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Just read a funny review of "Rin: ~Daughter of Mnemosyne~"

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Havoc10K:

--- Quote from: newy on March 16, 2010, 08:55:32 AM ---That guy seems to be a "bit" delicate when it comes to gore, huh...

I "liked" the sentence that the anime is inappropriate for kids. Not that every anime produced so far is always for kids >_>

--- End quote ---
not intended for kids thats for sure, whether the ywatch it or not is up to them, and if they do, wtf are their parents ahahahahah

l didn't like some parts of that review,l rarely actually read reviews since most of the time l disagree with most of em and the rest are just trash.

to me, the revieweing party is like throwing a zealous catholic into a party of [name your religion type here] and see what he has to say, every word will be in some way a blasphemy to some people.

this review strangely is in most cases neutral and quite acurate, seems like the person that worte it actually seen the show and payed attention to it, instead of just skimming through it and "oh, rape!"

it is a funny review indeed.

PithyGriff:
@Tiffanys, It would be nice if you said something extensive. From your forum posts, I think you've been watching a lot of shoujo-ai/yuri. Your opinion should be interesting. But I mean that for everyone, too. The discussion is more fun and interesting when people are thoughtful as to why they like/dislike, agree/disagree.

I mostly agree with the review, though I think it's overly critical in places. When watching something like Mnemosyne you have to understand that the sexual content is part of the base level. The sexy scenes are mostly unnecessary, but they aren't gratuitous or tactless. There's more purpose in it than just titillating the audience- it is pertinent to the story and characters.

In context, I imagine Mnemosyne stands up pretty well against other works in its genre. Context is crucial. Of course it's going to look oversexed compared to general anime, where most couples need twenty-some episodes to even realize their feelings, which maybe climaxes in a handhold and fade to black.

Also, I'd have my misgivings about any reviewer who says the writing is just "the screenwriters showing off just how “adult” they can be." That line itself screams deficiencies in the reviewer. Shows his conception of anime writing is terribly limited.

Rin: Daughter of Mnemosyne does a lot of things very well on a conceptual level. For instance, the time jumps from episode to episode were very convincing. The recent past felt like it, not just like the present with cellphones removed. The future wasn't just convincing, it was compelling and exciting with new technologies. The three Reality levels and the internet catastrophe (which is only hinted at; very skillful scene writing there) is enough material to warrant its own 26-episode series.

The sex/gore is only going to seem excessive if you haven't seen something more-so. Mnemosyne walks a very fine line, and does it with skill and utmost consciousness. On the spectrum, I don't think there is much shock value so I don't see what people make a fuss over. (Save Rin's piercing/bondage scene, but I think that served an overall purpose as well, and it didn't feel purely gratuitous/pornographic.)

The characters aren't bad, the story line isn't wholly predictable. That goes a pretty long way considering how much trash is out there, and how much trash we've all sat through.

Quickly, going back to the review:

Overall : B-
Overall (sub) : B-
Story : C
Animation : A
Art : A
Music : C

I liked the Japanese voice acting, but I imagine most of what I liked was just Mamiko Noto. It's hard not to be familiar with her voice- I think it's even more difficult to dislike. Animation/Art, I don't think belong in the A range because most of the animation is pretty flat and simple compared to animation-heavy works. The animation is good, but maybe only B level. Music, wanted to kill myself every time the intro played :P . Story I think deserves a B-, for all the stuff I said above. Overall a B.

Mnemosyne is what it is, and it isn't bad by any means. It's definitely far from laughably bad.

Tiffanys:

--- Quote from: PithyGriff on March 20, 2010, 07:01:09 PM ---@Tiffanys, It would be nice if you said something extensive. From your forum posts, I think you've been watching a lot of shoujo-ai/yuri. Your opinion should be interesting. But I mean that for everyone, too. The discussion is more fun and interesting when people are thoughtful as to why they like/dislike, agree/disagree.
--- End quote ---

Well, um... I disliked the review so much that I really didn't feel like having to look at it again just to point out where it catastrophically failed. It just seemed so bad that I expected other people would see it too.

I have been watching a lot of yuri, but certainly not exclusively. It's just a genre I really like if it's done right. My favorite anime is actually Claymore, and as you know, that one is quite bloody and not exactly filled with rainbows and unicorns. :p Right now I'm watching Blood+ which I really like (it's very bloody too), I'm also watching Black Lagoon, which I like. Oh and Dance in the Vampire Bund as well. I'm watching a lot, but I think those are the bloodiest of the ones I'm watching right now?

I have a thing for both immortality and true yuri, so this was a very liked series by me.

As for the review, you mentioned one of the lines that I particularly despised while skimming through the review. I had trouble actually getting myself to read the whole thing. I tried at first, but I immediately got the impression of the mood and purpose of the review and instantly knew that I did not agree and that really put me off to really reading the rest of it. But since you've asked, I will get into it...

