Forum - View topicNEWS: Funimation Licenses RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne
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Captain Crotchspike
 Posts: 355 Location: Phoenix, AZ |
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sup guys, I like this show :)
If this show pulled its punches in terms of violence and sexuality back too far, it would not have worked, or at least not as well as I believe it did. Don't read that the wrong way - when you're trying to create the kind of dark and seedy world that this show does, that level of violence and sexuality is not unnecessary (and this case, I think it was done appropriately). I'm aware that that torture scene in the first episode apparently got to some people (is it as bad as Saw? No. No, no way), but to make the whole thing out to be "torture porn" based on that? Please. Yes, I did enjoy this thing's plot and characters. The format (as described before, overarching over a long period of time with a varying cast of characters based on the era and an episodic mystery in most) made it especially interesting - things change, and yet things stay the same in so many ways. Some aspects are only mildly explained, but I've grown to appreciate that myself (see: my Yoshiyuki Tomino write up in response to the King Gainer review), and if anything, heightens the sense of tension and mystery throughout the show. The only thing that rubs me the wrong way was some of the stuff in the last part of the final episode (and I mean in terms of plot), spoiler[where the main characters seem decidedly indifferent to the outbreak of war in North America and the fact that the general public is now aware of the real possibility of immortality, and how they had dialogue playing over the regular end credits (which suggests to me that they knew there was something unsatisfying about that).] On the whole, though, it really isn't enough to make me dislike the show when I enjoyed it so much. I'd say it was a refreshing surprise in 2008, and I will definitely be picking this up on DVD.
Didn't you just say earlier in this thread that you haven't even seen it? Uh, yeah, thanks for playing dude, but save your outrage for something you've actually seen. Don't let anyone here fool you, this is nothing compared the gory OVAs of the 90's. There are so many scenes where they could have shown a brutalized corpse or freshly exploded immortal body in all its gross detail and chose not to. This is utterly pathetic compared to the likes of Blood Reign or Genocyber or Biohunter or, uh, Apocalypse Zero. Last edited by Captain Crotchspike on Sat Feb 21, 2009 1:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7983 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Lets see, a couple reasons really: A) Because it's obviously not real and a fictional television show about people places and things that don't exist. B) Because animated violence is really not horrifying at all especially when spoiler[immortal beings with the ability to regenerate the body] render the violence into the realm of comedy. Besides, it's good to think outside of the box and watch something you wouldn't normally watch. It's good to cut loose and revel in depravity once in a while. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I have seen the show, and I think Unit nailed it. Granted, I haven't watched the gory OVAs of 90s, so I can't compare it to them, but once you cross the line of decency, whether or not you show the (in)glorious detail of cannibalistic rape is splitting hairs, because Mnemosyne still gives us spoiler[orgasming women being eaten alive].
Comedy? This show takes itself dead seriously (except for the "Vodka means water in Russian" line, and even that I'm not sure is meant as a joke), so the only humor would be unintentional. |
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Kalessin
 Posts: 931 |
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It's precisely because the sex is so interwoven that it's necessary to the plot. They definitely could have removed most of the sexual content without substantially altering the series, but given what they've done, you can't edit it out. For instance, using sex to get information makes the sex quite necessary to what's going on, so you can't edit it out of those scenes. However, they could easily have set it up so that the informant took a more normal form of payment and removed it from the show had they written it that way from the beginning.
I would definitely say that this show has pornographic content, but it's not meant to be watched as pornography. That is, just like many visual novels that have pornographic content, there's a real plot and the sex is secondary to that. Take Fate/Stay Night for example. There's definitely pornographic material in the original visual novel, but it was removed when it was made into an anime. Mnemosyne has pornographic content which could have been removed from the story had the creators wanted to. I really think that there's a solid plot here without the sexual aspect. However, there are aspects to the plot that are thoroughly tied to sexual content (like just about anything to do with the angels) such that I really don't know what the creators of the show would have done had they tried to do this show without any sexual content. So, this show is definitely pornographic in nature, but I wouldn't label it as a hentai because the sex really isn't the point. You don't watch Mnemosyne for the same reasons that you would watch a hentai. If you did, you'd likely be disappointed due to the low level of pornographic material (in comparison with a typical hentai series anyway). And actually, if you were to measure how much time in this series is spent on actual sex scenes, I don't know if you'd even hit the five minute mark - and that's from 6 episodes at 46 minutes each. You'd get plenty of nudity, but the amount of actual sex isn't very high. |
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Kalessin
Posts: 931 |
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Actually, what I have to wonder about is how Funimation is going to rate this. They've rated the likes of Witchblade, Claymore, and Darker than Black as TV-MA. Heck, IIIRC, they rated Aquarion as TV-MA (I never could figure out why - maybe they thought that the merge scenes had too much sexual innuendo or something).
