Kyoukai no Kanata/ Beyond the Boundary: ANIME REVIEW
Welcome, welcome!
You are about to read another anime review by your dear Otaku fellow Anime Girl. Believe it or not, I watched this anime on You Tube, and if you ask why...
Well my laptop speakers suddenly stopped working and using my phone as an alternative was only with YouTube possible. Still, I was able to get into an anime with the most frequent use of the word "Senpai" I've ever seen. A week later here I am with the review on Kyoukai no Kanata or in English Beyond the Boundary.
Plot and Story Line
Kyoukai no Kanata is a Fantasy, Slice of Life and Supernatural anime that aired in 2013. With a total of 12 episodes the producers Lantis, Pony Canyon and TBS did a...good job. I can't say it is bad, but to be honest I did expect more. The idea itself is pretty good but the way the makers brought the story over was just okay. The happenings in the story are forced and the story line alone is, in my opinion, rushed. But let's try to get to the bottom of it, shall we?
So, the story of Beyond the Boundary takes place in a Universe where the Earth is beside humans, inhibited by demon-like creatures called Youmu and people with special abilities named Spirit Hunters who fight them. One of those Spirit Hunters is Mirai Kuriyama. Her special power is to manipulate blood and turn it into a weapon which she uses to fight the evil youmu. Because of her ability she lives an isolated life, until she meets Akihito, who happens to be an immortal half-youmu. Soon, they realize that their life paths are going into the same direction but that leaves one open question. Will they be able to walk it together?
The story line of Beyond the Boundary is unfortunately undeveloped, leaving a couple of illogical and not well-explained points right from the beginning. It as really hard to catch up with all the youmu and spirit world stuff because you never get a single good explanation. New characters are introduced, new side-story lines and background stories appear but you can't connect them all into one single story. You do get the point but you never get to the real core of it. I could enjoy it, but very hard, because it leaves so many unanswered questions behind.
The plot alone, or let's say "what the anime is about" is good. A good action, fantasy anime is mostly enjoyable but not if it has this many plot holes. You get the feeling that you skipped something important but you did not, it was left out by the anime alone.
The anime introduces the dark spirit world but not in a good way. You just don't get the feeling that it really is a dark and dangerous place. That's probably because they wanted to balance the supernatural with the slice of life characteristic of the anime. But when it comes to the action in the anime, I was not disappointed. The action scenes were fantastic and the only bad thing about them was that they were short. All the fights end very quickly. In the moment you really get into the fight it ends. Still, the action of Kyoukai no Kanata is definitely the best part of the anime.
One point where the anime started well are the background stories. They were quite intriguing and they awakened an interest in me, but...Yes there is a but. They did not get to the core. I was really sad about the unfinished, or better said, not completely told, story of Nase Izumi. They reveal her "dark secret of the past" in the very ending where you don't even get the chance to get involved. I have to admit I wad caught by her character right in the beginning of the show.
In the Genre section of this anime, My Anime List leaves out one important genre I would add Beyond the Boundary to; ROMANCE. I have the stron feeling that this anime was always meant to be a cute love story. I din't mind that, it was nice. The best part about it is that the romance in the anime is probably the only well presented and finished segment of the whole show. It's the typical cute high school love, that you can't hate.
On the whole: Nicely imagined, done wrong. Kyoukai no Kanata had the potential to be a great anime with a good story and a very intriguing background but ended up as being "only good" because of various reasons that can turn an anime into a "good for killing boredom" show.
Characters
Well, despite having some issues in the story itself, this anime got from me some bad points for the characters too. The only character that sticks out with her personality is Kuriyama, but she also gets annoying from time to time. The characters lack in originality and they can be easily related to some random characters from other anime. I wouldn't mind writing about the other main Kanabara Akihito, but there is no need. Here for you, I have some more information about the only character that is worth talking about from this anime.
Mirai Kuriyama is a first-year high school student that rarely stands out. Due to her ability to control blood and turn it into any weapon she wants she is considered dangerous. That's why she is an introvert and shy person. Two more words describe her personality, aloof and clumsy. In the beginning of the story she is afraid of fighting youmu, making it hard for her to earn money, considering the fact that it's actually her profession. Also a fact about Kuriyama, she loves Bonsai trees and regularly writes about them on her blog.
Animation and Style
The animation in this anime is awesome. It's actually the thing that kinda saves the anime from a near catastrophe. The colors are awesome and bright, contrast is great, the movements are smooth and the backgrounds are just beautiful. I always see if an animation is good or not in some fast, action scenes. This anime had many, and I have to say that they were awesome. The animation of Kyoukai no Kanata is really good and probably it's best side. When it comes to the style, it's okay. Even tough their personalities seemed pretty dull, I loved the looks of the characters. They were kinda special and not so mainstream. Style is acceptable in my opinion. Thumbs up for Animation and Style.
