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Kara No Kyoukai

April 1995. I met her.

Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners ("The Edge of Emptiness") is a novel by Nasu Kinoko of TYPE-MOON/Notes fame; however, it was written before he became involved in the Visual Novel business. While considered by many to be the prototype of Tsukihime, it is much more complex, with themes ranging from human perception to memory.

Ryougi Shiki is a girl who grew up in a family imbued with supernatural powers. In particular, certain members possess something close to dual personalities; the "male" and "female" sides, who are aware of each other, are both conscious, and essentially the same person with different qualities. This dual consciousness combined with her upbringing has led her to reject other human beings.

When she was in high school, she met a caring classmate, Kokutou Mikiya. Slowly, under his influence, Shiki begins to feel happiness in her life. However, that comes to an end when Mikiya becomes too close to her.

I don't... want to die...

A warm smile.

I want to kill you.

June 1998. Ryougi Shiki wakes up from a coma; her eyes are bandaged. In her mind, she feels only " " - utter void. Her memories are a blur, and she feels disconnected from them, as though they are not her own. Her doctor tells her that it was a car accident. She wants to be rid of those eyes; eyes that stare into the void. A woman stops her, saying that they are "too wasteful to destroy"; after all, they are the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

Consists of two novels, divided into seven chapters, each adapted into a movie shown in the same order as the novel chapters from 2007 to 2008; an extra chapter was also written in 2008 to "connect the beginning and end." Being one of the earliest works, it also introduces some of the most fundamental concepts of The Verse, including souls, Akasha, Counter Force, Magic and Magecraft, and Origin.

The eight chapters are:
  • Fukan Fuukei ("Overlooking View")
  • Satsujin Kousatsu: Zen ("Murder Speculation" Part 1)
  • Tsuukaku Zanryuu ("Lingering Sense of Pain")
  • Garan no Dou ("Hollow Shrine")
    • Intermission; Fujino and Kirie
  • Mujyun Rasen ("Paradox Spiral")
  • Boukyaku Rokuon ("Oblivion Recording")
    • Intermission: Rio.
  • Satsujin Kousatsu: Go ("Murder Speculation" Part 2)
  • Mirai Fukuin ("Future Gospel'')

You can read the novels' translation here

The series as a whole provides examples of:

