As I mentioned in my fanboy rant of Fuh Stuh Nut, I have experience in dealing with the Nasuverse. Full disclosure: I am not an expert in the franchise and can be wrong on my interpretations (plus I am not a member of the Beast's Lair forums). However, I have watched several shows linked to the Fate series and completed the Fate/Stay Night visual novel while reading up a bit on Tsukihime. I have come up with two candidates for the best Fate anime though upon further pondering, I have chosen the one in this post. The first runner-up is Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya for having high quality content in terms of action, comedy and alternate interpretations (with fanservice to market the show to the... other side). The best one, in my honest opinion which I will not hesitate to repeat, however is.... (drum roll please)
Carnival Phantasm:
Carnival Phantasm is a comedy series based around the Nasuverse where most characters are able to have fun, go nuts and take a break from the dark and dreary reality that is the Nasuverse. The most prominent characters of Carnival Phantasm tend to be from the Fate series or the Tsukihime series (which never got an anime sadly despite claims to the contrary) though the specials do bring in others such as Kara no Kyoukai and some from the more obscure works (and NOT Kyoukai no Kanata). The anime itself appears to be influenced (if not based on) the gag manga series Take Moon and All Around Type Moon (do not quote me on this, I don't really know though I can verify Take Moon at least)). So, I will proceed to justify why this is the best Fate anime to air aside from Kaleid (that's another story) while listing some flaws that I can remember from my repeated viewings (seventeen marathons if I recall correctly).
Note: I know this is more like a Type Moon anime than a Fate anime but bear with me, there is not a lot of options to watch animated Fate adaptations aside from the sublime Kaleid, the disappointing Fuh Stuh Nut or the abominations by Deen (and I'm sure hentai specials do not count... I think). Besides, the Fate characters have equal prominence to the Tsukihime characters (if not more at times).
Note: I know this is more like a Type Moon anime than a Fate anime but bear with me, there is not a lot of options to watch animated Fate adaptations aside from the sublime Kaleid, the disappointing Fuh Stuh Nut or the abominations by Deen (and I'm sure hentai specials do not count... I think). Besides, the Fate characters have equal prominence to the Tsukihime characters (if not more at times).
What makes it:
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| http://moarpowah.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/carnival-phantasm-fate-stay-madness.png and http://moarpowah.com/2011/08/24/first-impressions-carnival-phantasm/ |
Entertainment value is important for any comedies and Carnival Phantasm delivers often with alternate character interpretation, bizarre comedic situations, re-interpretation of key moments and enough recurring gags to keep Type Moon fans and regular viewers entertained throughout the course. Even the basic humour is entertaining for the character reactions and exaggerated gags that is filled in the show. Any Type Moon fan or those familiar with it will thoroughly enjoy the many running gags that are linked to the characters that exist in the Nasuverse. Personally, I usually watch clips of this show or Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki (a show about the world's first spherical cat) whenever I get bored during a loading screen due to the short length (less than twenty minutes usually) of each episode. This is a good thing as it does not overstay its welcome and is able to deliver the amount of content it should give.
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| http://anime.astronerdboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Carnival-Phantasm.jpg and http://anime.astronerdboy.com/2015/11/so-i-started-watching-carnival-phantasm.html |
Characters are essential to the Nasuverse seeing as their popularity sells most of the products (especially their cash cow: Saber). Each has an established character and traits that provides their motivations with expanded materials introduced to expand on these characteristics while explaining the origin of said characteristics. Carnival Phantasm uses these established characters and places them in a gag series while creating scenarios where their characteristics would shine. In this series, we see what people would actually think of Gil's attitude when the threat of death is minimal at best along with more of Saber's human traits, the relationships of the characters (seemingly based around Hollow Ataraxia) and ultimately, the what-if moments where a character is placed in that situation. Each character has their most prominent trait used to create gags that any Type Moon fan can enjoy and do not happen to be snobs that demand constantly dark and depressing story-lines all the time.
