Karas: The Prophecy (2005 Video) User Reviews

Fast, Loud and a little complex

[Rabh17 · 8/10 · 8 September 2007]

I'm giving this an 8 ONLY because it is only part one of a series.

The opening sequence will slowly pull you in, and then once the battle begins you want to turn down the lights and turn up the sound. Then you want to back up and do some of the sequences in Slo-Mo-- and you will be gratified to see that the details are there frame by frame by frame. Then you back up again and let the speed go back to normal and just hiss out the word: COOOOL!

Then you get to the Title!

Now to be fair-- even though this is a movie-- you will begin to see that it has the structure of an anime set episode-- just way longer. Yet the storyline hovers up in the adult level of appreciation as well as appealing to teens-- WITHOUT the usual anime non-stop attempts at creepy soft-kiddie-porn thank you so very much!

It will take you a while to figure out exactly WHO is WHO, especially with the not-quite-linear cuts from one scene to another. But once you get the hang of it-- you will get the hang of the scene "sidesteps" and accept the fact that during the battles-- Human Time freezes, and Demon Time begins

If anything, I'll bet that when this whole series is complete, it will give you the familiar ring of "Doomed Megalopolis"

Ohh-- and last but not least-- the English Dubbing is VERY GOOD. For fun-- leave the English Subtitles on-- the differences between the spoken English and the subtitles can be intriguing.

nice

[saiharris · 8/10 · 24 June 2006]

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

Wow.... ya WOW

[spamspaz-1 · 8/10 · 2 July 2006]

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!

Spectacular audio/visual feast, when you're not lost in the plot

[theputer · 9/10 · 1 July 2006]

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.

A New Hero is Born

[submitor · 9/10 · 29 November 2006]

Pros: This movie will blow your socks off in terms of visuals. Karas: The Prophecy is very fast paced and the character designs are very unique and nothing like anything you've seen stateside. The story is coherent enough for the viewer to understand and the dubbing is far better than expected. The music and sound effects are spectacular and coupled with the great visuals, it is a feast for the eyes and ears.

Cons: Unfortunately, this animated feature flows more like a TV show than a movie and the pace of this feature can get a little broken at times. Secondly, my 2nd gripe about Karas is that the visuals are so mind-blowing and fast, it's sometimes hard to follow the animation. You almost have to watch some of the fights in slow-mo to see exactly how the fight progresses.

This is a great movie to rent or to buy for anime lovers, and as a comic fan, this movie feels like it jumped out of a graphic novel. A new Hero is born!

A hopeless failure at many levels.

[advait2006 · 3/10 · 14 June 2010]

(Don't be surprised if you doze off while watching this)

Having seen some of the best anime of all time I can safely say Karas is no where near any. All that raving by the others on the first few reviews is correct to some part but extremely misleading otherwise.

Karas excels in its visuals no doubt with an equally rapturous soundtrack combination to create thrill where none exists. I gave this movie 3/10 only for that. That's all I'll agree about it. But that itself is achieved by someone behind a computer with a degree in animation, what makes a movie is its ideas, story and characters, and all of these are missing.

The story is extremely dull and in a word murderous to an individual's imagination. Let us just put aside its broken up abrupt style, sudden endings and beginnings in its collection of short incidents, shallow characters which don't even translate as characters because there is so little known about them and aimless fights which portray anime stereotypes like a 'tough guy', 'a disconnected hero', 'some evil baddies', 'a villain' and look at the immense failure at its very core. Mind you many anime excel with these stereotypes and I hold nothing against that but it simply doesn't work here.

There is no one in particular to follow through its mess of violent and mind numbing overly dramatic scenes. The director is trying hard to make the audience feel some empathy towards a story that is incredibly torpid at times. Torpid, not because of slow-mo scenes, but because there is simply nothing happening. Quite frankly you will find it difficult to make any sense out its randomness. There is nothing interesting about its central concept about its fantasy world, which seems to have ripped some visual motifs off Spirited Away or perhaps old Japanese art. Not to mention being underdeveloped, which could have been interesting with at least some work.

