Memories Anime Review

Reader Review

• Reviewer: M. Othman
• Review Date: 2003-08-18 (updated 2011-08-23)
• 5 stars out of 5 (?)

First off, let me start by stating that these short films are not for everyone. If you belong to the guts flying, bombs exploding, instant gratification anime crowd then this production is definitely not for you. If you're the type of anime fan who likes to think about a movie's meaning after it's over, then you should definitely go watch Memories. Since there are three vignettes, this review is split accordingly.

Magnetic Rose

This little imagery poem is all about reality and illusion. Would you want to live in a perfect world, where there is no sorrow and you are surrounded by your loved ones? Of course you would. But what if this perfect world is nothing but an illusion? That's the question this movie asks. A once-famous opera diva who tragically lost both her lover and her voice builds a mysterious ship holding all her cherished memories and moments. She invites the salvagers to share her illusion--to live in a world where their worries are forgotten and their dead loved ones are brought back to life.

The movie handles the question well and doesn't really give a clear-cut answer, leaving the viewers to form their own opinion. The music (composed by the legendary Yoko Kanno of Macross Plus, Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop) is simply awe-inspiring, and is coupled with the movie's amazingly fluid animation to form some of the best sequences ever seen in anime. The last scene in particular is extremely beautiful--music and animation choreographed to perfection!

All in all, this is the best of the three shorts and will keep you thinking long after the credits roll.

Stink Bomb

This is the most lighthearted of the three movies, as you might expect from its hilariously absurd premise. It does, however, belong to the genre of dark comedy. People die all around our hapless hero, who is so ignorant of what is going on around him you can't help but snicker. The upbeat, weird-but-fun, jazzy soundtrack makes the contrast between Stink Bomb and the dead-serious, orchestral Magnetic Rose even more profound. If you set off to look for hidden meaning or even plain old common sense in this little number, then you'll be sorely disappointed. The lighthearted Stink Bomb was meant to be just that: A fun little romp that should elicit a smile after the grim Magnetic Rose.

Not the best of the three, but definitely a very good, and most of all fun, movie.

Cannon Fodder

At only half an hour Cannon Fodder is shortest of the three movies, and the weirdest, but perhaps the one that will give you the most food for thought. The artwork is purposely ugly, with a strange palette of grays and browns. The whole city has a decaying, decrepit look that mirrors the people's spirits, whose only form of revolt is protesting against the use of toxic gunpowder in cannons and demanding the government use a non-toxic one. A very depressing environment I have rarely seen in an anime. This movie's theme is socialism; If everyone had enough to eat, had his position in society secure, then they should be happy, right? Then why are the citizen of Cannon City unhappy? What is missing?

If there was ever an anime that could be categorized as "definitely not for everyone," Cannon Fodder is it. But if you fancy yourself a lover of "Thinking Man's Anime" and are open-minded enough for its strange art, then you should definitely give it a look.

Conclusion

There are few animes out there that could be called truly thought-provoking. Few that could be called works of art. And fewer still are those that achieve both. Memories is such a movie. Technically perfect, and mentally jarring--highly recommended.

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