Mardock Scramble: The First Compression

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Mardock Scramble: Asshuku

Japanese: マルドゥック・スクランブル圧縮

More titles

Information

Type: Movie

Episodes: 1

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 8, 2010

Producers: Aniplex, Starchild Records

Licensors: Sentai Filmworks

Studios: GoHands

Source: Novel

Genres: Action, Sci-Fi

Theme: Psychological

Duration: 1 hr. 9 min.

Rating: R+ - Mild Nudity

Statistics

Score: 7.42¹ (scored by 28,509 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #2190²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #2517

Members: 73,305

Favorites: 172

Available At

Official Site

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

Rune Balot is a down-and-out teen prostitute in Mardock City. One day, she's picked up by an ambitious casino manager named Shell who gives her everything she could want. Renewed by a false innocence, a false past, and now the false life Shell has given her, Balot feels grateful. However, she can't help but be curious about why he's done so much for her, so she does some research about his past on a computer. This turns out to be a mistake which will change her life greatly. When Shell finds out what she's done, he attempts to burn her to death by blowing up her car.

Due to the high crime rate in Mardock, a new law called "Scramble 09" has given police carte blanche to take extreme and otherwise illegal measures to revive crime witnesses. With this in mind, they allow a professor to bring Balot back from the brink of death by reassembling her entire body with reinforced synthetic fiber. When she finally wakes up, her confused mental state eventually turns toward revenge as Shell is revealed as her killer.

(Source: Nippon Cinema)

Edit

Background

No background information has been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding background information here.

Edit

Related Anime

Adaptation:	Mardock Scramble
Sequel:	Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Balot, Rune

Main

Hayashibara, Megumi
Japanese

Penteano, Œufcoque

Main

Yashima, Norito
Japanese

Welldone the Pussyhand

Supporting

Tanaka, Masahiko
Japanese

Septinos, Shell

Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya
Japanese

Boiled, Dimsdale

Supporting

Isobe, Tsutomu
Japanese

Medium the Fingernail

Supporting

Wakamoto, Norio
Japanese

Dr. Easter

Supporting

Touchi, Hiroki
Japanese

Mincemeat the Wink

Supporting

Miyake, Kenta
Japanese

Flesh the Pike

Supporting

Waki, Tomohiro
Japanese

Rare the Hair

Supporting

Kanai, Mika
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Nakanishi, Go

Producer

Kishimoto, Reigo

Producer

Kudou, Susumu

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Foster, Steven

Script, ADR Director

Edit

Opening Theme

No opening themes have been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding an opening theme here.

Edit

Ending Theme

"Amazing Grace for Balot (アメイジング・グレイス for Balot)" by Minako Honda

Reviews

Aug 17, 2012

MangoFox

Recommended

If there’s one thing that can be said about anime, it’s that it can get quite controversial at times. From the Ecchi genre, to the Horror genre, to the Psychological genre, anime is often presented with scenes of intense language, violence, gore, nudity, sex, and highly questionable themes. Mardock Scramble is one such anime.

The story follows a young Rune Balot, who as a child was raped by her father. Enraged, her brother then proceeds to shoot the father. As her family falls to pieces, Rune grows up as an underage prostitute, and where she is ultimately caught and put in jail. Enter Shell, the ... main antagonist of this anime, who gets her out, gives her shelter, offers her his love and support… and then proceeds to blow her up.
Severely injured and on the verge of death, she is then rescued by Dr.Easter , who effectively turns her into a sexy Japanese version of Robocop. She is then given the ability to hack electronics, kick ass, and take names. To bring the crimes of Shell to light, she partners up with Oeufcoque, a highly intelligent electronical mouse that can transform, doubling as; her wardrobe, voice collar, gun, knife, shield, radar, emotional support, and love interest. Effectively putting batman’s utility belt to shame.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, yes this anime is rated R-18+, with themes of rape, incest, prostitution, murder, and impending bestiality. To put into perspective how fucked up this anime gets. One of the villains, is a giant tit sack. . . No really. While his boss, Mr. Pussyhands, gives quite a new meaning to the term “pussyslap”, and takes the act of “masturbation” to a whole new level.

One of the things I can say about this anime, is that it is very dark, and takes itself very seriously. You get a feel for Balot’s fear & mistrust of strangers, her loneliness & desperation, and her pain & anguish. As you begin to comprehend the tormented soul of Rune Balot, you start to get an understanding of what this anime is trying to convey.
A ‘balot’ , or ‘balut’, is an underdeveloped duck embryo. It is a representation of the fragility of Rune’s character as well as her torqued innocence. While Oeufcoque (French for egg shell), serves to protect Rune, both physically and mentally.

This dark and gritty concept, question of morals, and beautiful use of symbolism, makes this an anime I would definitely recommend checking out. The animation is a mix of 3d cg, brilliant slow mo, and fast paced action. While the anime takes very serious tones and displays them in a very serious manner. Which is a nice break from all the mindless violence, gore, sex, and nudity often found in other anime.

