The Garden of Sinners



"April 1995. I met her."

The Garden of Sinners, known in Japan as Kara no Kyōkai (空の境界, literaly "Boundary of Emptiness", fan translations "The Edge of Emptiness" or "Empty Boundaries") and sometimes referred as Rakkyo (らっきょ), is a novel by Kinoko Nasu of TYPE-MOON/Notes fame; however, it was written before he became involved in the Visual Novel business. While considered by many to be the prototype of Tsukihime, it is much, MUCH more complex, sometimes to the point of being Mind Screw. So much so that some people don't want to accept that they are related at all, other than the fact that they are made by the same people.

Shiki Ryougi is a girl who grew up in a family imbued with supernatural powers. In particular, certain members possess something close to dual personalities; the "male" and "female" sides, who are aware of each other, are both conscious, and essentially the same person with different qualities. This dual consciousness combined with her upbringing has led her to reject other human beings.

When she was in high school, she met a caring classmate, Mikiya Kokutou. During this time, murders are occurring throughout the city, and one night, Mikiya happens upon Shiki standing over a corpse, knife in hand. Despite this scene, Mikiya believes that Shiki couldn't have killed that person. Slowly, Mikiya creeps into Shiki's life, until Mikiya grows too close to her.

''I don't... want to die...''

A warm smile.

I want to kill you.

June 1998. Shiki Ryougi wakes up from a coma; her eyes are bandaged. In her mind, she feels only " "—utter void. Her memories are a blur, and she feels disconnected from them, as though they are not her own. Her doctor tells her that it was a car accident. She wants to be rid of those eyes; eyes that stare into the void. A woman stops her, saying that they are "too wasteful to destroy"; after all, they are the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

Kara no Kyoukai follows Shiki and the Garan-no-dou detective agency as they meet various, seemingly unconnected aberrations occurring within the city which seem to have something bigger behind them than it first appears. It is one of the earliest works within the Nasuverse, and as such also introduces most of The Verse's fundamental concepts, including souls, Akasha, Counter Force, Magic and Magecraft, and Origin.

Consists of the following novels and stories:
 * Volume 1:
 * Panorama: Thanatos
 * The First Homicide Inquiry: ...and nothing heart
 * Lingering Pain: ever cry, never life
 * Volume 2:
 * The Hollow: garan-no-dou
 * "Boundary Goetia": An intermission focusing on Kirie Fujou and Fujino Asagami.
 * Spiral Paradox: Paradox Paradigm
 * Volume 3:
 * Records of Oblivion: Fairy Tale
 * "Boundary Goetia": An intermission focusing on Lio Shirazumi.
 * The Second Homicide Inquiry: ...not nothing heart
 * Empty Boundaries: ...is nothing id, nothing cosmos (the original epilogue)
 * Future Gospel: recalled out summer (an additional chapter and Distant Finale)

Each of the first seven chapters was adapted into a movie by Ufotable from 2007 to 2009, while the epilogue was released as a 30-minute OVA in February 2011.

Now with its very own Character Page. You can read the novels' translation here, translated as "Empty Boundaries". The last additional chapter, translated into English, can be found here.

