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Mnemosyne will probably be most known for its extremely explicit and disturbing gore and erotic imagery, and no doubt that will turn many viewers off to the series. However, throughout its 6 episodes this series didn't cease to surprise and impress me with the breadth AND depth of knowledge and trivia, as well as a well-constructed plot that slowly culminates over the 5 hours or so of running time. The series begins in seemingly typical anime fashion -- an imaginative setup of a group of immortals as a vehicle for over-the-top fan service and exciting action sequences. Admittedly, after the first episode, I thought I had a good idea what kind of anime this is going to be. However, every episode after that gave me something new to look forward too, and did not disappoint my growing expectations each minute through the film. I recommend this film to anyone who can stomach how graphic its scenes are, and are not too lazy or un-observant to fill in the interesting, subtle gaps left purposefully by the script.
***Spoilers below*** The protagonist of the story is Asougi Rin, a stunning woman in her twenties with a killer body. Honestly, the size of her breasts alone will trigger a "fan service no plot" alarm in most experienced anime viewers. She is one of many immortals who, at some point of their lives, absorbed a Fruit of Time from a tree (Yggdrasil) that spreads these fruits like spores throughout the world. Women who absorbed this fruit will regenerate and live forever in the exact state at which they absorbed the fruit. So, like one other character in the series, someone who absorbs the fruit right after massive injuries will retain those injuries forever.
Rin and her assistant Mimi (another immortal who looks like a young teenage girl) run a private investigations office together. Mimi is very skilled with computers and technology, while Rin as we soon discover is a master of martial arts. Their time in the office together is usually light and sprinkled with jokes and a suggested lesbian relationship. This is a stark contrast to the frequent gory injuries and torture usually sustained by Rin (It seems her enemies are usually extreme sadists). Their work usually starts off innocuous (in the first episode, Rin was out looking for a lost cat), but quickly become tangled in bigger and bigger problems (from an illegal lab cloning humans, assassinations of political foreign visitors, to the end of the world. Yup, the usual.).
The private investigator pattern continues for 4 episodes, where more and more of Yggdrasil's mysteries are unveiled. As the viewer, I enjoyed picking up each subtle clue and putting together more of more of the big picture. Towards the end of the series, immortals and angels (men who absorb the Fruit of Time turn into power savage winged creatures whose sole purpose in their short lifespan is to seek out immortals and eat them, as we discover later. They are one of the few true threats to an immortal woman.) plot elements come together in a sadistic plan to destroy all mortal humans. The pacing of the anime series, I felt, was excellent. 6 long episodes were just the right amount of time to deliver all the information to the audience, and the OVA medium (Direct-to-home video) allows the production crew to basically put anything they want onto the screen.
The characters in this series show distinct and fascinating development. Since at least 10 years of time pass between each episode, we see all the secondary characters age and change, while the main characters remain pretty much themselves. That, in addition to the changes in the environment made provided meaningful passage of time. By episode 3, for example, the world painted by the series has become that of the near future. It is a fairly stark, yet not unrealistic future where many people are lost in immersing online games -- 2.0 as the anime calls it, with reality being 1.0, and those lost in between trapped in "1.5". The characters also use more and more compact cell phones. The beauty of it all is that Mnemosyne never forces these changes down the viewer's throat. The characters behave just as you'd expect from someone who has grown accustomed to the technology over the years: perfectly at ease, and using each piece of equipment in a matter-of-fact way. This show knows its direction, and it also knows to respect the viewers' imagination in only giving a few interesting tidbits about the world, just enough for us to piece it all together.
Rin and Mimi (and a few other immortals) go through 3 generations of Japan over the course of the run. One of the secondary characters in the first episode, Maeno, who was found as a lost and helpless human clone, get married and have kids. In the 3rd episode, the male lead is his son, and in the 5th episode his granddaughter. The director did a very good job portraying teenagers who are fundamentally good people in this series. Too frequently do Japanese animes portray a flat, annoying brat as a kid. In this film, however, I clearly felt that despite being rebellious as teenagers tend to be, the youngsters are compassionate, smart, and capable. That brings me to another thing I enjoyed -- the characters, good guys and bad guys both, don't do outrageously stupid things like in most movies. Thanks to that, the plot rarely loses momentum because we're not overcome with frustration by how these people act.
Finally, the script uses a variety of mythical and factual trivia that are accurate! That sealed the deal for me in giving this series an excellent recommendation.
score 9/10
rabbyclare 16 January 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2008191/ |
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6-1-2021 22:32:02