The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2

February 1999. A series of murders is being committed in the city and the method matches an incident from years before. Shiki was there then too. She has a faculty that lets her see death, and she stands between using it and not. Mikiya is beside her; he is the one person who still sees her as human. As the investigation advances Shiki meets the second personality from her own past again, and the question of who the killer is turns into the question of what Shiki is. Hikaru Kondo produced it. The film is the last chapter of the Kara no Kyoukai series and is adapted from the novel by Kinoko Nasu. Maaya Sakamoto and Kenichi Suzumura are among the voices. It is a Japanese production. The narrative tells the events of the series' first film through to the end this time and fills the gaps the earlier chapters left. It is the last piece of the series in chronological order and the longest. The matter it treats is identity; the question of the two personalities inside Shiki closes here. The narrative expects the whole series to be known and is not suited to being watched alone. The images and the music keep the heavy tone the series is known for. There is little fighting; the narrative rests mostly on conversation and interior voice. The film is long, over two hours, and the pace slow. At the end the narrative ties back to the opening scene of the first film. The ending closes the series. Its limit is access; it needs context, the philosophical dialogue is dense, and the narrative heavy. Who it is for: viewers of the series and lovers of dark supernatural anime. Who it is not for: it is closed, slow, and the ending heavy.