Kara no Kyoukai: Garden of Sinners (Revival)

Plot Summary:

The story started with a dream sequence in which the MC meets Saber Shiki (S. Shiki) in their dream. As they wake up, they are summoned to the Command Room which they are informed about the Fake Singularity that emerged in 21st century Japan which has trapped some of the Chaldea Servants.

(Saber Shiki)

Once the MC and Mash are Rayshifted to the destination, they find a woman in a red jacket confronting them. After persuading her they are not the enemy, the woman introduced herself as Ryougi Shiki (A. Shiki). Together, the three of them investigate an apartment that is newly built in the area where the Servants are residing.

(Shiki introduces herself)

In Room 202, they found Mephisto who instantly claims himself as the culprit of this incident. After they defeat the devil, Mephisto's good personality appears and explains the real culprit is right upstairs. He also explains that this apartment magnifies the worst aspect of the resident. Believing him, they venture more rooms with the devil and liberate the Servants.

When they reach the fifth floor, they meet the evil personification of Mephisto. However, he is not the real culprit. Instead, he is taking advantage of the building and create chaos around. Once they fought the devil, both the incarnation of Mephisto disappears. Feeling content, Shiki decides to join Chaldea once this Singularity has disappeared. Thus, they continue to free more of the Chaldea Servants.

Once they arrive at the rooftop, they are welcomed by a shadowy man, the embodiment of despair and eternal hell. Detecting the resentment emitting from the figure, they work hard to destroy it. To their dismay, the man is not the culprit, he only follows orders from the real preparator of this incident. The MC asks of him about his real identity, but the shadow man begins to vanish. Before disappearing, he says his final words in French: Attendre et espérer (Wait and Hope). This concludes the adventure and the team returns to Chaldea safely.

Side story: In the woods, the MC's team encounters the Monster of Alaya. Luckily, Shiki transforms into her Saber form and defeats the ghosts in one shot. Once she reverts to her usual self, she cannot remember any of the events. They also find the key to the rooftop.

Storytelling & Gameplay:

This game is a crossover event with another series written by Nasu, Kara No Kyoukai. To play this event, one must have an understanding of the series to recognize the references. I highly recommend Type-Moon newbies to watch all of the movies because of the fantastic plot and vivid animation even though the anime was released in 2007 (Fun fact: it was produced by Ufotable).

I started playing FGO after the event had ended. So, the revival is the only chance for me to play this. This is one of the events that I look forward to because Kara no Kyoukai has been my favorite anime movie series and I wanted to see this series brought to the FGO stage.

However, the story was not as fascinating as I thought it would be. It was only intriguing in the beginning until we defeated the evil Mephisto. I know they were imitating the story structure of the series, story building in the first five chapters and five more filler chapters that satisfy the reader/audience. The filler after Room 504 is just pure plain and lacks excitement. Besides that, everyone already figures out the identity of the final boss of the rooftop by this time. Putting this rerun event one year after the Dantes rerun event had taken away the ending's mysterious tone.

The BGM is what I enjoy about this event. If you have watched the movie series you would be familiar with the OST. I appreciate they decided to add in most of the 5th movie BGM because the movie has a series of good music, which further enhances the playing experience. A big praise for the genius Kaji Yukira for composing such marvelous BGM. Another thing I like about the event is the game mechanics. It only required 20 AP to play one quest, 5 AP for a Boss fight. This is due to the event was debuted during the early days of FGO which no one had this much AP. The developers were either being generous or did not care about changing the amount of AP, so it was a big save on the apples. Moreover, this event is task-based, making the players easier to know where to farm and the priority spots.

Plus, there were three 6,666,666 HP ghosts when playing the side story. No worries, Saber Shiki will deal with it when utilizing her NP. (Unless you were going for an Arts meme challenge).

(Don't fret, Saber Shiki is here to take them down)

Characters:

Ryougi Shiki (Saber & Assassin)

Shiki is one of the most unique and complex characters I have ever seen in my life. Unlike most anime heroine, she is direct (unless you are Mikiya) and independent. Although she can be seen as perfect on the surface level, but she has her inner conflicts and dilemmas. Shiki's NP, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allows her the ability to perceive 'Life Strings' and could severe them. Her Mystic Eye is considered as one of the rarest magical eyes in Nasuverse.

I could go on analyzing the character but this is a piece that reviews the event itself. Maybe I could write a review or character analysis on Shiki sometime.

The Assassin version is her usual self, also the freebie of this event. On the other hand, her 5-Star Saber variant is a rare Servant from the event gacha. For those who are confused why Saber Shiki has a different personality and aura from her Assassin-self, here is a brief explanation: The Saber Shiki is the core personality of her usual self, representing the Void itself. Just imagine Saber Shiki is the seed of an avocado while Assassin-Shiki is the flesh and skin.

(Saber form, 3rd ascension)

Bonus: let's take a minute to appreciate Shiki's thighs.

Extra: Fujino Asagami

Asagami is a new 4-Star Archer servant who is only limited in the event-gacha. She did not appear in the event story, but she plays the NPC role in the challenge quest and her trial quest. Just like Shiki, Asagami has her own Mystic Eyes. She can distort physical objects in a twisted way (No pun intended). As Asagami overused her powers over the limit, it costs her eyesight. For more information on her lore, refer to the 3rd movie of the KNK series.

Asagami plays the archetype of the fallen heroine with a tragic backstory. You will notice her characterization and design are similar to Matou Sakura. Heck, they even fall in love with their senpais.

Overall rating: 6 out of 10 Saint Quartz

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Author's Notes:

Since my country is having a 14 days lockdown due to Covid-19, I will try to update more reviews as I can. Saber Wars would be coming up soon.

I hope everyone practice social distancing at this moment to avoid spread of the virus. Also, please do not use this pandemic as an excuse for discrimination.