Title: Karakuri Circus: Complete Collection

Director: Satoshi Nishimura

Studio: Studio VOLN

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks

U. S. Release Date: May 18th, 2021

Format: Blu-ray / 36 Episodes / 900 Minutes

Genre: Fantasy / Sci Fi / Action / Adventure / Drama

Age Rating: TV MA

Overall Personal Rating: B+

Synopsis:

When Narumi Kato, a martial artist afflicted with the bizarre condition known as Zonapha syndrome, attempts to rescue a young boy from incredibly powerful attackers, he is stunned to discover that his opponents aren’t even human!

Pulled into a conflict pitting users of puppets and the self-aware Automatons against each other, Narumi finds himself rescued by an unusual young woman named Shirogane, who has her own puppet, Arlequin, and together they must form an alliance to protect the boy, Masaru, who has recently inherited an incredible fortune. But who is trying to kill Masaru and what is the origin of these incredible animated creations? How is it tied in with Narumi’s own affliction? The truth surrounding a 200 year old shadow war unfolds as Narumi, Shirogane, and Masaru battle to survive!

Commentary:

Karakuri Circus is much more than the synopsis leads you to believe. The truth is that this imaginative series has plenty of odd and strange layers of flavor for us to discover. The series revolves around 3 very different characters that end up being a perfect fit for the challenge. Narumi is the one that is easiest to understand, but Masru and Shirogane add different personalities to the mix and the real hero is not the one you most expect, but in the end they make the most sense.

Karakuri Circus is full of strange character that gradually become somewhat standard fare and don’t lend themself to any deep appreciation for the story. The one thing that provided me with the most reward was the love story that bloomed through the series and managed to manifest itself in the end. If found it very satisfying.

The rest of the series was fun to watch but felt like a standard shonen series with some mature scenes tossed in for some rather silly attempt to be more than a shonen with crazy characters.

Overall Grade: B+

Although Karakuri Circus did not hit a home run for me it did provide me with plenty of surprises. The first few episodes were strong enough to make we want to watch more and then as the series began to unfold it provided even more layers and depth. The writing was good, but I did find much of the plot to be rather predictable. It was the at the end when a new plot device was introduced that the series was best.

The production quality of Karakuri Circus was above par and much of the animation work in the puppets and the battles were the shining moments. There is plenty to keep this series flowing and only some weak story development that slowed it down.

If you love a bit more mature shonen series then you will love Karakuri Circus. Be sure to check this one out, it is full of surprises and fun.