(Note: If you are, go slither back to Urobochi, you darn mood-killers. Stay away from Expelled from Paradise as well, the bitter-sweet moments would ruin your emo boners.)
(Note: If you are, go slither back to Urobochi, you darn mood-killers. Stay away from Expelled from Paradise as well, the bitter-sweet moments would ruin your emo boners.)
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| https://coubsecure-a.akamaihd.net/get/b121/p/coub/simple/cw_timeline_pic/b5dc4c441f6/5e694556f703f1b40a3af/big_1440255303_image.jpg |
Being a lighthearted adaptation is a positive thing to feature when dealing with the Nasuverse. While the setting is not completely grim like an Urobochi work, it is often grim and dark at times with serious story-lines (if the slice of life and romance aspects did not force their way in like a bad smell) that involves a lot of deaths and emotional breakdowns. So to have an entire anime focused on being lighthearted while being able to take the piss out of itself is a nice contrast. By being a lighthearted comedy, Carnival Phantasm becomes a relief to regular viewers of Nasu's works. Indeed, I spent countless hours laughing at Gil-fans who worship the ground he walks on due to parodies like these that make gags around his character and actually being aware of his character flaws such as immense pride, being summoned in an age where humanity appeared to be stagnating and constantly underestimating threats due to said pride. This is a series that is not afraid of turning some of the interesting and awesome characters into the butt of jokes or making them into bigger butts. While the Nasuverse is interesting due to Nasu having put a lot of work into world-building and establishing the principles of said universe, it gets a grim to a point that it induces apathy at times (which is what happened to me when I was reading Heaven's Feel) and so, I needed some relief (which the VN awkwardly gave in the form of said slice of life and romance aspects in the middle of a war hurting the pacing for some readers). Carnival Phantasm eschews the grim and harsh nature of their universe to make it fun for people to enjoy and the aforementioned nature is brought in to further the cause of comedy.
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| http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/f/f6/Cafe.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110829190825 |
Compared to the other works of Nasu and Type Moon, Carnival Phantasm happens to be easier to get into in comparison to other works. While it is still difficult to get into Carnival Phantasm for a normal viewer, this light-hearted take on the Nasuverse is a lot easier to get into as it has basic humour that relies on basic comedic elements such as exaggerated slapstick, snide remarks and bizarre situations that could get a chuckle. Compared to other works in the Nasuverse, this requires less reading as compared to other works like Fate, Tsukihime and Kara no Kyoukai which require a bit more research and investment to get into. If you were to go into forums or discussions, you will often find people discussing who was the best waifu or arguing why Gil is the most powerful anime character of all time (he is not and stop mixing up his ship's speed with his actual walking speed!). These discussions never end as people either never did the necessary reading or only uses the wiki as their source of information. Carnival Phantasm requires less of that for SOME newcomers. While I do call this a positive, this is a mixed bag as some knowledge of the Nasuverse is required to fully enjoy this series which I will discuss in the later section.
What breaks it
While I did say that Carnival Phantasm is easier to get into, this does not mean that it can allow for immediate access. To get most of the jokes, viewers are required to know about the Nasuverse or have a basic understanding of said universe. Most viewers would tend to be Fate fans who will be confused at the presence of Shiki, Arcueid and Ciel along with other side characters (Satsuki, the ever unfortunate) that do not have prominence. Another confusing point is the gags that Hollow Ataraxia made popular appearing once in a while. Caren's sadism and Bazett's relationship with Lancer requires knowledge of the context. For maximum entertainment, knowledge of the context is often required and while some viewers can laugh at the basic gags (the best incarnation of Saber for instance), others will simply look on quizzically like a four year old looking at a porn magazine. Actually, the reactions of viewers would be like a four year old looking at a porno, they may simply like the pictures because it looks good or be confused or be aroused.
