Kara no Kyōkai

Kara no Kyōkai (空の境界, lit. Boundary of Emptiness), subtitled and alternatively titled as The Garden of Sinners, and also known as Rakkyo (らっきょ), is a Japanese light novel series, authored by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. Originally released as a series of chapters released independently online or at Comiket between October 1998 and August 1999, the chapters were later republished by Kodansha into two volumes in 2004, and again in three volumes between 2007 and 2008. Ufotable produced a series of seven anime films based on the series between 2007 and 2009, and also produced an original video animation episode in 2011. A final anime film was produced and released in 2013. A manga adaptation illustrated by Sphere Tenku started serialization in September 2010 in Seikaisha's online magazine Saizensen.

Plot

Setting and themes

Set in Japan predominantly during the late 1990s, the series chronicles the life of Ryōgi clan heiress, Shiki Ryōgi, and her relationship with classmate Mikiya Kokutō. Both the light novel and the films are depicted in anachronical order with each chapter/film serving as part of one collective narrative. The series deals with the paranormal and tackles mature themes such as suicide, rape, patricide, incest and murder. Its lore and story draws inspiration from various religious philosophies and psychological concepts such as multiple personalities; the anima and animus; the nature of sin; life, death and reincarnation; and the paradoxical nature of the Taiji.