A decent start to a fantastic franchise Partially lost in translation 220https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/GardenofSinnersmovie12COverlookingView.jpg To continue my previous review which was the final KnK movie this is what I watched all those months ago: And back then I didnt get it. In all honesty I still cant wrap my head around some of this movie. Only after reading the Light Novel version was I able to understand what the characters were thinking something that seems to be lost in translation when it comes to Ufotables adaptations of Nasus works more on that later but its still a good start. Setting: 220https://nefariousreviews.wordpress.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/01/gardenofsinnersrain.jpg?w=474 If this movie gets one thing right its the ambiance. Holy hell this city feels alive as well as terrifying. I think its outdone only by the vibe in movies 2 and 7. It feels like theres a million places to die and thats a perfect vibe for Mifune City a proper place where supernatural drama characters should be living. It matches the tone of the story style and vibe that its aiming for perfectly. Soundtrack: One thing I certainly think contributes to the incredible ambiance is the music done by Yuji Kajiura and the ED Oblivious by Kalafina. The opening credits track is hauntingly beautiful Shikis fight scene is scored in a similarly sinister yet exciting way and the credits are mystifying. Kudos to the composers I have no problems with the OST at all. https://www..com/watch?v=JfRo9G4rPHA https://www..com/watch?v=rd0LJJirp8g https://www..com/watch?v=UI8Iy7kmRxo Plot: Plots pretty simple. Rescue the Princess: Or in this case Mikiya: Who displays the common TypeMoon protagonist trope of accidentally making every woman he makes eye contact with up to and including his sister. Thankfully its kept to a minumum here with a ghost girl taking a liking to Mikiya and wanting to have someone as empty as her up in the sky with her. After Shiki hunts Kyrie down in an apartment complex she looses a fight and has some ice cream. Shiki gets a replacement synthetic arm and they fight again Shiki tearing apart ghosts in one of the most brilliant fight scenes Ive ever seen. Mikiya is saved mild character assassination takes place yadda yadda. More on THAT later. Of course the continuity of this movie in the franchise is another high point. There are constant references to Movie 3 the Bridge and Fujino. Fight Choreography: I dont even need to write anything. Just LOOK at these shots dawg. 220https://media.tenor.com/NJ6d12Ii77UAAAAM/karanokyoukaigardenofsinners.gif 220https://64.media.tumblr.com/70b9f934504515a1a16725e89971570a/tumblrnt04z8YWd01sbh7cpo1500.gif 220https://64.media.tumblr.com/0bb0f189160653f5621dae0d62544cfb/tumblrn84gehfJJV1qckkfko2r1500.gif 220https://i.yt.com/vi/4C58ubnIrF8/sddefault.jpg COLOR CONTRAST IS BEAUTIFUL Characters: Shiki: 220https://srv.crunchyroll.com/cdncgi/image/fit=containformat=autoquality=70width=1200height=675/catalog/crunchyroll/e28ba21da0e2febfb87837c8177a9447.jpg If anyone got justice in their first appearance in this first movie its Shiki. She approaches this mystical world with nonchalance and boredom. When you first watch this it really makes you wonder just why shes like this. Then she cuts off her own arm. Its only then that you realize just how damn hardcore this girl is and once she gets a replacement arm which at first felt like an asspull but after learning more about TypeMoon? Thats a normal Tuesday she just heads back out and kicks some ghosts asses. Its funny because in the LN version she only walks up and kills the ghost Kyrie to quote Shiki leaves the rooftop. Above the floating girls still remain. 220https://64.media.tumblr.com/5e883dc34558cfa91ce356f074805126/tumblroad0fn9UYo1smzgcuo1500.gif but for the sake of the movie she just waltzes right in to the crowd for le epic fight scene. Not only that but where the LN simply has Shiki grab Kyrie with her puppet limb in the movie? She straightup force chokes her like Darth Vader. Again unnecessary but still cool. This scene is what sold me on this franchise. While the world was rough and the characters had a lot to be desired at that point this scene teased what would come of the series and I love it. Of course my favorite scene might be the one where she eats ice cream. She said earlier in the movie that she hated ice cream and the fact that shes eating what Mikiya got her is touching. Their bond is truly put on full force and in this movie its Shiki whos taking those extra steps as opposed to before in movies 2 and 4. Its the connecting bride for 5 and 7. Mikiya: 220https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1amP8WQjuF9AzrMYUswZQYg.png Mikiya in this movie is weird to me. I honestly disliked him at first watch That changed with the second movie thankfully but here hes characterized as... an asshole