki was, and he felt that his decision was justified enough to act accordingly. It paid off in the end anyway, especially since Shirazumi Lio turned out to be the true culprit of all those murders.

carefaces said:
Also how was his sister randomly a magus? Isn't this set within the same rules as the fate series?

I'm rather curious, what did you think was random about it? She was training as an apprentice Magus under Touko, even before Touko had met Mikiya. Also about the Fate series, more or less, yes and no. Kara no Kyoukai is set in a parallel universe from Fate and Tsukihime, so the events that happened in Kara no Kyoukai are unique to its own. Also, though it's not fully explained (more like implied), since Kara no Kyoukai played on supernatural/paranormal tropes, its focus is more on the nature of magic and its relationship to reality (in this case, manipulating reality through "magic" in a modern world). In this regard, Azaka wasn't a full-fledged Magus due to her being fairly new to it herself, and more of someone who was learning certain principles of it while capable enough to use them in a fight.

I hope that helps! ^_^
ronriNov 15, 2014 2:03 PM
Nov 15, 2014 11:26 PM
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ronri said:
I wouldn't necessarily say that Mikiya was a typical do-gooder. He actually had his head on his shoulders and was very selective in his treatment of others. Mikiya's motivation relied on his faith in Shiki's kindness, he lied about saying that he had no reason for being like that to Shiki. He was motivated to see it through to the end because having known Shiki for so long, he felt that Shiki really wasn't capable of being a murderer the way she was. People might think that's silly but it wasn't, he was one of the only few people who actually got to know who Shiki was, and he felt that his decision was justified enough to act accordingly. It paid off in the end anyway, especially since Shirazumi Lio turned out to be the true culprit of all those murders.


That fine from the third film on (and the first I guess) but I'm mostly talking about the second when their relationship is established. I just don't understand what made him throw all logic aside and protect a girl who he saw killing people. They went on like one date by that time? From that point on this character just confused me.

ronri said:
I'm rather curious, what did you think was random about it? She was training as an apprentice Magus under Touko, even before Touko had met Mikiya. Also about the Fate series, more or less, yes and no. Kara no Kyoukai is set in a parallel universe from Fate and Tsukihime, so the events that happened in Kara no Kyoukai are unique to its own. Also, though it's not fully explained (more like implied), since Kara no Kyoukai played on supernatural/paranormal tropes, its focus is more on the nature of magic and its relationship to reality (in this case, manipulating reality through "magic" in a modern world). In this regard, Azaka wasn't a full-fledged Magus due to her being fairly new to it herself, and more of someone who was learning certain principles of it while capable enough to use them in a fight.

I hope that helps! ^_^


I was mostly thinking about magic circuits, from what I've read online, their family is considered normal. It's been a while since I played through the fate VN but even if their family had a history of magic wouldn't the eldest son be the one to get all the knowledge and the family circuit?

If its a parallel universe though I guess it's fine if they change things up slightly, I just thought it would still have the same basic ruleset for stuff like this. Would be nice to touch on why they changed things.

Thanks for the reply!
Nov 16, 2014 9:36 AM

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carefaces said:
That fine from the third film on (and the first I guess) but I'm mostly talking about the second when their relationship is established. I just don't understand what made him throw all logic aside and protect a girl who he saw killing people. They went on like one date by that time? From that point on this character just confused me.

I should mention that it wasn't simply one date. The two practically met each other everyday, both onscreen and offscreen. Movie 6 even implied that Shiki visited Mikiya on occasion within the same timeframe, so it's not really out of the ordinary for Mikiya to feel that Shiki was worth trusting especially since his actions practically proved to be the best one in the long run.

carefaces said:
I was mostly thinking about magic circuits, from what I've read online, their family is considered normal. It's been a while since I played through the fate VN but even if their family had a history of magic wouldn't the eldest son be the one to get all the knowledge and the family circuit?

If its a parallel universe though I guess it's fine if they change things up slightly, I just thought it would still have the same basic ruleset for stuff like this. Would be nice to touch on why they changed things.

Thanks for the reply!


No you're right, Azaka DOESN'T have Magic Circuits. But like I said, since Kara no Kyoukai plays on supernatural tropes than fantasy ones (like Fate Stay Night), the explanation behind her abilities have less to do with magic and more with ESP, in this case, it's pyrokinesis. She poses more similarities to Shiki, Fujino and Kirie whose abilities are essentially an explanation for certain ESP abilities in the Nasuverse, than she is with actual Magi.

