Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi

Immortality is something many people would wish for. But would it be such a coveted ability if people knew they would be subject to countless attacks because of it? Such is the case for Rin Asougi, an immortal private investigator, because there is no shortage of people who want her dead. Over the centuries, she has met many grisly ends, but each time, she returns to life as if nothing had happened.

In 1990, while looking for a lost cat, Rin runs into Kouki Maeno, a man who feels that his memories are wrong. Agreeing to help him, Rin discovers that Kouki is not what he seems, all the while drawing closer to her true enemy. This adversary knows Rin and her kind all too well, and if she dies by his hand, she may stay dead permanently.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Asogi, Rin Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Mimi Main

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Apos Main

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Laura Supporting

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Genta Supporting

Maeno, Kouki Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Yamanobe, Sayara Supporting

Tanaka, Rie Japanese

Tajimamori Supporting

Tanaka, Masahiko Japanese

Maeno, Mishio Supporting

Nazuka, Kaori Japanese

Kamiyama, Ruon Supporting

Nabatame, Hitomi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Bevins, Christopher Producer, ADR Director

Beniya, Yoshikazu Producer

Chino, Takatoshi Producer

Reviews

Nov 16, 2008

Smithy

Recommended

“Mnemosyne”, also known as “Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne no Musumetachi”, is a six episode series containing a mix of supernatural, science fiction and horror elements. What will no doubt strike most viewers about this series are its explicit horror and sexually tinted scenes.
Considering these horror and sex scenes, as well as the themes behind them, “Menomosyne” is only suitable for mature viewers. Those who do watch will be treated to a dark series that holds some very interesting references and concepts, both apparent from its visuals or integrated in its plot.


The series' time frame spans over sixty years, the first episode showing us events that occur ... in 1990 while the last episode takes place in 2055. Some flashbacks even give us a glimpse of events involving the main characters that took place many centuries ago.
The story follows Rin and Mimi, the various people they encounters and the overarching plot around mysterious phenomenon involving Yggdrasil, everything is slowly unravelled piece by piece to come to a conclusion in the final episode.

In the beginning of the series, Rin and Mimi run a detective agency, as such the first episodes seem to be more independent mystery tales that reveal little about the girls' true nature and nearly nothing about the overarching plot. Gradually more pieces are added to the puzzle and the whole plot becomes clear during the final episode when its fully explained and the intention of those that were pulling the strings behind the shadows becomes clear. This can make the final revelations a bit of a paradoxical experience for the viewer.
On one end, as everything is explained to the audience about the mystic nature of immortals, angels and Yggdrasil, it is rewarding to finally see the bigger picture of the series. On the other end since it was initially so vague that it seemed almost absent during the first episodes, most viewers who have developed a bond with the main heroines are more likely to focus on what becomes of them and may feel more alienated in regards of the overarching plot and its impact on humankind, even though it does involve the main characters.

At first glance it may look like the horror and sexual scenes are there just as selling points to brand the series and fit it in the horror or sexually explicit category, an impression that could even be reinforced when one realizes the meaning behind most of this horror and lust towards the latter half of the series. Yet I found they end up giving the series more depth and add weight to its themes of (im)mortality and human desires. Not only do those scenes explicitly reference to psychological themes or hold sociological meaning, they also tell us more about the characters involved, which may cast a more grim light on some but makes them that much more interesting and involving characters.
Much like the excessive horror and blood spilling in “Elfen Lied” served another purpose than just showing gore, which became clear as the series progressed and ultimately gave it a deeper meaning, especially for its characters.


The cast of “Mnemosyne” is rather small, which makes it easier for us viewers, seeing the limited number of episodes. Most are quite interesting, even when little is known about their pasts, the way they're presented and act shows more intricate and complex characters than the average bland two dimensional characters. Some even offer us quite daring and grim persona.

