Ever since the start of Kara no Kyoukai, it was a tale of Shiki being trapped in various figurative forms of prison with the help of Mikiya’s pacifistic investigation. We’ve been through 7 chapters solving murder incidents and puzzles made of black magic. After that twisted journey, not only did we abolish the invasion of the magus unleashed by Araya but we finally gave Shiki the freedom she wanted despite her failure we see in Chapter 7. This chapter is where we meet her light. This is the final chapter of this series. …but also the most complicated and/or controversial one at that and I’d imagine it would be very difficult for me to piece my thoughts on it together. Despite being the last chapter, this is the biggest hit-or-miss Kara no Kyoukai has offered. On one hand, it does wrap everything up as it’s the introduction of Void, the third personality of Shiki which is unleashed after slaughtering every evil that is sighted around her surroundings. But on the other hand, the story presentation is very complicated.
You either like or hate it depending on your personal view, whether you’re a fan of the Kara no Kyoukai series or not. For me, personally, I wasn’t so sure how I would feel about it and that is before I get into it. Based on the summary of it, I was kind of expecting that it would be this series’ infodump saved for the end. But after taking a closer look at it, I’m starting to like it a lot more. In fact, this might arguably be the best chapter this series has ever created right after Chapter 7. There’s a lot of personality and soul put together in this quote-unquote “epilogue” than one meets the eye. Hell, contrary to what others would say, this isn’t really an epilogue all things considered. It’s more of a true ending since Shiki doesn’t really show her full happiness until she disintegrates every evil she sees on sight.
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If you start Chapter 2 through a chronological watch order of the series, the snowy road right from the start was where Shiki and Mikiya met for the first time. Since then, Mikiya studied the beauty and mystery of Shiki while Shiki herself studied the faults and twists the world had. Their results have been fulfilled regardless of their mistakes throughout and here, this is where they reunite on the same road we see right from the start. From here, they start talking about the philosophies and connections between the surrealistic reality and Shiki’s existence. Like I said, this is really hard for me to talk about. Despite its short runtime, there are a lot of things to pay attention to. This movie shows how Shiki ventures throughout the world and how she studies every single mystery and ideal involved. Not to mention, all of this also relates to the relationship between Shiki and Mikiya. Their relationship, for the most part, was very non-linear. They are love couples but they also point out their characteristics, all while they find out figurative patterns in what scenario they’re in.
After some rethinking, I think I finally found my personal answers. Part of why this is a brilliant addition to Kara no Kyoukai comes down to recapping not only the features and flaws of the magic invading the series but also the personal details of Shiki. This does a fantastic job of recognizing the philosophical identity of the series by having Shiki explain and visualize every encounter she met when she ventured around. She points out how the black magic caused by Araya swarmed around with visceral questions as well as putting her in various tests regarding her characteristics and abilities. Alongside those things, she herself is an enigmatic figure in the sense that she learned a lot about developing her personality to begin with. Based on my observation throughout the whole series, she’s probably the most skilled in that department for better or worse. The reason that is is how hesitant she can be when it comes to developing magic.
The fact that Shiki had issues when she learned all of this was what caught Araya’s attention in the first place and this perfectly communicated with his tragic and twisted past and ideals. If you think about it, Shiki viewed death as something valuable while Araya is the opposite. Void was actually created prior to this chapter but because of the black magic surrounding the world, it remained hidden until everything was cleansed. Speaking of, let’s talk about Void. The reason why Void was created in the first place is because it represents what Shiki really aims for: personal happiness. It embodies what Shiki wants throughout her entire life. This part is handled extremely well because not only does saving this element for the very last makes so much sense but it gives off a very bittersweet and cathartic impression of how Shiki was holding her light back until she achieved her freedom. It also conveys the dynamics between Shiki and Mikiya greatly, especially when considering the fact that Mikiya was studying what Shiki was capable of.
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And that’s it. I don’t think there’s much for me to say about it since it’s half an hour. Honestly, say what you want about this chapter. The animation may have dipped slightly compared to the first 7 chapters but at that point, I don’t care. This isn’t an epilogue but more of an ending and what a phenomenal ending it is. It quietly yet poetically celebrates the freedom of Shiki and Mikiya and represents their conclusions very well. It may not be the most exciting thing ever but I don’t think it has to be. What matters more is how it handles its context and again, that context is truly right on the spot. So in my opinion, not only is it a fantastic ending but it’s arguably the best ending in the entire industry.
