The plot of Season 1, episode 5 of Kekkai Sensen involves the main cast being confronted
by a woman named Aligula, also known as the Queen of Monomania, who tears through the
city in an attempt to find her lost love; that love being a literal fusion of two men
sharing a body because Aligula loved both and didn’t want to choose between them.
The very next episode chronicles a heartfelt tale of our main character befriending a mushroom
alien, and the one after that involves a supernatural underground boxing ring hiding one of the
most powerful creatures from the alter world.
There are many who would say that due to this seemingly random style, there is no distinct
pattern to the structure of this story, and that it uses the premise of Libra’s duty
and the setting of Hellsalem’s Lot as a way to see how much crazy shit they can pull
off.. and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong about that second one.
It seems nonsensical, with the only prevailing theme seeming to be that of chaos.
There looks to be no consistency here, apart from this story being wacky and off the wall...
But that couldn’t be farther from the truth, and I personally think that there is one element
in this show’s story that turns all of this from entertaining spectacle into genuinely
great thematic story integration.
What’s most impressive to me about Kekkai Sensen (other than the visuals) is how closely
the story’s structure and setting directly mirror its themes.
On a broad, general scale, this narrative is truly allegorical.
To explain clearly, For me, Kekkai Sensen is a pretty clear analogy of life and the
human condition.
There are obviously a breadth of other ideas tackled in this work, but this is the overall
impression I find myself taking away from it.
In ironic contrast to the way that Libra tries to maintain balance in HellSalem’s lot,
the city and the events that occur are entropic, random, eclectic and don’t make much sense.
Eerily similar to the lives we live.
We drift through life, in control of some things but affected by so many unpredictable
factors, rushed down a current of randomness to an unknown destination.
Life is chaotic, and Kekkai Sensen is the epitome of chaos.
But in the end, the beautiful nonsense of each episodic thread of this show is given
identity through the rough overarching narrative - that of Leonardo Watch and his emotional
journey.
The progression of this journey and his quest towards gaining self-worth and authority is
very well-realized, but the NATURE and inflection of that quest, and how they relate to the
type of person Leo is, are most relevant here.
As spelled out for us at the end of the first episode by the king of depravity, our protagonist
is completely, utterly normal - and that is what makes him special.
Leonardo is family oriented and caring, he wears his heart on his sleeve and does what
he believes is right.
Compassionate to a fault, he is guided by sentiment, and this point is absolutely vital,
because it helps him to act as the thematic fulcrum and heart of this story, allowing
Kekkai Sensen to become the true essence of humanity in narrative form.
The vast majority of Humans are innately sentimental creatures, guided by the heart.
Our random ass lives are given order by our desires and endeavors, and those desires take
root in the deepest essence of our souls.
We may not understand why life is the way it is sometimes, and we may not even understand
why we do the things we do, but we do know what our heart aches for.
We know our desires, and we know who we care about.
By and large, we instinctually follow the path that our hearts plead for.
As such, Kekkai Sensen’s story mirrors this personal and intimate dynamic throughout,
from the literal first scene until the last.
And Leonardo represents this sentiment through his focus on familial bonds - his desire to
help his sister Michella, White and Black, his friends, and anyone he cares about.
He blames himself for the condition his sister is in, and so he takes it upon himself to
make strides towards helping her, to live life and be empathetic whenever he can be.
He is the heartbeat that provides focus, and though every episode may be full of craziness,
the exclamation point at the end almost every time is a moment of quiet solace or reflection
for Leo, carrying this sentimental and emotional theme throughout, connecting these seemingly
disparate situations and elements and giving it all order and identity.
The show tends to use flowers as a means of symbolizing Leonardo’s sentiment - red ones
are commonly associated with love, usually romantic love, but here they are representative
of this loose but substantial string of emotion that grounds the series, as I mentioned.
In a lot of moments where Leo’s empathetic or sentimental nature is touched upon, we
see these red flowers, and their implementation seems to reinforce this theme time and time
again.
Very clearly, he is the heart of this story.
Without a character in the vein of Leonardo Watch, Kekkai Sensen would be a directionless
mess.
But with him, it is actually quite profound and speaks of the essence of life and the
human soul - how we strive to follow our heart in the chaotic journey that is existence.
Aside from plot significance, there’s a reason that he alone can tap into the power
of the all-seeing eyes, allowing him to witness the truth through this ruin.
Just as Leo sees truth, so to are we able to find the soul of the story, and life itself,
through following him and what he stands for.
And seeing as the first episode reveals that the vast majority of the story is Leonardo’s
account of his life since joining Libra, this further reinforces the idea of Kekkai Sensen
being a perspective piece of sorts, despite the grand and cinematic presentation.
A set of memories sent through a letter to his sister is bound to be littered with these
little emotional threads and bits of reflection, so it is no wonder that the first season beautifully
reflects these tidbits of innate emotionality when it is being told from the viewpoint of
such a good and heartfelt person.
It’s terrific presentation - a story documenting a string of disorder and mayhem, loosely yet
distinctly connected by sentiment.
It directly reflects the human condition and the story never loses that core amidst the
noise, which helps it to be one of the most interesting and endearing allegorical works
I’ve ever seen.
And that is all because of the pseudo audience surrogate guiding our way with his supernatural
sight - the goodhearted, empathetic, Leonardo Watch.
Many thanks for watching.