Type: Hot Lesbian Bondage Action!
Synopsis: You know…I know what I write is immature at times. This anime does have some interesting things to say about the nature of immortality and technology. When you search it up all you get are images of Rin looking sexy. And yeah, this anime does have a lot of sex and violence. A LOT OF SEX AND VIOLENCE. And vore. A surprising amount of vore. But sex and violence can be effective narrative tools. I mean, not in this, but in other stuff. I guess what I’m trying to say is…actually, I don’t know what I’m trying to say. Let’s just get the review started.
Pros: I can’t talk about this anime without mentioning it’s reputation. RIN: Daighters of Mnemosyne is well known as one of the more explicit anime of all time. This anime is often listed with things like Elfied Lied, KITE, and Yosuga No Sora as controversial anime you probably shouldn’t watch. The reason why RIN is so controversial is because this anime depicts graphic scenes of violence, lesbian sex, straight sex, vore, bondage, torture, and some rape. In it’s defense, RIN is the least offensive of all three. But that’s like saying Hersey is the least chocolate tasting candy bar. But since this is a sex positive site, let’s talk about the sex scenes that work. The anime’s story revolves around women who became immortal through contact of a “Time Fruit” from the tree of Yggdrasil (the Norse world tree). As a result, all the non-violent sex scenes are lesbian sex. Which makes sense. If your part of a community with female immortals, your only consistent partner would probably be another immortal. While this aspect of the show is introduced as a transaction process for information, I do like that the character Mimi later sets up her own liaisons for personal pleasure. Story wise, I like the detective aspect of the anime. The main character, Rin, works as a private detective in Tokyo. Each episode follows a different case in a different era. The story covers the years 1990-2055. Aside from Rin and Mimi, the only other consistent character is a member of the Maeno family. Rin starts the anime meeting Koki Maeno, and later teams up with his son and granddaughter. I liked this aspect because it explored Rin and Mimi’s status as immortals. One of the lines of scenes that stick with me the most is when Mimi explains immortals always look for excitement to remind them that they’re alive. Had the story just been about Rin’s immortality and the enemies and friends she collected along the way, I think I’d think more highly of the show.
Cons: Sex is a theme in this review because it’s a theme in the show. One of the main antagonists Rin has to deal with is Aptos, the sadistic guardian of Yggdrasil who harasses Rin throughout the show. One of the way Aptos attacks Rin is through “Angels,” which are men that come in contact with a “time fruit.” Instead of becoming immortals, men transform into monstrous angels that hunt down and devour immortal women. In addition, when immortal women are near Angels, they are overcome with lust, which allows the Angels to get near enough to eat them (hence the vore). From episode 2 onward, you will see at least one immortal women get eaten by an Angel in this manner. Aside from that, you also get a lot of scenes of Aptos mutilating an unnamed female immortal. If this kinds of sexualized violence isn’t your thing, feel free to skip. Story wise, the anime is your standard drama thriller. We’re introduced to the new client, Rin gets the case, lesbian sex happens for information, Rin gets attacked by an assassin, Rin gets hurt badly, the client is kidnapped, Mimi uses computers to solved the case, Rin saves the day, and sometimes Angel vore sex happens. While I do like the continuity and world building between episodes, the plot itself is not groundbreaking. Plus, the last episode drowns itself in it’s own lore, and adds a new character that sorta comes out of nowhere and lacks emotional impact. For a show so interested in sex, it’s climax was very lacking.
Watch it?: Filthy, but genuinely arousing (3/5)
MVP: Mimi
I was gonna say Rin, but Mimi does a whole lot more when you think about it.
Best Episode: Ep. 2 “Angels Don’t Cry” (introduces a lot of story elements)