"She bends down and touches the blood flowing on the ground; streaks it across her lips. The blood drips down and her body trembles in ecstasy. The first lipstick Shiki has ever worn."
 * Action Mom -
 * Adaptation Distillation - The author of the original novels had hoped to rewrite several of the stories to be less "clumsy". Then he read the script for the first movie, and concluded that there was no need- they'd already addressed his concerns by cutting out most of the excesses.
 * Adaptation Dye Job - Touko, who has blue short hair in the original novels and long red hair in the movies and more recent artwork, to make her look more like her sister.
 * All There in the Manual
 * Alternate Continuity - Word of God states that there can only be one user of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, which means either Tohno Shiki has them, or this Ryougi Shiki. In addition, Aozaki Touko's goal contradicts with the existence of the True Ancestor Arcueid, also from Tsukihime. See the YMMV page for a different interpretation.
 * Ambiguously Gay - Touko, who blatantly flirts with Shiki the first time they meet.
 * Though she might have just been teasing or joking around; she agrees to go on a date with Kokutou's cousin Daisuke later on but shows little to no actual interest in it beyond having nothing better to do.
 * Anachronic Order - Chronologically, the story begins in 1995, but the first chapter is set in June 1998. The viewer is thrown abruptly into the story from the middle, without explanation of the powers, relationships, and backstory of the cast, which is elaborated upon later. Familiarity with the Nasuverse helps.
 * To make things simpler, the chronological order of the stories is 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 7.
 * Ancient Tradition - The Ryougi Family, as well as other members of the Demon Hunter's Association.
 * Anthropomorphic Personification -
 * Agent Mulder - Akimi Daisuke, but he never actually finds anything.
 * Artificial Limbs - 's left arm, which allows her to touch spirits.
 * An Astral Projection, Not a Ghost:
 * Audible Sharpness - Done to excess in the film adaptation.
 * Ax Crazy - To an extent, Ryougi Shiki, although she's more knife crazy. Cornelius Alba is a whole lot of crazy, but with sorcery instead of an axe. is around five thousand different kinds of crazy, Ax Crazy being one of them.
 * Badass Abnormal - in the seventh movie, after his origin had been awakened.
 * Badass Normal - Ryougi Shiki, who is still technically human; this doesn't stop her from leaping off tall buildings.
 * Bare-Fisted Monk - Araya started as this. It Got Worse.
 * Berserk Button - Touko is usually pretty calm, but if you call her a "dirty red," calmness turns to Tranquil Fury and you're dead. It's her policy. But that's not even her real Berserk Button. Calling her a rotten red is just a way of mocking her and saying she plays second fiddle to her little sister. Her real Berserk Button is her little sister. Lets just say their rivalry has gotten rather bad a good few times in the past.
 * It is also amusing to note that since the fifth movie came out, calling her a "dirty red" or simply mentioning that name on certain imageboards bears a similar result to saying Candleja
 * Shiki's berserk button? Hurting Mikiya Kokutou
 * Bifauxnen - Shiki is described as both "handsome" and "beautiful".
 * Big Bad - Araya Souren, who is pretty much responsible for everything bad that happens to Shiki after meeting Mikiya in high school;.
 * Blood Knight - Shiki
 * Born in the Wrong Century - Shiki. Full stop. She might not show any desire to have been born in another century (or any desire, period - well, aside from killing), but...
 * ...she's a modern day warrior woman who only feels alive in a fight to the death.
 * ...her weapons of choice are the tanto (knife) and katana (sword).
 * ...she wears a traditional kimono whenever possible.
 * Bring My Red Jacket - Shiki, oh yes. Shorter than the usual Badass Longcoat, but it definitely counts.
 * Butterfly of Death and Rebirth - Go on, guess what insect is in the opening a lot. You'll never guess.
 * Character Filibuster - The epilogue is basically just a half-hour straight of talking at length about the nature of the self and of Shiki's split personality with very occasional interruptions from Kokutou.
 * Chiaroscuro - Kara no Kyoukai loves shading, and shading loves Kara no Kyoukai.
 * Chekhov's Gun (And Accompanying Skill) - It is mentioned in the second chapter that ; it is later used in the fifth chapter,
 * Also, in the first chapter, it mentions the Fujino case. Guess what chapter three is centric to?
 * Chick Magnet - Before Shiki Tohno and Shirou Emiya, there was Mikiya Kokutou. I mean, his own sister is in love with him!
 * Compilation Movie: Kara no Kyoukai Remix: Gate of Seventh Heaven. Totally incomprehensible if you haven't watched the full movies already, but at least they rectified Satsuki's complete lack of backstory in the sixth movie. It also adds in.
 * Convenient Coma - A big part of the overarching story; what led to and what happens during the coma, and the repercussions after the awakening.
 * Cool Old Guy - Akitaka, the Ryougi manservant.
 * Crossdresser / Villainous Crossdresser -
 * Cursed with Awesome
 * A Day in the Limelight - The sixth movie puts side character Azaka in the spotlight.
 * Death Glare - Ryougi Shiki; those glowing blue eyes help.
 * Death Is Cheap -
 * Defrosting Ice Queen - Ryougi Shiki
 * Determinator - Ryougi Shiki
 * Different As Night and Day
 * Ryougi Shiki's two personalities; the male is carefree and talks like a guy, while the female is brooding and uses Keigo.
 * You can tell Aozaki Touko's mood by her glasses; if they're on, she's a Cool Big Sis, but if they're off, she gets... unpleasant.
 * Dissonant Serenity - Several characters.


