Beyond the Boundary is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagomu Torii, with illustrations by Tomoyo Kamoi. The work won an honorable mention in the Kyoto Animation Award competition in 2011. Kyoto Animation has published three volumes since June 2012. An anime television series adaptation, produced by Kyoto Animation, aired in Japan between October and December 2013. An original video animation episode was released in July 2014. A two-part anime film project premiered in March and April 2015.
Plot
One day, high school student Akihito Kanbara instinctively goes to save his fellow schoolmate, Mirai Kuriyama, from committing suicide. Following his pleas, Mirai suddenly stabs Akihito with a sword formed out of her own blood and is shocked to discover that Akihito is an immortal "half-youmu"—the offspring of a supernatural creature, called a youmu, and a human. After learning that Mirai is a Spirit World Warrior—specialists who protect humans from being affected by youmu—and the last surviving member of her spirit hunting clan, their lives become intertwined as Akihito seeks to help Mirai gain the confidence to kill youmu so that she may stop attempting to kill him as practice. In Beyond the Boundary, youmu are supernatural creatures that appear throughout the series and can only be seen by those with a supernatural affinity. They are said to be the physical materialization of human animosity such as negative emotions including hatred, jealousy and malice and therefore as long as humans exist, youmu will continue to exist. They can exist in many types of shapes and forms with some even having a human appearance. There are also rare cases when a youmu and a human mate may produce an offspring, which is called Half-Youmu. Most youmu are relatively docile and coexist with humans even without them being aware of their presence. However, there are times when a youmu's behavior upsets the balance, so the Spirit World Warriors are sent in to kill them. Upon death, a youmu produces a Youmu Stone which can be appraised and traded, hence providing a source of income for a Spirit World Warrior.
Beyond the Boundary began as a light novel series written by Nagomu Torii, with illustrations provided by Tomoyo Kamoi. Torii entered the first novel in the series into the second Kyoto Animation Award contest in 2011, and it won an honorable mention in the novel category. The studio later published the first volume with their KA Esuma Bunko imprint on June 9, 2012, and three volumes have been released as of October 2, 2013.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation, produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Taichi Ishidate, began airing on October 2, 2013. The opening theme is "Kyōkai no Kanata" by Minori Chihara and the ending theme is "Daisy" sung by Stereo Dive Foundation. The series was simulcasted on Crunchyroll. The anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America for streaming and home video release on October 13, 2015. Three original net animation episodes of a short series titled Beyond the Boundary Idol Trial! were released between November 18 and December 16, 2013, on the official website via YouTube. Two additional Idol Trial episodes were released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc along with the first three and a full-length original video animation episode on July 2, 2014. A two-part film project titled Gekijōban Kyōkai no Kanata: I'll Be Here was produced by Kyoto Animation and directed by Taichi Ishidate. The first film, Kako-hen, was released on March 14, 2015; its theme song is "Daisy" by Stereo Dive Foundation. The second film, Mirai-hen, was released on April 25, 2015; its theme song is "Aitakatta Sora" by Chihara. Kako-hen retells the events of the television series, while Mirai-hen is an original story set one year after the end of the television series. Sentai Filmworks licensed the films in North America, and Animatsu Entertainment licensed the films in the UK.