  • Adaptation Dye Job - Touko, who has blue short hair in the original novels and long red hair in the movies and more recent artwork, to make her look more like her sister.
  • All There In The Manual
  • Alternate Continuity - Word Of God states that there can only be one user of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, which means either Tohno Shiki has them, or this Ryougi Shiki. In addition, Aozaki Touko's goal contradicts with the existence of the True Ancestor Arcueid, also from Tsukihime.
    • Should be noted that there can only be one user not because it's physically impossible to have two users of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, but because it's so highly improbable for two to exist at the same time.
    • It should be noted though that though these interferences omit True Ancestors from the Kara no Kyoukai universe. Tohno/Nanaya Shiki should still exist because the Demon Hunters still exist in Kara no Kyoukai (though he would be much younger than Mikiya or Ryougi as he was born in either 1983 or 1982).
    • It should also be noted that these divergences can be explained somewhat with the existence of yet another one of the Sorcerers, namely Zelretch. He rules over "alternate possibilities" and travels between realities, so it is possible that he actually helps Aoko move between the Tsukihime and Kara No Kyoukai dimensions.
  • Ambiguously Gay - Touko, who blatantly flirts with Shiki the first time they meet.
  • Anachronic Order - Chronologically, the story begins in 1995, but the first chapter is set in June 1998. The viewer is thrown abruptly into the story from the middle, without explanation of the powers, relationships, and backstory of the cast, which is elaborated upon later. Familiarity with the Nasuverse helps.
  • Ancient Tradition - The Ryougi Family, as well as other members of the Demon Hunter's Association.
  • Anthropomorphic Personification - Shiki is the void/origin itself.
  • Agent Mulder - Akimi Daisuke, but he never actually finds anything.
  • Arthur Dent - Kokutou Mikiya, completely normal guy working for a magus.
    • All things considered, I'd almost peg him as more of a Badass Normal, though.
  • Artificial Limbs - Ryougi Shiki's left arm, which allows her to touch spirits. Her original was torn apart by Asagami Fujino.
  • Audible Sharpness - Done to excess in the film adaptation.
  • Badass Normal - Ryougi Shiki, who is still technically human; this doesn't stop her from leaping off tall buildings.
  • Bare Fisted Monk - Araya started as this. It Got Worse.
  • Battle Moon Wars - Included in this game, ALONGSIDE Shiki Tohno, purely because of Ruleof Cool.
  • Berserk Button - Touko is usually pretty calm, but if you call her a "dirty red," calmness turns to Tranquil Fury and you're dead. It's her policy. But that's not even her real Berserk Button. Calling her a rotten red is just a way of mocking her and saying she plays second fiddle to her little sister. Her real Berserk Button is her little sister. Lets just say their rivalry has gotten rather bad a good few times in the past.
  • Bifauxnen - Shiki is described as both "handsome" and "beautiful".
  • Big Bad - Araya Souren, who is pretty much responsible for everything bad that happens to Shiki after meeting Mikiya in high school.
  • Big Lipped Alligator Moment - The stop-motion bit imploring viewers to not smoke/make noise/pirate the film/have their phones turned on. It's... er, weird, to say the least.
    • They mostly revolve around Type Moon fandom in-jokes and references to similarly surreal sections in other Type Moon works. For example, the yellow-and-green mushroom is Kinoko Nasu's avatar.
    • But hey, its very, very cute.
  • Blood Knight - Shiki
  • Born In The Wrong Century - Shiki. Full stop. She might not show any desire to have been born in another century (or any desire, period, really, aside from killing), but...
    • ...she's a modern day warrior woman who only feels alive in a fight to the death.
    • ...her weapons of choice are the tanto (knife) and katana (sword).
    • ...she wears a traditional kimono whenever possible.
  • Bring My Red Jacket - Shiki, oh yes. Shorter than the usual Badass Longcoat, but it definitely counts.
  • Butterfly Of Death And Rebirth - Go on, guess what insect is in the opening a lot. You'll never guess.
  • Chekhovs Gun (And Accompanying Skill) - It is mentioned in the second chapter that Ryougi Shiki possesses a sword and is trained in its use by her father; it is later used in the fifth chapter, though it is broken in the end.
  • Convenient Coma - A big part of the overarching story; what led to and what happens during the coma, and the repercussions after the awakening.
