Welcome to Gaia! ::

Reply Anime/Manga Encyclopedia
Karas

Quick Reply

Enter both words below, separated by a space:

Can't read the text? Click here

Submit

Suzaku24
Crew

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:43 pm


Karas (鴉 -KARAS-, Karas?) is a six-part OVA that takes place in a futuristic setting. It is produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The first DVD of episodes 1–3, "Karas: The Prophecy", was released April 24th 2006 in the UK, and April 25th in the US. The second DVD which contains episodes 4–6, "Karas: The Revelation", was released October 23 2007 in commemoration of Tatsunoko Productions' 40th anniversary.
PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:46 pm


Summary

The world of the humans and the world of the demons (yōkai) have overlapped one another, leaving humans to walk the streets of life as they normally would, while demons walk, hidden from the naked eye, down the very same streets. A seemingly young woman named Yurine, and her servant Karas, have long maintained order and balance between the overlapped worlds, ultimately keeping the demons from interrupting the lives of humans. However, humans have come to forget and jest at the existence of demons, and no longer understand the privilege it is to live without fear. Disgusted by this arrogance, an old Karas turns his back on the laws he had once upheld, and in his human form, named Eko, he creates an army of Mikura, or mechanized demons, to ready an attack on the human race.

A young man named Otoha inherits the powers of the Karas and takes his place at the side of Yurine, who claims that his soul called out for her while he lived the life of a human. They live in the world of the demons. It is now up to Otoha to prove himself as a Karas, and restore the balance that Eko threatens to upset.

Meanwhile, a superstitious police officer named Sagisaka and his rational new recruit, Kure, follow the trail of the murders dealt by Eko's Mikura, as well as the trail of a rogue Mikura named Nue. The prophecy unfolds from here into a grave revelation for all in the city.

Karas was originally a one-shot comic book released in English through Dark Horse Comics on November 3, 2004. It was written by Phil Amara who created Sky Ape, with art by Nuria Peris and Sergio Sandoval. This makes it to be one of the few American comics to be made into an actual Japanese anime, like Witchblade.

Suzaku24
Crew


Suzaku24
Crew

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:50 pm


Episodes

OVA #1: Eko is fighting and eventually kills a Karas. Three years later, Kure witnesses an attack on a film crew by a water demon and survives. He is sent to a new police department with Sagisaka and begins investigating the bizarre murders, which Sagisaka believes are perpetrated by youkai. He and his ally, Kure, are also hunting Nue, because they believe he may have something to do with the incident in the subway restroom. Meanwhile, demon hunter Nue is on the trail of Suiko. His assassination attempt is interrupted by the new Karas. Otoha enters and engages Suiko in combat, and easily kills him.

OVA #2: It is revealed that Sagisaka believes in yokai because his daughter, sole survivor of a brutal demon attack at her school, is one of the few who lived to tell about the demons. But she is hospitalized for post traumatic stress disorder, caused by the demon attack, and her father is still waiting to get her testimony of the events. Kure and Sagisaka pursue Nue and run into the Mikura Wanyudo, which attacks them. Nue attacks Wanyuda, but is unable to kill him, and is injured before Otoha appears in Karas form and kills the Mikura off, with Nue forced to reveal his true Mikura form.

OVA #3: Nue and Otoha face off, and Yurine orders Otoha to kill him. Nue's yokai friend pleads for Nue's life, and Otoha is unable to bring himself to attack Nue because he feels that Nue isn't evil. Nue flees with a bad injury. Meanwhile, Eko and his minions move their plans forward; it is revealed that Eko is using another Yurine as a power source to create his mechanised Mikura demons. Two of his minions, Tsuchigumo and Kamaitachi attack the city and Karas is forced to fight Tsuchigumo miles away from where Kamaitachi was making his move. As Karas engaged Tsuchigumi, Yurine realizes that Eko's true target was actually Otoha's hospitalized, "comatose" human form. Karas's fight with Kamaitachi is cut short once he sees his true body. At that point, Yurine lets her guard down and is abducted by Tsuchigumo. Without Yurine's aid, Karas loses power and disappears. Before Kamaitachi kills Otoha, Nue appears and fights with Kamaitachi, but is so weak that he can't transform into a Mikura when he runs out of bullets. Otoha awakens from his coma and kills Kamaitachi while in human form. This all was witnessed by another Karas, a young lady named Homura.

