Hey guys! Tadashi here and today I'll be talking about the first episode of Kyoukai no Kanata and the beginning of my Fall 2013 Anime coverage.
Kyoukai no Kanata is a
light novel adaptation by Kyoto Animation (same studio that brought us Clannad/After Story, K-On, and more recently, Free!). KyoAni is more known for its beautiful moe characters in a school-life setting (Hyouka, Haruhi, and just about everything they've done). There's no change here, except the fact that they added on the 'supernatural' tag along with supposedly 'action'.
For the first time, KyoAni is taking a different approach and isn't just going to focus on their usual. They've brought the elements of the supernatural + action and so far, it's been great. In Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! we're shown some tiny battle scenes in the delusion world and here was where a lot of people realized that KyoAni
can pull off fighting animation. The battles were glorious, although shortlived, but amazing nonetheless. Now we have Kyoukai no Kanata which (should be) is all about that.
Anyways, enough of that. Onwards to the episode!
OP Sequence
The episode starts off with a majestic school scenery. There's a girl who looks to be attempting suicide standing on the ledge of the school which causes our MC to rush over to the rescue.
Our MC, Kanbara Akihito is a glasses loving kind of guy and attempts to convince this girl that it's not worth it to die. Little did he know that doing so would be more than what he thought it'd be...
She ends up stabbing him with a sword made out of blood in a flash. Turns out that Akihito has some tricks up his own sleeve. He is actually immortal and getting stabbed like that has no effect (but pain). She's in disbelief at what just happened. Turns out her name is Kuriyama Mirai
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| Megane freak detected! |
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| Uh...lul? |
Fast forward a couple days (I think) later, Akihito is in his clubroom with another girl named Nase Mitsuki. Now, she is a very good looking girl with a big rack (as she emphasizes his love for girls with big oppai by making fun of him). Her personality is one of those "I know what you're doing/thinking" and these kinds always get me.
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| Dat rack tho...... |
He leaves the room and finds the Mirai waiting outside for him. She is the moe girl of the show with every generic characteristic you can think of. Her favorite line seems to be "How unpleasant" and it's quite cute when she says it.
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| Hnnnnnnng |
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| More Hnnnnngggg |
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| And moreeeeeeeeeee |
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| Okay that's enough |
Akihito tells us that he is a half-shade which is why he is immortal. He in an extremely rare entity as the son of a dreamshade and a human. Mirai is also a spirit hunter and they are special hunters who specialize in hunting dreamshades.
Back in the clubroom, Mitsuki explains how she is the daughter of the Nase clan who govern these lands while continuously mocking Akihito. She warns him to stay away from Mirai.
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| Tell me you don't want her.....'cause I'll take her<3 |
After school, Mirai is waiting for Akihito in order to fatally stab him some more. It seems she does this everyday and everyday it's about the same result. She explains that her clan died out because of people being afraid of their power to control blood and she is the only survivor left. Sounds like a setup for something big...
Anyways, they begin their 'battle' and Akihito begins his
tactical retreat. We get a good glimpse of some of the action that this show has to offer and the animation was pretty good. After tons of running and chasing, he finally gets her to fall for an easy trap. We're also showcased just how much of an airhead she really is.
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| You totally look scary... |
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| Flyin' through don't mind me |
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| Poor inanimate object :( |
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| No, not the bucket! |
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| Ahhhhhh RIP BUCKET |
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| hehe |
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| C'maaaaaaaaaan |
As they were talking, a dreamshade came crashing through the window. Mirai is actually scared of them, despite being a spirit hunter, and couldn't do anything. That's when this gorgeous sensei-like lady shows up. Her name is Ninomiya Shizuku, or Nino-san for short and she is a somewhat famous spirit hunter. And goddamn she is gorgeous. She chases the dreamshade away. It also turns out that Mirai was using Akihito as practice in order for her to muster up enough courage to take one out herself.
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| I'd hit that |
After Mitsuki told Akihito to be wary of Mirai because her clan had begun to follow her actions, he ended up bringing her to a park where the had a nice conversation. Mirai has never killed a dreamshade and loathes her 'cursed' powers. She just wants to be a normal girl but can't. She is terrified of taking lives and this was when we get a short flashback of Mirai covered in blood in a very desolate scene.
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| shipshipship |
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| Nawwwwwwwww |
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| Okay maybe on social media... "I lol'd at y our profile" hahahahaha |
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| DARK PAST?! YEAH! |
Akihito admits he has his own burdens because of his immortality. She also can't go home because her house is haunted by a dreamshade. Akihito agrees to go help her kill it and they go to her apartment.
Inside, the dreamshade makes its appearance but Mirai was unable to kill it. It quickly formed into a mummy-like creature and that's where the episode ends.
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| It's coming off.. |
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| What's wrong with you :( |
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| Woahhhhh |
ED Sequence:
PV
Review:
Kyoukai no Kanata, the supernatural action moeblog from KyoAni...hasn't disappointed. First let's talk about the characters:
Mirai is the classic airhead of the show, whom which many are referring to her as Yui with Megane (Yui Hirasawa from K-On) and her personality is pretty similar. She often says 'How unpleasant' when something happens that is, well, quite unpleasant. She doesn't seem to be fond of her abilities, but yet she's always using them which makes me believe that she is somewhat proud of what she can do (also considering she is the last of her clan).
There's Akihito and Mitsuki. Both characters whom I'm instantly shipping together (sorry Mirai, you haven't won me over yet).
Akihito is the kind of person to meddle in people's affairs whether it's safe to or not (classic MC trait) and is also quite different than the others. He is a half-shade and is immortal. I wonder how that will play out later on.
Mitsuki seems like the strong-willed type who genuinely cares for others (not to mention she has some nice sized oppai). She teases Akihito a lot but probably because she is quite lonely herself and he is quite possibly one of her only friends. It's these kinds of characters that get to me man >_>
There's another main character that we've yet to be introduced to but we do catch glimpses of him wearing his scarf this episode.
The beautiful scenery and animation is as usual, beautiful and I expect no less from KyoAni. The OP and ED were very vibrant and just gorgeous to look at.
The soundtrack that KnK seems to using is quite
majestical and it really gives off that magical feeling.
Overall, the episode definitely caught my interest. With glimpses of a dark past within Mirai, I can only hope this goes down that 'dark' path into the unknown full of fighting and whatnot. Has KyoAni created yet another success? We'll have to wait and see.
-Tadashi
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