  • Cool Old Guy - Akitaka, the Ryougi manservant.
  • Cursed With Awesome
  • A Day In The Limelight - Inverted. Araya Souren, one of the most important characters in the series, only appears in the fifth movie.
  • Death Glare - Ryougi Shiki; those glowing blue eyes help.
  • Death Is Cheap - Aozaki Touko
  • Defrosting Ice Queen - Ryougi Shiki
  • Determinator - Ryougi Shiki
  • Different As Night And Day
    • Ryougi Shiki's two personalities; the male is carefree and talks like a guy, while the female is brooding and uses Keigo.
    • You can tell Aozaki Touko's mood by her glasses; if they're on, she's a Cool Big Sis, but if they're off, she gets... unpleasant.
  • Dissonant Serenity - Several characters.
    She bends down and touches the blood flowing on the ground; streaks it across her lips. The blood drips down and her body trembles in ecstasy. The first lipstick Shiki has ever worn.
  • Environmental Symbolism
  • Evil Eye- Several characters possess Mystic Eyes, with abilities ranging from "Suggestion" to the famous "Eyes of Death Perception." By extension, this also includes Hellish Pupils. Most are quite colorful when activated. [Insert Dune reference here].
  • Evil Feels Good
  • Fan Nickname - Asagami Fujino to "Fujinon."
  • Final Boss (as much as a light novel/movie series can have a Final Boss) - Surprisingly, it's not Souren Araya; it's Shirazumi Lio.
  • Functional Magic - Magecraft in defined as "artificial reenactment of Magic", requiring Equivalent Exchange, whereas Magic is "achieving the impossible" (eg. Operation of Parallel Worlds).
  • Girl With Psycho Weapon - Shiki
  • Girly Run - Azaka
  • Glowing Eyes Of Doom - The mystic eyes in the movies. The original novels never gave any indication that her eyes glowed, changed color, or anything.
    • It's likely a visual cue for the audience.
      • Shiki's eyes glow once blue in the novels, when she's considering killing Enjoe because she's restless. She decides against it.
  • Gray Eyes - Shiki again. Interestingly, in Melty Blood she is one of the few characters whose eyes don't glow red (Demon) or blue (Anti-Demon) in the opening "Versus" screen of each battle.
  • The Grim Reaper - Shiki is likened as one, thanks to her ability to kill anything she cuts coupled with her ability to cut anything.
  • Heroic Sociopath - Shiki, with both the Heroic and the Sociopath played up very much.
  • Implacable Man - Araya Souren.
  • In The Blood - Many characters in the story belong to families who are listed under the Demon Hunter's Association detailed in Tsukihime. Families in this group tend to partially have monstrous blood, which is partially the reason for their supernatural abilities.
  • Invisible To Normals - Minor supernatural beings (eg. ghosts, fairies) generally can't be seen as they are not powerful enough to manifest.
  • Japanese Pronouns - Shiki notably uses the aggressive-masculine pronoun of "Ore" to refer to herself in spite of being the portrait of a classical dignified Japanese Lady.
  • Knife Nut - Shiki, very much so. Not that she has anything against swords though, as shown in her fight against Souren.
  • Kuudere - Shiki.
  • Last Of Their Kind - Both Asagami Fujino and Fujyo Kirie are implied to be the last supernatural member of their respective families, and Kurokiri Satsuki is the last person on Earth that can use the Unified Language.
  • Leitmotif - In the movies, a specific tune (heard with lyrics here is usually associated with Shiki (see also Theme Music Power Up). The villains in part 5 also get Leitmotifs representative to their personalities (that Alba's sounds vaguely like "Hall of the Mountain King" may be a reference to M).
  • The Lifestream - Akasha, the Root of everything and nothing, the beginning and the end, the Swirl of Origin, etc. The Nothing After Death would be more appropriate a description.
  • Linear Warriors Quadratic Wizards
  • Magi Babble - Almost a given with any Nasuverse work.
  • Man Behind The Man - Araya Souren.
  • Manipulative Bastard - Araya Souren again.
  • Meaningful Name - Several characters, but in particular, Ryougi means "two equal sides of opposites", and Shiki, "method" or "equation".
  • Nigh Invulnerability - Aozaki Touko is a genius dollmaker who can create perfect copies of her own body which awaken when her current "container" is destroyed. Araya Souren is also close to indestructible, due to his origin of "Stillness" and having a Buddha's remains grafted onto his left arm - combined, these even blocked the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. For a little while, at least.
    • Not only that, but in the original novels, he still had a considerable lifespan left after Shiki pierces him in his death dot.