It starts off with a subversively guised insult:


--- Quote ---RIN ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~ was originally created as an “anniversary project” for the Japanese cable channel AT-X, which is most known among anime fans for being the boob-friendly network that airs uncensored versions of stuff like Queen's Blade and Charger Girl Ju-den-chan late at night. In a sense, they're kinda like Japan's version of Cinemax, which is famous (or infamous, rather) for running low-budget softcore porn, usually gussied up in sci-fi or thriller genre trappings (and with hilarious titles like Alien Sex Invasion or Detective Lust or something like that) in the wee hours of the morning.
--- End quote ---

With this, they're already implying that Mnemosyne is low-budget software porn disguised as a sci-fi thriller. While you make think of it as inherently true, I see it as unnecessary and it sets the tone of what is to follow. They are writing a review for something they look down on. The rest of the review will follow such a premise.

It continues with more insults...


--- Quote ---So it stands to reason that Mnemosyne feels exactly like one of those silly “Skinemax” movies, with the requisite amounts of violence, kinky sex and violent kinky sex piled on so you're aware that what you're watching is totally edgy anime for adults. Surprisingly, and perhaps in spite of all that, Mnemosyne isn't really a bad show, provided you know what you're getting in to and don't take any of it very seriously for even a second.
--- End quote ---

And then condescending...


--- Quote ---Although her stated business is finding lost cats and tracking down stolen items, pretty much every case she takes winds up connecting to her mysterious (and sexy!) past in some fashion, and usually involves a lot of violence and expository dialogue that explains the show's weird plot. The chief villain is a smug kid named Apos who seems to wander between “immortal” and “angel”, obviously knows everything there is to know about this strange world, really enjoys tormenting immoral girls in bondage and, naturally, must have Rin for himself!
--- End quote ---

More insults...


--- Quote ---Story-wise, Mnemosyne feels like halfway-decent dark erotica if it were written by someone in their early 20's who's played a whole lot of “adult” tabletop roleplaying games. There are some pretty unique story ideas in here and some fun pseudo-religious imagery; while it's difficult to honestly care about any of these characters, the show walks the line between “confusing” and “compelling” just well enough to keep you watching and wondering. By the final episodes, the show gets really bogged down with exposition and it feels like you're just watching the characters explain what the hell is going on while raping and eating eachother, but hey, it's never boring, and it remains interesting until the very end.
--- End quote ---

And more...


--- Quote ---The show absolutely has a preoccupation with violent sex and torture, and presumably, that's the selling point here. It's all very EDGY – meaning you're going to see a lot of sexual mutilation and rape and people getting sliced up while naked and all that. To be frank, the shock value is pretty much over by the end of the first episode (which features such pleasantries as involuntary nipple piercing), once you realize they're going to just go as far as they can with the bloody sex angle. Simply put, they're trying too hard and there's just so much of it (especially in the series' Grand Guignol final episode) that you wind up laughing and rolling your eyes at each new atrocity rather than having your mind blown on the train to edge-ville. Which is for the best, really; there's so much ludicrous violence and sex in this thing that if it actually did have an impact on the viewer or felt like anything more than the screenwriters showing off just how “adult” they can be, the result would just be exhausting and unpleasant. As it is, the fact that it's nearly impossible to take Mnemosyne seriously is a mark in the show's favor and adds to the whole trashy appeal. It's guilty late-night cable entertainment through and through.
--- End quote ---

Do I even need to continue at this point? You should get the idea.

Zalis116:
Guys, you have to remember, we're talking about ANN here. A place where the only anime allowed to be considered great are deep/serious/philosophical/intellectual anime, with nary a hint of excessive sexuality or moe. If you think that review is lulz-worthy or rage-inducing, you ain't seen nothing until you've seen the Nanoha S1 review.

nstgc:

--- Quote from: Zalis116 on March 20, 2010, 08:36:35 PM ---Guys, you have to remember, we're talking about ANN here. A place where the only anime allowed to be considered great are deep/serious/philosophical/intellectual anime, with nary a hint of excessive sexuality or moe. If you think that review is lulz-worthy or rage-inducing, you ain't seen nothing until you've seen the Nanoha S1 review.

--- End quote ---

I'm not sure if I should feel as if I was just complimented or insulted. I read the review and don't like it at all. I absolutely love Nanoha (the anime, not the loli...>_>). I could spend a whole day watching Nanoha S1 and S2 even though there are only 26 episodes between the two. Its greatness in an adorable package. I'm definately pissed. How could they possibly throw their shit at precious Nanoha. They better pray that Proin doesn't learn of this Slander (he's a bigger fan of the series than I am...mostly because of Fate).

I'm surprised that they didn't mention that its a spin off of Triangle Hearts which was originally an eroge.

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