Conclusion
To conclude this anime review, Kyoukai no Kanata or Beyond the Boundary really lies on the boundary of a good anime. The story is more or less familiar from other anime and not that special but it still has it's own appeal and details that saved it. The characters could have become better with a little more effort but they are acceptable. Animation and Style are awesome. This anime has only 12 episodes so it is awesome for a lazy and rainy Saturday like this today. It is not one of the best, but it's worth your time.
-Your Anime Girl <3
Mini Anime Dictionary by Anime Girl
A big Welcome and Hello to all of you having enough free time to read this blog with the title World of Anime Girl.First of all, today is a very important day for me, because today we are celebrating The Independence Day of our dear country Bosnia and Herzegovina. So to all of you living in the boundaries of this triangular place we call home, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Secondly, you've all probably been in a situation where you hear something related to anime and you kinda don't know what that means. I was in a couple situations like that especially when I was just a newbie in this huge anime world. To make it easier for you, this blog post will lead you trough some "terms" and expressions used by the anime community.
To begin with, here are some Japanese expressions that are always used:
ARIGATO-Simply means: THANKS! I got so much used to it, that I always use Arigato instead of Thanks, and believe me or not, even the non-otakus understand me. But wait, what is an Otaku actually?
OTAKU-The thing about this word is that we "Westerns" got confused when it comes to its meaning. In Japan, being called Otaku is extremely negative because it stands for a person that is highly obsessed with something to an unhealthy measure. A second meaning describes a person that stays the whole day at home and doesn't have any type of social life. Yet, we connect the word Otaku with a normal person that just loves anime and manga. A clear misunderstanding, so if you ever get the chance to talk to someone from Japan, don't introduce your self as an Otaku. Just don't.
KAWAII-This is my favorite Japanese word. It means cute, and a lot of my friends tell me I'm cute :3. I am a kawaii little Chibi...CHIBI-A chibi is an adjective that means small and/or miniature in a good or cute way.
NEKO GIRL/BOY- Neko means Cat in Japanese, so a Neko boy or a neko girl would be someone with cat ears. Yes, that's it. I love Nekos!
Now a group of 4 words usually called the "Deres". Those are a lot types of girl personalities in anime, and most of them are categorized into these four:
TSUNDERE- A girl that usually acts mean and violent on the outside but is sweet on the inside. Best known example for that is Aisaka Taiga from Toradora!
YANDERE- This girl acts sweet and cute on the outside but soon as she loves someone a lot they are willing to kill other just to keep him/her. Representing Yandere, Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki.
KUDERE- Acts cool and unemotional but shows sweetness later on. Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats is for example a Kudere.
DANDERE- She acts anti social and doesn't talk to anyone until the right person comes along. My favorite Naruto female character, Hinata Hyuuga is a dandere.
When it comes to anime series there are two more terms that you'll hear often: OVA- Original Video Animation is a type of anime which is intended to be distributed on VHS tapes or DVDs, and not to be shown in movies, or television. But no worreh, you can easily find all OVAs on the net. AMV- Anime Music Video, video clips from at least one anime series arranged to fit a musical piece playing in the background.
Now a group of 4 words usually called the "Deres". Those are a lot types of girl personalities in anime, and most of them are categorized into these four:
TSUNDERE- A girl that usually acts mean and violent on the outside but is sweet on the inside. Best known example for that is Aisaka Taiga from Toradora!
YANDERE- This girl acts sweet and cute on the outside but soon as she loves someone a lot they are willing to kill other just to keep him/her. Representing Yandere, Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki.
KUDERE- Acts cool and unemotional but shows sweetness later on. Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats is for example a Kudere.
DANDERE- She acts anti social and doesn't talk to anyone until the right person comes along. My favorite Naruto female character, Hinata Hyuuga is a dandere.
When it comes to anime as a show, there are some "terms" that don't appear in your usual language. For instance you have a lot of different anime genres but you may not be able to define the following ones:
MECHA- Anime and manga that feature giant robots in action. The most popular mecha anime in my opinion is probably Code:Geass,
SHOUNEN- "Young boy" is in western usage, a style of anime and manga intended for boys. These works are characterized by high-axction, often humorous plots featuring male protagonists.
SEINEN- Intended for an older audience than shounen. Content intented for men ages 18 to 40 or older. Yup, anime is not only for kids.
SHOJO- "Young woman" is in western usage, a style of manga and anime intended for girls ages 5-10 and 10-18 depending on the content of course.
When it comes to anime series there are two more terms that you'll hear often: OVA- Original Video Animation is a type of anime which is intended to be distributed on VHS tapes or DVDs, and not to be shown in movies, or television. But no worreh, you can easily find all OVAs on the net. AMV- Anime Music Video, video clips from at least one anime series arranged to fit a musical piece playing in the background. So, this would be it for this time guys. I really am busier than ever because of all the senior stuff at High School, but I hope I'll get the chance to write here and there. If you have something else to share regarding this topic. let us know in the comments bellow. Also tell me if you have an idea for my next post!
-Your Anime Girl <3.
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