Kara no Kyoukai has been my favorite TYPE-MOON series and will always be. Creating a well-sculptured storyline that presents its meaning of life and death and a small cast of characters brings such an incredible impact. The 7th chapter has done nothing but present such a brutal and gloomy journey and ends with a bittersweet ending.
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The story continues to present the relationships between Shiki and Mikiya and how they interact with each other during a chaotic event in 1999 after Shiki knocks out 5 major threats. Shiki’s greatest challenge is to not kill a single human being and there’s one who’s completely out of control and thus, killing a lot of citizens while drugging a handful to become his henchmen. This disaster was all thanks to the mysterious Souren Araya, who died at the hands of Shiki a year ago. Mikiya trusted Shiki to not kill that one person as long as there are ways to cure him. The story in this movie felt really natural and nicely toned. The relationships and conversations are very organic, especially when it comes to how the cast struggle to find ways to achieve happiness. Yeah, the fights are great and all but regardless of Kara no Kyoukai being action-based, it was never meant to have a lot of fight scenes. The series focuses on exploring its themes and ideals and it truly excels at it. This chapter truly did an excellent job of further emphasizing Shiki’s characteristics and its elements.
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Speaking of which, this leads me to the characters which are my personal favorite parts of the series. Shiki Ryougi is a young adult lady who used to have a male personality in her teen's age and now without him, she’s still herself but she doesn’t feel any of that and she still sees herself as a monster which results in her hunting down any inhuman enemy she sees. Mikiya Kokutou is a friend of Shiki who believes that killing is wrong and comforts those who are trapped in a horrific prison. The main cast is overall fantastic. They have incredible relationships and chemistry with one another. Shiki may be badass, cold, and independent but she’s profoundly believable and outstandingly structured both in her growth and her interactions. Not only does she have amazing dynamics in Mikiya but she struggles with her problems which are quite complicated but show the results of how Shiki deals with life and death. Mikiya may not be a badass fighter or something but like Shiki, he has incredible growth and relationships. He’s a pacifist but a human and well-created one.
Of course, that “one person” I mentioned earlier is nonother than the last living obstacle Shiki has ever faced, Lio Shirazumi. He was a classmate of Mikiya in the early years and now, he’s an infamous murderer who is hegemonic and has an obsession with Shiki. He also reveals the number of murders he committed in the past and does it again after Araya’s death in addition to drugging certain people. Is he a disgusting bastard? Yes. Look at it this way, he’s like Shinji Matou from the Fate series, both being selfish monsters who have done a lot of messed up things. But the major difference is that unlike Shinji, who was a punching bag for the sake of being a punching bag, Lio plays such a great role to overwhelm Shiki’s journey. What’s really interesting is as the ‘Bloodthirsty Killer’ granted by Araya, Lio attempts to resemble some ghost of Shiki’s male personality. It’s really scary if you think about it. This results in Shiki struggling with her own problems even more.
Shiki tries her best to not fail her greatest challenge, even if it means being harassed by Lio but after Lio harms Mikiya despite not killing him, Shiki felt nothing but rage within her. Shiki then proceeds to end Lio’s life, only to feel gloomy after. Shiki may win a physical battle but also loses that said challenge. The world may return back to normal but she can’t even find anything to celebrate. When Mikiya is still alive and went up, Shiki confesses to him that she has lost everything after killing Lio. Mikiya replied that it doesn’t matter as long as they still find happiness. Kara no Kyoukai brings some of the best endings in anime. Chapter 7’s conclusion shows that Shiki may fail one thing but still moves forward alongside Mikiya. The amazing dynamics between the two main leads during a chaotic event result in a bittersweet ending. What makes the ending even better is that instead of kissing, they just hug each other. Kissing scenes aren’t necessarily bad but they can be quite oversaturated. Those last 10 minutes truly left a delightful taste.
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As for the superficial aspects, the art style that the first six movies age is unique and unforgettable. The newer art style for Mirai Fukuin isn’t bad. After all, it stays consistent with what Fate/Zero established. But the older one just feels more fluid. It reflects the atmosphere and visuals very well. The animation, like a lot of shows adapted by ufotable, is great. The fights may not have a lot of magic shown but they’re still well-focused on the action happening. Character designs are very solid but the aesthetics of Shiki and Lio are fantastic. The OST is legendary and the 7th movie never misses on it. Like the art style, it reflects the designs and environment very nicely. Great character voice acting in Japanese as well. Although I wish there was an English dub for the whole series.
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Overall, Kara no Kyoukai always never disappoints me. The storytelling remains to be fantastic and so is the character writing. I know some of you may not like it (or the series as a whole) but I just enjoy the presentation of what the light and darkness mean in there. It’s confusing but the amount of depth in there really means a lot to my eyes. Kara no Kyoukai is one of my personal favorite animanga series and perhaps one of my overall favorite fictional series. Let me know what you think. Compliments and criticisms are always welcomed! Thank you for reading.
