Kara no Kyoukai Movie 3: Tsuukaku Zanryuu

On a solemn night in July 1998, teenager Fujino Asagami is mercilessly raped by a street gang in a dilapidated bar. No matter what physical or sexual abuse they deal, however, the girl regards her captors with the same apathetic expression. The next day, mangled bodies are discovered in that same building, so torn apart that investigators find it infeasible to even consider the culprit human.

Elsewhere, a client request reaches Touko Aozaki's detective agency, tasking Shiki Ryougi with either capturing or killing the perpetrator of last night's incident. But soon, word spreads that a single survivor escaped the slaughter, and now the murderer is plowing down everything in their path to locate and exterminate him. A brutal race against time begins, pitting Shiki against a dangerous foe imperceptible even to her legendary eyes.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ryougi, Shiki Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Aozaki, Touko Main

Honda, Takako Japanese

Kokutou, Mikiya Main

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Asagami, Fujino Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Kokutou, Azaka Supporting

Fujimura, Ayumi Japanese

Gakuto Supporting

Takahashi, Kenji Japanese

Minato, Keita Supporting

Asanuma, Shintaro Japanese

Iwakami, Atsuhiro Producer

Kondou, Hikaru Producer

Hariu, Masayuki Producer

Toba, Yousuke Assistant Producer

Reviews

Feb 3, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

Kara no Kyoukai review Part 3

Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to make any progress, and in a sense that's exactly what happens with the third installment of Kara no Kyoukai ~The Garden of Sinners~. After Satsujin Kosatsu Part 1 viewers may have been under the impression that the franchise would progress in a way that would allow for a degree of linearity with the development of the characters, but it seems like TYPE-MOON have their own agenda, and they're sticking to it.

Set a mere two months after the events in the first movie, Tsuukaku Zanryuu (Remaining Sense of Pain), focuses ... on a young girl named Asagami Fujino, and begins with quite a brutal scene in an abandoned underground bar. Through seemingly random chance Fujino meets Kokutou Mikiya, who finds her huddled in an alleyway and takes care of her for a night, only to find her gone the next morning. Meanwhile, there is a report of a gruesome murder, and Aozaki Touko asks Ryougi Shiki to capture the suspected perpetrator. Shiki sets out to find the culprit, but doesn't check any background information as she believes they will try to kill each other when they meet.

The strange thing about Tsuukaku Zanryuu is that even though there is a degree of predictability to certain events, the plot only really makes sense in hindsight. The events in this episode may initially seem disjointed and without reason, but this is actually a pretty interesting method of storytelling as it requires a degree of intuivity from the viewer. That said, there is a slightly aimless quality to the storyline at certain points which can slow proceedings down to almost a crawl, but the plot is quick to pick up the pace and the latter half of the movie moves along at a fair clip.

The art and animation in this installment are actually a step up for Ufotable. Given the quality they've shown in the previous two outings it's difficult to believe that they could actually outdo themselves, but they've managed it with their efforts here. The animation is top-notch throughout, and the various action sequences are superbly detailed without suffering any major loss in quality. The CG is rendered and integrated very well, and is almost indistinguishable from the traditional animation in many sequences.

The character designs haven't really changed much from the first movie where two of the leads and Touko are concerned, the only difference being an increase in the variety of expressions for both Shiki and Kokutou. Unfortunately it seems as though there has been a step backwards when it comes to the design of Fujino, and while she may appear to be a fairly well realised character, there is an impassive quality to her features which is sometimes at odds with her speech or actions.

The voice actors are, once again, extremely good. Suzumura Kenichi (Kokutou Mikiya), hasn't had much of a chance to shine thus far in the series, but several scenes in this episode allows him to show some of his quality. Sakamoto Maaya once again brings out the best in Shiki, and it's surprising how much she has settled into the role of the "psychogirl". There's also a very good performance from Noto Mamiko in the role of Fujino, which is ironic as it's her ability to act that highlights the issues with the character design.

