''The Garden of Sinners'', known in Japan as sometimes referred to as , is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series, written by

Kinoko Nasu is a Japanese author, best known for writing the light novel ''The Garden of Sinners'' and visual novels ''Tsukihime'' and ''Fate/stay night'', and a co-founder of Type-Moon. He graduated from Hosei University with a major in human science. ...

and illustrated by

Takashi Takeuchi is a Japanese artist. He is notable as the co-founder of the visual novel, anime development and production enterprise Type-Moon, and for his illustrations on the visual novels, ''Tsukihime'' and ''Fate/stay night'', which were adapted into an ...

. Originally released as a series of chapters released independently online or at

Comiket , more commonly known as or , is a semiannual ''doujinshi'' convention in Tokyo, Japan. A grassroots market focused on the sale of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, Comiket is a not-for-profit fan convention administered by the volunteer-ru ...

between October 1998 and August 1999, the chapters were later republished by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

into two volumes in 2004, and again in three volumes between 2007 and 2008.

Ufotable is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 by former staff of the TMS Entertainment subsidiary Telecom Animation Film and located in Suginami, Tokyo. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works ('' Ninja Nonsense'', ''Futakoi Altern ...

produced a series of seven

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

films based on the series between 2007 and 2009 and also produced an

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

episode in 2011. A final anime film was produced and released in 2013. A manga

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

illustrated by Sphere Tenku started serialization in September 2010 in Seikaisha's online magazine ''Saizensen''.

Plot

Story and Settings

Set in Japan predominantly during the late 1990s, ''The Garden of Sinners'' follows the story of , a teenage girl raised as a demon hunter who acquired the " Mystic Eyes of Death Perception" after surviving a fatal accident. It also chronicles Mikiya Kokutou's unwavering efforts to get closer to her when they were still high school students and their adventures later on in dealing with

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

cases as investigators for Touko Aozaki's detective agency, ''Garan no Dou''. This is set in an alternate universe to ''

Tsukihime is a Japanese eroge, adult visual novel created by the doujin soft, dōjin circle Type-Moon, who first released it at the Comiket, Winter Comiket in December 2000. In 2003, it was adapted into both an anime television series, ''Lunar Leg ...

'' and ''

Fate/stay night ''Fate/stay night'' is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon and originally released as an adult game for Windows on January 30, 2004. A version of ''Fate/stay night'' rated for ages 15 and up titled ''Fate/stay night Réalta ...

''; in which it serves as the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

for both series as well as introducing many of the concepts prevalent within the latter two. In particular the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, Shiki Ryougi, possesses similar abilities as ''Tsukihime''s protagonist,

Shiki Tohno is a Japanese adult visual novel created by the dōjin circle Type-Moon, who first released it at the Winter Comiket in December 2000. In 2003, it was adapted into both an anime television series, ''Lunar Legend Tsukihime'', animate ...

. Aoko Aozaki's sister, Touko Aozaki, is also featured and briefly mentioned in ''Tsukihime''. As one of

's earliest works, it introduces some of the most fundamental concepts in the universe of Type-Moon's works, including

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

s, the

Akashic Record In the religion of theosophy and the philosophical school called anthroposophy, the Akashic records are a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future in terms of ...

/Root, Counter Force,

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

, Magecraft, and Mystic Eyes. Both the

and the films are depicted in anachronical order with each chapter/film serving as part of one collective narrative.

Themes

The series deals with the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

and tackles mature topics such as

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

patricide Patricide is (i) the act of killing one's own father, or (ii) a person who kills their own father or stepfather. The word ''patricide'' derives from the Greek word ''pater'' (father) and the Latin suffix ''-cida'' (cutter or killer). Patricid ...

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

and murder.Kara no Kyoukai Special Pamphlet – Encyclopedia, Aniplex USA Its lore and story draws inspiration from various religious philosophies and

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

concepts such as

multiple personalities Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

; the

Anima and animus The anima and animus are described in Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology as part of his theory of the collective unconscious. Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious femi ...

; the nature of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

; life, death and

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

; and the

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

ical nature of the

Taiji Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...

Main characters

is a teenaged girl, who possesses the " Mystic Eyes of Death Perception". is Shiki's love interest and later husband who, two years previously, made a promise to attend college with Shiki. is Mikiya's younger sister who is in love with him. She becomes an apprentice of Tōko due to her rivalry against Shiki and is talented in ignition sorcery. , appearing as a

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

maker, Touko is actually a powerful sorceress.

Media

Light novels

''The Garden of Sinners'' originated in October 1998 as a series of five chapters released online on Nasu and Takeuchi's

dōjin In Japan, is a group of people who share an interest, activity, or hobby. The word is sometimes translated into English as "clique", "fandom", "coterie", "society", or "circle" (as in "sewing circle"). Self-published creative works produced b ...

