The appeal and evaluation of the first season of "Carnival Phantasm": A masterpiece of comedy anime

Carnival Phantasm First Season - A celebration of laughter and parody

"Carnival Phantasm First Season" is an OVA based on the popular TYPE-MOON game series, and was released on August 14, 2011. This work features characters from TYPE-MOON's works such as "Tsukihime," "Kagetsu Touya," "Fate/stay night," "Fate/hollow ataraxia," and "MELTY BLOOD," and features various parodies and comedies. It is directed by Seiji Kishi, animated by Larque, and produced by TYPE-MOON and the Carnival Phantasm Production Committee (Naughts, Larque, Bandai Visual).

Stories and episodes

"Carnival Phantasm First Season" consists of three episodes, each with a different theme and parody. Below is a summary of each episode.

Episode 1: The 5th Great Magician Clash, the Chiki-chiki Holy Grail War

"The 5th Magicians' Great Clash: Chiki Chiki Holy Grail War" is an episode based on TYPE-MOON's "Fate/stay night." The Holy Grail War, which is usually a bloody battle, is transformed into a variety show, with each side battling in a ridiculous but fierce battle for the Holy Grail. Although confused by the sudden change in rules, the characters put on a comedic performance that makes the most of their individual personalities. Who will end up with the Holy Grail? This episode is full of laughs and parody.

Episode 2: Surprise! Melty Blood

"Doki☆Melty Blood" is an episode based on "MELTY BLOOD", where the characters gather at the Tohno family's private beach for a fun vacation, but due to Kohaku's sweet words, it suddenly develops into a beach ball match with Shiki at stake for a sweet night. How will the battle between the non-humans unfold? This episode is a mix of laughter and action.

Episode 3: Everywhere Hinata's Dream, Everywhere Together, Hinata's Dream

"Dokodemo Hinata no Yume, Dokodemo Issho, Hinata no Yume" is an episode based on "Tsukihime" and "Fate/stay night". In "Dokodemo Issho", Arcueid barges into Shiki's school, but is prevented from entering the school by Ciel's interference, and the actions she takes are depicted. In "Hinata no Yume", Shirou comes to bring in the futon on the veranda, but is put to sleep by Illya's suggestion, causing a commotion among the Fate heroines. It is a comedy episode that highlights the individuality of the characters.

Episode 4: The Great Exciting Date Plan, The Wizard Hates Mecha, The Great Exciting Date Plan

"A Thrilling Date Strategy, Wizards Hate Mecha, A Thrilling Date Strategy" is an episode based on "Fate/stay night". In "A Thrilling Date Strategy", Rin is suddenly asked by Shirou to record something, but due to her lack of technical skills she faces a number of problems. Archer looks at her with a relaxed expression in contrast to Rin, who is confused as time draws near. In "A Thrilling Date Strategy", Shiki and Shirou are forced to plan a daring date strategy after all of their date plans with the heroines overlap. This episode is full of laughs and slapstick.

cast

Many characters from TYPE-MOON's works appear in "Carnival Phantasm First Season," and are played by their respective voice actors. The main cast is introduced below.

• Arcueid/Yuzuki Ryoka
• Shiki Tohno/Kenji Nojima
• Ciel/Kimi Sakuma
• Akiha Tono/Hitomi
• Amber / Naoko Takano
• Jade/Miyu Matsuki
• Satsuki Yumizuka/Omi Minami
• Ren/Kaori Mizuhashi
• Seven/Haruka Tomatsu
• Sion Eltnam Atlasia/Rio Natsuki
• Miyako Arima/Miwa Kozuki
• Liesbyfe Strindvary/Akino Watanabe
• Saber/Ayako Kawasumi
• Shirou Emiya/Noriaki Sugiyama
• Rin Tohsaka/Kana Ueda
• Archer/Junichi Suwabe
• Sakura Matou/Noriko Shimoya
• Illyasviel von Einzbern/Mai Kadowaki
• Lancer / Nobutoshi Kanna
• Rider/Yu Asakawa
• Berserker/Nishimae Tadahisa
• Caster: Atsuko Tanaka
• Assassin/Miki Shinichiro
• Gilgamesh/Tomokazu Seki
• Kirei Kotomine/Jouji Nakata
• Shinji Matou/Hiroshi Kamiya
• Soichiro Katsuragi/Kazuhiro Nakata
• Taiga Fujimura/Miki Ito

Main Staff

The following main staff members are involved in the production of "Carnival Phantasm First Season".