honestly. He just gets kidnapped by a ghost doesnt really thank Shiki for saving him and tells her to not get mad because Youre a girl after all. BOI I OUGHTA I now know that its a lost in translation moment. Its like Shirou in UBW in that scene where Shirou in the anime seems oblivious to Rin trying to bring him onto the roof for lunch hes INTENTIONALLY messing with her and its the same case here. To quote again: Well I dont care about small things. I guess my only choice is to obey Shiki. But just obeying is a bit irritating so I decide to strike back a little. Shiki has a vulnerable point where when I say this Shiki gets mad but cant say anything back. Even though it is a wish from the bottom of my heart Shiki still has yet to take my advice. All right Ill spend the night. But Shiki... Shiki looks at me as I advise with a straight face. You shouldnt talk like that. Youre a girl you know. Shiki looks away angrily. Its not translated all that well and despite the movies occasionally bringing up later that Its his style of teasing for a first time viewer it was annoying to me. Similar issues happen like that in later movies but this one feels almost like character assassination. Its only on a rewatch that I realize just how welldeveloped and fitting Mikiyas role in this story is. His monologue with Shiki at the end shows a stark contrast between the two of them and how both of them think of the other in that specific scenario in actuality only caring about the wellbeing of the other. Its genius in my opinion. Toukos the same too. Her interactions with Kyrie in this movie come off meaner than theyre intended to be on first watch and she feels less remorseful for it in turn. Yet ironically it seems almost perfectly incharacter for her in retrospect. Its not just Kyrie its just how Touko is. I suppose she couldnt fly today. Out of the three main characters one is improved and the other two are misinterpreted at least how I saw it at first and upon rewatch... I can see where my past self was coming from but I think their characterizations work well. ...Important question though... if Mikiya was asleep from August 831 HOW DID HE EAT? Kyrie: ... She must have known what I would choose from the beginning. Because I could not fly and all I could do was to float. 220https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1TTEDWWlom9MUBCm0Lxxg.png I feel like I cant properly describe her character without messing it up so Ill try to break down her ending monologue from the LN. This fear that sends a chill down my spine. I have to feel the most death I can to feel the happiness of life. For everything in my life I have ignored until now. But it probably would be impossible to die like I did that night. I probably cannot hope for such a striking end. That death pierced me like lightning like a needle like a sword. That s why I will try to come as close to that as possible. I don t have any idea right now but I still have a few days to think about it. And Ive already decided on the method. I don t think I even need to say this but I think my end should be a long fall from a place overlooking the earth. Shes a character who doesnt have much and because of that has burned the image of an overlooking view in her head permanently. She wants the rush of being alive something she only felt while looking at that view and when her body double met its end at the hands of Shiki. Only on this rewatch did I realize that even if she didnt fall when she did theres a good chance that her doubles death would spur her own due to the nature of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perceptions sheer reach similar to how Nrvrsqr Chaoss beast were killed by Shiki Tohno in the original Tsukihime. Kyrie Fujyou is an especially tragic tortured character. A question still lingers in my mind after this third viewing: Would her life be better if Araya Souren hadnt stepped in or was this her best possible fate? Conclusion: 220https://d3tvwjfge35btc.cloudfront.net/Assets/01/830/Lp0046383001.jpg The first Garden of Sinners movie doesnt always hit its mark perfectly and its certainly not a perfect adaptation but for what it is its fantastic Say that again. And of course... it contains an important question: Will humans ever truly be able to fly? And just what lengths would you go to in order to live? Will you keep up a brave front for a moment or forever? Will a butterfly continue to flap its wings because it knows the sensation of flying even though it knows that eventually it will fall? When you put it that way it sounds like a cheap novel. With a combination of ambiance choreography a mysterious cast and threads that will lead to an incredible story later on the Garden of Sinners: Thanatos Overlooking View certainly enraptures the viewer if theyre patient enough to dig in a little deeper. Its not the peak of the franchise by any means but its still a solid first entry.