Kyoukai no Kanata 11-12 [END]
An end that came too soon.
Alright, we are at the end haul for my namesake series and it has seen it’s ups and downs. However it has turned out, KyoAni sure went out of their way to ditch their usual formula of moe, slice of life around girls doing cute things together. Joining me on this review is Highway and I would also like to shoutout to Hoshi, Miyu, Kara and Cools who took part in tagging and reviewing this series with us. Hope you enjoyed reading the different perspectives.
Thanks to Kyo for letting me come back for the final post on Kyoukai no Kanata. My opinion has been going up of the show since my last post, and these last couple episodes have been the best, but is it enough to overcome the general impression of the show?
Plot tweeest
Alright, so not all of my predictions came true but at least the two worlds were introduced properly with the fight going on with Mirai and Beyond the Boundary youmu. I’m not sure how Mirai spent the three months of time slip that Akihito went through, while he recovered the effects of his half-youmu being sucked out but this was not the only thing that was left to our imagination. The most powerful family, Nase members could not sense the youmu that had almost engulfed their small town, even with the telltale signs of their reduced powers and the feeling of something being horribly wrong. Until Akihito woke up and started asking lots of questions about Mirai, no development really happened.
The spy-megane’s goal wasn’t described either and the fact that why he even bothered to kickstart that weird car in revealing Beyond the Boundary. Sure, he wanted to acquire the ultimate gem and required other people interfering like Nase and other spirit hunters but even that turned out to be for plot convenience. Don’t even get me started on the appearance of Akihito’s estranged mother. From the dubious dialogue that was exchanged between Izumi, Yayoi and Shizuku, it seems that they were not aware of her being Akihito’s mother…?! Now, that’s pretty strange when his existence has been a threat to all of them because of its volatility and the fact Nase family were his appointed guardians of keeping his powers in check.
I remember asking for adults to butt in and solve some matter but the only thing they did is confuse the situation even more. Izumi has a youmu inside her, Shizuku is not that powerful and easily overwhelmed, not to mention Yayoi, who is a cosplaying hentai with weird fetishes… She just ups and leaves after annoying everyone. I was glad that Mitsuki and Hiro’omi were around to take proper actions rather than adults after that. I came to love these characters but seeing them walking all over each other was painful. This series should have been of two-cour at least so that the last few episodes were not so rushed. However, for this episode at least, in the end, all my doubts did melt away when Mirai and Akihito came together. They sure keep meeting each other in tough situations.
Moar plot tweeeest
With Akihito now in Beyond the Boundary with Mirai, the final battle begins. And of course we’ve got a situation where both of them want the best for the other one, but ultimately, Akihito isn’t going to just let Mirai go while he ‘lives’. So we get the best battle of the series, and this is one that I thought really showed imagination and cleverness. Was it silly? Yep, with that sequence of riding a scooter in the snow, up a hill, over a cliff, with Mirai on the front like a knight riding into battle. They work together much better as a team, and you really get that feeling that they’re drawing strength from each other.
he other ones who are growing in strength are Hiro’omi and Mitsuki. And while Izumi fights her battle with Fujima, her two younger siblings realize that it’s their time to step up. And I’m still not sure what Fujima was trying to do, since it seemed like he just wanted to destroy the world. Why? I never got any reason for it. I guess just being a jerk? Or is it something with the Society of Spirit World Warriors? He never answered that question that I saw. But eventually, Fujima does lose out to Izumi, but not until he’s made a big reveal about her, and she’s answered satisfactorily (at least for me).
In the end, though, there’s very little change. Kyoukai no Kanata started out this whole thing inside Akihito, and after all of this it ends up back inside him. And the part of Mirai that was still alive inside the youmu’s dimension fades away, leaving Akihito the way he said he didn’t want to be: living in a world without her. And while this was sad, I really liked their parting moments, where it finally seemed all the weight had been lifted from Mirai: her guilt over Yui’s death, her fear of loving Akihito, her worries about having to kill him. All of that was forgotten, and she went out with a smile, a genuine smile of happiness.
