Ranked #591

Mnemosyne - Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi

My first review or this site, and here on I plan to write reviews mostly to series that I feel are being unjustifiably bashed in previous reviews by other members.

Mnemosyne has been noticeably losing viewers as the numerous fanservice dedicated scenes become more evident, but since fanservice has become a staple in recent anime mostly due to commercial reasons, it is pointless to dislike a series based heavily on the amount and harshness of those.

One of the strongest points of the series is the interesting portrayal of immortal beings and the evolution of society and technology throughout the multiple decade time-skips between each episode, the aging of mortal characters and their long but passing relationship with the main characters. Compared to most other anime that do have long-living characters in their host, Mnemosyne presents a much more realistic and accurate view on the aspect, arguably comparable to that of the western classical RPG Vampire: The Masquerade.

The antagonists, while not presenting many, if any, noticeable original characteristics not seen in other works, manage to stay mysterious to the end, with very little of their motives, personalities and goals being apparent to the viewer, as well as their natures and origins, resulting in interesting but often small revelations occurring in every episode, successfully enticing the mind of the public.

The protagonists, as immortals, largely resist changes in personality and habits, and, as previously mentioned, maintain interesting relationships with the supporting cast, aware that those are fragile just as the lives of innumerous beings they have watched fade away throughout the ages, but also not treating them as disposable or of low value. Both are shown as having a substantial amount of knowledge, and as preserving the memories of those who were important to them. The main character's fighting ability is not as great as one would expect, but is overally consistent, without noticeable bursts of martial geniousness or inexplicable failures on sure-win situations.

In the end, Mnemosyne can be viewed as a like-it-or-hate-it series, as it's merits are notable, it also requires a lot from the viewer to be appreciated, specially on the western side of the globe, due to it's heavy graphics and plot. It might also become a vanguard work, opening more space for future similar anime to bloom. read more

Okay, this is my first anime review, bear with it.

Mnemosyne is a truly orginal anime. I have never seen anything like it ever before. Each episode takes place in a different time frame and jumps decades at a time from episode to episode. What's more, the surrounding environment changes along with it. Technology developes, buildings that were once prominent become dilapidated and destroyed and charaters age.

The story seems to be complicated at first, but once it ends, the whole picture seems to fall into focus. The story surrounds a woman named Rin Asogi who runs a consulting agency with her friend Mimi and pet dog Genta. The thing is, they are both immortal from a plant called Yggdrasil which releases spores that if entered into a woman, makes them immortal and they can live for practically forever. But if it enters a male, they become angels and can only live for a short amount of time. When both are near each other, the female is sexually attracted to the angel and asks of him to "devour" her.

Eventually, Rin meets Kouki Maeno in the first episode and throughout the series, the Maeno family becomes the key element in the story along with a demigod Eipos who is adiment on eating Rin's timespore.

The art direction is fantastic, although the memory flashbacks kind of make it hard to see and understand what is going on. But that is the point of it all, since memories can become fuzzy and hard to remember.

The sound is great since you can hear every action shot, explosion and gut-wrenching scene quite clearly.

As for characters, they are well diverse and well thought out and have a different spin on personality as well as leaving some family resemblance when it comes to the Maeno family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this anime. Although some spots become difficult to understand when you start each episode. But overall, it was very good to watch and I highly recommend it for those of you who enjoy something aside from mainstream anime and don't mind nudity, action, explosions, etc.

Mnemosyne is one of a kind. read more