MEMORIES

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaKanojo no Omoide...

REVIEWS

• 

  AndoCommando

  70/100
  Memories is a classic anime anthology that warrants a watch if interested

  Memories is a 1995 animated anthology film series composed of three unrelated sci-fi stories, focusing on the individual themes of each story than a core theme throughout. However, they do all share a technical and inspired approach to their visual style, boasting some of the most spectacular animation Japan had ever created for its time. All three shorts were based on stories written by Katsuhiro Otomo, known for creating the visual spectacle that is Akira, and here he serves as producer and the director for the last episode, working with some of the industry’s biggest names to deliver arguably the greatest anthology series in all of anime. Because of the structure of Memories, this review will look at each separate part in chronological order, starting with the most “memorable” part.

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  Magnetic Rose

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  To put it in one word, impressive. It boasts some of the most resplendent animation and music that compliments the unnerving tone and setting, along with the script being in the hands of Satoshi Kon. The short chronicles how the Corona, a salvage freighter in deep space comes upon a strange space station after responding to a distress signal. The two engineers of the crew, Heintz and Miguel, enter and discover a luxurious European interior that once belonged to famed opera singer named Eva. As the two engineers further explore they both become engulfed in Eva’s memories through a series of paranormal encounters, with both men each reliving their own memories.

  For a ghost story, this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. In a 40-minute duration it delivers on capturing the essence of the anthology title, creating a haunting yet intriguing world of one’s past, and presents a disturbing message of the dangers of living in the past. Eva is a literal representation of that very message and attempts to lure both men into her past, and while some may resist, others might be more willing to fall into the trap, seeing it as an escape to a better place. Magnetic Rose explores love lost and the desperation of a lonely person determined to regain a kind of love so precious, no matter what the cost. This idea is woven masterfully into the plot, making it as thought-provoking as it is terrifying. Kon’s style of storytelling is also present here, blurring the lines between reality and hallucinations and keeping viewers thinking throughout its duration. Fun fact for any film buffs out there: This short also holds references to other sci-fi films such as Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey with certain scenes, yet never feels cheap or derivative. Magnetic Rose has these familiar elements and makes them feel fresh, a testament to the staff behind this show. The overall story exudes intrigue and ends in a way that answers enough questions to feel satisfying and make sense, yet leaves enough to viewer interpretation to leave its mark.

  Satoshi Kon was also behind the art direction and like the story, it’s stunning. The fluid animation, cinematic techniques and overall attention-to-detail make Magnetic Rose a marvel of animation. Considering this came out over 20 years ago by the time I’m writing this, and still looks incredible. The scenes in space alone demonstrate how impressive the show is on a technical scale. Despite looking dated with its art style and not being vibrant or colourful, Magnetic Rose shows that there is more to animation than simple visual look. Meanwhile the sound was composed by Yoko Kanno and is mostly operatic, matching the setting and tone of the tragic story perfectly. Voice acting was great all around with Eva’s voice actress in particular being breathtaking in her role. Her version of “Madame Butterfly” is awe-inspiring, even if you dislike like opera, you will still probably appreciate the piece and the overall music in general with how it complements scenes so effectively. Magnetic Rose excels in so many ways that the only way I could see it have been better is if it were its own stand-alone movie. And on that note, I am very surprised this story has not even been rumoured at all for a potential Hollywood adaptation considering the high potential for a successful anime adaptation. It is the highlight of this anthology and is the part of Memories that you will strongly remember.

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  Stink Bomb

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  Here Memories transitions from haunting beauty to a dark comedy that uses satire to demonstrate how stupid humanity can be. The change of tone and pace can be seen immediately from the start, showing a rather overly cheerful television program with fitting music and colourful art compared to Magnetic Rose. Stink Bomb follows Nobuo Tanaka, a young lab technician of a hospital trying to cure his cold and when trying to find a new cold medicine under development, he takes the wrong pill; the ‘red pill’. But instead of finding enlightenment, this buffoon finding all his fellow employees dead and panicked, rushes to deliver the experimental drug he mistook for cold medication to headquarters in Tokyo. Unbeknownst to Nobuo, his mistake is the cause behind everyone in the hospital dying, with him now spreading death and destruction everywhere he goes without him even knowing. Because of this, Nobuo becomes a target of assassination and kidnapping by the government.

