Kara no Kyoukai
Ok so actually this is really embarrassing, but I never got around to finishing the following post, though I still like it. I acted like I was going to finish it which is really funny to me. I still might, but I would have to rewatch the series and probably rewrite (kino) and restructure the entire thing if I do.
Originally published - 10/23/23
As a precursor to this analysis, there are two very important motifs to think about while viewing the series: Death and perception. Perception is mostly explored via the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but there is more eye-based symbolism throughout the series. Meanwhile, death is central in every film and is emblematic of many different things. The importance of both motifs will be explained throughout this analysis, and in the conclusion, but I would like you to consider them while reading the rest of this.
Another thing of note is: I will be saving the most in-depth analysis on Shiki, Mikiya, and Touko regarding their development and such for after I have written on each chapter. As I want to focus more on the chapter specific things that support that chapter's theme for each of those, and then handle all of the overarching stuff where I can throw it all together without the analysis being disjointed.
Chapter 1 - Overlooking View - Perspective and Purpose
Film one of Kara no Kyoukai is an amazing introduction to the series that establishes core concepts as well as set up thematic ideas for the rest of the series. Understanding of this film is pivotal to understanding the succeeding installments. The most important idea this movie establishes is the concept of an overlooking view, which is a concept that is imperative to keep in mind when watching the rest of the films as it is reoccurring throughout.
The overlooking view, as Touko puts it, is when you view the landscape from up high, when you view the world you live in from a new angle, this new perspective strikes you unexpectedly and violently, and instills a sense of distance between you and the world you know. In other words, an overlooking view is when you see the world or something else from a new perspective, and that new perspective is something that you're unable to handle; this changes your way of thinking or point of view in some way.
The central theme of chapter one is purpose. The difference between aimlessly floating through life and flying through it with a purpose. These two modes of living are represented by the symbols of the butterfly and the dragonfly, respectively. Mikiya being the dragonfly, while Kirie and Shiki are butterflies.
Kirie and Shiki are characters that both lack purpose, both of them feel empty, and neither of them feel alive. Both only feel alive when relating with death, Kirie when her apparition was 'killed' by Shiki, and Shiki when she witnesses murder. The listlessness and apathy seen in both characters is illustrating what it looks like to have no purpose. Both of them appear inhuman, both look unhappy, and both need death to feel alive.
Now, this isn't implying that people with no purpose are inhuman or murderers, but it is venting about the tortures of that lack of purpose. How no purpose makes one feel hollow, yearning for death, and not living the happy life that a human ought to be living. This idea is strengthened when juxtaposing those without a purpose to Mikiya, who does, as he is very active, happy or content, and able to enjoy life to the fullest.
In Overlooking View, Nasu is trying to inspire those that are floating to grow wings and fly. This is shown through Kirie, who could not muster the strength to find purpose in the face of her bed-ridden fate. Through her mystic eyes she tried to run away from reality with escapism, but the illusion will eventually come to an end. If you cannot find the strength to fly, then inevitably you will fall.
Chapter 2 - And Nothing Heart - Change and Relationships
This chapter is the beginning of it all, it shows how Shiki and Mikiya meet, and how their awkward relationship begins. It does a spectacular job of introducing the in-verse complexities of Shiki's character, the concept of yin and yang being the most symbolically important part of it. It also does a great job of characterizing Mikiya after he was conked out on the couch for all of the first chapter. Mikiya's every action exemplify his naive optimism, as well as his unwavering trust and love for Ryougi Shiki. Up until she tries to kill him.
What is most interesting about the relationship between Shiki and Mikiya is how as they grow closer, they are hurting one another. The uncertainty of Shiki's sin plagues Mikiya's mind, and Mikiya's insistence on getting to know Shiki hurts her, she does not believe she deserves someone like Mikiya in their life, she believes that she will inevitably hurt him even though she doesn't want to, all because she sees herself as a murderer. This is the setup for the complex relationship between the two leads, and also gives insight to the complexities of real meaningful relationships.
Besides establishing the basic premise and characters, the primary idea of this chapter is illustrating the transition between youthful innocence that only knows the good, and the reality seemingly harsh reality of the world, that knows the bad as well. Initially, Mikiya naively believes that the girl he loves can do no wrong, that everything in his life will work out, that everything will be ok. This is just the kind of guy he is, he sees only the good in people and the world.