Sadly, Carnival Phantasm does not use a lot of characters in the Nasuverse to its fullest. I guess this is a result of new games and movies being released (creating licensing issues), the works being too irrelevant to be used or new works were only produced too far in the future for actual usage by the show. Prominent characters from Fate like Shirou, Saber, Rin, Ilya, Archer and Lancer often appear for gags while others only get solitary and sometimes, short segments in special episodes (Sakura being a prominent example). This also occurs for the Tsukihime characters as antagonists and other prominent characters only get short segments to themselves. I guess at the time of airing not all the characters have become famous to have a segment to themselves. So, we never saw an episode that animates the segments from All Around Type Moon where Saber, Arcueid and Shiki Ryougi (different from Shiki Tohno from Tsukihime for the curious) interact and acknowledge their roles as main heroines of their respective works (Ryougi is the actual main character of the Kara no Kyoukai light novel series). I could be wrong about this statement though.
Personal opinion:
I am unable to think of more justifications as I am working on a drowsy brain at the moment. I can say that, as a Type Moon fan, Carnival Phantasm is well worth a watch to see your favourite characters be involved in the funniest situations along with getting the in-jokes that are well known throughout the franchise. This show may be a hit or miss for most viewers but anyone who declares themselves a Type Moon fan (or watches Fate) should give this a watch at least once while waiting for the Heaven's Feel movie, the next episode of Fate Kaleid or even the ever-distant Tsukihime remake. The running gags that exist throughout the Nasuverse along with gags that are in-line with canonical character traits make this a show for almost any Type Moon fan. I wish that a new season of Carnival Phantasm is made someday to make new jokes on the new materials based around Type Moon franchises. I highly recommend Carnival Phantasm for any Type Moon fans and if you disagree, no worries. It's your own opinion.
Note: Just to clarify again, I state why I like something with detail (the degree may vary) usually to allow readers to see if their opinions are similar to my own and whether we have similar tastes. If we do and you find something you like thanks to these opinions, cool. If not, nothing wrong with a different opinion. Just don't force it down my throat.
What makes it:
Entertainment value
Characters
Light-hearted adaptation
What breaks it
What breaks it
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| http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/28300000/Carnival-Phantasm-tsukihime-28304569-638-361.jpg |
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| https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3NXAM8fbDUE/hqdefault.jpg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXAM8fbDUE |
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| Credit to MyAnimeList and user royaldocks for this picture (the thread it resides in is locked: http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1444132&show=200) |
Personal opinion:
I am unable to think of more justifications as I am working on a drowsy brain at the moment. I can say that, as a Type Moon fan, Carnival Phantasm is well worth a watch to see your favourite characters be involved in the funniest situations along with getting the in-jokes that are well known throughout the franchise. This show may be a hit or miss for most viewers but anyone who declares themselves a Type Moon fan (or watches Fate) should give this a watch at least once while waiting for the Heaven's Feel movie, the next episode of Fate Kaleid or even the ever-distant Tsukihime remake. The running gags that exist throughout the Nasuverse along with gags that are in-line with canonical character traits make this a show for almost any Type Moon fan. I wish that a new season of Carnival Phantasm is made someday to make new jokes on the new materials based around Type Moon franchises. I highly recommend Carnival Phantasm for any Type Moon fans and if you disagree, no worries. It's your own opinion.
Note: Just to clarify again, I state why I like something with detail (the degree may vary) usually to allow readers to see if their opinions are similar to my own and whether we have similar tastes. If we do and you find something you like thanks to these opinions, cool. If not, nothing wrong with a different opinion. Just don't force it down my throat.
What makes it:
Entertainment value
Characters
Light-hearted adaptation
What breaks it
Required to know about the Nasuverse
Does not use a lot of characters in the Nasuverse
P.S: Saber Lion is the BEST Saber of all time and no arguments will change my mind!
(Shameless taken from and full credits to: http://www.zerochan.net/Saber+Lion and http://static.zerochan.net/Saber.Lion.full.1149790.jpg)
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