The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 1

The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 1 (空の境界 第二章 殺人考察（前）, Kara no Kyōkai Dai-Nishō: Satsujin Kōsatsu (Zen)) is a 2007 Japanese animated film produced by ufotable based on The Garden of Sinners novels by Kinoko Nasu. It is the second installment in the series, preceded by Overlooking View (2007) and followed by Remaining Sense of Pain (2008). Chronologically, the events that occur in The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 1 are the first in the timeline of the series.

The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 1
DVD cover artwork
Directed byTakuya Nonaka
Produced by
  • Atsuhiro Iwakami
  • Hikaru Kondo
Screenplay byMasaki Hiramatsu
Story byKinoko Nasu
Based onThe Garden of Sinners
by Kinoko Nasu
Starring
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byAniplex
Release date
  • December 29, 2007 (2007-12-29)
Running time
59 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

On a snowy day in 1995, Mikiya meets Shiki for the first time when walking home; Mikiya greets her and she smiles back at him. Later on, while attending a freshman induction ceremony at his high school, Mikiya recognises Shiki in a crowd. He introduces himself to her, but Shiki does not remember him from that day and behaves significantly differently. The two become friends.

Some time later, at night, Shiki leaves her home to wander around Mifune City. At the side of a deserted alley, Shiki stumbles onto the fresh corpse of the victim of a traffic accident. Seemingly in a trance, Shiki kneels and applies the blood on her lips as lipstick, then smiles.

At school the next day, Mikiya discusses Shiki's choice of dress, a kimono, stating that it must be cold in winter. Shiki replies that she will simply wear something over it when it gets colder, and Mikiya suggests a jacket. Shiki on takes Mikiya's suggestion and later purchases a red leather jacket. At night, a man stumbles as he runs in fear from an unseen attacker, who kills him brutally with a knife. During lunchtime next day, Mikiya tells Shiki about the murder where he reveals that he has an inside source, as the murder has not yet been reported in the news. He explains that the victim's limbs were all removed and speculates that the victim died because of haemorrhagic shock. Shiki is displeased that Mikiya discusses the gruesome topic during lunch.

Sometime later, the police discover a fourth corpse which has also been violently dismembered. A yin-yang symbol was drawn next to the victim using his blood. After school on a rainy day, Shiki is confronted by another student who reprimands her by cryptically telling her that "I know that you are irritated, but four times is a bit too much, isn't it?"[lower-alpha 1] Shiki refuses to reply.

After exiting the school, Shiki is startled by Mikiya, who approaches her from behind. Mikiya offers his umbrella to Shiki, but Shiki simply states that she does not need it as she is waiting for someone she knows to pick her up from school. Smiling, Mikiya proposes to stay with Shiki until then. A few moments later, Mikiya begins to hum, which causes Shiki to smile. Later, Shiki interrupts Mikiya's humming by questioning him on his whereabouts until then, to which Mikiya responds that he was attending a farewell party for an upperclassman named Rio Shirazumi in the Student Council Room, who had dropped out because Shirazumi had decided to do something else. Confused, Mikiya wants to know why Shiki didn't attend the party even though she had also been invited, to which Shiki remarks that she did not think the invitation was serious. When Mikiya responds indignantly, Shiki refuses to reply and merely sighs. Later that night, Shiki leaves her home again to explore Mifune City and encounters a fifth corpse.

Some time later, Shiki loses a duel with live steel against her father. Akitaka, while giving a towel to Shiki, remarks that she is the true successor to the Ryogi family over her brother, an unusual decision as the male is typically the successor in traditional Japanese families (such as Shiki's). This is because Shiki, rather than her brother, has inherited the Ryogi clan's unique condition of having multiple independent personalities. In Shiki's case, her alter-ego is male, and Shiki wraps herself in bandages to hide her femininity.

During lunch break, Mikiya's friend from the judo club, Gakuto, quizzes him about the rumor that he is going out with Shiki. He admits that he does like her, but that their relationship is platonic. Later on, Mikiya finds a letter in his desk from Shiki asking him out on a date. Shiki shows up, but is uncharacteristically boyish, leaving Mikiya confused. Over a meal, 'Shiki' reveals that her male alter-ego, SHIKI, is currently in control of the body. He writes out two different spellings of their name: Shiki (式) and SHIKI (織) to explain the distinction, and explains that he represents Shiki's rebellious impulses. He reveals that the two personalities have been out of sync recently; whatever Shiki likes, SHIKI does not, and vice versa.

Later, Mikiya has dinner with his cousin, Daisuke, a detective who has been investigating the recent murders. He explains that the police had recently obtained a clue as to the murderer's identity - Mikiya's school emblem (and thus, that of Shiki's) was found at the latest murder scene. After school, SHIKI cryptically warns Mikiya that "Shiki will try to kill anything that opens up her isolation with the world".[lower-alpha 1] The next day, Mikiya offers to eat lunch with Shiki despite SHIKI's warnings the day prior, leaving her perplexed. At lunch, Mikiya notices a bandaged injury on Shiki's left arm, who admits that she got it during the latest killing. Mikiya doesn't believe her, but Shiki warns him again that if he doesn't back off, she will probably end up killing him as well.

Mikiya once again has Daisuke over for dinner, who reveals that the police discovered the murderer's skin samples underneath the victim's fingernails, and that the killer probably has an injury around the elbow, the location that Shiki had bandaged. Panicking, Mikiya dashes out to Shiki's mansion in the bamboo grove, but Shiki is apparently not in. While walking around in the grove, Mikiya finds Shiki, drenched in blood in front of a freshly beheaded corpse. As the victim's blood splatters onto Shiki, she turns to smile at Mikiya, apparently in a trance. Walking up to the terrified Mikiya, Shiki smiles and says, "Be careful Kokuto-kun. A terrible premonition tends to attract a terrible reality."[lower-alpha 1]

After the police arrive at the crime scene, Mikiya pretends to not have seen anybody, but secretly returns to the grove nightly to keep watch on Shiki's house, and is easily spotted by Akitaka since Mikiya is often poorly-concealed. This continues until Shiki loses her patience and has another talk with Mikiya, who still refuses to believe she is the killer. She then asks him if he would be visiting the grove that night. That same night, Mikiya continues to keep watch despite the rain. Shiki shows up and chases him through the grove while slashing wildly at him with her knife. She chases him to the road just outside the bamboo grove, where Mikiya falls and Shiki straddles him, holding a knife to his throat. Tears streaming down her cheeks, Shiki asks him to say something, who can only reply with "I don't want to die".[lower-alpha 1] Shiki smiles warmly and replies that she wants to kill him.

Screeching tires are heard, and the scene switches to June 1998, when Mikiya has started to work for Touko. He visits the hospitalised, comatose Shiki with flowers, stating that he has always believed in her.[1]

Cast
Further information: List of The Garden of Sinners characters

Notes
  1. As phrased in the subtitled version of this movie.

References
  1. "The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 1". The Anime Review. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
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