Description
The masters of anime join forces to create this stunning animated film featuring three separate stories: Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb and Cannon Fodder. In Magnetic Rose, two space travellers are drawn into an asteroid world created by one woman’s memories. In Stink Bomb, a young lab assistant accidentally transforms himself into a human biological weapon set on a direct course to Tokyo. Cannon Fodder depicts a day in the life of a city whose entire purpose is the firing of cannons at the enemy. Created by the world’s leading animé talent: Koji Morimoto (The Animatrix), Tensai Okamuro (Android Kikaider: The Animation), Katsuhiro Ôtomo (Upcoming Steamboy, Akira), Satoshi Kon (Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, Perfe… More >>
Katsuhiro Otomo Presents: Memories
3 very different stories told in very different styles and very much at the top of their form. Rating: 4 / 5
I had long suspected that the American geeky infatuation with Japanese animation (aka Japanimation or anime) stemmed from the same impulses that veered Western Intellectuals into the Eastern Mystical religions. To me, anime was merely the new name for the poorly animated cartoons that proliferated in this country back in the 1960s wave of cartoons that began with such fare as Gigantor the Space Age Robot, Kimba the White Lion, & Speed Racer. By the 80s & 90s the filmic equivalents had spawned such `classics’ like Akira, & Princess Mononoke. I was wrong…. it is heartening to see a film of such daring, even when it fails, getting made & released in Japan, as well frustrating to note that no American animators would dare pick up the gauntlet this film drops- opting instead for numbingly simpleminded Disney fare, which is far more like the watered down Mysticism I expected from this anime film. Instances like this are those times I love being proved wrong. In fact, I only hope my artistic presumptions are more routinely proved wrong. I strongly recommend this DVD to both hardcore anime buffs & mere filmic afficionados. I doubt you will be disappointed. Rating: 3 / 5
I loved Stink Bomb! It’s on the scale of the classic Twilight Zone episodes! Great story with a great ending! Everything else is so high quality that it really makes you appreciate animation when it’s done well. Rating: 5 / 5
Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of a little anime/manga known as AKIRA, made this anime anthology film, Memories. Like other anthology movies such as Neo-Tokyo and Robot Carnival, each chapter in it has a sci-fi element to them.
The movie is split into three segments. The first is Magnetic Rose, set in the late 21st Century where some space salvagers recieve a distress call from an abandonned station inside an asteroid belt. Two of the crew go in to investigate, but find out that it is either haunted by the spirit of a famous dead opera singer, or a deranged computer believing that it is her. The next is Stink Bomb about an employee at a pharmaceutical company who unknowingly takes a drug that makes him to give off an odor that he himself can’t smell, but which causes anyone within several yards of him to die of poisoning. The Japanese government along with the U.S. military pull out all the stops to try to prevent him from reaching Tokyo, which makes for some seriously great comedic action sequences. The last one is a steampunk story titled Cannon Fodder set in an alternate world where from the point of view from a small boy, his in entire city exists to make cannons and fire them out on some unseen enemy outside their borders. The highpoint of this that it appears to be done in one continuous take.
Memories has recieved acclaimed criticism throughout the world, and seen as one of the pinnacle anime movies alongside the works of Hiyao Miyazaki, and as one of Otomo’s best works outside of Akira. The animation in each chapter of it is distinct onto itself. Magnet Rose give off the erie presence of a ghost story in space, Stink Bomb is just pure thrilling hilarity, and Cannon Fodder blends the concepts of a children’s tale and a George Orwell fantasy. The movie was picked up a while ago by Sony Entertainment on DVD, but in Japanese with subtitles only. If you count yourself as any kind of a fan of animation or great science fiction storytelling, then you must see this movie before you die! Rating: 5 / 5
For whatever reason, I ordered Memories but wasn’t totally looking forward to seeing it after I got it in the mail. But partway through Magnetic Rose, I knew I was crazy and should have watched it the night I got it. I didn’t know it was in Japanese with subtitles upon ordering (it’s probably mentioned several times here, I just didn’t pay attention to that) but I don’t mind that.
Magnetic Rose seemed like an odd one to start out with, I probably would have made the order as Stink Bomb, Cannon Fodder, then Magnetic Rose. Mostly because Magnetic Rose is a the best and effecting you emotionally. It allowed enough time for an amount of character development, kept the pace up without feeling rushed, and managed a great atmosphere. It’s like an animated space-opera-horror type thing, but not horror in the conventional sense. It might just be my imagination. But either way thoroughly enjoyed it
Stink Bomb, to me, was like a catchy song in visual form with its constant forward motion. The Japanese military’s absurd antics to stop the chemist from bringing the toxin into Tokyo, and his absent-mindedly carrying the deadly gas all over the place. It’s just the right length, never lulls or bores, and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. The movie doesn’t grab your shirt collar and whisper political agendas in your ear, as something with the plot could have done. It’s just a fun little animated romp.
Cannon Fodder’s animation style kind of put me off, keeping me from enjoying it as much as I could have. And although it had some interesting themes and a detailed world exposed in its short length, it didn’t really get much done. Not much actually happened in it. Kind of a weak finisher to me, but still not bad.
Each given a star rating:
Magnetic Rose – *****
Stink Bomb – ****
Cannon Fodder – ***
All in all, a great package of three interesting anime shorts. A worthy experience. Rating: 4 / 5