released 29 feb 04 / last mod 01 jun 07 / greg goebel / public domain
* MEMORIES is a collection of three relatively short Japanese animation pieces by Katsuhiro Otomo, of AKIRA fame. In the first piece, MAGNETIC ROSE, a space salvage crew hears a rescue call from a dangerous space sargasso, with the rescue signal broadcasting Puccini's MADAME BUTTERFLY. In the second, STINK BOMB (which I think might have been alternatively rendered as STINK BUG) a bumbling biotechnology worker with a cold takes the wrong pill, with apocalyptic results. The third, CANNON FODDER, is a portrait of a fairy-tale society dedicated totally to war, sort of like Imperial Germany on acid.
As far as the scriptwriting goes, these stories are fairly lightweight. I read a much shorter manga (comic) version of MAGNETIC ROSE, and all the elaborations of the video version didn't really add much to the story, which is strictly an OUTER LIMITS sort of thing. STINK BOMB is a bit of deliberate silliness, and CANNON FODDER really doesn't have a story at all -- it's just a "day in the life" narrative, much along the lines of traditional "experimental" animation. The entire video runs about 114 minutes and drags a bit; I think it would have been more effective if it had been cut to about 90 or even 75, and it would have lost nothing.
However, the production values for MEMORIES are outstanding. Even STINK BOMB, the most conventional of the three, is meticulously detailed, and MAGNETIC ROSE is technically outstanding and lushly drawn from beginning to end. (It was produced by Satoshi Kon, who would go on to be one of the real stars of anime.) The quirky CANNON FODDER is a particular exercise in mad ingenuity and I thought it the most interesting of the three. I suspect that it might have been done with some "message" in mind, but I found it instead to be something like an elaborate clockwork toy.
So, in sum, if you're after a great story, you won't like MEMORIES, but if you're taken in with artwork and design this is a good buy. Probably not a good choice for younger watchers, though -- there's nothing much objectionable in it, but the stories will likely bore them.