 *  A prayer is something overflowing with the good news of the future...
 * Environmental Symbolism
 * Evil Eye- Several characters possess Mystic Eyes, with abilities ranging from "Suggestion" to the famous "Eyes of Death Perception." By extension, this also includes Hellish Pupils. Most are quite colorful when activated. [Insert Dune reference here].
 * Evil Feels Good
 * Evil Plan - As perpetrated by Araya Souren.
 * Expy - Oh boy, where to start? Quite a few Type-Moon characters have their origins (if only in appearance) in this series.
 * Mikiya is borderline indistinguishable to Shiki Tohno.
 * Tomoe Enjou looks rather a lot like Shirou Emiya.
 * For that matter, Mikiya's cousin Daisuke Akimi is the inspiration for Kiritsugu Emiya.
 * Azaka bears a resemblance to Akiha from Tsukihime. In addition, when we see her as a child in the sixth movie, she looks a lot like Rin Tohsaka.
 * Lio Shirazumi is probably the inspiration for Arcueid (in appearance only, though) (blonde hair, red eyes, claws, skirt/dress) and also a precursor to both SHIKI (being a sort of 'mirror image' of the protagonist Shiki as well) and to an extent, Nero Chaos's ability, what with the whole 'beast' thing he's got going on.
 * However, you might consider Lio to be an expy of ALOIS TRANCY instead. Both are Villainous Crossdressers, blonde psychopaths, and they do... creepy things with Shiki and Ciel Phantomhive, repsectively.
 * If so it would be the other way around (Alois being an expy of Lio) since Kara no Kyoukai's original release was 7–8 years before.
 * Lio may have been the inspiration for Apos as well. Anyone who watches both these movies and Mnemosyne will probably understand where I'm getting at.
 * Nero Chaos is also evidently inspired by Araya Souren, going by their rather similar outfits and the weird lines they have on their faces. Hell, they even have the same VA in the movies/Melty Blood.
 * And in Fate/stay night we have Kotomine Kirei, who shares color scheme, similar outfits and Joji Nakata's voice with both of them.
 * Fujino Asagami. Purple-haired character who suffers ? Sounds like Sakura to me.
 * Ryougi Shiki has a fair resemblance to Ayako Mitsuzuri while Canaan looks like a younger version of her albeit with an obvious palette swap. And Canaan's Mystical Eyes are not, well, of Death Perception.
 * It's probably easier to list the characters who aren't Expies of someone or other.
 * Fan Nickname - Asagami Fujino to "Fujinon."
 * Apparently even Kinoko Nasu himself refers to her in this way.
 * Fan Translation - Of the light novels, it stopped in the middle of Chapter Five when it was announced that it would actually be published in English. Pity it hasn't happened yet.
 * A good samaritan has finally provided us with a full translation of all seven chapters.
 * Final Boss (as much as a light novel/movie series can have a Final Boss) - Surprisingly, it's not ; it's.
 * Functional Magic - Magecraft in defined as "artificial reenactment of Magic", requiring Equivalent Exchange, whereas Magic is "achieving the impossible" (eg. Operation of Parallel Worlds).
 * Genre Busting: It's a mix of romance, horror, Urban Fantasy, murder mystery, and action.
 * Girl with Psycho Weapon - Shiki
 * Girly Run - Azaka
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom - The mystic eyes in the movies. Shiki's eyes glow once blue in the novels, when she's considering killing Enjou Tomoe because she's restless. She decides against it.
 * Gray Eyes - Shiki again. Interestingly, in Melty Blood she is one of the few characters whose eyes don't glow red (Demon) or blue (Anti-Demon) in the opening "Versus" screen of each battle.
 * Not all characters who have red eyes are demons (Right, Arcueid?) and not all blue eyed characters are anti-demon. (Right, Akiha?) Then again, Asagami Fujino has red eyes and she's a normal human... albeit with a freakish ESP ability that borderlines on magic.
 * The Grim Reaper - Shiki is likened as one, thanks to her ability to kill anything she cuts coupled with her ability to cut anything.
 * She's even explicitly called a "Death God" by Touko during Book/Episode 5, "Paradox Spiral."
 * "Anything" literally means anything. This gets taken to its logical conclusion in Future Gospel, where she
 * Implacable Man - Araya Souren.
 * In the Blood - Many characters in the story belong to families who are listed under the Demon Hunter's Association detailed in Tsukihime.
 * Invisible to Normals - Minor supernatural beings (eg. ghosts, fairies) generally can't be seen as they are not powerful enough to manifest.
 * Japanese Pronouns - Shiki notably uses the aggressive-masculine pronoun of "Ore" to refer to herself in spite of being the portrait of a classical dignified Japanese Lady. This is
 * Knife Nut - Shiki, very much so. ., although he isn't limited to just a knife nut per se.
 * Last of Their Kind -
 * Leitmotif - In the movies, a specific tune (heard with lyrics here is usually associated with Shiki (see also Theme Music Power-Up). The villains in part 5 also get Leitmotifs representative to their personalities (that Alba's sounds vaguely like "Hall of the Mountain King" may be a reference to M).
 * Shiki's Leitmotif even finds it's way into Melty Blood Actress Again as her stage's music.
 * The Lifestream - Akasha, the Root of everything and nothing, the beginning and the end, the Swirl of Origin, etc. The Nothing After Death would be more appropriate a description,though you're still sort-of conscious in it.
 * Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards
 * Magi Babble - Almost a given with any Nasuverse work.
 * Man Behind the Man - Araya Souren.
 * Manipulative Bastard - Araya Souren again,.
 * Meaningful Name - Several characters, but in particular, Ryougi means "two equal sides of opposites", and Shiki, "method" or "equation".
 * Mundane Utility - The theater PSA for the fifth movie has Araya use his bound field to deny Neco-Arc cell phone service.
 * Nigh Invulnerability - Araya Souren is also close to indestructible, . For a little while, at least.
