Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral is my favorite movie. Sure, maybe it objectively has flaws- but if I had two hours to live, this would be what I'd spend it on. The Garden of Sinners means something to me personally, and this movie is pretty damn good proof why. I've seen it three times now, and only on this most recent re-watch has everything properly hit me. I've now read part of the Light Novel of this movie and Witch on the Holy Night, and it's boosted the experience of this movie in particular for me.
-Shiki Ryougi is my favorite character period, and this movie is probably the reason why. In retrospect, she's got the most busted ability in Type-Moon- aside from maybe Arcueid- but her fight scenes are always framed with so much tension and excitement. Not only that, but this movie also shows her at her most vulnerable (Until movie 7, at least) and it puts into perspective how much she cares about Mikiya. Maya Sakamao is great as always, and while she's missing for a chunk of the movie, she puts in the damn leg work- massive respect to both the actress and character.
-Mikiya Koktou is... Mikiya. He's too normal for his best friend to be connected to the Root itself, his mentor is one of the strongest mages in existence, his sister is a mage- and yet he's just his honest self. He's like a more realistic version of Soujyurou, and it shows. Not only that, when I first watched this movie, I was also taking driving training, and his curb-hitting made that annoying part of my life a bit brighter.
-Touko Aozaki shines in this movie- and after reading Mahoyo, it really puts into perspective how outclassed everyone around her is. She feels like a real menace- and after finding out just why she was so mad about being the 'Disgraced Scarlet,' I couldn't help but enjoy how satisfying her victory was- even if the puppet paradox didn't make sense on the first watch-through, it fully worked knowing what she's capable of in other Nasuverse properties.
-Tomoe Enjou is only in this movie, but he makes an impact. I honestly prefer his movie version over his Light Novel version- he's less of a creep, and is way easier to empathize with early on- despite his backstory being revealed later on. He's lost, lonely, and contemplating his own existence- which is only worsened by the end of the movie. Yet by the time it's over, 'I existed here' is enough, and for some reason, that made me feel alive- just like he did. There doesn't need to be some grandiose reason- sometimes, being alive is enough. And that helped me through a very rough part of my life- and as I head into a rougher part, it will continue to save me time and time again.
-Souren Araya is not Nasu's greatest written antagonist- I still may prefer Roa, Kirei, and Gil- but that doesn't detract from how frankly terrifying he is. How he's not a dead apostle confuses me- and the fact that he came up with a way to throw off the Counter-Force- something Aoko couldn't in Mahoyo- shows he's not a slacker. Jouji Nakata knocked it out of the park with this one- he's great as Kirei and Alucard, but this performance has specific chilling qualities.
-Cornelius Alba is the weak point to me. I just don't like him very much- intenional, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. He's like a strangely toned-down version of Tsukihime's SHIKI in my opinion. Still more memorable thanks to his unique design, sheer lunacy, and general off-putting nature than most villains I could name off the top of my head.
-I only truly appreciated the plot on this third watch-through. I had only seen Fate stuff when I first watched this movie, so knowing what I do now really enhanced the experience. The tie-ins to Tsukihime and Mahoyo make this a festival of easter eggs that don't break continuity at all.
All in all, while this movie has flaws, I think it's perfect- to me. The plot is batshit if you don't know what's happening, but if you do, it's a damn good time. It put across the message of the first KnK movie better than it ever did- Life may not be perfect, but it's yours. You're alive, and that's special. Thank you, Paradox Spiral. I'll continue my journey to the Root with this message in my mind: I existed here. And that's incredible. As the credits song ends, the final message remains:
Esta Vita.
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