Karneval: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Karneval: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Lord of the three rings.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 12, 2014

If (heaven forfend) some future archeologist is able to divine what our present day culture was like only through the auspices of anime, there’s probably going to be a great deal of confusion in academic circles. Anime creators seem to exult in taking everyday events and even terms and then twisting them to their own ends, ends which frequently have little to do with the originals. Karneval is yet another anime that utilizes preexisting terms, in this case redolent proper nouns like Kafka, but in entirely new contexts which perhaps only hint at some of the inherent connotations most people will have with regard to that (or any other) term. In this case, Kafka is not an author of bizarrely surreal tomes, but is instead a nefarious organization that is involved in, well, Kafkaesque genetic research that may put a whole new light on one of the actual Kafka’s most iconic creations, one Gregor Samsa (of The Metamorphosis fame). Karneval is both insanely dense (as in convoluted) and dense (as in dunderheaded) at the same time, an odd mashup of ideas and genres that, much like a real life carnival, is often noisy and even fun, but may ultimately crash and burn under the viewing equivalent of a sugar rush. The series is based on a long running manga by Tōya Mikanagi and follows the adventures of an Oliver Twist like hero named Nai who hooks up with a thief (think the Artful Dodger in anime terms) named Gareki in a quest to find Nai’s guardian Karoku. Again as with Oliver Twist, Nai finds himself imprisoned in a scary location until he manages to escape, but as with many an anime, things are not what they initially appeared to be, and in fact Nai is not what he initially appeared to be. Karneval has some interesting enough elements, but much like its mangled terminology, it’s a somewhat confusing and over convoluted affair that never becomes the funhouse ride it obviously aimed to be.

Karneval, as with many other contemporary anime, begins in media res with a quick montage of snippets that seem to hint at any number of potential plot points until things settle down on Nai, who is being set upon by a strange woman named Lady Miné. It appears that Nai may in fact be a prisoner at Miné’s palatial mansion, though how he got there or what exactly is going on is not initially made clear. Instead, a sudden explosion pulls Miné away from her aggression toward Nai and instead allows Nai to finally see a young man named Gareki, who is madly marauding through shelves and drawers, obviously in search of something valuable. Meanwhile, Miné makes some enigmatic comments about something called Circus, while several quick edits very quickly introduce a handful of other characters and situations.

By the time Miné transforms into a fairly grisly looking monster and an unseen voice indicates that Nai is wanted by whoever or whatever Circus is, some viewers will already be feeling like this is indeed a three ring affair where it’s almost impossible to keep track of everything that is simultaneously unfolding. But things finally do begin to settle down, at least relatively, with clues like the weird bracelet Nai was given by Karoku starting to fill in some gaps in what turns out to be a longstanding conflict between a governmental crime fighting operation known as Circus (yes, it does get explained) and the genetic engineers known as Kafka. Miné’s ability to morph into a monster is also illuminated within the overall arc of Kafka’s supposedly nefarious activities.

Some of the cutting away from the initial focus on Nai and Gareki ultimately also starts to make a little more sense, as we finally get to know another kind of odd duo, Hirato, a kind of bizarrely sanguine magician type in a top hat and a cane, and his sidekick (emphasis on the kick part), Tsukomo, a taciturn young girl with flowing blonde tresses who possesses some serious acrobatic and martial arts skills. Nai and Gareki are initially completely confounded by events unfolding around them once they escape Miné’s lair, but by the third or fourth episode, Karneval ultimately begins to explore the mysterious history of Nai himself, a history which even Nai doesn’t seem to know much about.

What’s kind of odd about Karneval is that despite the fact that only one of its focal quartet of characters is a female, this is evidently meant to be a shōjo outing geared toward adolescent girls. This is especially strange given the absence of traditionally accepted tropes that are supposed to attract the distaff audience, including things like romance. This is a surprisingly complex piece for such fare, but therein lies one of Karneval’s biggest issues. So many subplots are stuffed into the opening couple of episodes that it becomes almost impossible to divine what the series’ actual focus is supposed to be. Once Nai’s background is slowly revealed, even that element might seem to be an odd storyline to overtly appeal to younger girls.

What ultimately helps Karneval is some astoundingly effective animation and generally appealing characters. The plotlines here may be too insanely complex for their own good, but the series is a visual treat from beginning to end, offering both nicely designed characters and some cool graphical elements that help to bring some immediacy to what is often a busy if never overly involving series.

Karneval: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Karneval is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. There's little doubt that one of Karneval's most alluring aspects is its very enjoyable design aesthetic, and that comes through quite clearly in this high definition presentation. Lovingly detailed backgrounds, whether they be lush fields and cloud strewn blue skies or ornate interiors that often do in fact resemble a circus environment, offer incredibly vivid, varied colors that exploit both bold primaries and subtler pastels. Reds, blues and purples are especially impressive throughout this series. The character designs are also quite well done, with nicely sharp line detail and distinctive little features like the purple triangles that poke out from Nai's head which might be his hair or his superpowered ears. Aside from some minor banding that is evident in some fine gradients, this is a problem free presentation that should easily delight the show's fans.

Karneval: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Karneval offers the original Japanese language track in Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and an English dub in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The English dub features good voice work and ably opens up the series' sound design with some nice surround activity, especially once some of the action elements fall into place. The 5.1 iteration also significantly increases the low end, which adds some sonic punch to the proceedings. The Japanese track is relatively less aggressive, but features some very appealing voice work. Both tracks offer excellent fidelity and good dynamic range.

Karneval: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Episode 1 Commentary features ADR Director Christopher Bevins (who also voices Yogi), Greg Ayres (Gareki) and writer J. Michael Tatum (who also voices Tsukitachi).


• Karneval Fashion with J. Michael Tatum (1080p; 14:59) deals with a lot of elements other than fashion, with Tatum hosting and talking about the basic outlines of the plot as well as things like character development.


• Episode 13 Commentary features Christopher Bevins, Sean Michael Teague (Nai) and Ian Sinclair (Captain Hiroto).


• Promotional Videos (1080p; 2:47)


• Textless Opening Song: "Henai No Rondo (Rondo of Fixation)" (1080p; 1:32)


• Textless Closing Song: "Reason" (1080p; 1:32)


• U.S. Trailer (1080p; 1:45)

Karneval: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Had Karneval set up the mystery of Nai from the get go and then pursued it relentlessly, my hunch is the series would have had more dramatic impetus than it does as currently formulated. There's simply so much stuff to get through in the first several episodes here that it becomes off putting, especially since the series tends to the equivalent of a head fake at several key moments, leading the viewer to believe one thing is the point when in fact it's something else entirely. There are some interesting ideas floating through the series, but they're too vague at times to ever have enough impact. The best thing about Karneval is its design aesthetic, and this is certainly a bright and beautiful looking series, one that pops extremely well on Blu-ray.