Here's a show that starts with one bada$$ boy-girl meet. It doesn't take long to learn that this bada$$ girl and this bada$$ boy are NOT typical HS students. Even in the fantastical world in which they exist, these two are anomalies.
Mirai Kuriyama is the last of her clan. Only she can carry on their mission of eliminating youmu, which spirit creatures borne from the worst of human emotions. Her family of Spirit Warriors can turn their own blood into weapons. So, when Akihito Kanbara surprises her on the roof one day, in a panic, she stabs him with a blood sword. Don't worry. He's fine. Akihito is immortal. He is half human, half youmu, and he don't die.
Mirai may look like Velma Dinkley from Scooby Doo with her pleated skirt, sweater, and red rimmed glasses, but that's /exactly/ Akihito's poison. He falls for her instantly. It isn't mutual, not for awhile, but Mirai tolerates him. He lets her practice killing youmus on him, so she should show a smidge of gratitude.
Tolerating him leads to joining the Literary Club, which is where the other like-minded Spirit World Warriors hang out, namely, a brother-sister duo who are Akihito's best friends: Hiroomi and Mitsuki Nase. Hiroomi is beautiful, powerful, and dangerous. Her relationship with her brother is peppered with teasing. Big brother, Mitsuki, gets his chuckles from inappropriate sexual advances that make others squirm. His sister is his favorite foil. Others cringe and he grins. Little sister hasn't been put to use by the family and therefore she's a bit surly. She intermittently calls Mitsuki "pervert" or a snidely spoken "respected brother." It's tame. We learn through Hiroomi that not all youmu are dangerous. She has a mousy looking one for a pet. Mirai quickly becomes part of the group, though she has some secrets she isn't in a hurry to reveal.
BTB is fun. It coasts along for about 9 episodes, and then it gets excellent. If you like it, stick with it and fear not. You will be happy you hung around. The execution and craftsmanship are solid. Do the story and acting overpower the animation, causing the viewer to almost overlook it? Or does the animation provide the perfect quiet complement to the show? I think the latter. The action is great! There's a nice twisty surprise coming around ep10. I was impressed. BTW, speaking of action, what /is/ it with the painfully pathetic girl-running in anime? Does anyone actually run with h/h arms out, forearms standing at 90° and swaying? It's like the unbearable squeak nails on a chalkboard - I can barely stand it.
"At the end of the day, I'm a pervert!" No matter how often Mirai declares his flattery "unpleasant," Akihito won't stop rizzing up this 'bespectacled beauty', The propositioning in BTB is delivered for cuteness and endearment. Our ML may not be able to help his obsession. It could be hardwired into his unique genetic makeup. We'll see another example of strong attraction before the show runs its course.
Mirai has a lot of heartbreak to recover from, as well as burdens, upon injuries, upon obstacles. "How unpleasant," she loves to say, but her pain occasionally makes her unpleasant. When we first meet her, she's barely breaking the surface long enough to breathe. Both Mirai and Akihito are walking through life with heavy baggage. If they were each a color, she's red and he's white. The colors of their country's flag and the colors of love and purity.
Dreams are the gateway to the spirit world. The (dark) phantoms that come from the Dream World are manifestations of negative human emotions born from people's twisted hearts; their hatred, jealousy, and malice. At some point, BTB departs from the mild sexual banter and tackles some serious dilemmas.
One of the themes is to not let regrets over the past trap you. Another theme is to not get caught up in fear and act in a way that will cause later regret. The plot brings us to a youmu that is so powerful it could destroy the world. COULD. It is intelligent and has never shown any inclination to do so. The only thing scary about it is its sheer strength. That alone creates fear, and fear drives violence: This thing is too scary to let live! The irony is that HUMAN resentment and dark nature is what powered up this being. We'll hear a youmu talk:
"Just what are you so scared of? You don't have to be afraid. Everything about you is also me. All of it existed inside of me already. Your pitch black jealousy, and the despair of never being able to become (what you wanted), the sadness of having been abandoned, and the regret of having hurt someone, all of your selfishness, your paranoia, your hatred, your resignation, your deviance, and your need to save yourself; I won't the single one of these emotions leak out, because they all belong to me. I'm going to take every one of them back."
If we look at humans more like a multi-celled single organism, which is not as thoroughly inaccurate as one might assume, we are the scariest, most dangerous entity living. WE are too scary to live, also. Rational people must look and exist beyond the boundary of their own fear. Doing the right thing and upholding the rights of others may feel frightening, but it is actually the optimal action to ensure long-term human survival. It gets less frightening with practice.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬75 📝84 🎭 84💓74 🦋60 🌞65 🎨75 ⚡88 🎵/🔊77 😅70 😭55 😱55 😯58 😖40 🤔60 💤15 🔚90
My age rec: 16+ HS setting with references to breast size, a glasses fetish, and a sister fetish (Sis calmly refers to him as "Perverted brother"). Rated: PG-13.
Re-📺? Would
A 2013 release based on volumes 1& 2 of of Nagomu Torii's light novel series, BTB is 1 season consisting of 12 24-minute English dubbed episodes. There is more content out there, which is evidence of how well received it was, but only S1 can be streamed.
Per the kind people at Epic Dope here's the full list:
The Release Order
I. TV Series
Beyond the Boundary (2013)
II. Movies
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Past (2015)
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Future (2015)
III. OVAs
Beyond the Boundary: Idol Trial! (2014)
IV. Specials
Kyoukai no Kanata: Mini Gekijou (2014)
Beyond the Boundary: Daybreak (2014)
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Past Special (2015)
The Chronological Order
Beyond the Boundary: Daybreak
Beyond the Boundary
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Past
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Past Special
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here - Future
Beyond the Boundary: Idol Trial!
Kyoukai no Kanata: Mini Gekijou
Don't give it much thought, though, because via conventional streaming only the first 12 episodes are available. I would definitely watch more if I could.
Anime worth the time
The Eminence in Shadow 8.8,
Trollhunters-9.5,
The Last Airbender-10,
Akiba Maid War 7.5,
Assassination Classroom-9,
Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4,
Reincarnated as a Sword 8,
Hunter × Hunter-10,
Invincible-8.5,
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End-8.8,
Jujutsu Kaisen-9.5,
Made in Abyss 9,
Parasyte the Maxim 8.9,
Blade Runner: Black Lotus-8.6,
Akame ga Kill! 8.6,
Castlevania-8.4,
Death Note-8.8,
Demon Slayer 9.3,
Tokyo Ghoul-8.5,
Moribito Guardian of the Spirit-8.6,
Fullmetal Alchemist-10,
Psycho Pass-8.6,
Vinland Saga-10,
Attack On Titan-8.9
Scissor 7-8.
