Karas

[jwinges]

can anyone tell me if the first DVD was ep1&2 or just ep 1? I netflixxed it and cam't remember. thanks.

[mpchi]

can anyone tell me if the first DVD was ep1&2 or just ep 1? I netflixxed it and cam't remember. thanks.

The U.S. DVD volume 1 has Ep. 1,2 & 3 all combined as a long movie. So the upcoming volume 2 should have the rest of the show, Ep.4-6.

[Fort Max]

The dvd releases are very simple, there's part one and part two. That's all there is to it.

[Akilae]

Ep. 5 subbed is out at the usual place.

[Fort Max]

I should get the dvd today (at work at the mo), anticipation.. not.. fun...

[wolfx]

Ep. 5 subbed is out at the usual place.

Woah...they added like tonnes of blood in this one....and it ends with a cliffhanger. Argh....can't wait for the finale. And the KARAS theme is so kickass. Glad to hear it again.

[Fort Max]

No kidding, fortunately the soundtrack should be out in Japan this month (saw it on CD Japan a few months ago)

Oh, I'm just about to press play on the Manga dvd, one thing to note is that I only got one disc this time. No idea if the other territories will be the same though.

Ok, seen it all, I won't do a detailed review because I don't want to spoil any of it but the long and the short of it is;

Dear lord, please let there be more Karas!

This is up there with Gurren Lagann and Eureka Seven as modern classic, who says all modern anime is crap!

Edited October 22, 2007 by Fort Max

[mpchi]

Watched the Manga DVD vol.2 last night. But before I comment on the show I need to rant a little...WHAT THE HELL WAS MANGA THINKING?

The case cover looks pretty bad with the yellowish-brown Karas (he is not supposed to be yellowish brown) on a bright sky blue background. But when you look closer, its the same illustration as the one on the back of vol.1, which looks much better there with the correct dark grey & black. But worse, they photoshop in a super short sword into that image that does not meant to be holding a sword. So what they do? They push the 'sword holding' hand out to the left and have most of it cropped, hiding the flaws. I was like WTH?! Then, when I load up the DVD menu, it got worse. Not only did they lose all the nice circular layout, clipboard deteccive photo style chapter search(animated too) & the yellow font from vol.1, the layout is all jacked and they use pink bubbles and generic type for everything. I almost thought I accidentally bought a HK bootleg. Then when I was watching halfway through, Eko (the main villain guy) start talking in old English (art, thou, ye....etc.) all of a sudden in the subtitle, out of nowhere. WTH?!!! I have never been this pissed at a official DVD release. And its actually my first time complaining about any menus or cover. With a show this caliber, especially when they did a good job on the first volume, I really don't see why they can have vol.2 so jacked up and still let it got approved and made. This is just awful.

The show is very good. Much more epic, good but quick Otoha back story, and awesome detailed explosions of all kinds. But feel like they could have done a better job on a couple things. One is on explaining the origins of the Yurine, or just leave it out to keep the suspense. Don't seem very convincing as is. Like they are all regional, each protecting different cities and not stepping into others territory, but yet they never show any sort of systems or higher command in terms of how that is set up or who set the rules. And if they are city based, what about smaller towns and suburbs? LOL. Having demons and spirits following man-made city boundaries seems a bit odd. And I felt that the lighting could be better. In vol. 1, they did a very nice job blending Karas's CG into the 2D, almost make them look cell shaded with nice cast shadows hiding/blending the CG. But in Vol.2, a lot of the fight is in brighter light areas, and sometimes a lot of glow, popping out a lot of the CG more than it should. But its still very good regardless, with some very memorable Otoha moments in there.

Overall, more epic, more going on on the screen, but slightly less polished when compare to vol.1 (episode 1-3). Great show, crappy Manga release.

[big F]

Ive had the OVA of this on my DVD shelf for months now. i must get arround to watching it.

[wolfx]

The show is very good. Much more epic, good but quick Otoha back story, and awesome detailed explosions of all kinds. But feel like they could have done a better job on a couple things. One is on explaining the origins of the Yurine, or just leave it out to keep the suspense. Don't seem very convincing as is. Like they are all regional, each protecting different cities and not stepping into others territory, but yet they never show any sort of systems or higher command in terms of how that is set up or who set the rules. And if they are city based, what about smaller towns and suburbs? LOL. Having demons and spirits following man-made city boundaries seems a bit odd. And I felt that the lighting could be better. In vol. 1, they did a very nice job blending Karas's CG into the 2D, almost make them look cell shaded with nice cast shadows hiding/blending the CG. But in Vol.2, a lot of the fight is in brighter light areas, and sometimes a lot of glow, popping out a lot of the CG more than it should. But its still very good regardless, with some very memorable Otoha moments in there.

Hmmm....i think Karas was meant to be a action flick all the way full of fight scenes and explosions. I wouldn't mind if they never explained the Yurines at all , and had vague explanations instead (like eps 1 and 2) the series would hold enough weight to carry on as some epic eye candy. But even so I think the ideas of Yurine and Youkai are all from Japanese folklore, so you don't really need much explanation (if you're Japanese). Yurine sounds suspiciously like an earth spirit of Japanese lore who protects a defined area of land. Some people pray for its protection against natural disasters and even for bountiful harvests. I guess its possible that when the lands get developed into cities, the spirits are still around.

Or another more cliche way of seeing it is Yurine are the collected conciousness of humans dwelling in a city.

[mpchi]

I wouldn't mind if they never explained the Yurines at all , and had vague explanations instead (like eps 1 and 2) the series would hold enough weight to carry on as some epic eye candy.

Actually thats exactly how I feel. It would have been better to keep all that up to the audience imagination. Just some vague hints and pointers will do. They don't necessary need to explain it too much in episode 4, if they can't come up with something very good.

Or another more cliche way of seeing it is Yurine are the collected conciousness of humans dwelling in a city.

Haha. Thats exactly what they used. Thats why I don't quite like how it turned out in regards of the Yurine. A bit cliche. Got the similar vibe when they try to explain the Force in Star Wars Episode I. Just that its not as bad in Karas.

[bob joe mac]

Watched both yesterday and today incredibly impressed with the action and fast paced story. Near the end when it showed all the different karas I was definitly expecting all the different colored karas to team up but just the main ones

[wolfx]

The last episode disappointed. The CG was almost non-existent or was too crappy to even consider CG. The fight between Ekou and Otoha was a big let down as well considering the 1s episode fight between Ekou and Otoha's predecessor was epic.