 * Not only that, but in the original novels, he still had a considerable lifespan left after Shiki pierces him in his death dot. That's typical Nasuverse logic - the longer something has existed and the more magically powerful, the longer it will take to "die" completely when killed. There's some Dead Apostle Ancestors who have been dead for millennia and still exist.
 * No Cure for Evil - Subverted, Araya is very good at healing, he repairs Fujino's cracked vertebrae and restores her sense of feeling. Yes, this is an evil act. Araya knows good and well why...
 * No Export for You - It looked like this might be averted when Del Rey Manga announced they were going to publish the novels (which stopped the Fan Translation). However, this was announced in 2008. As of this writing, it's 2011. One enterprising fan wrote an e-mail and got this is as response. As for the movies...well the the new edition will have English subtitles, at least!
 * And now Aniplex USA has announced that they are going to release the entire movie series in a boxset... with a price of $400 without an English dub.
 * And the Japanese fans need to pay this for around $620. The American fans are luckier.
 * Meanwhile, in Germany: All movies are dubbed. Combined they cost 7 cents short of 175 €, that's currently 230,30 $. Guess we lucked out with our import.
 * No Social Skills - Shiki, to a degree.
 * Nothing Is Scarier - The parts that just follow one character walking alone in decaying/highly industrial urban environments, by night, in almost complete darkness.
 * The Ojou - Shiki. Also, Ouji Misaya in Book/Episode 6.
 * Old School Building - The sixth book/movie's climax takes place in the abandoned school building in the Reien Girls' Academy.
 * One Steve Limit: You have Ryougi Shiki, and then you have her alternate personality, also named Shiki.
 * Ordinary High School Student - Mikiya in the beginning.
 * Our Demons Are Different - Nasuverse makes a distinction between Eastern oni and "real" demons.
 * Paranormal Investigation
 * Pet the Dog - Shiki does something roughly resembling this at times (mainly involving Mikiya). Hey, its Shiki we're talking about, we have to make some concessions with our standards.
 * She also quite literally pets the dog in Oblivion Recorder, when Azaka's roommate's pet collie becomes attached to her.
 * Portmanteau Series Nickname - "Rakkyo".
 * Pragmatic Adaptation - The film cut out a good number of things from the novel, and yet manages to garner a generally positive reception.
 * Psychic Powers - Several types. It is fundamentally different from Magecraft in that it is not a learned ability, but a one-time mutation.
 * Clairvoyance -
 * Telekinesis - "...Bend."
 * Teleportation - One character gets close; "true" spatial warping, however, is said to be the domain of true Magic.
 * Scenery Porn - There are some very nice landscapes shown, even though they tend to be of decrepit buildings and city areas.
 * Sociopathic Hero - Shiki, with both the Hero and the Sociopathic played up very much.
 * Sorting Algorithm of Evil - Averted; the Big Bad and the mastermind behind most of the story has only one proper appearance in the fifth chapter.
 * Split Personality - Or rather, "United Independent Personalities."
 * The Stoic - Araya Souren, and Shiki;
 * Story-Breaker Power - Ryougi Shiki discusses the full extent of her powers in the original epilogue to the novels. To be honest, Story-Breaker Power is an understatement. Basically,
 * Sugar and Ice Girl - Shiki.
 * Super-Deformed - The hilariously cute opening stop motion "don't smoke" warnings to each movie.
 * Super Speed and Required Secondary Powers - Done to extremes. They even added something like a sonic boom in the film adaptation.
 * Super Weight - Lets rank 'em.
 * Muggle Weight - Kokuto Mikiya (Unfazed Everyman), Enjou Tomoe (Ordinary High School Student)
 * Iron Weight - Shirazumi Lio (although it was magically enabled, he's pretty much got a weird variant of the Charles Atlas Superpower), Ouji Misaya (can cause Laser-Guided Amnesia via her fairy Familiars)
 * Super Weight - Fujyou Kirie (Mind Control), Kurogiri Satsuki (Mind Control), Kokuto Azaka (Kill It with Fire)
 * Lottery Weight - Asagami Fujino (Super Telekinesis, clairvoyance), Cornelius Alba (High-speed spellcasting, powerful puppets), Aozaki Touko (Immortality, superpowered puppets, rune magic), Ryougi Shiki (mystic eyes superpower, highest-ranking Super Speed)
 * Deus Weight - Araya Souren (Implacable Man, Immortality, Nigh Invulnerable, Force Field, Super Speed, crushing space-time attack, Reality Warper inside the temple)
 * Author Weight -
 * Theme Music Power-Up - Partially played straight - whenever Shiki begins doing something particularly epic, a suitably epic background track starts up; the music used in these scenes changes from movie to movie, if not from scene to scene, but manages to stay relatively similar overall (the tracks from her showdown with Araya Souren and her fight with Asagami Fujino are great examples).
 * They Were Holding You Back: Done to Mikiya.
 * Title Drop - The epilogue, which also explains what "The Boundary of Emptiness" is.
 * Tranquil Fury
 * Tomboyish Name - The "Shiki" in Ryougi Shiki is a neutral name, hence Tohno Shiki of Tsukihime.
 * Took a Level in Badass - Shiki does this twice against Araya Souren. What's more badass than regular Shiki? That would be . And what's even more badass than that?.
 * Rumor has it that
 * Trademark Favorite Food - Bottled water, of all things, for Shiki (it's the only thing we ever see in her fridge). She says multiple times that she hates sweet food.
 * Tsundere - Shiki towards Mikiya.
 * Unfazed Everyman - Kokutou Mikiya, completely normal guy working for a magus.
 * All things considered, he might as well be considered a Badass Normal.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko - Averted. There are several times when Shiki is described like one, but she's really just a Dissonantly Serene Blood Knight Knife Nut.
 * Yandere - Shiki for the trifecta!
 * She's actually been labeled by Nasu as tsungire, which seems to fit particularly well. For the non-Japanese speakers out there, that's tsun (cold, aloof) and gire (cut), which is indeed quite appropriate.

