MangoFox

If there’s one thing that can be said about anime, it’s that it can get quite controversial at times. From the Ecchi genre, to the Horror genre, to the Psychological genre, anime is often presented with scenes of intense language, violence, gore, nudity, sex, and highly questionable themes. Mardock Scramble is one such anime. The story follows a young Rune Balot, who as a child was raped by her father. Enraged, her brother then proceeds to shoot the father. As her family falls to pieces, Rune grows up as an underage prostitute, and where she is ultimately caught and put in jail. Enter Shell, themain antagonist of this anime, who gets her out, gives her shelter, offers her his love and support… and then proceeds to blow her up. Severely injured and on the verge of death, she is then rescued by Dr.Easter , who effectively turns her into a sexy Japanese version of Robocop. She is then given the ability to hack electronics, kick ass, and take names. To bring the crimes of Shell to light, she partners up with Oeufcoque, a highly intelligent electronical mouse that can transform, doubling as; her wardrobe, voice collar, gun, knife, shield, radar, emotional support, and love interest. Effectively putting batman’s utility belt to shame. If you haven’t figured it out by now, yes this anime is rated R-18+, with themes of rape, incest, prostitution, murder, and impending bestiality. To put into perspective how fucked up this anime gets. One of the villains, is a giant tit sack. . . No really. While his boss, Mr. Pussyhands, gives quite a new meaning to the term “pussyslap”, and takes the act of “masturbation” to a whole new level. One of the things I can say about this anime, is that it is very dark, and takes itself very seriously. You get a feel for Balot’s fear & mistrust of strangers, her loneliness & desperation, and her pain & anguish. As you begin to comprehend the tormented soul of Rune Balot, you start to get an understanding of what this anime is trying to convey. A ‘balot’ , or ‘balut’, is an underdeveloped duck embryo. It is a representation of the fragility of Rune’s character as well as her torqued innocence. While Oeufcoque (French for egg shell), serves to protect Rune, both physically and mentally. This dark and gritty concept, question of morals, and beautiful use of symbolism, makes this an anime I would definitely recommend checking out. The animation is a mix of 3d cg, brilliant slow mo, and fast paced action. While the anime takes very serious tones and displays them in a very serious manner. Which is a nice break from all the mindless violence, gore, sex, and nudity often found in other anime. I hope you enjoyed this review, and as always, thank you for reading. (P.S. I wonder what the director’s obsession with eggs is all about though. Dr. Easter, Boiled, Scramble, Balot, Oeufcoque, Shell, and Humpty Dumpty. Now all they need is a character named Sunny Side Up)

DraconisMarch

Short and sweet: Story - Very interesting, but suffered from pacing issues. It moved wayyy too fast and didn't explain what was going on--or why--very well. Then again, some people may like this kind of vagueness that puts the jobs of interpretation and filling in the gaps on the viewer. If they had tacked an extra 20-30 minutes onto it, they could've SLOWED THE HELL DOWN and taken their time. Art - Incredible, clean, and beautiful, except I'm not a fan of the grain layering they used over the duration of the film. It was different, but not my taste. Watching iton an HD-TV greatly reduces its gravity, so I recommend that. Sound - Great sound effects, excellent voice acting (both English and Japanese). But there wasn't a lot of music--and when there was, it didn't stand out very much. Their take on "Amazing Grace" at the end sounded really nice, but wasn't appropriate whatsoever for the mood of the ending. Characters - The two mains were very well-written and interesting. Balot's backstory was painted very vividly. Her actions are very appropriate for what she's been through. Oeufcocque has an intriguingly quirky personality, which is interesting to see when watching them interact. The rest of the characters, however, are sadly boring and underdeveloped--even Dr. Easter and Shell (the villain). Hopefully this changes over the course of the next two films. All in all, it's definitely a fun watch worthy of multiple viewings both for enjoyment, and to help yourself understand the story. It's graphic and brutally honest, depicting the world as it truly is. Choice scenes of a nude Balot that would normally be taken as fanservice simply cannot be seen as such--given the situations in which they occur: her being used by men. Looking forward to the next installment. Too bad it was so short. *Be advised: The sex scenes and nudity are censored in R1 DVD release, and a few scenes were inexplicably removed. Just a word of warning if you're looking to buy the North American version.