OVA #4: With Otoha a human again, Homura decides to take remedial action as the new official Karas. Otoha, who saves the gravely injured Nue by giving blood, learns of the approaching cataclysm that Eko's working for. However, Nue advises Otoha to forget everything and resume his old life, with Nue intend to atone for the Mikuras' actions while saving his younger brother from Eko's grasp. Though Nue thought to have a adventage in killing the Yurine he made a pact with, Eko actually devised a means to remain a Karas and defeats Nue before revealing the part he and his brother are to play. Taking Nue's advice, Otoha returned to Kabukichou, where he finds his friend Reiji being held captive by the yakuza. Otoha kills his father, the yakuza boss, after Reiji dies.

OVA #5: Eko ravages the city with his monstrous machine powered by Nue and his brother's electricity, its tendril roots killing many humans and absorbing their blood while barricading the city to ensure no escapes or interfers. Shinjiku gathers survivors in various shelters throughout the city. Shinjiku, who is pushing Yoshiko in a wheelchair, meets with Kure and Sagisaka, who had come to search for his daughter. In the underground shelter close by, Kure finds Hinaru there as well while Shinjiku reveals his true Mikura form and begins eating the survivors. Shinjiku was about to attack Yoshiko, but Sagisaka sacrificed himself to save his daughter. Otoha, who had been in the group with a little girl he saved, fights Shinjiku with his sword to allow the others to escape. After surfacing, Otoha continues to fight Shinjiku but is heavily wounded when stabbed in the stomach. Shinjiku attacks Otoha and injures him greatly. As Otoha falls to the ground before dying, he calls out for Yurine. After falling to the ground, white cats come running to gather around his body and transform into glowing energy, reviving Otoha. A new Yurine arises from Otoha and allow him to resume his role as Karas, destroying Shinjiku and getting Eko's attention.

OVA #6: The final climactic battle between Eko and Otoha finally arrives. Many other Karases throughout Japan are nearby to watch the final conflict. Aided by Homura, her Yurine partner, and his own, the battle comes to a boil when Karas is finally able to stop the raging mechanical dragon produced by Eko using his machine's tendrils. By going inside of it, Otoha, though unwilling at first, kills Nue in attempts to bring an end to his younger brother. Upon doing so, Eko's machine breaks apart as he squares off with Otoha on equal terms. Eko falls against Otoha, while his last words claim that Otoha will walk the same path as he had. As Eko's body fades he looks onto Otoha's Yurine calling out to her before he vanishes into raven feathers and his golden protestic leg falls off into the sewers. The demons, now in plain sight of humans, become marked for death by governor's aide for the chaos Eko caused. Otoha blocks the firing squad's bullets and destroys their weapons, he and the supernatural beings fade away as he stated while sparing their attackers that "Even you are among those under my protection." The story ends as Kure and Yoshiko head to the country to start a new life, as Sagisaka requested in spirit. Homura departs back to her city while Hinaru and the young girl remain. Otoha, as Karas, continues to watch over Tokyo with Raven feathers appearing to those who survived the incident and caught glimpse of the final conflict. Meanwhile, someone in the sewers finds Eko's protestic.
PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:27 am


Characters

* Karas: Armored warriors, the soul of a human manifested in a out of body experience. Only people who know extreme sorrow can become Karas under the city's will. There is usually a Karas for every city and code of conduct enforced by their Yurine that normally forbids them from getting involved in another city's matters. A Karas can also transform into two alternate forms: a large, tank-like car equipped with powerful missiles and a bird-like jet fighter with a gun that fires bolts of energy.

* Yōsuke Otoha: Chosen as the new Karas and still proving himself to Yurine. He was orginally a member of Yakuza and believed to be the younger brother of a Yakuza boss, but was actually his son, born of an incestuous union between the boss and his own mother. Otoha's inability to feel pain combined with his talent with a bladed labeled him as a monster. It was only after being nearly killed that Otoha forged a pact with Yurine and became a doctor of sorts, tending to the benevolent spiritual entities who had grown ill due to Eko's actions in both worlds. At the end of the first movie, Otoha would eventually learn that his human body was in a deep coma in a hospital located somewhere in Shinjuku. Upon realizing the truth, Yurine was abducted eand Otoha's spirit faded back into his body. Now human, Otoha had to resume his normal life it would seem. However, Otoha's intend to fight resulted with Yurine being reborn through him and his powers as Karas restored. When commanded by Yurine, Otoha becomes clothed in impenetrable armor and wields a powerful katana. Upon becoming Karas, he gains the ability to move with incredible speed and attack with amazing physical and magic power. At times, he is moving so fast that it appears that everything around him is moving very slowly or has stopped moving completely. Also, upon becoming enraged, his eyes turn a fiery red, allowing him to transform his sword into a massive blade capable of hewing any foe. Voiced by Steve Staley in the English dub.

