Kara no Kyoukai – The Garden of Sinners Original Soundtrack – Review

Review: It isn’t often that I can name a series in which the anime’s content and its soundtrack are joined together so seamlessly that both entities are rendered inseparable, but Kara no Kyoukai is one of the few that qualifies. As I watched the movies, the animation and atmosphere bring out a dark and mysterious world filled with danger and despair, qualities heightened further by Yuki Kajiura’s evocative compositions. In just the very first track, “in the garden of sinners,” Kajiura’s music impresses. The piece starts out filled with dull-grays through the soloist’s muffled, distant delivery, but once the rest of Kalafina joins in, the sheer beauty carried through their voices provides a splash of radiant coloration onto the canvas. Yet, the tone is overwhelmingly lonely and tragic. These emotions mirror the atmosphere that blankets much of the setting and the characters and lay the groundwork for what’s to come.

So with that, the journey begins. “Thanatos,” which covers the first Kara no Kyoukai movie, Overlooking View, starts off with a heavy, dissonant atmosphere, but quickly discards that chaotic air in favor of a melancholy one. Echoes of the loneliness that pervade the first track are present here, brought out compellingly through the flute melody that is as beautiful as it is sorrowful. The general mood is further augmented by Kalafina’s harmonizations which, like elsewhere in the album, yield a pensive, ethereal quality, along with a hint of mystery and a knowing nod towards the tragic threads interwoven in Kara no Kyoukai’s narrative fabric.

As you approach “Thanatos’s” halfway point, flashes of redemption are heard through the strings, but just when you think that the piece is setting itself to wind down on a comforting note, the synth makes a return, and with it, the ominous aura borne by a dissonant tone that sits in the background. The suspense is heightened, and I like how its accented through the solitary xylophone which conjures up in my mind a disconcerting feeling in the way it tiptoes around almost deliberately, as though some supernatural power is toying around with the protagonist like a cat playing around with its prey. A heavy rhythm goes in to reinforce this mood, setting up a strong foundation for the action-filled moment where the furious guitar shredding summons a hauntingly beautiful, graceful action theme. Before the piece closes out completely, the flute comes in and later, a cello, which, together, bestow a sense of finality. Through death, the pain and suffering are over.

“Thanatos” serves as an excellent example of the myriad of emotions that arise from the lengthy tracks on this album. And I do mean lengthy. Though the pieces tend to be long, the people who put this soundtrack collection together did their best to take the more prominent themes from each of the Kara no Kyoukai movies and join them in such a way that each track tells a complete story. There are moments, like one in “something and nothing” and “kara-no-kyoukai” where the transition from one musical segment to the next is either noticeably clumsy or the themes lack coherence, but for the most part, the melodies are stitched together seamlessly into an enjoyable package that’s high on the nostalgia factor for those who’ve seen the movies.

In short, unless I really missed out on something, all of the standout melodic segments and main themes are there. For example, one of the pieces that I had been looking forward to was the waltzing theme from A Study in Murder (Part 1). As I watched the movie, I found myself captivated by its melody; not only was it catchy, it encompassed a wide emotional spectrum. Materializing in “something and nothing” and “quiet romance,” between the two, I like the latter a bit more because of the variety of instruments that contribute to the heartrending feelings. The piano is more sobering, setting the melancholy tone which the flute draws upon to elicit those yearning emotions, while the strings carry a more dignified aura that has the feel of an emotional odyssey as it expresses the determination to find and unite with loved ones once again.

As you move further along, there’s a lot of variety to enjoy, from the ominous aura of “paradox” to “magician’s” grotesque dance. The heavier atmosphere dominates much of this soundtrack, but there are lighter moments too. Of those, I’m most fond of Azaka Kokutou’s appropriately spunky theme, which can be heard in the beginning of “when the fairy tale ends.” The piano’s light steps bring a smile to my face with its bright and cheery tones, a feeling further enhanced through the ensemble’s pomp and splendor. But that’s not all it has to offer because “when a fairy tale ends” continues to engross, particularly when Kajiura calls in the introduction to Kalafina’s “Fairytale,” which soothes me with its tranquil delivery, and when the oft-played action theme comes in to keep me engaged through its twists and turns that help propel the action along and make the battle more exciting.

But all things must come to an end, and in Kara no Kyoukai’s soundtrack, that end is in “snow is falling.” The track initially features Kalafina’s soothing, hopeful vocals which shine in their own right, but what I really like is how this piece functions as the bookend as it reprises the main theme from “in the garden of sinners,” except this time, it’s played by a full string ensemble. The calming aura that issues forth through the combination of the strings and chorus provides closure as the horrors of the past become naught but a distant memory. Life can go on as normal, and the optimistic mood offers the assurance that all is at peace and shall remain so.

When I first saw the tracklist, I was a bit torn in the way they decided to condense Kajiura’s score for all of the Kara no Kyoukai movies into such lengthy tracks, but looking back, this was the right decision that, more importantly, benefited from stellar execution. As I listen to this album, my memories of the movies are rekindled. Yuki Kajiura once again shows her deft handling of the action and atmosphere, and through her music, I once again find myself immersed in the world sculpted by Kinoko Nasu, with its dark, mysterious overtones scarred by tragedy and sadness but buoyed by the promise of hope and salvation.

Rating: Excellent