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「灰色の世界」 (Haiiro no Sekai)
“Grey World”
At some point, I think you just have to sit back and enjoy the show without asking too many questions. Kyoukai no Kanata was that type of show for me; especially in the case of this episode. If I spend too much time wondering why and how, then that just takes away from the entertainment value that the show is providing. I’ve learned to just ignore all the messy pacing issues and plot holes and just roll with it. This finale was a good example of just taking in all the pretty animation and sweet commentary in the epilogue. It makes me feel a little less cheated when I don’t think about what the story could’ve been because my expectations were too high. Instead, KnK delivers on many points that I don’t give it enough credit for and perhaps that’s where it excels the most.
These points being the animation and the beautiful use of visual and audio stimuli. Some sequences and scenes were so well done in the past 12 episodes that it’s hard not to sit back and admire it. The most obvious one being last week’s ending, but I thought every week had a great ending tie-in to the ED. Episode 10’s opening sequence was also a very subtle way to foreshadow events… until you realize it’s actually a flashback! It’s these tiny moments in the show that make you think that it’s capable of so much more and the storytelling can actually come out as excellent rather than just mediocre. Unfortunately, these elements are simply just added value to the show and it doesn’t help the show stand out on its own.
I think one of the biggest flaws in the show (and it’s very evident in this episode) was the large cast of characters and how the story diversifies so much amongst the different families/clans/students etc. It’s very interesting that each character has their own motives and secret agenda, but it has to be used cautiously and maybe it’d work better for grander, longer running anime. In such a short run, it’s hard to capture that entire plot into a sequence that is understandable, and not completely random or choppy. The beginning was a great example of something that built up a lot of mystery and anticipation, without sacrificing all the small details and character development between Mirai and Akihito. However, as more problems occurred and Izumi and Miroku were integrated further into the story, they had their own subplot that distracted a lot from the main cast. In the end, it turned out to be two battles focused on Akihito’s inner youmu and Miroku vs. Izumi. It would’ve made a lot more worthwhile if these two final scenes didn’t look like they were happening in parallel, but together and unified. After all, what happened to Miroku in the end? Did he just… die?
Anyway, I don’t have any more overarching complaints or compliments for the story because I feel like I’m being overly repetitive. The only other piece that I thought was obviously a deus ex machina, was that ending. Oh dear that ending. When the epilogue rolled and the voice-over started playing, I just knew that something was going to happen. Call it unexpected (or expected) but I thought the ending was very forced and morphed to become a happy ending. Personally I thought it would’ve made for a more bittersweet, memorable ending if they left it at that, but I guess KnK has to have that token KyoAni ending that gives us all hope.
TL;DR – @RCCherrie: That deus ex machina… I think it would’ve been much more impactful if they left the epilogue without it =S #kyo_kai #finale
Epilogue:
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Final Impressions
There was a lot of hype surrounding Kyoukai no Kanata when it was first aired – from being a KyoAni show to being a dark fantasy and having great source material to draw from. As the show progressed, I’d have to admit that the first arc was really well done. It had a lot of surprising elements, great set of characters that weren’t too boring or generic and I thought the setting for the story was very solid and well-articulated. Around mid-season, the show started to take interesting spins to situations… I won’t spoil too much, but let’s just say that you either love it or hate it. There are also a lot of distracting points around the middle of the season that don’t necessarily flow with the rest of the story. From then on, the story seems to suffer from lack of character development and pacing issues, all for the sake of advancing the story forward. Honestly, a lot of this can probably be overlooked (or maybe I’m just being picky) because in the end, the story ends up exactly where you’d expect it to be.
I don’t think KnK lives up to all the hype that it received early on, however I do think it’s one of the better shows I’ve seen in terms of being an excellent audio and visual experience. Some of the episodes (highlights being ep. 4 & 10) really amazed me and showed exactly what this show was capable of delivering. Admittedly, I don’t think that the storytelling was very great for most of the series, but there are some moments that really capture your attention again and leave you wondering if they can do it one more time. I also wasn’t a fan of the main couple which made me feel a lot less invested in the show (mentally and emotionally). I don’t want to speak for everyone though, so if you’re wondering if there’s romance in here, there clearly is – it’s just not my cup of tea. Mitsuki and Hiroomi were the characters that interested me the most, but that might be because I’m a fan of second girl wins.
Regardless of whether Kyoukai no Kanata is a contender for AOTY or not, it’s still a worthwhile watch in my opinion. It’s definitely very pleasing to the eye and entertaining at that. The story doesn’t leave many cliffhangers because it ties itself up very well and there’s a happy ending. There are flaws in the story, but that shouldn’t deter you from watching it anyway if you’re into fantasy. I wouldn’t label this as a “dark fantasy” having seen it all now, but I would probably say it’s more of fantasy, drama with hints of slice-of-life.
Updated Note: Forgot to thank Divine for helping me out with screencaps in the latter half of this show! It’s been a struggle but I’ll try and keep my posts semi-timely from now on. Laptop will be going back to the shop so I’ll be blogging from a tablet for the next while!
Just when I was starting to get attached to the characters..
This last episode was horrible why not fight the kyoukai and mirai and akihito absorved him leaving mirai alive since she absorved him and akihito free to use kyoukai powers and both sharing kyoukai for this not happen again then both equals (maybe imortals) and powerfulls to live ever after, THE END. oh and some romance and kiss scene please.
KyoAni is stretching their limits and learning from doing, with a couple of scraped knees and elbows along the way. I enjoyed the series and look for more down the line to answer the questions that were left unanswered. I can wait spend my time on the various moments I enjoyed, without dwelling on the less than perfect moments. Thanks for following this. On to Chuu2!
Kind of a lackluster/meh feeling from this ending. I don’ know, it just really felt underwhelming to me. All in all, it was a not unpleasant show that looked great and in the end, i’m still glad that I followed this! Thanks for covering this show Cherrie. Now then,onward to Chuunibyou season 2!
Why oh why is Kyoani making so many sequels, yet still haven’t announced anything regarding Full Metal Panic.
I know… I feel ya.
Because FMA is a light novel adapted into anime.
This means that if the author doesn’t want it to be animated by KyoAni, KyoAni cannot do anything about it.
Do you know what happens in the last part of FMP? How many people are killed? The shear brutality of some scenes? Even if Kyoani was interested in finishing that series they should not be allowed to, it’s really beyond them now. Just be content to watch beautifully animated high school hijinks. Full Metal Panic should be passed to a studio that can do DARK and bloody.
On topic, that final scene was like the end of Xamd. Mirai is dead, and hey, she’s alive again. And no we aren’t going to explain why. On one level, yay, happy end, on another level, huh?
Unfortunately, for me this wasn’t the type of show where I could just apply the MST3K mantra – that’s for stuff like Valvrave, Coppelion and Galilei Donna, where they can provide basic entertainment if you just roll with all the dumb stuff. With this show, on the other hand, I was so uninvested at the end that I ended up riffing it just to have something to amuse me. Sticking with KnK wasn’t worth it in the end for me, and it’s Kyoani’s worst show this year as far as I’m concerned.
