Now, given the amount of gratuitous sex, blood, and gore this anime has to offer it would be easy (and simple) to cast this off as just another late night movie on tele with little to offer; except it isn't. Now in my case, after 15 minutes or so (about the time we're introduced to Mimi) I was just floored by how much I liked it. My aforementioned friend asked me after two episodes "so what do you think?" (A question I had been dreading he would ask me from the moment he made the suggestion to watch.) To which I gave him a wide eyed look and said "MORE!!!" But sadly I only had time that day for the first three and ended on an emotional note, it took me weeks to finally find the time to watch the last three installments I had been craving since I left.
One of the most surpising elements, for me, was how much I just liked and cared about the wellfare of the characters involved. This is always pretty big for me, because I find too many anime, particularly those of this genre or feel to them, don't pay much attention to their characters and then I don't care about them and I get bored unless something pretty grabs my attention (like Koyasu Takehito). But this wasn't the case here, I worried about them and when someone was hurt or killed I felt an emotional reaction to it. I laughed with their jokes and wanted to know more about them. My favourite character was Mimi, which I didn't expect given that she is your basic hacker-genius admin slave who just drinks vodka all day and pleads for Rin to save her somewhat regularly. But I loved her and couldn't imagine what the show would have been like for me without her.
Oh, speaking of crucial elements, did I mention that my friend made us watch this on Netflix? For those who don't know, Netflix online streaming is, so far as I'm able to discern, DUB only (I felt some of you out there in NetLand shudder. Well, me too, but stay tuned kids!) so I tend to stay far away from it with ten foot poles. Needless to say it was not working in Rin's favor that I was being force watch not only what I thought of as trash but DUBBED trash no less. I was not keen on this prospect. So imagine my terrific surprise when I found that not only was I not horrified by the voice actors in question for this, I actually enjoyed them. I know, I know. *shudder shudder*
I have since watched it in Japanese and while the seiyuu for the show were talented, (I can't BELIEVE I am writing this!!) I genuinely prefer the English voice cast for this anime... somewhere Japanese voice coach and my anime sensei are crying. Not only that, (please don't commit seppuku, Sensei-san) I am not actively looking for other series some of them were involved in so I can watch them!! In ENGLISH!!!!!!! Oh goodness me, I think my mother has fainted away and died. Sorry mama-chan.
Considering this was basically a made-for-late-night-tele OVA, I was particularly impressed by how talented the seiyuu were for this series and the amount of work that obviously went into it.
The best example of this was the performance of Apos, played brilliantly by Todd Haberkorn, who was so convincing as a villian that I was certain they would cast Hayami Show or Takahashi Hiroki for the part. There was really a depth and a sense of how twisted his mind really was and I was truly impressed by it.
The story was another factor I didn't expect to like, but after 15 minutes or so of the first episode I was completely hooked in and couldn't wait for more. It also has a nice pace in lieu of the fact that the viewer has a lot to process and the time span we're dealing with can change drastically in each episode.
Although this might have worked for a full series, and I certainly wouldn't have complained getting to know the characters more I think this actually worked in the time frame it was given. As this wasn't that complicated a series, six episodes was enough to give the audience everything it needed to understand the concepts portrayed through the plot. I suppose this could have been fleshed out more, but I think it was strong as it was though truthfully, the ending was too deus-ex-machina for my taste but then even high budget work like Paprika! fall into that category, so I can't really get riled up with a story as interesting as this one just because the ending is a little bit 'meh'.
I would recommend Mnemosyne: Daughters of Mnemosyne to those who are over 18 and prefer (or don't mind) series such as Elfin Lied or Claymore, which have lots of blood but a good plot to keep a person interested who is looking for one; or even Read or Die. I know that seems like an odd mix, but throughout the series I was frequently reminded of R.O.D. for one reason or another. It just had a similar feel to it and Rin reminded me of a collective of R.O.D. characters. The detective aspect and especially the music also reminded me of Cowboy Bebop, but that was where the comparison for me ended.
For those who liked Gantz, I would definitely recommend this series as the amounts of sex and gore has tripled, however I felt this had a richer storyline and more interesting characters, so if you don't like plot with fast forward or just watch hentai.
