(L+CR) Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary)

[rulfo]

There we go. A Kigami ep.

Regarding the interview, it was obvious yes. Why would he still say that though? I was still juggling between Miroku and her.

[Triple_R]

Episode 10... was actually really, really good.

I was downright pleasantly surprised by this episode. This is a pretty strong comeback for a show that I had very much soured on a few episodes back.


This latest episode wasn't just "excellent in a vacuum", like the one before it. Instead, this episode did a lot to shore up many of the weaknesses of the narrative as a whole. This latest episode did all of the following:

1. Make Mirai a much more understandable and increasingly sympathetic character, largely by explaining/justifying Mirai's seemingly erratic/inexplicable behavior during the first few episodes.

2. Make the world of Kyoukai no Kanata seem more interesting and intriguing.

3. Make Izumi seem much less annoying, and somewhat more justified, to me.

4. Make the bond between Mirai and Akihito feel much weightier and emotionally compelling to me.


The show still has its weaknesses, of course. There's still a fair number of things I'd like to change about this show if I could. But with Episode 10, this show has managed to make me feel something much more positive than "disappointment of the year", at least. If this show manages to have a good ending, I could even see myself recommending this show to some other anime fans someday. That's definitely not something I could have imagined a couple episodes back.

[Peanutbutter]

I think on the whole, this series amplifies Kyoani's weakness, compared to other studios.

Maybe they did too many slice of life series, so when it comes to putting together a compelling story, they are just average, not exemplary.

I can't find the words for it, but watching ep 10 makes me feel like they're just throwing facts, plugging holes and clearing up mess. It is hard for me to point out where it went off though, but I dun feel anything for these characters, as compared to other stories. I wonder why.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Peanutbutter

I think on the whole, this series amplifies Kyoani's weakness, compared to other studios.

Maybe they did too many slice of life series, so when it comes to putting together a compelling story, they are just average, not exemplary.

I can't find the words for it, but watching ep 10 makes me feel like they're just throwing facts, plugging holes and clearing up mess. It is hard for me to point out where it went off though, but I dun feel anything for these characters, as compared to other stories. I wonder why.

They overplayed the comedy aspects, frequently making it hard to take the characters seriously. More specifically, they ran the fetish jokes right into the ground with overuse. 50% less bad comedy, and this show could have been Shakugan no Shana caliber, only with generally better visuals. As is... it comes close to that, but the bad comedy really holds it back.

[Marcus H.]

Spoiler for Comparison to Shakugan no Shana:

^
Shakugan no Shana had a lot of nonsense too (see a large chunk of Season 2).

Basically, Kyoukai no Kanata is an encapsulated version of the six-cour Shana series. We get introductory-exposition (Shana Season 1), some episodes dedicated to silliness and anime-original content (Shana Second), and the overly serious climax and denoument where everything is wrapped up (Shana Final).

[ZodiacBeast]

Spoiler for Comparison to Shakugan no Shana:

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

Shakugan no Shana had a lot of nonsense too (see a large chunk of Season 2).

Basically, Kyoukai no Kanata is an encapsulated version of the six-cour Shana series. We get introductory-exposition (Shana Season 1), some episodes dedicated to silliness and anime-original content (Shana Second), and the overly serious climax and denoument where everything is wrapped up (Shana Final).

Yeah, a large amount of Shana II was romantic hijinks. What I remember most is "will Shana ever learn how to make that omlette?"

...riveting. (at least the other half was)

[Triple_R]

Spoiler for Comparison to Shakugan no Shana:

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

^
Shakugan no Shana had a lot of nonsense too (see a large chunk of Season 2).

Sure, but like you said, it was mainly in Season 2. Shana's 1st and final seasons kept the nonsense down to a minimum, and it made for a rather good dark-supernatural action-oriented show.

Basically, Kyoukai no Kanata is an encapsulated version of the six-cour Shana series. We get introductory-exposition (Shana Season 1), some episodes dedicated to silliness and anime-original content (Shana Second), and the overly serious climax and denoument where everything is wrapped up (Shana Final).

Overly serious? I thought that both this episode and Shana Final had just the right amount of seriousness.

[Marcus H.]

