RIN ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~
Anime DVD Review
You know that cheerleader chick from HEROES? The one who can heal instantly, so she's essentially immortal, even able to rip herself out of a body bag after being deemed dead? That's essentially Rin, an anime that is definitely not for the kids. In fact, I'd say this series is *borderline hentai*, as it's rife with nudity, lesbian sex, and S&M galore. In fact, half the fun of the series is seeing what creative way Rin will be killed this episode, as a lot of it seems to happen slowly and painfully. Even the end titles have the poor girl torturously tied-up in barbed wire.
But she always comes back, although sometimes it takes longer for her to do so. The series starts off in 1990, but proceeds through many decades, allowing us to experience her immortality as friends and co-workers grow older while she (and Mimi, another immortal) stay the same age.
 Each episode starts off the same, with Rin asking Mimi for some water, and receiving Vodka instead. After that we are often treated to Apos or Laura trying to kill Rin in various sadistic ways, and we never really understand it all until the final episode (there are only 6 episodes, but be warned, each episode is 45 minutes long, so, be prepared to devote some time in front of the TV for this), and then Rin stumbles across a case for her to solve, which often seems to involve her death/dismemberment (and subsequent resurrection).
But remember that when Rin gets back up after being put down, she's going to do some serious ass-kicking.
But overall it's played straight, and with lots of dramatic tension. Even though we *think* the immortals can't die (actually there is a way to kill them), those around Rin who haven't eaten their time fruit often wind up passing on before their time.
 And then there's the twist regarding the different effects of the time fruit between men and women. Which brings us back to Apos.. But no, I can't reveal that to you, you'll have to see it for yourself.
As not everything is made 100% clear, and you'll have to do some thinking about what you just experienced (one thing I was wondering is, if Rin is more than 1000 years old, how did she get by without glasses, which is a relatively recent invention?), I heartily suggest the Wikipedia page for this series, as it does clear up some ambiguities.
Regardless, if you're the kind of sick puppy that enjoys sticking needles into Barbie dolls, then you'll get your twisted kicks from the fetish-erotic, murder-action, endless-agony, torturous-existence that is RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne. I know I did.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, March 2010
Below: Scenes from RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne.
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