  Most people find Stink Bomb easily the worst of the three entries, feeling like a 40-minute long dumb joke that wasn’t funny to begin with, however I feel as though Stink Bomb gets too much negative buzz than it deserves. It’s a light-hearted take on how foolish our species can be when in dire straits ala Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, ridiculing such in over-the-top comedic fashion. The idea that a lab technician is so unbelievably stupid is not something that I consider detrimental to the show; his density fits the kind of comedy the show is going for and is the perfect example for how one man can cause such disaster and trigger-happy militants can further the damage with both ease and lack of common sense. Even if you did not find the comedic style to your liking and I myself will admit that I did not find it that hilarious apart from some overexaggerated missiles, it is definitely an entertaining short that I never once found dull.

  The animation is the weakest of the three, lacking the technical quality, art direction and sheer unique look of both Magnetic Rose and Cannon Fodder. It also looks the most dated, but still holds up enough to not lessen the experience and contains some of the most action-packed scenes with fluid animation to match. The music is arguably the best part of the short, composed of lively jazz expertly incorporated throughout and is surprisingly appropriate for Stink Bomb’s chaotic style of comedy. Both the animation and sound add to the story’s light-heartedness, and that’s exactly what Stink Bomb strived for. If you come into this looking for some sort of hidden meaning, you will be disappointed. Its intentions are purely to elicit a smile on your face, and for me, it succeeded.

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  Cannon Fodder

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  Cannon Fodder is aesthetically the most intriguing of the three shorts, creating a world comparable to a communism dystopia filled with massively-oversized cannons that fire at an “enemy moving city” that is never visually confirmed by the show; clearly an allegory on society. Cannon Fodder is the most literal title this show could have had. Everyone’s life revolves about firing cannons; the men work the cannons, the women make the shells, and the children are taught on the mechanics of firing cannons. Cannon Fodder looks at the life of an average family on an average day in this bleak world. We see the father going through the motions as he loads cannons, only living to work, to the naïve child aspiring to someday be the man who fires these cannons. It’s a dreary 30 minutes that leaves you in a bleak state, having seen how bleak these characters’ lives are and that it won’t change.

  Cannon Fodder is certainly not for every anime fan. It’s a short similar to artistic anime like Texhnolyze that are merciless in their depiction of a hopeless world. It’s also a highly political film, with its critique of militarism, socialism and propaganda very noticeable throughout the story. It’s shown the leader of the city is nothing more than a chubby man, yet is portrayed through portraits and such as a fit, powerful leader and worshipped by civilians. An interesting fact: none of the characters are ever given names, another result of living in this kind of world where cannons are valued more than the individuals that work on them. The premise and story of Cannon Fodder is simple and not subtle in the slightest, making it even more frustrating to some viewers. However, considering how political first-world countries have gotten in recent years, I feel like this short is worth the 30 minutes it takes to watch.

  The art-style for Cannon Fodder is ugly, no doubt about it, and it complements the dark, depressing vibe the world has. The palette of greys and browns gives the city a decaying, decrepit look that mirrors the people belonging to it. Steampunk elements blend into the city seamlessly, with cannons sticking out of every building present. The people themselves don’t even look human, with sickly grey skin and sunken eyes look more like they can straight out of a nightmare than anything resembling the kind of world we live in. From a technical perspective, the attention to detail is perhaps the best of the three shorts, but what really makes Cannon Fodder’s animation so great is Otomo’s direction. The entire short is one continuous sequence without a single cut. Can you recall an anime you’ve seen that has no cuts in its entirety? Otomo utilizes an array of cinematic techniques and transitions that blend in with the story and animated scenes so well that they may go unnoticed to the average viewer, and that is in my opinion the sign of a master of cinematography. Cannon Fodder is quite possibly one of the greatest one-takes in the history of cinema in general and like Akira, is a testament to Otomo’s ability as a director.

  In conclusion, Memories is not your typical anthology series; it does not have any overarching narrative that ties the three entries together. But what Memories does contain is a unique collection of short stories that individually showcase some of best animation the industry had at the time and it still hold up. But saying that its value only resides in the animation undermines other great aspects of Cannon Fodder and Stink Bomb such as directing, atmosphere, themes, etc., and nearly everything about Magnetic Rose. None of these films should be ignored and are all worth the time it takes to experience each of these wonderful pieces of animation.

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• 

  baba13

  75/100
  The definitive anime sci-fi anthology, a unique experiment like no other.

  Introduction

  Memories is an anthology movie, based on 3 stories by Katsuhiro Otomo. Though called memories they have no thematic connections or chronology to each other they rather just separate mini movies.

