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It's a really special feeling when you come across an incredible manga that seemingly no one is talking about. For me, that manga was Karakuri Circus. Karakuri Circus is a tale of twists and turns that goes in directions that you would never expect it to take in terms of both the plot and character progression. It's a real shame that this manga is so unknown from the masses, likely due to the lack of releases in other countries and lackluster anime adaptation, but regardless, I'm here to convince you today why you should read the diamond in the rough known as Karakuri Circus and ... why I consider it my favorite manga of all time.

Story: 10/10:
Karakuri Circus revolves around three central main characters: Narumi Katou, Masaru Saiga, and Shirogane. These three meet in a twist of fate when Narumi one day decides to protect Masaru after seeing him getting chased by some strange humanoid-looking dolls called "Automata"; they soon run into the puppet-wielding expert Shirogane, who has sworn her life to protecting Masaru due to a promise with his Grandfather. I won't go into very much more due to spoilers, but their paths diverge as they become involved with a conflict spanning over hundreds of years. The story presents itself in two different scenarios, switching back and forth between the perspectives of the main characters, whose paths occasionally converge, making for a unique experience that I have never encountered before in a manga. I also can't talk about Karakuri Circus without mentioning the insane amount of twists Kazuhiro Fujita brilliantly executes in his story. Events are set up and called back to from the very first chapter, and seeing Fujita's story loop its way around your head, driving you into a state of pure and utter shock, is something to behold.

Art: 10/10:
Kazuhiro Fujita's artstyle is definitely a unique one. If you've read one of his other works (Ushio and Tora, Souboutei Kowasubeshi) you know what you're getting into. Fujita's art style is very rough, but because it's like that his characters stick out and are very memorable, and the detail he puts into his backgrounds is phenomenal. Fujita's art style in the early chapters definitely takes some getting used to, but over the course of the manga his art only continues to drastically improve. The progression of his art is clearly noticeable; it's quite beautiful to see and suits the dark nature of this story very well.

Characters: 10/10:
The characters in Karakuri Circus are very well constructed. The characters that stand out in my eyes are two of the main characters, Narumi and Masaru. Both characters develop in very different ways, but are both done so in such fantastic ways that really bring out the themes of the story. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well, the side characters are all very well written and enjoyable, I have very little issues with any character specifically. Another stand out character is the main villain, who I will not spoil. The villain is such a charismatic person whose schemes are so sinister and well thought out that you can't help but appreciate them as a character.

Enjoyment: 10/10:
Karakuri Circus is a long, twisted road, and you never know quite where it'll end up. The progression of the characters and the artwork is beautiful to see play out before your eyes. The satisfaction of seeing old events coming back and tying together is unreal. Definitely worth the read.

Overall: 10/10:
Karakuri Circus is something I wish more people knew about and read, as it's such a fantastic hidden gem that doesn't get the attention it deserves. At the time of this review, I have only read 355/426 chapters. This is due to the manga currently not being fully translated in english. There is a translation team currently working on it, so hopefully we'll be able to see the end sometime soon.