If you have been tempted by its screenshots, positive responses, trailer whatever the case skip this one if you wish to not waste your time.

Trust me, I was shocked when I saw so many positive reviews about it. This is no more than a pointless long torture of meaningless visuals and sounds. Something like a child filming using the best camera available, the technology doesn't help what is already hopeless.

Someone even called it 'The Matrix of anime', and he/she is so grossly mistaken to compare such an epic with this sort of a sham.

awesome!!!

[getasprincessandy · 10/10 · 14 September 2006]

i'm sorry if you guys didn't understand it, but it made prefect sense to me. but i totally get where your coming from, my boyfriend had to watch it a couple of times before he got it. i thought the animation was well done, and don't get me started on the action. to be honest the movie really did't call out to me in the store but my BF talked me into it. And i'm glad he did cuz i fell in love with this movie.i would be glad to explain the movie to anybody. i was jumping for joy when i found out it was part of a six part series. and i can't wait for the next installment. if anybody knows where i can buy any for cheap, that would be awesome.

Why did I Bother?

[zzzorf · 3/10 · 18 March 2018]

I think this will teach me to grab one of my sons anime DVD's when I am looking to fulfil a challenge, not a good choice at all. From the start I was completely lost, with no real idea what was going on. I would pick up something and then a minute later I would be lost again.

The funny thing is my son came home near the end of me watching the movie and that is when he told me the movie was crap and that he himself had only watched 15 minutes of it and turned it off himself. Oh well, that is life.

This is just the beginning...

[hybridsoldir · 10/10 · 19 November 2006]

After being rushed to an emergency ward in a hospital, a man is called to protect the spirit world by becoming both a doctor and a guardian. By battling a man who once had his job in the past and the spirits whom he took under his wing and turned them into machines that feed on human blood, Otoha has to preserve the balance of the human world and the nether world by using his power as a Karas.

Guaranteed that if you love action, you will be drawn into the movie by the first 10 minutes of this film. The story strikes as odd but the action completely makes up for it, for every minute of boring talk and calm scene, there is an equal minute of hardcore fighting. Combining both CG and Japanese animation, this is truly a masterpiece of anime. If you're a first timer, I would highly recommend this film.

Wow!

[stuckno88 · 10/10 · 18 July 2007]

This movie is sick. The animation is some of the best I've seen. That being said the first time through I missed a lot of the story so it didn't make much sense. Watch it again! The story is really good once you can see past the amazing visuals, the colors and different approach to storytelling is so good I can't speak enough about this DVD. One of the few DVD's I can watch multiple times with out ever getting bored, it's like watching art in motion, you don't have to understand it to appreciate it.

The better the system you run Karas on the more you will enjoy it. This was made to push the limits of your audio and video equipment get ready to be blown away.

Karas: the Prophecy -explained-

[LivingDog · 10/10 · 10 April 2009]

This explanation is my culmination based on my 3 viewings of "Karas: the Prophecy", and four website explanations: Netflix, IMDb.com, and a quoted DVD text, and the official (English) website. Please note that this explanation is based on the English texts I have read and the English translation of the movie. It may not be 100% accurate, which if I have done this correctly, a more accurate explanation would really require knowing Japanese. E.g. "Eko" is actually Eku, and Yurine, is really "Yuri" and from the little Japanese I know, a single letter can drastically change the entire meaning of a word. OK, enough said.

= THE PROPHECY = It was once foretold, that the battle for the future world will start and end - with Karas.

= THE PLOT = The worlds of humans and demons have overlapped since time immemorial, and a spirit named Yurine (who represents the will of the people in the city) and her servant, Karas, have long maintained order and balance between the worlds. But humans have finally lost their beliefs of the demons and spirits. Disgusted by human arrogance, Karas turns his back on his role as guardian of the city, taking the name Eko, and plans an attack against the humans in the city. His goal is to have the humans once again believe in, and fear, demons.

Eko and his followers live in the material realm in human form, but to continue doing so they must feed on the fluids of human bodies. Their periodic feasts result in massacres that leave only a single traumatized survivor. (There is no explanation given for this - it might be part of Eko's plan to re-instill fear into the hearts of humans.)