-based website, , with its final two chapters being released at Comiket 56 in August 1999. Nasu and Takeuchi later formed Type-Moon, and in 2001, featured the first four chapters of the book on their 2001 ''

'' bonus disk, '' Tsukihime Plus-Disk'', which saw ''The Garden of Sinners'' gain significant popularity, leading it to be released as a

dōjinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created ...

publication at Comiket 61 on December 30, 2001. On August 6, 2004,

released the series as a commercial publication, which enjoyed immense popularity, with 5,000 limited-edition versions of the novel being sold almost immediately upon release. Both editions of ''The Garden of Sinners'' altogether sold more than 700,000 copies. A chapter, ''Final Record'', was distributed as a bonus for viewers of the ''Future Gospel'' film.

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cross-publishing rela ...

announced the English publication of the light novel series. This was confirmed in the first volume of Del Rey's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'' released on August 19, 2008. However, Del Rey became defunct before it could happen.

Short stories

Manga

A manga adaptation of the novel series written and illustrated by Tenkuu Sphere is currently being serialized in ''Saizensen'' web magazine since September 15, 2010, The original writer Kinoko Nasu and artist Takashi Takeuchi supervised the work. The tankobon volumes are published by Kodansha.

Drama CD

On August 9, 2002, a drama CD written by based on the ''Overlooking View'' chapter was released.

Anime films

The series was adapted into an

film series, divided into seven chapters, which were animated by the studio

ufotable is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 by former staff of the TMS Entertainment subsidiary Telecom Animation Film and located in Suginami, Tokyo. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works ('' Ninja Nonsense'', ''Futakoi Altern ...

. The films are released in achronological order. The first chapter, titled , premiered across Japanese theaters on December 1, 2007, with the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters, , , , , , being released soon after on December 29, 2007, followed by January 26, 2008, May 24, 2008, August 16, 2008, December 20, 2008, and August 8, 2009, respectively. A compilation film of the first six films with some new footage was released on March 14, 2009, in preparation for the release of the final seventh film. In connection with the film's release, the novels were once again reprinted, as three volumes with new illustrations. A North American premiere of the fifth chapter was held on May 22, 2009, at the Anime Boston convention. The series was released on Blu-ray with a new chapter, ''Gekijō-ban Kara no Kyōkai Shūshō: Kara no Kyōkai'', in Japanese with English subtitles. A DVD of the said chapter was released on February 2, 2011.

Aniplex of America Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an anime and music production company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, with the goal o ...

released the imported Blu-ray box set on February 8, 2011. The box was immediately sold out and has not been reissued since. However, the individual films were available for rent on the

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

until mid-2012. A new limited edition DVD boxset was released in late 2012. Likewise,

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

released a limited edition DVD boxset in October 2013. 3D conversion of ''The Garden of Sinners '' first movie called was released in July 2013. A TV series conversion of the seven films was broadcast From July to September 2013. This reconstructed the story in chronological order rather than the order of release and did not include Chapter 5, ''Paradox Spiral'', and Chapter 6, ''Oblivion Recording''. An eighth film, , was released in September 2013 and had grossed US$1,710,413 by October 20. Aniplex of America has released ''Future Gospel'' (now subtitled ''-recalled out summer-'') and ''Future Gospel – Extra Chorus'' on Blu-ray in late April 2015. Aniplex has also released the Japanese import of all 7 Kara no Kyoukai movie on Blu-ray in November 2015. Each of the theme songs to the film series are performed by

Kalafina was a Japanese vocal group formed by composer Yuki Kajiura in 2007, mainly to perform theme songs for the anime ''Kara no Kyōkai'', but later expanded to include many other theme songs for other anime shows and films including the '' Madoka Mag ...

, a project formed by

Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Y ...

. Outside of the ones for ''Future Gospel'', they were found on their album '' Seventh Heaven''. The ''Final Record'' chapter currently has no plans to be animated.

Releases

* '' The Garden of Sinners: Overlooking View'' (2007 (original) / 2013 (3D remake) * '' The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 1'' (2007) * '' The Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain'' (2008) * '' The Garden of Sinners: The Hollow Shrine'' (2008) * '' The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral'' (2008) * '' The Garden of Sinners: Oblivion Recording'' (2008) * '' The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder – Part 2'' (2009) * '' The Garden of Sinners: Future Gospel'' (2013)

Other films

Theme songs

References

External links

*
Manga official website

Official Aniplex USA website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garden of Sinners, The 1998 Japanese novels 2007 anime films 2008 anime films 2009 anime films 2011 anime OVAs Anime and manga based on light novels Anime composed by Yuki Kajiura Aniplex Novels about magic Dark fantasy anime and manga Psychological anime and manga Philosophical anime and manga Incest in anime and manga Kara no Kyōkai Light novels Light novels first published online Japanese novels adapted into films Type-Moon Ufotable Japanese-language films