Dreamscape Ascension

I was first attracted to this anime/movie series by it's title, which means "The Garden of Sinners". It's a very pretty title, yes. Before I go on, please ignore the fact that it's been a long time since this series ended - I just had time to watch it now, so it's useless to flame me for being late.

The story revolves around a girl named Ryougi Shiki, who is a kimono-clad girl with boots, a red biker's jacket with a fluffy collar and a dagger (this outfit alone made it all the more interesting). She is a female tsundere (look it up in tvtropes) and apparently has some kind of funky eyes (I forgot the name) that enables her to see the 'lines of death' - of which if she cuts will kill the living thing - which is why she claims she can kill anything.

She comes from a traditional family, where she actually had learned kendo and stuff. In her past, she has a split personality - both named Shiki but written in different characters - and the other 'Shiki' is one that knows only murder. When a series of murders start occuring around her hometown, she becomes a suspect, and Kokutou Mikiya, her classmate who has a crush on her, decides to investigate and prove her innocence.

The order of the movies is not chronological, because in the first movie, Commanding View - we're suddenly put into the lives of the three main characters, Shiki, Mikiya and Touko (Mikiya's boss, and also a magician) and as the story progresses, we figure out in bits and pieces about Shiki's past and how she met Mikiya and Touko - and they all piece together as I continue to watch the series of movies.

The artwork for the anime is very nice - not to the point that it's like Hellsing or something, but even though the drawing style is simple and their eyes are blank, the movies were animated well and the backgrounds were done superbly. The fighting scenes are awesome - I can't take my eyes off Shiki when she moves around with her dagger like it's no trouble at all.

As for music...the background sound is silent most of the time, and there's only music when there's fighting. During normal conversations there's no BGM - but I have to give credit to Yuki Kajiura (who's the composer, and also the composer for Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle), because when there is BGM it sounds awesome; and Kalafina, who sings for the openings and endings of all the movies (from their album 'Seventh Heaven', which I have).

The storyline is really good. I was drawn into the story from the first movie, and right until the end I was amazed at the twists and turns of the plot. There's too much spoiler to be spoiled, so I won't give any details, but in a way it reminds me a lot of Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (which I will review later) - with all the murder and magic. (Although Umineko is way more confusing)

When I saw the last movie I almost vomited (those who cannot take too much violence/blood or cannibalism please stay away from this anime), but I was so touched because throughout the series of movies, Mikiya remained faithful to Shiki - which is the tinge of romance that isn't too in-your-face but just enough to make you warm and fuzzy for a violent anime.

If I had to rate Kara no Kyoukai on a scale of 1 to 10, I'll give it an 8 - amazing plot, wonderful OST, beautiful drawings. It just lacked at the BGM part, and sometimes the story moves rather slowly.

Labels: Review