is a Japanese anthology

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

(OVA) and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film released in 1987. The film consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has a distinctive animation style and story, ranging from comedic to dramatic storylines. The music was composed by

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explor ...

and Isaku Fujita and arranged by Joe Hisaishi, Isaku Fujita, and Masahisa Takeichi.

Segments

"Opening" / "Ending"

The takes place in a desert. A boy finds a small "coming soon" poster advertising the Robot Carnival, and becomes frightened and agitated. He warns the people in his village, most likely to escape, when a huge machine with many robots performing in niches on its exterior grinds its way right over the village. Once a magnificent traveling

showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

, it is now heavily rusted, damaged by decades of weathering in the desert, while its many machines wreak havoc as the village is destroyed beneath its might. In the segment (the ninth segment of the OVA), the ''Robot Carnival'' is stopped by a dune in the desert. Unable to climb the sandy obstruction, the Carnival stalls at its base. As the sun sets over the traveling relic, flashback stills recall the grandeur of the Carnival at the peak of its existence – an unparalleled engine of mirth that brought timeless joy to the various cities it visited. At sunrise, the gigantic machine charges forward with a burst of power, and surmounts the dune. The final push proves to be too much for the aged contraption, and it finally goes to pieces in the desert. The bulk of the OVA's credits are then shown concluding with an epilogue. In the epilogue at the end of the credits, set years later, a man discovers an orb among the remains and brings it back to his family. It is a

music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...

, featuring a miniature robot ballerina. As it dances, the children applaud. The ballerina finishes its dance with a leap into the air; the explosion that follows destroys the shack where the family lived, leaving "END" in enormous letters lying in its place. The family's pet

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

, the only survivor, struggles to regain its footing. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Storyboards:

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...

, Atsuko Fukushima :*Backgrounds: Nizō Yamamoto :*Sound Effects: Kazutoshi Satō

"Franken's Gears"

was directed by

Kōji Morimoto is a Japanese anime director. Some of his works include being an animator in the '' Akira'' film; shorts in ''Robot Carnival'', ''Short Peace'', and ''The Animatrix''; and key animation in anime such as ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', ''City Hunte ...

. A

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...

tries to give life to his robot with lightning, just like

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italians, Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy ...

did. During a vicious thunderstorm, the robot is successfully brought to life, and mimics his creator's every movement. Overjoyed, the scientist dances with glee, trips, and falls. Seeing this, the robot dances, trips, and falls on the scientist, killing him. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Character Designer:

Koji Morimoto Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 *Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 *Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...

:*Backgrounds: Yūji Ikehata :*Sound Effects: Kazutoshi Satō

"Deprive"

In "Deprive", an alien invasion of robot foot soldiers attacks a city and kidnaps people, including a young girl. Her companion, an android, is damaged, but retains her locket. A human with superhuman abilities is then seen; he goes through waves of robots before being stopped by two powerful robots. Captured by the alien leader, he is tortured, but it is also revealed to be the android from earlier, now upgraded into a combat android with a human disguise. Defeating the two powerful robots and the alien leader, he rescues the girl. Running through the wasteland carrying her, the girl eventually wakes up and recognizes his new form because of the locket he still has. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Hidetoshi Ōmori :*Backgrounds: Kenji Matsumoto :*Sound Effects: Jun'ichi Sasaki

"Presence"

, one of only two segments featuring intelligible dialogue, tells the story of a man who has an obsession with a

gynoid A gynoid, or fembot, is a feminine humanoid robot. Gynoids appear widely in science fiction film and art. As more realistic humanoid robot design becomes technologically possible, they are also emerging in real-life robot design. Name A gynoid ...

he has been secretly constructing in an attempt to compensate for the lack of any close relationship with his wife and family. The setting seems to be British and of the early twentieth century, but also suggests another planet or a future which has attempted to re-establish a former social structure. When the gynoid takes on a personality of her own, far beyond what the man had programmed, he smashes her in a fit of panic, and leaves his secret laboratory for what he believes is the last time. Twenty years later, the man has a vision of his gynoid appearing before him, but then blowing up before he can take her hand. He returns to his shed to find the gynoid still sitting smashed in a corner, just as she had been left years earlier. Another twenty years elapse, and the gynoid appears again before the man. This time, he takes her hand and walks into the distance with her, before vanishing in front of his shocked wife. Little of the dialogue is actually spoken on-screen; all but a few lines are given in voice-over, or with the speaker's mouth obscured. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Character Designer:

Yasuomi Umetsu is a Japanese animator known for creating the ''Kite'' film series. Works Filmography *'' Megazone 23 Part II'' (1986) character designer/animation director *''Robot Carnival'' (1987) episode director/animation director, 'Presence' segment * ' ...

:*Animation Production Assistance: Shinsuke Terasawa, Hideki Nimura :*Backgrounds: Hikaru Yamakawa :*Sound Effects: Kenji Mori ;Main cast

"Star Light Angel"

"Star Light Angel" is a

bishōjo In Japanese popular culture, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. ''Bishōjo'' characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computer games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre) ...

story featuring two friends – teenage girls – at a robot-themed

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

. One of the girls finds that her boyfriend is now going out with her friend. Running away in tears, she finds her way to a virtual reality ride. Though pleasant at first, her memory causes the ride to summon a giant laser-breathing mecha. One of the park's robots, actually a human park employee in costume, finds himself in the role of knight in shining armor, allowing her to let go of her darker emotions, and to move forward in her life. The mood of this segment was heavily influenced by the music video for

A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

's "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...

." Note: some cameos of '' Akira'' movie characters appear in the background characters ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Character Designer:

Hiroyuki Kitazume is a Japanese animator, manga artist, and illustrator. He is often noted for his work with anime studio Sunrise. Helen McCarthy in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' commented that he "shot to fame" in 1985 as a character designer on the ''Zeta Gunda ...