#1: "Overlooking View"/"Panorama" (September 1998)
The first chapter abruptly focuses on a mysterious series of apparent suicides, as schoolgirls begin throwing themselves off of a certain abandoned building without reason. Ghosts are seen flying floating in the area.

""She is either an eminent virtuoso, or just a big weirdo.""
 * Continuity Nod - Kind of backwards, but there's a scene in which the events of the third movie are reported on by the news on TV. Novel readers and people rewatching the movies will catch it, but otherwise it'll pass by without notice.
 * When Touko is she makes a nod to the third movie's antagonist.
 * Evil Hand - gets remotely possessed by a ghost and tries to choke and throw her off a building.
 * Leave the Camera Running - There is a very long scene of Shiki eating ice cream that takes about a minute and a half. It's supposed to be symbolic and a Pet the Dog scene about Shiki and Mikiya's relationship, but to some viewers comes off as a little silly.
 * Product Placement: Said ice cream is prominently stated to be Haagen-Dazs in both the movies and the original novel.
 * And Shiki's fridge is shown as being empty except for the ice cream and several bottles of Volvic water.
 * Sophisticated As Hell: Mikiya


 * - Who was the girl on the ceiling that commits suicide at the end of the opening credits?
 * Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl - Kirie, with.
 * You know how these tend to be Nigh Invulnerable in most stories? Yeah...against Shiki, not so much.
 * Suicide Is Painless - Basically the entire story has to do with this concept.

#2: "Murder Speculation (Part 1)"/"The First Homicide Inquiry" (August 1995)
This chronologically-first chapter shows the initial meeting of high school classmates Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Mikiya. As he gets closer to Shiki, Mikiya finds out about her dual personalities. Meanwhile, Mikiya's cousin, police detective Akimi Daisuke, warns him of a serial killer who stalks the town at night, leaving behind gruesome corpses. Only one piece of evidence has been left behind: the badge of attendance for their school.