  • No Cure For Evil - Subverted, Araya is very good at healing, he repairs Fujino's cracked vertebrae and restores her sense of feeling. Yes, this is an evil act. Araya knows good and well why...
  • The Ojou - Shiki.
  • Ordinary High School Student - Mikiya in the beginning.
  • Our Demons Are Different - Nasuverse makes a distinction between Eastern oni and "real" demons.
  • Pet The Dog - Shiki does something roughly resembling this at times (mainly involving Mikiya). Hey, its Shiki we're talking about, we have to make some concessions with our standards.
    • She also quite literally pets the dog in Oblivion Recorder, when Azaka's roommate's pet collie becomes attached to her.
  • Portmanteau Series Nickname - Kara no Kyoukai is frequently contracted to Rakkyo.
  • Pragmatic Adaptation - Most fans and even first-time viewers liked it, though it depends on who you talk to.
  • Psychic Powers - Several types. It is fundamentally different from Magecraft in that it is not a learned ability, but a one-time mutation.
    • Clairvoyance - Asagami Fujino eventually gets to this.
    • Telekinesis - Asagami Fujino's main ability. "...Bend."
    • Teleportation - One character gets close; "true" spatial warping, however, is said to be the domain of true Magic.
  • Raised By Wolves - Shiki, to a degree.
  • Scenery Porn - There are some very nice landscapes shown, even though they tend to be of decrepit buildings and city areas.
  • Split Personality - Or rather, "United Independent Personalities." The Ryougi Family has the supernatural ability of dual personalities, which resulted in Shiki having both a (dominant) female side and a male side. Shiki's male side dies, which gives her a connection to death while she's still alive. What's left is the hole that is her so-called "Third Personality."
  • Sorting Algorithm Of Evil - Averted; the Big Bad and the mastermind behind most of the story has only one proper appearance in the fifth chapter.
  • The Stoic - Araya Souren, and Shiki; her disinterest in other human beings started it, but it's her connection to the Root that made her empty.
  • Story Breaker Power - Ryougi Shiki discusses the full extent of her powers in the original epilogue to the novels. To be honest, Story Breaker Power is an understatement.
  • Super Deformed - The hilariously cute opening stop motion "don't smoke" warnings to each movie.
  • Super Speed and Required Secondary Powers - Done to extremes. Araya Souren can dodge a bullet after it has been fired. Ryougi Shiki can move faster than Araya's eyes can track, not to mention attacking so fast that he didn't even realize his arm was cut until it fell off. They even added something like a sonic boom in the film adaptation.
  • Super Weight - Lets rank 'em.
  • Theme Music Power Up - Partially played straight - whenever Shiki begins doing something particularly epic, a suitably epic background track starts up; the music used in these scenes changes from movie to movie, if not from scene to scene, but manages to stay relatively similar overall (the tracks from her showdown with Araya Souren and her fight with Asagami Fujino are great examples).
  • Tranquil Fury
  • Tomboyish Name - The "Shiki" in Ryougi Shiki is a neutral name, hence Tohno Shiki of Tsukihime.
  • Took A Level In Badass - Shiki does this twice against Alaya Souren. What's more badass than regular Shiki? That would be Shiki with a sword. And what's even more badass than that? Shiki's third personality.
    • Rumor has it that Shiki's skill with the sword is just on par with Fujimura Taiga from Fate Stay Night. But then again Shiki has her eyes... but wait, what if Taiga became Shiki?
      • 1. That's not a rumor. That's KnK Chapter 2 DVD commentary. 2. That's under normal circumstances, like the practice match Ryougi Shiki had with her father, not when Shiki is out for blood like against Araya Souren.
      • We also have to consider that Taiga is actually pretty good to begin with, but just can't compare to the kinds of absurdly powerful beings walking around in Fate.
  • Trademark Favorite Food - Bottled water, of all things, for Shiki (it's the only thing we ever see in her fridge). She says multiple times that she hates sweet food.
  • Tsundere - Shiki towards Mikiya.
  • The Woobie - Fujino, very much so.
    • Tomoe, too, if only once heads or tails are made of the situation.
  • Xanatos Gambit - As perpetrated by Araya Souren.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko - Averted. There are several times when Shiki is described like one, but she's really just a Dissonantly Serene Blood Knight Knife Nut.
  • Yandere - Shiki for the trifecta!
    • She's actually been labeled by Nasu as tsungire, which seems to fit particularly well.