And then they messed it all up! I love happy endings. I want couples, I want love, I want smooches, I want ‘happily ever after’. I don’t even mind if it’s improbable, or contrived, or even a deus ex machina. But this? This took the cake. This was just outright gratuitous. If you’ll forgive me, it was Beyond the Boundary of anything approaching good storytelling. That ending had been great, and there was no reason for Mirai to come back. And even if her smile was brilliant, and it was good to see her again, it’s just not something that you can accept. They didn’t give any mechanism for it. I mean, hell, Peter Pan imploring children in the audience to clap to bring Tinkerbell back to life had more reason behind it. I could go on and on, but let’s just leave it at this: It was the wrong ending.
This was one of my favourite show of the season but the last few episodes just did not do it justice. After Free! this was another big experiment for KyoAni and even with the audience’s doubt, this series was pretty popular throughout its run. Sure, not everyone appreciated the troll episode of K/Jpop homage but I loved it personally. Whatever the outcomes were, this was another beautifully animated series with some misgivings. I am sure we will have people liking this series by the end, like Highway, and I even did too but the only thing that ruined it for me was the ending.
Even when the last few episodes were seriously dedicated to the PLOT but they came too late for massive explanations because of deviating from the original story. Sakura stuck out like a sore thumb (she doesn’t exist in novels), and a lot of other characters became superfluous, including Mr. spy (yeah, I just never bothered remembering his name), and even Yayoi. I know her character was designed to appeal to moe fans but damn, I wanted to not only kick her but smash her head in somewhere for being too vague.
All the characters I came to love just fell apart. Mitsuki and Hiro’omi had the potential of being amazing supporting characters and they always made their presence felt but there was not just enough time. Coming to the happy ending, it came with a price and usually I don’t mind some plotholes but with the kind of goodbye they went through, that last scene just did not cut it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mirai and Akihito pairing and this is one of the first canon pairings in a while. If things would have gone well, that ending with arriving at the same rooftop where they first met would have been beautiful. But oh well, sometimes happiness rules out everything and I can personally vouch: love is a beautiful thing.
Kyoukai no Kanata wasn’t a bad show, overall. But because it was KyoAni, I think everyone was expecting more. In terms of storytelling, this wasn’t anywhere in the same class as their recent efforts. I don’t think it’s because it wasn’t ‘slice of life’, because I think that Chuu2koi had a similar level of plot, at least the same order of magnitude, but seemed to tell its story so much better, with far less downtime, far less muddiness, and none of the WTF. We know they can do better, so it’s disappointing that they didn’t. There were flashes of brilliance, to be sure, but really, the final impression is that it left a lot on the table.
And while there’s been discussion this season about the pacing, I still don’t think it was an issue of not having enough episodes. This finish wasn’t rushed at all. The last two episodes were as close to excellent as the series got, and they were very good (excepting the last 2 minutes). And we had at least two ‘throwaway’ episodes out of these 12, with Sakura’s story, and the pervy youmu on the roof. I just think there wasn’t the material to support the story, at least not to my satisfaction. What was Fujima doing? That’s what I think the main thing that didn’t fit in was. And without having a real motivation for that tension, I think much of the rest of the story falls apart. Not a giant failure of a show, but just disappointing because we expected more.
We leave you with the best ED of the season, hands down.
>> Art credit: KnK group by sassu笹森mori (profile page is NSFW) & Daisy by しなちく
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I will agree that the ED was the best of the season; lots and lots of feels. I just wish the show lived up to the potential.
I don’t know a thing about the source material, so I don’t know if this should have been a 2 cour or not; given how uneven the pacing was to me, I would be concerned about it’s ongoing quality.
As I pointed out with Galilei Donna, it comes down to direction; and as HWY says, what was up there? This is the same team that handled chuu2koi and will handle the sequel. I find it odd that we have a show of unlimited potential not living up to that as the meat inside two chuuni bread hunks.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I always get the feels when I hear Daisy. There were some other contenders close but not like this song for sure.
I haven’t read the source material either except for a few fans posting excerpts. I know you can’t always stick to the novel/manga but from experience, I have always found the original material more moving that its adaptation. I think the staff did start on the right path but after the troll episode (which was golden btw), things just fell apart.
I’m not a chu2koi fan so I can’t make judgments here but it’s kinda sad seeing such a great potential going waste. I thought KyoAni would do better even when I’m not there biggest fan. They even kind of saved Free! didn’t they? What happened here?
