So I started the series Karneval finally. I've been pointedly ignoring it for a while because, well- it seemed kinda 'over the top' in it's premise and look- but 'you can't judge a book...' as they say, so I gave it a shot.
Karneval isn't bad. It's strength is the characters I think- even if it's a little heavy on the bro-love/bro-hate dynamics. The plot is kinda there, like a treadmill rpg- slowly moving forward but repeatedly getting interrupted by side quests.
The synopsis for Karneval puts Nai on a quest to find someone- someone who it turns out is 'right over that hill' (in the abstract sense- not far away is what I'm saying). It takes 12 episodes to discover and act on this- and when they do, they manage to get distracted even from that. The girl 'Erisyuka' (Eleska) says- quite plainly "Uro! Don't let that girl and Karoku see each other!" (or whatever your translation is (tc15:59)- 'Karoku' is the plainly spoken in Japanese)- so what do the girls do? Allow the known daughter of the big baddie to get away, get into a fight with Uro, and NOT investigate the door everyone was huddled outside of, call for backup- or even peek in the room!
Now, I know they want to catch Uro, and have this clever plan to trick & trap him- but looking in the damn door would have been a 2 second job- they kicked Uro out the damn window right off- so they could spare it.
What I'm saying is Karneval doesn't want to really solve it's own issues. It's perfectly happy being high-image with beautiful-looking characters calling out their showy powers- and it's one of those anime that will tell it's story it's own way in it's own time- logic be damned!
Now, a lot of anime do this sort of thing actually- so I'm not going to pretend it is something more than it is, when it's actually pretty routine- but whenever an 'organization' exists with a supposed duty & chain of command I kind of stupidly hope for some sort of vision- because those elements require knowledge planning and attention.
Karneval is a 'forced' mystery- because (like many anime) it's based on a manga which was pretty much made up as the author went along. This can (at best) result in a brilliant anime with more style than substance (Code Geass, anyone?). Often this gives occasional strong episodes, meandering and drawn out plot arcs, and lots of plot holes- usually in the form of 'that's new- that would have been useful earlier when...". In ep 12 you are shown that Karneval has a buttload of members who use braclets- they kinda look like a clone army, because they're all dressed the same- (apparently you have to 'rank up' to be allowed to wear a costume)- anyway, where were these guys before? How did they 'not exist' in background scenes/Karneval events/passing discussion/anywhere till now?
Now, don't get me wrong- I'm sure there's an explanation. Coming up with excuses is easy, and frankly I've seen this sort of thing so often I don't care. Deus ex machina is often thought of as 'magic saves' and 'miracles'- but 'a convenient army' works too.
I think Karneval's biggest problem is that it doesn't know how to handle information. I could talk about their lack of communication or their lack of security- but the real issue to me is that Karneval somehow treats the Varuga(Valga?) like they're a secret. Somehow unspeakable horrors in the sky & even random killings next door/down the way don't seem to filter to the population (Gareki though 'generally suspicious' managed to stay clueless- even though somehow he got to be a bomb-builder/marksman/super-hacker). Sure- they wouldn't know that fear that runs them home at sunset and makes them bar the door is named, but that 'legend' of fear should be there. Too many people die for it not to be- but it's just everyday people & kids happy to see stuffed animals.
All that said, it's not bad- but if it gets another season I'll likely wait till it's done to watch. No way am i waiting for this protracted plot line to develop week to week.
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