Personally, I don’t think there were too many characters per se. I think the bigger flaw lies with them just not being developed enough. So many of them fall back on mere character quirks again and again instead of actual development, and you’d have to wonder if all the time spent on those stupid jokes about glasses fetishes couldn’t have been used better. Our main couple had no real chemisty to speak of either, and that ending was just a slap in the face. I could have actually respected the show if they stuck with their guns, but noo, deus ex machine ahoy! And of course, the villain wanted to destroy the world because…he was possessed or something. Sure, whatever.
Couple that with weak worldbuilding and irritatingly confusing scenes and I find that Kyoukai no Kanata barely has any merits besides looking pretty (save for the idol-episode. Gotta admit, that was actually pretty funny). And just looking pretty doesn’t get a pass from me in any medium, period. I’m glad this show is over, really. Haven’t been this glad since Robotics;Notes.
Now onwards to Chuunibyou 2, and don’t mess up this time, Kyoani!
Agreed.
It was largely just the look of the series (mostly the girls, lol) that kept me coming back. While I CAN suspend my belief for things, I can’t completely throw it away either. It just becomes easier to ignore the nagging about it depending on the series. It’s always on the edge of my mind, and during this whole episode, the holes stood out so much that most of what I could think of was, “What the hell is going on?”, and whatnot.
And as I mentioned for the episode itself, while I did enjoy the idol episode, I really felt it had NO place in the main series for what it was said to be. It would’ve been much better off as a DVD/Blu-ray OVA episode, or extra 13th episode, and the episode could’ve been dedicated to giving us some actual answers or develop the plot/characters. If it were a 24+ episode series, yeah, you can afford to waste one or even two episodes of it on humor, moe, etc, but a 12 episode series, especially one that is attempting to pass itself off as more complex, dramatic, etc, and based on unfinished material no less? You need to make EVERY episode count to ensure decent development and execution.
Good sir, your comment is so full of win. *thumbs up*
JUST based on the deus ex machina of an ending this shouldn’t be an AOTY contender. The animation was top notch, the romance was kept tasteful (as to be expected from KyoAni) and it had a half-decent fantasy plot line. KnK lost it for me though with the handling of the story. For 12 episodes you cannot fully address all the secondary characters and not have the Izumi plot twist revealed in this episode seemingly come out of nowhere. Really needed 2 cours to properly address what was actually a interesting premise at the start.
Good ideas, but the execution drags this down to a 6/10 imo.
I was extremely disappointed with this show; i didn’t drop it but it was fairly blah. I would give it 5/10.
There was no character development and i did not care about either main character. This last episode was pretty much a catch all for what was wrong with this show.
I do not know if the problem was with the original material or what but this would be my candidate for worst KyoAni ever, being slightly worse than K-on.
If this show was more obviously aimed towards little kids i could forgive the terrible writing but this is obviously an adult oriented show.
Well, overall, the series was overall entertaining, and yes, the story could’ve been told a bit better. Personally, the ending of this episode ruined it for me. Because when as I watched the episode, I was thinking, “Wow, they’re really doing their best here!” Animation was spectacular, and the parting between Mirai and Akihito was well done, causing my mindset for most of the episode to be like “wow, really good.”
However, once the ending came in, all my emotions suddenly changed to, “Wait. What. Aren’t you dead. What.” Even though it was coming, that ending totally changed my feelings on the overall episode (causes you know how the conclusion leaves the greatest impression!) //orz
But overall, I guess it was a pretty good series. Hopefully, from here, once they take a story like this, they’ll better their storytelling!
I think the transition from sad to a happy ending was not the best decision because although Kuriyama is a very entertaining character, I felt there should have been a process to how they could get her back so that Akihito could get over her but then show his determination again to bring her back; her sudden revival left me perplexed that I felt more confused than happy to see her again.
Yeah, if KyoAni really needed to add hope something like that might’ve been ok. Maybe her soul is in the ring or inside Beyond the Boundary (which is inside him) but doesn’t have a body. Yet. Or maybe she’s a ghost now, like everyone’s favourite snail. Whatever. But that was possibly the worst deus ex machina I’ve ever seen.
Now that I’ve thought about it, the way I would end it would be for him to unexpectedly do or say something clearly Mirai-like, indicating she’s not “gone” completely, and there would be your sequel hook.
2-cour, with certain characters actually getting some development and without stuff coming out of nowhere would have been much, much, better.
What I gathered from this final episode:
Voice acting is awesome. Animation is awesome. Characters literally vanish into thin air. Characters are resurrected. Anime-original elements (Yui and the demon weapon) play no releveant part in the finale at all. Miroku is the most underdeveloped villain ever (“I’m going to absord Beyond the Boundary and destroy the world” – SERIOUSLY?)
And finally… IMAGINE BREAKER! (Sorry, someone had to)
Seriously, this anime had potential (production values rather than basic plot, which wasn’t anything too original), but with every episode, it seemed like the writers put effort in making it predictable and playing every trope straight.
It was an entertaining ride, definitely a feast for the eyes, but from the second half on, it just became one of the shows I was looking forward to the less during the week. Oh, well.
Also, this is probably what happens when you take a light novel series only a year and a half old (just 3 volumes) and try to squeeze a franchise from it. It’s like trying to make juice from unripe fruit – you can try, but if you fail, you wasted a good fruit.
I did hear the anime’s story was written based on the 1st vol and vol 2’s draft…
I find that’s the case for a lot of anime these days though… a lot of manga/LNs aren’t fully developed and then they make an anime out of it! (e.g. Blood Lad or Rozen Maiden). It’s not really my cup of tea but I also think they tailor a lot of shows to what they THINK viewers want animated. Apparently KnK’s LN was just THAT good >_> I’ll need to finish reading it one of these days…
Kyoukai no Kanata is actually a contender for Biggest Disappointment of the Year.
No that belongs to Coppelion exclusively. At least KnK managed to be partially interesting, Coppelion simply fell apart at the seams after episode 3. Heck even Kakumeiki Valvrave was better put together than the Coppelion disaster.
Ouch. Dude, that’s cold. lol
Fuck you Kyoani.
You got me all upset and teary eyed with that ending thinking it was really the ending and then pull that off right at the end and still get a few tears out of me. Damn you!
Honestly wish she stayed “dead”… it would’ve made for a more daring and memorable ending. Oh wells… then it wouldn’t be opened up for a second season =P
If you expected an MC to die then you’ve already set-up yourself for more disappointment.
I mean, what kind of MC perma-dies in the first part of the series?
I think KnK should be treated as a building block for Kyoani’s future action shows because the fight sequences and general animation were quite amazing. The handling of the story could have been done much better however and considering all the mysteries left open at the end KnK is just screaming for a sequel. Maybe the pacing and character development will be handled better next time.
