WTFDM Takes a Look at KARAS: The Prophecy (Manga Ent)

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Time-Traveller
There was a fair bit of fuss at around the time that this was being released since it was getting a joint release in the UK and US but I wasn't really drawn in and didn't pay much attention. After a while I pretty much forgot it even existed, that is until I bought Spirited Away. Due to the sheer venom I was spitting at Spirited Away I took it back the next day. The guy in HMV recommended that I check out Karas since it was only a couple of pounds more and he said he liked it(or so he says!). So I thought 'eh! why not' and I exchanged them. When I got home I dumped it on the shelf and went out.

FLASH FORWARD TO ONE WEEK LATER!! I just get back in the house and think 'i'm gonna watch a movie!', so I look around my shelf for something to watch and I wonder what the hell this new DVD is that i've never seen before. Then suddenly it hit me.

"OH YEAH! I BOUGHT IT!"

Since the dub was hailed as having famous actors I thought I might as well try it. Wow! The opening fight scene was pretty damn awesome, mixing CGI and 2D animation well and the music was a fantastic classical score. After the fight the dialogue kicked in and it was about what you'd expect for a above average dub, not bad at all. The characters were an instant hit with me(although I can't remember the names) especially the detectives with their Muller and Scully, the believer and the skeptic, partnership.

The animation overall was fantastic, smooth and meshed nicely with the CGI for the most part(although a couple of times the CGI was a little overpowering though not a huge distraction). While the story was a little hard to follow at first, you got the jist of it by the end of the disk. The style and feel of the movie was remenisant of Witch Hunter Robin with that dark supernatural look to the locations. Since I am a big Witch Hunter Robin fan I was more than pleased with the look of the movie. The music weaved it's way into the background not taking over or overwhelming the scenes.

The only real complaint I had with it was the fact that you could pretty much tell it was 3 episodes stuck together as there was a sort of formula to it(Fight the demon every episode). I just hope that the next DVD will bring us deeper into the story and delve some more into some of the other characters. Other than that it's a damn fine action movie and i'm sure a lot of people will appreciate the stunning visuals. There is great potential for an excellent story to open up in the next volume. I just hope it won't disappoint...

Now! Let us discuss the ever so interesting technical information/presentation. It's a regular sized DVD case containing two disks(one with the movie with 5.1 and 2.0 audio and all the extras and the other the movie with DTS audio) and held in a cardboard slipcase like most Manga Entertainment releases. In the case you get a fold out leaflet with character information on one side and what could be used as a poster on the other. Also in the case is a short comic book about KARAS. It's labeled number 1 so I assume there will be a second comic with the next disk. I haven't read it yet but it is presented in full colour and is about half the size of A5 paper.

The menu screens are fancy but easy to navigate with music played from the movie over the top. Picture quality is excellent , no complaints there and I didn't notice any errors or glitches in the audio or visuals. Subtitles are white with a black outline, easy to read and didn't appear to be dubtitles. There is however again the problem that if you're watching the English dubbed version then you don't have the option of sign only subtitles. This is more of a problem in KARAS as there is a character with a voice that is incomprehensible and is subtitled in the Japanese version. If you're watching the dub then you'd have to rewind it and turn on the subs to see what he was saying.

Other than that it's another fine release from Manga entertainment. Keep it up! But for lords sake start adding sign only subs.
 
Oh yeah, it's well worth a watch. Fantastic visuals, complimentary music, good characters, a decent dub and a dark atmosphere. Just hoping the story gets more developed in the next volume and not just another 3 episodes of action taped together. I have a feeling it won't be but even if it is it's still a nice slice of action.
 
Some background info:

KARAS is Tatsunoko Pro's 40th anniversary project. It incorporates a lot of cool ideas, like for once the use of 3DCG to support an anime style, rather than the usual way of making it depict mechanical or realistic structures.

KARAS as a hero, is like the hero you would design as a kid - incorporate every major hero's visual style and best attributes and super powers- so you got visual design that evokes Batman, flight capability reminiscent of Spiderman, Mechanical/Organic armour design similar to The Guyver, the whole Crow design is used throughout, an overall Bushi/Samurai fighting style, give him superpowers equivalent to a whole load of jutsu from various Jump titles. And then to finish it, and because its anime, he has to transform, Macross style.

Yes - the Ultimate Hero.

