A Deeply Evocative Visual Tone Poem

One of the most ambitious anime compilation movies of the 80s was Robot Carnival, and this Blu-ray release captures it astonishingly well.

The main premise of Robot Carnival is to examine robots and mecha from a variety of standpoints. In Japan, robots and mecha are intertwined and aren’t viewed as separate entities, like they are in the West.

Robot Carnival also opts for almost all non-verbal dialogue, with only a few exceptions. The result is something that’s akin to a visual tone poem, backed up by a musical score by Joe Hisaishi.

This kind of visual tone poem approach was something that was used quite a lot for multiple 80s anime. Producing abstract visuals and instilling in the viewer the imagination to evoke an internal response.

Robot Carnival, then, is the distillation of that approach, underpinned with some genuinely astonishing animation throughout.

While I have a love for these types of compilation movies, with Memories being one of my favorites, Robot Carnival is more abstract, and that makes it all the more appealing as well as quite timeless.

‘Robot Carnival’ is a compilation anime movie like no other.

Discotek

It’s also interesting to watch if you know your classic 80s mecha anime. From Hidetoshi Ohmori’s Deprive channelling elements from Heavy Metal L-Gaim, which he also worked on, to Star Light Angel championing Hiroyuki Kitazume’s amazing style, which defined much of 80s Gundam but also helped birth the Megami Tensei series of games.

You also have wonderful opening and ending sequences directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Where, in a far-off future land, a rogue mechanical Robot Carnival machine wreaks havoc and destruction across a battered desert landscape.

As for this release, it’s nothing if not very comprehensive. Firstly, you have the original Japanese version restored from the original print. So, at the very least, this looks and sounds utterly pristine. Secondly, you have all the Western versions included, as well as a documentary, liner notes, galleries, and all sorts of trailers. This really is the definitive version of Robot Carnival.

Overall, Robot Carnival is arguably the quintessential 80s compilation anime movie. Using abstract visuals to create short visual tone poems, it remains to this day as an anime that’s both deeply moving and thoroughly hilarious in equal measure. Now, if only the likes of Neo Tokyo could be given similar treatment on Blu-ray.

Robot Carnival is available on Blu-ray from Crunchyroll’s online store for $23.96.

Disclosure: Crunchyroll sent me this Blu-ray for the purposes of this review.

Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.