Karneval

Nai is searching for a guy named Karoku but his only clue to the latter's whereabouts is a bracelet. He meets a thief named Gareki whom he was forced to pair up with to escape a setup in a mansion. Later in the story, Nai and Gareki meet the members of Circus, a defense organization. This meeting introduces them to potential allies as well as place them in danger for coming under the watchful eyes of another organization. This seems to be a clue to Nai's past and the identity of the man he has been searching for.

Nai and Gareki

Fans of the science fiction and fantasy genre might enjoy the series because Karneval's story relies heavily on magic and combat, and hi-technology machines.

An interesting plot, characters, and good animation aside, the point of the story does not become clear until after a few episodes. The audience however will determine right away that there are different factions involved and that the story goes deeper than what was previously assumed. There is some back story and several supporting cast but the point of the story is still not quite clear even at the end of the tv series. 

Karneval uses characters whose true nature and intentions are not clear yet, baiting the audience to guess for explanations or look forward to more hints... or just make them frustrated. In a series just like this, the viewers should obviously not look for a resolution but cohesiveness of the information and strength of the plot development. Whatever happens at the end of the 13-episode series should be enough to determine if the story has promise or not (the manga is ongoing as of this writing). I have mixed feelings about Karneval. I think what was shown in the 13 episodes are just the beginnings of its story. There is another anime that is similar to this (Pandora Hearts) and it was frustratingly short but good. For now (if there is a follow-up tv series), I think it has just enough promise to make it a potentially good series.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10