• Original story, concept/game: "Tsukihime", "Kagetsu Touya", "Fate/stay night", "Fate/hollow ataraxia", "MELTY BLOOD", TYPE-MOON anthology comic "TAKE-MOON" by Eri Murai (Ichijinsha)
• Director: Seiji Kishi
• Series composition, script by Uezu Makoto
• Character design: Kazuaki Morita, Tomohito Hirose
• Chief animation director: Kazuaki Morita
• Music Production: Lantis
• Sound Production: Ducks Production
• Sound Director: Satoki Iida
• Music by Koji Takanashi
• Director of photography: Kazuyoshi Shiomi
• Art Director: Kazuto Shimoyama
• Color design: Kumiko Yanagisawa
• Music producer: Shigeru Saito
• Produce/Emotion
• Animation Production: Larque

Main Characters

Many characters from TYPE-MOON's works appear in "Carnival Phantasm First Season." Below is an introduction to the main characters.

• Arcueid: A vampire known as the "True Ancestor." Although she has high fighting ability, she has an innocent and carefree personality, and her free-spirited behavior reminds one of a cat.
• Saber: A swordsman servant who is said to be the "best". Although she always has a dignified and serious personality, she also has a stubborn and inflexible side.
• Ciel Eltnam Atlasia: An alchemist who belongs to the Atlas Academy, one of the three major divisions of the Magic Society. A thorough rationalist, he excels at "split thinking," which is the virtual division of his thinking center.
• Tohno Shiki: Possesses the "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception" that allow him to see the death of things. He is kind to everyone and is skilled at everything, but is insensitive when it comes to women.
• Shirou Emiya: Saber's master. Although he is training hard in magic to become a hero of justice, his skills are still only half-baked. He is good at cooking.
• Ciel: Shiki's senior at school. With his polite and gentle manner, he is trusted by not only the students but also the school. On the other hand, he is also a "proxy" belonging to the "Cathedral Association."
• Rin Tohsaka: Archer's master. The current head of the prestigious Tohsaka family of magic. She is intelligent and beautiful, but has a bad habit of making simple mistakes at crucial moments.
• Satsuki Yumizuka: Shiki's classmate. She has had feelings for Shiki since middle school, but he has not noticed. She gets involved in an incident and becomes a vampire.
• Archer: An archer servant. He is sarcastic and a thorough rationalist, but he also has a kind-hearted side. Despite being an archer, he has excellent sword skills and enjoys hand-to-hand combat.
• Lancer: A spearman servant. He responded to the summons in search of a life-or-death battle. Although he has a rough and violent personality, he is honest and loyal at heart.
• Tohno Akiha: Shiki's younger sister and the current head of the Tohno family. She is intelligent and beautiful, and has a calm and collected personality, but when it comes to Shiki, she is noticeably lacking in composure.
• Sakura Matou: Shirou's junior and is like family to him. She has a calm personality and rarely shows her feelings, but sometimes she can act boldly.
• Liedsbyfe Strindvari: Shield Knight. The leader of the Inquisition Knights of the "Cathedral Society". Her usual behavior makes her seem like a serious person, but she is actually quite lazy.
• Gilgamesh: The eighth Servant who should not exist. His true identity is the oldest hero king in human history. He has a proud and ruthless personality, and does not hesitate to say that everything in this world belongs to him.
• Kotomine Kirei: A priest sent to oversee the Holy Grail War. He becomes Rin's senior apprentice. He has an arrogant personality and is known for his words and actions that seem to see through other people's minds.
• Hisui: A servant of the Tohno family, and Kohaku's twin sister. She has an expressionless and taciturn personality. She takes care of Shiki and does all the household chores, but she's not good at cooking.
• Kohaku: A servant of the Tohno family, and Hisui's twin sister. She has a cheerful personality and is always smiling. She is mainly in charge of taking care of Akiha and cooking. She is not good at cleaning.
• Illyasviel von Einzbern: Berserker's master. She calls Shirou "big brother" and adores him. She has an honest and innocent personality that matches her appearance, but she also has a cruel side.
• Berserker: A berserker servant. A giant over 2 meters tall. His abilities improve as he loses his senses. The "strongest" servant.
• Fujimura Taiga (Fuji-nee): Shirou's (self-proclaimed) guardian and the school's English teacher. Although she has a warm and friendly demeanor, her unconventional personality confuses those around her.
• Len: Arcueid's familiar. Usually appears as a black cat. Has the ability of a nightmare demon to control human dreams. Very silent, he rarely speaks.
• Arima Toko: The eldest daughter of the Arima family with whom Shiki lived for eight years. She loves Shiki very much, but becomes confused when she is in front of him. She is unable to express her feelings well.
• Seven: The guardian spirit that resides in the Seventh Holy Scripture owned by Ciel. He often complains about Ciel's rough treatment of him.
• Caster: A magician servant. She is skilled in schemes and tactics, and can use ancient magic that is similar to magic. She has feelings for her master, Katsuragi.
• Souichirou Kuzuki: Caster's master. A teacher at the school Shirou attends. He is known as a strict teacher, but has a good reputation among the students. He lives at Ryudou Temple.
• Rider: A cavalry servant. He is skilled in battle while riding a Pegasus horse. He always wears a mask to seal his evil eye. He is quiet and doesn't assert himself much.
• Shinji Matou: Sakura's older brother, Shirou's friend for several years. He has a high sense of self-esteem and is known for looking down on others. Perhaps because of his personality, he is popular with female students, but has few male friends.
• Assassin: An assassin servant. He has an elegant personality and enjoys the beauty of nature. He was summoned using Ryudou Temple as a catalyst, so he cannot leave the temple gate.
• Karen Hortensia: A sister sent to replace Kirei Kotomine. She has the innate ability to embody the spiritual disturbances around her. She is silent and has a sharp tongue.
• Bazett Fraga McRemitz: A descendant of the "Fraga" family, a master of rune magic. Serious and inflexible. She was Lancer's original master.

