Review of Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Future

Story (9/10 - Good Job, But Missing A Few Things) -If the originial series, and first movie, were about Kanbara Akihito's acceptance of himself and the destiny that his life follows, this second movie is about Kuriyama Mirai's past and the true nature of the Cursed Blood. As a second movie, it has done great. The story itself felt like it could have progressed naturally following the first season, and was more about fighting one's inner demons rather than the real demons (or lack thereof) that are external to the Spirit Warriors. -The plot itself is a common theme in anime, if only just to get moremoney from a sequel. It's a common trope tht's a bit overused, and you can't really expect anything else from Kyoto Animation. Kyoukai no Kanata received above-average sales and KyoAni milked it for all its worth. On one hand, the first series left behind a somewhat open ending giving a chance for this movie to come into fruition, which is something that KyoAni always leaves as a just-in-case move.
-On the other hand, the dialogue is beautifully crafted. It perfectly trumps the flawed circular thinking that was Kanbara Akihitsu's reason for doing what he did in this movie. It sums up the relationship between the three Nase siblings and just why Izumi seemed so distant and the two younger siblings seem to watch her in awe. I applaud the great story, the great dialogue, the great relationship between the characters and their development in the months we were unable to see with them being off-screen.
-We still don't have answers to most of the questions the series left us, about the Nase Elder, the Society, Inami Sakura, the sister-complex, but we did get a somewhat satisfactory answer to the characterization of Nase Mitsuki (which I will go into detail in the latter part of this review).

Art (10/10 - Perfectly KyoAni AF)
-I can't ever give KyoAni anything lower than 10, especially after that game-changing art introduced by K-On!. Kyoukai no Kanata is an epileptic light show which it prides itself in that fact, and I can never get enough of it. The animation continues to be fluid, the lighting is always setting the mood, and the emotion shown in just their eyes is tearjerking - meaning KyoAni continues to have a perfect score from me.
-The heavy action scenes in the later half of the movie were spectacularly made and had no inconsistencies at all. Every detail was thought thoroughly, every movement and scratch on the characters' faces were detailed with the precision that KyoAni is famous for. Great art.

Sound (9/10 - Good Job, Only Tiny Things Left)
-The real soundtrack only came in during the middle part of the movie, where we get a confrontation between Mirai and Akihitsu in the park with the cherry blossom trees. At least, that's when I actually noticed it.
-The music used was appropriate for the scenes and struck me emotionally enough that I'm quite satisfied with what this movie is leaving behind for us watchers. The atmosphere was greatly enhanced by the choice of sound effects and I legitimately almost cried because of the emotion the music put into certain sequences. Good job.

Characters (9/10 - Good Job, But More of Mirai's Past Wouldn't Hurt)
-As I did with my Kyoukai no Kanata review, I'll list down the noteworthy characters.
Kuriyama Mirai
-This movie was almost entirely about the conflict that was within Mirai as a child of the Cursed Blood. It certainly tried to show us the reasoning behind the moniker behind the clan, and also certainly tried to wrap it up within 1 1/2 hours, but it left me somewhat "Huh?" due to the lack of information and the casual mentions of forever. All in all, not a bad characterization, but somewhat too ambitious of a plot to try and resolve in a movie.
Kanbara Akihitsu
-Jeez, and to think that in the series I was actually convinced that Akihitsu was capable of dying. In this movie we again see a lot of stabbing, grazing, and slicing of this guy and he just won't stay down.
-The movie did a great job of pointing out just how dumb Kanbara Akihitsu's logic is when it comes to Mirai's happiness, and it's a good thing because I'm quite tired of guys trying to be martyrs and playing hero when the heroine can decide for herself, thank you very much. It wasn't focused too much on Akihitsu's past, although we got short snippets of it. His mom's identity was finally cheekily added, which answered one question while leaving the rest to ponder on.
Nase Hiroomi
-Hiroomi continues to be my favorite character (okay, it's a tie between him and Mitsuki, whatever) and his development in this movie is realistic and perfect. With Izumi out of the picture, just how will Hiroomi take the mantle? He's only recently graduated high school, and he's left with an entire town to protect with his carefree, eccentric, sister-complex disposition and various amounts of adults doubting his capabilities. He can certainly be responsible, strong, and mysterious, but always seems to be upped by Izumi. Poor guy has got the neesan-complex, imouto-complex, as well as a middle-child syndrome. Gotta love it.
Nase Mitsuki
-Mitsuki was cast aside as the most cliche tsundere imouto in the series, and it disappointed me because I was in love with her character design. However, in the movie, we at least see why she acts the way she does and is treated the way she is by other characters.
-Technically speaking, she is in no way as proficient as Hiroomi is when it comes to caging. Her powers are very rarely seen, and somewhat inconsistent in strength throughout the series. In the movie, we see Mitsuki actually put up a fight with the Cursed Blood. It was satisfying, sure, but it really shouldn't have been THAT satisfying when Mitsuki should have been above-average in the first place due to her Nase blood.
-First we have the fact that she is the youngest sibling, with vastly more powerful older siblings to look up to. She understands (or demeans herself enough) that she will never reach the heights her older siblings can attain. Izumi, the cold, calculating neesama who ruthlessly protects the town she holds dear for the sake of the family. Hiroomi, her eccentricly comedic older brother who kicks ass when he gets serious. And then Mitsuki, the baby, who's never really told what's going on and when she is, she's not allowed to speak it with anyone else. Second, she follows Hiroomi. In Asian culture, the boy is the true heir. It doesn't matter if he was the fourteenth child. As long as he's the first son, everything goes to him. So Mitsuki grows up with the knowledge that she will never actually have responsibilities in the Nase household.
-In the movie, Hiroomi shows her just how valuable she actually is. Mitsuki comes to terms with the fact that she has to be strong, for her friends, family, and herself. I like that the Nase household policy is to do everything you can to get strong enough to protect everyone you hold dear. Mitsuki finally realizes that in this movie.

Enjoyment (10/10 - Are You Kidding Me? Perfect!)
-Come on, I love every character. Of course I would enjoy this. KyoAni has me wrapped around their capitalist finger. Their spectacular design enraptures me and leaves me sobbing for being worthy enough to witness such amazing art and heartfelt love for their characters. Not disappointed in the least.