The Garden of Sinners: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''April 1995. I met her.''}}

 

 

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.

''I want to kill you.''

 

 

''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 [[Our Souls Are Different|souls]], [[The Lifestream|Akasha]], [[Gaia's Vengeance|Counter Force]], [[Functional Magic|Magic and Magecraft]], and Origin.

 

* Volume 1:

** ''Panorama: Thanatos''

 

Now with its very own [[Karano Kyoukai/Characters|Character Page]]. You can read the novels' translation [http://emptyboundaries.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/kara-no-kyokai-translations-2/ here], translated as "Empty Boundaries". The last additional chapter, translated into English, can be found [http://forums.nrvnqsr.com/showthread.php/86-Kara-no-Kyoukai-Mirai-Fukuin here].

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* [[Action Mom]] - {{spoiler|Ryougi Shiki in "Mirai Fukuin"}}

* [[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.

* [[Agent Mulder]] - Akimi Daisuke, but he never actually finds anything.

* [[Artificial Limbs]] - {{spoiler|Ryougi Shiki}}'s left arm, which allows her to touch spirits. {{spoiler|Her original was torn apart by Asagami Fujino.}}

* [[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. {{spoiler|Lio Shirazumi}} is around five thousand different kinds of crazy, Ax Crazy being one of them.

* [[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.

* [[Cursed with Awesome]]

* [[A Day in the Limelight]] - The sixth movie puts side character Azaka in the spotlight.

** 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.

*** 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.

** 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. [[And I Must Scream|Araya knows good and well why...]]

*** 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.

* [[Super Weight]] - Lets rank 'em.

** ''Muggle Weight'' - Kokuto Mikiya ([[Unfazed Everyman]]), Enjou Tomoe ([[Ordinary High School Student]])

** ''Super Weight'' - Fujyou Kirie ([[Mind Control]]), Kurogiri Satsuki ([[Mind Control]]), Kokuto Azaka ([[Kill It with Fire]])

** ''Lottery Weight'' - Asagami Fujino (Super [[Mind Over Matter|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]])

* [[Tranquil Fury]]

* [[Tomboyish Name]] - The "Shiki" in Ryougi Shiki is a neutral name, hence Tohno Shiki of [[Tsukihime]].

** Rumor has it that {{spoiler|Shiki's skill with the sword is just on par with Fujimura Taiga from [[Fate/stay night]]. But then again Shiki has her [[Evil Eye|eyes]]... but wait, what if [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Taiga became Shiki]]?}}

* [[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.

** 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 [[Dissonant Serenity|Dissonantly Serene]] [[Blood Knight]] [[Knife Nut]].

** She's actually been labeled by Nasu as ''tsun'''gire''''', which seems to fit particularly well. For the non-Japanese speakers out there, that's tsun (cold, aloof) and [[Cute and Psycho|gire]] (cut), which is indeed quite appropriate.

 

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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 <s>flying</s> floating in the area.

 

* [[Suicide Is Painless]] - Basically the entire story has to do with this concept.

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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.

 

* [[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 {{spoiler|her multiple personalities.}}

* [[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.

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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.

 

* [[Scary Shiny Glasses]] - Kokutou, of all people. Granted, {{spoiler|he's being told how one of his former friends and his buddies abused Fujino}}, so he's disgusted.

* [[Tear Jerker]]: {{spoiler|'' "I... don't want to die... I want to live more... I want to feel more... I want to talk with him more... I want to love him more... I want to be here longer... I don't want... to die... Oh it hurts... It Hurts so bad I want to cry... Can I cry?" ''}}

 

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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.

 

* [[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 (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]).

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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 {{spoiler|Shiki kills off the [[Big Bad]] of the series here, while the following two movies explore the loose and still-unused plot threads}}.

* [[Alas, Poor Yorick]] - {{spoiler|Touko Aozaki}} 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 {{spoiler|Tomoe escaping and Shiki and Tohko getting involved (most of the plot, really) were caused by the Counter Force manipulating them to have the situation resolved.}}

* [[...And Show It to You]] - Araya ''rips out'' {{spoiler|Touko's}} heart, which is [[Beat Still My Heart|still beating]], and yet, being the Nasuverse, they still manage to have a philosophical conversation. {{spoiler|Touko gets better}}.

* [[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. {{spoiler|This lack of blood is actually a critical clue to what's really going on}}. This also works as an effective [[Mind Screw]].

* [[Brain In a Jar]] - {{spoiler|Everyone in Tomoe's apartment is just a puppet, with their brains actually kept alive in a pile of jars in the basement}}.

* [[Card-Carrying Villain]] - Cornelius Alba in the anime only. The novel gives him more depth.

* [[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 [[Obake|bakeneko]]. Others....

* [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?]] - Subverted. Araya mercilessly ''destroys'' {{spoiler|Tohko, but keeps her head alive}} on purpose - she's {{spoiler|created an exact duplicate of her own body and linked them to herself. Whenever she is "killed" the other body awakens, allowing her to come back - when Alba crushes her head, she comes back}}. ''With a vengeance''.

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Azaka and Shiki go to the Reien Girl's Academy to find the culprit behind a rash of disappearing memories caused by "fairies".

 

* [[The Ojou]]: Ouji Misaya.

* [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship]]: Implied of Ouji and Tachibana.

* [[Shout-Out]]: Azaka mentions she's dogsitting for her roommate Seo. Keen Nasuverse fans will assume she means Seo Akira, Akiha's friend in ''[[Tsukihime|Kagetsu Tohya]]''. {{spoiler|When we get to see her at the end of the film, she does indeed appear to be a tously-haired [[Expy]], although she's evidently not the same one - the DOG'S name is Akira.}}

** In addition, the headmistress of the Reien Girls' Academy is mentioned to be one Mother [[Melty Blood|Riesbyfe, who has a large stringed instrument case]] in her office.

 

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The murders from before Shiki's coma resume, and both Shiki and Mikiya are trying to find the killer.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Nasuverse]]

[[Category:Horror Anime and Manga]]

[[Category:Japanese Literature]]

[[Category:Light Novels]]