Totally agree. I think there is a sequel to the anime. I actually really enjoy it because since episode 10 I put it in my mind that there was no way they will end everything in 12 episodes. There are so many unanswered questions that were left open and I’m sure they can explore with a sequel… I love the Hiromi is the boss of the Nase family now!
Do people not remember KyoAni did season 2 and 3 of FMP? The action sequences were pretty amazing, even during the Fumoffu onsen episode. They’ve always done a very impressive job with their animation.
Exactly; I notice people blame Kyo ani as a studio when that’s incorrect to do so. Sure the studio as a whole is responsible for what they put out but it actually depends on the staff who is working on the series. If you have a skilled staff of kyo ani works (or people outside of kyo ani) you will get good works, if not, you will get flawed works.
Don’t get me wrong FMP action scenes and animation were great, even by today’s standards. But still Kyoani hasn’t produced a real action series since Second Raid which was in 2005. Had FMP been released 2 or 3 years ago it would have been visually orgasmic.
I call a second season.
Too many unanswered questions.
There’s nothing wrong in general with unanswered questions, the problem is unanswered questions that should never have been asked.
In this case, KyoAni should have cut the episode a little shorter – Akkey looks at the ring, it disappears, he starts running, gets to the school roof, looks and sees … ZA ENDO. If we want to believe that Mirai is somehow there then we can, if we don’t want to believe it then we don’t have to. But that way it ends with the unanswered question “what did he see?” rather than “how in the name of [insert appropriate deity] did Mirai managed to come back?”.
That’s not the only unanswered question. There are just a multitude of them and some of them are huge plot points on why everything is happening.
I’d like to know more about Akkey and Hiromi’s past. They could make an episode about it, instead of that singing comedy. Also more about Akihito’s parents. Also I wonder why they showed a Hiromi among all these people who were symbol of Akihito’s ‘bad emotions’. ( I understand why Mirai saw Sakura, but why Akihito saw Hiromi? )
It’s heavily hinted at that Aki actually hurt Hiroomi very badly in the past (he has a huge scar on his back) when Aki transformed into a youmu. It’s in the beginning of episode 2 too. I think that’s probably one of Aki’s “biggest regrets” and he talks to Mirai about it too (although she probably doesn’t know the extent).
Definitely lots of questions surrounding Aki’s parents and the Nise clan. I don’t think “too many questions” are bad, but I don’t like how they leave them so open-ended or rather, end it very abruptly. The issue with Miroku really bothers me that they just “accepted” his disappearance and the reappearance of Mirai will always bother me -__-‘
I think a lot of people are disappointed because this anime could’ve been something special, but it came up short.
However, I think we’re still left with something that’s truly above average.. and hey, above average ain’t that bad. I enjoyed it, was entertained, and I’d watch a second season for sure.
Agreed. Not top tier but above average in terms of entertainment so I’d still recommend it. There hasn’t been a truly GREAT KyoAni show that I’ve enjoyed too much since Clannad After Story =( and I wish they’d do something like that again… tugs at my heart so much ~
At least it is million times better than stupid bishounen manservice show “Free!”. That’s all I can say for this show.
Even with all of its plot problems Kyoukai is still better than Free! No amount of downvotes is gonna change that.
I didn’t watch Free! because it’s just not my thing but I’m sure some of the ladies will disagree with you.At least that show knew what it wanted to be and never looked back.Although I’ll never watch it,I’m glad a show like that exists.
I actually didn’t mind Free!… it was exactly what you’d expect it to be and it didn’t try to be anything else. The ending was a bit lackluster, but hey! It’s a fanservice show about achieving your dreams and they did that. That’s a very different show than what KnK tried to do so you can’t really compare the two. I would say that the biggest disappointment is just the fact that KnK was very HYPED and it didn’t live up to that.
when I finished KNK I was thinking – how am I gonna describe that show?well, I am going to use the meaning of the famous well-written song The Road Not Taken.
that’s definitely KNK. it could have been way better with KyoAni animation. if only they were to execute it well.
throughout the entire series, animation and OST was in such high-level. battles were..eyegasm. and the OP/ED were great.
however, it failed to inspire me as a viewer. I am afraid not only to inspire … let’s take it to parts:
characters – beside Mirai, I didn’t feel any development or click for each of the other characters, and it’s unfortunate since there is a diversity in cast. but it’s only in quantity, not quality.
the 2 most anticipated characters for me – sakura and mitsuki, weren’t developed in the right way. in fact, they were kinda developed half-way but then neglected in the middle.
and there is Akihito. a way to describe him? he is unpleasant. kidding (or not). not that he is bad or something. he doesn’t feel right in the place of MC. and the VA didn’t help with that. I didn’t feel a click with him.
all this cause a huge problem since the climax is based on the characters’ development and the click to them, which wasn’t exist (and that’s bad since KyoAni’s formula is based on characters). so when you have nothing in common with your characters, the last episodes lose quite a lot from their value.
there is more related to it. the comic touch. now this was unpleasant! you can’t use the same 2 jokes all the time. it was shallow, not funny, boring and become annoying at some point.
the idol chapter was indeed funny. but aside that? it wasn’t good.
story – main problem for KNK. I mean, it has great potential, the opening and ending arcs are good material. but it was executed not so good(=badly). I mean..look at this episode (#12). I wanted to see some of this style with the fights and interesting development of the “mystery”(fantasy mystery). I wanted to see this throughout the entire series, not for only 2 episodes in total.
speaking of story, last episodes were weird. details fly from here to there.. I wouldn’t say plot holes, but it didn’t feel right. in a way it was forced, especially last episode which felt hurried in terms of plot. too many details, some of them are unrelated to nothing.. I don’t want say the scriptwriting is totally sloppy, because there is good raw material, but the execution was very bad.
overall, KyoKan could have been better, much better in the hands of the right command. and I am not saying this because of the hype. I am really being objective here.
it doesn’t mean KNK is bad. but it’s not good either. it’s fine. it has good moments like the flashback episode, the hollow shadow episode and some other lovely stuff. but in the big picture it has a lot of problems.
I don’t know if it’s KyoAni’s fault who shouldn’t have tried a series with fantasy and action. trying to forcing their well-known formula didn’t work here in the big picture. or maybe a KyoAni can produce such things, but they it should have been in the hand of the right people.
that way or another, mostly I pretty much enjoyed KyoKan. not only because of animation. there were good parts too. but there is a feeling of disappointment or sense of missed opportunity.
Cherrie, huge thanks for blogging KNK for us! in good times and in bad times. I hope your PS problems worked out because I liked your capping throughout the series!
p.s
“a future without you”==>”Mirai(future in japanese) without mirai (the character)”. was it that hard to say it and make a joke out of it, KNK?
Thanks for reading! Appreciated the long comments every week and it’s fun to read what other people are thinking – agree or disagree. Laptop is actually going to be sent back because I think there might be hardware issues… will still try to get the Winter preview and Samumenco out when I can though =)
I enjoyed the show but think it fell into the trap a lot of adaptations of incomplete work run into where they lost the core story in the name of servicing every possible thread because they can’t decide what’s important and what’s not if they ever need to come back to it. So, the revelations often felt forced because they didn’t spend enough time building up the relationship between their central characters while the stuff that can’t be explained because it hasn’t been explained yet was just tied up on a rope and winched out to hang in the wind with no setup.
