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May 10, 2010 5:41 PM
#1
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Jul 2008
132
THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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Loved the wide scope epic fight and destruction dealt upon the city of shinjuku
"To see with eyes unclouded by hate"

-Prince Ashitaka, "Princess Mononoke"
Apr 22, 2011 1:29 AM
#2

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Jul 2010
50
Yeah.. this whole episode was great

Karas kinda like.. finished once I started to like it even more >:(
But it looked like there's something not dealt with after the credits...
They showed someone standing infront of that crazy metal mask from the hospital..
Apr 22, 2011 2:49 AM
#3
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Jul 2008
132
P-A-I-N said:
Yeah.. this whole episode was great

Karas kinda like.. finished once I started to like it even more >:(
But it looked like there's something not dealt with after the credits...
They showed someone standing infront of that crazy metal mask from the hospital..


Mhh, it would certainly be nice to get another series!
"To see with eyes unclouded by hate"

-Prince Ashitaka, "Princess Mononoke"
May 2, 2011 6:47 PM
#4

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Feb 2009
3436
There are some over-the-top production values and artwork here!
Jul 9, 2012 5:12 PM
#5

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Jan 2011
1055
Nice ending, but the best fight was the first one.

I certainily wouldn't mind more of it though.
Jul 14, 2012 8:42 AM
#6

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Sep 2008
11495
Overall, I didn't like this anime all that much. I feel like the story could have been told in a better way. The animation and music in this anime were damn good though.
Aug 5, 2012 1:31 AM
#7

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Jan 2012
1982
great animation
mediocre plot
decent sound

7/10

Couple of things:

Yurine's VA's voice doesn't match her appearance
Otoha's VA could be better
Jan 18, 2013 3:22 PM
#8

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Dec 2010
4807
The finishing episode was so-so. The classical track sounded soooooooooo well. Nue died in a kinda badass fashion. And about the post-credits scene - I knew there was something about that boot not disintegrating, lol.

1. Characters. It's rare that I don't like at least one character from given anime, but this aspect totally sucks in Karasu.
2. Atmosphere. +1. Well, I gotta admit that there was some kind of atmosphere and it wasn't bad.
3. OST. +1. There were some good tracks, I guess.
4. Animation. +1. One of the best battle animations I've ever seen and we're talking about 2005 anime here, which is pretty amazing! The animation was also very detailed overall, except for the characters' designs.
5. Background story. Nothing great imo.
6. Storyline. Well it wasn't good either.
7. Ending. Very shallow ending, too good I wasn't having any expectations about it.
8. Fight scenes. +1. One of the better points of this anime. The fight scenes were really complex, something I don't see often. Well, they were too wildcat, but I guess it's OK to watch such an anime once in a while.
9. Drama. I wasn't moved at any time except for a moment during the butchery scenes in ep 5.
10. Overall affect. I wasn't expecting anything from this show so I'm not much disappointed, but really I feel like I'm gonna forget about this anime the moment I finish my post. I'm not impressed of it, not even the slightest bit.

Overall score: 4/10. It was a while since I scored anime so low.
Apr 3, 2013 5:03 PM
#9

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Nov 2011
128883
Mm, I thought these episodes collectively gained about a rough 6.5/10 for my liking.

The OST/Soundtrack and the fight scenes were the highlights even given the first 3 minutes from the first episode. The plot is very confusing though and ending felt mediocre. Top quality anime, shit plot.

I guess it was more about exploring the themes within the plot that would bring out the enjoyment of this series.
Nov 17, 2014 5:43 AM

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Jun 2012
2593
This could have been a lot better.
Nov 17, 2014 1:25 PM
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Aug 2014
17
Stark700 said:
Top quality anime, shit plot.


I don't think the plot is shit. In fact the plot is pretty amazing. What was really lacking was the confusing scene transitions (one moment evil Karas is trying to kill good Karas, the next you have a girl Karas saving a girl selling cakes in sub-time and you just have to go wtf just happened). The Director is a lot like the Wachowski Brothers --- misunderstood genius.
Jan 30, 2015 12:42 AM

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Nov 2011
1904
MORE RANDOM SHIT AGAIN

That was basically Japan's Batman.

It was so good that it was horrible. Certainly not Satou Keichi's best, but he definitely got better with Bahamut.

5/10
Aug 27, 2016 7:11 PM

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May 2012
25829
Pretty solid ending of a pretty great anime I must say! QUite liked the overall setting and atmosphere a lot, and the animation and especially CGI sure amazed me for it being from 2005!

All in all I had a great watch!
Jan 12, 2018 1:59 PM

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Oct 2015
6916
Loved this ova because it had a full story even though short( by episode not ep length). in the end Eko wanted Yurine to help him after what he did to that Yurine, bad guys are something else sometimes. The female karas was not much help in the fight, considering she talked a lot. Its a pity I will never see it again, I wished it was a TV series with more than 24 EPs. I think they did well with animation too considering it was in 2005, I mean I've seen anime made recently and they have poor animation skills *cough* ( kino the animated series). I had closure in story wise, every one found happiness including the child Otoha saved and that raincoat snail youkai lived. But at the of the credits there was that person's shadow looking at that head ( so it meant production was to set but fell through).

9/10 is my gift to it because I enjoyed it.
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove

Aug 8, 2020 9:22 PM

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Oct 2010
21126
great anime, awesome fight scenes. The plot and all the stuff regarding yurine and karas were confusing but little by little I got the general idea. Solid ending with yoshiko and the police guy going to the countryside.
8/10
Jan 14, 2021 8:38 AM

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May 2020
1982
The story was nowhere near complicated enough for the amount of confusion it created while being told. Overall, an okay series.

