Mnemosyne (anime)

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Mnemosyne

Mnemosyne title screen
Mnemosyne －ムネモシュネの娘たち－
(Mnemosyne -Mnemosyne no Musumetachi-)
Genre Action, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Tech-noir
Light novel
Author Hiroshi Ōnogi
Illustrator Chūō Higashiguchi
Publisher Hobby Japan
Demographic Male
Magazine Charano!
Published January 30, 2008 – ongoing
TV anime
Director Shigeru Ueda
Writer Hiroshi Ōnogi
Studio Flag of Japan Xebec, Genco
Network Flag of Japan AT-X
Original run February 3, 2008 – July 2008
Episodes 6 (scheduled)
Manga
Author Xebec & Genco
Illustrator Miss Black
Publisher Flag of Japan Kill Time Communication
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Flag of Japan Comic Valkyrie
Original run May 27, 2008 – ongoing

Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne no Musumetachi (Mnemosyne －ムネモシュネの娘たち－? lit. Mnemosyne: Daughters of Mnemosyne) is a six-episode Japanese anime television series produced by Xebec and Genco, featuring grotesque and erotic visuals. The anime is to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the AT-X network, which it originally aired on.[1] The plot, rich in the mix of murder and action, is set in modern and near-future Tokyo, and revolves around Rin Asōgi, an immortal female private investigator. A light novel and a manga adaptation have also been published.

Contents

[edit] Story

[edit] Background

Rin Asōgi runs a private investigation agency in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, performing odd jobs ranging from finding lost pets to hunting rare stamps in order to get by. Yet despite attempts at a (passably) normal life, she finds herself constantly hindered by the strange cases that come her way, figures from her dark past, and her inability to die.