#1: "Overlooking View" (September 1998)

The first chapter abruptly focuses on a mysterious series of apparent suicides, as schoolgirls begin throwing themselves off of a certain abandoned building without reason. Ghosts are seen flying floating in the area.

Tropes specific to this chapter:
  • Continuity Nod - Kind of backwards, but there's a scene in which the events of the third movie are reported on by the news on TV. Novel readers and people rewatching the movies will catch it, but otherwise it'll pass by without notice.
    • This troper also found an example of this, when Touko is fixing Shiki's artificial arm: she makes a nod to the third movie's antagonist.
  • Evil Hand - Shiki's artificial arm gets remotely possessed by a ghost and tries to choke and throw her off a building.
  • Leave The Camera Running - There is a very long scene of Shiki (with one arm) eating ice cream that takes about a minute and a half. It's supposed to be symbolic and a Pet The Dog scene about Shiki and Mikiya's relationship, but to some viewers comes off as a little silly.
  • Product Placement: Said ice cream is prominently stated to be Haagen-Dazs in both the movies and the original novel.
    • And Shiki's fridge is shown as being empty except for the ice cream and several bottles of Volvic water.
  • Sophisticated As Hell: Mikiya
    "She is either an eminent virtuoso, or just a big weirdo."
  • Stringy Haired Ghost Girl - Kirie, with the subversion that she's not actually dead...
    • You know how these tend to be Nigh Invulnerable in most stories? Yeah...against Shiki, not so much.
  • Suicide Is Painless - Basically the entire story has to do with this concept.

#2: "Murder Speculation (Part 1)" (August 1995)

This chronologically-first chapter shows the initial meeting of high school classmates Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Mikiya. As he gets closer to Shiki, Mikiya finds out about her dual personalities. Meanwhile, Mikiya's cousin, police detective Akimi Daisuke, warns him of a serial killer who stalks the town at night, leaving behind gruesome corpses. Only one piece of evidence has been left behind: the badge of attendance for their school.

#3: "Lingering Sense of Pain" (July 1998)

Ryougi Shiki's first case after her awakening from the coma. The unassuming Asagami Fujino, a girl unable to feel pain, experiences life for the first time in the passion of killing. As Aozaki Touko and Kokutou Mikiya investigates the truth behind this murderer, Ryougi Shiki hunts her down, leading to a confrontation between the two very different kinds of Mystic Eyes.

  • Alas Poor Villain: Fujino reverting to an innocent little girl, crying that she dosen't want to die, wanting to live on to love and feel more while bleeding to death.
  • Broken Bird - Asagami Fujino
  • Cry Cute - Asagami Fujino yet again. Even when discounting the fact she is voiced by Noto Mamiko she is so adorable in this scene you would still wanna reach into the screen and hug her.
  • Drives Like Crazy - When Touko gets behind the wheel Mikiya's reactions tell us that she's like this. We find out in the 5th movie that she never went to driving school, which explains a lot.
  • Fan Disservice - The scenes of Fujino being abused and raped by the delinquents.
  • Feel No Pain - Asagami Fujino, both physically and emotionally, though she keeps this a secret from everyone else so they don't think she's abnormal. She was even repeatedly raped by a gang because of her passivity and this unwillingness to tell anyone about her 'pain'. She starts getting her sensation back in fits after one of the gang hits her with a baseball bat. The pain makes her feel more alive... and murderous. They die messily. It turns out that the lack of pain was the result of her father medicating her as a child to seal her psychic powers before they got out of hand.
  • Pet The Dog - In an odd way; Shiki lets Fujino live by killing her appendicitis, which by her standards is petting the dog.
  • Red Eyes Take Warning - Fujino.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses - Kokutou, of all people. Granted, he's being told how one of his former friends and his buddies abused Fujino, so he's disgusted.
  • Tearjerker: "I... don't want to die... I want to live more... I want to feel more... I want to talk with him more... I want to love him more... I want to be here longer... I don't want... to die... Oh it hurts... It Hurts so bad I want to cry... Can I cry?"
  • Yangire: Although just as dangerous as Shiki is, Fujino remains one of the more sympathetic examples of this trope in anime.

