121025(3) – 奇幻冒險漫畫《カーニヴァル （黑色嘉年華 Karneval）》將在2013年春天播出動畫版、製作群&聲優陣容大公開！ (2/2) (Photo credit: ccsx)
I have to say, I was reasonably entertained by the quirky, strange Anime series KARNEVAL. It feels like a cross between Baccano! and Deadman Wonderland. The cast features many FUNimation regulars, plus a few voices you don't hear quite as regularly in FUNimation productions, namely Vic Mignogna and Greg Ayres, which are a special treat. Greg was not able to come out to this screening tonight, but that's understandable since most of the cast & crew are up in Dallas. I do applaud the Houston talents that make the trek to Dallas to record; not many find it financially feasible. The few that do record for both studios sometimes have special circumstances that allow this more easily (such as Monica Rial, resident of Dallas, who still has family here in Houston).
Anyway, the theme of this Anime is to take a carnival or circus theme and make it dark and twisted. Karneval, in this universe, is a super secret agency with an agenda. They're performers and entertainers by night, secret agents with a mission by day. The action centers around a strange child who was abandoned, taken hostage by a mysterious woman who turns into a hideous monster, then rescued by an enterprising thief, who in turn are taken into protective custody by Karneval.
I'm not sure this show rises to the level of "must buy", but it does rise to the level of "would probably rent", or more accurately, once it becomes fully uploaded and available to Elite subscribers on FUNimation's ROKU channel, I'll gladly stream the rest of it. The visuals are nice, and the characters are relatively likeable, even if the main protagonist, Nai, is a bit whiny and pathetic. I look forward to seeing more of this series, regardless.
