Straight off the bat -
Breather episode : Cute and light-hearted, almost as if preparing you for a soul-shatteringly traumatic finale.
Prostitution. Teenage pregnancy. Guilt. Suicide. The basis for what
was is Kara no Kyoukai chapter 6 you will… not get to see. Sadly so, this installment deviated from its original pretty greatly, dealing with drug abuse instead. That however isn’t exactly a problem as none of us can actually read the un-translated source and thinking back to an interview with its maker Kinoko Nasu when all of this still consisted of nothing more than concepts and drawing boards we really shouldn’t act all that surprised. Chapter 6 was always intended to act as relief from an otherwise darker tone. Azaka was mentioned to be the hardest character to cast in a choice between either cute or serious and the former was decided upon so as to compliment the intended mood and if for nothing else but that, it pretty much succeeded. From the openings self-introduction and upbeat classical tone all the way to that happily ever after ending Azaka stood center-stage (In both this anime adaptation and novel btw, simplified it is, completely different it is not).
Kara no Kyoukai, chapter 6, Oblivion Recorder :
To gasp the meaning behind the title you are going to have to look it up. Sole anime viewers are presented with bits and pieces, not enough to understand the whole by the end of this release. Nothing new for Nasu’s followers but for everyone else you’ll at least find relief in the fact that complete understanding’s not required for the sole purpose of stand-alone view. Character backgrounds have not only been altered, it’s been completely cut and relations gave way for simplicity. Those longing for that something more are going to miss it but those simply watching to see what the fuss is about won’t even notice.
In a nutshell, one of the students at Reien Girl’s Academy (the school Azaka attends) committed suicide by setting herself on fire, mumbling about fairies in midst of her depression before she did. Touko of course, dealing with supernatural cases, recognizes the fact that there’s more than meets the eye and so sends Shiki under pretense of being a transfer student to accompany Azaka and investigate the incident as only Shiki’s Mystic Eyes would be able to see the mythical beings. Tasked with this objective these two starts digging where they should not and in so doing quickly uncovers the facts behind this mystery. Sure this may sound interesting enough to make it worth a watch but plot aside the actual fan-pleaser here is nothing more than the forced interactions between these two characters, Azaka and Shiki. Albeit a bit exaggerated here and there it was really interesting to see nonetheless.
I shall remind you that even this simplified installment remains true to Kara no Kyoukai though so you are advised to pay it the attention it requires in order to piece everything together. I’ll touch on a few things here and there but I won’t be covering every detail as I think it’s easy enough to do.
Azaka Kokutou. A Magus in training, Azaka is naturally skilled in the magic of ignition. The glove she wears is made of Salamander skin, used to increase and decrease the potency of her spells. Speaking of spells it would also be good to note how it’s implemented in the Nasuverse. The stronger the spell, the longer the chant. An obvious problem in hostile situations, magicians thus train to greatly shorten their strongest spells. A prime example of someone who mastered this ability would be Cornelius Alba. In novel he was able to chant and repeat at leisure a single-word spell in his stand-off against Touko, the power of which rivaling Noble Phantasms. Keep this in mind when seeing Azaka cast and you’ll note she’s a skilled Magus indeed. You’ll see her using one single-word spell in this animated chapter, AzoLto, but she’s capable of two others as well. This adaptation also revealed her to have magic circuits, something left to speculation until now. In terms of strength Azaka’s specific type of magic outclasses her master, Touko.
Witty and not at all ashamed of her brother-complex (come on, this is from the producers of Eroge after all) fleshing out her character was a welcome change of pace. I’m glad we got to see her interacting with Shiki and I think the actual feelings between these two should now be pretty clear to everyone watching.
Her fight scene was a bit short but note too that it was even shorter in novel. Azaka is a schoolgirl, not a demon hunter, of course there’s only so much you can do with that. For what it’s worth its animation was stunning and just like chapter 5’s animated amazingly fast, trying to capture this was a pain.
Misaya Ouji. Oh how I love Kara no Kyoukai’s villains. Why? Because they’re not villains! First things first, there’s a lot you won’t know about her after seeing this chapter and a lot you probably want to. Misaya’s relation, objective and past was altered and in some aspects, completely cut to fit this adaptation. This series remained as true to its roots as possible until now so this came as a bit of a surprise indeed. Nevertheless, there aren’t exactly any plot holes when the credits roll, it’s just that, well, perhaps too much was left out.
