User reviews

Memories conveys three of the best anime segments ever done, even if so many anime fans don't know about it. The first time I saw Memories in a film festival in 1998 left me with such an impression that I never forgot about it. Now that finally I own the DVD, I can say that it's the same as I remembered: magnificent.

The "Magnetic Rose" segment feels at times like an homage to Kubrick's "2001 : Space Odissey", and now I could say it's a straight antecedent of the sci-fi tendency about the human mind in a simulated space which we have seen in "Dark City", "Matrix", etc. How a simulation program triggers the memories of the explorers and gets mixed with synthetic memories is done in a very intriguing form. The opera music plays a most important role, since it's the soundtrack what gives depth to the happenings here told.

"Stink Bomb" is funny as hell, taking the typical idiot hero in the Nintendo kind of plot (thhink Koji in Mazzinger, or Seya in Knigths of the Zodiac) as for what he should be (an idiot, every day man with the flu) , the story revolves around on the accidental creation of a human stinking bomb who treat hens the whole island of Japan. Real funny in a way most kid's animes aren't.

Finally, "Cannon Fodder" is the segment which I feel is the true masterpiece in this little anthology. A metaphorical world where a country is in a war against an unknown (and probably inexistent) enemy, and how the cannons are not only weapons, but the complete essence of the cultural, economical and social layers of this surreal "totalitarian" country. Some reminiscence of Orwell's 1984 is present, but the execution is really like anything I have ever seen or read before. It's a one shot segment, so I can hardly imagine the size of some background panels and the animation logistics of this. The music accentuates this strange feeling (very much like in Aeon Flux), and the unusual rendering style makes this a little strange jewel, not only from anime, but from all styles of animation.

As I said before, most movie and anime fans don't seem to know, or don't have any memories about this surreal collection of animated storied. I'm glad I'll never forget them.

"Memories" (1995) is a pretty good movie, and if you want to get as much out of it as possible, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before watching:

Memories is a three-episode anime including three separate stories: "Magnetic Rose", "Stink Bomb" and "Cannon Fodder". There is no cohesion between the stories, so don't spend time looking for similar plot elements. There are none.

The first episode, Magnetic Rose, is a sci-fi anime that occasionally borderlines horror, similar to "Alien" but in a more psychological way. This part is rich with great visuals and superb sound, so get close to the screen and turn all the lights out. If possible, use a pair of headphones to get really submersed.

Stink Bomb is a light, bioterrorism comedy. It provides a few shocking frames in the first third of the movie which can be a bit intense, but it lightens up afterwards and provides a hilarious ride which shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Cannon Fodder is the more artistic and rawer episode out of the three. Pay attention to the smooth flows between the sceneries and get ready for some 1984-like vistas and philosophies.

My personal grade: a solid 7/10. If you found this helpful, check my profile for more reviews.

Memories (1995) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi and is made up of three short films combined into one. The first one involves a space crew that believes they've landed on a planet that can save them but everything isn't as it appears. The second storyline follows a scientist that becomes infected by his own experiment and becomes a walking chemical weapon. The final storyline is about a city that appears to be preparing for war but against what?

This movie is directed by Kôji Morimoto (The Animatrix), Tensai Okamura (Cowboy Bebop: The Movie) and Katsuhiro Ôtomo (Steamboy) and contains the voices of Robbie Daymond (Tiger & Bunny), Frank Todaro (Dolittle), Laura Post (Batman: The Enemy Within) and Ellen-Ray Hennessy (It Takes Two).

The animation in this is fun and does a great job of depicting the universe, characters and circumstances. I really wish I could see this in 3D. The space suits and ghost elements in the first film were awesome. There is a level of mystery throughout the plots unfolding on what could possibly happen next. The one complaint may be character buy-in but that's always tough in short stories.

Overall this is an excellent addition to the anime genre that I would strongly recommend. I would score this a 8/10.