His view of the world is turned upside down when Shiki sets out to kill him. Mikiya waiting outside her house day in and day out in the face of nearly irrefutable evidence towards Shiki's crime shows both his innocence as well as the upcoming shift in his perspective, he doesn't want to believe its possible for her to be the murderer, but if he truly had faith in her, he wouldn't camp outside her house. It's as much of a coping mechanism for Mikiya as it is a display of his loyalty and affection for Shiki.
The shattering of Mikiya's innocence and the illusion of his faith in Shiki was caused when he was confronted with the real possibility of death at Shiki's hands, he could no longer deny it, and he said "I don't want to die." At this moment, Mikiya had an overlooking view, which can be seen by his overwhelming fear and admitting that Shiki was about to kill him. He broke down and that change in his demeanor was a physical illustration of the breaking of his psyche and worldview - his innocent worldview changed, his belief in Shiki crumbled, his rationality left him at that moment.
While Mikiya does have an overlooking view, and while his is the primary illustration of the initial impact of a change in perspective, the way he handles his overlooking view is vastly different from others in the series. He was able to get past it, unlike Araya who accepted the overlooking view and changed who they were to accommodate it, Mikiya wholly rejects the change. After seeing this new perspective, this absurd perspective, Mikiya did not let it change or ruin him, he returned to who he was. He was able to return to his normal life, his normal perspective of Shiki did nothing wrong, even in the face of all that he has seen. The fact that he could return to his normal beliefs, his normal perspective, and his normal life after all of this shows how extraordinarily normal Mikiya is.
Chapter 3 - Lingering Pain - Humanity
Lingering Pain is where Kara no Kyoukai begins to bare its teeth at a thematic level; as opposed to the first two films, it is not only presenting ideas to interpret, but also raising questions to the audience and leaving it to them to answer on their own. This installment asks 'what is the different between man and monster?' and it poses multiple potential answers to it. Multiple interpretations to the question that I've heard are along the lines of "Shiki is the man and Fujino the monster," "they are both monsters," "Fujino and Shiki are both human and the rapists that ruined Fujino's life are the monsters," and so on, and every interpretation has some evidence behind it. But before posing the question of man or monster, chapter 3 introduces us to the relationship between pain, sense of self, and humanity.
side note: while I wanted to make my analysis for KnK accessible for both LN and anime viewers, a minor supporting detail to my claim on the thematic idea of this chapter is exclusive to the anime. It is how through the directing Fujino is portrayed as a 'monster' through the directing conventions reminiscent of horror films. Not massive but I think its a neat thing to consider and pay attention to on a rewatch of the film.
Fujino Asagami cannot feel pain or other sensations, and as a result, she lacks a sense of self. Juxtaposing that to Shiki, who throughout the film ignores the pain she experiences which shows her own lack of self. Both of these characters lack a sense of self and both are unreceptive to pain; now what does that have to do with humanity? Pain is a normal human experience, it serves as a teacher, it teaches us right and wrong in a way, it keeps us alive. As one of the many things that is part of (almost) every human experience, one could assume that 'pain' is one of the foundations that makes up a "human." In a broader sense, you could take that to mean that things that are part of the standard human experience are attributes that equate to humanity. But is that really the case?
Its important to address the event that turned Fujino into a "monster," the rape and torture she experienced. The ones that defiled her, the ones that tormented her are "normal" people," in the regard that they could feel pain. They could feel every emotion, fear, pleasure, remorse, despair, excitement, and so on. They also had a firm sense of self and concern with their physical well-being. They had everything that Shiki and Fujino lacked, their expressiveness, their personality, and their pain, yet, they behaved like monsters themselves. In contrast to that, when Fujino was unreceptive to pain, she endured all of the rape and beatings. When she was like a doll, that was when she was behaving the most tame. But when she regained that common human aspect, pain, she turned into the monster of the story, an idea I will return to later. When Fujino regained that sense of pain, she also gained the experience of pleasure, and she found that pleasure in killing.
In order to raise further questions, the ending oft this chapter turns everything on its head. Shiki, who doesn't have that sense of self, who ignores pain, chose to save Fujino at the end instead of saving her. She chose to do something "pointless" on a whim, while this beautifully showcases the impact Mikiya has on her character, that isn't the main point of that scene. Shiki who has an affinity towards murder, Shiki who lacks those attributes frequent to the human experience, did something incredibly humane. Fujino, who couldn't feel pain, who committed countless murders did not want to die herself, she wanted to live.