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
Best Ed indeed; i listen to it all the time
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I gotta say that’s Kyo’s opinion, I’m not on board with that one (I never listen to that song).
🙂
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
While there are other good Ed’s like Nagi no Asakura’s, i feel like KnK’s ED captured that meloncholic longing feeling that the series was trying to go for (although the series kinda failed at reflecting this) and its that meloncholic feeling, the way the song is arranged that, and the visuals of the ED itself apart from the song, that makes me think its the best Ed this fall season. Out of curiosity, what is your favorite ED of the season?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I like a few different ED’s from this season for different reasons. I’ve just made the ED from Samurai Flamenco my ringtone, cause it’s cool and catchy and appropriate for that. I like the Unbreakable Machine Doll ED cause it’s just nuts (“mawaremawaremaware” and “yoooooo-pon!”). I like the NouCome ED because of the guitar lead in. I like the Arpeggio ED, Blue Field, because of the feeling and the card that leads into it “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” And I’ve had to stop watching the White Album 2 ED’s because they’re so heartbreaking.
But to be honest, none of them this season measure up to one of the ED’s from the secret santa show I’ve been watching. You’ll find out about that in a couple days. 🙂
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
WA2 ED are just so much. They tell a whole story in their own right. Because of that, I’m having a hard time ordering my favorites this season. So much feels.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
And maybe what you say is one reason Daisy never resonated with me. There really wasn’t that depth of feeling in the show, so there was nothing for the ED to reflect.
And at the end of the day, it’s not a style of music I go crazy for.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I think the TV edit is the best. The full song is just an odd hip hop mix, I find it hard to find the TV edit in it. But I think it did live up to promise, even if the full show didn’t. Very very odd.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I like Daisy for the same reason. Whatever they did with Mirai and Akihito in the actual show, their intended relationship around the self-doubt, guilt, reluctantly reaching out and finally to be held by a person who actually understood, was very beautiful.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Has anyone here read the source LN?
If so, what direction is the LN plot currently on?
Is the story better or wose than the anime’s?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I would love to read the source LN. As it is..nukulas is doing level best to keep up. It’s not like the chuunibyou LN translation that is for sure.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I haven’t read the LN but from experience the original material is usually better than the adaptation. I mean, didn’t Sakura stood out like a sore thumb? And what was the megane-dude really up to? And Yayoi? With skylion’s link, I sure would like to find some answers.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
A bit shaky toward the end but an interesting and enjoyable series nonetheless. What I have to applaud the most is KyoAni’s attempt at expanding beyond their comfort zone with traditional element by adding fight sequences which weren’t all bad.
Plus, there were some good characters. Some you like, some that make you laugh and others that make you hate their guts because of their heartless ambition. I’m pegging the last one on you, Izumi. Another unique thing about the series was its choice in episode titles that serve as some kind of indication in either the scenery or the story (Carmine,Moonlight Purple,Golden Lull, Black World).
Overall, Kyoukai no Kanata was a good show to pass the time with some nice scenery porn.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
BB, I have to disagree. They started with their comfort zone, and just expanded in small degrees from that point. Overall the direction was just shoddy. It’s like they wanted an event performance, but found that half way they couldn’t really pull that off.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I would say that it is rather more like one of their moeblob shows with a fantasy mod stuck on top of it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
This one had so much potential. I’m just sad at how it turned out. I gave it a 6/10 on MAL. I expected at least 8 when it began to air this Fall.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I have to agree. A 6 out of 10 is the most I can give this series. It’s a bittersweet feeling.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I think this was a decent effort, but not one of those shows that will be remembered as a classic. The thing that really kicks it up a notch is the artwork, and it had some interesting characters, but, as discussed above, it had some serious plot holes, and the ending was contrived.
I am a touch disappointed by the series overall. KyoAni continue to show potential, but I have to agree with Highway: the idol episode was a wasted opportunity. I don’t mind them doing a silly episode like that and using it as omake when selling the box set, but please give the villain some understandable motivation before wasting time on stuff like that.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
This had great characters but not room enough for them to grow. It became pointless in the end except for being a scenery/animation porn anime.
I’m on a mission to read the novel now. I hope it gets fully translated by the time I finish and if it’s better than the anime, then there might be a post around it.