Into The Nasuverse | Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners (Full Series Retrospective)

I swear every time I see touko outside of knk my other fate friends just don't get why I'm pointing at the screen sounding like a mad man lol

What you said was so accurate- Its lovely that we got a high budget complete adaptation of a very weird but good series. Great video as always.

So, this was a topic I wanted to mention in the video, but I had to cut it for time. Regarding the KnK Light Novels, there isn’t a proper, complete English translation. If you want to read the novels, your best bet is to either know Japanese, or make do with what's available. As far as English translations go, you have two options: 1. There is a translation known as the Baka-Tsuki version. As far as I’m aware, the translation is fairly accurate, but it’s not complete. The novels are only translated up to Novel 4, with a few miscellaneous chapters from the rest. Link: www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Kara_no… 2. The other and more divisive option are the Empty Boundary/Cokesatto versions, which have been translated up to Novel 7. While this version is complete, it's widely criticized for it’s inaccuracy. The brief explanation is that the translator took the original text, but added a LOT of embellishments to it. Certain phrases and terminology are weird, and there’s a lot of superfluous additions, as if the translator took one sentence, and tripled it with their own writing. In full transparency, this is the version I read for the later novels. But I also read them side by side with a machine translated version of the Japanese text to make sure the changes weren’t too drastic. Luckily the original meaning and intent is there, but there’s a lot of extra fluff or weird phrases that stand out. Having said that, it is complete, and as of now, it’s the only complete English translation of Kara no Kyoukai. Check this one out at your own discretion. I don’t feel comfortable linking or recommending it, but it’s not too hard to find. And for all its faults, it’s all that’s available for a complete translation. Personally, I still think the novels are worth reading IF you’re a fan of the series. If you want more Kara no Kyoukai, the novels are fantastic reads. They’re way less abstract and confusing compared to the films, like I never felt as if I needed to re-read a passage to understand what was going on. And in addition, the worldbuilding and character writing is much deeper. But the novels can still be dry reads. Unlike Nasu’s VNs, you don’t get the benefit of voice acting or music to push through the longer passages. If you want one person’s recommendation, I’d suggest watching the films first, then maybe reading the novels. But reading the novels first is totally fine if you’re okay with both the dryness and the whole translation debacle. If anything, reading the novels before or after would enhance your film experience! I’d go as far as to say that the novels and films actually “complete” each other; the novels add more depth to the story and characters, and the films breathe new life into the novel’s text. (and at the very least, read KnK 6, it’s sooooo good….) If the novels had a complete, accurate translation, I’d recommend those in a heartbeat. And if KnK ever gets a proper translation, I’d be happy to update this comment. Hell, if Mahoyo can get an official localization, maybe there’s still hope (copium). But as of now, we’ll have to make do with what we got. Anyways, sorry for the wall of text! I hope that clears things up! -Vivi

I love Kara no Kyoukai, murder speculation part B is prolly my fav anime movie and I still can't wrap my head around the mindfuck that was Paradox spiral even though I watch it like 3-4 times Great video 🙌

an amazing review ! Paradox Spiral was so beautifully done from a cinematic perspective. Lots of the scene transitions were reminiscent of Millennium actress Would love some more Nasuverse or anime in general with your awesome analysis :)

I definitely need to read the novels, I absolutely loved the KnK movies.

KnK films are weird. Some times they are extremely blunt, other times - very subtle. But the thing is Nasu (tbh he is not alone in this, especially in anime) rarely does scenes subtly. So when emotions and ideas are conveyed through visuals and sound, not just characters talking it feels refreshing, makes me pay closer attention to what's happening. Not giving the audience verbal explanation can also be a problem - the first time I saw the icecream eating scene in Move 1 I mostly didn't get it. But on my second watching it became one of my favorites, so maybe it was the right choice to ease on internal monologues after all? Hard to say, it's a taste thing mostly.

I'm currently reading the KNK light novels, up to KNK 6. The one major difference between the movies and LN is Shiki as a character. You mentioned exactly what I'm saying now in the video but I think the contrast is even crazier than what you said. In the movies, I did not care for Shiki much at all. She felt distant from all the characters (even Mikiya tbh) and even more distant from the viewer. She felt like she didn't care about what was going on and went through no pain or inner turmoil. She felt bored with everything, including the plot, as if she was waiting for it to be over. It frustrated me to see the protagonist be disinterested with everything that happened. She barely talked and had little to no inner monologues. She almost felt like she was a side character in her own story. This is all so different in the LN. Now she feels like a person. She's sarcastic, has a sense of humor and actually cares about the people around her, especially Mikiya and Enjo. She goes through a development that you can notice and actually goes through a lot. You feel for her because she's in a lot of pain, she knows she doesn't/can't belong in this world. She can only rely on SHIKI, no one else, and is left with nothing when he disappears. She feels like a tragic character that I want to root for instead of some edgy girl who wants to go home and do nothing. I do really enjoy the KNK movies though, don't get me wrong. Their two biggest strengths is the music and the snipping down of harder to understand concepts. I 100% agree with your comment that the LN and anime complete each other. They do really feel like they're two halves to a complete story.

Great video and presentation! I love the Nasuverse and watched the entirety of KnK but it never really clicked as much as I wanted it to. This video gave me more context to understand where my disconnect was before my rewatch!

Great video. I still think you were a bit harsh on the movies as they do a lot of subtext work imo. Still great video man loved it

Im seing things that I didnt know they exist. They are actual anime or just amv or specific videos for games or promos? That Shiki withe the hair pin, Mikiya with Shiki on the snow, or the other Shiki, Touno, giving knive cuts, whre I can find them?

It's safe for me to assume that the reason for oblivion recording's retocon might have to do with japan's strange and paradoxical censorship. especially when it involves prostitution and the like.

No one had given me a warning about how the third movie started. I was not prepared and was frankly very disgusted. I get that was the point. but it would have been nice to know what i signed up for...

Is future gospel canon?