WRT the ending, I’ve read enough comics over the years to know that Show Spoiler ▼
That was quite the asspull of an ending if I ever saw one. She’s here, oh wait that was an illusion and she’s really “gone”, but she’s not dead and she is still here fighting, but then it looks like she’s gonna die and truly be gone, but then she’s saved, but then at the end she’s gone and that’s the end – but not really.
Then, a physical (non-spirit related) ring that he is holding disappears for no reason, then she is alive for no reason and she gets her glasses back. The end. The absolute least they could have done is throw us a bone with a quick kiss – this isn’t a romance but it’s something.
btw, if anyone can find me a scooter that can climb up a snowy hill with a 70 degree incline – let me know. I was thinking of climbing Everest and that seems to be the way to go.
I agree that the animation and action were well done. We know that KyoAni can do a decent story and NOW we know that they can do action. Let’s just assume this is practice for titles down the road.
I’m pretty sure the scooter thing was because they weren’t in the real world – I believe they said something to that effect.
They never explained how the ring relates to her powers. She was always taking it off and doing stuff with it when fighting, so it wasn’t just a plain physical ring. Nothing about that ending made any sense, though.
I always thought of the ring as something that “unleashed” her powers when she took it off so it contained her powers when it was on. She takes it off in episode 2 and they seem to put a lot of emphasis on that.
As for her reappearance in the last 2 seconds… I have NO IDEA how that happened so I’m sure everyone is like WTF about that too. I think the ring “disappeared” from Aki’s hands because Mirai reappeared though. She’s the rightful owner so it’s probably a signal that she’s wearing it again – which she is.
Probably someone has left her scooter…
http://image.123tagged.com/images/h/haruko_haruhara_from_flcl_furi_kuri-13214.jpg
I think it’s a homage of sorts…
Ha! Kaminai-style ending. And is that ending anime-original or is it from the source material?
KyoAni can’t into action.
Their action scenes may be beautifully animated, but they have no impact. The action coupled up with the sound effects and OST feels half-assed and just doesn’t get me pumped up at all.
agree,the action escenes do not have tension,if you see for example railgun 2,in this anime you feel the tension what something bad can happen to misaka in the fights.in kyokai no kanata the fights are choreography insipid where you do not feel fear what the main character can get hurt or lose.
“Their action scenes may be beautifully animated?”
“KyoAni can’t into action.”
That’s already conflicting. They can do action it’s just that the other departments drag it down. I agree that the sound effects are mostly weak and the OST isn’t solid.
And this is me even trying UTW’s release over HS’s. HS’s release has terrible audio. Their Noukome rip made my ears bleed.
I was in doubt between KnK and SnK for best of the year until yesterday, but the epilogue gave me the answer. KnK leave with lots of unexplained stuff, and I really hope it gets a 2nd season (2-cour please Kyoani), because I still had tons of fun watching the cute “wannabe a couple but can’t due to circumstances”.
sigh… when its sad ending people rage. but when its happy ending the people goes “F*CK thats it??” Well its up to you. Personally I love the ending wholeheartly, and I will never forget this beautiful anime, that makes me smile and cry all out. Can’t wait for the OVA!
Also I sense season 2, since Akihito’s mother said “to be continue” before jumps off the window. Kyoani also announced Tamako’s Love Story movie!
Despite it all, I have to say I do not regret picking up KnK. It had its flaws, and I have to say I got really confused at some parts (and still am), but towards the end I kind of gave up and decided that perhaps this wasn’t a show I should try to think too much about, so I just accepted whatever happened. After doing so, I definitely enjoyed KnK a lot more. I guess it’s sometimes better to just lower the expectations and just take whatever they give you without questioning too much.
I cannot say I love the characters enough to continue watching just for their sake, but I definitely did not hate the characters, and in fact I rather like them. I do not think they are extremely well developed, but they are at least rather interesting for the most part, though sometimes they do seem rather boring and predictable. I think, it’s just better to appreciate the good points in them without analyzing their flaws too much. (though of course, not the the extent that we admit the characters are perfect) I do however feel Sakura should either get more character development, or at least get a smaller role in the story. In the later episodes, most of the times she appears, I find myself thinking I’d rather she not be there. (That is however just my opinion and it is probably biased considering I don’t like anime original characters as much, especially when they are not really well developed)
Overall, while this anime isn’t perfect or the best out there in my opinion, it was a rather interesting watch, and I liked the animation a lot. I enjoyed the fights and character interactions (not all though) and I have to say there were more than a few good parts in this show (I feel everyone is just fixated on the bad things of KnK). I am not sure if this is something I will recommend to someone else, depending on their tastes, but I will definitely not discourage people from watching KnK.
Thank you Cherrie for covering this show 🙂 It surely made it more enjoyable for me, especially when I had difficulties comprehending some stuff myself.
Thanks for reading and commenting! I agree on many points that you made – especially around characters and development. Sakura was an original character so if you ever felt a disconnect between her and everyone else, that’s why. They seriously just forced her in and wasted an episode on her for no real apparent reason other than – her weapon is evil and Mirai has a friend now. Sorry, I guess I didn’t like her very much =X
Definitely not a waste of time to watch, but it also depends on your preferences for shows. Personally I thought it was just “alright” but not the best anime of 2013. Maybe honorable mention if you wanted something to watch from 2013.
Argh the unreached potential in this show just kills me. These kinds of plots with their elements of mystery and character agendas NEED more development, more episodes, to suck us in. There were so many characters, so many plot points and twists all rammed up in such a chokingly small time frame. I felt so sad that I didn’t feel as much emotional impact in the BEAUTIFUL visual moments (there was tone! atmosphere!) between our characters that the show probably expected me to have (especially throughout the latter half of the series). We needed more episodes like the Mitsuki-centric one (where we had depth and character emotion instilled in one, then branching out as a theme inside others. It was a great development point for the whole cast!), and then her existence and grasp of cohesive plot sadly went downhill from there…
I really did enjoy this series. Action was definitely top-notch and popcorn worthy (one would drool at the fluidity and crispness of character movements and perfect camera angles). There were times where it did grab me emotionally (Mitsuki’s loneliness and Sakura’s friendship, these were the type of subjects I wanted this story to go more in-depth with). As said again, looking at the beginning and ending scenes of this last episode, it felt like I should have bawled at these moments. There was just a light punch at the heart, when the show must have intended for a knife-twisting heart attack. This show wasn’t bad in any means, but it also wasn’t able to reach up to its potential. A good joy ride that doesn’t really leave much thinking involved (you wish at times it took a different route). Just sit back and try not to be frustrated at the few potholes you bump into at the end of the road.