I hope you enjoyed this review, and as always, thank you for reading.
(P.S. I wonder what the director’s obsession with eggs is all about though. Dr. Easter, Boiled, Scramble, Balot, Oeufcoque, Shell, and Humpty Dumpty. Now all they need is a character named Sunny Side Up)

Open

Gift

Nov 3, 2011

DraconisMarch

Mixed Feelings

Short and sweet:

Story - Very interesting, but suffered from pacing issues. It moved wayyy too fast and didn't explain what was going on--or why--very well. Then again, some people may like this kind of vagueness that puts the jobs of interpretation and filling in the gaps on the viewer. If they had tacked an extra 20-30 minutes onto it, they could've SLOWED THE HELL DOWN and taken their time.

Art - Incredible, clean, and beautiful, except I'm not a fan of the grain layering they used over the duration of the film. It was different, but not my taste. Watching it ...

Open

Gift

Jul 8, 2012

NavyCherub

Not Recommended

Clarity is important to a movie's effectiveness. While it is true that clarity is always important in storytelling, a movie does well to keep that in mind even more, as there is much less time than usual to tell a story. With that in mind, as an introduction to a trilogy, Mardock Scramble: The First Compression does a wishy-washy job.

The main issue with The First Compression's execution is its confusing way of expressing itself. The first section of the movie consists of a vague and confusing sequence of related events. Many intense and provocative things are shown during this, but their relevance and, at a ... more basic level, what exactly is happening in them is all left unexplained. It seems there was an attempt to let the visuals do the talking here, but it doesn't work very well because absolutely nothing about the setting or characters was explicitly stated and the viewer is left scratching their heads until the sequence ends and the main character, Balot, wakes up in a tank to begin the next segment of the movie.

Once that is all over, though, things so relatively smoothly. The doctor, Dr. Easter, and Balot's companion for the rest of the movie, Oeufcoque, are quickly introduced. They are also utilized well in the sense that their conversations with Balot allow the viewer a more broad sense of the setting and the mechanics of Mardock Scramble's world. Unfortunately, while exposition was clearly part of the intent behind Dr. Easter and Oeufcoque's words, they fell victim to the movie's habit of keeping things too vague to be able to say everything portrayed in the movie made sense. This is a good thing in that their conversations were kept natural, but also a problem since there were no other chances given throughout the movie to expand upon the various political and technological developments that drive the movie's plot as a whole, making it all feel quite shallow.

While Dr. Easter's character is used mostly for storytelling utility and plot advancement, Oeufcoque stands as an anomaly among the characters, as he is interesting and unique. His development very much mirrors Balot's, as they are together through most of the movie and a majority of the dialogue is focused on them. However, unlike Balot, who's characterization begins fairly interesting and soon falls to melodrama and inconsistency, Oeufcoque begins the movie as the logical sidekick character and slowly reveals moments of real emotion and expression. He keeps the other characters in check and brings the tone of the movie to a more believable standard whenever he is allowed to have an influence on it. If there is anything this movie did well, it was Oeufcoque and in a related way his relationship with Balot.

Unfortunately, after some Balot-related plot developments are over, the movie decides to change atmosphere completely and enters a much worse territory than it was in before. Expanding upon its awkward focus on sexual desire, several incredibly undeveloped throwaway characters with a vague and uninteresting motivation are introduced seemingly for the sole purpose of giving Balot a reason to become a completely different character, presumably in an attempt to have her appear more complex. This was a mistake. The action scenes are boring and unimpressive, clearly given less thought than the rest of the movie was. The character designs are unintentionally hilarious and impossible to take seriously. This all results in a boring and unimportant final segment where Balot is shown fighting various enemies, leaving plenty of room for overdramatized scenes and a complete and intentional ignorance of the characterization that has happened thus far, culminating in a predictable cliffhanger for the second movie.

It really is too bad that Mardock Scramble: The First Compression was unable to stay consistent or find its identity in this movie, as it is very pretty and does take place in an interesting world in its own right, but not there's simply not much to be said after finishing it except for "well, what was all that for, anyway?"

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Classical music, traditional & remixes

by coffeedrops

38 Entries · 3 Restacks

Obscurities - Part 04: No Rules

by hamsteralliance

49 Entries · 99 Restacks

less-known older shows that show promise

by n_w_x

19 Entries · 34 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

View All

More news

Recent News

Square Enix Rookie's Manga Award Retracted Due to Plagiarism

According to Hayakawa Shobo and Square Enix, the winner of the 18th Square Enix Manga Award Special Grand Prize was found to plagiarize Ubukata Tow's short stor...read more

Jul 15, 2011 5:24 AM by dtshyk | Discuss (24 comments)

Sentai Filmworks Acquires Mardock Scramble

According to their official press release, Sentai Filmworks has announced their license of Mardock Scramble, the movie trilogy whose second film will premiere this S...read more

Jun 21, 2011 12:29 AM by Naruleach | Discuss (13 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Mardock Scramble 1: The First Compression Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Kraker2k - Nov 21, 2010	110 replies	by Archean-Return »» Oct 2, 2023 8:53 AM
Thoughts on Mardock Scramble LightningSoul - Sep 4, 2017	7 replies	by Salty-GB »» Jul 23, 2021 5:45 PM
/ delete_plz - Jun 7, 2010	7 replies	by ZaMpa »» Mar 31, 2011 4:00 AM

Mardock Scramble: The First Compression

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Balot, Rune

Penteano, Œufcoque

Welldone the Pussyhand

Septinos, Shell

Boiled, Dimsdale

Medium the Fingernail

Dr. Easter

Mincemeat the Wink

Flesh the Pike

Rare the Hair

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Mardock Scramble: The First Compression

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-