Review of Memories By Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
-== What is it? ==-
Memories is a set of three animated science fiction tales. These three stories are adapted from manga short stories by the legendary writer Katsuhiro Otomo. Katsuhiro Otomo worked on Akira, Robot Carnival, and Steamboy. All three animated yarns total 113 minutes of content. Memories was released in 1995.
There is light violence and adult themes in the stories but overall Memories is pretty tame. Amazon rates the DVD at PG-13 and I think that is accurate.
I purchased the standard edition version of Memories. I will be reviewing that version in this article.
-== What I Like ==-
The first story on Memories is the favorite of many reviewers. Magnetic Rose is the story of a space garbage collection team who gets a distress signal that leads them to a “haunted” residence of a former opera singer. As they search the place they get pulled into the life of the former owner. The story is both creepy and seductive. The artwork is clean and fresh. I give this story an 8 out of 10 paws.
Stink Bomb is the second story. This Memories tale involves an employee who mistakenly takes an experimental drug thinking it is flu medicine. Things go from bad to worse when everyone start dying around him. The protagonist is completely clueless to what is happening which loads the story full of black comedy. The writing is wonderful. The story is funny, charming, and smart. I give this story 9 out of 10 paws.
The final story of Memories, Cannon Fodder, is a gorgeous glimpse into the steampunk aesthetic. The story involves a schoolchild in a city at war with a nebulous foe. His father goes to work each day to work on the cannons. The child’s big dream is being the one who gets to fire the biggest cannon. The artwork is looser than the other stories but it really matches the tale perfectly. Cannon Fodder is not anything like its title…it is top notch. I give this story 8 out of 10 stars.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
The extra DVD features include trailers and a “making of” piece called “Memories Of Memories“. The extras are not exciting.
-== Summary ==-
Memories is strong collection of science fiction anime tales. At a price point of below $15 this DVD is a real steal. Go make some of your own memories watching anime writer Katsuhiro Otomo at his best.
I give it 8 out of 10 paws.
You can get a copy at Amazon for $14.97 at this URL. Surprisingly RightStuf.com does not have copies of Memories for sale.