Misaya’s tale is that of revenge. After her best friend Kaori committed suicide her shock and sadness turned to anger towards everyone who knew of Kaori’s problems yet did not lift a finger to help her. Of course, her hostility a front only to hide the guilt she felt for not being able to save someone closest to her either. Looking for answers she found and confronted the person directly responsible for her friend’s death, a teacher, Hideo Hayama. He was a drug addict and Kaori stumbled upon him on one of his highs one day. In quest to keep her quiet he forcefully drugged her, and thus so begun Kaori’s deterioration.
In their confrontation however, she accidently killed him. Out of her mind after having killed someone she sought help. The very first person she consulted however, Satsuki Kurogiri, just so happened to be the wrong one. Under his influence Misaya decided to erase Kaori’s shame from the memories of all those who knew. She used Hideo’s corpse as a familiar to summon and control the fairies which she would use to ultimately have her fellow students suffer Kaori’s exact same fate.
Anime vs novel :
- Hideo wasn’t a drug addict, he was a pimp. Being a prestigious, completely private school, students are not allowed to come and go as they please. Because many of them longed for yet never experienced a night on the town, Hideo exploited this fact and let them slip out on his watch in return for sexual favors. Blackmailing them to have them kicked out of the academy should they ever tell on him, the girls remained quiet.
- Kaori wasn’t drugged, she was raped after learning about these happenings. Forced into the same situation she was too ashamed to tell and because the other girls had much to lose should they be exposed, they bullied her instead of lending her a helping hand. To make matters worse, Kaori fell pregnant, and so decided to take her life.
- Misaya had a long-lost brother.
- Satsuki Kurogiri is hinted to be that brother.
Satsuki Kurogiri. After watching this chapter you’ll more than likely not have any idea who this man really is, and nor should you actually care. A renowned Magus by the name of God’s Word, Satsuki reached an ultimate objective being the only person alive able to speak the unified language. Designated to be sealed by the Mages Association so as to preserve his accomplishment he has been in hiding posing as a teacher, being at Reien Girl’s Academy for this installment. In every school he attends a student commits suicide, and Reien will be no exception.
Able to directly address the body bypassing all means of reasoning Satsuki is able to gaze into the listeners memories and place them under hypnosis. When a broken Misaya thus approached him for advice, he, to his amusement, decided to play her for a fool instead. Replacing the memory of her best friend’s death it was he who made the fairies, under his summon, seemingly follow her.
Playing pranks isn’t exactly how he passes his time though, Satsuki had a reason being here. Araya Souren asked him to regain the memory Shiki lost of the night SHIKI died. Of course, he’s here to lure Shiki and do just that and of course, Shiki’s not going to relive her life’s greatest tragedy without putting up a fight.
Anime vs novel :
- Satsuki was kidnapped by fairies as a child and lost his memories as result. It was then that he acquired the ability to control fairies and it was then that he started wandering in quest to regain his former self. His memories was not in actual fact lost to him, it’s just that he lost the ability to recognize it as his. It’s for this reason that he gazed into other people’s memories, looking for clues that will lead him to his own. He attempted to preserve the memories of all those he encountered as he felt people would not be complete once forgetful. Shiki of course disagreed with his reasoning, stating that some things are forgotten for a reason, and others you’re simply better off not knowing.
- Kaori was a Christian and as such suicide was not something she would easily consider. When she came to him in search of assistance after learning she’s pregnant, Satsuki gave her that little push she needed to take her all the way off the edge. Yes, he’s the actual person responsible for her death.
- Satsuki had a long-lost sister.
- Shiki didn’t kill him. After his confrontation with Shiki he went to his room. It is here where a student stabbed him.
- Misaya Ouji is hinted to be that student.
Oooh her magic circuit’s showing.
Azaka means “bright flower”. Get it? No I didn’t either...
And that’s all folks. For now. Not a bad way to waste an hour of your life but for the fans probably not the best of the series. Personally I think this is unmistakably Kara no Kyoukai yes, just not enough of it. Seeing the two hour finale’s just a few months away though I can happily view this for what it is. Again, it was a welcome change in pace.
Oh, and the booklet sold at chapter 7 screenings confirmed the epilogue, Kara no Kyoukai, will indeed be animated.
More on this next year.