-plays Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” 100x waiting for the never-to-be season 2 of Hyouka-
QFT – I’m always amazed how some shows are two cour from the beginning and still don’t seem to ever go anywhere (Tokyo Ravens) while others deserve so much more but get shafted and have to force a ton of material into 12 episodes.
I guess what truly bothers me is that while certain (good) shows are forced packed to the brim and make every second count, other shows that are two cour act like they have all the time in the world and will throw in random filler episodes or (gasp!) a recap episode. If you are blessed with two cours (or a second season), don’t waste it – there are most likely better titles waiting in the wings. /rant
“I think you just have to sit back and enjoy the show without asking too many questions”
Translation, lower your standards as low as possible or else you’ll just realize how bad the whole thing is despite the pretty visuals trying their best to hide it.
In the end KnK is a show that ultimately fails because Kyoani absolutely refused to let go of the intrusive cutesy elements. Crap humor, badly timed jokes, plain nonsense, late relevations that actually don’t matter much, all those ended up bulding a schizophrenic show filled with repulsive characters that made it hard to actually care about anything. Add a clumsy sequel hook that may not lead anywhere due to poor reception and things start looking even more grim.
http://i.imgur.com/nlQQORi.jpg
I like how they somehow tried to make a joke out of it at the very last episode. That line sums up the whole show pretty well.
Lol I wouldn’t say it in those exact words… but sure, essentially I think that’s why a lot of people are disappointed. After watching the whole series, I would say, “Don’t start watching expecting A LOT”.
The “cutesy” stuff didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would (I took it as part of the characters’ personalities)… but the comedy was not up my alley and even the slice-of-life parts were kind of just there. I thought it took away from a lot of the built up tension from week to week and could’ve been used to answer more questions.
Animation and action was still the most beautiful aspect of this series.
This ending felt kind of abrupt. No word on Miroku’s real motivation for risking the end of the world, why he’s part Yomu, or why Izumi is the same way. Or where Izumi went, or whether the Society of Spirit World Warriors really was behind part of it. Nope, no answers. Better hope for a season two!
It pains me to say this, but episode 6 was probably my favorite one. Too much was left unexplained.
Oh and his mother annoyed the heck out of me. Even when serious, her voice sounded weird.
KnK and AOTY shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence..
A more fitting candidate for AOTY with dark fantasy setting would be the “frightingly” Shinsekai Yori, another anime with Taneda Risa in the lead role. Scared the hell out of me several times.
Did Divine cap this episode? If so, I would love to read what he has to say about the show. Maybe here in the comments?
Oh yes! He helped me with some of the images! Thanks for reminding me – I’ll need to write him a thank you lol
Unfortunately he’s not watching (much) anime anymore =( I gave him a verbal review of the series and I doubt he’ll be watching – if he does, it won’t be anytime soon (not because of my review, but because he has no time). I’ll let him know you’re thinking of him though ^O^
Some kind of anime burn out? Divine, who liked so many different anime genres? Is that something many ex randomc bloggers suffer from? Thinking about Omni who IIRC according to Divine also reduced his anime watching after leaving the site.
Anyways, if you’re reading this, Divine, thanks for helping out Cherrie. 🙂
And to Cherrie, thanks for covering this series and I am looking forward to future blog postings of yours.
This is the kind of show that make me feel sorry for the animators and effects staff. Especially for the KyoAni guys, because regardless of the show they give nothing less than 110% effort to make them look beautiful. And they finally have a chance to show-off their skills with an action-“horror” (emphasis on the quotes) show. It’s not really their fault that the execution is lackluster. I don’t think they really have any control for the writing and direction.
The biggest problem with this show is that the writers didn’t know what it wanted to be. Action-horror, comedy, moe exploitation? Instead they threw everything into the pot without making those elements work together. And it felt lazy, like they really weren’t trying and winging it.
Compare this to Chuuni an adaptation that KyoAni also didn’t have enough material and was full of original elements. While I didn’t like its shift to overblown drama it at least felt like the writers were trying to make something out of it. KnK felt scattered all over the place.
Personally, judging from the past few works, I think Kyoto Animation has lost their edge and awe factor. A1-Pictures, on the other hand, seems to be getting better and better.
That ending…
*shakes head, then facepalms*
It gets a 7.
Im glad viewers are finally starting to see the effect the 12 ep length had on this series, especially since the content it was dealing with needed enough fleshing out that 1-cour would not have been able to provide. Granted, the series also needed to be in the hands of a better screenwriter and director (the whole studio of kyo ani is not at fault here) but the length also hurt it because so many elements of this series was rushed. If a second season is being considered, hopefully this season was nothing but a prologue to the “really good stuff”. There are things i liked about this series and i want to see what is possible n the hands of a better writer and director. In the end, this series is a 6.5/10 for me (lots of potential that up pops its head in at times but ultimately gets squandered).
Ugh that ending, it’s almost as if while KENN was reading his lines, someone yanked the script away from him and gave him a new one (you even hear in his tone a drastic shift in narration..my God) I get it; since mirai is tied to his blood through the beyond the boundary, after his two-halves had time to stabilize, mirai’s strong emotions for him were able to manifest her back into the real world through the ring but still….why build up that goodbye and that ruin it in 2 mins??
Agreed. That’s why American serial television works a lot better than anime is some respects. You have season’s rolling on a periodic basis where you’ll know whether or not you will be cancelled or renewed. That way the story and be paced and adjusted accordingly, instead of hoping for a sequel sometime in the future if sales permit. Granted there’s also a lot of really BAD television shows. There’s also the issue of having too many different screenwriters working on episodics on top of different directors. That’s probably where anime excels since they usually keep to the same staff throughout the season.
I’m glad that everyone else was disappointed with that ending. I honestly don’t like it when people accept endings like those and applaud the staff for pulling that kind of deus ex machina crap. Of course it leaves the show open for a sequel, but I’d rather have the season stand on it’s own. That being said, the pacing wasn’t great and clearly the show needed to be at least 2 cour. Well, hopefully KyoAni has finally broadened it’s horizions and will put out more shows like Hyouka in the future.
I hesitate to call this a disappointment, if just because it did so many things right: A cast full of likable characters, an interesting if somewhat rote setting, and beatiful presentation all around. The story however, was a complete mess. Cherrie’s comments about there being multiple unrelated plotlines are spot on, and though it might have proven grand on a larger scale and given time, as it was things barely connected. Let’s see if I can hit on a few things:
The whole Izumi/Miroku line needed to be fleshed out further. While it was obvious that Miroku’s little scythe absorbed the power of vanquished youmu, there was no indication of how or whether his own powers derived from it. He was ultimately an antagonist that had no revealed reason for his meddling, and felt very flat. His revelation that Izumi had some youmu in her also had little to no impact, as we were given no time to really ever get inside her past, motivations, or character. It was simply a fact thrown at you and used as a stepping stone for Hiroomi to show some growth. Growth that, mind you, is displayed in all of 2 seconds as he loses his cool talking to someone we still don’t know. Mitsuki was one of my favorite characters from the beginning, but unfortunately remained sidelined right through to the ending with nothing to show for it besides a single claim that she would no longer allow this to be the case.
