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.