The effects are pretty good throughout the movie, but like Satsujin Kousatsu Part 1 there are occasions where the noises and music clash, and this can be a little harder on the eardrums than before due to the action based nature of this episode. That said, the overall quality and choreography is a step up from the previous two installments, and some efforts have been made to resolve the niggling issues with timing that have pestered the series thus far. This also applies to the background music which, like before, follows the usual themes of sombre and dramatic, and it seems as though the tracks are more suited to their purpose in Tsukakuu Zanryuu, but that may be due to the new pieces on offer rather than any inherent improvement.

It should come as no surprise though, that the one area where the movie falls down is with the characters. Fujino is fairly well realised on the whole, and possesses a surprising amount of depth thanks to some great acting and very good scripting. The problem is that while Shiki and Kokutou receive some new development, it's not nearly enough to satisfy viewers and fans. There continues to be little to no justification for their actions throughout the narrative, and while there is an effort to garner audience participation in order to make the story work, this does not automatically mean that viewers are willing to fill in the blanks where the characters are concerned. In addition to this there is a distinct lack of Touko in this episode, and her presence in this movie is relegated to bit parts, which seems a little odd as she is an integral part of both the lead character's stories, so one would assume that the series would allow more screentime so that the audience would get a better perspective on her.

Even with that flaw though, this is still a highly enjoyable addition to the series. The action sequences are enough to satisfy any junkie of the genre, and fans of Kara no Kyoukai will be pleased to see some different sides to Shiki and Kokutou.

Now, bring on the trumpets and the fourth installment.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 13, 2013

ktulu007

Mixed Feelings

Welcome to the end of film festival week. As promised, we're going to look at Kara No Kyoukai 3: Tsuukaku Zanryuu. Which is also the third film chronologically. Hey, they got one out of four in the right spot. I just hope it's more like the second film (first chronologically) than it is the first (fourth chronologically.) Let's take a look at KnK 3 and find out.

We open the story with a scene of a woman being raped... Isn't that a bit too serious of a scene to open with? This is the type of content you want to give your audience time to brace ... for, not just put it in from the get go. We need time to brace ourselves, Movie. We then switch ahead a bit and find out that most of the rapists have been killed off screen. A fate that should be suffered by all sexual predators. Preferably with a lot of pain involved. Touko's agency is hired to find the killer who, it turns out, is their victim, Fujino. And no, that's not a spoiler. It's revealed almost right away. Someone give that girl a medal and a puppy. Meanwhile, Keita is approached to find the last surviving rapist who doesn't deserve an actual name so I'll just call him Scum but Fujino is looking for him as well. They should just hand him over to her, but they decide to protect him in spite of his confessed crimes because... murder is bad even when it's well deserved and entirely justified. Yeah, I'm not buying it. But there's more to this scenario than a justified revenge killing spree and it could mean disaster. Okay, let's look at the positives and negatives. I'll start with the negatives because, in this case, there are fewer of them. One issue with the film is the pacing. Although, unlike the first two, this one doesn't have a bunch of slow stretches. It's just overly hectic. They introduce a lot of story elements which they either rush through or leave unfinished. They just try to cram too much in. That leads to my biggest issue. Scum never has to go through any sort of punishment, at least none that you see. Which really ticks me off. They aren't going to vivisect him? Disembowel him? Quarter him? We don't even get to see him maimed a little. They could've at least sent him to prison where he would hopefully get shanked and die of tetanus. Now we move on to the positives. This has quite a bit of disturbing content but, in spite of the impression I may have given, it is handled pretty well. Yeah, the opening sets a very dark tone and it could've easily led to some huge problems if they'd tried to, say, inject humour into later scenes, but they avoid that. The moral questions they bring up are pretty poignant. Even if some of us already have a strong opinion on them. I also like the way that Touko, Shiki, and Mikiya are inclined to sympathise with Fujino, albeit in different ways and that the event that leads to her climactic clash with Fujino is somewhat separate from the original case.

One thing that's a little odd about KnK 3 is that the antagonist, Fujino, comes off as the most sympathetic character around. If you don't feel sorry for her there's something wrong with you. This isn't to say that our three major protagonists aren't well handled. They all have a good sense of personality in this. Mikiya especially comes off really well. Like the other films, the side characters in this are pretty shallow, but the main characters do carry things effectively so it's not a major issue. This is also the first film that's given you a sense of Touko's personality which does have some interesting elements to it.

