May/0823
Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden Of Sinners Chapter One
Admittedly, I jumped into this equipped with only minimal TYPE-MOON knowledge, though that hasn't exactly stopped me as a casual fan from enjoying this epic adaptation of the light novel by ufotable. Despite being reassured from reading other reviews on how this is the best TYPE-MOON production to date, it wasn't much of an indication considering how Tsukihime is considered to be non-existent by certain quarters, and Fate/Stay Night being sub-par at best by those who played the game beforehand. After watching the first of the seven chapter movie, not only were my doubts quelled, I was left in awe towards the end, craving for more.
Unlike my summary cum review of Mukoh Hadan, which was too tl;dr for its own good, I'll just do a brief rundown on characters and the plot so you can just enjoy this at your own pace. Minor spoilers ahead.
Sypnosis
A string of seemingly unrelated suicides at the same location piques the curiosity of Ryogi Shiki who suspects that there might be supernatural forces at work. Her investigation leads to a deadly encounter with several specters, all of which are the ghosts of the female victims. Eliminating these untouchable foes would require Ryogi to unleash her most deadly skill, as not only her life is placed on the line but that of her friend's.
Characters
Shiki Ryogi
The central character of the story, Ryogi's tomboyish and rough exterior undermines her feminine persona, though she is not the slightest bit concerned. Just like Shiki Tohno in Tsukihime, she too possesses the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, a deadly ability that allows users to to completely obliterate the target, effectively erasing it from existence. This not only applies to objects with a physical form, but immaterial objects such as ghosts as well. Despite her portrayal as the ultimate assassin, Ryogi is still deep down a girl, a tsundere if I might add, with brilliant voice over work from Maaya Sakamoto.
Aozaki Touko
If this name sounds familiar, that's because this person is the elder sister to Aozaki Aoko, whom fans might remember as Shiki Tohno's mentor. Serving as Ryogi's mentor in this story, Touko is a master at creating artificial prosthetics, which is almost indistinguishable from real thing itself. She too made one specifically for Ryogi's left arm, as well as a replacement after the previous one was damaged beyond repair during a battle.
Mikiya Kokutou
At this point in time, Kokutou's role in the movie seems to be that of Ryogi's male friend and possible love interest. Despite his uncanny resemblance to Shiki Tohno, Kokutou does not appear to possess any special abilities and was put in a deep sleep throughout the entire show after being possessed by a specter. His boyish good looks somewhat contradicts his mature personality as he puts up with Ryogi's tsundere tendencies, occasionally rewarded with glimpses of her cute side.
Fujyou Kirie
Despite being bed-ridden, Kirie is this chapter's antagonist, being the mastermind that orchestrated the entire incident. Her intentions are not revealed even after her defeat in Ryogi's hands, though it is explained that she has two consciousness, one of which controls the specter that fought Ryogi.
Thoughts
Given the proper time and budget, it is amazing what these studios can churn out. Needless to say, everything regarding Kara no Kyoukai was avant garde, from its stunning visuals, engaging story and superb soundtrack, unmistakably Yuki Kajiura with the dark, haunting chants, befitting the theme of this movie. Considering the length of the first chapter, which clocks just about under an hour, not much about the plot is revealed, though questions such whether suicide is the right solution to solving life's problems are raised, serving as its central theme. For the average Joe, Kara no Kyoukai may seem confusing at first, so a little understanding of basic TYPE-MOON concepts helps in enjoying this to the fullest. Still, that does not overshadow its praise worthy aspects such as the impressive action sequences, particularly Ryogi's fight against the eight ghosts. The Chokushi no Magan is portrayed differently from what I had expected from playing Tsukihime, where the lines and dots were seen by Shiki Tohno in black and white, as opposed to Ryogi who saw them in different colored shapes. Even their fighting styles felt different, as the male Shiki in my mind was a ferocious and unstoppable killing machine, whereas Ryogi was cutting down her enemies in a single graceful motion that made it seem she was dancing in the battlefield. Combine the two aspects and you have a kaleidoscope of visual acrobatics.
In the end, there's much to like about this, as it apparently remains true to the source material, so veterans and casual fans like myself will find this enjoyable regardless of expectations. My only gripe would be the excruciating wait between each movie, though in hindsight it could would have been for the best, as turning it to 13 or 26 episode series might have ruined it instead. Also, I do believe Ryogi just dethroned Rin as my favorite TYPE-MOON female. Just look at her pouting face. So moe, my point of origin got erased. 
May 22nd, 2008
based on the screenshot, i dun see any moe element though.. and…. nvm lol..
May 22nd, 2008
Horror cum Detective cum action, sounds fun. I”ll give it a try. Hopefully its not too gory with all those fightings and suicides that are on-going.
I’m not a Type Moon fan and I know little about it too but I’ll give it a try, need to beef up my Type Moon knowledge.
Hynavian’s last blog post..News: Maria-sama ga Miteru Mini Mascot Figures
May 22nd, 2008
The original Touno, this is the most powerful Type Moon character in term of killing power
May 22nd, 2008
The light novel its based on is the toughest read I’ve ever experienced…looks like the movie is an even tougher pill to swallow. Bloodfest and very, very disturbed and pitiable characters…my nerves are too tender for such gory fare. Knowing what to expect, I’m obliged to avoid the movie altogether…
YinMaster’s last blog post..LightNovel.org – Your One Stop for Latest Light Novel Info
May 22nd, 2008
I have to disagree, unfortunately. I love Type-Moon, the animation, the music (Yuki Kajiura banzai!), and in general the genre, but this was a long-winded and boring mess. Endless pseudo-philosophical droning killed any trace of suspense or tension in the first episode.