And then we come to Mirai. I will say that I don’t have much problem with the romance aspect of things, as this was fleshed out enough for me and the two did seem to have some chemistry. That doesn’t excuse the ridiculous deus ex machina that suddenly brought her back from the dead in order to give us a happy ending. Why not just leave her alive after the final battle in that case? So much else of the plot is explained to us in the moment, no one would have blinked an eye if there was some quick explanation of how she lived through BtB’s return. To have her seemingly pass on though, only to bring her back without any explanation is a nearly unforgivably terrible idea that destroys any connection the viewer still had with the story.
So no, while I wouldn’t call the show a disappointment as I did still enjoy watching it week after week, it has certainly proven to be…frustrating.
I thought this as soon as I saw it, and to my lack of surprise, people over at MyAnimeList are saying the same thing:
Yo, that was some Guilty Crown s*** right there.
Show Spoiler ▼
At the end of it, the list of things this show did wrong is far longer than the list of what it did right. The underlying plot showed glimmers of brilliance – episode 10 was probably the highlight, in the way it put (almost) the entirety of the rest of the show to date in context. The visual backgrounds and effects were beautiful… and that’s about it for what it did right.
Everything else, though – non-plot relevant dialogue was largely repetitive and uninspired – it took until this final episode for the banter between the main characters to even remotely approach interesting, rather than mere catchphrases and awkward jokes. Most plot points (not just that cringeworthy ending) are resolved via deus ex machina, and otherwise cribs very liberally from the most tired of tropes – see this episode, where everyone shows up to confront Miroku, even the entirely useless Sakura. Characterization of side characters (and even main characters, somewhat) was hideously neglected, culminating in the absolutely flat parade of plot twists in the final episode, where Miroku has basically no motivation, Izumi has a boring secret, and absolutely no one cares unless they have to. Fight scenes were visually colourful, but somehow soulless in their direction, with no sense of tension or surprise whatsoever – biggest offender being actually in the last episode, with Izumi versus Miroku evoking absolutely nothing. Shoehorned characters like Sakura were irrelevant. Some characters, like Yayoi and (although I know some people will disagree) Ai were just painful to watch. (Seriously, Ayaka is one thing, but having Ai-cat poke at a youmu was just another example of the director not realizing what jars watchers out of immersion.)
So no. Ultimately, I cannot call this show good, or even decent. Instead, what I will call it is the greatest waste of potential since SAO. And this one can’t even blame the source material much. This show’s failings, like much of Coppelion’s, are firmly on the studio’s heads.
That about sums up my opinion of the show, lol.
I don’t see much reason for trying to be positive. This show was a lazy effort in everything aside from the sakuga scenes. Just typical Kyoani through and through as always.
I wouldnt say lazy; its just that the staff working on the series had a vision that they just didnt have the skill to put together, especially in just twelve eps. The vision was a good own, but the road there was bumpy. While i will agree with your disappointment, i still think the series was decent (let’s just assume the ending never happened)
I see lots of people calling for a second season… Even without considering that it’s ultimately up to the response the producers get from the audience, I don’t really know how good a sequel would do to the series.
I mean, the only REAL unanswered question I can think of is who the guy in the cave is – and we can probably guess he’s the Izumi family head or something like that. The only other thing that came close to a mistery were Miroku’s motivations, which got dragged for god knows how many episodes, only to get addressed with the stupidest one liner ever.
Every hanging thread got resolved in the cheapest way possible. Everything else is just holes created by bad writing devices. They tried really hard not to leave space for a continuation.
So sorry, but I don’t really have any expectations for a sequel that is built on plot holes rather than genuinely intriguing questions. Then again, everything is up to the producers and the feedback they get, so who knows.
That’s why I didn’t really mention a need for a second season in my review. The story ties up pretty well imo if you just ACCEPT the fact that, that is that. She is alive and everything is back to “normal” (like what Aki said in the epilogue). I’ve learned to just take it at face value, Mirai is alive and they’re going to live happily ever after. Bad guys are “dead” (or gone) and they’ll continue what they’re doing.
Everything else… well all other answers can probably be implied from the ending. There’s nothing that’s dying to be resolved and frankly, can any writer REALLY write their way out of that deus ex machina? o_O Without pulling more random stuff out of their arse? I don’t know… so no, I don’t think there needs to be another season. And if there is, I don’t know if it’d be better -.-
With enough bullshitry, half of the speculations I’ve read would seem logical.
A perfect way to continue this is with the revelation that Mirai in the end was a Youmu conjured by Aki/KnK. Mirai of ep 9 had completely vanished/died and that the 3 iterations of her were conjured images of Aki’s strong feelings.
Sounds bullshit? Well it does become valid since their explanation that Youmus were born by a mass of human emotions. Aki’s last cheesy lines would pass the criteria.
So no.. I don’t think its a complete deadlock in scale of bullshitry. There’s still a way out. 😛
If this is what they’re really aiming for, double the blame on that poor delivery.
I get the happy ending.i mean isnt she alive in the novel? but yeah i get the ending because just in case it doesnt get a season 2. but i guess it will. although for the silly mom..i swear on animesuki or some forum..they say the mom is more hard cord..even threaten the sister not to lay a hand on her son. but anyway.. like you said it was more..enjoyable by not thinking too much. =D I toke it was a straightforward dont think to much ending.Just see it how you see it. where the mom tells the brother and sister to protect their demon and human friends. the brother told the older sister he wont be like her, i toke it as.. i wont used people and i will work with the deamon-humans. although the epoligone ending..confuse because the old guy is talking to him..it sounds like he asking him the same stuff..he ask the sister.. but then he told his sister he wont be like her.. so i am confuse on that =P
Not a fan of clustered character developments and ass pulled endings. Shame, the show had a lot of potentials to become one of the memorable pieces of work.
Is the LN writing better than the anime?
I haven’t read the entire LN series… but it depends if you like the LN “style” of writing imo. It reads very differently than how the anime is animated… or maybe my imagination is just different lol. Personally I’ve always liked novels more than the animation because that’s how I envision to story to be like and the anime almost never comapres.
To answer your question about the LN’s writing…it’s just decent and by decent i mean that the writing isnt exactly profound or intricate or filled with layers of overarching themes and distinct and intelligent writing styles…its just there (and there isnt anything necessarily wrong with that). The LN is still filled with those comedy moments that so many people seem to find so terrible (I honestly didnt find the comedy to be bad, I just felt that it was not needed). What the LN has over the Anime is that it is better paced than the anime, in other words, its story is told better. What the anime had over the LN (at least in my opinion) was that it decided to push the story into a much more character driven direction (at least in theory it did) and honestly, it had the components to be much better than its LN counterpart, but unfortunately it dropped the ball.
