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Kurau Phantom Memory:
Between Two Worlds
Anime DVD Review
Every once in a while, something comes along that is simply so mind-blowing, it reaffirms why you got into anime in the first place. No expense was spared to make KPM a breathtakingly gorgeous piece of work. Carefully rendered and well-animated, each scene is astounding to behold. Along with an engaging plotline that moves at breakneck speed as well as eerie moody music, the entire package makes for one of the best anime series to come along in quite a while.
Set one hundred years in the future, Kurau Amane is the daughter of a scientist on the moon who's been experimenting on the revolutionary, newly discovered "Rynax" energy. During a routine experiment, there is an accident in which the energy breaks containment and flashes out, and she is hit by the Rynax rays. To Dr. Amami's horror, he discovers that Rynax is an entirely new entity - a sentient "being" that exists in pairs.
 Now, Rynax have taken over Kurau's body, granting her amazing abilities, while it waits for its pair. Although retaining Kurau's memories and experiences, Rynax is unable to leave the body until the appearance of her "pair", who was injured in the experiment and is resting.
10 years pass, and Kurau, using her special powers has become a top mercenary on Earth. However, despite the long time for recovery, her "pair" has yet to appear. Complicating things is that her secret has leaked to the world, and now the hunter becomes the hunted.
Production is by Studio BONES, the studio behind Full Metal Alchemist, Scrapped Princess, Wolf's Rain, and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, so you know that this is top-notch in every aspect.
Graphically astounding, a fantastic soundtrack, and an action-filled but dramatic plot, this is a truly mind-blowing anime. It will regularly make you shed tears out of the level of sadness sometimes, so be aware that it's a little more emotional than usual fare. But in the end, it stands as an excellent example of why we love anime, and why anime is a far better medium for storytelling than most.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, June 2007
Below: Scenes from Kurau Phantom Memory.
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