  • Magnetic Rose directed by Kōji Morimoto and screenplay by Satoshi Kon but story Otomo
  • Stink Bomb directed by Tensai Okamura and written by Otomo,
  • Cannon Fodder written and directed by Otomo himself.

  Episode 1 Magnetic Rose Review

  Magnetic Rose is a fantastic science fiction story. It's an interesting film, within the anthology because it’s clearly the best, it connects with the title of the film and it’s a bloody masterpiece. It's no secret Satoshi Kon is one of my favourite writer-director of all time. Though he didn’t write the narrative, it's very hard to believe he didn’t contribute towards the actual narrative. So much of the man’s trademarks are so readily apparent that I must conclude he made suggestions for the narrative. He handled the design of the film, which yes is very Satoshi Kon. The man is known as an illusionist, he blends reality with illusions so seamlessly and creates emotions that you never think depict in certain ways. Rose is dealing with dreams, illusions, and commentary on certain attributes of humanity. A lot of the glamour it portrays is disintegrating, one example of symbolism throughout. The Environment is so complex, intricate and sorta lived in. Like giving characterisation to someone just using the environment is a real skill. Of course, this story wouldn’t work if the characters are bland and uninteresting here, that’s not the case. They are a lot of humanity with the cast, in particular Heintz Beckner. One aspect I just love I comment above is making the world feel real but transforming it into something else so phasing from reality to fiction. The animation is fantastic, though not as unorthodox or unique as Cannon Fodder, it's still just a masterclass of animation. The art design is fantastic I love and especially the music was done by Yoko Kanno, this score is so complimentary to the film. Especially because the woman they are finding is an opera singer so they are much unique opportunities to portray this beautiful music. What this crew does in 40min is honestly outstanding, it’s the masterpiece within the anthology.

  10/10

  Episode 2 Stink Bomb Review

  To call this disappointing doesn’t describe it well enough. This isn’t a good film and this following up Rose (a masterpiece), makes it feel worse. In this review, I will describe the good first then the bad. Firstly good, well the animation is fantastic the film's depiction of gas animations, cloud, destruction, density (crowds) etc it's so finely crafted. Furthermore, there is some nice art direction and just from the technical aspects, it's pretty good. Out of the 3 films, it’s the weakest in this aspect. The same can be stated for the cinematography, directing and animations. That stated it's still better than like 90% of anime in terms of animation. I will credit that the concept the film is tackling is interesting. Would have been neat to see this same concept explored in another film but with different characters. However, regarding that concept some aspects, it accomplishes, quite well. One would be the discoordination where panic occurs. The public response and chaotic nature are well done. Furthermore, the pacing was relatively tight, it didn’t make me bored just frustrated mainly. So, the Bad, well to call this protagonist is stupid. Even comparing him to a monkey, would insult the monkey intelligence. I am so baffled this protagonist is a scientist because he is literally so stupid and if this is meant to be a parody it's not funny. This dude really drags the experience and the cause for the plot to occur feels ironic and just a pill causing this much havoc I don’t believe it a lot of suspension of disbelief and the ending I think supposed to be comedic, but I disliked it. It's not a bad watch, but it’s not a good overall call It's average. Thankfully this is the worst one in the bunch as episode 3 is much more interesting.

  5/10

  Episode 3 Cannon Fodder Review

  Interestingly, Katsuhiro Otomo decided to write and direct this one solely himself. I will say after episode 2, kind of hesitant to watch this but honestly a pleasant surprise. The first aspect that stands out would be the art style it's very gritty, unorthodox, and raw and compliments one of the key messages of the film. It’s the most allegorical of the 3 films. So, the plot isn’t too important but more so used to explore this authoritative society or this regime. They have a lot of parallels to the real world prominent would-be Germany and the Nazis. The focus is upon this family and one day of the father, mother and son life. There’s evident war propaganda throughout with posters and the news but overall, just an interesting world. The most impressive aspect beyond the art style is the unique animation technique and that illusion to look like the film is one continuous shot (or long take). Animation has its own limitation when it comes to one-shot, different from a birdman situation, it’s difficult for different reasons. But yeah, executed so brilliant and transitions are seamless. It also drives home the theme it explores. In terms of the pacing, it was fantastic, honestly wish it was longer to explore this world. The characterisation is pretty good, though not the focus it's more society. But I enjoyed those little bits of the old man. Overall, it's a very good, short film, 22min felt it could be longer but a good one to end this anthology.

  7.5/10

  Conclusion

  In conclusion, I would recommend this anthology, especially episodes 1 and 3, however episode 2, I say maybe give it a shot, but I wouldn’t recommend watching it.

