KARA NO KYOUKAI

(REVIEW BY ROOPAYAN GHOSH)

Anime:- Kara no Kyoukai

No. of Episodes:- 7 movies+1 epilogue

Genre:- Supernatural/Thriller/Romance/Action

Rating:- Animation-9.4, Music-9.8,Story-8.9,Characters-9.2,Enjoyment-9.6(46.9/50)

(The decimal points are due to averaging out from seven movies. To know which movie is best and all read on)

This is probably one of the most philosophical works I have seen in an anime. And unlike Fate/Zero for which people complain it got confused midway to whether it wanted to be a philosophical or action anime, this had no intentions of being an action anime. It focuses on the supernatural and human psychology and openly brings out a lot of deep philosophy about various not-so-mundane aspects of human life.

The animation was one of the best I have seen. It peaked in the middle, movie 5 in which the fluidity of the action scenes reminded me of the well known “Unlimited Budget Works” anime airing fall 2014. The drawing of the characters are typical type-moon, the use of light and shadow also typical of the studio and it maintains a standard level throughout. The camera angles(if you can call them that), the choreography of the fight scenes are absolutely spot on. And well, about the music, honestly I have nothing to say. Yuki Kaijura at her very best. Movie 3-5 probably has the best soundtracks I have heard in anime, and keep on putting them in a loop and hearing them all day. The story is brilliant no doubt, but the layout is such that it will confuse people. The chronological order of events and the order of episodes do match. The order of events is roughly, 2,7,3,1,4,5,6, if I recall correctly and 5 being the most epic movie I have seen with almost a free human psychology lesson, novel-esque detective and supernatural elements and unbelievable music and fight scenes, it becomes a series that peaked in the middle. That is until you see the epilogue which is a “boring” half-hour talk on the origin of human character. Personally, I believe the epilogue of this series is one of the best works of the anime world with an entire episode built on nothing but the conversation between two persons. The characters are pretty well developed two. The female protagonist with all her faults is one of the most liked characters of mine. However I would have loved a bit more romantic development of the main male character.  And hell, my exams went bad because I watched this movie series, but it was almost an epic journey to rediscover what is “self” and what is the “other”, why do humans behave the way they do and so on and so I dont really regret it.

Verdict:- Be prepared for a lot of dialogues, but if you can get through them you are in for the ride of your life. Its got amazing action, it is thought provoking, it is exciting and it has Yuki Kaijura! What more do you want when you choose an anime. What are you waiting for? Jump in!