*Blog post started on August 27, 2020.
And I am immediately regretting the TV/Blu-ray that I watched last night. First off, it is because the schedule for blog publicization (Because I want to see how everything looks, they get published about a week a head of the @maineventzombie tweet storm.) needed to be switched up. That is actually secondly when I try to put everything in chronologic order.
Firstly, I tried to add to my "Chris Memoirs" about how past loved ones seem to determine that I am an agent of chaos while Trevor Noah is discussing actual chaos. It is tough to document how I feel sorry for myself when the only life that I am fucking up is my own. What that lead to was me feeling guilty about my race's responsibility of oppressions towards the downtrodden? Talking myself down saying it is okay because I at least recognize my white privilege and have stood up for change leads me to feeling useless when my parents have a narrative to punish me if I challenge their, "It is what it is mantra".
My life feels like a mess in which I am always wondering if I can actually fix it. I feel like I am pretty useless and it feels like the moment that I left settling on a Caterpillar job at 21 (I am not Trent from my "Memoirs"), no one has put any faith in me to succeed in pursuing my passions. There are no little Scoops wondering Central Illinois. Choosing not to just shag anything I can with no caution taken should be applauded and shows that I am still dedicated to my aspirations. It is either I have not grown up or people just do not care about me. Why believe in someone who does not believe in your system?
At least that is directing me to try and be more independent. If you are not going believe in me, I cannot count on your support. But, as I was writing last night, I crave chaos beyond myself. Here is to holding off the shunning till after I get those nights in October.
The lengthiness of what I wrote about second definitely shows that it deserved more time. My third concern is rather trivial. I did not need to watch an anime last night to review. It seems like I may as well just review all six episodes of "RIN: Daughters of the Mnemosyne", the first entire anime series that was a blind purchase at regular price.
I suppose it was not totally blind. First off, there was probably a gift card involved, so was it really my money? Secondly, aside from the erotic tones the box art put off, I did look at the production company, Xebec, and recall they were responsible for "Martian Successor Nadesico". How I could I resist seeing what the team behind my second favorite giant mecha series do with this genre? The description gave me "Hellsing" and "Highlander" vibes, so how I could fault this purchase?
And then I got Netflix.
"RIN: Daughters of the Mnemosyne" - Episodes 1 and 2
Rin Asougi and her vodka-loving partner, Mimi, operate the Asougi Investigation Agency in Tokyo. They will take on any job be it locate a lost cat, find a 100-year old stamp, or the case of Kouki Maeno. After the cat Rin was searching for causes a tanker truck to crash, a 20-year old college student is found stumbling around Shinjuku. His seeming out-of-the blue appearance intrigue's Rin, and once a gang of business suit wearing thugs try to capture him, Kouki has captured her attention. She quickly subdues the thugs and talks Kouki into returning with her.
It turns out that Kouki's memory is scattered and he states that it does not feel real. Mimi's hope that a night of heavy drinking would straighten his head fails, so Rin decides to abandon the cat search for now and focus on helping their young friend. After another assault by goons, they find out that they are connected to Aoyama Pharmaceuticals, a company that Kouki remembers working for as a drug test subject. To find out more about this company, Rin goes undercover at a promotional ball and seduces a top executive to access his computer and get all the dirt.
Just as she is stealing the data for Mimi to decipher, an assassin who seems to be targeting Rin breaks into the hotel room. This is the same assassin who seemingly successfully obliterated our protagonist with a shot gun at the beginning of this series.
We find out that Rin and Mimi are immortals, infected by time fruits from a mysterious tree that can only be seen by those who cannot die by traditional means. Women who are implanted with the fruit live forever while men become what the women call angels. Angels are flying monsters who have difficulty resisting their baser instincts of feeding and mating. Naturally, the immortal women are their targets and they decide to feed and mate at the same time to survive. Otherwise, these creatures are lucky to survive a week in their state.
Any kind of attack on Rin is assumed to be planned out by Apos, a mysterious being obsessed with immortality. Because the attack is associated with Aoyama, Rin suspects whatever happened to Kouki, Apos is behind it. It looks likes the answers can only be found at the research facility Kouki was held in. Apos's involvement means these humans probably have the same obsession, so our two heroes are going to be walking into the most evil realm that the stock market can create.
"Mnemosyne" has the ideal mix of beauty in its character designs and twisted brutality. With only six episodes, you get to see and appreciate where all the production's money was spent. It definitely is not for the faint of heart or morally high strung. Throw in a solid metal soundtrack, the series is ideal for the stereotypical otaku.
My review for these episodes tries to avoid spoilers, so the concepts of the second episode are buried like how I skipped telling the story of the first episode chronologically. The first two episodes are 45 minutes long, so there is a lot of story to be told. Because it takes two episodes to get into an explanation of immortality, this series expects you to pay attention to everything. This might backfire in gaining the fandom of casual Toonami fans because the story's love to shock the audience.
Beyond the frustrations the story may cause, I cannot say there is much to complain about this series. The animation can be a bit static because when it comes to our female characters, Xebec really wants the viewer to appreciate how beautiful their sexy characters are. Thus, smooth movement can be lacking in scenes. It "flaws" always come back to the storytelling. The tonal changes can upset the flow of the episodes.
Perhaps trying to have a sense of humor hinders it a little. If I recall correctly, chuckles will eventually be lost as the series goes on. As I recall that, would I be interested in continuing to watch if it did not rely on humor to begin with?
I can only compare it to the movie "Upgrade". The movie is a damn near perfect action flick, but there is no levity to it, hence why I have no desire to rewatch it. Humor is virtually devoid in the second "Godfather", but we get the moments where our "heroes" gave the antagonists what they deserve.
Better yet, "Ex Machina" is considered by many to be a downer (I for one welcome our AI overlords.), but we get the dance number. A long with "Upgrade", I have associated this post with an episode of "The Connect" from The Ringer Podcast Network. I best remember to tag the podcast's hosts when I start tweeting this publication out.
When it comes down to it, one's ability to stick with "Mnemosyne" depends on the tolerance of for the show's wanting to throw in way too many elements from sci-fi and horror. Again, I want to avoid spoilers, but lets say some of the experiments the villains try can stun the viewer with a "Really?" response. This is not relatable like the Makoto Shinkai's work, so if you want down to earth, "RIN" will not be for you.
"RIN: Daughters of the Mnemosyne" is a great jumping off point into the overly sexualized world of anime. The first episode lets you know that anything and everything will probably happen, but the characters, humor and art allow all of this to look good. If craziness is what you demand from your animation, "Mnemosyne" is the perfect package.
