Carnival Phantasm

It's really better than I rated it, but it's so heavy on the fan-pandering that I'm disgusted with myself for enjoying it -- this is a guilty pleasure for the Type Moon fans, but anyone not familiar with their franchises would probably be quickly turned off by it.

The comedy vacillates between esoteric and sophomoric, gags are hit-or-miss, the ones that hit rely on experience with the characters, and the ones that miss...are all too often. But the level of self-parody is a healing respite for actors who deal with the emotional intensity of the Fate and Tsukihime stories -- Kara no Kyoukai characters could probably use that, but they're absent from this series.

It's nice to hear the Melty Blood cast performing well, it sounds like they're ready for a Tsukihime remake, and I'm looking forward to it.