It's an anthology. It's three stories of 45 minutes, 40 minutes and 15 minutes that have nothing at all to do with one another. In fact, the film's title only refers to the first story. This film is one part science-fiction thriller, one part bioterrorism comedy (THERE'S a category I've never put a film in!) and one part single-shot (99% of it, anyway) borderline-documentary.

Disney couldn't make a film this engrossing if the fate of mankind depended on it.

Those who have what I call the "It's an Anime" stigma should shake it off for "Memories". Rent this. Buy this. See this!

After seeing Akira it's natural to be curious of what Otomo's produced. This collection of short movies(all more than 20 minutes though) is a fun, action-packed and imaginative reminder why anime is among the best genres, and NOT restricted to kids(or in the case of these shorts, not really for kids at all).

The last short of the three is called Cannon Fodder. It features a very cool style unlike normal anime, some neat "camera" tricks and illusions of 3D, and a heavy but playful mood. It's quirky and good but not great.

The second short is called Stink Bomb, which is a crazy, fast-paced disaster/action story with a healthy dose of black humour. It's very well made, with insanely detailed tanks, helis, airplanes etc, and lots of explosions. The whole thing is funny and bizarre, and easily a classic.

The first of the three shorts, which in my opinion should have been saved to last, is Magnetic Rose. Here the humour of the two others is gone, and we have a very gripping and serious story set in a sci-fi environment. This is more like Otomo's Akira stuff; epic but with great characters. Some scenes are gut-wrenchingly emotional and disturbing. All set to a classic opera score, it is chilling and eerie and grand-scale in a way Hollywood never seems to get right.

If you like to watch the occasional anime, this is a very good choice. Don't know how easy it is to get a hold of, but it seems to be very popular at least in Japan.

This was an amazingly beautiful film, filled with great music that only pushed each scene along wonderfully. I thought this was a great piece of film. I have had the pleasure of showing this to friends that have always looked down on what anime is, and walk away stunned. Some might find these stories slow, but I think if you have any real appreciation of anime, you will find this to be an interesting piece of work. It consists of three stores. Koji Morimoto's "Magnetic Rose", Tensai Okamura's "Stink Bomb", and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Cannon Fodder". I would say that Magnetic rose was perhaps the deepest of these three stores. Offering a beautiful mix of classical music, with a futuristic settings to offer a sense of contrast. Stink Bomb being the more lighthearted of the three. While still maintaining a grim reality, and almost eerie sense of setting, using a more modern day look, and music. Then Cannon Fodder, right from an Orwell idealized future, with the loud sounds, and marches. These movies all offer up something different, and wonderful, while still working there way along a nice line of thought.

An anthology movie split into three distinct pieces, so I thought it better to review them all separately.

Memories (1/3): Magnetic Rose - 7/10

Part 1 of the anthology movie that is Memories starts with what most people consider to be the best of the three: Magnetic Rose. Broadly speaking, it sees the crew of a ship in deep space investigating a distress signal, and then coming across some unexpected things.

It introduces its premise confidently, a little slowly, but overall surely, and it builds mystery well as things go along. As a piece of sci-fi, it's moderately intriguing, but I think it's all boosted immensely by the visuals on offer. What's happening doesn't seem too important, sometimes, when the animation is this striking.

Memories (2/3): Stink Bomb - 6.5/10

Stink Bomb is perhaps the best Japanese film about bureaucratic boobery that isn't Shin Godzilla. It's a good deal sillier than the first short film in the Memories anthology, but it's still fairly entertaining, following a ridiculous young man who accidentally turns himself into a bioweapon.

It does feel like a bit of a goofy kaiju movie parody, and even if that's the only real joke the short has, at least it's a funny joke, and at least it's only a short film, rather than them trying to stretch something like this to feature-length. I had fun, but it probably won't stick with me.

Memories (3/3) - Cannon Fodder - 6.5/10

The most visually unusual of the three, Cannon Fodder also stands out because it runs for 20-something minutes, while the other two shorts are both approximately 40-45 minutes each. As much as I can gather, it's about the meaningless of war, all done with a futuristic slant that bleakly suggests the human race will never change, and firing increasingly advanced cannons will always just be a thing.

