Robot Carnival (1987)

Animated anthology films are few and far between. Its a shame - few feature length films can offer so much wonder. Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Neo-Tokyo, and Memories are must-watches for any fan of the art. Robot Carnival isn't well-known, but its one of my favorite films.Robot Carnival is special not only for the few restrictions enforced on the directors, but because it has a single restriction - all the shorts must be about robots. And each short provides a different perspective on the sci-fi trope. Each with a different art style, a different genre, and a different tone, not a single story repeated.Its a very intriguing film. You never know what's around the corner. Some of the shorts will be alright, others amazing. Its not as consistently good as other 9-star films, but its such a breath of fresh air. The discussions with friends afterwords make Robot Carnival a great party movie. The shorts are so different from one another, no two people will have the same opinion on the film.Robot Carnival was an early discovery of mine - I learned about it by watching a sci-fi channel trailer for Lensman, a VHS anime I bought for a dollar. To find something so beautiful and unique, yet so unknown...it has a permanent place in my heart. If you're a fan of animation, you need to see this.

Brilliant Anime anthology.Not a dud in the bunch. All 9 stories are excellent and could easily hold up on their own.'Starlight Angel' is my personal favorite, 'Deprive' was great too.'Cloud' is a piece of pure beauty. It looks like something aspiring anime artists should study. Hey, you're friends, it made me CRY.It had it all, comedy, horror, romance, and the apocalyptic wars the Japanese are so good at depicting. The music and fashion style is very 80's, but that actually adds to the fun. Again, Brilliant! This belongs in any anime buff's collection.

This remains one of the best Anime feature films I've ever seen, and, in a stroke of great luck, was also the first Anime feature film I ever saw. While a little (well, a lot) on the artsy side at times, Robot Carnival is a great example of the reckless imagination and superb craftsmanship that Japanese animation at its best is known for. Unfortunately, it's also an example of a kind of film that is becoming very rare in the anime world today. Robot Carnival mops the floor with the ever spreading hordes of Dating Game adaptations/Merchandizing tie-ins that are never the less dominating the industry. Robot Carnival ought to be one of the most well known Anime in the world, not the obscure relic of hardcore geeks that it seems in danger of becoming. If you see a copy of this, buy it on the spot and see what animated film making ought to be.

eight stories from japanese anime directors. they all show off their talent through mini movies. when i first saw this, i thought it was something i would like to do when i get older. now, i'm 18, and creating my own anime comics and mini movies. my personal favorites are "Starlight Angel" "Deprive" "Presence" and "A Tale of Two Robots" see this if you want to get into anime directors heads