Opposing Eko is the once demon Nue, who also lives in the material world in human form but refuses to drink blood. He wants to kill Eko b/c Eko trapped Nue's younger brother to help complete his evil plan. Also opposing Eko is Otoha, a human, who called out from his heart to Yurine - while he lies in a hospital bed in a coma. They make a contract and he becomes the new Karas.

= THE KARAS = The "Karas", which means "crow" in Japanese, is their nom de plume as well as their title. There are others called Karas as well, Eko and Otoha are just the two most current and powerful. They can transform into any of various heavily armed vehicles. (There is much about "crows" but a lesson in ancient Japanese culture may explain that thread.)

= The Humans = These "inexplicable" tragedies are the obsession of a marginalized police inspector whose daughter was the survivor of one such massacre. A young Leutenant is assigned to this "department". Beyond this simple role, they hardly have anything to do with the plot.

Final comment: the first one is: "Karas: the Prohpecy" which has phenomenal CGI and action. 5/5* the second one is: "Karas: the Revelation" which has a cheaper version of the first CGI and typical anime action. 3/5*

-LD

______________________

my faith: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/jbc33/

Amazing movie that will leave you breathless and wanting more

[yqyq · 10/10 · 27 August 2007]

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.

In short...explosive

[dexterneptune · 10/10 · 22 March 2008]

This comment will probably sound vague, as words can simply not describe this movie. Akira, Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away - all classics in their own right. And now, I have no reservations whatsoever about adding "Karas: The Prophecy." This movie is, without qualification, the most amazing piece of animation I have seen in probably a decade. It is utterly unbelievable.

From the very beginning, the senses are assailed with mind-blowing action sequences and a soundtrack that grabs you and won't let go. I realize that this may sound like some lame synopsis on the back of the movie case, but I can think of no other way to describe it. I've had the movie for probably 6 hours now, and I've watched just the opening sequence probably 8 times or so. It's that good. Some critic praised this movie, saying, "It's like Batman Begins." I say this: Batman Begins wishes it had half the energy of this movie, and "Batman Begins" was awesome.

The animation is nothing less than absolutely flawless - easily on par with, or better than, any of the masterpieces previously mentioned. The soundtrack is superb. The storyline could have been completely missing from this movie and I still would have given it no less than a 7 rating - but I'm pleased to say that the story is strong and vibrant. Voice acting is masterful - for once the English dub sounds every bit as good as the Japanese. The direction of the film is stellar on every level, as well.

If you are a fan of good action movies (not just anime), you have to see this movie. You will not regret it - I promise you. Those with decent-sounding home theater systems, you're in for an extra treat - you'll understand when you start watching Karas. But, everybody - do yourself a favor and go get this movie now. Then, turn the volume up, press play, and prepare to have your ass blown away.

Best Anime Movie I have ever seen.

[robertswetbird · 10/10 · 17 April 2008]

First of all I think that this title "The Prophecy" is not complete without "The Revelation". The two movies together make what I think to be the best animation I have ever seen. The CG animation is flawlessly integrated with the traditional animation. The plot is deep and the characters are awesome. I love the idea of a city as being an entity alone and the people make up that entity. There is no other way to describe this anime. Go and get it and watch both in the Karas series. I seriously wish another one would come out. I have talked to many people here in Utah (Anime fans) that after watching the movie they say it is their favorite. MUST SEE and MUST BUY.

Holy Cow!!!

[mvpkaj · 9/10 · 3 February 2007]

Although it seems as somewhat incomplete and definitely leaves you wanting more, the story was great and the visuals were incredible. Karas is a mythical figure out of a world running parallel to our own. Karas uses a combination of his own powers, as well as some cool technology to combat evil beings living among us. But, in the end it seems Karas is just another pawn used by others to seek conquest over evil. This DVD really pushed the limits of my TV and my head with the speed and style of the animation and I find myself popping this in often just to enjoy the eye candy. I really hope they're working on more Karas!! I'll be first in line for the new one!

First half of a rather good movie

[siderite · 8/10 · 31 July 2010]

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.