Robot Carnival

While simply a series of short films, Robot Carnival really is artisic creativity unbound. Each story in and of itself is an exploration into the various aspects of artifical life forms and various implications thereof. As written by Justin Sevrakis on ANN "The show's credits reads like a whose-who of anime"- and it truly does. I cannot recommend this enough for mecha fans and really anyone who enjoys seeing artists doing what they do best.

Robot Carnival is a bunch of smaller pieces that forms a masterpiece.

30 years before Hollywood, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Stephen hawking fear mongered the hell out of AI, these brilliant writers and animators theorize and demonstrate multiple short stories as how the AI/Robot singularity may playout, from beginnings, to present to future and post human worlds.

These films each have their own theme and tone. You might up in deep thinking, dreading, laughing and crying in this one sitting.

Enjoy these short films as they depict the struggles and joys AI/robots will face as they walk the same path as "us."

I've spent over 30 years watching Anime...I started with Transformers and Robotech in the US. No matter what series I watch, no matter what movie I watch...Robot Carnival is the one that I will always compare them to. When I tell people, particularly those of the "newer" generation of anime fans, what Robot Carnival is about, I simply state, "This is, to me, the anime version of Walt Disney's Fantasia." I have loved this "movie" since the Sci-Fi channel first started in 2001. I wish that whoever holds the Copyright to this gets the stick out of their rear and allows ... this to be released on DVD/Blu-Ray in Region 1. I cannot recommend this enough. It is, and always will be, in my top 5 anime of all time.

Robot Carnival an anime that before starting I was a little hesitant about. It wasn't the art work or age that worried me (I saw it a year back or so) but the fact that each episode was completely independent and that meant that while some episodes will be mediocre, some will be amazing however regardless, there is no story to look forward to. But then again each episode has a fresh feel to it, and since their length varies from 4 mins to approx 20 mins, we are not wasting too much time experimenting. However these conflicted views were before watching the anime. For ... Robot Carnival is a lucid experience that I would recommend to most people who don't have a stiff lip when it comes to different genres or old art work.

As pointed out earlier each episode is a unique story however each has certain appeal for different viewers and I for one enjoyed almost all episodes. Some are simple single themed episodes with a not-so-deep yet appealing execution, others are deep, well expressed representations of humanity and its different aspects - others have both a side for normal viewers and thinkers alike (examples would be 2nd and 4th episode notably). The art is interesting - appealing in most instances though of course the fact that it is from 1987 should be kept in mind. We have various forms of character designs and sceneries. Different atmospheres can also be found through the series. The characters are like the story, some simple - others extremely complicated and some hard to judge. However that is the beauty of the series - its variety of themes and perspective. A unique aspect to this series is the fact that most of the episodes are silent - with music, but no dialogue but that actually adds to the experience.

In a nutshell, I would recommend this to most people - yet I would specifically call out the older and more mature audience that can analyze various aspects of an anime.

Robot Carnival is an anthology film featuring nine shorts. They are all well animated and have amazing visuals. I personally found the first half more enjoyable than the second but this is largely subjective. The individual narratives of the films are decent, but it's obvious that the main focus was on the animation. Robot Carnival is unique. It's hard to recommend to anyone who enjoys complex characters and stories. But for anyone who just loves raw animation and visual talent this OVA is a no brainer. If you're on the fence, Robot Carnival is definitely worth the watch ... purely for the talent presented.

I would recommend simply because of the animation. The animation is great and the music is sweet too, no doubt because it's done by Joe Hisaishi. Most of the episodes are weak in terms of storytelling, but make up for it in animation and style. The best stories, however, are definitely "Presence" and "A Tale of Two Robots" though, if you ask me. "Presence" is very interesting and unique, while "A Tale of Two Robots" is pretty funny. "Cloud" is perhaps the weirdest episode out of the bunch. I didn't get it, and while the visual style was unique, it felt pretty out of place ... compared to the rest. Either way, it doesn't hurt to give Robot Carnival a watch if you love old school animation.

Robot Carnival is an amazing visual spectacle of various shorts done by various people, with a loose and general theme of robots.

Due to it being various shorts, each person will get a certain level of enjoyment out of each short, and I'm sure there's a person who can enjoy each one.

They all look amazing, have a great soundtrack, interesting character design, and story-telling methods that make each short unique.

My least short of the bunch is "Cloud". It was very abstract and artistic, with a slow pace, and as a result felt longer than it really was.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and I think ... everyone who enjoys animation and story-telling should pick it up for a try as well.

This is my first review. I hope it was alright, and that it gave some insight on this film.

Thank you for reading!

If you know someone who might get into anime, short film anthologies are a good suggestion. It's not a whole series they may abandon if it's not their thing, it introduces several visual and directorial styles, and they're just enjoyable. And Katsuhiro Otomo brings together some of the best in the business every time.

Robot Carnival is something I added a few months ago, and I really enjoyed the selection here. You get several experimental pieces, some of which tell a story completely free of dialogue, which always amazes me. It is an older collection but certainly classic, I'd compare ... it to 80s and 90s titles where CG was not a thing yet. Lot of great cyberpunk, some psychological thriller, existential arthouse, even a feudal Japan giant robot tale.

I will definitely watch this again and I believe you'll enjoy it as well. Pass the popcorn and enjoy the Carnival.

Like any anthology film, it's gonna be a mixed bag, but Robot Carnival is pretty consistent in quality... mostly in not being immensely impressive throughout any of its seven main segments. "Cloud" is really nice as an interlude and "A Tale of Two Robots" steals the show, but the rest are pretty forgettable unfortunately, though they're still pretty neat. The only one I actively hated was the ugly, unengaging "Presence", which is not coincidentally the one with the most dialogue by far (most of these segments have no dialogue at all).

Also, the opening and ending segments are amazing and need to be seen to be ... believed. Oh man what a world of animation it was back in Economic Bubble-era Japan. What I wouldn't give for Japanese animation to go back to the era when studios got enormous funding for these ridiculous passion projects.