#4: "Hollow Shrine" (June 1998)

Ryougi Shiki awakens from her coma, and is immediately restrained after attempting to gouge out her own eyes. For two years, she has been staring into " " - not just "emptiness", but a complete void without meanings, forms, or concepts. And she is alone - SHIKI has disappeared. Chronologically the second chapter, this chapter covers Shiki's recovery, the consequences of her coma, and her struggle to survive while submersed in death.

  • Continuity Nod: Fujyo Kirie (from the first movie) can be seen in the background in one scene.
    • The nurses comment that Tohko is replacing Araya as a counselor at the hospital.
    • There's also the post-credits scene, showing how Araya Souren is connected to the first three parts.
  • Crowning Music Of Awesome: There's a reason they used the instrumental version of Kalafina's ARIA instead of Shiki's normal asspwnery music here.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: When Shiki first wakes up the fact that her hair is now past shoulder-length lets us know she's been asleep for a long time. Add an Important Haircut later and you know she's serious.
  • Eye Scream: One of the first things Shiki does upon waking up is try to claw her own eyes out, as the result of a Freak Out upon realizing what her eyes can see.
  • Out Of Clothes Experience: While in the Void Shiki is depicted as being completely nude.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: There's a rather eerie scene in which a recovering Shiki is being attacked by a zombie in her hospital room, overlayed by Mikiya (elsewhere) singing a slightly engrishy "Singing in the Rain."

#5: "Paradox Spiral" (October-November 1998)