Rin of course gets the most attention and development, while Mimi is an interesting character, she clearly remains a supporting character to Rin.
Being immortal, Rin especially seems to almost seek out situations where she will encounter physical harm, her body often suffering atrocious injuries. While Mimi is more reserved towards dangerous situations, like Rin she too is no stranger in seeking out the extremes of physical pleasure, certainly sexual pleasures. In the end it's made apparent that being immortal can also be seen as a curse, cut off from one of the very foundations of what it means to be human, one's mortality and finity, the girls can often only thrive or feel alive by seeking out extreme physical experiences and emotions, be it through suffering or pleasure. Paradoxically, their hearts and spirits are shown to remain as those of every other person, while somewhat desensitised towards certain concepts that normal mortal humans face, they became perhaps even more sensitive to others. When they are finally able to bond with someone and feel true emotions such as love, any joyful or painful emotions there seem to be felt even more vivid than for mortal humans.
More disturbing in that aspect, no doubt intentional, was the emotional torture executed on some of the characters, showing that physical pain while great and lethal, can still pale in comparison to mental anguish for which no true deliverance exists, especially when there is no deliverance to be found for it by death.

Portrayed as a strong female lead, who is not only smart and cunning but has terrific martial art skills, Rin is voiced by Mamiko Noto, whose subdued and soft voice could be seen as ill fitting but actually offers a nice contrast and adds indispensable depth to Rin's character by making her not only appear more serene and experienced, but also gives her the aura of a soothing mother figure. This gives Rin a believable mix of strength and vulnerability, of passion and serenity, of distance and attachment.

Mimi's character seems a bit more standard but also turns out to be quite interesting. Mimi's bond to Rin seems to be quite deep and even amorous at the start of the series, but later on those amorous and lustful feelings seem to have given way to a deeper and different attachment. Ultimately Mimi fights to protect and save Rin, the way Rin had once fought to save her.


While the bloody horror scenes should still be stomachable by most, the sadism exhibited in some scenes can be stomach churning. Some characters are repeatedly tortured and mutilated in such sadistic ways, it forms a dark and dire sketch of the inhumanity and levels of sadism some can display. It may seem a gratification or even celebration of sadism, inflicting pain and sexual abuse. A theme that was also touched upon in “Higurashi No Koro Ni”.

Next to the horror, there are many sexual themes and sexually tinted scenes, from near explicit sex scenes to the mutual effect immortals and angels have on each other. All immortals are women and the only real treat to their immortality are angels, males that posses superhuman strength offset by an extremely short lifespan. Devoid of any logical and normal reasoning, angels act as wild beasts that seek out immortals and devour them. Immortals are vulnerable to angels due to their overwhelming physical reaction to them, when close to one, they become utterly defenceless and lust to be embraced by them.
The sexual references are quite obvious, men are referred to as mindless beasts whose power is to subjugate and conquer women, women who regardless of their own powers such as continuing the circle of life, become lustful creatures unable to resist men.

Its story also expanding into the future, “Mnemosyne” shows us an interesting view of mankind's future with a contemporary spawned idea of how the digital world permeate and eventually blend in with the real world.


Animation by Xebec and Genco throughout all the episodes is good, with most focus on the female characters and the realistic, detailed backgrounds. The difference in care and attention of the animation between different scenes can be apparent sometimes. In some scenes where naked bodies are shown, they are not always drawn that well. Some of the horror scenes that would have been too gory and no longer look convincing enough if directly shown, use clever tricks of shading and suggestion.
Overall, the animation of “Mnemosyne” is good, though I did miss a bit of the beautiful animation of Rin and Mimi in the last episode, near the ending sequence, it didn't seem as well cared for as in prior episodes. On many occasions the animation of Rin and Mimi is quite sublime, such as the view of Rin leaning against a stone pillar in the opening sequence.


The soundtrack of “Mnemosyne” is fairly good, the hard rock track accompanying the opening sequence immediately sets the trend for the more raunchy and hard hitting horror and sexual parts of the series. The remainder of the soundtrack does a good job at setting the mood and accompanying what happens on screen, though a more eerie soundtrack could have worked just as well but risked making the series a bit too dark.


