Kara no Kyoukai Movie 7: Satsujin Kousatsu (Go)

In February 1999, a string of murders has Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou on edge. These crimes share a disturbing resemblance to a similar set of homicides from 1995, when Shiki and Mikiya first met, and awaken a dark, murderous desire that has laid dormant within Shiki's soul ever since then.

With Shiki under suspicion due to her involvement in the past killings and supposed resemblance to the killer, she and Mikiya set out to find the true perpetrator. In the midst of their separate investigations, Mikiya grows increasingly concerned with Shiki's well-being and hurries to find the one responsible in order to protect Shiki from her own impulses. With the lead he receives from his cousin, police investigator Daisuke Akimi, Mikiya is led into the underbelly of Mifune City, as the salvation of Shiki's soul lies in his determination to prove her innocence once and for all.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ryougi, Shiki Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Kokutou, Mikiya Main

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Shirazumi, Lio Main

Hoshi, Souichirou Japanese

Aozaki, Touko Supporting

Honda, Takako Japanese

Kokutou, Azaka Supporting

Fujimura, Ayumi Japanese

Araya, Souren Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Gakuto Supporting

Takahashi, Kenji Japanese

Hotaruzuka, Otoko Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Akimi, Daisuke Supporting

Touchi, Hiroki Japanese

Iwakami, Atsuhiro Producer

Kondou, Hikaru Producer

Takizawa, Shinsuke Director

Iwanami, Yoshikazu Sound Director

Reviews

Dec 14, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

Kara no Kyoukai review Part 8.

There's an old aphorism about saving the best till last, and Kara no Kyoukai ~The Garden of Sinners~ has done just that.

The seventh and final movie in the franchise doesn't simply follow the events of the second movie, but utilises threads from several previous stories to weave an interesting, and sometimes disturbing, tale of obsession. The second part of Satsujin Kousatsu (Murder Speculation), takes place in February 1999, one month after Oblivion Recording, and more than three years after the events in the second movie.

This time around it seems the serial killer from part one is back, and as the ... bodies are found one by one, Mikiya Kokuto searches for answers as he continues to believe Ryougi Shiki was not responsible for previous set of murders, and that she is innocent of the crimes being commited now. Meanwhile, Shiki prowls the dark alleys night after night ...

One thing that really sets this movie apart from the rest of the series is that the plot is much tighter and more flowing than in most of the previous outings. There is also a conscious effort to tie up some of the loose ends left over the course of the series, and while there are still several unanswered questions, the second part of Satsujin Kousatsu does manage to offer some catharsis about Shiki and Kokuto's relationship.

That said, the writing isn't perfect. There are still some plot points that remain unresolved, and while they may not have a major impact on the narrative per se, they do leave one feeling that the overall storyline from the whole series is a little incomplete. In addition to this the dialogue suffers from an abundance of intelligence as every character can philosophise their actions in some manner. The upshot of this is that the movie can sometimes seem condescending or patronizing, and even though this questionable arrogance may be unintentional, the simple fact is that viewers may find themselves wanting to punch the screen from time to time.

While the writing may not be up to standard, the same can't be said of the visuals. Ufotable have, once again, pulled out all the stop for this finale, and it shows. The characters move with an animal grace that is rare to see, and the overall animation is stunning in its quality and choreography. The opening credit sequence is particularly noteworthy as it shows great imagination, as well as some stunning techniques that will hopefully appear in more anime. As for the movie proper, there are some fantastic lighting effects throughout which add a more ominous atmosphere to much of the story, especially when used alongside the often dark, dank backgrounds and settings. That said, there are occasions where the lighting is a little off (for example, characters are easily distinguishable in areas where there is no readily available light source), however this is a minor gripe as the majority of the movie is the most atmospheric and well animated episode in the franchise.

Sound is another area where the movie excels, although there are admittedly a few minor niggles here and there. The cast are at their best in this episode, and their experience with the characters, especially Kokuto (Suzumura Kenichi), and Shiki (Sakamoto Maaya), really does shine through. The performances of the seiyuu literally ooze quality, and while there is a penchant for philosophical monologuing at times, these are delivered with aplomb.

In terms of effects Satsujin Kousatsu Part 2 might arguably be the best in the series. Each sound is clear and distinguishable, even when the habitual cacophony occurs during heavy action sequences, and once again the franchise proves that it can deliver very high production values.

The real triumph though, is the music.

In the simplest terms this movie a definite contender for "best anime choreography of the decade" as it features some of the most breathtaking melding of animation and music to be found in the medium, and the choice of tracks is nothing short of inspired. The opening sequence is a choral, hymn-like track which perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the movie, while the end theme, a bittersweet ballad, works very well with the movie's finale. Where Satsujin Kousatsu Part 2 really shines though, is in the application of its thematic music. The tracks on offer have a generally dark feel to them (this isn't really a "nice" story after all), but added to that are visuals that have not only been timed extremely well, but feature some excellent animation, stunning set designs, and superb camera angles.

One of the issues that has plagued the Kara no Kyoukai franchise from the outset is that the characters are often underdeveloped, and while certain events over the course of the series provide opportunities for growth, these chances are all too often overlooked. That said, there is some development to be had, it's just unfortunate that the lion's share of it only occurs in a few movies, and this is one of them. It's the introduction of Shirazumi Lio that changes the dynamics of not only the story, but also the relationship between Kokuto and Shiki. He is the one thing that forces the pair to grow as characters, and his presence in the movie casts a pall over every story in the franchise.