 * Dramatic Pause - Several minutes worth at the end. And good Lord, they were gripping.
 * Cliff Hanger - See Time Skip.
 * Enemy Within - Shiki herself doesn't care, but her male side is essentially a Blood Knight.
 * Hidden Eyes -.
 * Love At First Sight - Except...
 * Love Hurts - Poor Mikiya. Has a somewhat different effect for Shiki, though.
 * Mistaken for Murderer - Done straight and serious.
 * Shout-Out - Two plushie cat dolls, one black and one white, both with ribbons, are won by Kokutou in a UFO Catcher game to give to Shiki; these are Len and White Len from Melty Blood in cat form. Appropriately, this is when Shiki tells him about
 * Only in the OVAs, though. The cameo didn't happen in the original novels... probably because the original novels predate Tsukihime, and thus, Melty Blood.
 * Snow Means Death - "April 1995. I met her."
 * Snow Means Love - "April 1995. I met her."
 * Time Skip - The end moves the story back to July 1998.

#3: "Lingering Sense of Pain"/"Lingering Pain" (July 1998)
Ryougi Shiki's first case after her awakening from the coma. The unassuming Asagami Fujino, a girl unable to feel pain, experiences life for the first time in the passion of killing. As Aozaki Touko and Kokutou Mikiya investigates the truth behind this murderer, Ryougi Shiki hunts her down, leading to a confrontation between the two very different kinds of Mystic Eyes.


 * Asshole Victim - The punks who raped Fujino.
 * Broken Bird - Asagami Fujino
 * Cry Cute -  Even when discounting the fact she is voiced by Noto Mamiko she is so adorable in this scene you would still wanna reach into the screen and hug her.
 * Drives Like Crazy - When Touko gets behind the wheel Mikiya's reactions tell us that she's like this. We find out in the 5th movie that she never went to driving school, which explains a lot.
 * Fan Disservice - The scenes of Fujino.
 * Feel No Pain - Asagami Fujino, both physically and emotionally, though she keeps this a secret from everyone else so they don't think she's abnormal. She was even . She starts getting her sensation back in fits It turns out that the lack of pain was the result of.
 * Pet the Dog - In an odd way; Shiki, which by her standards is petting the dog.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning - Fujino.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses - Kokutou, of all people. Granted,, so he's disgusted.
 * Tear Jerker:
 * Yangire: Although just as dangerous as Shiki is, Fujino remains one of the more sympathetic examples of this trope in anime.

#4: "Hollow Shrine"/"The Hollow" (June 1998)
Ryougi Shiki awakens from her coma, and is immediately restrained after attempting to gouge out her own eyes. For two years, she has been staring into " " - not just "emptiness", but a complete void without meanings, forms, or concepts. And she is alone - SHIKI has disappeared. Chronologically the second chapter, this chapter covers Shiki's recovery, the consequences of her coma, and her struggle to survive while submersed in death.


 * Chekhov's Gun: The corpse being carried in one scene. It becomes the zombie that will attack Shiki later.
 * Continuity Nod: Fujyo Kirie (from the first movie) can be seen in the background in one scene.
 * The nurses comment that Tohko is replacing Araya as a counselor at the hospital.
 * There's also the post-credits scene, showing how Araya Souren is connected to the first three parts.
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: When Shiki first wakes up the fact that her hair is now past shoulder-length lets us know she's been asleep for a long time. Add an Important Haircut later and you know she's serious.
 * Eye Scream: One of the first things Shiki does upon waking up is try to claw her own eyes out, as the result of a Freak-Out upon realizing what her eyes can see.
 * Out-of-Clothes Experience: While in the Void Shiki is depicted as being completely nude.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: There's a rather eerie scene in which a recovering Shiki is being attacked by a zombie in her hospital room, overlayed by Mikiya (elsewhere) singing "Singing in the Rain" (possibly a Shout-Out to A Clockwork Orange).

