Never stab anyone the first time you meet them. Unless they really deserve it.
What They Say:
When Akihito sees a girl about to jump off the school roof, he surprises even himself as he races up the stairs to rescue her. Much to his surprise, the girl he saved is a Spirit World Warrior. And as a half-youmu, he’s now her prey!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the light novel series that began in 2012 and finished this spring by Nagomu Torii, Beyond the Boundary is the latest from Kyoto Animation that definitely makes their trademark style of animation a key selling point here. The novels are interesting in that the first one was actually entered into the Kyoto Animation Award contest back in 2011 and won an honorable mention, which the company then used to get it published in 2012 and then adapt it into an anime series. This provided them with an interesting approach to new content that wasn’t quite in-house, but came close enough while still not being among their stable of regulars or approaching the usual parties to adapt something else. That said, Kyoto Animation is no stranger to the “dark fantasy” genre either, so it fit in well.
The series kicks off in a way that works nicely as we get the protagonist, a high school student named Akihito, talking about how the choices we make can take you down very different paths, each with their own merits and dangers. He surprises himself with the path chosen here as he sees a cute girl in glasses seeming like she’s going to jump off the roof of the school and he tries his best to stop her, noting that someone as cute as her in glasses shouldn’t do such a thing, only to find that she’s not exactly what she seems. Which he learns because she stabs him through the chest with a sword, something that she does of her own free will but is surprised by his reaction to it. This bit sets up what turns out to be a week of stabbings that the girl, Mirai, puts him through as it turns out that Akihito is half human and half youmu and it’s her job as a Spirit World Warrior to deal with youmu. But he’s outside of her experience and expectations and nothing she does seems to take care of the problem. Which certainly makes sense considering he’s not actually possessed by a youmu.
While we do get him talking about the number of times she’s gone after him, we also get a new instance as well, which is fun to watch as it’s well choreographed as it happens after school hours and she chases him through the grounds with her sword. Akihito’s method of just kind of accepting what’s going on and surviving it works well, but we also see that Mirai isn’t exactly all the best at what she does, including a sequence where she attacks with a bucket on her head. It’s a fun bit that does turn serious when a full on youmu appears and we see how that goes, even if it is done in rather short form, but it makes it clear that the monsters are real and she does have a mission, even if she’s not great at it. This sets an awkward if comical relationship between the two since she’s basically trying to eliminate him per her mission, but knows that he’s essentially immortal when it comes to what she does, so she uses him as sword practice.
The opening episode does bring in a few more bits along the way as we get a few nods to the supporting cast, such as Mitsuki who has a pretty decent relationship with Akihito and tries to warn him off in her own way, but a lot of the focus really is on the primary pair. It’s amusing to see how Akihito handles not only his own origins and what it means, treating it just as a matter of fact and who he is without making it into a thing, while also coping with the kind of off-kilter approach Mirai has to life. She’s not exactly a ditz, but she comes close to the definition because of how she acts and presents herself. It also doesn’t help that she can’t seem to hide anything about herself, making her life like an open book that he can easily interpret, which frustrates her hugely.
In Summary:
The opening episode to the series does a few things right that makes it more interesting to me right off the bat. Taking the beautiful animation and character designs out of the equation, we get a show that answers a number of the basics right away and then spends most of its focus on the two lead characters with a few handy and useful appearances by Mitsuki. With the focus on Mirai and Akihito, we get to know both characters and their base personalities quickly, which makes it easy to determine if the show is worth following. Mirai can certainly be problematic for some people, but with the way it’s done here as a balance to Akihito, I think it’ll be fun to watch since the two have an awkward at best relationship based on who and what they are. The premise is simple so far and I expect a twist or two along the way, but with what we get here, I like it and am curious to see where it’ll go.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.