It feels satirical, but not in a truly funny way. It's kind of feel-bad and has a vibe that feels off, but that feels intentional, and I think it makes for an offbeat and sort of fitting end to the overall anthology movie that is Memories.

Amazing anime trilogy from AKIRA's Katsuhiro Otomo, who presents three unrelated sci fi stories directed by different directors (he did the last one, writers/first-time directors Tensai Okamura and Koji Morimoto did the other two). They are amazing vignettes with some stupendous animation in three different styles. Otomo's is especially unique in that there are no cuts – the "camera" moves fluidly through every scene without a jump or a stop. Morimoto's 40-min "Magnetic Rose" is stunningly animated, the most amazing of the two, telling of a space ship's investigation of a distress signal discovering a magnificent world created by a woman's memories – the music takes advantage of the operatic aria, Madame Butterfly, arranged by Yoko Kanno, who also supplies an excellent original score. "Stink Bomb," the middle segment, is clever and funny and fast-paced; Otomo's anti-war statement in "Cannon Fodder" closes out the film with a subtle bit of thought-provocation about a city whose entire purpose is the firing of cannons at an unknown enemy.

These 3 short cartoons are are aimed at adult thoughts. I'm not sure why this is PG-13: I think it's also appropriate for older kids that can handle more than Disney cartoons, and provide some food for thought. People do die however in 2 of the cartoons, and the topics treatment is aimed for critical judgment.

The 3 stories are shorts with a simple original idea. In this approach they are similar to short anticipation novels. The length of the stories is appropriate to the idea exposed and its treatment.

Magnetic Rose: dwelling on lost times is unhealthy Stink Bomb: biological warfare can backfire Cannon Fodder: brainwashing done by the government

It's a masterpiece.

On 23 December 1995, Otomo Katsuhiro, the creator of Akira, released Memories to Japan's general viewing public. A collection of three stories, this movie brings not only variety, but enjoyment to each. "Magnetic Rose" is the first and longest of the three, followed by "Stink Bomb" and "Cannon Fodder".

The animation of each episode differs, depending on how one views it. While all three episodes are very well done, the style of "Cannon Fodder" is vastly different from "Magnetic Rose" and "Stink Bomb". "Cannon Fodder" uses more computer effects than the other two, integrating them into the perspective of the scenes (like the Sharon Apple concert in Macross Plus), rather than just using them for a computer display. All three episodes are very fluid, never once skipping a few cels per second for the sake of the budget.

Magnetic Rose: "Magnetic Rose" is set in space in the year 2092. Four men -- Heintz, Miguel, Ivanov, and Aoshima -- pilot the mighty spacecraft Corona to new heights in interstellar garbage collecting. Actually, they are one of many ships that collect garbage left over from the expansion of humankind into space. When the crew of the Corona run across a distress call, they discover a huge scrapyard of debris floating about a huge, central piece. Heintz and Miguel go to investigate, discovering living area set aside for an early twenty-first century opera diva who went into space after the death of her husband, Carlo. While there, the pair encounter strangely real and seductive illusions which make one wonder what exactly is going on.

"Magnetic Rose" - the first part of Memories, an artistic masterpiece by Katsuhiro Otomo - is one of the best animes we've ever seen. Despite its length, it's only about 50 minutes, its depth and content is amazing. A fantastic story, excellent graphix and some scary touch. We really love "Magnetic Rose's" message, and the ending is tough. You've gotta see it. 6 out of 5 stars. Hehe.

This is a compilation of three different Sci-Fi stories with the figure of Katsuhiro Ôtomo as the main link (he produces the film, writes two of the stories and directs one); even when the first story (and probably the best) is distinctly written by Satoshi Kon and has all his style. Funnily enough, the short that convinced me less was the last one, written and directed by Ôtomo, while the middle one is less pretentious, but at the same time the most fun of the three.

