Anime: Carnival Phantasm

When I watched the first episode of Carnival Phantasm, I had no idea that they were going to turn it into an entire season's worth of parody. Carnival Phantasm is pretty much exactly as the description says, a parody of Type Moon's works. If you haven't watched both Tsukihime and FSN then you're not going to get most of the jokes as it's all one giant fun party. For those who have watched the aforementioned series, this is a light, comedic mixer where you have intriguing cross-series situations; Shirou and Shiki planning together on how to carry out harems, for example. Just don't expect a contiguous developing plot.

Animation:
Animation is pretty good. There isn't a need for the dramatic lighting featured in both of the base series so expect a brighter, more cheerful overall tone. All the characters designs carry over from their respective series, and a few additional characters from the rest of the Fate series (you might even spot Shiki and Azaka from Kara no Kyoukai if you look carefully). Given the action-based nature of the original material, do expect a bit of fighting, racing, and other bits of action; usually ending with Lancer "dying" in some manner or another.

Sound:
This starts with a catchy OP and ends with a modest ED. BGM is fairly distinctive as new themes are introduced for parodies such as Arculeid's Phantasmoon section. Most of the VAs return to voice their respective roles with the exception of Arculeid, perhaps her original voice wasn't a good match for her much more upbeat personality in this show.

Story:
Each short episode is composed of multiple even-shorter segments, many of which continue through different episodes. For example, every episode starts with Neko-fied versions of Type Moon characters running a cafe, and most end with Taiga and Ilya running a dojo. Despite the reuse of themes, the episodes don't grow old as many have very unique and interesting segments as well. Examples include Berzerker trying to run an errand or turning into a tank, Saber trying to work jobs and ride a lion, etc.

There really isn't any unifying theme so you could potentially watch this in any order you'd like.

Character:
The series makes interesting use of characters. Many minor characters are given lots of air time while other significant supporting characters are shelved for most of the series (Ceil for example). There isn't anything groundbreaking as the characters should be just like you remember them from their respective series. However, a lot of their original personalities isn't conveyed given the short length of each segment. Seeing characters from different series mingle (rather than just as a cameo) was definitely an interesting notion. It's all great fun as long as you don't expect any serious developments.

Value:
In the end, while this is a very enjoyable parody, it will be remembered as a parody of giants. It's a lot of fun but just doesn't contribute anything of significance to the base series. However, if all you're looking for is some light entertainment, this will more than suffice.