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In the 6th movie, Ufotable has taken Kara no Kyoukai to a particularly awful level. Frankly, nothing other than the nice effects of the anime makes it alright.

I'll start with the good news...
The art and sound direction in Boukyaku Rokuon (Oblivion Recording) are both very nice. If you've seen some of the earlier installments, you'll know how impressive they are. If you have not, well, they are refined and a step above most anime MOVIES (which is a step above anime shows).

Unfortunately, the plot does not shine quite as nicely as the effects. This one focuses primarily on the relationship between Shiki and Azaka ... (a side character in the series) and they attend an all-girls school to investigate the disappearance of a student. I'll take two positions in describing the plot depending on whether you have seen the series or not.

If you have, you'll be accustomed to and expecting a dark story that includes a lot of violence and... harsh themes. If you like the series because of that, you won't really find the same kind of enjoyment. The plot seems "girlier" and a few characters feel out of place in the Kara no Kyoukai world. That said, this movie is quite important in fleshing out some of the older characters as it delves into more of their histories and lifestyles so you might want to watch this just for that knowledge. However, the movie's plot isn't essential to the rest of the series, as it seems to be almost a filler. The way it expands on the magical world of Kara no Kyoukai can lead to a better understanding of the series (mainly in technical aspects, like how people attain magical powers and whatnot) but some of it seems rather inconsistent and random. Thus, I think it IS worth watching to know a little more about the characters, but be prepared...

If you have not seen the series and are just thinking about this movie in particular, I can understand how you may be drawn in. If you like things of the occult detective genre that centers around female characters, this movie would be a pretty good experience for you. However, just know that you might get confused by a lot of stuff that goes on, especially between other characters from the series that don't do much in this movie. The pacing of the story is fairly well done and will keep you interested, but the overall plot is decent at best.

Conclusion: You'll probably like this more if the dark nature of the series is not something you are interested in. Don't get me wrong, as this movie isn't completely... uplifting. Some mysterious elements were really good, but it could have been done better.

And before you suspect me about the "low" grade I gave this movie, a 5 means mediocre on MAL standards. Is it worth watching? Yes. Will it make it to the top of your list? Most likely not.

One of the best anime in the present era.

This is literally a piece of art, both in a literary and visual sense. Since the aesthetic effects are easier to describe, I'll start there. The art and sound follow a semi-traditional Japanese style, but with modern twists here and there. The art makes Mononoke something distinctly different from all the other anime in the world (except the last bit of Ayakashi, I suppose). It also really helps bring out the incredibly high level of disturbance that defines the plot of Mononoke.

The story of Mononoke is about a mysterious medicine seller with crazy but limited powers who ... goes around and slays demons known as Mononoke or Ayakashi. In order to do so, he must find the Form, Truth, and Regret of the monster (a very unique idea, in my opinion).

There are five or so plots, each about 2-3 episodes each, totaling to 12 episodes of Mononoke. What makes the story amazing also brings it down, though. The tales are very, very confusing, bringing the mood of the anime to an almost surreal sense. In fact, the more you think about it, the less answers you'll find. I don't know if what the makers have done is justified by "artistic license", because it frankly is very hard to follow and doesn't make much sense. That being said, the story also makes you think very hard to find some well-hidden symbolism, so it's definitely not a passive anime that you can just watch and be done with.

Overall, the story is really cool but confusing, the art and sound are unique and well done, and the medicine seller and his abilities are a praiseworthy concept. This anime brings a new definition to an old genre (horror) and I recommend that you go and see why that is.

What a movie. Mujun Rasen (or Paradox Spiral) is definitely one of the best out there... somewhere.

I saw this movie on the Top Anime List section of this site, and I read the preview and it looked somewhat interesting. However, I was apprehensive in watching it immediately simply because it is the fifth movie in the series. Once I watched it, though, I found that it really wasn't completely necessary to watch the previous four. Mujun Rasen, although part of the Kara no Kyoukai series, can definitely stand alone as an amazing movie. However, you might want to watch the others in order to learn ... more about the characters and form different opinions of the story than you otherwise would.

The plot of Mujun Rasen takes place slightly earlier than some of the previous installments. It centers around the main character, Ryougi Shiki, and some of her... acquaintances. The plot is nowhere near simple. Watching only to see cool fight scenes will make you bored. However, if you are willing to look at it from a more thoughtful perspective (as you should, assuming you're old enough), you'll see many aspects of the anime that makes it distinct from others. The pacing of the story is also great, and the way they tell it makes up for what some may call trite. Unfortunately, it seemed that some scenes were added just to fill in the two hours of the movie, but these hardly make a difference. All in all, the story was fantastically well done and thought-provoking.

Art and sound are very nice. Animations are beautiful and smooth. The settings look incredibly detailed and match well with the "mood" of each scene. The sound further contributes to this effect. Definitely don't watch this without sound.

The one thing that bothered me about this movie, ironically, were the characters. Some of them were rather unexciting and others just cliche. Of course, they added to the overall temperament of the anime (serious and frightening, that is) so it's not so bad. This flaw is also covered up by the strange structure of the complex story. If you watch the whole series though, you'll see that the characters are much more developed than they are in Mujun Rasen.

Overall, the movie had a great plot, great aesthetic effects, and mediocre character development. Definitely worth watching, although difficult to understand. I would actually recommend that you watch this twice.

=Dino