Spoiler for Comparison to Shakugan no Shana:

Maybe it wasn't "overly". But I think you got the point.

[GDiddy]

This was a good episode. At least some things were explained:

Spoiler:

Seriously, did Mirai die after bringing Aki back?

[Sageblink]

Originally Posted by GDiddy

This was a good episode. At least some things were explained:

Spoiler:

Seriously, did Mirai die after bringing Aki back?

To me...

Spoiler for Episode 10:

The episode was a bit messy...
I think she's not dead, but more like traped in another dimension (like with the hollow shadow). Regarding the zombie-Aki that's with her, it could be a memomry of the previous host within this space, because it was bound to him for so long.

Well, guess episode 10 is usually a turning point in a 12ep-running show. Madoka Magica, anyone ?

[GDiddy]

Originally Posted by Sageblink

To me...

Spoiler for Episode 10:

The episode was a bit messy...
I think she's not dead, but more like traped in another dimension (like with the hollow shadow). Regarding the zombie-Aki that's with her, it could be a memomry of the previous host within this space, because it was bound to him for so long.

Well, guess episode 10 is usually a turning point in a 12ep-running show. Madoka Magica, anyone ?

Nah, I wouldn't go that far....and besides Madoka changed in episode three. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYIN

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next two episodes. I hope nothing seriously bad happens to the Nases and to Ayaka and Ai.

Spoiler:

I figured that she was probably in another dimension trying to take out Beyond the Boundary.....

[rulfo]

Someone pointed this out.

Spoiler for Speculation for Izumi's purpose:

If Nase clan is facing the same problem as Mirai's clan then that would kinda explain why she's so desperate and covert about it.

[Reincarnated]

http://anime-kyokai.com/story/11/
I really can't believe next week's episode will be the last. I'm gonna miss this anime..

[rulfo]

Originally Posted by Reincarnated

http://anime-kyokai.com/story/11/
I really can't believe next week's episode will be the last. I'm gonna miss this anime..

Ah... Miroku.. I hope we get something about him. Though that picture does worry me a bit.

Also by the looks of it, Hiroomi might be suspended. He has no scarf with him.

[MeoTwister5]

So episode 12 is the last?

[klare]

should have 13 episodes?

oh of course Izumi is behind all this

[relentlessflame]

There'll be 12 TV episodes, and a 13th bonus episode on the last BD/DVD (in June 2014).

[MisaoFan]

Spoiler for Episode 11:

I didn't expect the show to actually end next week instead of two, so I'm really expecting a rather rushed finale. As for this episode now, I've come to realize that the autumn part is actually the current world while the winter part is wrapped inside Beyond the Boundary that starts absorbing the Youmus later in the same episode. I've even come to learn that the girl who enjoys cosplaying as mysterious creatures from previous episodes is actually Akihito's mother and although I didn't mind her character herself, the way she's presented for real in this episode did ruin the serious atmosphere of the current moments. However, I did love the part where Akihito is trying to reach the BtB to save Mirai after he spends a long time of worry. He's a massive pervert when it comes to glasses so it's obvious he'll end up with her anyway as implied in the final episode.

[Mangaka-chan]

Spoiler for episode 11:

So apparently the youmu stone Mirai ended up with after defeating Hollow Shadow and the one we saw last episode in Akihito's dream was a part of KnK, huh? So that means Izumi never swapped out the Hollow Shadow core, she just took it.

Now that Akihito is part (1/4?) youmu again after reabsorbing the piece of KnK we see that his right hand has become youmu-like. I wonder if that'll also give him some actual powers that he can control. He won't be as powerful as when all of KnK was residing in his body, but I hope he isn't going to be there just to shout "Kuriyama-san!" the whole time in the final episode. And it looks like Miroku has some personal vendetta against the Nase. So I'm guessing he'll be the final human boss that the cast need to take down next episode.

But I'm with Akihito regarding his mom. "You forget, I am Yayoi Kanbara" is not an explanation for why she knows the things she knows! =_=

[MartianMage]

Didn't like the part about Akihito's mom but overall pretty good episode...

Although I'm still largely confused about the magic in this show and all this politics that is happening. Somehow I get the feeling that we will never get an explanation but hey you never know...