The longest movie yet, at about two hours in length. Enjou Tomoe flees his apartment after killing his parents and unexpectedly finds sanctuary at Shiki's place. Tomoe then finds that his parents have apparently failed to stay dead, and that's only the first sign of the abnormalities surrounding the building. Things get bloody messy, and Touko meets some old acquaintances. This movie is notable in that Shiki kills off the Big Bad of the series here, while the following two movies explore the loose and still-unused plot threads.
  • Alas Poor Villain - Araya is alot more sympathetic when it is shown that his failure to save people in the past has led to him to do everything he does in the series (ie. he wants Shiki's eyes to see Akasha and thus the Alpha-Omega of humanity to see that the deaths of all good humans are not in vain)
  • Alas Poor Yorick - Touko Aozaki gets this treatment. She gets better.
  • All There In The Manual - The concepts in this movie are a lot clearer after reading the novels. The movie is also more passive over the fact that Tomoe escaping and Shiki and Tohko getting involved (most of the plot, really) were caused by the Counter Force manipulating them to have the situation resolved.
  • Anachronic Order - Deserves separate mention here. Things tend to repeat with different perspectives, get stuck in loops loops deserves separate mention. Repeat repeat Shiki got a lock loop loop loop...
  • Bloodless Carnage - Despite the large amount of blood elsewhere in the movie, the scene near the beginning of Tomoe killing his mother is oddly lacking. This lack of blood is actually a critical clue to what's really going on. This also works as an effective Mind Screw.
  • Brain In A Jar - Everyone in Tomoe's apartment is just a puppet, with their brains actually kept alive in a pile of jars in the basement.
  • Card Carrying Villain - Cornelius Alba in the anime only. The novel gives him more depth.
  • Continuity Nod - Done very literally in-story with a completely different (and important) meaning: while Shiki is basically in Akasha and viewing all the moments the Counter Force had an influence on the situation, she sees the moment she first met Mikiya — and "that her" stops talking, looks up at the screen where Shiki is watching from Akasha, and smiles at her. This is a huge plot detail.
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu - Enjou didn't have a chance against Araya. But damn did he tell him off.
  • Eldritch Abomination - The thing in Touko's briefcase. Sometimes it just resembles a traditional bakeneko. Others....
  • Expy - Cornelius Alba is basically the most disgusting parts of Willy Wonka and Alexander De-Large rolled into one humanoid mass; combining the arrogance and bad-fashion sense of both. He even goes as far as to gleefully sing Bethoven's 9th Symphony 4th Movement, the favourite tune of Alex from A Clock Work Orange, when he tried to murder Mikiya in a chillingly sadistic torture scene.
    • Maybe not so coincidentally, Mikiya himself has sung Singin' In The Rain, the song that Alex sung while raping a writer's helpless wife, twice in the film series so far.
  • Eye Scream
  • Genius Loci - Araya has fused with his apartment.
  • High Octane Nightmare Fuel - Watch it for yourself... this troper is still too traumatized to even describe it.
  • If It's You, It's Okay - After thinking for a minute, Kokutou decides that he'd probably like Shiki the same regardless of her gender. Though he does add that he's pretty happy that she's a girl.
  • Inn Between The Worlds - The Cafe Between Life and Death.
  • Limited Wardrobe - In an apparent Lampshade Hanging, Shiki is shown to own three of the same jacket.
  • Malevolent Architecture - Araya's apartment building is made this way on purpose, to drive people crazy.
  • Meteor Move - After fighting with Shiki and realizing that she is stronger physically, Araya teleports from the tenth floor (where they both are) down to the the grounds outside. Shiki goes to the nearest opening, jumps down—from the tenth floor, I remind you—and lands sword-first right on top of him. Though the impact breaks the usually invincible Japanese Sword and knocks Shiki out in process.
    • And even then (in the movie, at least) she was only saved by the Big Bad's Mobile Bounded Field (kind of like a shield) taking most of the landing impact (it's slightly implied he activated it on purpose for that reason).
  • Mind Screw - Of truly epic proportions. Without reading the novels, you really need to see this film at least twice to even get a rough idea about what the blazes is going on. A great case of All There In The Manual (listed above).
    • I got it the first time around (noberu no okage de), but half the reason for the mind screw is not just because of the mind screw nature, but because the movie left out parts that are necessary to put everything together, leaving you with a general sense of "wtf" as you try to put together the gaps.
  • Moral Event Horizon - Willy Wonka Alexander De-Large Cornelius Alba was never an especially sympathetic character, but after he starts parading Touko's head around like a trophy, then torments Mikiya with it and then starts beating an unconscious Mikiya's head into the wall he has to die.
  • Pet The Dog - Shiki goes somewhere between this and Clingy Jealous Girl (but not quite - she is very hard to categorize) when she starts stabbing her pillow in frustration while griping about Mikiya's absence to Tomoe.
  • Single Stroke Battle - Shiki vs zombie. ... Zombie explodes in half.
  • Snow Means Death - When Araya dies
  • Squick - Right about the time we get a close up of Tomoe shoving his thumb through a guy's eye... and then it just keeps going further...
  • Start Of Darkness - A flashback/dream of Araya's shows him standing in the aftermath of a bloody conflict 200 years ago, looking at the corpse of a little boy who got caught up in it. He resolves that since he cannot save anybody, he will at least collect and record the deaths of people and reach the origin so he can end this world so there can be no more meaningless deaths.
  • Tear Jerker - this is Nasu, after all.
    • Tomoe's final words: "I was here."
    • The cafe scene near the end, where Shiki and Tomoe give their last farewells.
  • The Man Behind The Man - Araya reveals to Shiki that he engineered her conflicts with Fujino and Kirei as a part of his Xanatos Gambit to reach Akasha.
  • Tomato In The Mirror - The Tomoe who interacts with Shiki is a fake, as he himself confirms when he finds the Brain In A Jar with his name on it.
  • Why Dont You Just Shoot Him - Subverted. Araya mercilessly destroys Tohko, but keeps her head alive on purpose - she's created an exact duplicate of her own body and linked them to herself. Whenever she is "killed" the other body awakens, allowing her to come back - when Alba crushes her head, she comes back. With a vengeance.