Now why is all of this important? Throughout the chapter, particularly through the ideas of pain and the sense of self, Lingering Pain asks us what one must possess in order to qualify as human, what is the different between man and monster? Fujino and Shiki, two irregular beasts exhibited traits that are inarguably human, such as empathy and the desire to live. Meanwhile, the more ordinary members of the cast that were not lacking any human qualities inarguably behaved like monsters at times. So what is missing between the two? One important feature that Shiki was shown to possess and the thugs were not is empathy. Shiki related to Fujino's situation and saved her life, meanwhile the remorseless rogues raped all the girls they wanted to and didn't feel an ounce of empathy towards Fujino. Unfortunately, it can't be empathy, as the most normal character in the film, Kokutou Mikiya, was lacking in empathy for Keita and his friends. He may have helped him, but he did not empathize with his situation. Would that mean Mikiya is a monster? He may have showed empathy towards Fujino when he thought she had a stomachache but not for criminals that were being hunted.
Another blurring of the lines between both sides of this coin are seen between Fujino and Keita, both did terrible things. Fujino committed murder and found pleasure in it, while Keita raped and beat women, yet despite their sin, both wanted one thing at the end. To live. All of them did, every character felt fear in the face of death, nobody wanted to die, so were they all human? This is the main point that I believe Nasu is trying to get across here. There is no differentiation between all of the characters in the film that can label them human or monster. There exist parallels between the cast that thoroughly blur the line between the two, creating an empty boundary between man and monster. That is the answer to the question that I arrived at. There is no boundary, no boundary at all, because it is those same human qualities such as pain and pleasure that make one act like a monster to begin with.
Chapter 4 - The Hollow Shrine - Rebirth
Death is portrayed as an endless expanse free of sensation, a void. This is what Shiki's unconscious swam through during her coma, her origin, nothingness. She did not exist at that time, and then she awoke. While walking the tightrope between life and death, which brings her the mystic eyes of death perception.
These mystic eyes bring her a new perspective, in other words, an overlooking view. Unable to handle this view of death, Shiki tries to blind herself from this new reality by crushing her eyes. Later, Touko tells her that even if she crushes her eyes, she will still be able to see the lines of death. This new perspective is not one cannot be run from, it is a reality that Shiki cannot flee from. Being unable to to pretend that nothing has changed reinforces the idea that the only way forward is to accept this change and move on, as Mikiya does.
Being able to view the lines of death is not the only change in her perspective, but she also lost the presence of SHIKI. Without SHIKI, someone that was with her since birth, Shiki is missing crucial to her 'self' and is instilled with the loneliness that she experienced on the boundary between life and death. The loneliness was depicted in the scene with the spirits swarming her in the hospital, surrounding and crushing her - suffocating her with the weight of loneliness and loss. But Shiki realized in that moment that she wasn't truly alone, she remembered when Mikiya stood by her side, singing in the rain, which enabled her to keep living.
(singing in the rain is what Mikiya was doing literally, but its also the name of the song he was humming (which should be obvious but pointing that out in case it isn't). That matters because the idea of that song alines with the theme of this chapter which is beginning a new life. The rain washes away the sadness of the previous life and with that burden gone, you can happily begin living again. )
With Mikiya by her side and her newfound understanding of death, Shiki develops a fear of death as well as an appreciation of life and its value. She fights back against the spirits revealing her newfound desire to live. She cuts her hair and stabs herself to wipe the slate clean, kill the old her, and begin anew as Ryougi Shiki. Her finding that appreciation and desire for life through the experiencing of death, loss, and loneliness provides an optimistic and opportunistic on life. By overcoming such adversity, Shiki realizes how good it is to live.
"Being hollow means you can cram so much in there. How unfortunate you are."
Touko's sentiment here continues the theme of rebirth and the optimism in it. Even if you lose almost everything, there is something to look forward to, there is good and opportunity that exists in that situation, because you have room for more things to gain. Touko puts both a positive connotation on the idea of rebirth as it is a hopeful beginning, but also on the idea of loss because there is opportunity that comes with it. Shiki's character supports this idea, as she is able to fill herself with more good memories and aspects, as well as later find the happiness not available to her previously. This sentiment transcends just the film is and ties into the series as whole.