#5: "Paradox Spiral" (October–November 1998)
Enjou Tomoe flees his apartment after killing his parents and unexpectedly finds sanctuary at Shiki's place. Tomoe then finds that his parents have apparently failed to stay dead, and that's only the first sign of the abnormalities surrounding the building. Things get bloody messy, and Touko meets some old acquaintances. This movie is notable in that.
 * Alas, Poor Yorick - gets this treatment.
 * All There in the Manual - The concepts in this movie are a lot clearer after reading the novels. The movie is also more passive over the fact that
 * Anachronic Order - Deserves separate mention here. The movie plays out in three "arcs"—one from Shiki's perspective, then one from Mikiya's, and lastly a finale tying the two together—divided by title cards with a hand-sketched appearance. Several short scenes are repeated verbatim, such as Mikiya's surprise at Shiki's locked apartment door, with others shown from different perspectives. The long flashback as fills in some gaps towards the end.
 * ...And Show It to You - Araya rips out heart, which is still beating, and yet, being the Nasuverse, they still manage to have a philosophical conversation..
 * Bloodless Carnage - Despite the large amount of blood elsewhere in the movie, the scene near the beginning of Tomoe killing his mother is oddly lacking. . This also works as an effective Mind Screw.
 * Brain In a Jar -.
 * Card-Carrying Villain - Cornelius Alba in the anime only. The novel gives him more depth.
 * Continuity Nod - Done very literally in-story with a completely different (and important) meaning: while Shiki is basically the Counter Force had an influence on the situation, she sees the moment she first met Mikiya—and "that her" stops talking, looks up at the screen where, and smiles at her. This is a huge plot detail.
 * Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu? - Enjou didn't have a chance against Araya. But damn did he tell him off.
 * Eldritch Abomination - The thing in Touko's briefcase. Sometimes it just resembles a traditional bakeneko. Others....
 * Expy - Cornelius Alba is basically the most disgusting parts of Willy Wonka and Alexander De-Large rolled into one humanoid mass; combining the arrogance and bad-fashion sense of both. He even goes as far as to gleefully sing Bethoven's 9th Symphony 4th Movement, the favourite tune of Alex from A Clockwork Orange, when he
 * Maybe not so coincidentally, Mikiya himself has sung Singin' In The Rain, the song that Alex sung while raping a writer's helpless wife, twice in the film series.
 * Eye Scream
 * Genius Loci - Araya has fused with his apartment.
 * If It's You It's Okay - After thinking for a minute, Kokutou decides that he'd probably like Shiki the same regardless of her gender. Though he does add that he's pretty happy that she's a girl.
 * Inn Between the Worlds - The Cafe Of Impossible Meetings, Cafe Ahnenerbe. Used in this series between Life and Death.
 * Innocuously Important Episode - Sure, the plot seems weak and confusing now, but it'll all make sense once the seventh movie actually shows you what the heck was going on!
 * Limited Wardrobe - In an apparent Lampshade Hanging, Shiki is shown to own three of the same jacket.
 * Malevolent Architecture - Araya's apartment building is made this way on purpose, to drive people crazy.
 * Meteor Move - After fighting with Shiki and realizing that she is stronger physically,
 * And even then (in the movie, at least) she was only saved by the Big Bad's Mobile Bounded Field (kind of like a shield) taking most of the landing impact (it's slightly implied he activated it on purpose for that reason).
 * Mind Screw - Of truly epic proportions. Without reading the novels, you really need to see this film at least twice to even get a rough idea about what the blazes is going on. A great case of All There in the Manual (listed above). Half the reason for the mind screw is not just because of the mind screw nature, but because the movie left out parts that are necessary to put everything together, leaving you with a general sense of "wtf" as you try to put together the gaps.
 * Off-Model - Shiki's fight against the zombie puppets.
 * Pet the Dog - Shiki goes somewhere between this and Clingy Jealous Girl (but not quite - she is very hard to categorize) when she starts stabbing her pillow in frustration while griping about Mikiya's absence to Tomoe.
 * Single-Stroke Battle - Shiki vs zombie. ... Zombie explodes in half.
 * Snow Means Death -
 * Start of Darkness - A flashback/dream of Araya's shows him standing in the aftermath of a bloody conflict 200 years ago, looking at the corpse of a little boy who got caught up in it. He resolves that since he cannot save anybody, he will at least.
 * The Man Behind the Man -
 * Talking Is a Free Action: Touko chatters on about her meaning of life for a while after and only seems to actually.
 * Tomato in the Mirror -.
 * Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? - Subverted. Araya mercilessly destroys on purpose - she's . With a vengeance.

#6: "Oblivion Recorder"/"Records of Oblivion" (January 1999)
Azaka and Shiki go to the Reien Girl's Academy to find the culprit behind a rash of disappearing memories caused by "fairies".


