Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon

Ayatsuri Sakon is about a boy and his puppet solving murders. That is the story in its entirety. What makes this show stand out amongst others is its usage of Bunraku, a style of Japanese puppetry, to aid in the solving the crimes. The show is unique in its execution and does well to mix elements such as humor and suspense.

For me personally, what made this anime top tier above all else was the soundtrack. I don't think I've heard one so beautifully captivating. A flute sings woefully or mystically in the background as you work your brain trying to figure out the killer. The ... art style was also a stunner and well done for an anime created in 1999.

My only complaint was I wish we got some more background on some of the main characters. I truly enjoyed the relationship our protagonist, Sakon, has with his puppet and partner, Ukon, and would have loved to learn more about them. As far as characters go there are some excellent secondary characters that are well developed and deserve some attention.

All in all this was an excellent anime! I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery.

What are you looking for in an anime? A crime-fighting twink and a shithead puppet? Here's an anime for you, and a decent one at that. Karakurizoshi Ayatsuri Sakon is an above-average anime - not necessarily amazingly amazing, but not mediocre - about a wandering ventriloquist and his puppet, a Meiji-era puppet by the name of Ukon. In the name of spoiler-free content, I won't be dissecting the anime or manga's contents, but the mysteries are decent.

Sakon is an appealing, albeit relatable character; Ukon is his foil. There's enjoyable side characters that draw you in, such as Kisaragi-sensei, the idiot kansai-ben photographer Zenkichi, and ... the 'tomboy' Akizuki Shiho - and plenty more. The interplay between Sakon and Ukon and other people is interesting, and psychoanalyzing it might maximize that enjoyment for you. The character designs are fair, and the animation can be quite foul at times, while at other times it being breathtaking, and the soundtrack... is actually better than I was expecting. If one wants a good tune to listen to, Sayonara wa Iwainaide is pretty beautiful, and Koe is as well.

You can maximize enjoyment by going in with the mindset that this isn't some high-level, make-you-feel-smart detective series, but instead almost a relaxing anime to watch drama unfold. If you go in expecting some amazing Sherlock Holmes-esque stuff, you'll be easily disappointed.

Rewatchability for me was a good 9 or 10; you notice a lot more the second and third time of watching, and it's fun to catch easter eggs you don't notice when you're caught up in the mysteries.

Overall, it's an 8/10 perspectively. However, I enjoyed it a lot more.

I will keep it as short as possible. If you are looking for a short version, read the last paragraph.

Looking at the cover image and reading the short resume, I was given the impression that the series would be somewhat different than what it really is. Sakon on the cover image, and even Ukon with a bit of a dumb expression both look mysterious in a way like they have their own shocking secrets and the series would be more like xxxHolic where there's one big overarching story arc and mini arcs in between that will feel like some intense, thrilling mystery, but instead it ... felt like I was watching a slightly better version of Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, which I gave up on after 40 episodes due to sheer boredom.

I will do a lot of comparison between both series, because at this point, these two are the only ones of this "genre" that I've seen and I don't have a larger base for comparison.

Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon is actually better, at least in creating a somewhat solid and consistent character for Sakon and Ukon (in a way). Another good thing about the characters is they are more human and there is something like an aftermath after the case is solved, both of which are missing in Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, where a case ends and "everyone lived happily ever after" and then we switch to the next case. Characters here have feelings, they feel flawed, like real human beings who have hopes, dreams, fears, imperfections. In Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, they feel more plain than NPCs in an MMORPG that aren't even quest-related - they only serve to drive the plot of the arc.

The cases seem more interesting (at least to me) compared to Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, where every case feels more boring and predictable than the last and at some point it feels like there are a handful of "case templates" and the author was shuffling them and picking at random, which made the series feel old and boring in the first 10 episodes. In comparsion, Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon has cases that are related to the protagonist in a deeper and more significant way and it makes you care what will happen.

The relationship between Sakon and Ukon is also explored, although as I stated in the first paragraph, I had completely different expectations for this series and the relationship between the characters. My expectations were that it would not be 100% attached in reality, but I was wrong.

Overall, for me it's not as bad and boring as Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, especially the last arc is very important to understanding the whole situation better and I don't regret watching it, but I must admit around halfway through, I started watching it at x1.25 speed, because I wanted to get it over with. If you like murder mysteries, you will probably enjoy this a lot, if you are like me and just like mysteries in general, which are real headscratchers and not necessarily murders and there is a lot of intrigue and tension involved, you will be disappointed, because cases span 3 episodes each and none of them are something extraordinary.