22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My gateway into anime, January 25, 2004
This review is from: Robot Carnival [VHS] (VHS Tape)
ROBOT CARNIVAL is what brought me into the world of anime. Back in 1988, after watching countless reruns of Robotech, I was ready to either move up or move on. I went to a comic book convention that happened to have an anime room. Inbetween programs like Those Obnoxious Aliens and Dirty Pair, they showed segments of Robot Carnival individually. I was absolutely stunned. None of the other shows, even though they were excellent, could hold my attention like the brief shorts Robot Carnival contains.
Many of the other reviews will tell you the basics of the movie, which combines several short films that just happen to have robots in them. All but two have no dialogue. "Deprive" is a straightforward action romp. One, "Cloud", is a metaphysical journey through the skies. Still another, "A Tale of Two Robots", is about as hysterical as any anime you'll ever see.
However, the clear winner of the set (worth every penny you'll pay for this out-of-print video) is "Presence". A man works on a robotic girl for years, tinkering and testing, all while keeping up a family and outer appearances. The robot is a toy to him. But as she learns and grows, she becomes almost real...too real. He makes a harrowing decision that haunts him the rest of his life. Not only is it possibly the most beautifully animated film I've ever seen, it says volumes with just simple glances and aside shots. Director Yasuomi Umetsu has yet to come up with another film even 1/10th as powerful as his masterpiece on display here. If you liked Steven Spielberg's A.I. (or at least the ideas at play), you owe it to yourself to see this take on robots that are just a bit too human.
Unfortunately, the old American release by Streamline is not perfect. They place the shorts out of the original release order; the Japanese version has more clarity in the way the shorts are positioned. The English dialogue is serviceable, but a subtitled DVD would be much appreciated.
Finally, this movie requires some effort. Some shorts are no-brainers, but a few really require you to think. A couple can make you cry. It's a deceptively simple package that holds a lot more than what appears on first glance.
After watching thousands of hours worth of anime and running a website with over 400 anime reviews, I can safely say this: Robot Carnival is easily one of the very best movies ever made, animated or otherwise.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pray for the subbed DVD..., November 5, 2002
This review is from: Robot Carnival [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Ok, why in God's name hasn't this been released on DVD yet? (don't EVEN get me started on MEMORIES). Truly great stuff, including work by Katsuhiro Otomo and a terrific soundtrack to boot. Beautiful, timeless animation.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonder Unknown, September 3, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Robot Carnival [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I remember first seeing this on Sci-Fi back in 1993 as a kid when the channel did anime weekends. It was one of the first anime I had ever seen and to this day I still love it. The art and music play the emotions of the separate episodic like charactors, and display a wonderful visual wonderland for you to feast upon. I highly recommend everyone see this movie at your soonest ability.
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