Katsuhiro Otomo's "Memories" combines the vision of Otomo's usual "God's revenge for the human race believing too much in science" with two first-time, although far from inexperienced directors. The first of the three films, "Magnetic Rose" is by far the least Otomo-esquire of the three pieces, although based on one of his short mangas. The film centering mainly on the sci-fi side of anime. Space freighters respond to a distress call in a bad sector of space, and become lost in the haunting memories of an intergalactic opera singer. The second piece, "Stink Bomb" shows, if possible, a humorous side to biological warfare, as an unsuspecting pharmaceutical tech accidentally ingests a biological weapon and becomes a walking disaster. The final film, actually directed by Otomo, called "Cannon Fodder" was by far my favorite, and the most disturbing of the three films. The basic story centers around a family living in a town whose citizens devote their entire lives to bombing an unseen enemy in the sky. This story is very politically motivated, very dark, and not at all a "happy little story". The animation is unlike anything I've ever seen from Otomo, and full of sweeping single-cut shots that give you chills. Overall, I highly recommend this movie collection for any anime fan. It most definitely incorporates the vision of three brilliant directors.

I first saw Memories in 1997 when I recieved a fansub copy. I had just gotten into Anime at the time. The film is divided into three segments, Magnetic Rose/Stink Bomb/Cannon Fodder. The most impressive segment is Cannon Fodder, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, to my knowledge its the first animated feature done in One-Shot (Meaning it never cuts, the camera just keeps moving around from scene to scene). Anyways, all the segments are based off of old manga shorts written by Otomo. Its an amazing film, with awesome music, storytelling, and animation. Highly recomended.

Enjoyable but somewhat dated animation from three of anime's leading early exponents. Magnetic Rose is an effective 'Bermuda Triangle' tale; and Stink Bomb neatly covers environmental disaster with a slightly comic tone, but Canon Fodder is the piece that, for me, looks and feels like something different. There are strong notes of Gilliam-esque styling and it left me feeling quite happy to watch another half hour exploring the grim, dystopian lives of the central characters - it feels like the first chapter, or perhaps prologue, of a feature length story of one cog battling against the authoritarian machine. Entertaining stuff for anime fans.

THis was one of the best animated movies that I've seen in along time . I'm not a big fan of anime ,but I appreciate originality and "Memories " isn't like the Japanese animation that you see on television .

Katsuhiro Otomo , the director of "Akira " directs with other two animators this collection of shorts .

The first "Magnetic Rose " Takes place in the future , it's my favorite .The animation it's splendid ,full of details and a subtle use of CGI .The opera music was very effective to support the dramatic story .

The second "Stink Bomb " ,takes place in the modern Japan ,and works very well like a dark comedy . The animation it's very good ,just like the first .

The third ,"Cannon Fodder " it's the most original ( and the most strange ) first of all ,the animation doesn't look like it were anime ,but it had a stylish and interesting appearance .The story follows the every day life of a family that lives in a society were every activity it's connected with the war . This movie it's a must see for every fan of animation .Even if you don't like anime ,I'm sure that you will find interesting material on this movie ,and proofs that animation could be art .

This movie is about different surreal stories in the sci-fi genre. Each story respectively covers past memories, backfired medicine, and the deadly war affecting the people.

The first story, Magnetic Rose, covers the story of a space crew who make fortunes collecting scraps from wrecked satelites and ships. They get a SOS from a wrecked space station, and the rest of the story is what happens as they go to rescue. It was great as it filled with emotions about how the past haunts the present and the desperate one searches for delusional relief. The characters are written well, as each contributes well to the story narration. It was engaging and kept me excited to the end. My favorite one in the movie.

The second story, Stink Bomb, was written well as the first one. This story covers the medicine that turns a man, Nobuo Tanaka, into a biological weapon that is supposed to counter biological hazards during wars. It shows how bad the medicine turned out to be, how it affects the public, and what decisions are made by the governments invested in it. The pursuit of Nobuo was written well, as it was engaging as well, to the end. The climax was well done.

