The Garden of Sinners Remix: Gate of Seventh Heaven - Reviews

Kara no Kyoukai Review Part 7

What is fanservice?

To many fans of anime and manga the term is used to denote content that in many other media would be considered "questionable", and a number of studios have begun using ecchi or near pornographic tactics in an effort to bolster the sales of DVDs, BluRays and associated merchandise. Unfortunately the average viewer continues to fall for what is effectively nothing more than a marketing tool (sex sells after all), without ever thinking that they could have more than stripes and jiggling. The resulting marginal increase in sales is then taken as proof positive that "fanservice" in its current form is a viable method for marketing and selling anime, and thus there has been a gradual increase in the number of shows that feature panty shots, large breasts, lolis, moe, and the kind of nonsense that has more to in common with adolescent wet dreams than actual entertainment.

It seems that the industry bigwigs have forgotten that fanservice can be a simple message of appreciation from the studios, and that contrary to popular belief it doesn't have to stroke the viewers ... ego. Thankfully there are a few things out there that take a slightly more wholesome stance when it comes to servicing the fans, but sadly these are rapidly becoming a rarity in an age where the focus seems more on the the area below the viewer's waist than the one above the neck.

Gate Of The Seventh Heaven may initially appear to be nothing more than another clip show, but in truth it's a type of fanservice that doesn't demean the studio, the creators, the viewers, and anyone else associated with the franchise.

Now fans of Kara no Kyoukai may already be familiar with the adventures of Ryougi Shiki, Kokutou Mikiya and Aozaki Touko as they go around solving all manner of supernatural shenanigans, usually in a fairly exciting manner. This special episode strings together a collection of choice moments from the first six installments in the series, and while the sequence of events is much abridged, the manner in which Gate Of The Seventh Heaven is constructed allows for a degree of accessibility that makes this a great introduction to the world that TYPE-MOON and Ufotable have created. The simplicity of proceedings and the straightforward approach to chronology also serves as something of an anodyne to those who had difficulty getting their head around the various jumps in time from one episode to the next, as well as addressing one of the biggest criticisms that people have had of the franchise thus far.

The movies were originally released in a non chronological order similar to that used by Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, and like that series the issue of continuity has been raised several times in the past. Now while Gate Of The Seventh Heaven only touches lightly on the main thrust of the plot for each episode, it allows the viewer to gain an overview of the various events and how they link to each other over the course of the series, and even hints at some things that might occur in the future. One could argue that every clip show does this to a degree, but the difference here is that unlike the shows that feature a time sequential plot line, the Kara no Kyoukai franchise actually needs a few straightforward explanatory notes to help viewers connect events between one movie and the next.

It may be surprising for many people to hear, but sometimes a clip show can be more than the sum of its parts.

The surprises don't stop with new scenes and hints of things to come though. Ufotable have gone the extra mile for the fans, and towards the end of Gate Of The Seventh Heaven viewers can sit back and enjoy a rather well made AMV set to Kalafina's Oblivious.

Which is a rather fitting segue to the topic of visuals.

Now given the nature of this episode pretty much everything I could say about the design has already been said in my other reviews, yet even with that the extra scenes in this installment are well realised and fit neatly into the whole. In truth, the one aspect of Gate Of The Seventh Heaven that stands out is the quality of the visual editing as, contrary to popular belief, making a clip show isn't as easy as many people might think. The main issues to be confronted are the pacing of the storyline, the sense of perspective, and most difficult of all for a series like this, promoting the inherent continuity that may not have been obvious before, and it's to the credit of Ufotable that they manage to achieve this to a large degree. Granted there are a few small issues here and there, but these can be forgiven in light of the effort that has gone into making what began as a clip show into something more.

As for the AMV, while it could be construed as nothing more than Ufotable "showing off", it's also rather refreshing as it's a definite nod to AMV creators all over the world, and a novel way of showing how much the studio have enjoyed working on the franchise.

One of the hallmarks of Kara no Kyoukai has been the quality of the audio, from the voice acting and background music to the effects and choreography, and it's nice to see that standards have been maintained to a large degree. While a great deal of the quality for this episode is directly handed down from the individual episodes, once again it's the editing, timing and choreography that raises this from the realms of the clip show. That said, there are a few oddities to be found in the AMV, but as with the small flaws in the visuals, these are easy to overlook.

To be honest, there's only one area where people may find criticism, and that's with the characters themselves. The Kara no Kyoukai franchise has been continuously hounded by problems with characterisation and development, partly because of the out of sequence manner in which the series has been released, and partly because the run time of each movie places a limitation on growth.

