Kara no Kyoukai movie 2 recap

- August 1995 -
- Murder Investigations Part 1 -

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This starts out when Shiki and Kokuto are just starting high school... this one time he greets her, she has these dead eyes making it look like she's not herself...

Shiki lives in some big japanese style house with a fancy gate and everything... some servant guy is seeing her off as she goes on one of her late night walks...

As the night grows deeper, so does the darkness. I think I walk through the empty town because I want to be alone. Or at least I want to think I'm alone...

It shows some random dude get run over by a car, and then cuts to Shiki standing over this corpse and then kneeling down into the huge pool of blood, licking it...

Shiki tells Kokuto she'll still wear her kimono even when it's winter, and he gives her the idea to wear a jacket over it... it cuts to another scene where some guy gets stabbed by an unknown person. when Kokuto mentions the murder to her at lunch, she says that's not a very good thing to talk about while eating.

The investigators say that this is the 4th one... and they noticed a strange yin-yang symbol written in blood. Later, the school announcement is saying all after-school activities are shut down for now... Shiki meets some unknown student who knows that she's looking for Kokuto, and tells her "I know you're irratated, but isn't four times a bit too much?", and then he walks off...

This story is just as hard to follow as it is in the book... it's a very weird style of storytelling...

Kokuto comes and offers her an umbrella, but she says she's waiting to get picked up by her guardian, so he asks if she would mind if he waits with her... he's very chill about it when she doesn't respond, he takes it as a "I don't mind" and just stands there with her, not even trying to make bothersome small talk or anything... and starts humming to himself. Shiki enjoys it... and then some really good classical music plays in the background along with the humming...

I gotta find this theme... at around 0:14:00

Suddenly, something happens inside Shiki's mind, a bunch of the murder scenes flash in her mind, and then she yells out "Kokuto-kun!"

Did she just change to her other self? which self was the one from before,
where that guy said something to her about the murders?

Shiki asks Kokuto: "Where were you until now?", he says he was holding a farewell party for someone who decided to drop out of school because he found a career path. She looks upset to find out that he "was serious"... (about what? not sure)

That night Shiki finds the 5th corpse...

Later she's practicing sword fighting with her dad... then she tells some servant he shouldn't be serving her, he should be serving her older brother instead because he'll be the successor... the servant tells her that she's the only possible successor of the Ryougi family, because he didn't inherit the attribute.

What's so good about this shit?

She wonders what Kokuto would think of her if he found out about this weird ability that she didn't even want.

Kokuto tells his friend why he knows Ryougi's first name... she hates it when he calls her "Ryougi-san". He tries to tell him that Shiki isn't scary... he still thinks Kokuto fell for a yandere...

She does have her cute side... if I had to compare her to an animal... I'd say she's a rabbit.

Later, Shiki asks Kokuto out on a date... she's very friendly when she shows up in her red jacket... he asks to make sure she's really Shiki...

Shiki then tells Kokuto about her split personality...

I'm SHIKI, and the usual one's Shiki.

A note of Japanese characters spelling out the two different names...

The only difference between us is our priorities.

It's not something Shiki wanted to do, so I'm doing it in her place.

So... is SHIKI the "older brother" she was referring to before? And maybe that "you were serious" from before was SHIKI talking to her other self?

Basically, I'm like Shiki's rebellious impulse. Until now, there was nobody I wanted to direct my rebellious impulse at.

Recently, we've started to go out of sync... normally... Shiki has control of her body no matter how hard I fight her. I'm able to meet with you only cause Shiki wanted it.

SHIKI explains that there's a part of Kokuto that she likes him but Shiki doesn't like...

Later, Kokuto's dad, an investigor, is telling him more about the murders while eating oranges...

The 2nd one had his body cut in half. The 3rd one had his limbs cut off, then had his arms sewn to his thighs, and his legs sewn to his shoulders. The 4th one was cut to pieces, and some kind of symbol was left. And the fifth one was made to resemble a manji symbol using his arms and legs.

He then tells Kokuto that he found the emblem of a student from the same school as him at the 5th crime scene.

- 1996 -
Kokuto says that Shiki started pushing out everyone from her life... to the point that even he could tell.

Hey Kokuto... did I ever tell you that I hate people?

This is the first time I've heard that.

Shiki has hated people since she was young.

When you're little... you think the whole world unconditionally loves you. You like yourself, so they must like you to. But you know... we need ignorance, Kokuto. Even if it's mistaken, the sense that you're loved gives you experience, and you can be kind to others in turn. People can only express the emotions they have. But I'm different. I knew of someone else ever since I was born. Because Shiki had me inside her.

So what SHIKI is saying about herself, also applies equally to her other self, Shiki... they are balanced... or at least they're supposed to be.

Since she found out as a child how ugly other people were, she couldn't come to love them. The only emotion Shiki knows is rejection.

But then, didn't you feel lonely?

Why? Shiki has me.

So Shiki/SHIKI isn't necessarily a yandere... just a really crazy emo introvert who is justifiably insane because of the "saimese souls" condition she was born with...

She was isolated, but she wasn't alone. She's been acting weird lately though. She has an abnormality in her, namely me, but she wants to deny me. Denial is my domain. Shiki's supposed to only be able to affirm.

... I think I get it... Shiki is killing SHIKI by taking over the "rebellious" part of her brain that SHIKI lives in, kicking her other self out into the void of the "root".