Coming into KnK, I knew what the source material was like, so i wasnt driven by the hype that surrounded it (which to be frank, a lot of the hype came from people who didnt even know what the source material was like; they were only hyped by the fact that they saw the words “Action”, “Dark Fantasy”, and “Kyo ani” together…which is fine, but that kind of hype right there is a recipe for disappointment). I had only hoped that the anime would improve on the LN and take its plot, which although not highly original (though ask yourself, is anything really original in the first place? everything can be broken down to the building blocks from which it was inspired), into some profound territory and tell an honest tale about two tortured people and the things they have gone through. Unfortunately, the anime decided to keep the comedic elements from the LN, which I got over but then it never got over the hurdle of being just a decent series, to which was my biggest disappointment despite my enjoyment.
As for why a season 2 is needed, well the plot is still going on in the LN. A big part of the plot is the mystery shrouding the Spirit world society. Not to mention we are introduced to new spirit world warriors. It’s really a shame the anime ended the way it did but hopefully Kyo ani tries to tell this story again with a much more capable staff. KnK has a certain presence that other LN’s of its genre dont have and it would be nice to see it grow into something special through the beautiful animation of Kyo ani.
Such a shame. I doubt KyoAni’s Fall 2013 contender is going to bag any of the Top 10 slots for AOTY. But, still, this show has its good points revealing in a number of episodes…
It’s good enough. I like how they ended the show. I guess it’s weakpoint is that it seems too fast-paced. Nothing you can do about it, given the limited budget Kyoani seem to have recently.
Series score 8/10, nice job.
Up next for Kyoani: We got shonen this season, now prepare for HAREM! That’s right folks: next genre on Kyoani’s lab is Harem. Let’s hope they’ll do well.
In a nutshell: Fuyukai desu.
It is only because of the “Kyo-Ani tard” in me that I managed to stick around till the very end. And admittedly, Mirai putting her glasses is too cute.
https://randomc.net/image/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata/Kyoukai%20no%20Kanata%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2048.jpg
It is quite baffling really. Script supervisor Hanada Juuki did a decent job with ChuuniKoi (at least much more decent than this title), as well as Strike the Blood (which coincidentally also stars Taneda Risa, cue crossover jokes with KnK from fans), yet with Kyoukai no Kanata, the script pacing is just, all over the place. Guess he had an off-day when writing this series.
Besides Hanada, rookie director Ishitate Taichi must also share the blame in the poor execution of the plot.
Kyo-Ani might really need to reflect on this and decide whether they could learn from their mistakes or whether to decide this genre is not their forte after all.
The biggest problem is probably the number of episodes allocated. While a fantasy story can be told in one season (Madoka Magica being an example), unless you’re a really talented writer (like NisioIsin of the Monogatari series), it’s generally safer to eschew comedy completely. Ditto for slice-of-life, in which one season is more than enough to cover plenty of slice-of-life humour.
However, Kyo-Ani tried to be too ambitious and attempted to have both slice-of-life humour with serious fantasy stuff competing for very limited screentime, resulting in a very unbalanced pacing in the plot development.
Here’s hoping Kyo-Ani redeem themselves with Chunibyou 2 next month.
decide this genre is not their forte after all
I think this is the better option for them.If they want to have a shot at it then they need to step out of their comfort zone & colaborate with people outside their studio,they really do.
I loved this show, it gave me my Chu2koi feels, but it wasn’t as good. A lot can be done in 12 episodes, but Kyoukai would’ve benefited from going to 24 episodes.
I tried to look at this show as mediocre,but nope,I just can’t.I find shows like NouKome way more entertaining than this and I’ll even appreciate something like Yuushibu(which can be considered below-average) more.Why?Because they know what they are while KnK tries to be a dark fantasy and fails utterly.
Then there’s the characters -oh boy,the characters…Despite receiving a lot of focus throughout the entire show,Mirai & Akihito were really poorly developed,I couldn’t give a damn about them and don’t even get me started on their attempts at comedy.I found the Nase family more interesting and maybe the show would’ve worked better if they were the focus.To do a comparison,I found the supporting characters in Blood lad more entertaining than the mains here,even though they received like so much less screen time.
Need I even say anything about this final episode?For starters,it was hard to give a damn about whatever Mirai & Akihito were going through because they’re just such poor characters,both individually & together – especially Akihito.Then there’s the unresolved matters of the Nase family and Izumi’s fight with that creepy whatshisname dude,as well as her disappearance.And of course,let’s not forget the good ‘ol ass-pull ending.If Mirai stayed dead then they at least the show might’ve left a modicum of impact.
IMO,the best episode was 6,the idol one which was decent at best but hey,it made me laugh so I gotta give it credit for that.
To me,this is an example of a try-harding,moeblob anime at it’s worst and that it’s a show that I regret wasting my time on.I can’t believe I didn’t drop it as I dropped Coppelion at ep 4 after all.I know the cause though…it was most likely the visuals but I’ve learned my lesson now: I’ll never be baited by visuals alone again.
to be fair, mirai and akihito had a good back and forth in this final ep (they both so idiotic that they bounce of each other quite nicely). Had i got this mirai and akihito throughout the series (in a more well-directed fashion), you know, this duo that fight well together, that look out for each other’s back, that bounce of each other nicely, the impact regarding why they love each other so much and why they are inseparable would have hit me harder. I think we all have beaten the flaws of this series to a pulp so now im going to let it rest in peace and hope a second season (if one comes by) can prove the worth of this series.
Now, now… much as I agree that this show left a lot to be desired, at least it wasn’t as bad as Infinite Stratos or Galilei Donna. 😛
Dunno about Galilei Donna since it’s not my type of show so didn’t and I prolly won’t try it out but yea,I guess I have to agree with you on IS.Dropped it after 2 eps and never looked back.
I like the designs and the visuals. the characters look pretty and act funny, unfortunately that’s all there is to them. No depth, no other dimensions (or not emphasized enough, I dunno, I wasn’t too invested in them). The world is interesting, but sadly weren’t explained enough. The ending… seriously what was that? I was ready to cry when Mirai’s leg breaks… and then that…
To me this is kind of like Yozakura Quartet. Both are supernatural, both have good character designs, both have an interesting world, both explained too little about them. But while I find YQ getting more interesting as the season goes, I find KnK getting less interesting near the ending.