The weird thing is that fans may actually criticise Gate Of The Seventh Heaven for making sense. The nature of this episode promotes the idea that the characters develop over time, mainly because of the manner in which the story is told. The fact that events follow a linear path allows viewers to see how much the characters change over the course of the franchise, and this may come as a shock to many people as while the growth of each individual tends to be more of a stop-start affair, it's also far more clearly defined because of the sequential nature of the plot.

It's a well established fact that I have a soft spot for the Kara no Kyoukai franchise, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to sit through an hour long clip show. To say I was surprised when the credits ran after the AMV and the final scene, would be an understatement as not only did I enjoy Gate Of The Seventh Heaven, it also clarified certains aspects of the series that were a tad confusing the first time around. Granted there are flaws here and there, and the core elements of the plot lack a degree of substance due to the highly abbreviated nature of the episode, but these can be forgiven as this installment is an enjoyable addition to the franchise if nothing else.

Kara no Kyoukai: Gate Of The Seventh Heaven is about as far as one can get from the current idea of fanservice, and because of this it stands out as an example of how good all those DVD extras, OVA's and special episodes <em>could</em> be, so much so in fact that the BluRay box set (priced at $300-$400), sold out in the US in a very short space of time.

Hopefully the other studios will take note and realise that fanservice doesn't have to be aimed at the groin.

Before the final series of kara no kyoukai release...Kara no kyoukai remix comes out first as an extracts collection from it previous 6 movies,prepared according it chronological order it a remix collection taken from various scenes and combined it to make movies,the only new scene for this movies was only the action scene for Shiki and some preview scenes for Kara no kyoukai 7(part 2)...mixture from an existing scenes according to the chronological,the only part was missing was the scenes from kara no kyoukai 7(part 2) coz it haven't been release yet...
The art was nothing new that will make the viewer excited,coz mostly all part was taken from the previous movies even some new scenes been added its still not that impress..even its a remix from the previous the quality of the art are still awesome especially from the new scenes...
The sound and the BGM still an average level,mostly the sound and the music its same as the previous movies but the quality still the same..
Even this movies was a remix form the other movies its still an enjoyment to watch with added some new scenes and preview for the the last chronological,because its was taken from variety scenes and combined it to make a movies,watching it.its like a preview for all the story by follow to the chronological of kara no kyoukai...

The Garden of Sinners: Remix -Gate of Seventh Heaven- is an exceptional anime movie that retells the Kara no Kyoukai movie series in a fresh and cohesive manner. If you found the previous six movies confusing due to their non-linear chronological order, this movie is a must-watch. It serves as a recap of the preceding movies, making it an excellent lead-in to the final seventh movie.

The movie features a compilation of the most significant and captivating scenes from the series, along with some new additional scenes that provide more insight into the characters and their motivations. Its presentation in a more organized, chronological order is a significant highlight as it helps viewers better understand the events leading up to the final, climactic seventh movie.

The production values of the movie are exceptional, featuring beautiful animation and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack that perfectly complements the movie's themes and atmosphere. Fans of the Kara no Kyoukai theme songs will be delighted to know that this movie features a collection of the best and most important scenes, culminating in a stunning AMV, followed by every movie's main theme within the credits.

Albeit a recap, it is a must-watch for fans of the Kara no Kyoukai series. It effectively recaps the series while also providing a few new exciting material for fans to enjoy.

Watching this is ultimately a waste of time. There is nearly no new footage excluding previews for the seventh film. Mostly, it is just a bunch of flashbacks with music dominating everything. It ends up as an incoherent mess that manages to recap only if you've already seen everything up to that point in the series, otherwise, it adds nothing.

This is just a simple bit of something for the fans of the series. I really can't recommend it on its own merits, and as part of the series, it is ultimately useless. I wish I hadn't watched this all the way through, since it just wasted my time.

Writing (Story and Characters):

The "writing" here is that of making a clip show from earlier things. There is nothing added here on this front at all. I really wish there was something, anything, I could comment about beyond that. There isn't.

This is a lazy bit of something for the fans, only without the borderline pornography of classic fan service. The writing, as far as it goes, is more a work of copy-paste than anything else. Completely useless. Watching the series in fast forward with music slapped on is not writing.

Art (Animation and Sound):

The still art is fantastic. The voice acting is pretty good. The rest is an incoherent mess.

There is very little new here, and whatever little new happens here, it is just not worth it, nor is it up to par with earlier things in the series. The soundtrack dominates everything, replacing the need for things like meaningful dialogue. The only things that really stay other than that are monologs that add nothing.

Overall:

Don't watch this. It is a waste of time. It just isn't bad enough to be funny or cool on that merit. Save yourself an hour of your life by learning from my mistake.