The Hollow Shrine presents an optimistic take on loss by presenting the fortune and opportunity that comes with 'rebirth'. Begin unburdened from the sorrows and griefs of your past. throw away your regrets and make the most of what you experienced. What Nasu wants to convey is how to do this, how to walk into the brightness of tomorrow when the clouds up above are still so dark.
Chapter 5 - Paradox Spiral - Meaning
With this film we finally get to witness and understand the mage who set the narrative in motion, Souren Araya. His motivator is defined by the overlooking view he experienced when he witnessed a battlefield many years ago. Death was sprawled out before him, as far as he could see; in the face of this sea of carnage, Araya saw the death as unjust, that joy will not be realized by all men, and that for them there was no salvation. He thought that salvation does not come naturally in this world, and he sought to bring it to man with his own hands, to bring meaning to all the senseless deaths in the world.
Araya aimed to reach this goal through the root - he thought that by witnessing all of history through Akasha, he could assign value to mankind; determine its worth. This is how he sought to bring meaning to death, and it is in this pursuit that he is blind. Araya was blinded in pursuit of his goal (in the anime, this is indicated by his eyes being hidden in shadow for the entire movie until the end, where he realizes his errors) and eventually, his goal became not bringing meaning to death, but merely seeking the root.
In his blind pursuit of his goal, Araya also loses sight not only of his original purpose, but of the world around him, as well. For this reason, he made many errors in the execution of his plans, in losing control of Lio Shirazumi, in letting Tomoe Enjou escape his spiral, by trying to trap Shiki in a barrier, and finally, the barrier saving Shiki's life at the end, allowing for his seamless defeat. Araya makes many mistakes throughout the series, but that shows more than his blindness. It also shows that despite him throwing away his humanity in many senses, morally, physically, etc., at his core, the mage Souren Araya is still a human. A human that makes mistakes, a human that can get caught up in their own emotions, a human who can accept their mistakes and move on.
Tomoe Enjou serves to show the value of human life and finding that meaning which Araya does not see. The Tomoe Enjou we follow in Paradox Spiral is a fake, a mere creation of Araya's, an artificial existence with constructed memories and implanted emotions. His feelings for Shiki were not natural or of his own will. Enjou thought that his life had no meaning, but this changes when he is confronted with his old memories after Mikiya takes him to the house his family inhabited. It is there that Enjou had an overlooking view.
When revisiting his memories, he sees that he was not the only one in his dysfunctional family that was suffering, he rediscovers his long lost love for them, and that allows him to confront Araya (the idea that his life lacks meaning) once more. Even when told he is a fake, even when told his feelings were artificial, Enjou did not care, he accepted those facts, but they did not matter to him as the emotions he felt and the reality he experienced were still ultimately real to him.
He faces Araya again, and dies again, but this time, he dies fighting for himself, his family, and for the one he loves. In just three words, "I was here", Enjou rejects his origin of worthlessness, he rejects that value placed upon him by Araya, and claimed that his existence had value and a lasting impact, and it did. By achieving something, no matter how small, in delivering that sword to Shiki, Enjou regained his agency, proved that he was still 'human', and that his life was worth more than nothing.
While Enjou contradicts Araya's philosophy of meaningless the most, the rest of the cast does too in their own way. Touko expresses satisfaction with her current life in this chapter, even though she no longer accomplishes as great of things as she once did before (see Mahoutsukai no Yoru). Mikiya who flies through life with purpose in mind, and Shiki too, who finds purpose and happiness with Mikiya at the end of the series, which further rejects Araya's views.
Through these different characters, Araya ends up realizing that his view of the world is contradictory with the reality that he now sees before him; how he saw life and death as lacking meaning, while everyone else found meaning, value, or happiness. This serves as a second overlooking view that rejects his long-standing perspective, and this new reality he now sees further confuses him. When he dies, he dies content, knowing that death with release him from this confusing, paradoxical world that he found himself in.
The paradoxical nature of Araya's perspective is enhanced when looking where meaning is found and where there is no meaning. He was blind in his pursuit of his goals and made mistakes, these mistakes resulted in everything he sought in life being meaningless, as he wasted all that time and didn't accomplish a thing. Meanwhile, it was in death that meaning was produced. The deaths of the people in his spiral had purpose and value, as they were necessary for a means to his end, even though those ends were not reached. Enjou's death had purpose, and so too did Araya's. Araya's death had value because it brought him freedom from the paradox spiral of his own making.
