Saturday, January 4, 2014

Beyond the Boundary (Kyoukai no Kanata) Final Thoughts--Monster Idols

Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 1

I really wanted to enjoy this show, but I spent a good amount of time confused by it.

Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 2 Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 3

Akihiko is a teenage boy who likes girls with glasses and just wants to live his life without losing control of his immortal half-demon side. One day, he meets a Sprit World Warrior--a group of people who fight malevolent demons--named Mirai, who is from a cursed clan that can use their blood as a weapon. Mirai wants to be a proper Sprit World Warrior to earn some money, but she can't bring herself to fight anything. She insists on using Akihiko as her practice dummy, and as he starts to get to know her better, he realizes that Mirai is ultimately after the Hollow Shadow, one of the most dangerous demons out there.

Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 4 Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 5

The synopsis going around the preview guides was what initially sold me on the show (and KyoAni animation doesn't hurt either), but while the plot does deal with hunting supernatural creatures, more than a few light novel cliches find their way in. Akihiko declares his love for glasses while Hiromi talks about little sisters, Mirai gets roped into a job where pictures are taken of her in various cosplay outfits, but both situations pale in comparison to Akihiko's mom, who has a different verbal tick every time she appears and actively hits on her son. Putting these things alongside a plot arc that deals with dangerous magic and monsters that feed off people's deepest fears and regrets feels strange to say the least. The biggest offender is the infamous idol episode, which felt like it came from a completely different show after the events of the first plot arc.

Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 6
From this...
Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 7
...To this.
I'm not sure if this was a problem with the source material or with KyoAni's adaptation, because even when it does get serious the narrative still feels uneven. The show feels bipolar because of this, unable to decide if it wants to be serious or go straight for the otaku fanbase. A ton of things about the world and the characters are left unexplained. The rival hunter societies, the Nase family's role, Mirai's clan curse, and more are big points in the plot but are barely fleshed out. This makes it a bit hard to care about some of the secondary characters and the confusing sequence of events leading up to the big finale. I had the feeling that I would care if only I had a better handle on what was really going on and what it meant for the wider world, but the plot obviously feels differently.

Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 8 Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 9

For me, the show's saving grace was the relationship between Mirai and Akihiko, and I think that anyone's enjoyment of this series rests on whether or not the viewer buys into it. They go through an interesting parallel character arc, dealing with similar emotional problems while learning from each other and getting stronger as a result. Akihiko also breaks away from a light novel cliche that is particularly annoying to me and falls in love with Mirai the person, not the tropes that she represents. No self-insert wish-fulfillment going on here. KyoAni did an incredible job with the visuals, as expected, delivering amazingly choreographed fight scenes that had me at the edge of my seat every time. Not to mention the character expressions, particularly with Mirai and Akihiko, which really underlined the change in their relationship more than words could say.

Beyond the Boundary Kyoukai no Kanata Review Image 10

While it had its bumpy moments and parts I felt like it could've done without, Beyond the Boundary was still an enjoyable watch. When it got its priorities in order and really committed to a scene, it was something amazing. Definitely recommended to fans of supernatural romance and people who love to see creative fight scenes, with the warning that it may be a bit of a rocky ride before it gets to the good stuff.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

5 comments:

  1. I fully agree that the animation was Boundary's most beautiful aspect, and I liked how each episode title alluded to a colour scheme used within that episode.

    The idol episode apparently was an anime-original insertion, which the head writer specifically requested as one-off fun. Ironically, the Japanese(and some Western) fans loved this episode more than the actual plot.

    The anime's story is loosely based on vol 1 and a draft of vol 2 of the source novels(3 currently exist), as stated by Animesuki forumers. Most of the story is Kyoani original material.

    The forums also state that the ongoing LN plot concerns uncovering the mysteries of the Spirit Hunter Association, and have introduced new Hunter characters. Mirai is still a central character there, which probably explains why the writers had to somehow bring Mirai back for the final episode.

    An ongoing translation of vol 1 can be found here:

    http://nakulas.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/kyoukai-no-kanata-volume-1-progress.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Continued I think one problem with the anime was that they were working with too little material from the source novels. They ended padding it with their own stuff instead.

    I assume the anime only scratches the surface since the novels haven't even gone that far yet.

    Meanwhile, the Free! merchandise and official artwork just keep on coming...

    http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/638624

    http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/639503

    ReplyDelete
  3. That makes a lot more sense. I didn't hate the idol episode as much as some other people did (I was more upset by the "twist" that Mirai was lying all along because that seemed to directly undermine what she went through in the first arc), and it makes a lot more sense with context.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I honestly really like the mixture between the action and the cutesy things. Alot of the people feel like they "went" back to their forte of them adorable characters. However, I believe that in whatever they make, they will still have to add something that their avid fans enjoy about. And I honestly loved it. Many also didn't like the slice of life added but again i enjoyed it. I believe that the slice of life complemented and added a subtle realness to it and I find it difficult to search for other anime that actually has such complementary aspect. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely bad things about the anime but I really want to voice my opinion on this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I didn't mind it nearly as much as some other people did. I also liked the slice-of-life elements. My main problem with it was that it changed gears so suddenly. It switched from monster fighting to school life (and idols) so quickly that I got a little bit of thematic whiplash. That doesn't make the show bad of course, but it is a bit of a flaw in my opinion, especially since working in that kind of stuff naturally is KyoAni's forte. I liked it but thought that it could've been handled better.

    ReplyDelete