#6: "Oblivion Recorder" (January 1999)

Azaka and Shiki go to the Reien Girl's Academy to find the culprit behind a rash of disappearing memories caused by "fairies".

  • Adaptation Decay: Whereas most of the changes made to the previous movies boiled down to cutting out/shortening scenes from the original novel, here the plot and theme have been altered directly.
  • Badass Adorable: Sure, Shiki may be charming and beautiful, but Azaka-chan fits this trope better as she acts in a more cutesy fashion.
  • Bowdlerization: The child prostitution and teen pregnancy subplot between Tachibana Kaori and Hayama Hideo in the novel is reduced to drug addiction in the movie. Which is somewhat glaring seeing as they left in Asagami Fujino's rather graphic rape scenes in the third movie.
  • Breather Episode: Cute and light-hearted, almost as if preparing you for a soul-shatteringly traumatic finale.
    • The film adaptation only, mainly due to the focus on Azaka.
  • Brother Sister Incest: Azaka openly states that she's in love with Mikiya, her blood-related brother - during her self-intro narration, no less. She even left home and enrolled at Reien in hopes that their time apart would lead Mikiya to view her as a woman rather than his little sister.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Azaka towards her brother Mikiya.
  • Crowning Moment Of Funny: When Azaka-chan uses an adorable Super Deformed Shiki-plushie as an "effigy" for "target practice" with her magical fire.
    • "Don't burn. Be Moe!!"
    • Azaka attempting to sock Shiki in the face, played completely for laughs. "Paanchi!"
  • Dark Magical Girl: Misaya Ouji. Is it any wonder she's voiced by Nana Mizuki in the movie?
  • Driven To Suicide: Tachibana Kaori.
  • Elaborate University High: Reien Academy
  • The Fair Folk: And were not talking about the packaged-for-kids Christams version, oh no.
  • Foe Tossing Charge - Azaka performs one of these against the big demon flower controlling Ouji. She even finishes it off with her best approximation of a Super Inazuma Kick.
  • Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: The random giant flower thing in the movie.
  • Kawaiiko: Azaka-chan is a slightly older than usual example, but oh so very cute nevertheless.
  • Kung Fu Magic: Azaka-chan's style of combat. Anyone expecting her to be a worthless warrior in close combat because she practices magic is in for a very, VERY rude surprise.
  • Lighter And Softer: The least violent entry in the saga so far.
  • Moe: Azaka-chan.
  • The Ojou: Ouji Misaya.
  • Shout Out: Azaka mentions she's dogsitting for her roommate Seo. Keen Nasuverse fans will assume she means Seo Akira, Akiha's friend in Kagetsu Tohya. When we get to see her at the end of the film, she does indeed appear to be a tously-haired Expy, although she's evidently not the same one - the DOG'S name is Akira.
  • Sneezing: Touko does this when Shiki and Azaka find her picture in the yearbook.
  • Spotlight Stealing Squad: Azaka in the movies from Kurokiri Satsuki, the original focus of the novels. Isn't it sad, Sacchin?
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Azaka actually respects Shiki, and is quite fond of her; the feeling is mutual on Shiki's part. The girls understand each other enough to laugh at and finish the punch line of each-other's jokes, and marvelously completmenting each together in abilities on the battlefield. The one thing, however, that prevents them from actually openly admitting their friendship to one another is their mutual love for Mikiya.
  • Your Mileage May Vary: This troper felt that the movie was basically The Theme Park Version - the [[Bowdlerization actual tragedy]] of the plot was watered down (something close to prostitution, rape, teenage pregnancy...), an important character is left almost an afterthought with none of his Back Story shown, and his interaction with the main character of the series is not even elaborated... even though it was supposed to be the lead-up to the series finale.
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