Mirai Kuriyama is one of my favorite characters. In many ways Beyond the Boundary is her story of finding purpose in her life again. In the beginning she considers herself an outcast because of her power to manipulate her blood. She is ostracized from the spirit warrior

community and to only compound her feeling of isolation she is the sole member of her clan leading to a belief that no one can understand her. This mindset changes slightly when she befriends the Inami family’s daughters Yui and Sakura.

For the first time she’s genuinely happy but this happiness proves fleeting when she is forced to kill Yui when she is possessed by the Youmu known as the Hollow Shadow. This incident particularly breaks Mirai and makes her once again feel isolated because of her abilities.

Everything changes when she meets Akihito. Akihito being half Youmu understands Mirai’s sense of isolation and desperately wants to pull her away from the mindset that her life has no meaning. Every time she tries to push Akihito away it only doubles his resolve to stand by her

side. Akihito is able to give her the strength to confront all the demons that have haunted her. She begins this confrontation by defeating the Hollow Shadow and accepting the fact that Yui has passed on and no matter how long she mourns Yui will not return.

Her next confrontation is with Yui’s younger sister Sakura who has still not forgiven Mirai for killing her sister. In the past Mirai thought it would have been for the best if Sakura killed her as a way to atone for Yui’s death. After meeting Akihito she has gained a new sense

of purpose and a desire to live. To use her powers not just to kill Youmu but to save someone. Her fight with Sakura represents her first step in going down this new path she has laid out for herself by saving Sakura from her fruitless crusade of revenge and

forcing her to realize that them fighting is not Yui would’ve wanted. She would’ve wanted them to be friends and live by each other’s side. There battle ends with them reconciling their differences and renewing the friendship that had laid dormant for so long.

Defeating the Hollow Shadow and reconciling with Sakura allows her to confront her final trial with her new goal in mind. That final trial is to destroy Akihito’s Youmu half, known as Beyond the Boundary, by using her power to manipulate blood to force it out of his body.

In the process she knows that she will likely never see Akihito again but while the choice is painful her conviction to save Akihito is so strong that she doesn’t waver in her final decision. It’s thanks to Akihito that she can confront the parts of herself she once detested

and was able to become the heroic spirit warrior that had always been within her. If her sacrifice means that Akihito will no longer be burdened by the curse of Beyond the Boundary and give him the happiness of a normal life then she fulfilled her dream to save someone.

It’s truly a beautiful arc and my love for Mirai only grows the more I think about the emotional journey she goes on. She is a flawed and tragic character but like all great characters she overcomes those flaws to become something greater than she originally thought possible.