  7.5/10

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• 

  WeepingClown

  86/100
  Divided by themes, united by masks!

  Three pieces, three themes, three viewpoints and three different experiences. Memories is something that could evoke all kinds of varying responses from the audience. All three stories have their own qualities, and those stand out on their own without having to dig into them too much. It is necessary to summarise the plots to properly talk about these stories, so there are some spoilers ahead.

  The first story, Magnetic Rose, is just sheer brilliance. It's a story of a spaceship crew that stumbles upon the unbelievable site of an almost royal European interior in the middle of the terrifying space known as "The Graveyard of Ships", while searching for the source of a distress signal they encounter. Inside this place, the two engineers that carry out the search comes under all kinds of hallucinations. They eventually unveil the mystery surrounding the place and finds out about its owner but one succumbs to the hallucinations while the other having to relive the pain of a past loss. The elements of yearning for love and inability to forget what is lost can be seen in this piece. A highly advanced computer system capable enough to force realistic illusions can also be found in this. The technical part of this short is also just as brilliant. The ruins from a century ago are portrayed with incredible detailing. Each and every part is a visual treat. The interchanging quiet and classi musics and the animation that makes abundant use of shadows as an element and debris as a prope evokes the terror of engineers brilliantly. It's a story full of mysteriousness, carrying the emotions of love, obsession, surprise and horror. It is worth watching Memories simply for this one short alone.

  The second story is Stink Bomb. Compared to the heavy mood of the first piece, it is instead comical. This is also a story that is inspired by the "Toxic Lady" incident. It is a rather straightforward story; the gas effect of a secretly developed biochemical weapon, unknowingly consumed by a lab employee, kills tens of thousands of people. While this mayhem occurs, all kinds of methods are tried to put an end to it. It is funny how the discussions easily end up in "In other words, we have to kill him". This is a simple portrayal of how ridiculously big incidents are often taken care of by those with authority. And the following fiasco with all kinds of heavy artilleries and weapons simply reminded me of a local saying that roughly equates to "Burning the house to smoke out a rat" (The literal transliteration would be more or less "Putting the house on fire fearing a rat"). The stormtrooper logic of the person of interest never suffering any sort of damage even under such heavy artillery barrage is a bit ridiculous but it caters to the funny nature of the film. Not only that, a foreign country propaganda also is in play behind the scenes, but in the end, poetically enough, the ones behind it also falls victim to their creation; you reap what you sow. The whole story, its joking manner aside, can be considered a warning to remember how terrifying the careless development of bioweapons can be.

  The third story of the lot is titled Cannon Fodder. It tells the story of a city where everyday life is fighting a perpetual war against an unseen/unknown enemy and the civilians all dedicate their life to making and loading cannons/missiles while the person of highest position ends up firing it. It is a place populated with pro war posters, media is controlled by the state, civilian life is dictated by the state, and almost all buildings are made ready to produce shellfire. The poison from the creation and usage of the weaponry has made the life terrible and the people at the lower levels suffer from physical issues, visible plainly from their appearance, and they are not financially stable either. They toil all the day but simply suffer, but the higher authority that only appears to fire the shell looks healthy and his attire is incomparably better. It is a simple and classic portrayal of the hierarchy where working class slaves themselves to provide for the upper privileged class. The kid of a working man can be seen saying that he wants to fire the cannon when he grows up and not be a cannon loader like his father. Even kids has the realisation that common people are simply cannon fodder in such a ridiculous society.

  Memories is a very strong anthology with short stories that speak volumes. While Magnetic Rose is the best of it with pure quality and the one that goes best with the anthology title, Stink Bomb entertains with its funniness and satire, and Cannon Fodder draws a very strong picture with it's powerful allegory. The first short is leagues above the rest, and it is notable that there is a drop in quality throughout the story changes. But this only applies to the story. The technical aspects of all three, again Magnetic Rose being head and shoulders above the others, are beautiful. It is something that only vintage animation could pull off. Wide landscapes, attention to details, lazy color palettes and abundant yet brilliant usage of shadows are but some of its brilliance. It is an anthology that holds out and transitions to the next story very well even with stories that has no real relations. It also makes brilliant use of the sci-fi genre to tell a variety of stories that covers all sorts of topics from emotional to political and even class difference all the while not straying too far off from sci-fi itself. While the title of anthology is arguably not fitting when applied to the whole, it is no doubt that this is a very memorable watch.

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