Review - RIN ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~

RIN ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~
FUNimation

Naked anime women? Check. Gory violence? Check. Degrading sexual situations? Check. This show is one I would not recommend for any public library because of the extreme subject matter. But I actually found it had an intriguing story and excellent animation that kept my interest.

With six 45 minute episodes, this OVA tells the story of Rin, seemingly a well dressed business lady who is a private investigator. Working with Mimi, a young woman who is good with computers and offers up vodka instead of water when Rin asks for a drink at the beginning of each episode, Rin is hired to solve seemingly simple investigations that always balloon into more sinister crimes. The first episode is set in the year 1990 and has Rin investigating a missing cat, but runs into a man who has amnesia. Loosing interest in the cat, she starts looking into the mysterious mans past discovering what his secret. This starts Rin down a path to her ultimate fate.

But as it turns out, Rin and Mimi are immortal. They can be shot, cut, blown up, and their bodies will eventually reconstitute back to perfect health. And since Rin is being stalked by an assassin throughout the series, it makes for some very gruesome "death" scenes. Each episode is set about 20 to 25 years later than the prior episode. So by the end of the series, the story is in the year 2055. Rin and Mimi are working with the grandchild of the man she met in the first episode. And we learn why she is tied throughout time his family. In this world, there is a tree which releases orbs called time fruit. The time fruit passes through solid objects and then disappear back into the earth and only immortals can see the tree and it's fruit. The main point of the entire story is to find out why the tree exists and what effect the fruit has on humanity.

As I mentioned in the beginning, this show is not for sensitive people. Bloody, degrading, sexual violence is inflicted on Rin. Though the animation is excellent, the plot compelling and even top notch voice acting, the presentation makes this series one a library should probably steer away from. Even searching WorldCat shows that currently not a single library has this series in their collection. So if you want to watch this series, you'll have to buy it, watch it online, or ask to borrow my DVDs.