:*Backgrounds: Yui Shimazaki :*Sound Effects: Kenji Mori

"Cloud"

"Cloud" features a robot walking through time, and the evolution of man. The backdrop is animated with clouds that depict various events of the universe, such as the modernization of man as well as the self-destruction of man. Eventually, the same angel who cries for his immortality makes him human towards the end. The animation is done in a

scratchboard Scratchboard (North America and Australia) or scraperboard (Great Britain), is a form of direct engraving where the artist scratches off dark ink to reveal a white or colored layer beneath. Scratchboard refers to both a fine-art medium, and ...

or rough

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

style. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Character Designer / Backgrounds / Key Animation: Manabu Ōhashi (as "Mao Lamdo") :*Animation: Hatsune Ōhashi, Shiho Ōhashi :*Sound Effects: Swara Pro :*Music: Isaku Fujita

"Strange Tales of Meiji Machine Culture: Westerner's Invasion"

is set in the nineteenth century and features two "giant robots", directed from within by a human crew. In the style of a

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

of the

sound era A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, a Westerner in his giant robot attempts to take over Japan, but is challenged by locals operating a "machine made for the parade" – a Japanese giant robot. The style of this segment is somewhat reminiscent of a Japanese

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

-era

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

film. Despite the title of this segment, there is no known prequel or sequel. The Westerner speaks English in the original release. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario:

Hiroyuki Kitakubo is a Japanese director, animator, and screenwriter. Kitakubo began work in the anime industry as a teenager, having worked on the 1979 ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' television series. He debuted as a director with the ''Cream Lemon'' episode "Pop Chas ...

:*Character Designer:

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Personal life Before Gainax was founded under the official name (it was originally called Daicon Film), Yoshiyuki served as animator o ...

:*Mechanical Designer:

Mahiro Maeda Mahiro Maeda (前田真宏 ''Maeda Mahiro''; born March 14, 1963) is a Japanese anime director, character designer, and animator. Helen McCarthy in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' called him "one of the most imaginative visualists in anime". He ...

:*Animation Assistance: Kazuaki Mōri,

Yuji Moriyama is an anime character designer, animator, animation supervisor and director. He is a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association and a winner of the 4th Japan Animation Awards in the Animation Director category. Career Moriyama started ...

, Kumiko Kawana :*Backgrounds: Hiroshi Sasaki :*Sound Effects: Jun'ichi Sasaki ;Cast

"Chicken Man and Red Neck"

is set in the city of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, overrun by its machines, which have been turned into robots of all shapes and sizes by a robotic magician, the titular Red Neck. They all come alive for a night of revelry, with only a single, drunken human (Chicken Man) awake to witness it. When the sun rises, the robots disappear, and everything is turned back to normal, but Chicken Man awakens to find that the now-restored machines are embedded high up in a set of skyscrapers, while the citizens of Tokyo go about their lives far below. ;Staff :*Director / Scenario / Character Designer:

Takashi Nakamura is an accomplished Japanese animator and anime director. He is also a founding member of the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) labor group. Nakamura's 2001 film ''A Tree of Palme'' was an official selection of the Berlin Film Festi ...

:*Backgrounds: Hiroshige Sawai :*Sound Effects: Junichi Sasaki

Release

The OVA was released in Japan on VHS and

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

on July 21, 1987, through JVC. Streamline Pictures producer

Carl Macek Carl Frank Macek (September 21, 1951 – April 17, 2010) was an American screenwriter, script editor, producer and voice actor on numerous English language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s. His work is considered by many to hav ...

licensed the OVA and released it in theaters and on video in North America in the late 1980s. A limited-edition Region 2 DVD of ''Robot Carnival'' was released in Japan through Beam Entertainment in November 2000. A Region 1 DVD of ''Robot Carnival'' was released in the United States by

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

in 2015 and a Blu-ray was released in 2018.

Streamline Pictures English dub

The script for the English-dubbed version of "A Tale of Two Robots" is slightly different from the original Japanese version and even adds a few lines that are not present in the original version. In addition, a passing reference to Japan's 1854 opening to foreign trade is removed and the foreign antagonist's English dialogue is re-recorded. Some versions of the English-dub of the release by

Streamline Pictures Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, California, in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first No ...

shuffled the order of the segments and modified the "Ending" segment by removing the still images of the "Robot Carnival," placing the two animated segments next to each other, and placing all of the credits at the very end of the OVA. The still images of the "Robot Carnival" were most likely removed due to Streamline's practice of removing all onscreen

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

from their anime releases in order to "Americanize" them. Carl Macek stated with certainty that the reason for the "shuffling of segments" was due to considerations regarding the theatrical exploitation of the OVA. The various segments were received separately and then subsequently assembled to fill out 2000 ft reels. In order to keep the actual distribution of the theatrical release in a manageable state, the segments were arranged to minimize reel changes – otherwise, it would have required additional reels (and therefore, additional reel changes) to keep the product in its original order and would have added to the cost of the distribution. The decision was mutually agreed upon between Streamline and APPP regarding the credit sequence and the use of still images – the original production company did not have the proper neutral closing credits required for international distribution available; therefore, it was mutually decided to create this new closing.

References

External links

* *
''Anime News Networks "Buried Treasure" article on ''Robot Carnival''
{{Hiroyuki Kitakubo 1987 anime OVAs Alien invasions in films Anime with original screenplays Circus films Discotek Media Films directed by Kōji Morimoto Films set in the 19th century Films set in amusement parks Films set in deserts Films set in Japan Films set in Tokyo Films set in the United Kingdom Fiction about immortality Japanese anthology films Mad scientist films Mecha anime and manga Animated anthology films Robot films