Hmm…hmm…hm….hmmmm…..hmmmmmmm….@______@
I am a KyoAni’s die-hard fan, but it kinda sadden me that they..hmm…I do want to defend them, but idk, I’m sad for the overall outcome 🙁
Despite the beautiful animation, i dont really feel much about anything. I’m trying hard to, but it doesnt work that way anymore. Except for the idol episode, the rest was…well, the flash back did helped to explain everything, but suddenly it turns out to be a mess again. I feel bad for Taneda Risa screaming “so-not-natural” when Mirai was fighting youmu…it was beautiful, but it lost me when the same thing kept on repeating. Surprising i was kinda hoping the fighting scenes got over immediately and explain everything that has happen. But sadly, KyoAni seems like putting extra efforts in the characters’ jokes and fetish. I love Izumi, and how she did her swoosh-swoosh really fascinated me compared to Mirai, fighting something that the camera didnt put much focus at all. All i see is her wielding her sword and attacking something at the edge of the screen =____=” (except fighting youmu-Akkey)…and look at what they done to Izumi, really irritates me! she needs some time to explain herself, not with just little last words to Hiro’omi at the end. (funny how Izumi screams during her fight with Miroku made me like, “hey! that’s Saber!!!” ohh Kawasumi Ayako-sama~)
Anyway, overall…i did enjoyed this series. and yea, i feel cheated as well, with my “sasuga-KyoAni” expectations on it…(just like Kaminai, that was seriously butt hurt! I cried a lot man, and suddenly the ending was like…gosh. i dont even wanna remember.)
thank you Cherrie for the review btw 😀
Well, aside from “power of love ex machina” ending I can’t really complain, the episode had action in spades, had a “big damn heroes” moment, tied up some loose ends (regarding why Miroku was acting this way), while creating some new ones (what exactly happened to him? it is hinted that he has survived…), and managed to spice it up with humor (tickling giant youmu under armpits? food that it doesnt like? fanservice-in-driver’s face scooter ride?)
KyoAni is doing some of the same things Gonzo did a few years back. They take chances, often banking on animation skill to make up for plot holes and pacing.
It’s risky, and a lot of viewers hated Gonzo for it. As for me, I like their work – I don’t get too wrapped around the axle over story inconsistencies in shows that are visually driven. One could NEVER see a movie blockbuster if they hated inconsistency. (“Where the HELL is Glorfindel, PJ??!!) *ahem* – I digress.
I still find many of Gonzo’s shows to be eminently watchable. LastExile, Gankuotso, Full Metal Panic, and Blue Sub 6 all have prominent positions in my collection, and FMP and LastExile get re-watched quite a bit.
It’s the entertainment value that matters here. If I want something deep, there’s Boogiepop or Ryvius, Noir for style, Mushishi for out and out beauty.
I can forgive KyoAni for a gaffe here and there.
I should, however, fess up to the fact that I even enjoyed “Endless Eight”.
What the fuck…
We were set up for a noble sacrifice an unrequited love and everything that would have given this series an emotional and memorable ending and instead we get a magical ring that brings people back to life? Is that supposed to be what happened there?
And so the end comes. Kyoukai No Kanata is never going to be the best anime of the season, that’s a fact. But never the less, it was an entertaining show that deserves some merit.
KyoAni just showed to us that their animation skills are top notched, thus I can forgive the mediocre story telling. I see good things on KyoAni’s future and I’ll sure be watching the next anime they create.
I could have sit back and enjoyed, but as you mentioned and many others in the comments, that ending screwed it up entirely.
kyoani always be give a good ending to pleased the fan no matter where the story goes
thats kyoani ways
dats in my mind now lol
I started off watching the show having the most distrust against KyoAni. Especially seeing as their last few big shows have been swimming animes and cute girls eating sweets. But KnK somehow captured my heart even though I started off the series with no hype in mind. I do agree there was some crazy pacing issues though. I knew there were 3 light novels, but I didn’t know which story elements were taken out of them, so at the back of my head I kept telling myself she couldn’t die seeing as we only got one part of the story. So when she came back to life, I wasn’t as disgusted as most people…? I guess. Anyways, Definitely not the best anime I have seen, nor would I consider it best anime of the year… but would definitely recommend it to some friends to watch. 7.5/10
I hope they actually go along with season 2. If not it would be highly disappointing. Way too many plot points unsolved at this point….
Loved the action scenes in this ep, but it still felt somewhat anticlimactic. And confusing. The series needed at least one more episode to flesh things out. And the whole trend of char-must-have-died-but-oh-wait-just-kiddin’ needs to end.
For Christmas sake people.
There’s still another season available for a sequel.
And that’s what a continuation for.
Imagine if Haruhi did not have messed up pace/chara/timeline & many mysterious/unanswered questions left. It won’t be as entertaining -_-;
And to think that most of us here have longer memories than a mere whining audience…
Geez.
I don’t deny that KnK had any of the issues mentioned above. I can say it was a great series that kept me coming back week after week in anticipation – it was great!
although. Episode 6 was a serious let down in kyoani’s side. Not because it was terrible – hell it was so entertaining I’ve watched it a thousand times – but because it showed off what kyoani is used to and (arguably) good at; slice of life antics. the problem arises because of how unnatural kyoani must have felt making a ‘dark fantasy’ series.
I think this work shows a very split personality – life and death seriousness or slice of life antics? i don’t think they could handle both and that’s the root of the other issues.
still overall it was great! had a blast. Not AOTY, but in contention for animation quality and most importantly DAT ED (seriously when was the last time the ED was used this well???)
Man this show had more loose ends than an X-files season.
Not to mention it ended EXACTLY where it began. What exactly was accomplished?
Perhaps the start or restart of a relationship?
I understand why some people (specially the guys )didn’t like the ending at all because kuriyama should be dead and stuff… but because I love the romance between kuriyama and aki I was very happy with the ending where aki found kuriyama again and they were back together so they are not ‘lonely’ anymore.
so yeah i guess the ending is more towards to people who ship kuriyama and aki (god they are so married)
Saw a lot of anime in this 😛
Well, nothing is original anymore these days.
The romance ended well but theres is still some mysteries left.
I want to know why Izumi is harbouring a demon/shade/whatever in her.
That Miroku guy too.
And Yayoi, so mysterious.
Who is Akihito’s father?
And I hope there will be no more of those super-shades with not physical body, 2 is enough.
Will get epic boring if theres more.
Seems like the novel is still going so I hope the mysteries will unravel.
So this ending vs Valvraves, which one would you prefer?
A confusing, never really explained anything but happy ending like in KnK.
OR
A confusing, never really explained anything tragic ending as in Valvrave’s case.
Although I prefer the happy kind of ending that KnK did, I actually liked how well Valvrave’s ending was executed, despite the tragedy, the battle scene and emotions flaring up was intense and frankly the tragic scene where Haruto dies is way better executed than when Mirai “dies”.
You know what’s ironic? Haruto despite being immortal really did die, while Mirai who is supposedly cursed and simply a mortal just cant seem to stay dead.
Just finished marathoning this. Really got me hooked at the beginning but it was pretty much crash and burn towards the end. One element I really enjoyed was the comedy and slice of life elements. KyoAni should consider doing a slice of life spin-off. Heh.
I enjoyed the series. Of course it could have been better and a lot of things could have been developed more, but I think for 12 episodes it did fairly well. I will say though the ending: while I didn’t like it I also didn’t hate it. I’m a sucker for a happy ending so I enjoyed it, however it would’ve been more befitting if she stayed dead. That being said, the ending could be acceptable if they make a season 2. If they end the show here it’ll look kind of dumb, but with a continuation I wouldn’t have any complaints. Besides they left A LOT of questions unanswered so a season 2 could help do the storyline justice.