Fair comment on the sign/text subtitles. Its actually very significant, not just for the character with the mechanised voice, but many of the other subtitles are important too as they contain narrative (naming buildings, locations, and stating when years have advanced)

Whats actually really funny about that mechanized voice, is that it *is* actually dubbed in english, and the japanese subs are burned into the video.

The opening fight is like fantastic though.

I would also like to add that the surround sound audio is very important to this title - I have heard it in both stereo and 5.1 and it makes a huge difference.
 
Laughing Manji said:
I would also like to add that the surround sound audio is very important to this title - I have heard it in both stereo and 5.1 and it makes a huge difference.
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Yes, this is very important. It's also something you don't want to watch on a tiny screen or on the PC. Find the best system you can and watch it on that.
 
I would say if you are into action and enjoy gorgeous visuals then yes you should really pick it up. You can probably get it in Virgin or HMV for less than a tenner as it is so you haven't got much to lose really. Anyway if worst comes to worst you could always take it back like I did with Spirited Away. :p
 
I was really looking forward to this and while I didn't totally hate it I was very disappointed, it took me back to the days of watching anime on sci fi and thinking how crap it was, no real plot, lots of things flying around on the screen, the kind of anime I can't stand, I actually found it boring
 
Well going in with knowing nothing about it at all I enjoyed it. It is very action orientated and what mainly drew me into the first volume was the atmosphere and design. Like I said before though, if the plot doesn't get more developed in the next volume I think I will be disappointed but right now I am very much treating this as a part 1. I can totally see why people wouldn't like it and to be honest it's not usually the sort of thing I would buy but lately i've been in the mood for some more action based anime and this satisfied what I wanted (though Advent Children didn't, that's just bad anytime you watch it).
 
One major criticism of it, is that the plot is way too much in the keep-you-guessing mode. This is an artifact of it being released initially as 3 OVAs rather than a cinematic feature. Keep in mind that there is actually a very large primary cast including, many of whom have 'alternate forms' - not necessarily monstrous/battle forms + human forms, but you also see the same characters in a historical form or in costume etc. Identifying who is who is a work for the viewer, and they are not in a rush to help.

Basically they are being deliberately mysterious in OVA1 to get people to buy OVA2. WTFDM has already mentioned that there is an 30x30x30 structure to it to the english vol.1, which reflects its origins.

I am worried that the strategy backfired for them, hence the delays in the production of the rest of it. Certainly by volume 3, the story is starting to click into place, but only by then. Perhaps people lost patience with it, or the J-fans were disappointed by the lack of Moe.

The action hound in me gets very starved from time to time, and when anime does action good, it does it great. Makes you remember why you got into it in the first place.
 
WTFDaveMustaine said:
Laughing Manji said:
...or the J-fans were disappointed by the lack of Moe.
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Do I dare ask what Moe is...
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How to explain ... moe is anime slang, and a term familiar really to the otaku mindset, its not a term that is familiar to japanese people at large.

Basically moe describes an appealing feminine quality of girls between childhood and adulthood, combining qualities of youthful innocence and exhuberence with a naive perspective on adult affairs. There is an attribute that elicits a sympthetic or protective response from the viewer. - I think this is the pivotal point.

Thats not a great definition, and in fact the definition is a bit slippery. e.g. it is applied to Honey-sempai in Ouran Host Club. I am not even sure if there is or is not a sexual context. Its probably easier to describe moe anime by listing the titles:
- AIR
- Binchoutan
- Petopeto-san
- Chocotto Sister
- Kamichu!
- Ichigo Mashimaro

Generally it is the character that is moe, the anime would be considered moe if it has a lot of these characters, or if the moe characters dominated.

Wikipedia goes into more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moé - I don't think the intro paragraph is on the mark though - the term isn't widespread enough I think for it to be applicable outside of anime.

Basically moe is huge, and is all the rage among adult japanese males who are serious into their anime. They love all this moe stuff so much, that it dilutes all the hardcore, sophisticated, testosterone-injected anime that they should be appreciating (and liceninsg to us).
 
I liked this I have to admit. I loved the animation and artwork, I loved the style but probably the thing I liked the most was the designs.

I admit on my first viewing (and even with the small manga that came with it) I was a bit bamboozled, but what with the second volume eventually to be relased and repeat viewings I'm sure this get better and better.

:)
 
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