Kokuto, have you ever wanted to kill someone? That's the only emotion I have. I'm the personality that's in charge of Shiki's suppressed thoughts. So I've constantly killed my will. I've been killing the darkness that is myself. I've killed myself over and over.

It's like she's speaking as both Shikis as one at this point... so in order to rid herself of her desire to kill, she had to commit murder against her other self... she had to become a murderer to avoid becoming a serial murderer...

Then she goes back to talking as SHIKI alone... well not really alone but pretending to be alone.

SHIKI:

See, the only emotion I've experienced... is murder... So, Kokuto. Shiki's definition of murder is... killing me. She kills anything that tries to make me appear outside. Shiki wants to kill everyone that tries to open her lid, so she can protect herself.

That's why normal Shiki is always so weird around Kokuto... and silently pressuring him into staying silent...

OMFG this next part...

Shiki... let's eat lunch together.

After all that... Kokuto still trusts her...

I don't know, but it irritates me when you're around me. I don't understand why you involve yourself with me, and why your attitude doesn't change even after all that I've told you.

Kokuto affirms that she is definitely not normal... "Being normal or not doesn't matter."
Shiki then shows him the stab wound she got from her last "killing"...
Then she says it bluntly... "If we keep this up, I'll probably end up killing you."

Kokuto admits to himself that he's already crazy...
Then his dad tells him about the 6th murder that happened a few days ago. suddenly Kokuto snaps, as he realizes something...

I had a premonition... an image of her standing before a corpse.

Then he goes and literally finds Shiki standing in a pool of blood in the middle of the bamboo woods... it even shows blood raining down around her... she smiles at him for the first time ever... actually, not the first time ever... she smiles at him with those same dead eyes that she had when he first greeted her at the beginning of this movie.

Kokuto denies seeing anyone at the 7th murder scene that he discovered... did he witness the murder of SHIKI at that point?
He asks his dad if they investigated the Ryougi household...

So those dead eyes were... all along those were the real Shiki's eyes... going out of sync with her other self by taking over...

The servant comes to tell Shiki that someone else besides the cops have been investigating the Ryougi household... someone from school.

I can ask him to leave if that is your order.

You can leave him be.

She just keeps silently peaking out the door to see that he's still there... biting her thumb at how irritated she is getting...

But I think deep down she's liking it... she likes that Kokuto is foolish enough to sleep outside her house like that after knowing all that about her...

He goes to school the next day without any sleep... determined to keep 24/7 surveillance of her to make sure she isn't a murderer... he silently passes by her in the hallway... he stops, turns around, and almost calls out to her, but doesn't... then she does the same...

Now they're on the roof together... he tells her that he didn't tell the cops about her because he didn't see her commit the murder. "You just happened to be there, and that's all I saw."

Wow... this guy is maximum beta

I decided to believe you. It's actually painful, so I'm doing my best right now. I think I can hear you out once I'm confident i myself. So let's not talk about it now.

Hmm... maybe that "3 days ago" that the 6th murder happened was the time when he was with SHIKI or something? that would make his belief in Shiki a bit more sane if that were the case... but nah probably Kokuto's just crazy.

From that day on, Shiki started to ignore him completely. but he still goes to keep watch outside her house every night... then one night he confronts Shiki in the classroom... she's telling him that he's wrong and she IS the murderer.

There's nothing for me to ignore because you didn't do anything.

After letting her anger out on him... she just asks as she's leaving the classroom... "are you coming today?"

And finally that night... Shiki can no longer take it, and comes at Kokuto with a knife in the woods at night and cuts his arm... Kokuto is now running for his life...

She eventually catches up to him and pins him down... he can no longer see her eyes as they are covered by wet hair from the rain...
Well... Kokuto was already pretty much killing himself by standing out there instead of getting sleep... she's just come to join in on his emo fun... but wait... it kinda looks like SHIKI is crying at him... or is that just the rain?
Yeah I think it's SHIKI talking now? she just starts calling out Kokuto's name, trying to get him to say something like he usually would... all he says is... "I don't want to die."
All Shiki can say is... "I want to kill you."

It's like... that's Shiki's way of confessing her love to him I guess?

- June 1998 -

Now we're back up to the time when Kokuto and Shiki are working for that red haired mage, Toko.

In this time, Kokuto goes to the hospital every day to see if Shiki is out of her coma...

That faint smile she gave me is good enough. I recall how Shiki stood in the glow of sunset after school. In the burning evening twilight, Shiki asked me what part of her I could believe in. I'll repeat what I said back then. I don't have any basis, but I'll probably keep believing in you.

I like you, so I want to keep believing in you. She doesn't kill anyone, I'm sure of it. Because Shiki knows the pain of murder. You're both the victim and the assailant, so you know how sad it is. That's why I believe in you. Shiki, the one who cannot be harmed, and SHIKI the one who knows only harm. You were always so fragile, about to be hurt. You were never able to speak from your heart, such a sorrowful figure.

April, 1995... I met her.

After credits story... some new villain character talks...

There are three pieces in position. One who has a double body and floats, reliant on death. One who is unfit for living, who pleasures herself by coming into contact with death. One who has an awakened origin, who became self-aware by fleeing into death. The three intertwine with one another and wait at the spiral of conflict.

Oh, and I just KNOW Shiki/SHIKI was the one who wrote the yin yang symbol in blood... probably after the murder... like that ending part said, she likes coming into contact with death, but that doesn't necessarily mean she herself was the one who killed...

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