Gekijô ban Kara no kyôkai: Dai ni shô - Satsujin kôsatsu (zen)

After I struggled to find anything likeable about the first movie, I wasn't sure if I'd want to continue watching this odd series. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the second movie.

Unlike in the first movie, the characters in the second chapter are interesting and even likeable, and the story progresses nicely. It still is a very odd movie that doesn't explain much and raises many questions, but I didn't feel half as lost as I did in the first installment. Even though this second chapter is set three years before the first one, it manages to tie in with the first one somewhat well, though it still doesn't answer most of the questions raised in the first chapter either. Maybe the third movie (which is set shortly before the first one) will explain a bit more... From a technical standpoint, this movie is excellent. The visuals are gorgeous, by far surpassing the already impressive first movie. The soundtrack is fairly nice, though perhaps lacking some memorable motifs. The cinematography is very good as well, with perhaps a few odd choices (like the 'shakycam' approach to the training session).

After the first movie made me doubt quite a lot if I'd want to continue watching this series, the second one helped me much more. 'The Garden of Sinners' still remains one of the most confusing series I've ever watched, though; I'd prefer if it followed the more traditional approaches of storytelling. Oh, well...