Mikiya's three-year blindness to what Shiki actually is becomes the entire point: love that doesn't require understanding, only acceptance. The film refuses to explain her murders until you've already fallen for her too, which means you're complicit in the same denial he is. By the time the violence arrives on screen, ufotable's backgrounds have already made you feel the weight of a girl trying to exist in a world that can't contain her.

Mikiya Kokutou first sees Shiki Ryougi on a snowy night in March 1995, struck by her mysterious gaze. In April he meets her again at his high school entrance ceremony, and lunchtime talks turn them into acquaintances as she opens up about her unusual upbringing. Meanwhile, a string of brutal, seemingly random murders shakes Mifune City and prompts a major police investigation. Through his cousin, a police investigator, Mikiya learns details of the case. Worried for Shiki's safety, he starts watching her and stumbles onto a frightening discovery that changes his life. A startling secret also awaits him, one he does not uncover until three years later.