I definitely recommend “Mnemosyne” to those who want to see an engaging story with an interesting lead character and aren't afraid of gore or sexually tinted scenes because regardless of those scenes, they emphasise some of the more interesting themes the series holds. And if you're watching it just for the horror and nudity, you'll no doubt be satisfied as well.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 20, 2014

Link_of_Hyrule

Mixed Feelings

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**

Don’t be fooled by the relatively average score that I have given it; “Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne” (or “Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne no Musumi-tachi”) is ANYTHING but an average, run-of-the-mill anime. This is a disturbing, startling, adult-only watch complete with regular intervals of rape, torture, nudity, and symbolic themes that only people familiar with Greek Mythology would understand. However, DoM is advertised as far more than just a show that throws blood and sex around willy-nilly to pander to the audience; it claims that every torture scene, every rape scene, and every nudity scene serves an actual purpose. Supposedly, these themes are not contrived and ... serve as a legitimately vital element to the narrative. Now, whether that advertisement is true or not, that’s another matter entirely. So: Is this tale of immortals and angels just a cheap, mindless, pandering piece of trash that’s only good for shock value, or is it a well-written and well-thought out masterpiece that is drastically underrated? The truth, in my opinion, is somewhere in between.

Synopsis: Rin Asogi is an immortal private detective with a thirst for, *cough, “water”, and a talent for attracting things that cause her tremendous amounts of pain and suffering. The series follows Rin over the course of sixty-five years as well as the nightmarish events that she gets herself involved in as she tries to discover the truth behind her own immortality. The mastermind behind her tortured existence is a being known as Apos, an eternal being obsessed with sacrificing Rin to Yggdrasil (the tree of all life). Rin is no stranger to the realm of the dead, but if Apos has his way, her next visit could be her last.

This is an anime that I have very mixed feelings about. When the show decides to focus on the lives of Rin and her partner Mimi and their work as private investigators trying to unravel the mystery of their own immortality, the show works very well as an adult supernatural-detective thriller. The unique presentation of the anime does wonders for its pacing as there are only six total episodes, each one twice as long as a normal episode. Every episode is followed by a large time skip; a plot element that also works in the show’s favor. While the environment, the people, and the technology around our main characters change drastically, Rin and Mimi always stay the same. This is a very nice technique that puts the character’s immortality in perspective; there is no denying that there is some very nice writing going on in this series. The show presents us with an intriguing mystery and slowly unravels it overtime, just like a good mystery anime should. These parts of the show are definitely where it shines the brightest.

Unfortunately, for every element that DoM does well, it also does an element wrong. Very wrong. In this case, I am referring to the way that this show handles its more mature themes. I’m no prude who automatically looks down on any overtly sexual content in an anime, but some of DoM’s “mature” plot elements are just plain silly and childish. For example, without spoiling too much, consider how immortal women act whenever an angel is nearby; who thought that turning the immortals into horny sex-dolls with no willpower was a good idea? The whole “bang-me then kill-me thing” is just too ridiculous to be taken seriously; it doesn’t serve the narrative and kills the tone of the show. There is simply no reason for this plot element to exist, and it is not the only thing out of place. Virtually everything in this show based around Yggdrasil (google it) is just poorly executed, overly complicated, and unnecessarily sexual. The fact that it’s full of mythological allusions does nothing to change to the fact that it is poorly written and rushed at times; the backstory and actual function of some of the supernatural elements aren’t explained very well and minor plotholes exist throughout. In the end, what we end up with is a very mixed package. Sometimes the plot works, sometimes it doesn’t. All in all, it’s decent and certainly unique compared to what anime are normally about.