Personally, I'd put Mnemosyne on a whole other level above those series, but I don't know what they'd label it as then. I can easily see someone who watched the aforementioned series seeing this series, thinking that it sounds interesting, and then being shocked by the series' content. It'll probably get marked TV-MA and I'm sure that there will be plenty of people who will love this series, but if it gets marked TV-MA and anyone buys it expecting a similar level of graphic content as other series that Funimation has labeled TV-MA, then they stand a good chance of being seriously surprised when they watch it. |
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Captain Crotchspike
Posts: 355 Location: Phoenix, AZ |
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My comments were aimed specifically at him - I can't stand someone calling a show they haven't seen terrible and then going on to compare it to a pool of shows that it is not like - but okay. If you're agreeing with him that it's shallow, then I most certainly can't agree for reasons that have already been stated by myself and Kalessin, but if you can't handle it because you're squeamish...fine, whatever. |
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LiuXuande
 Posts: 201 Location: Chicago |
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Unit 0.35 whatever is a troll. This is an amazing license. Definitely picking this one up when it's released.
His argument is retarded. Americans get entertained by such pointless films as the Saw series, and several other splatter films. I'd rather see it in anime than in a, to use his descriptions, plotless and violent American horror film. Not that this OAV series is anywhere near as mindless as some of those movies. Also the "sex" in this is a joke, and about as explicit as a PG-13 film (with the shadows and all!) The plot is decent and the action is awesome. And <3 Rin. Last edited by LiuXuande on Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:04 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Unit 03.5-ish
Posts: 1540 Location: This space for rent |
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Thank you for calling me an idiot, and thank you for acting like I don't have a valid reason to dis a show just because I haven't seen it in a pirated format. Christ.
I don't watch things like Saw, Hostel, etc., but even those are mild, MILD compared to some of the spoiler tag'd stuff mentioned that goes on in this show. |
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SongstressCela
 Posts: 615 Location: Pennsylvania |
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Uh, you don't have a valid reason to dis a show you haven't seen, no. You've got every right to say you don't like gore and sex and whatever, but you don't have any ground to stand on whatsoever regarding a show you've known nothing about.
Explaining something that happens in the show isn't going into detail about how explicit said event might be, and obviously often comes down to personal bias. To use an earlier example, some people would think the scenes in Aquarion are insanely suggestive and would say the show is too racy for it. Good for them. Same thing with Mnemosyne. Some people say it's some godawful torture/loli/snuffporn, and some people say it's as graphic as a PG-13 movie. You can't make a claim about a series when you refuse to see for yourself. |
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LiuXuande
Posts: 201 Location: Chicago |
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Riiiiight. Or you've got a weak stomach. Having seen both, you're quite misinformed. And I'm buying the DVDs. Fansubs did their job. You're not supporting the series because a) you'd rather take other peoples' word for it than see it for yourself based on some high-and-mighty principle (which I'm sure you don't live up to in ALL aspects of your life) and b) you don't want to make an impulse DVD purchase on the show because of those presumptions. The exact counter-consumer to someone like me who will, despite having watched the show, will buy the DVDs. In the end they're getting my money and not yours. So your principles do no good to prove your point that I'm taking away from them in any manner And yeah, the "torture" scene in Ep 1 is probably the worst thing in the series. And even that was a 5 second flash, not a fully drawn-out torture scene such as in Saw movies, etc. You don't know what you're talking about. If you can't stomach violence at that general sort of level, say so, but your opinion of the show is invalid seeing as you haven't even see it. Edit: Basically what SongstressCela said, lol. |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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Oh don't try and grab the moral high ground by making this about piracy. It's not. I agree that Mnemosyne is a piece of crappy, nonsensical, borderline softcore torture porn. I feel confident in saying that because I have watched a significant portion of it. I have actually seen entire episodes, seen if these things are justified in context, seen if this is actually a decent show on it's own merit, seen whether or not these were just one aspect of this, seen whether these things seemed necessary. I would say no on all counts. I can say that because again, I actually saw this. If you haven't actually seen any of this then you can't judge any of these key subtle aspects and thus are talking wildly out your ass. |
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vermilionone
Posts: 45 |
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Hello, I'm new.
Perhaps it's just me, but I took it as an over stylized love letter to ero-guro, google it, it's a Japanese artistic movement from around the 20's. Sex is limited to breasts and the suggestion of sex, often much less than you'd see in an R-Rated movie, and the violence is over the top. If I had to draw parallels, I'd say that Mnemosyne seems to be roughly what Sin City is to film noir, or what a Quentin Tarantino movie is to whatever genre he's decided to take on. For it's failings as a narrative, and it is a bit flat in that regard, perhaps it's best regarded as an interesting artifact that brings to light certain themes in Japanese art? |
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TheTheory
 Posts: 1029 Location: Central PA |
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i wasn't the one who said the above, but I totally live in Lancaster County. Represent! And yes, the area is exactly like you describe. I personally have no qualms...... |
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Joichiro Nishi
Posts: 163 |
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Why everybody is terrified with Mnemosyne's violence? I didn't find it too violent or disturbing. Many gory 80s and 90s OVAs are way bloodier, for example Genocyber or Ninja Resurrection. Even a TV anime, Shigurui, is way more disturbing and explicit than Mnemosyne.
When it was aired, I was enthusiastic because I love the good old ultraviolence, but I was dissapointed. The action scenes are nothing above the average anime action and the plot is kinda boring. For me, Mnemosyne is more a softcore flick than an action anime. |
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Dimlos
Posts: 226 |
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This show never really caught my interest, so I don't think I'll bother with it. Hope it does well for them though.
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