Romance

Alternate Titles: Beyond the Boundary

Plot:

Akihito Kanbara is a seemingly normal high school student, except for he belongs to a whole other world.  Kanbara is a part of the world of Yomu and Spirits, maintained by people who are “spirit world warriors,” those who possess special abilities to fight against spirits gone awry.  Kanbara is kept under close watch by the local warriors as a half-yomu with the ability to heal so quickly it renders him immortal.  He maintains a peaceful coexistence until he is walking home one day and sees a girl at his school about to commit suicide by jumping off a roof.  As he stops her, she stabs a sword made of her own blood through him.  She uses him as killing practice for her spirit world attempts, but things quickly change between them.

Source:

Originally based off a 3 volume and currently ongoing light novel series started in 2012.

Animation:

The animation was done by Kyoto Animation they did work on other visually impressive shows such as Air, Clannad, K-On and a ton more.

Kyoukai is along the same lines of visual dominance.  Having won best animation in the 2013 Anime Oscars it is a mix of style, fluid movement, amazing fight scenes and beautiful colors.  It looks expensive and that makes the whole thing amazingly easy to watch.

Music: 

The music was not of a caliber that would demand a nomination in the anime oscars.  But, if you listen through the OST there are definitely a number of gems there that helps make the anime shine.  Intense moments are made that much more intense by the soundtrack that fits each scene well.

Review:

Kyoukai no Kanata is a show that I think loses people early-on because of it’s moe characters and the main character being a self-professed “megane-ist” (Or glasses feddish person).  Despite the high-paced action beats, interesting characters, and teasing foreshadowing you get in the first three or so episodes those points are enough to make any serious anime viewer pause.  It was enough that, despite my better instinct, I gave into and did not pass this show for our group-reviews on the season it came out.  But, because of this show’s strong other elements I ended up watching it on my own.  And, I am very glad I did.

Let me get it out of the way.  Like most anime, it presents what it is and what it has right off the bat.  The main character loves girls in glasses and a counter-part character has a ‘little sister complex.’  The main character’s mom sends letters where she’s dressed as a hot catgirl and there’s one episode where the show is on crack and for some reason they all became pop idols (I’m thinking more licencing and needing an excuse to use said song in an episode) and that episode actually made me laugh like mad.

Sounds bad, right?

All that stuff is literally the tip of auxiliary when it comes to Kyoukai no Kanata.  The show almost laughs at itself for the troupes used and they take up maybe a cumulative hour and a half over the whole show.  The show is not about moe-blob or cliche laughs.  It will focus very clearly on its own drama and sometimes gritty nature of what happens.

In the first arc everything is about the two main characters, Mirai Kuriyama and Kanbara.  Kuriyama is a spirit world warrior in training, coming from a clan of people with the cursed ability to manipulate their own blood.  She is the last living member of this clan and as a result automatically draws an interest from the local society for warriors.  This arc both gains momentum and then end with a particularly strong Yomu coming through town.  This causes the characters to both reveal things about them and their past which brings them closer in ways that were not expected in the slightest.  The whole first arc has the feeling of being really predictable, and then the story becomes something better that you weren’t really expecting.

When a yomu is defeated it drops a spirit stone which can then be exchanged at special shops for money, this is how spirit world warriors make their living.  One such shop is actually managed by a yomu and this serves to show that not all yomu are at odds with humans.

The next arc to occur starts with the little sister of Mirai’s friend who was killed by a particularly strong yomu in their childhood, one which was seemingly defeated in the first arc.  The ultimate ‘bad guy’ remains ambiguous and vague though we definitely see someone pulling the strings.  As the little sister is focused on becoming stronger to extract some sort of revenge or repentance on Mirai for her sister’s death there is a strange phenomena about to come through the area.

This phenomena is known as ‘beyond the boundary’ a time in which yomu are drastically weakened and Spirit world warriors have the ability to take down yomu that they wouldn’t be able to before.  Naturally, Kanbara, being half yomu will be affected and no one knows exactly how.  As the story progresses through here we begin to see secrets and previous unknowns brought to light that affects both main characters and their relationship with one another.

That’s one thing that the anime does incredibly well.  The relationship between the two main characters.  While this is a supernatural action show the anime has a clear focus on the relationship – and romance – that develops between our two leads.  This anime is carried just as much on the supernatural and action as it is carried on the two people who are brought together in the whirlwind of everything that is happening around them.

The largest problem this series faces is the ending.  The anime is unexpectedly ambitious and you realize it halfway through.  Perhaps it’s a product of having a large breath of source material in the light novels or a mistake in adaptation, but the ending is incredibly difficult to follow.  With all that happens in the last 3 episodes it leaves the viewer feeling confused and overwhelmed.  You end up clinging to that focus on the character’s interpersonal relationships because everything else feels so convoluted.

That’s the main problem this show faced, sticking the landing.  Everything leading up to it hit all the right notes.  The comedy was light and well timed.  The drama sucked you in.  The action scenes were fast-paced and heart-pounding to watch.  But what the show left out in the story, especially at the end, really hurt it.

Overall it is an enjoyable 12 episodes, but its flaws kept it from being the masterpiece it could’ve been.

[starrater]