Her spells play on the idea of spontaneous human combustion, while using her glove (a Mystic Code in its own regard) as the conduit of her magic. Like I said, she doesn't practice true magecraft like any typical Magus, she simply knows a number of principles from it to be able to make it work for her own knowledge and ability to use pyrokinesis (so the whole bloodline thing with Magi doesn't really apply in this case).
ronriNov 16, 2014 9:47 AM
Apr 4, 2015 6:57 PM

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I just finished the 7th movie today. Then I came here to help sort out my thoughts, the question... "What did I just watch??" :)

Overall, I didn't find the series as interesting as I had hoped. I'm a fan of complex characters and plot. I actually found it rather confusing, right up through the end, but that by itself is actually neutral in my book. It didn't bother me. But it was problematic in that it made it somewhat harder to get emotionally attached to the characters. I feel like I understand the motivations, but not the fundamentals. (The, uh... origins, so to speak.) I was ok with the wording, "I won't forgive you," because I definitely got that it was all for her, not wanting her to cross a line because it would cause her pain and she would not be happy that way.

(I would have liked to see a kiss at the end, but I wasn't surprised not to see one. It's anime; people only kiss in harems, and even then it's by accident. ^_^)

I did think the series was worth watching. I thought it was alright, and I really liked movie 5. I just was not "wow'd" by it. I didn't find the characters as compelling as I had hoped. Additionally, the plot moves forward at the pace of a snail. Sure, there are action scenes, and those are cool, but the story's not about those. I did really like the visuals. Beautiful stuff.

A minor gripe about movie 7: Everything having to do with drugs made absolutely no sense. Thankfully, it didn't have much effect on the plot/themes.

If anyone is interested in clearing things up (I have not read the novels):
What IS Shiki? Why did she(/he) have two personalities originally? What is the background with her family? (I gather that she inherited some supernatural power or something that it is or was her duty to carry on, but I couldn't tell you what it is, what it means, or what the deal with her grandfather was.) I also didn't get exactly why Kokutou made so much effort to reach out to Shiki. I understood the depth of their resulting bond, just not why it got forged in the first place. And what was with the "you can only kill one person" stuff? I get the "murder" vs. "slaughter" comments, but I feel like I missed something with "one person."

I had thought that it was SHIKI who committed the early murders, but the other thread cleared that up for me.
Apr 6, 2015 5:13 PM

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arachni42 said:
I feel like I understand the motivations, but not the fundamentals. (The, uh... origins, so to speak.) I was ok with the wording, "I won't forgive you," because I definitely got that it was all for her, not wanting her to cross a line because it would cause her pain and she would not be happy that way.

In Kara no Kyoukai, the Origin essentially serves as the root of reality, and each individual's connection to it serves as the driving force of their instincts and personality. Part of the reason why Shiki's Origin was so critical to the story is because of how its the closest to the actual true form of the Origin: nothingness.

This manifests as a murderous impulse (literally to render everything into nothingness), which serves as the point of conflict in terms of whether or not Shiki is a literal murderer or simply someone who has an affinity for the concept. It's literally an internal conflict of nature vs. nurture. Is Shiki truly murderous because of her inherent nature? Or is she able to overcome such urges based on her treasured experience with Mikiya?

arachni42 said:
A minor gripe about movie 7: Everything having to do with drugs made absolutely no sense. Thankfully, it didn't have much effect on the plot/themes.

They weren't normal drugs by any means though. They were literally magically-infused and modified by Araya Souren, which were meant to drive people insane. Lio's own cocktail drug was infused with his own mutated blood, which also drove people to their deaths (despite Lio's claims).

arachni42 said:
If anyone is interested in clearing things up (I have not read the novels):
What IS Shiki? Why did she(/he) have two personalities originally? What is the background with her family? (I gather that she inherited some supernatural power or something that it is or was her duty to carry on, but I couldn't tell you what it is, what it means, or what the deal with her grandfather was.)

Shiki is an heir to an ancient clan that has existed for a long time. Her clan specializes in developing multiple personalities to maximize their capabilities as an individual. This is actually explained a bit in Movie 2 and more so in the Epilogue (which I assume you've already seen?).

arachni42 said:
I also didn't get exactly why Kokutou made so much effort to reach out to Shiki. I understood the depth of their resulting bond, just not why it got forged in the first place.

It was originally a simple crush/infatuation (you know, love at first sight). But by spending time with her, he grew to recognize that she wasn't as frighteningly cold as many others viewed her. Mikiya recognized how much of a lonely person she truly was and that's one of the key reasons why he genuinely came to love and care for Shiki.

arachni42 said:
And what was with the "you can only kill one person" stuff? I get the "murder" vs. "slaughter" comments, but I feel like I missed something with "one person."

The idea of killing "one person" is a figurative concept that means to say that killing someone is sure to "kill" you inside, thus putting the burden of responsibility on you. The idea is that premeditated murder is sure to put you in a guilt-ridden state, thus "killing one person" means you in a figurative sense and your first victim in a literal sense.

