CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

So with the final movie coming out in less than a week, I thought it'd be a good time to introduce (and remind those of you who already know about)



Overlooking View
Kara no Kyoukai - The Garden of Sinners is a novel by Nasu Kinoko, the author of the visual novels Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night, the anime adaptations of which you might be familiar with. There are some connections between the series, some of which might seem a little too familiar. This is because it's sort of the prototype for Tsukihime. Kara no Kyoukai is about humans with special powers and follows Ryougi Shiki (voiced by Maaya Sakamoto), a girl with two personalities whose eyes can see the death of everything in existence and kill it by destroying its origin, as she becomes involved in a series of strange deaths.
Thanatos



A Study in Murder (Zen)
The novel is being adapted into a series of anime movies by ufotable. Each movie corresponds to one chapter in the novel and averages at about an hour each. The movies have received theatrical releases in Japan, with the last one having opened in August. So far, the only way to watch these is to either live in Japan or wait for subs of the DVDs. No, as amazing as the series is, it has not been licensed.
...and nothing heart



Remaining Sense of Pain
So what is so amazing about these movies? Well, in a word, everything. The art and animation are stunning. The shots of the city and the backgrounds and the action scenes are all ridiculously detailed. The music, composed by Yuki Kajiura, is fantastic and the theme songs, performed by Kalafina, are great. The voice cast is also great. I also happen to really like Maaya Sakamoto, so maybe you shouldn't take my word for it. Ignoring everything else, the quality of the production alone makes this worth watching. It's easily one of the best looking and sounding movies in recent years.
every cry, never life



The Hollow Shrine
How about the story? You may remember the Tsukihime and Fate/stay night anime adaptations and are wary of another TYPE-MOON production. I'm glad to say that the problems stemming from those were mostly because of its visual novel narrative structure. That's not to say that the movies aren't confusing, otherwise it wouldn't be a Kinoko Nasu work, would it?
garan-no-dou



Paradox Spiral
Okay, so what about the story? Now that I've seen most of the movies, I can say that yes, the beginning is confusing. And I can say that yes, there is a definite overarching story to the seemingly disconnected chapters. Yes, the story has a really strange structure, which hops back and forth between time. It really isn't until the fourth movie (chapter) where you have enough information to able to put things together.
Paradox Paradigm



Oblivion Recorder
If you enjoy a deep and dark story that forces you to sort things out, this is for you. If you like pretty visuals and beautifully choreographed fight scenes and excellent music and acting in your anime, this is for you. If you're a fan of TYPE-MOON and you are tired of seeing your favourite works destroyed, this is for you.
Fairy Tale



A Study in Murder (Go)
Go watch it tell us how great it was.
...not nothing heart

These movies are pretty much close to the top of my list of things to watch.

So it's over.

I remember making a thread about Kara no Kyoukai almost a year ago. One of the main criticisms back then was that the way the plot was arranged was very confusing, especially with months in between movies and each chapter taking place out of order. Well, I guess it is confusing, especially if you only watch one or two.

Now that the entire thing is out and finished, I can say that although the way the plot is arranged forces you to think about when things are taking place, the overarching plot will become obvious. Recently rewatching the first few movies with my friends who were watching it for the first time, there's tons of foreshadowing and little details that I didn't pick up on the first time around. The story is very well thought out once you have the entire thing and look back at it.

As for the seventh movie itself? Well, you get tons of answers and a great close to a great series. As usual, fantastic production and all the things that are great about the first six movies. If you were holding off until the end so that you could get through it without wait and confusion, today's the day. Get on it.

This movie series has me pretty interested... and the deep confusing-at-first chronology doesn't bother me... I loved Baccano and RahXephon to death. But how much of a bloodfest should I be expecting?

A lot of it is dialogue, but yes, when there is murderin' (which is actually one of the central themes of the story) going on, the violence is not glossed over.

I haven't watched 7 yet but I guess 5 was the bloodiest.

I cringe everytime that eye thing happens.

Watched it last night... man... so beautifully drawn! I think my eyes would melt if I ever saw this on blu-ray!

These look great, but I can't seem to find them via my usual resources. Am I overlooking the obvious? Where can I find them?

Thought I'd dig this back up.

I finally got around to watching the first movie and, while confusing, I thought it was amazing. The sound quality and animation.. anime movies are really taking a step up. Eva 1.0 absolutely amazed me with its animation and almost every scene in Kara No Kyoukai made me hate that I had to blink.

The OST composed by Yuki Kajiura no less says enough. She's done some amazing work and I'm a personal fan of hers but I think this is her best work yet IMO.

As far as story, it's weird and I'm not trying to figure out every little thing. It's not just laying it out in front of you, it's giving you bits and pieces to keep you wondering. I love this form of story telling. Sit there and soak it in like a sponge is all I can do.

I am watching the rest of this series now.

Yeah, it's Kara no Kyoukai that introduced me to Yuki Kajiura. Over the course of watching the movies, I've become a pretty big fan of Kalafina, the group that she started just for doing vocal themes for KnK.

There is some amazing stuff in these movies and I'm sure your mind will be blown well before you reach the end of movie seven.

I've been rewatching all the movies so I can see the seventh. Soooo excited!

I hate skipping something but would it be okay to skip the 6th movie? Yeah, it's great animation-wise but it's putting me to sleep. Will I miss anything too important?

Rest of the series up to that? Absolutely fricking amazing. I think the 3rd is my fave but 5 was pretty darn epic and confusing though. These have become an instant fave.

Too important? No. But you probably should still watch it, it's less than an hour long and it has a pretty good fight scene. Also, character development!

blkmage (post: 1388594) wrote:Too important? No. But you probably should still watch it, it's less than an hour long and it has a pretty good fight scene. Also, character development!

That girl annoys me so much I don't really care if she gets any development besides dying. :V

I'll probably still watch it anyway.

Well, yeah, the main focus is on Azaka and her going teehee and prancing around the school, but there's some Mikiya and Shiki stuff in there too. There might be a bit of Touko in there too, but I don't remember.

Oh right, I remember now. The big thing was that Shiki gets her memory restored in the sixth movie, which sets things up for the seventh movie.

blkmage (post: 1388932) wrote:Well, yeah, the main focus is on Azaka and her going teehee and prancing around the school, but there's some Mikiya and Shiki stuff in there too. There might be a bit of Touko in there too, but I don't remember.

Oh right, I remember now. The big thing was that Shiki gets her memory restored in the sixth movie, which sets things up for the seventh movie.

Yeah Shiki's in there but she hardly does anything as far as I've seen. :c

FFFFFFFFF. Fiiiien, I'll watch it.

One thing I did like is the *certain someone* popping up for a second in there. I thought that was sweet.

Kalafina's style is so unique I recognized them immediately from Sora no Woto's OP by the way they sang a single word.

It's sang the exact same way in, dare I say, ALL of their songs.

Man I wish the epilogue wants to come out already.