"Beyond The Boundary" was first created as a three volume light novel series written by Nagomu Torii and illustrated by Kamoi Tomoya. Lets guess that the light novel did well sales wise because soon an anime was created. Many other novels get turned into anime in japan depending on sales. The anime was written by Ishidate Taich plus a whole crew of staff for production. within the last year the anime made into international audiences on DVD and Blu-ray. I had come across the DVD a few times but kept hesitating to buy it because the price wasn't reasonable to me at the time. The price is still high to this day but I just so happen to have the money due to circumstances so I bought the dvd for about $10 cheaper at an anime convention.
A student named Kanabara Akihito sees a girl who is about to commit suicide on the top of his school's building. He runs to try to stop her only to watch as blood shoots from the girl's hand and forms a sword that she then stabs into his body. Akihito doesn't die and this is where the girl learns that Akihito is of human and youmu origins making him immortal. Akihito then learns the girl is known as Kuriyama Mira from a cursed clan of Spirit World Warriors that can manipulate their own blood for battle.
I had the chance to see a little bit of what "Beyond The Boundary" looked like thanks to a few clips fans used during a make it yourself anime competition using clips from different anime and putting them together. The clips looks to be more out of this world fantasy with cute looking animation that made me more want to see more. In my mind the show was going to be off the chain with a lot of battle scenes but this anime has a plot thats more than just fighting on top of fighting. The character's are born into this kind of world where they have no choice but to fight because its all they know. Fighting is also a form of income as with each Youmu they kill, they get a stone that can be taken and and apprised for money. Their world seems pretty convenient and small but also really big in a way. The plot doesn't have to move away from the town everyone stays in because there is so many behind the scene secrets going on that it carries the plot as these secrets are released one by one. Our two main characters are also bound together by unusual circumstances that are sometimes very creepy and funny but more on this latter. Yomu are mystical creatures who are created from human's negative emotions. Not every Youmu is bad and some live with humans, even having babies with them. The plot tends to make sure that the Youmu come to the characters unless they are already in the town. This causes the show to be very secular in its back drop and surroundings at times. I did like how they did allow for some breathing room when our main character's get whisked away to demonic worlds inside of Youmu. The pacing is stop and go then cliffhanger mostly. Like most anime but its not annoying more like the episode stopped because of the half and hour time limit set on anime episodes. When the characters are not fighting Youmu, they are normal students at school bring a fair amount of young energy and comedy to the plot. They are all have their own set of back personalities that will keep the viewer entertained. You could call these times "filler episodes" but its a great time to get more in touch with the characters. I haven't laughed out loud in a long time while watching an anime but "Beyond The Boundary"'s character interactions had me howling with laughter. This anime is a perfect blend of laughs and fantasy story telling.
Akihito loves girls in glasses to the point that its almost like a perverted fetish. Mirai loves to collect plants and wears glasses causing Akihito to be heads over heels interested in her. I wouldn't say its love but he is very interested in Mirai visually. The other Spirit World Warriors, Mitsuki and Hiroomi are brothers and sister. They also go to the same school as Akihito and Mirai. On top of that they are all in the same school club together. I told you guys. This anime doesn't make the plot work hard to bring the pieces together. Everything is already set in place so no time is wasted.(The struggle is real for these 12 episode anime.) Hiroomi has a serious case of a sister complex. Its funny and freaky on so many wrong levels. The merge of Akihito and Hiroomi's perverted fetishes causes for some hilarious on screen comedy though. Its funny how they both try to make each other's fetish seem better than the other..... uhhhh no guys. Both of you are equally weird. Switching to more serious situations in the anime causes all the character's to bring out their A game and get things done. Mirai' character bothered me a little bit because she wasn't holding her own at the beginning. Everything seemed to scare her and Akihito was more willing to jump in the action than she was. I wanted to jump in the TV and tell her to get her shit together but she grew as the episodes went on. She has had the most growth out of all of the character's in this series because of her friendship with Akihito. You might think you have it hard in this life but there's always someone out there who has it worst than you. They might have it worst than you and still they are doing their hardest to live out each day to the fullest. Don't let the past define who you are. A new day is like a blank slate where you can start over again. It might sound kinda of cheesy but I firmly believe this and the creators of "Beyond The Boundary must have as well.
Character sketches differ depending on the gender of the characters in "Beyond The Boundary". Male characters look older than the females because of the hard draw lines of the facial structure from the chin to the rest of the face. They don't look like middle age men but they look more mature. The females are drawn with a more Kawaii(cute in Japanese) look where the face is more circular and full. This is Japanese culture at its finest. Men there love cute girls that they can cuddle with and even girls in glasses as long as they look cute. I'm not saying ALL men prefer this look but it's like a national fashion image somewhat. The creator is a man as I'm sure you guessed by now. Taking this fact into consideration leads me to talk about the different body shapes each female character has. Some girls are busty and curvy and others are more petite. Japanese men fantasize about more curvy women but in reality, Japanese women don't have curves like the ones some of the character's in anime present themselves to have. I guess at least Japanese men have an interest in different body types... heck who am I kidding!!! Men are men. Back to my point. The male characters are even given sharper eyes with deep sharp lines around the edges to make them look older. The girl eyes are big wide and cute. Producers must have wanted that cute look for the female character's to seem more vulnerable to be protected by the male characters. Looks can be deceiving though. I'm I right, my strong willed beautiful women out there. I want to find out what part of Japan this anime takes place in. The sights look so fun and refreshing even just looking at their drawn counterparts. The sights are not too much or too little. Its just the right amount of civilization and nature. Did I see the famous Mount Fuji located outside of the town too? I really want to go to Mount Fuji!!!!
Lastly, I Just want to say thank you to the people who constantly read my posts. I didn't start this expecting much but if one or two people like what I have to say then I feel accomplished. THANKS FOR READING!!!!!!!
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