Karas: The Prophecy

Lovely looking Animation. Similar in style to that of either Blood or Ergo Proxy. Storyline represents that of more classic Ainme demons against each other. Soundtrack is quite good, very "Computer game" feel to it. The fight scenes are all very flash and high in 3D quality. The reason I didn't rate it a 10 would mainly be due to it having slow parts that seem overly slow and sometimes, although the fight scenes are real nice, do get a bit mish mash and lose you on what is actually happening. nice addition to any collection of ainme films. Possibly one of the best demon related Ainme's out there. The dubbing is done extremely well and not too Anericanised either

First of all, do not watch the movie without having Karas: The Revelation, too. It basically ends abruptly and Revelation starts abruptly at the same point in the story.

The film is a Japanese anime, but in a style that is not often met. The characters are designed in an original way and the usual great Japanese animation is complimented with 3D-like, very fast, action sequences. And, before you say it out loud, it looks good, not like the usual 3D crap, and it blends very well, without that feeling of changing art style.

The plot is a bit weird and not easily grasped and felt, however once you get it, it's OK. Every city is alive and it creates a creature that looks like a punkish little girl to blend with a human soul and create a Karas, which is raven in Japanese, not a golden fish. The Karas is the city protector, both in physical and spiritual senses. Also, the city is full of demons that normal people cannot see, but that are essential to the functioning of the city. The demons do feed off human blood, but usually in a non violent way, and they gain strength from the human belief in them.

Now, the bad guy comes, a disgruntled former Karas, bent on destroying all humans, which he sees as spoilers of the city. The demons can't do much about it, since people have stopped believing in them and so are weak to the point of dissolution. The bad Karas is merging demons with machines to create monsters that eat humans and obey his commands.

The premise is pretty fun, the characters are also interesting, and the conflicts, while being pretty obvious and a bit childish, are also with enough complexity to add to the film. Where Karas chines is the action sequences, which are great in term of design and scale and animation. You often get these slow motion scenes where humans just seem to freeze in time, while supernatural creatures take long conversations and battle at ridiculous speeds and power levels.

Bottom line: not as complex as many anime that I've seen, but with great animation. It's like a Japanese blockbuster anime movie: simple plot, great special effects.

I chanced upon this anime when aimlessly browsing through the internet and it has totally changed how I look at animes. So far, no anime has ever managed to surpass Karas in terms of visuals, action or storyline. The storyline unfolds as you watch the movie. Nothing is explained to you beforehand. You are brought straight into the midst of action. The visuals are simply astounding. Never have I seen an anime which places so much emphasis on detail. The visuals are even artistic and abstract to a certain extent. Truly a work of art. The action is truly breathtaking. Watch this anime and immediately every other anime you've watched will pale in comparison. This is like The Matrix of animes. A definite must-watch. The cool factor alone will keep you watching this over and over. I've watched this over ten times.

Like most people probably think, this movie is a visual feast, the anime and 3D mixed together quite nicely and the fight scenes were very exciting. The voice acting in Jap was good, actually didn't watch in English, I am a big anti-dub person so the audio was good. The music was fitting, the plot was... the plot was... uhhhhh, interesting. Ya, interesting. I had to think about it and it did make sense eventually but expect to be sitting there going "Huh?" for about ten minutes after the movie. But for me that is good, any movie that makes you good is much better than most of American rubbish. My only bad points is perhaps too confusing and the anime and 3D didn't always mix. But very good!

The DVD summary box says: In a futuristic Tokyo, humans and spirits are sharing the same living space without realizing it, thanks in part to the guardian raven Karas and his masters, who maintain the precarious balance between both dimensions. But when a former Karas named Eko decides to challenge the system by seizing control, it's up to the entity Yurine, who represents the will of the Japanese people, to secure the future for humanity.

This animation is a first-class piece of artwork. Visuals are stunning, and the audio (and audio options) on the DVD is as good as it can get. However if you don't know much about the anime, you WILL be lost in the first few minutes of the movie. On the plus side, you won't mind watching it again just because of all the cool CGI and fight sequences. I promise it makes more sense the second time around.

Just keep in mind that the ending of this movie leaves something to be desired because this is supposed to be a two or three part production. Hopefully there won't be too long a wait for the sequel.