Fans of the female figure and bloody action will delight at Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne. The story’s namesake, Rin Asogi, runs an underground detective agency of sorts with her partner Mimi and their strange-looking dog Genta. But there is a secret about this trio, a secret that a young man named Kouki Maeno soon inadvertently discovers. They have been touched by the fruits of Yggdrasil, invisible spores that drift from the likewise invisible world tree. When these fruit spores touch a woman they become immortals. The only way to kill them is to remove their spore and destroy it. However, when these fruits touch males they are transformed into winged humanoid monsters known as “angels,” and their only instinct is to seduce the immortals close enough to ravage them and eat away at their bodies to eat the Yggdrasil fruits. This plot element is as strange as it sounds.
This all seems to have the makings of an elaborate action-oriented hentai, if it weren’t for the fact that the plot does take center stage after the first episode of this OVA (original video animation). Blood and rampant frontal nudity aside, each episode on the first disc spans an allotted timeline that begins, not with Rin’s personal history (which is often hinted at), but with how her fate intertwined with that of the Maeno family. In the first episode, Kouki is young and confused about what he really is and asks Rin to help him. By episode two, he has aged considerably to middle-aged, and episode three he has a wife and child. After that, importance turns to his son, and, ultimately, Kouki’s granddaughter. The fact that this anime can effortlessly span the generational gaps of these characters lends much to the credibility of Rin’s immortal existence and the ultimate revelation of what she really is. It’s almost like watching Highlander, without the awesome sword fights (gunfights aplenty, though).
Honestly, I started watching Mnemosyne with a jaundiced opinion already formed from episode one. With its MA rating and the immediate presence of a naked protagonist, I was sure it would be a lame softcore H title. Let me be the first to say how wrong I was. Even though it’s only six episodes long, Mnemosyne really hits its stride about mid-way through and from then on the series gets interesting as more and more about Rin, her past, and the ties she has to Maeno family throughout history gets pieced together. It does get tiresome seeing her naked body in ever single episode at some point, though, but you get numb to it after a while.
Mnemosyne has lots of action, is well-paced, and even has a smattering of romance here and there for the softies out there. However, it’s not a title to watch with children, so parents be cautious as its MA rating is well-deserved. It is a bit disappointing that they didn’t play up the private-eye angle of Rin’s profession, but it’s understandable since it’s such a short series. It’s also pleasing to note that the animation quality is top-notch and nigh cinematic as is befitting for an OVA, since they tend to have better animation budgets. Viewers will find this to be an interesting watch, just don’t get turned off by some of the more awkward elements of the series and give it a couple of episodes worth of grace before deciding if you like it or not. It’s one of those shows that has to “age” as it goes along.