* Hoshunin Eko: Chosen as Karas in the Edo period. Eko realized how to seize power in this world by upsetting the balance between the spirits and humans and subsequently turned his back on humanity. Since his fall from grace, Eko has killed every Karas after him and before Otoha while setting up his own plan to wipeout the city's human residents to "purify" the city of their filth and recruiting like-minded spirits who he converted into Mikura. He is shown to wear a black coat, something no Karas has been seen wearing. He's also the exception as he devised a means for one to assume Karas form without need for his Yurine once Nue killed her. Eko's Karas armor is blackened with evil, and his skills are enhanced through science to be beyond those of a normal Karas. Voiced by Matthew Lillard in the English dub.

* Homura: A female Karas from another city, who had been investigating the cataclysmic changes occurring in Shinjuku, taking over for Otoha after he became human again. She is accompanied by a pink-haired Yurine from another city. It's speculated by fans that she is related to Hinaru. She is very gung-ho and through out her observation begs her Yurine to let her join in the battle. She is a great aide to Otoha in his final battle with Eko, though she was over confident in her own skills. Voiced by Kate Higgins in the English dub.

* Unnamed Karas: The Karas who fought Eko in the opening scene of the series. Despite his powers, he was defeated when the stronger and more experienced Eko severed both his arms simultaneously. His face was revealed bleeding and crying in pain before Eko delivered the killing blow. This occurred three years before the main storyline. Little is known about this particular Karas though the bed on which his real body died is overlooked by a white cat (possibly Yurine) before moving on to Otoha's bed.

* Yurine: A term for a manifested will of the city who assumes the shape of a young woman when she forms a pact with a Karas, able to assume a feline form. Originally, the city had one lite-blonde Yurine until Eko had her incapitated, forcing the city to create a new blue-haired Yurine who eventually recruited Otoha. Though Otoha's Yurine was killed along with Eko's during Nue's attack, she is later revived and manifested from Otoha protecting the city's will. As revealed, there are multiple Yurines, each tied to a different city and with a respective Karas. Voiced by Cree Summer in the English dub's 2nd volume.

* Mikura : The term for those yōkai (demons or spirits) who have fallen under the corrupt influence of Eko and become mechanized. They feed on the blood of humans, requiring it to survive. They are also able to assume a human-appearing form but can resume their true mechanized forms. Each Mikura embodies aspects of the type of yōkai they once were, before joining the side of Eko. Mikura can be distinguished by a black ring with a white symbol on it being worn on any finger.

Suzaku24
Crew


Suzaku24
Crew

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:39 am


* Nue: A rogue Mikura who has come to Shinjuku, Japan to defeat Eko. He carries two gold pistols and a rifle to handle the Mikura so he does not have to take on his true form, but his need to feed on the blood of humans threatens to overcome him. When he's full of rage and anger, or is tempted by other Mikura demons, he will reveal his true form, a homage to his original form. His true form's weapons are two automatic cannons that fire projectiles with shell casing being a shotgun's and was used to kill a Yurine. Nue are born in pairs; with Nue's younger brother also converted into a Mikura before held captive by Eko. Eko needs to capture Nue alive because of some important role that he plays in his plans. After capturing Nue, Eko uses the Nue and his brother as batteries from the electricity that they produce to power a root-like machine to destroy the city. At Nue's behest, Otoha kills him so he can destroy his brother. Voiced by Jay Hernandez in the English dub.

* Suiko: A Mikura Kappa, or Japanese water demon (called a water goblin in the English version), disguised as a professional masked wrestler. During the first movie, Nue attempts to shoot and kill him with a rifle at his wrestling arena, but is interrupted when Karas and Yurine show up. Karas engages Suiko after he reveals his true form; a massive mechanized Kappa. It appears once the two engage in battle, time has stopped around them, as with most demons. It is also of note, that once the two warriors exit the arena via the ceiling, the announcer is left dismembered in the ring, drained of blood by Suiko as he transformed. Once in the sewers, Suiko begins summoning evil water spirits and unleashing massive blasts of energy. Eventually, Karas gains the upper hand and slices Suiko's left arm off. After going into "rage mode", he transforms his katana into a huge glowing blade and easily slays Suiko. (This is the only notable traditional "Hissatsu" or finishing technique sequence in the OVAs. Voiced by Keith Burgess in the English dub.

* Wanyudo: A Mikura that preyed upon drivers passing through a certain tunnel. In the second OVA, Wanyudo's hunting is interrupted by Nue, though neither is successful in destroying the other. Later, Wanyudo is stopped again by Nue while he is trying to consume Narumi and Minoru, though this time Wanyudo disables Nue, meanwhile taunting him for refusing to transform. He then attempts to destroy Karas when he appears, only to receive a fatal blow, during which Wanyudo attempts to take Nue with him, though all it results in is his destruction by the berserk Nue, who transforms and kills him. Voiced by Paul St. Peter in the English dub.

