Kara no Kyoukai watch order may be very confusing as to which movies to watch first. I’m here to help introduce this series and make experiencing this amazing saga much easier and enjoyable.
Famous for the iconic Fate Series, Ufotable came out with yet another visually-stunning anime adaptation of another well-known Type:MOON adaptation: Kara no Kyoukai or its English counterpart “Garden of Sinners.” This work was initially created by Type:MOON’s Kinoko Nasu in his popular light novel Rakkyo and it gained enough fandom to receive a movie adaptation that performed stupendously, warranting continuation of his series.
Kara no Kyoukai is a series that is very different from the overall premise of Fate yet shares an uncanny amount of resembling storylines, tropes, and a common supernatural vibe to the series. It is centered around 2 protagonists: Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou who are under the supervision of their boss Touko Aozaki. Shiki Ryougi was raised as an assassin since a child by her prestigious family but after an accident, she gains the “Mystic Eyes of Death Perception,” eyes that can see souls. She uses this along with her supernaturally-powered knife to hunt down malicious spirits who terrorize and murder civilians.
Mikiya Kokutou is Shiki’s childhood friend who has incredible deductive reasoning. He was even able to uncover Touko Aozaki’s base of operations, despite Touko being an esteemed and powerful magician. The series revolves around Shiki taking down spirits and evil people who pose a threat to the spiritual and real world.
There is action, some adventure, romance, mystery, and thrills packed in this 10-movie series that I highly recommend watching. I’ll be splitting this up into the release order and the chronological order. As always, it’s completely up to the watcher for how they want to watch Kara no Kyoukai but the notes that we’re attaching to these orders are good words to heed when preparing to start this franchise.
Kara no Kyoukai Release Order:
This is the recommended order for first-time watchers as the release of each consecutive movie provides a steady and suspenseful buildup of events throughout the saga and makes the delivery that much better. It is also evident due to the numbers associated with each title.
- Kara no Kyoukai 1: Fuukan Fukei (Overlooking View)
- Kara no Kyoukai 2: Satsujin Kousatsu Zen (Murder Speculation Part A)
- Kara no Kyoukai 3: Tsuukaku Zanryuu (Remaining Sense of Pain)
- Kara no Kyoukai 4: Garan no Dou (The Hollow Shrine)
- Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen (Paradox Paradigm)
- Kara no Kyoukai 6: Boukyaku Rokuon (Oblivion Recording)
- Kara no Kyoukai 7: Satsujin Kousatsu Go (Murder Speculation Part B)
- Kara no Kyoukai 8: Shuushou (The Final Chapter)
- Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin (Recalled Out Summer)
Kara no Kyoukai Chronological Order:
This is the order for veterans and fans of the Garden of Sinners series who want to relive this beautiful animation, thrilling mysteries, and the sheer emotion that this franchise exhibits. I would not recommend this for new-timers because the way the series was released was in a way for people to be more immersed in the story and it adds to the effect
- Kara no Kyoukai 2: Satsujin Kousatsu Zen
- This is a prequel story to the main timeline that shows how Mikiya and Shiki met each other
- Kara no Kyoukai 4: Garan no Dou (The Hollow Shrine)
- Another prequel story that shows how Shiki got the Mystical Eyes of Death
- Kara no Kyoukai 3: Tsuukaku Zanryuu (Remaining Sense of Pain)
- Kara no Kyoukai 1: Fuukan Fukei (Overlooking View)
- Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen (Paradox Paradigm)
- Arguably the best movie in the series because of the tension and action that led up to this iconic bout
- Kara no Kyoukai 6: Boukyaku Rokuon (Oblivion Recording)
- Kara no Kyoukai 7: Satsujin Kousatsu Go (Murder Speculation Part B)
- Solves the initial case that was presented in Movie 2
- Kara no Kyoukai 8: Shuushou (The Final Chapter)
- Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin (Recalled Out Summer)