The characters are also a mixed bag. The protagonists, Rin and Mimi, are definitely the two best characters. Rin, particularly, is the complete package; she has legitimate/complex motivations, a distinct personality, and receives development. Mimi doesn’t receive the same development that Rin does, but she is also multi-faceted. The viewers get a very good sense of the bond that these two have with each other and their chemistry is very apparent; the protagonists are definitely the highlight of the show. The antagonists on the other hand, are unimpressive to say the least. Apos has no motivations what so ever and the motives behind pretty much everything that he or his underlings do can be chalked up “because I’m evil! Mwhahahah!” We are simply never given a substantial reason for anything he does, and when we are, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The side characters are an interesting case because we actually get to see them age throughout the series. Their relationships with Rin and Mimi are some of the strong points of the show because the audience gets to see these characters (who the girls have grown attached to) get older and older until they eventually die. This helps the burden of immortality hit home with the viewers. Despite the lack of any complex antagonistic force, the characters of DoM is where the anime strives the most.

In conclusion, Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne has some great ideas, but it loses sight of them because it is trying too hard to be mature. If it had dropped the whole idea of angels and the idea of adding in Apos as a horribly confused villain (as well as the copious sexual situations that go along with it), this could have been a damn good show. Unfortunately, it ends up coming across as too inconsistent and a bit incoherent. If you are in the mood for something drastically different from the norm, then I guess DoM isn’t a bad watch. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it nor would I suggest that you get your hopes up; it’s simply a decent change-of-pace anime at best.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 3, 2013

SchrodingersMatt

Not Recommended

First, let me get the obvious out of the way: the first two words I heard about this series were "torture porn" and it's not far from the truth. I do think there's more to the show than that, it tries to have an engaging plot beyond pure smut and the concept is actually a decent one that somewhat justifies the show's perverse tendencies. Setting aside any moral issues I might have with it, for the purposes of this review it's no different than any other kind of fanservice, especially since it's sort of justified by the show's mythos. That said, if frequent nudity, erotic ... moaning and women being torn asunder in various and sundry ways is a deal-breaker for you, there's no need to read this review any further because Rin: Daughter of Mnemosyne has quite a lot of that going on. You have been warned.

The visuals behind Mnemosyne are hit and miss. On one hand, the backgrounds are nice and detailed and the animation is pretty solid and consistent, but on the other the use of lighting varies wildly in quality and the character designs are a bit generic, sometimes even dipping into ugly. When it's too dark, scenes that should be gripping just come out drab, and when it's too bright they end up looking gaudy. The show occasionally strikes the right balance, but the lack of consistency can be distracting, and the choreography behind the fights are pretty lackluster to boot. It's not completely incompetent, there are some good moments, but most of the show's important action scenes tend to fall flat. Maybe I'm being too harsh, it's perfectly watchable and never looks bad, it just could've used more panache. At the very least, it has a few decent camera angles mixed in.

Maybe it'd be more compelling with better music, but it was not meant to be. Half the time the music doesn't really support the series, it just feels like it was slapped on at the end with barely any thought given. It's a perfectly good soundtrack that could have matched the tone the series was going for in theory, but there was clearly very little effort put into its integration, so the strained music direction is a real shame. Combined with the poorly executed visuals, it makes all the difference between these scenes being edge-of-your-seat thrilling and just "stuff that happens". I will say that the opening and ending are both hilariously bad Engrish songs.

The voice acting in both languages is fine, perfectly serviceable all-around, but neither really tries to go beyond the call of duty. The exception to this is Todd Haberkorn as the villainous Apos, his voice dripping with venomous obsession in a way few voice actors can nail. Stop casting him as harem leads, Funimation, he's capable of much better than that. Also, I suppose Mimi sounds better in the dub, but that might just be my distaste for moe bleeding through, I'll take Jamie Marchi's sassy performances over Rie Kugimiya's distilled cutesiness any day. I digress. For a show as dry and dramatic as this I can't help but think that more nuanced performances would have been fitting, but the scripts and acting in both languages are pretty content to just skate by. On the surface, the whole package just looks dull and uninspired.