subtitle

The subtitles for each episode of "Carnival Phantasm First Season" are as follows:

• Episode 1: The 5th Magician Clash: The Chiki-chiki Holy Grail War
• Episode 2: Surprise! Melty Blood
• Episode 3: Everywhere Hinata's Dream, Everywhere Together, Hinata's Dream
• Episode 4: The Great Exciting Date Plan, The Wizard Hates Mecha, The Great Exciting Date Plan

Theme songs and music

The theme songs and music for "Carnival Phantasm First Season" are as follows.

OP1

• "Super☆Affection"
• Lyricist: Aki Hata
• Composer: Masatomo Ota
• Arrangement: Masatomo Ota
• Sung by Minami Kuribayashi, Miyuki Hashimoto, Hiran, Aki Misato, yozuca*, rino

ED1

• "Fellows"
• Lyricist: Keita Haga
• Composer: KATE
• Arrangement: Katsuhiko Kurosu
• Vocals: Masaaki Endo

Ratings and Recommendations

"Carnival Phantasm First Season" is a must-see for Type-Moon fans. Characters from each work come together to create a comedy that is a mix of laughs and parody, so fans of the original will enjoy it even more. Even if you are not familiar with the original work, you can enjoy the characters' personalities and comedic elements, making it a work that can be recommended to a wide range of people.

In particular, the first episode, "The 5th Magician Clash: Chiki Chiki Holy Grail War," shines with the novel idea of ​​turning the serious setting of the Holy Grail War into a variety show. Each character performs a comedy that makes the most of their individual personality, drawing laughter. In the second episode, "Doki☆Melty Blood," a beach vacation develops into a beach ball match, and the battle between non-humans is depicted in a comical way. In the third episode, "Dokodemo Hinata no Yume, Dokodemo Issho, Hinata no Yume," Arcueid and Illya's actions draw laughs, highlighting the individuality of the characters. In the fourth episode, "Doki Doki Date Plan, Magicians Hate Mecha, Doki Doki Date Plan," Rin's lack of interest in machines and Shiki and Shirou's date plan create a slapstick comedy that provides laughs.

The theme song "Super☆Affection" and the ending theme "Fellows" also add to the atmosphere of the work, allowing you to enjoy the afterglow after watching. "Super☆Affection" in particular is a special song for fans, as it is sung by the heroines of each TYPE-MOON work.

"Carnival Phantasm First Season" is recommended not only for TYPE-MOON fans, but also for those who like comedies and parodies. Please enjoy this comedy that highlights the individuality of the characters and is full of love for the original work.