Karneval is an interesting and inconsistent beast. It is a 13 episode anime full of great ideas and characters, but poor execution and an occasional feeling of repetition. One minute you'll be loving this show, and the next you will be scratching your head as to why the heck they would ever decide to go in that direction with the possibilities they had.
Premise - This story is about a pickpocket (Gareki) and a boy who has no memory except for the fact that he must find someone named Karoku (Nai). Nai is also holding an object of great significance: a bracelet that is only given to a member of Circus. Circus is an international defense organization that subdues threats to humanity. They also happen to dress like circus performers and put on a few shows for the common folk. Circus's main adversary is an organization named Kafka, who "evolve" humans by turning them into monsters known as Varuga. The premise is pretty interesting, and the characters from Circus will certainly capture your attention.
Animation - The style for this anime is pretty standard, though the eye size variance can really throw you at times. Nai has quite large eyes, while a few other characters I noticed had eyes that bordered on American animation thin. The animation won't really wow you, but it gets the job done. I will note though that the opening sequence is very beautiful.
Music - A well done soundtrack for the intense and emotional moments. The comedic portions were pretty lame. The opening sequence music is cool, but run of the mill.
Plot - Time to get into the thick of it. I will tell you this right now, the first episode of this anime is awesome, it will most likely get you hooked. The plot is well done, and the stage is set wonderfully for this anime. It has a great balance of combat, character development, and some intrigue that made this anime feel decidedly different. I will warn you, however, that this anime is never as great as the first episode. I am not saying it is never good again, because it has some very good moments, but it never really recaptures the first feeling you get when Gareki is lobbing bombs at a deranged psychopathic Varuga. As the anime moves on, the plot takes odd turns. You will be hit with unexpected twists, but at awkward points that don't make much sense to plot development. Other unexpected turns feel cheap and annoying.
*SPOILER WARNING START* For instance, one of the main characters has a mysterious story, and nobody knows what it is. Then you come to find out he is really a small and fluffy winged animal that apparently looks human now. Another time, one of the Circus members is led into a trap by Kafka. A bomb explodes in the Circus member's face, which blows up an entire building. The character flies out with not even a scratch, and even has time to pull another Circus member from the explosion before it hits her, even though she is on the other side of the building. It makes the villain seem miniscule and unimportant to the story, something that makes the conflict a bit more boring. Another ridiculous point is when a character is kidnapped, and Nai is very hurt by this. He then quickly forgets it, and when she returns, he greets her with a light hug and moves on as if nothing happened. I think he showed 30 seconds of remorse before being totally fine with her being kidnapped, then being completely business-as-usual when she returns.*SPOILER WARNING END*
There is one point where Nai really wants to find Karoku, and instead of Circus looking for him or carrying out any missions, they decide to take a vacation. The last example of these annoying plot points I will go over is the character monologues. When I first heard the main characters monologues, I felt for them. As they began to give more monologues, I began to realize that they were saying almost the same thing each time. This is the feeling of repetitiousness I was referencing earlier. Don't get me wrong, this anime is still really good. The combat is beautiful, resembling a dance at points. The emotions of most of the characters feel raw and real, though some don't always hit the mark (Yogi, I'm looking at you). Also, the ending is pretty great, making you want more. Unfortunately, the creators say that there are no plans for a second season unless they have high DVD/Blu-Ray sales. Here's hoping for that.
Characters - The main characters were good, but again, inconsistent. Nai and Gareki were the main characters of focus, and you don't really get any backstory for the others (what do you expect from 13 episodes). Nai's innocent naiveté is a nice offset to Gareki's harsh pessimism. However, Nai's naiveté borders on stupidity, as he will at times put others in danger for the most ridiculous reasons. Gareki was a great character almost the entire anime. He was easily connectable, and you wanted to root for him. His insecurity was well done, and it made sense in context. However, he could get repetitious, and some of his reactions were very out of character for him. Sometimes these reactions were for comedy, while others were for added mystery. These reactions achieved neither of these goals, and only served as a detriment to an otherwise awesome character. Mostly all the members of Circus were egoistic jerks, and most of the members of Kafka succeeded at being sinister, albeit with a couple throwaways. The main Circus characters were okay, but all the ones that weren't haughty felt like shallow archetypes meant solely to further on the story of Gareki and Nai.
Verdict - Going through this anime, you will love some points, and hate others. Actually, I think the good points were almost bad things for this anime. If the anime was bad, it would be easily written off, but the bad mixed with the good serves only to frustrate you to no end. You will constantly ask why they couldn't have done what they had done earlier. Still, it isn't a bad anime, just not a great anime, and most certainly an infuriating anime.
Score - 7/10
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