Please note

This review is all subjective and my own personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it, nor am I asking you to. I hope that this just helps you get an idea of what the anime I am talking about is like and form a basic and general consensus on it. The ratings I give anime and manga are mostly my personal overall enjoyment. I have not read the novel, and it has been around a month or two since I have watched the anime. This review will be spoiler free, with spoilers being marked as such. A big thank you to Nikz for proofreading this review and giving me feedback. TL;DR will be at the bottom.

Introduction

Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin is another iteration in the Kara no Kyoukai series. Despite this being the latest Kara no Kyoukai movie made, it is not the latest in chronological order, except for the final part of the film. The final part of the film takes place ten years after the end of Kara no Kyoukai, which as far as the entire series goes, including novels. The first part of the film revolves around two characters who the power of precognition (in basic terms, they can see the future). The first is Shizune Seo, who has the 'prediction' type of precognition. She is a student at Reien Girl's Academy and is Azaka Kokutou's roommate. The other is Mitsuru Kamekura, who has the 'calculation' type of precognition. He is a serial bomber with a 100% success rate, thanks to his precognition. If you are confused as what the types of precognitions mean, do not fret, a fairly easy to understand explanation of the meaning of the two types is present in the film. I could not tell you myself what it means though. Shiki gets involved due to the supernatural nature of his bombings, and the events of the film ensue...

Plot

The inner intricacies of the plot in the other Kara no Kyoukai movies can be notoriously confusing. Even after watching all of the films, I still find myself scratching my head as to what truly happened. Luckily, you never needed to fully understand what was going on to enjoy Kara no Kyoukai, the plot was still captivating. In Mirai Fukuin's case, the plot is much simpler this time around, the most complicated part of it being the precognition. Fortunately, an relatively easy to understand explanation of what precognition is and the differences between the two types is elaborated upon later in the film. The overarching plot is simple, one half being Shizune Seo when she meets Kokutou after (kind of a spoiler, but happens early on in the film)

Spoiler, click to view

she saves someone after seeing their death in the future,

and she shares her feelings about having the power of precognition. The other half of the plot revolves around Mitsuru Kamekura and his bombings. Eventually, Shiki is sent in to deal with him and stop his bombings. More straightforward than the other plots in the Kara no Kyoukai series, but personally not as gripping as the rest. Despite that, the plot remained engrossing enough to keep me in. The game of cat and mouse between Shiki and Kamekura's precognition powers was pretty fun to watch, I found myself contemplating how Shiki would defeat a villain who could see the future absolutely. Although the story was not as well written as the rest of the series, it still holds its own. Throughout the movie, I felt captivated by what was taking place, I wanted to know what happened next.
There is also an extra story at the end of the film which takes place ten years after the end of Kara no Kyoukai. Whilst I cannot go into too much detail without spoiling, it was a nice, short and heart-warming conclusion to the series. It is something good to see for fans who have gone through the rest of the series, considering it is the latest place in time Kara no Kyoukai takes place in.

Characters

The returning characters are still great characters. Shiki is her usual self, cold, cynical and merciless self. Fans of Shiki will still like her in this film. Shiki has always been an interesting character, very different from the typical female protagonist. Perhaps that is what draws people in, her unique character and the charm she has along with it. Kokutou is the same as his other appearances. Gentle, sincere, and compassionate, he is simply easy to love. It was certainly easy for me to fall in love with him, Kokutou has become one of my favourite characters. Another returning character is Touko Aozaki, a prevalent character in the previous Kara no Kyoukai films. She mostly serves as the series' exposition, explaining complicated concepts and ideas that are commonly present in Kara no Kyoukai (although they can still remain very confusing even after the explanation). Her role as the series' exposition is vital to the series, allowing the viewer to have at least some understanding of the world and its inner intricacies. As a character, she certainly stands out, she is unique in her own right and is enjoyable to watch. The new characters introduced in this film are also decent. Shizune Seo is timid and introverted, and provides more content to the film. Her precognition powers make her more interesting to watch, seeing how she deals with having a power so involved in her life. Mitsuru Kamekura is also fascinating. There is a sense of mystery surrounding him in the film, and his precognition powers also make him more captivating. The voice acting in this movie is also pretty good. Maaya Sakamoto role as Ryougi Shiki is great, she plays the role of Shiki quite well. Shiki's way of speaking is starkly different from many other female characters, and Sakamoto does well to match her voice acting with Shiki's personality. Kenichi Suzumura also does well to fit the character of Kokutou, I enjoyed his voice acting. Takako Honda as Aozaki was also done quite well, fitting her personality and bring life to her character. I had no problems with the rest of the cast, they all did well to bring the world of Kara no Kyoukai to life.

Animation and the art

Kara no Kyoukai is known for having absolutely stellar animation, even back in 2007. Once again, ufotable's animation work is wonderful to see, and the art style Type-Moon is known for looks amazing on the silver screen. This film from 2013 still holds up to today's standards of animation. There is less action in this film compared to the other Kara no Kyoukai films, but the animation is still great to watch. The art looks great on the characters and the settings are pleasing to look at.

Music

The Kara no Kyoukai series has some of my favourite tracks in all of the anime I have watched. Yuki Kajiura and Kalafina have once again excelled in crafting music that melds into the world, making it more alive and captivating. The music fits the supernatural and dark setting of the series extremely well. The theme song, Alleluia (アレルヤ), is a pretty good song as well, great to listen to even outside the film.

Conclusion and TL;DR

This film is a nice treat after watching all of the other Kara no Kyoukai movies. These are side stories, and can be skipped if desired, but I would still recommend this film to any fan of Kara no Kyoukai. Especially so since the final part of the movie takes place ten years after the end of Kara no Kyoukai. If you came to this review without having watched any other Kara no Kyoukai film, I would still recommend this series, but you should start here (or movie two, since that is the first chronologically). The series is good for those looking for something with great animation, along with a dark and thrilling plot. If you liked the Fate series, chances are you will like this series too. It is written by the same author, Kinoko Nasu and takes place in an alternative timeline in the same universe. Of course, Kara no Kyoukai is not for everyone, and can be pretty hard to get into. But still, I would still recommend giving it a try. To summarise this review:

• An easier to understand plot compared to the rest of the series, but not as captivating.
• The returning cast are still great, and the new characters are fascinating too.
• The game of cat and mouse between Shiki and Kamekura is one of the most engrossing parts of the film.
• Voice acting that brings out the personality of the characters and makes the world more alive.
• Stellar animation and art.
• Fitting music that makes the world feel more alive.

Thank you to those who took the time to read this review. I hope you were able to get something out of this review. If you did not like this review, then I apologise for wasting your time.