A Graphic Anime
If you like mystery, along with horror and weirdness, you might like the anime series "RIN: The Daughters of Mnemosyne" or just RIN for short. Go ahead and say the word Mnemosyne. I have trouble with saying it.
It IS an odd piece of animation.
The interesting thing with Japanese anime is the absolute variety of genres worked into many different series involved. It could be a romantic comedy or science fiction depending on the story. You could throw in many things and still get away with a pretty good narrative.
But RIN is a difficult one to classify.
Which makes it a very strange is the wondrous orchestra of animation and storytelling. It centers on a female private investigator who runs a number of odd jobs anywhere between finding lost pets to missing persons. So you could call it a mystery? Well, yes. But then you throw in the fact that she survives many horrible deaths because she turns out to be an immortal. So it’s a horror story? Yes, it is.
So it's a hodge-podge of different elements stirred into one whole piece which stretches for six different 45 min. segments. There is a definite story arc here included in the six part series.
Rin Asogi is an immortal who works as a detective in order to solve her own past. Because she's lived for such a long period, some memories are lost to her. But she becomes involved in a long battle of eternity... while learning of how her past was catching up with her. The story is rich with a complex plot that is layered throughout a narrative. Set in Tokyo which gives it the Asian climate needed.
However, it's not for those with weak stomachs. There are tons of graphic moments where the main character is tossed through a number of deaths. What are the deaths? She is killed in several explosions, gunshots, knifes and swords and even an inventive one by being pulled into an airplane propeller. Isn't that nice?
It's an extra for horror fans because the blood-letting is pretty spectacular stuff. So this one isn’t for the kiddies. The studios Xebec and Genco created the anime series for just one season... and it was licensed by Funimation for the United States. But you have to wonder if the people making this animation had a warped sense of humor.
Back to the gruesome deaths. Every time Rin is killed, she loses a piece of her memory and her past becomes more than garbled.
However, she does have friends who help her along the way. She has Mimi who is her partner in the investigative agency, Koki Maeno who joins their business later on. He is a mere mortal. And there is also Genta the dog. Female dogs. Only women can be immortal here. The men just go nuts and turn into super-strong angels if they are touched with the time-fruits that bring power.
The entire anime series takes place between the years 1990 up to around 2060 which is a fairly long stretch of time.
That was my only big issue with the series: there was the number of jumps the story takes from different years. There are one year jumps in the narrative to the twenty-five year gaps. It does break up the narrative story-telling which would have served better in one continued story.
On the other hand, I would guess one way of keeping the narrative flowing is the use of the character Koki Maeno who is a regular Joe here. But you can see the Maeno family as they age... first, Koki Maeno, then his wife, and finally his son... so the entire story goes through the point of the view of the Maeno family, thus keeping the narrative story very concise, condensed. You do feel that the story is a unified whole through the sixty years of the Maeno family. People come and go. But the Maeno names remains prevalent throughout the series.
If you can shell out $50 for the series, it's worth the time and effort. You'll find it's an interesting take on immortality and one that is very bold because of the adult themes running through it. I repeat: the animation isn't for children. The intended audience here is adults.
Again, the animation is very well done. The Japanese are well known for the artistic skills of creating animation in the highest order. And they don't miss the beat here. The flowing nature of the drawing continues to be very sharp and the use of colors are vibrant as ever. While the animation isn't quite as good as "Ergo Proxy" or "Ghost in the Shell," the RIN series has a place of its own in the halls of animation.
One thing they did well was keeping suggestion of the graphic violence in check. They could have gone way overboard and go into a hurricane of gore. There are times when the series can kick into “Clockwork Orange” mode. But there are many portions of the story where the violence is left to the imagination of the viewers. Which is probably why it seems more graphic than it really is. The series still is very potent.
Another high score for Japanese animation. Those who are looking for something different in animation don’t need to look any further than this one.
It IS an odd piece of animation.
The interesting thing with Japanese anime is the absolute variety of genres worked into many different series involved. It could be a romantic comedy or science fiction depending on the story. You could throw in many things and still get away with a pretty good narrative.
But RIN is a difficult one to classify.
Which makes it a very strange is the wondrous orchestra of animation and storytelling. It centers on a female private investigator who runs a number of odd jobs anywhere between finding lost pets to missing persons. So you could call it a mystery? Well, yes. But then you throw in the fact that she survives many horrible deaths because she turns out to be an immortal. So it’s a horror story? Yes, it is.
So it's a hodge-podge of different elements stirred into one whole piece which stretches for six different 45 min. segments. There is a definite story arc here included in the six part series.
Rin Asogi is an immortal who works as a detective in order to solve her own past. Because she's lived for such a long period, some memories are lost to her. But she becomes involved in a long battle of eternity... while learning of how her past was catching up with her. The story is rich with a complex plot that is layered throughout a narrative. Set in Tokyo which gives it the Asian climate needed.
However, it's not for those with weak stomachs. There are tons of graphic moments where the main character is tossed through a number of deaths. What are the deaths? She is killed in several explosions, gunshots, knifes and swords and even an inventive one by being pulled into an airplane propeller. Isn't that nice?
It's an extra for horror fans because the blood-letting is pretty spectacular stuff. So this one isn’t for the kiddies. The studios Xebec and Genco created the anime series for just one season... and it was licensed by Funimation for the United States. But you have to wonder if the people making this animation had a warped sense of humor.
Back to the gruesome deaths. Every time Rin is killed, she loses a piece of her memory and her past becomes more than garbled.
However, she does have friends who help her along the way. She has Mimi who is her partner in the investigative agency, Koki Maeno who joins their business later on. He is a mere mortal. And there is also Genta the dog. Female dogs. Only women can be immortal here. The men just go nuts and turn into super-strong angels if they are touched with the time-fruits that bring power.
The entire anime series takes place between the years 1990 up to around 2060 which is a fairly long stretch of time.
That was my only big issue with the series: there was the number of jumps the story takes from different years. There are one year jumps in the narrative to the twenty-five year gaps. It does break up the narrative story-telling which would have served better in one continued story.
On the other hand, I would guess one way of keeping the narrative flowing is the use of the character Koki Maeno who is a regular Joe here. But you can see the Maeno family as they age... first, Koki Maeno, then his wife, and finally his son... so the entire story goes through the point of the view of the Maeno family, thus keeping the narrative story very concise, condensed. You do feel that the story is a unified whole through the sixty years of the Maeno family. People come and go. But the Maeno names remains prevalent throughout the series.
If you can shell out $50 for the series, it's worth the time and effort. You'll find it's an interesting take on immortality and one that is very bold because of the adult themes running through it. I repeat: the animation isn't for children. The intended audience here is adults.
Again, the animation is very well done. The Japanese are well known for the artistic skills of creating animation in the highest order. And they don't miss the beat here. The flowing nature of the drawing continues to be very sharp and the use of colors are vibrant as ever. While the animation isn't quite as good as "Ergo Proxy" or "Ghost in the Shell," the RIN series has a place of its own in the halls of animation.
One thing they did well was keeping suggestion of the graphic violence in check. They could have gone way overboard and go into a hurricane of gore. There are times when the series can kick into “Clockwork Orange” mode. But there are many portions of the story where the violence is left to the imagination of the viewers. Which is probably why it seems more graphic than it really is. The series still is very potent.
Another high score for Japanese animation. Those who are looking for something different in animation don’t need to look any further than this one.
posted by K.M. Paters at 4:24 PM
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