Chapter 6 - Oblivion Recording - Identity
Through its characters and concepts, Oblivion Recording explores identity and the self. Memory plays a large role in that thematic exploration, and the main antagonist of Oblivion Recording, Satsuki Kurogiri, is a constant showcase of how memories impact someone. He restored Shiki's lost memories which is what resulted in her inner conflict. Not only that, but his own life was determined by memories, when he lost them to fairies. The void in his memories shaped Kurogiri in his entirety, providing a goal, shaping his personality, and the fairies associated with his memory loss formed the basis of his magecraft.
Shiki and Kurogiri parallel one another; while she does regain some of her memories, she still has to cope with many that are lost. The two's reaction to those lost memories couldn't be more different. Shiki accepts that they are gone and moves forward with her life, while Kurogiri spent his entire life obsessing over the memories that he lost. He could only dwell on the past that he no longer possessed, and that stopped him from moving forward, which is why he is so stagnant and inhuman.
However, it is not Shiki or Satsuki who is the main focus of this chapter, it is Mikiya's little sister, Azaka. Through her conflicts with both memory and Nasu's concept of the origin, the main theme of Oblivion Recording is thoroughly fleshed out. She grappled with her taboo origin, which caused her to have feelings for her brother, and she cannot remember what made her that way. These two things are the center of her inner conflict.
Let's first swiftly break down Nasu's concept of the origin, the origin is a being's "starting point" that comes from Akasha, and the origin can be likened to one's instincts. It is something that one is predisposed to doing, and something someone will likely harmonize with/have greater affinity with. Like Shirou Emiya and his beloved swords. Akasha is complicated and unclear as to whether it is deterministic in nature because it can be interpreted as a purpose people are specifically built for, and people living in accordance with their true nature, being honest with themselves, and following their desires. This is just an embodiment of the real life dilemma regarding purpose and the self, and Nasu doesn't really support either angle, because evidence for one can support the other.
In Azaka's case, the origin just seems to be something that set her down her path, because there was a tangible event that led her to fall in love with Mikiya, something that could reasonably justify her love for him without her taboo origin. This is what confuses that aforementioned interpretations, taboo just seems like something she is more predisposed to and not a necessarily guiding force in her life, as we never see her do anything else taboo. It was more her memories with Mikiya that set her down that path. The memories eventually escaped her mind but they were events recorded not only in Akasha, but in her very being.
Akaza loves Mikiya for more pure reasons than her origin would bely, as well, she fell for him because of his loneliness and kindness. She wants to make him happy, she wants to protect him, and the aspects of him that she loves, his gentle strength and kind heart. These are things that she finds special, that she doesn't want to lose. This love is entirely pure and is only frowned upon because they two are siblings, and that relationship would not be normal. Such frustrations are what plagues Azaka's mind, and a question that her character raises is why she is not allowed that love, for Shiki and Mikiya are allowed it and the audience's approval of that is a meta way of showcasing the unfairness of that to Azaka.
To further that point, the relationship between Shiki and Mikiya is framed as good, and one between Azaka and Mikiya is perceived as abnormal and an impossibility, but in terms of the series, that doesn't make much sense. Shiki is abnormal too, she has an inclination towards murder, and has murdered by the end of the series, yet one would not argue that she is undeserving of happiness, she even finds it. We know Nasu is not trying to establish a moral hierarchy where incest is a greater sin than murder, we see it pervade his other works like Tsukihime, so what would this juxtaposition mean? It could only serve to strengthen his stance on the theme of identity. The origin, Azaka's taboo, her inclinations, her true self, that is not supposed to be perceived as something wrong or inherently bad, it would even imply that someone as "flawed" as her is also fully deserving of happiness.
Returning to the title, Oblivion recording, that is a whole new concept, like the overlooking view, that is seen most prominently in Azaka and Kurogiri. They had memories consigned to oblivion, but those memories were still recorded in their self. Azaka does not remember why she fell in love with Mikiya, but her love for him still persists. Kurogiri does not remember the memories that he lost, but they were so important to him that the search for them pervaded the rest of his life. This idea illustrates how what one experiences in life impacts and shapes one's identity, regardless of memory and regardless of origin.