 * Anachronism Stew: Satsuki Kurogiri's computer has a flat screen monitor expect they weren't invented yet in 1999.
 * Badass Adorable: Sure, Shiki may be charming and beautiful, but Azaka-chan fits this trope better as she acts in a more cutesy fashion.
 * Bowdlerization: in the third movie.
 * They also left Kurogiri-sensei's fate unclear: we never see
 * Breather Episode: Cute and light-hearted, almost as if preparing you for a soul-shatteringly traumatic finale.
 * The film adaptation only, mainly due to the focus on Azaka.
 * Brother-Sister Incest: Azaka openly states that she's in love with Mikiya, her blood-related brother - during her self-intro narration, no less. She even left home and enrolled at Reien in hopes that their time apart would lead Mikiya to view her as a woman rather than his little sister.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Azaka towards her brother Mikiya.
 * Dark Magical Girl: Misaya Ouji. Is it any wonder she's voiced by Nana Mizuki in the movie?
 * Dartboard of Hate: A plushy-doll variation.
 * Driven to Suicide: Tachibana Kaori.
 * Elaborate University High: Reien Academy
 * The Fair Folk: And were not talking about the packaged-for-kids Christmas version, oh no.
 * Foe-Tossing Charge - Azaka performs one of these against . She even finishes it off with her best approximation of a Super Inazuma Kick.
 * Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: in the movie.
 * Kawaiiko: Azaka-chan is a slightly older than usual example, but oh so very cute nevertheless.
 * Kung Fu Wizard: Azaka-chan's style of combat. Anyone expecting her to be a worthless warrior in close combat because she practices magic is in for a very, VERY rude surprise.
 * Les Yay: Between Azaka and Shiki, at least in the movie. Most notably when Azaka pins Shiki to the bed and straddles her while trying to take away a knife.
 * Lighter and Softer: The least violent entry in the saga.
 * The Ojou: Ouji Misaya.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Implied of Ouji and Tachibana.
 * Schrodingers Cat:
 * Shout-Out: Azaka mentions she's dogsitting for her roommate Seo. Keen Nasuverse fans will assume she means Seo Akira, Akiha's friend in Kagetsu Tohya.
 * In addition, the headmistress of the Reien Girls' Academy is mentioned to be one Mother Riesbyfe, who has a large stringed instrument case in her office.
 * Sneezing: Touko does this when Shiki and Azaka find her picture in the yearbook.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Azaka actually respects Shiki, and is quite fond of her; the feeling is mutual on Shiki's part. The girls understand each other enough to laugh at and finish the punch line of each-other's jokes, and marvelously complementing each together in abilities on the battlefield. The one thing, however, that prevents them from actually openly admitting their friendship to one another is their mutual love for Mikiya.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Azaka actually respects Shiki, and is quite fond of her; the feeling is mutual on Shiki's part. The girls understand each other enough to laugh at and finish the punch line of each-other's jokes, and marvelously complementing each together in abilities on the battlefield. The one thing, however, that prevents them from actually openly admitting their friendship to one another is their mutual love for Mikiya.

#7: "Murder Speculation (Part 2)"/"The Second Homicide Inquiry" (February 1999)
The murders from before Shiki's coma resume, and both Shiki and Mikiya are trying to find the killer.


 * Book Ends: A number of themes from Overlooking View (as well as the other five movies) get a reprise here.
 * Cherry Blossoms:
 * Cry Cute: Is that actually ? My God she's adorable.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Averted, contrary to popular belief. (Shiki basically took full advantage of the amount of space between them and took him out in one fell swoop resulting in the fight to come across as a Curb Stomp Battle)
 * Depraved Bisexual: Forget Haruhi or Vamp... is the new poster child of this trope!
 * Earn Your Happy Ending:
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Mikiya obtains info on the drug-related serial killings by the only drug dealer around who's not selling that particular new cocktail because she thinks it's too damaging for the human body.
 * Eye Scream:
 * Fan Disservice: Anything Yuck.
 * Also anything
 * Fingore - Shiki breaks free of the bindings holding her hands by Of course,
 * Genetic Memory: Araya had opened  up to his origin, giving him access to the memory of all of his past lives; mostly carnivore animals.
 * I'm a Humanitarian:
 * Ironic Echo:
 * Not So Different:
 * Plot-Based Voice Cancellation - The night train passes by as Kokutou learns the drug dealer's name,.
 * Snow Means Death:
 * Snow Means Love: "I'm never letting you go."
 * Stalker Shrine: Featured in the opening credits, and it's hella creepy.
 * They Were Holding You Back:
 * Villainous Crossdresser