The art remains incredibly well done. With really detailed backgrounds and objects. The character art is still the weak link being well done, but kind of standard.

This film, like the last one, has really good voice acting. Noto Mamiko, Suzumura Kenichi and Honda Takako in particular give strong performances. Although there really isn't a weak link. The music is used to add to the atmosphere and works quite well.

The yuri factor is a 1/10. There's no yuri in this.

KnK 3 is a dark and disturbing film. It is certainly not for everyone and you should probably skip it if you're a sensitive sort. However, it is a pretty well done film and, if you can handle the content, it is an interesting work with some layers to it. That being said, it does have some pretty serious faults and I didn't like it as much as the second film overall. I give it a 6/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 23, 2024

YaBoiBunsen

Not Recommended

Spoiler

No bad reviews of this anime yet? Yeah I can to fix that.
This review contains spoilers for the first 15 minutes of the film with some inconsequential references to later scenes.

The good:
Visually it's the best out of the first three.

The bad:
This film is INCREDIBLY stupid.

The first 15 minutes of the movie seems promising on first watch. A classic rape-revenge setup. It's a cheap way to make the audience feel sympathy for our antagonist but it works well. They conspicuously introduce a Ouija Board in the first 5 minutes which seems like some obvious setup, but it's never mentioned again. I guess the writer never ... heard of Chekov or couldn't think of a single object that might serve the plot later down the line. Now here's our first taste of the genius dialogue you're going to hear throughout this movie.

Shiki: "Finish your story".
Touko: "I'd rather not accept this request, but I'm broke so I have no choice. About last night's incident..."
Shiki: "That's not necessary. I've got the idea."
Presumably Shiki was just very concerned about Touko's financial problems. What a good friend!

Touko then offers her Fujino's photo and bio, Shiki says "I don't need it. We're cut from the same cloth. I'm sure we'll try to kill each other the moment we meet." Excuse me? Isn't the entire point of giving you her bio so you can find her? What will you do if you never meet, Shiki? Do you not live in a large city? Thankfully Shiki is spared this embarrassing moment. They just happen to meet entirely by coincidence in a coffee shop because Kokutou flaked on his sister. Shiki realizes who Fujino is but doesn't kill her because Fujino isn't the right Fujino, she's the Fujino who doesn't feel pain rather than the murderous pain-feeling Fujino.

It's later explained by Touko that Shiki doesn't kill indiscriminately because:
"Shiki is murderphilic, yet subconsciously knows how precious death is. To Shiki, Fujino's mindless self-indulgence is unacceptable."
Stupidity of this line aside, this does not even remotely explain why Shiki refuses to kill Fujino. It may sound like it when you're watching the film and have about 3 seconds to think about it before the next idiotic line of dialogue, but no.

The writer is spared his blushes because it turns out Shiki meets Fujino in the next scene anyway after Fujino turns a rapist into a pretzel. Shiki says that she's been following Fujino ever since Fujino lured out "that piece of meat" (the rapist). She didn't follow Fujino. I guess the writer would have felt stupid if the reason Shiki caught Fujino in the act was because Kokutou couldn't keep his appointments.

Fujino: "Don't call him a piece of meat! He is human. He is..."
Shiki: "You know what? Humans don't die like that. Those who don't die like humans can't be called humans. Those removed from their boundary are deprived of their origin."
This one speaks for itself I think, go ahead and chew that one over.

Shiki once again doesn't kill Fujino because it's not the right Fujino. "You're not even worth killing right now." Thank God! The movie would have been over otherwise!

I think you get the idea. Keep in mind these first 15 minutes are the most coherent of this film. If I were to review the next 45 minutes in the same vein I'm not sure I would ever finish, it gets A LOT worse. I'm trying to refrain from spoiling further but I can't help but mention that one of the twists relies on Kokutou not knowing a stab wound in the stomach doesn't heal in two days, the shock on his face when Touko tells him this is priceless. But no! I have to stop writing. If I keep going I may never finish. Lord knows this movie is not worth it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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