Karas

The world of the humans and the world of the demons (youkai) have overlapped one another, leaving humans to walk the streets of life as they normally would, while demons walk, hidden from the naked eye, down the very same streets. A seemingly young woman named Yurine and her servant, the Karas (from the Japanese word for "Crow"), have long maintained order and balance between the overlapped worlds, ultimately keeping the demons from interrupting the lives of humans. However, humans have come to forget and jest at the existence of demons, and no longer understand the privilege it is to live without fear. Disgusted by this arrogance, an old Karas turns his back on the laws he had once upheld, and in his human form, named Eko, he creates an army of Mikura, or mechanized demons, to ready an attack on the human race.

A young man named Otoha inherits the powers of the Karas and takes his place at the side of Yurine, who claims that his soul called out for her while he lived the life of a human. They live in the world of the demons. It is now up to Otoha to prove himself as a Karas, and restore the balance that Eko threatens to upset.

Meanwhile, a superstitious police officer named Sagisaka and his rational new recruit, Kure, follow the trail of the murders dealt by Eko's Mikura, as well as the trail of a rogue Mikura named Nue. The prophecy unfolds from here into a grave revelation for all in the city.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Yurine Main

Suzuki, Kasumi Japanese

Otoha, Yousuke Main

Wada, Soukou Japanese

Nue Main

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Chizuru Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Amefurikozou Supporting

Kozakura, Etsuko Japanese

Houshunin, Ekou Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Wanyuudou Supporting

Ookawa, Tooru Japanese

Hinaru Supporting

Shibuya, Asuka Japanese

Kure, Narumi Supporting

Torihata, Hiroto Japanese

Reiji Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Yoshida, Tsuyoshi Producer

Yoshida, Shouichi Producer

Ibira, Takaya Producer, Series Composition, Setting

Mikami, Yasuhiro Producer

Reviews

Feb 3, 2008

NeonToppaTotoro

Recommended

STORY: The story or stories within Karas stem from several archetypal anime genres. We have a story of redemption, a story of discovering oneself, a story of the super-natural versus the corporeal, a story of good against evil and the blurry line between. In fact there is a ton of story in here that, with proper plot development, could easily fill an entire 25-27 episode season. And therein lies the problem of Karas's story. There are just too many many plot lines being developed in this movie. Also, the show paces itself slowly, telling the audience only the bare minimum of what needs to be ... known at the time and ultimately hindering the viewer's involvement. While this amount is sufficient in understanding the full story, the story loses its intrigue that draws in the viewer. There is vast potential for plot here, but this potential is not fleshed out and used.

ART: Karas is a visual powerhouse with few peers to call its equal. All of the major battle and dramatic sequences are perfectly epic. If you enjoy watching superhuman battles with swords, explosions, lasers, robotics(both big and small), etc., then this is the best that anime has to offer. This OVA is one of the most gorgeous films for its genre, and few shows can live up to this caliber of animation quality. Although animation and art design can't carry an entire show, Karas's visual appeal carries a great deal and redeems most of the show's flaws.

SOUND: Fortunately for the visual production of Karas, the sound develops the already epic, visual appeal into unreal proportions. The voice acting is fantastic for each character. The music gives each scene the appropriate response to each emotion. This is the kind of music that inspires roaring during battle scenes, quiet trepidation during conflicts, and cries of "That was beastmode!" during victory celebrations. The audio portion of the show is no pushover in relation to the visual aspect, but there are a few scenes in the show that need audio editing. Besides these few qualms, the sound is fantastic.

CHARACTER: The character development of this show suffers like the story. There are too many characters, and they all have deep histories. However, the show doesn't have the time to delve into all but one or two of these characters, and those select few receive the slightest bit of detail. Ultimately, I just didn't care about anybody other than the protagonist, one of the fortunate characters to receive miniscule detail. It is unfortunate because, like the story, there is so much potential behind the plethora of characters presented. Yet this potential is barely tapped.

ENJOYMENT: Karas is highly enjoyable with varied rewatchability. The battles and epic drive of this series make the experience invigorating, and several post-initial viewings are required to realize the sheer force this epic extravaganza possesses. However, there is very little depth beyond the flash-bang-awesome, and this effect does wear off over time. The initial and second viewings will be the best, and they will be highly memorable. However, there is little to take away from Karas other than, "That was unbelievably cool."

OVERALL: Karas's production team sacrificed plot, depth, and series longevity for visual, audio, and sensual awe. These balances have noticeable and predictable pros and cons.

Also, Karas displays graphic violence overbearingly at times. To some, this graphic effect may not be a problem. However, the gore in Karas is extreme and may be too excessive for others.

I hope this review has proven beneficial, and I appreciate any feedback, critiques, or thoughts through messages. Happy anime watching!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 25, 2008

Ayria

Mixed Feelings

Story: I guess it's better to say there was no real story. I was completely confused throughout the first half, we were plunged into the middle of the story with no explanation and no idea what was going on. The second half was filled with predictable cliches and I found it was more stimulating to have no idea what was going on as it drove me to continue to watch in order to figure out what was happening. Overall, the plot was boring and something we have seen a thousand times before, only a lot more vague.

Art: The series is undeniably beautiful, the animation ... ranks up there with the likes of Gankutsuou. I'll even go far as to say that Karas, just like Trinity Blood, doesn't deserve such beautiful animation. If you want to watch this series then just mute the DVD, listen to your favorite CD, and enjoy the beautiful imagery. Don't worry, like I said before there's no story to pay attention to.

Sound: the music was all right, once again nothing special. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy the OST. The dub wasn't anything exceptional, Echo's voice actor in particular was very bland and unemotional.

Character: The characters are just as cliched and vague as the plot. There's little to no development and hardly any explanation as to what their motivation might be. Everyone is shallow and two-dimensional.

Overall this was a huge disappointment. It was as if Tatsunoko Productions simply wanted to show off their animation skills and threw together the story as an afterthought. With more focus on developing a plot and interesting characters this could have been an excellent series, unfortunately they forgot that good animation does not make a good series. Just like video games, it doesn't matter how amazing the visuals, it is the story that is truly engaging.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jun 23, 2016

AnthraxHierarchy

Not Recommended

Preliminary (2/6 eps)

I had really high hopes for this show as it seemed very similar to Garo, but I just couldn't get into it. The story seems to pick up in the middle of nowhere, I got what the idea was, but it just felt like I was watching an anime that was half ways through. The fights felt lackluster and overall the show just felt boring. The moment I finally said "yeah I'm done" was when Karas turned into a friggin car and started shooting rockets....your armor...also turns into a car that shoots rockets? Ooookay then. Went from modern style medieval fantasy to scifi medieval fantasy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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