* Tsuchigumo: Eko's right hand woman, a spider Mikura. Though devoted to Eko, Tsuchigumo was eventually sacrificed to Eko's monstrous roots after capturing Nue. Voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in the English dub.

* Kamaitachi: A deranged robotic figure with a ferret boa whose very body is covered in blades. He speaks with a metallic voice so obscure that subtitles are provided along his lines. Interestingly, this form is not his mechanized Mikura form like the others, but apparently the one that he uses to interact with the human world (hence why the nurses saw him attacking them). His Mikura form, briefly seen in his whirlwind attack, has only been clearly seen in concept art so far and hasn't appeared in the series. In the original trailer though, his original 3D model was that of a similar four legged Mikura with a large blade protruding from his head, and is what allowed the character to chop apart everything in his path during the movie. Towards the end of the movie, while Otoha was distracted by Tsuchigumo, Kamaitachi attacked the hospital where his comatose body resides. But though he was to kill Otoha's comatose body, Kamaitachi was ironically killed by Otoha once back in his body. Voiced by Dave Mallow in the English dub.

* Shinjiku: A Mikura that posed as the Shinjuku police station chief. Through the help of an unwitting Kure, he located Otoha's body for the trap to be set in Episode 3. Upon revealing his true form, Shinjiku admits being the monster that ate the students of Sagisaka Yoshiko's class. He actually arranged shelters be set up just so he could feast on the humans without competition. His Mikura form is a massive five-eyed, bull like creature. He is easly killed by the revived Karas. Voiced by Michael McConnohie in the English dub.

* Hinaru: She is the only survivor of Suiko's attack on the TV crew in the Shinjuku public men's restroom. She seems destined to play some sort of role, but her real importance has yet to be determined. In many scenes, she is often directly being effected by the Karas related battles around her, an example would be her clothing ripping after Otoha kills a Mikura and surviving the destruction of a buildings floor as everyone else around her seemingly dies. She is also coincidentally attacked by one Mikura yet survives due to the Mikura's MO of leaving one victim alive as well as Nue's interference. Voiced by Julie Ann Taylor in the English dub.

* Kure Narumi: He is a young police detective recently assigned to the Tokyo Police Observation Department. He is rational and secular. He strongly denies the existence of demons and supernatural powers. He was in the same train station toilet where Suiko attacked a TV crew, but he was not a direct witness of what happened. He works with Minoru as his partner. Voiced by Dave Wittenberg in the English dub.

* Sagisaka Minoru: The head detective in the case of the supernatural, inexplicable events occurring around the city. His daughter, sole survivor of a brutal demon attack at her school, is one of the few who lived to tell about the demons. But she is in a hospital for mental/emotional problems caused by the attack by the demons, and her father is still waiting to get her testimony of the events. Sagisaka is an older man, and he believes that demons definitely are the ones committing all these gruesome murders around town. He and his ally, Kure, are also hunting Nue, because they believe he may have something to do with the incident in the restrooms of the subway. Eventually, their search expands to Otoha. Voiced by Doug Stone in the English dub.

* Sagisaka Yoshiko: Daughter of Sagisaka Minoru. She is held in a hospital for mental instability after the all of the other students in her classroom were eaten by a monster. Nobody would believe what she had witnessed, regarding her testimony as folly and causing her to break down. She is visited daily by her father and her past trauma has caused her to fear the dark and surroundings, as a result her entire room is isolated from the outside world and the lights are never turned off. Voiced by Dorothy Fahn in the English dub.

* Amefuriko: The raincoat-wearing, snail-like spirit whom accompanies Nue on his travels through Japan, views him in the first person during his arrival in Japan (She took Kure's ticket and Nue would've returned it if it weren't for his rudeness towards him). Her innocence and kindness is what drew her to Nue, always wanting to help him despite being turned away by him. She saved Nue's life during the Mikura attack in the tunnel where she protected him from Karas long enough to let Nue escape. Voiced by Sandy Fox in the English dub.

* Reiji: A friend of Otoha before his coma. He often calls Otoha "bro". He was held prisoner by the Yakuza after he and Otoha tried to steal money from them and run off. He is killed shortly after Otoha finds him. Voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dub.
Reply
Anime/Manga Encyclopedia

 
Manage Your Items
Other Stuff
Get GCash
Offers
Get Items
More Items
Where Everyone Hangs Out
Other Community Areas
Virtual Spaces
Fun Stuff
Gaia's Games
Mini-Games
Play with GCash
Play with Platinum