It's part of Shiki's moral code and one of the principles that has helped her stop from simply murdering people around her. It also serves as a foreshadowing to Lio's true nature as a guilt-ridden individual who's very aware of his crimes, as opposed to someone who is simply psychotic from birth. Again this adds to the whole theme of nature vs. nurture or fate vs. free will within the story.

I hope that wasn't too much to stomach, and I hope my answers cleared up some of your questions. ^_^
ronriApr 6, 2015 5:25 PM
Apr 7, 2015 10:59 PM

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Mar 2012
30
ronri said:
I hope that wasn't too much to stomach, and I hope my answers cleared up some of your questions. ^_^

Well, the whole series is too much to stomach, lol. ;) I only mean that in the "I don't think it's one of those things understood easily on the first pass," but that is not a bad thing. Your answers did help and I appreciate it! I'd consider watching this series again sometime, but maybe after understanding the world more fully.

ronri said:

Shiki is an heir to an ancient clan that has existed for a long time. Her clan specializes in developing multiple personalities to maximize their capabilities as an individual. This is actually explained a bit in Movie 2 and more so in the Epilogue (which I assume you've already seen?).

The Epilogue: well, I've seen it now. (I had overlooked it somehow, because I had in my mind "7 movies.") It does help explain some things, although I kept getting distracted by the perrty visuals.

Your answer about the clan is interesting (and does help fill in the gap).

ronri said:

They weren't normal drugs by any means though. They were literally magically-infused and modified by Araya Souren, which were meant to drive people insane.

Ah, well, that is not surprising. I think some of the things you mentioned were in some scenes (for example, IIRC there was one with Souren and Lio, but it's hazy because I didn't know who he was or the significance at the time).

ronri said:

The idea of killing "one person" is a figurative concept that means to say that killing someone is sure to "kill" you inside, thus putting the burden of responsibility on you. The idea is that premeditated murder is sure to put you in a guilt-ridden state, thus "killing one person" means you in a figurative sense and your first victim in a literal sense.

Ah, I thought it had something to do with that, but I think the other piece of the puzzle was the theme of nature vs. nurture. I hadn't thought of it from that angle. It fits together with the things having to do with the Origin.

And Kokutou... is it accurate to say that he is the type of person that derives great fulfillment from reaching out to someone?
Oct 31, 2017 4:06 AM

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Mar 2017
136
Before i start i had high hopes on this franchise mostly because of the good reviews and high scores i seen.
Huge mistake... it was bad, really bad.

My review of the franchise after whatch the first 7 movies:

Story: A giant mess. I don´t understand 90% of what is happening or why is happening. I don´t even know what is the goals/morals/themes of the movies if there is any;

World Building: Non existent;

Coherence: Not much;

Characters: Unlikable with bad caracterization and no development. Why i would care abou them?;

Pace: Extremelly slow;

Sound: Above average;

Visuals/Animation: Good but not that good as people claim it, at least not for movie standard;

Execution: Mediocre. It have very good ideias/premisse/concepts but the execution is terrible.

Enjoyment: Bored to death most of the times.

Overall score: 5, not because of what they are but because of what they could have been.
Feb 19, 2020 5:21 AM
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1255
kara no kyoukai is a must watch for every anime fans.
Movie 5 and 7 are straight down masterpiece.
others are good too.


Why should you miss Kajiura Yuki's best works in anime?
Why should you miss Ufotable's first notable work with breath-taking animation clearly better than most of their other works?
Why should you miss the badass female protagonist Ryougi Shiki?
Why should you miss the inhaling romance between Shiki and Mikiya?



It's a must watch, don’t listen to others.
Mar 31, 2020 8:09 PM

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Mar 2013
244
NakolHira said:
kara no kyoukai is a must watch for every anime fans.
Movie 5 and 7 are straight down masterpiece.
others are good too.


Why should you miss Kajiura Yuki's best works in anime?
Why should you miss Ufotable's first notable work with breath-taking animation clearly better than most of their other works?
Why should you miss the badass female protagonist Ryougi Shiki?
Why should you miss the inhaling romance between Shiki and Mikiya?



It's a must watch, don’t listen to others.


I suppose I could agree with most of that, but I think the adjective inhaling is a bit much to be honest
May 10, 2020 11:24 PM

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Dec 2009
9503
I may come back to elaborate unless I post my final thoughts somewhere else but I will say it's overrated.

Unfortunately until fans of the novel properly help me comprehend the story as a whole for its true depth, or unless I read it myself, I'll never fully appreciate Kara no Kyoukai for what it is because the flawed anime adaption delivered lacking context that made the behavior of the character feel mindless, with some plots being plain dumb.
Mar 19, 2023 1:13 PM

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Aug 2020
7746
The series moves at its own pace, with usual situations at times, but most of the time it is on track and impressive.

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