[edit] Characters

Rin Asōgi (麻生祇燐 Asōgi Rin?)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
The protagonist of the series. Her real age is unknown but her appearance is that of someone in her late twenties. She usually wears a black suit and glasses. Her whimsical personality serves as a front for a cunning, ruthless mind and extraordinary martial art skills. She always keeps a number of throwing blades and a garrote wire concealed on her body. At some point in the past, a "time spore" entered Rin's body, effectively making her immortal, unable to age, and capable of surviving and regenerating from a phenomenal amount of bodily damage. In episode three, a short flashback reveals that in 1945, she looked about the same age as she does in the series. The full extent of her regenerative powers is yet to be shown, however. In her last appearance in episode four, she was sucked inside a running jet engine and survived but at the temporary cost of her memories. She carries an unknown red time spore on a necklace. She and Mimi run the detective business Asōgi Consulting together in a rundown building in West Shinjuku. However, their office is demolished at the end of episode four. In episode 5 Eipos removes her time spore, whether this finally kills her is not known.
Mimi (ミミ?)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya
Rin's assistant. It is hinted throughout the series that they also have a more intimate relationship, though in episode four she appears to have grown close to the informant. She is an immortal as well, and appears to have a bright personality and is fond of alcoholic drinks despite looking like a teenager. Her job scope includes financial management, information processing, and other miscellaneous tasks. She cares for Rin very much and would do anything to ensure her safety, even while nagging her to do the job properly. She is a formidable hacker but was outmatched by Katsuyuki Kamiyama in episode four. After Rin disappears after being sucked in the jet engine she leaves with Kenta and becomes a Buddhist nun.
Laura (ローラ Rōra?)
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara
An assassin, skilled with firearms and other weapons, who is hired to assassinate Rin by an unnamed client. Rin believes that this client is Eipos who repeatedly resurrects Laura so that she can attack Rin again. She appears to be slightly younger than Rin and doesn't age throughout the series. In episode four, she becomes a cyborg, though the extent of her transformation is left open. Episode 5 reveals that Eipos is keeping what appears to be Laura's real immortal body restrained while she remotely controls an android designed to resemble Rin.
Eipos (エイポス Eiposu?)
Voiced by: Akira Ishida
A being of unknown origin who seems to be some sort of god or demigod. He is a hermaphrodite making him both an angel and an immortal. He is only truly interested in immortals and angels. He seems to have no concept of human morals, but, instead, has a sadistic sense of amusement and beauty. Eipos seems to have some mysterious interest in Rin, to the point that he hires mortal killers to target her. In episode three, he reveals that he is after Rin's time spore. Apparently, time spores contain the immortals' memories and Eipos enjoys consuming them. It is also revealed that he has the ability to remove the spores from both immortals and angels, which kills them instantly. However, this seems to have no effect on Eipos.
Sayara Yamanobe (山之辺沙耶羅 Yamanobe Sayara?)
Voiced by: Rie Tanaka
The head of the Aoyama Pharmaceutical research lab in Sayama. Originally researching bacteria, she discovered one that could be the key to cloning, she moved on to conduct illegal cloning experiments aiming to achieve immortality. She has a sadistic personality, often torturing and killing her captives. In episode one, Sayara is last seen being surrounded by the delirious zombies she created. In episode three, she is revealed to have been saved by Eipos at the last moment, who injected her with a time spore after her body was already considerably mutilated. As a result, she remained forever crippled and waited twenty-one years until a powered exoskeleton capable of supporting her was invented. After one last confrontation with Rin and Maeno, she was finally killed by Eipos, who removed and consumed her spore.
Kōki Maeno (前埜光輝 Maeno Kōki?)
Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama
A young man with distorted memory whom Rin accidentally saves. He is, in fact, a clone created by Aoyama Pharmaceutical company. The original Kōki Maeno died during an experiment that involved his vivisection. His memory lacks realism as it is actually the memory of the original Kōki Maeno written into the clone's brain by artificial means. After discovering the truth, he chose to keep living and began working at Asōgi Consulting, where he spent the next twenty-one years. Some time between episodes two and three, he married Yuki Shimazaki and had a son named Teruki with her. In episode three, he is shot by Sayara while rescuing Rin, and has to consume a time spore in order to survive as an angel. After saving Rin and having one last tender moment with her, he returns to consume Sayara, but is killed by Eipos before he can finish. His time spore, which had previously infected Yuki's brother, is lost.
Yuki Maeno (前埜有紀 Maeno Yuki?) née Shimazaki (島崎 Shimazaki?)
Voiced by: Yoshino Takamori
Kōki's wife, whom he meets in episode two. During Kōki's involvement in the case of her brother Shōgo, the two grow fond of each other and marry some time between episode two and three. In episode three, they have a son named Teruki. After Kōki's death, Yuki continued to raise Teruki alone.
Shōgo Shimazaki (島崎省吾 Shimazaki Shōgo?)
Voiced by: Hideo Ishikawa
Yuki's older brother, who became an angel in episode two. His exceptional willpower allowed him to retain consciousness for a very long time, which he used to exact revenge upon people who previously maltreated him. After he loses his consciousness completely and attacks Rin, she has to kill him by impaling him with a tree branch. Eipos expresses desire to obtain Shōgo's time spore but Rin instead gives it to Maeno, who eventually uses it to become an angel himself, saving Rin from Sayara. After Maeno is killed by Eipos, his time spore falls into the ocean and is lost.
Teruki Maeno (前埜輝紀 Maeono Teruki?)
Voiced by: Emiri Katō (child), Daisuke Hirakawa (adult)
Kōki and Yuki's only son, who first appears as a child in episode three and becomes the male lead in episode four. Some time between episodes three and four, Rin saved his life in a car accident, and he states that he felt watched over and protected by her ever since. Their formal introduction happens in episode four, when Tamotsu brings him to Asōgi Consulting due to his involvement in the Ruon case. He appears again in episode 5 now with a daughter and a very successful company.
Tamotsu Yanagihara (柳原保 Yanagihara Tamotsu?)
Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto
A police investigator and a close acquaintance of Rin. He enjoys Rin's company and provides her with useful information. He is killed by a military sniper following AI Ruon's orders in episode four. Immediately before his death, he reminisces about what may have been an intimate moment with Rin.
Ruon Kamiyama (神山瑠音 Kamiyama Ruon?)
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame
The chief antagonist in episode four. Daughter of the "modern von Neumann" Katsuyuki Kamiyama, her consciousness was removed from her body by Katsuyuki and uploaded onto the net (2.0) as an artificial intelligence, effectively killing her in real life (1.0). Katsuyuki implies that this event was the cause of Great Network Crisis of 2020. Ruon spent five years posing as an online sex doll until she became infatuated with Teruki because he was the first person who wanted to meet her offline. Following the events of the episode, her physical (android) form is presumably destroyed inside an airplane jet engine.
The informant
Voiced by: Rumi Kasahara (first), Emi Nakashima (second)
One of the two women (so far) who provide Rin and Mimi with crucial information in regards to their investigations throughout the series and whose names have never been revealed. The first informant is introduced in episode two and is mentioned to have died prior to episode four. The second informant is introduced as an assistant of the first one in episode three and inherits her position in the next episode. In return for their services, both demand lesbian sex with either Rin or Mimi. Mimi is extremely uncomfortable and unnerved by this at first, but by episode four, she seems to have entered into some sort of relationship with the second informant.
Genta (げんた?)
Rin and Mimi's dog who lives at their office. Its exact nature and relevance to the plot are unknown but it does not appear to age throughout the series and has survived multiple automatic firearm shots in episode four without any visible lasting injuries. Mimi took it with her after the Asōgi Consulting office is demolished at the end of episode four. The dog was immortal as well and finally killed in episode 5 where only its ashes remain.

[edit] Media

[edit] Light novels

Before the release of the first anime episode, a light novel adaptation entitled Mnemosyne no Musumetachi 2008 started serialization in Hobby Japan's light novel magazine Charano! on January 30, 2008. The light novel is written by the scriptwriter of the anime, Hiroshi Ōnogi, and illustrated by Chūō Higashiguchi.

[edit] Anime

Main article: List of Mnemosyne episodes

Mnemosyne started as an television series directed by Shigeru Ueda and written by Hiroshi Ōnogi. The animation is handled by Xebec, but planning and production is shared with Genco, which also had a part in the original concept creation. Original character design is by Chūō Higashiguchi, and was used as a template by the character designer for the anime version, Mitsuru Ishihara. Music direction is headed by Takayuki Negishi. The series' opening theme is "Alsatia" and the ending theme is "Cause Disarray"; both songs are written by Yama-B, composed by Syu, and performed by Galneryus.

[edit] Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Miss Black started serialization in the male-oriented manga magazine Comic Valkyrie on May 27, 2008, and is published by Kill Time Communication.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mnemosyne at AT-X (Japanese). AT-X. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.

[edit] External links