I definitely hope that things improve from here. Because this was terribly disappointing IMHO.
May 22nd, 2008
This was amazing… I was blown away and the best thing is that there is more to come!
Deranged’s last blog post..School Rumble San Gakki – PV Is Out And It Is Good
May 22nd, 2008
pure win :D
the best reason so far for a girl to ask a guy to “stay the night”
May 22nd, 2008
@mentar: this is just the first part. Let us wait and see more
May 22nd, 2008
Good to see you out of Gaydom… in many ways this show reminds me of tsukihime… from the screen shots alone i can pretty much tell this show is something to look forward to…
May 22nd, 2008
First I saw it and thought it looked gay, but then I saw the blood …
blissmo’s last blog post..CODE GEASS R2 – 07: It’s emo time for everyone. Especially me.
May 22nd, 2008
amazingly V2 from GG is 2mb smaller
linkinstreet’s last blog post..Blogging is serious stuff ( ﾟ,_ゝﾟ)
May 23rd, 2008
Fantastic first episode though it’s a killer 700MB. But it’s good and i’m hoping it gets better.
Only problem was it kind of started off slow.
Aoshi’s last blog post..Macross Fronter Episode 8, Soul Eater Episode 6
May 23rd, 2008
BRILLIANT. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!
Ryogi can erase my origin as well, i think im in love with her……
Setsuna-san’s last blog post..Macross Frontier: 06-07
May 23rd, 2008
@CZero
Now, now I didn’t want to include any just so people would watch it for Shiki.
@Hynavian
The only gory moments are when the girls fall to their deaths. Other than that it’s relatively tame. Still an enjoyable title regardless or not if you’re into TM.
@linkinstreet
I read the power rankings somewhere and it says that it’s this being called ORT.
@YinMaster
No idea about the source material of course, but I can safely say the movie is easy to digest, since I heard TM allowed ufotable to alter the scripts to their own liking to suit the audience.
@Mentar
I can see where you’re coming from, and considering the lackluster nature of FSN and the horrid outcome of the Tsukihime anime, my expectations of this weren’t high to begin it, so I kind of overlooked the little issues that mar it, but yes, there is still room for improvement.
@Deranged
Best fight scene since Sword of the Stranger’s finale for me.
@waku2
Indeed. Shiki is so moe.
@Evern
Like Tsukihime, minus the fail and with an awesome tsundere lead.
@blissmo
Which part of it looked gay?
The main dude was asleep the whole time. 
@Aoshi
Admittedly the pacing was a problem, but I think the story got fleshed out quite well later on.
@Setsuna
Hey buddy, get in line.
May 24th, 2008
Downloaded the show a few days ago, but finally got around to watching it today.
At 50 mins long, a lot of things weren’t really explained at all (Not enough time to develop a bond with the characters on screen). I know there are 6 more parts coming, but this style of storytelling is rather grating to watch (Half the time you’re wondering why they’re doing what they’re doing). Even at the end, after they’ve explained a few things, it still didn’t feel very satisfying.
Let’s sum up what’s happened so far (SPOILERS!!!!!!!):
Random high school girls commit suicide
Aoki is introduced
You find out Mikiya had his soul taken earlier
Shiki fights ghost Kirie, loses the fight and her arm
Aoki makes her a new arm
Shiki defeats ghost Kirie and kills all the other ghosts (Of the high school girls)
Aoki visits Kirie in hospital (Kirie knows Mikiya?)
Kirie commits suicide
Shiki asks Mikiya to spend the night
Azaka is introduced
Nothing really interesting happened. I just have trouble liking it at this point.
I do enjoy the ending song though.
May 24th, 2008
Man, and I had no idea Aoki was so melodramatic, with the throwing of her metaphors left and right (This includes Mikiya).
May 25th, 2008
Well as we already know, this is just part 1 of 7 movies, so I can’t imagine them revealing too much of the plot in the first movie alone. I totally missed out on introducing Azaka too, not realizing she was Mikiya’s sister until later.
Also, I assume you’re talking about Touko? Yeah, she does strike off as much more moody and serious compared to her happy-go-lucky hobo of a sister Aoko.
Hard to imagine they’re actually both related. 
May 26th, 2008
Ah of course, my bad. I thought Touko was the Aozaki from Tsukihime.
May 26th, 2008
You feel sorry for the girl though. Even after she went on that killing spree. Her life just pretty much sucked.
May 26th, 2008
not enough fujinon.
DrmChsr0’s last blog post..Kara no Kyokai: SHE’S DEAD, SHE’S DEAD, ISN’T IT WONDERFUL
June 19th, 2008
Next DVD release is on next week.
第二章「殺人考察・前」DVD
下週(6/25)發售
DO WANT!
June 26th, 2008
The second one was very good Shin.. Check it out if haven’t already. LOL
June 26th, 2008
Thanks for the heads up people, already checked it out.