In case my lack of enthusiasm wasn't immediately apparent, I'll just come out and say it: I was not impressed by this series in the least. Looking at the concept on paper I can see where its modest popularity comes from, promising a sexy thriller with suspenseful battles, engaging mysteries and a unique mythos. Oh, and lots of fanservice, if that tickles your fancy. In execution, though, the series doesn't deliver. Out of all the possible reactions I was prepared for going into this series, the one thing I did not expect was that I would find it boring, and yet that is just what happened. The poor direction is undeniably a big part of it--for a show that seems to want to stand out, the fights and action sequences are pretty standard, no flair or finesse to keep the audience's interest. Even when the risk takes on a global scale the tension is nonexistent. Mnemosyne is at its best when it's being tongue-in-cheek, so why couldn't it just stick with that?

Still, even with bland execution some shows can leave a positive impression if they put out a decent story. But nope, to call the story here mediocre would be generous. The entire first three episodes could be removed from the story altogether with only minimal rewriting and at virtually no detriment to the overarching story. The plot drags its feet through arc after inconsequential arc that often have little to do with the ridiculous mess that's eventually revealed to be the plot, and at the end of the day it seems to sincerely want the audience to take it seriously on some level. I couldn't help but think that this should have been a feature-length film if anything, maybe that would have given it some much-needed focus. We don't need to be repeatedly reminded that vodka means water in Russian without variation, thank you very much. Apos' final plan is absurd and pointless and half of his means have nothing to do with the end. Several twists are thrown in for no apparent reason except to make the plot more "edgy", and it gets really old really fast, especially when the straightforward direction gives every indication that this story really thinks it's actually going somewhere.

Moreso than its poor plotting, this series falls flat in how it develops--and doesn't develop--its characters. For a centuries-old mystery woman, Rin is simpler and more transparent than she has any right to be. She's not unlikable, she has a respect for humanity and cares about the people who are close for her, but aside from getting angry every now and again she's pretty much static, with no hidden depths aside from a bit of backstory in the finale that doesn't really add anything to her character. Her partner Mimi actually gets more development, and that's not saying much. The side companions they pick up over the course of the series receive much the same treatment. Kouki, for instance, has an interesting backstory that the show conveniently tosses aside for most of his screentime only to pull it back to try to milk it for some last-minute drama. To make matters worse, they're not all that fun to watch. I know this is subjective, but if the show isn't going to make its characters complex and thoughtful the least it could do is make them energized. This show waffles incessantly between silly and serious, never sticking to one long enough to leave any kind of impression.

I've nearly beaten this show to non-death, but I have to come back to the show's fanservice elements, because while I don't think the raunchy material is inherently bad, in execution it drops the show from bland and forgettable to just plain bad. I mentioned that the mythos somewhat justified the presence of fanservice in the show, and it does: the Angels are basically incubi, and while I won't spoil it, a certain pairing becomes part of a ritual that plays a key role in the series' conclusion. It's ridiculous, but with better execution I'd be willing to go with it. Rin using her sex appeal to get close to her targets on missions? That actually makes sense. Battles fought in minimal if any clothing? A bit much, but it happens. A security guard shoving Rin, the unknown and probably dangerous intruder, to the ground and trying to rape her on the spot without subduing her properly? This is getting stupid. Everyone in this show, be they human, Immortal or Angel, is ridiculously horny, to the point that it often gets in the way of their common sense. The series' oversexed nature extends well beyond what's justified by the tone and the mythos, it gets in the way of the story, and it becomes familiar so quickly that it ends up becoming just dull.

I've seen plenty of series stand out positively for the amount of love and care that went into making them, but despite its unusual production history and somewhat interesting ideas Mnemosyne feels shockingly cold and apathetic. It baffles me that the makers of something so novel and daring could care so little for their baby, but that appears to be the case. It has no idea what kind of show it wants to be, the end result tries too hard to be edgy and not hard enough to be entertainingly over-the-top about it. It still has some funny moments and some cool moments, but they're not enough to be called a saving grace. The show had no right to turn out as bland as it did.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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