Confused? I'll elaborate then.

Kara no Kyoukai has made the effort to portray Souren Araya as the main "bad guy", but while his goals may be the drivers for many of the events over the course of the series, he never affected Kokuto and Shiki in the way that Lio does. It's his formation of a very disturbed "menage-a-trois" that causes Kokuto to "get off his backside" for once, and pushes Shiki to the edge of reason. Lio is also noteworthy for the surprising amount of characterisation that has gone into his creation. He is a complete persona from start to finish, and while there is virtually no development on his part, he honestly doesn't need it.

To be perfectly frank, I found this to be the best installment in the series, and while it is somewhat more graphic than other episodes, this only serves to improve one's understanding of the characters and events (as opposed to simply being graphic in order to be "cool"). A case in point is one particular interaction between Lio and Shiki, which while being rather sexually charged, is more reminiscent of a child pulling the wings off a fly. It's this emphasis on improving the viewer's understanding of the characters that really sets the movie apart, especially as this is what has been lacking for most of the series.

If you're a fan of franchise, or of TYPE-MOON, then Satsujin Kousatsu Part 2 is a movie that you should definitely watch. As a standalone it holds its own against many other releases, but when the series is taken as a whole the movie is raised to a new level. That said, in order to fully appreciate the difference it's best to watch the rest of the series first, as while each episode functions as an autonomous tale, this particular film has been designed to convey an ending.

Kara no Kyoukai may not be to everyone's tastes, but whether you like it or not the one undeniable fact is that the franchise makes a great advertisement for the potential inherent in the anime industry, and given some recent releases like Break Blade, it seem like someone was paying attention.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Feb 17, 2010

ShakoraDrake

Mixed Feelings

I usually don't feel compelled to review animes. I watched the entire "Garden of sinners" series of films and would give all of them a collective grade of 8 if I was forced to. But after watching the seventh film, seeing nothing but rave reviews all over the web saying this is the best of the bunch, I felt I had to say something.

*slight spoilers ahead*

This film had some good points (the art for example, which has been a consistent highlight throughout all of the films) but it's heavily outweighed by the low points in the execution of the movie's story.

For one, ... it ran an hour too long. The film is a bulky two hours I felt was mostly filler, and definitely could of been condensed. It seemed like the director and writer made this film way too long to make up for the long wait but it was completely unnecessary.

That being said, I did enjoy the first part of the film. It's starts off very promising with a suspenseful murder-mystery sort of vibe that's been prevalent with all the films. Shiki's back story is finally fleshed out a little more which was nice, though you have to have a good memory to catch everything. (Lots of references to the past films, to be expected.)

Where the movie really lost points for me was the main theme of the film; the idea that Shiki has always had this latent desire to kill and Kokuto's argument that murder is never justified. I agreed with Kokuto and the movie argues very well throughout that killing means killing a part of yourself too. This was a recurrent theme throughout the films and they had me believing it, which was why the ending was such a supreme disappointment for me. The film seemed to contradict and ignore it's own argument for the sake of a "happy" ending and I felt a little cheated by it. Where are the consequences of murder they kept talking about? the loss?

So, if you liked the other films then you'll get a lot of the same. The tone, characters and artwork are all familiar and are certainly worth a look if only to know how the series ends. But this film is a prime example of a story that was structured with a very clear ideal in mind, only to chuck it out the window for no reason at all. If your a fan of good, consistent writing like me, you'll be disappointed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 18, 2018

ArunJ

Not Recommended

Well... this is the first time I've deviated so much from the consensus. I really wanted to like this movie, but unfortunately I just wasn't able to be entertained. I watched all seven movies on Amazon Prime video,and I liked every single entry except this one.

The major problems that I had with this movie have to do with the thoroughly annoying and uninteresting villain, the forced melodrama, and some plot holes.

The villain in this movie is introduced fairly early on relative to the previous movies in the series. However, this villain is also the least interesting villain in the entire series - which is saying ... a lot since some of the previous movies had some really dull antagonists. His intentions and motivations are all in your face and incredibly cliche and his only purpose in this movie was to force a moral quandary onto Shiki. Additionally, his over the top personality, which consists of mainly jumping around like a god damn monkey, screaming, and acting like a maniacal pervert, got old real quick.

Additionally the philosophy aspect really doesn't add much to the story compared to the previous films. In this story it mainly has to do with Kokutou's no kill rule, which I can respect. But then they add in all this fluff where Shiki feels oh so lonely, or that she loves Kokutou and she doesn't want to hurt him ... blah blah blah. In the end there's just so much of it that it just comes off as feeling forced.

Additionally there was one major plot hole that kind of set me off. It has to do with a scene where Kokutou is an abandoned ware house towards the end of the film. Here it just felt like the creators didn't have the balls to complete the story with what should have been the natural progression (those of you who have already seen the movie probably know what I'm talking about). Additionally there were some other minor problems with previous antagonists being reintroduced into the story without any real insight into their significance in the plot line. Honestly, this didn't bother me too much. Also I didn't like the whole drugs subplot.

There were some good things as well, like the animation and the soundtrack, but as a whole, the negatives outweigh the positives by a large margin.

This is my first real review, so I know it's kind of bad and all over the place. I'll just add that if you liked the movie, then that's cool too. I'm not here to hate on anyone, I just wanted to add my own two cents into the mix. Thanks for reading!

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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