Production values were very good, especially for the time but I didn't find the CGI to be as impressive as everyone else found it. There were some excellent 2-D animation shots that made me wonder how this series would've looked like in full 2-D. If only...

6/10.
Jul 5, 2021 3:41 PM

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Mar 2008
181
Not the most original story compared to todays standards but the way this was all executed and presented in this curious CGI fashion seemed worthwhile enough to me, although the way the characters were introduced early on was a bit too shallow and sloppy. The final left nothing to be desired and went all out.. 7/10.
FluxoluxJul 5, 2021 3:51 PM
Aug 13, 2021 10:05 PM
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Jul 2021
38
Everyone agrees it looks good so there's not much to say about that but I think there's a lot of poetic class and clever ideas in the story that are not overtly stated. Legit surprised the lead Yugioh anime writer is behind it and it got me more interested in those shows.

Miyazaki-esque themes of humanity "forgetting yokai" (demons is not a good translation imo) aka nature/the unknown/the spiritual & focusing on a shallow existence. Tomino & Gurren Lagann-esque ideas of a villain who watched over Shinjuku for so long he's grown cynical, believing only dangerous radical actions resulting in countless deaths (on both the human & yokai sides) can truly elevate existence; and he's countered by a younger, more optimistic Karas who nonetheless has gone through hell. Eko has a love-hate relationship with his Yurine, aka the "will of the city": he claims to despise humanity yet he's fueled by their literal lifeblood & wants to force a "perfect" yet forceful unity through a mix of the supernatural and the technological. Soul Eater manga-ish (though this tackled them first) themes of refusing to believe that "harmony" can ever exist, instead attempting to enforce a soulless "order". Hideyuki Kikuchi-esque stuff about the supernatural dark side of a Japanese metropolis with aesthetics and a manly, dark visual attitude reminiscent of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's adaptations of Kikuchi works.

The contrast between the creepy yet eerily charming and lovable traditional yokai as also portrayed in other series like Gegege no Kitaro and the dark 80s OVA-esque biomech monstrosities created by Eko. The mix of old and new, creating a giant ancient Orochi (or general ancient serpent) out of modern urban materials to usher in a new age. This is likely unintentional (while I think the other stuff I'm saying was either 100% unintentional or at least on the back of the staff's minds) and I may be reading way too much into it... but whatever, why not go all the way: In his attempt to bring everything together, Eko becomes the "chaos" represented by the serpent (which isn't really multi-headed like the specific Orochi and thus can be more readily linked to the serpents of global creation myths). The Messianic figure of Karas has to defeat it and (re)create order.

Otoha's mob boss dad sees him as a soulless monster because he appears to feel nothing while throwing himself towards danger and killing others; in reality he simply sucks it in hoping for a better future, truly feeling empathy for others despite dealing with so much shit. A bloody yakuza yet a caring doctor, the perfect hero for Shinjuku. Yurine plays the motherly role of giving birth to and guiding the Karas in their more traditionally masculine heroic job (although female Karas also exist). No one in Shinjuku has a simple easy life, yet they all come together to fight for a better future. The final blow to the bull yokai is not struck by Karas himself but by Kure, the audience self-insert regular joe; while the forces of the unknown will guide us, we can still play a part in making things better.

It's a very epic story that fits its status as an anniversary project for a company known for its classic superheroes like Casshern and Gatchaman (and you can say the goofier non-mechanized yokai reflect their sillier stuff like Time Bokan). Obviously tons of Batman inspiration but also plenty of very Japanese elements; tokusatsu transformations and action, morphing into vehicles like Polymar, etc.

9/10, may be a tad too abridged in parts but overall a great ride.
tacticalfiendApr 7, 2:06 AM
Nov 6, 2021 8:07 AM

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Jul 2011
1093
All in all I think the last 2-3 epis were better than the first 3.

The CGI was quite good and fight scenes enjoyable but sadly, especially in the early episodes, they told the story in a weird confusing way.
Could have been better if told differently.

Still this was a pretty decent ending all things considered.
Nov 14, 2021 7:10 PM

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Oct 2015
74
I'm watching again this 2005 anime, old but gold.
8/10
Nov 30, 2021 6:40 PM
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Jul 2008
132
Preaching the good word!
"To see with eyes unclouded by hate"

-Prince Ashitaka, "Princess Mononoke"
Jun 7, 2022 2:58 AM

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Aug 2017
3037
The first episode was better (maybe because Nakamura actually storyboarded that one), but this is a decent finish. The other Karas girl is cute.
Aug 13, 2022 4:11 AM

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Apr 2019
245
The story was pretty lackluster
Sep 21, 2022 3:37 PM

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Nov 2010
6129
Damn, those other Karas looks cool, especially the one on black armor in sitting position.

That guy's daughter in the portrait is so pretty! Too bad he killed her. He should've given her to me instead. I would've treated her nice. hehe

Eko is so relatable. If I did turn into a Karas, I'll end up like him too. Humans truly are corrupt creatures and must be controlled by force! I will force a utopia just like what he tried to do. I have zero patience for human activity. However, at the same time I feel bad for the weaker youkai if they disappear. Hmm, maybe being patient is still the best way? tsk.

I've been looking forward to that! screen time for the waifu!

At least Japanese cities looks nice compared to a lot of cities in the other parts of the world that I would love to utterly destroy if given the chance!

It started out slow and ended up really good. I like the theme they were going for here. 8/10
Feb 29, 7:29 AM

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Apr 2015
2425
This could have worked so much better as a full on series. I honestly wanted more of this and thought we'd get to see the other Karas in action aswell but oh well.
This was a fun watch with some good fights and did remind me a bit of Batman near the end. Protecting his city and all that.

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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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