"Card Happening" DVD by Sanada
Suggested Retail USD$25.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Card Happening", a DVD by Sanada, is a strikingly visual piece of magic that is so gorgeous it's shocking; you can expect a lot of moments of stunned silence with this one.

The basic effect is, well, basic. A spectator picks a card from a shuffled deck, signs it, and returns it to the deck which is then put back in the card box. The box is closed and put onto the table. Both hands are shown empty (not a hard feat there because they are). The performer pantomimes removing a invisible card from the deck without touching the box and sets it in front of the spectator, who now is convinced the performer has splinters in the windmills of his mind. The performer waves his hand over the "invisible card" and -- that quickly, the signed card appears on the table.

If that doesn't do it for you, Ginjiro's version just might. Everything's the same here -- card selected, card signed, card returned to deck, yada yada -- except for the appearance, which goes like this: the performer has the invisible card fly out of the deck, circle the room, and come near the performer where it's caught and suddenly becomes visible in the performer's formerly empty hand.

Ginjiro has another version on this disc, which operates on a different handling, but, well, you get the idea of what "Card Happening" is all about: it's a card that suddenly "happens".

I have to say that "Card Happening" looks just beautiful. The gimmick -- an old one -- has been upgraded a lot and the handlings are superb, making the most of it. That's a deadly combo and, in this case, makes for some great magic.

Let's jump to the nuts and bolts of things, shall we?

The gimmick is a do-it-yourself thing. Along with the "Card Happening" DVD, you're also supplied with a good stock of "that special something" that makes up the majority of the gimmick (you can also buy it from most superstores). Other than that, you'll only need the usual arts-and-crafts tools (scissors, glue, tape, etc) and about five minutes of your precious time. Ginjiro teaches the construction beautifully so you'll have no problems putting this one together and getting it going.

At this point, I'm going to get all coy on you and not go into further detail on the gimmick. Suffice to say it'll work with any deck and card box you'd normally run into; you're not limited to Bicycles or the like here.

As to the handling, well, really it's quite simple and easy and entirely up to you. You'll need to be able to control a card a bit but certainly this is nothing too difficult: you can get by with ye olde Hindu Shuffle/overhand shuffle type of thing or go for the gold and whip out your some of your favorite passes. All told, however you want to accomplish the necessary is on you and your skill level; "Card Happening" doesn't require much at all.

Okay, so let's see how things stand: looks good, easy to assemble, a devilishly clever idea and routine, simple to use... Guess all that's left to talk about now are the things to look out for when it comes to "Card Happenings"..

The angles are a little harsh here. You've got a little over a 90-degree arc to play with and, if a spectator is too far to the side, you could be busted on this one. One of the alternate handlings taught on the disc cover this, letting you do the "Invisible Boomerang Card" with only worrying about who and what's directly behind you. On the plus side of things, though, there is no reset or set-up needed: bring out the boxed deck and you're ready to go. That means, of course, that repeating it is not an issue, either. Even taking into account the angle problems, the pluses outweigh the minuses.

Also, one integral part of the handling is going to take a lot of work to get to the point where it appears to be natural. You'll end up practicing this more than any part of the routine because, without it, it appears you're doing a lot more finagling with things than you need to. Expect a bit of work ahead of you here.

The last thing to mention is really a minor thing, but I'll hear about it if I don't mention it. This is a Japanese production and, as most Japanese magic videos choose, it's shown without any verbal instructions. I've seen so many of these now that I'll be honest: I actually have come to like the videos done this way. Give me a slow, deliberate instructor (such as Ginjiro is here), a few carefully worded and accurately translated captions, and I'm good to go. Fortunately, that's what you get here and it doesn't affect a bit learning anything about the material. Still, some folks like to have someone talk them through everything, so I mention it only for the sake of completeness.

And there you have it: "Card Happening" in a nutshell. It's a gorgeous piece of magic that's simple to perform and with visuals that floor people -- and usually floors them hard. As a piece of an existing card routine or a standalone effect, you can't get much better than "Card Happening".

Big thumbs up here.

"Card Happening" DVD by Sanada
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 10
An old idea, updated with some great thinking and more "high-tech" materials than usual, this one just flat-out looks great. Easy to assemble, easy to do (the sleights depend on you, but range from the incredibly simple to the incredibly difficult), and with visuals to die for... That sums this one up perfectly.

Practicality: 8
There are severe angle problems to be worked out, though in one handling you're only worried about the one from directly behind you, and one piece of the handling will take some work to look natural, but with no resets or set-ups and repeating this a breeze, there's a lot more going for it than against it.

Quality of Production: 8
The aspect ratio seems to be off, there are times when the captions are a bit hard to read (bright red on bright blue is never a good option), and lighting is a problem a time or two. Still, none of that detracts much from this disc, which is just fine in all other respects.

Quality of Instruction: 9
This is a Japanese production, which means no verbal instruction. No worries, though: everything is beautifully taught with nothing more than Ginjiro taking you through things slowly and deliberately and a few captions here and there. A few things could have been done differently to make it easier, but as it is, you'll have no problems with any of this.

Presentation: 10
It's all about the visuals and, brother, does this have them by the truckload. Now throw in the cleanliness of things and you've really got a winner here.

Shane

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