is a Japanese

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

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

(OVA) and

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

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. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, inclu ...

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, it is now heavily rusted, damaged by decades of

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...

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 it, 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 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 falls apart. The bulk of the OVA's credits are then shown, followed by an epilogue. In the epilogue at the end of the credits, set several 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 note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

, featuring one of the carnival's robot ballerinas. 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 (; or ) (''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 ...

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

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese Mangaka, manga artist, screenwriter, animator, and film director. He first rose to prominence as a pioneer founder of the New Wave (manga), New Wave in the 1970s. He is best known as the creator of ''Akira (franchise), Akira'', bo ...

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

"Franken's Gears"

was directed by Kōji Morimoto. 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 "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

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

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character who first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. He is an Italian-born Swiss scientist who, after studying chemical proces ...

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 :*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 an

automata An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

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 automata 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. Many years later, the man has a vision of his automata appearing before him, but then blowing up before he can take her hand. He returns to his shed to find the automata still sitting smashed in a corner, just as she had been left years earlier. Many more years elapse, and the automata 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, director, writer, and storyboard artist. Career Umetsu studied at the and was originally not interested in pursuing a career in the anime industry, and instead wanted to pursue a career as a manga artist. While in his 20 ...

:*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. characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computerized games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre), and al ...

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, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

. 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 Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

ride. Though pleasant at first, her memory causes the ride to summon a giant laser-breathing

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

. 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 (often 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 ros ...

's "

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

." 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 (company), Sunrise. Helen McCarthy in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' commented that he "shot to fame" in 1985 as an animation directo ...

:*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 or scraperboard or scratch art is a form of direct engraving where the artist scratches off dark ink to reveal a white or colored layer beneath. The technique uses sharp knives and tools for engraving into the scratchboard, which is us ...

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 type ...

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 wooden "giant robots", directed from within by a human crew. In the style of a movie serial 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 befo ...

, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-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 l ...

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 :*Character Designer: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto :*Mechanical Designer: Mahiro Maeda :*Animation Assistance: Kazuaki Mōri,

Yuji Moriyama is a Japanese 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 ...

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

"Chicken Man and Red Neck"

is set in the city of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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

Release

The OVA was released in Japan on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

on July 21, 1987, through

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company was best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for developin ...

. In the United States, Streamline Pictures producers Carl Macek and

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955) is an American animation historian, author, blogger (person), blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''Looney Tunes and ...

, the latter an animation historian, licensed the OVA and gave it a theatrical premiere in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

on January 25, 1991, with a home video release later in December. 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. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

in 2015 and a Blu-ray was released in 2018 and a Ultra HD Blu-ray in 2021.

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. Founded by screenwriter Carl Macek and animation historian Jerry Beck, it was one of the earliest distributors of English-dubbed Japanese animation. History Founding Founded in Los Angeles, ...

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 logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, 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 and are ...

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 Films about alien invasions Anime with original screenplays Circus films Films directed by Kōji Morimoto Animated films set in the 19th century Animated films set in amusement parks Animated films set in deserts Animated films set in Japan Animated films set in Tokyo Animated films set in the United Kingdom Fiction about immortality Japanese anthology films Mad scientist films Mecha anime and manga Animated anthology films Films about robots