Studio: Studio VOLN
Episodes: 8 (ongoing)
Director: Satoshi Nishimura
Genre: Adventure , Action, Mystery, Shounen
Summary:
“Masaru has just inherited the family fortune after the death of his father. He is hunted down by killers and kidnappers employed by the other family members. The enemies control resilient wooden mechanical puppets via strings to do their deeds. A chance encounter with Narumi saved his life from the enemies but the puppets prove to be a hard fight for him. Shirogane, a puppet master as well as Masaru’s watcher, arrives from France to defeat the enemies’ puppets with Arlequin. Who are these puppet masters and what is the fate of Masaru? This is the story of Karakuri Circus.”
What you need to know about Karakuri Circus | Le Cirque de Karakuri
- Most of the characters use wooden mechanical puppets to fight and the puppets can hit hard, smashing the surroundings and go through walls. The mechanical puppets themselves are a mystery, but Masaru’s heritage and family company have been making the puppets thus making them wealthy.
- Masaru himself is loved by his grandparents but hated by his other relatives since he is not from the main family and has inherited everything from the company. He would actually prefer not to inherit the company as he is still young.
- The story takes place all over the world, but mainly in Japan. The characters have traveled far and wide in their adventures in order to solve the mystery of the puppets.
- The anime is slated for 38 episodes which is definitely a long haul and will sate your thirst for a good while. However, the anime’s storyline diverts a little from the manga’s and several parts have been cut short to keep it on track with the main plot.
Trivia about Karakuri Circus | Le Cirque de Karakuri
- The anime is based on a manga which was released over 20 years ago in 1997.
- Studio VOLN also produced the anime for Ushio to Tora which was created by the same mangaka as Karakuri Circus.
- Narumi, one of the main characters, has a disease named Zonapha Syndrome which will make the patient’s throat close up unless they make people laugh. Don’t worry, it’s made up.
- The puppets in the anime are named after comedic characters or clowns (like Harlequin) except for Olympia.
Verdict: Watch it! Read it!
The manga existed since I was in primary school and while I read it, I never got to finish it. While the anime skips a lot of details, especially the characters’ development and relationship growth which the manga has, the anime still sticks true to the main plot and can still be enjoyed without the side stories and fillers. If you like shounen anime, I’d recommend you to try out Karakuri Circus and if you’d like to learn more about its lore, read the manga!
Did you watch Karakuri Circus? What did you think of the anime as compared to the manga? Let us know in the comments section below!
