Karakuri no Kimi Episode 1 Discussion

THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. The plot was as decent as it gets for a 40 minute OVA and the characters and their interaction was somewhat interesting too. I wish there had been 1 or 2 more episodes to flesh them out though, maybe show more of the journey instead of only showing the showdown.

Yeah, surprisingly entertaining. My only real complaints come down to its length. And even then I think they actually struck a really good balance, it felt neither rushed or underdeveloped.

It was really good. This should've been at least 4 or 5 episodes though.

It wasn't bad but I don't know if her father was a better lord than his killer, the guy was crazy!

I watched this shit exclusively for my 2019 Anime Watching Challenge. I guess there isn't much room for regret seeing as it wasn't even an hour long.

I guess I'm the only person here who didn't enjoy this? Dissenting opinions are fine as everyone is entitled to their own opinion but there really wasn't much to like about this OVA. The story was a garbled mess, with stuff just happening for no clear reason. This does lead to some "plot twists," like Manajiri being Katoh, but a good plot twist has to have some build-up. It can't just be thrown in there for the sake of being there. The script was just horrible as well. I looked at the source material and the writing sucked there too, so it wasn't like it was just lost in translation. The art style was competent, albeit dated. It was very "Uncanny Valley," especially with the teeth. Not sure I dug that too much. The soundtrack was fine but forgettable. The voice acting was serviceable. The characters sucked really badly, with only Manajiri kind of having a personality, but his personality just boiled down to "guy that goes from not likeable to even less likeable to you should like him a lot now." It felt too forced. It's quite obvious I didn't enjoy this too much. It's a textbook example of something that tried to accomplish too much in too little time. Maybe had this been a full length film, it would have been a bit better. 5/10.

It was okay. It feels more like a prototype of Kazuhiro Fujita's KARAKURI CIRCUS.

The animation was fast and quick, if a bit awkward in places (notably the bathing scene which showed a weirdly drawn nude body).

The story was decently adapted, and interesting enough that I wanted to see more. The characters were decent, but needed more time for exploration and depth.

Overall it was a decent historical fantasy short.

I loved these short from Fujita, Kazuhiro (in its concept, it probably the prototype of karakuri circus). Story was great, but not a big fan of character designs. Overall was a great short to watch.

Entertaining but rushed. Antagonists are extremely generic, I liked the final fight.

I remember Akiko Yajima by her role as Haydée in Gankutsuou, cool to find her voice here, another ambicious and cute princess. Wakamoto is voicing a rather goofy character (rare for him), but a satisfying performance as well.

Cracked at the leader of deathless ninjas saying "shiet" in Engrish

The castle seemed to have 2 gates, but they got in just by stopping one of them from closing. Oh well

Overall a pretty great OVA. The art direction at times looked like something directed by Oobari. Over-the-top movements and facial expressions could be goofy but were expected from ninja action with mechanical dolls. I liked the concept, however unrealistic it might be (how do you control dolls with your toes, jeez, was that fanservice for fetishists?). Rangiku was still a badass though. Even cancelled her dramatic death to get to the final boss.


They couldn't go for a fully detailed full frontal shot, it's to be expected.

Fun little OVA. Really effective use of CGI. I also liked the usage of "stage effects" during the final action scenes. Fujita was using the concept of a stage play even back here.

Both the opening and the scene of her skin being ripped off actually made me feel uncomfortable.

As many have pointed out, this was definetely an early prototype for what would become Karakuri Circus, but not only that...

The chemistry between the princess and Manajiri was amazing. I liked how Manajiri dodged the question at the end. He didn't know his actions will bite him back at the end, lol.

I liked the action, characters and the plot. I only wish there was more

Pretty good. Loved the animation, wished it was longer though. I dont always enjoy watching 'long' ovas or movies anymore but when is this entertaining i dont mind. Yeah felt like 5 minutes to me.

I really liked it. The main doll fight was a bit disappointing, but anywhere else it was great. The designs of the dolls were real good & somewhat creepy.