The third story, Cannon Fodder, covers the story of a nation currently at war through a family's perspective. It shows how dirty war is as they use harmful substances, which affect those who work on it; the little boy's dream to be one to pull trigger, and people pushed to contribute to war. This is the shortest story in this movie, but it is not as interesting as the previous two stories but delivers its message. My least favorite in this movie.

The voice acting is good as it emphasizes emotions well, as I watched in Sub. The animation style was different on each story and added the setup of the story as well. The music and sound design were good, as the scenes and emotions demanded.

In conclusion, I loved this movie. I would suggest everyone watch it at least once to pass your time by.

Coming from the mind of the man who gave us 'Akira,' and adapted by the brilliant Kon Satoshi whose best known works toyed with conceptions of reality, it perhaps shouldn't be too surprising that first segment "Magnetic rose" would be so dark and captivating. Hitting hard and intense on what feels like a very personal level, it's a short film that twists together psychological space-faring science fiction, fantasy, and action-horror all into one stunning blast. In delightful contrast, though "Stink bomb" boasts a root concept that is incredibly grim and harrowing - the phrase "apocalyptic action-drama" comes to mind - it is instead twisted into outrageous black comedy. Filled with big action sequences and mass destruction that would make Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich jealous, it's nevertheless an exercise in absurd situational humor and a comedy of errors; following on the heels of the previous segment, and especially considering what it could have been, it is quite ironically a breath of fresh air. Meanwhile, it's interesting how third segment "Cannon fodder" takes still another approach, exploring dystopia in a hyper-militarized society of perpetual war with distinctly different sensibilities of art. Perfectly bleak in its own right, the overall wry tone exists somewhere on the spectrum between those of "Magnetic rose" and "Stink bomb," providing a sense of balance in the whole while evoking a sense of unspoken tragedy.

'Memories' is an incredible movie. I sat to watch with no particular expectations or foreknowledge, and I'm so very pleased with just how engrossing it is. Each piece herein has its own strengths; I'm inclined to favor "Magnetic rose" for the huge initial impression that it makes, but "Stink bomb" is very clever and funny, and "Cannon fodder" carries completely unique vibes. To that point, the exaggerated character designs in the latter suggesting old war propaganda, not to mention obvious influence from the proverbial "Saturday morning cartoon," are surprising since the same studio animated it and "Magnetic rose," while it's instead "Magnetic rose" and "Stink bomb" that bear the same broad, somewhat realistic appearance. They are extra surprising since the last segment is furthermore animated and edited to give the illusion of one continuous long take, a highly atypical novelty in animation. Differences in tone and art design aside, one would also be remiss not to mention the various styles of music that populate the feature, and which are integral to the airs throughout; most notably, the somber operatic and symphonic themes in "Magnetic rose" very much suit the chilling, visceral genre space in which it plays, while the jazz, funk, and otherwise jauntier chords in "Stink bomb" are right in line with the cheeky frivolity that otherwise characterizes it. As driving electronic beats finish out the end credits, the end result definitely feels like we've just been taken on a fantastic ride.

Between the underlying creative genius of Otomo Katsuhiro and the contributions of Kon and fellow directors Morimoto Koji and Okamura Tensei, from top to bottom the picture is greatly entertaining and satisfying, and moreover sharply engaging and absorbing. Wonderfully strong narrative writing across each piece is rounded out with dynamic, flavorful scenes and interesting characters. In both the writing and direction all three a vibrant energy that is both entirely their own and kith and kin, and the tenor from one to the next weirdly complements the others. With excellent voice acting and sound effects, and keen editing, 'Memories' is very well made all around and primed to leave the mark that it does. Yet at least as much as the storytelling, the animation specifically is also fabulously eye-catching - for whatever variations there are across "Magnetic rose," "Stink bomb," and "Cannon fodder," they all look outstanding. There is so much to take in with every element: stupendous details, rich colors, meaningful use of shading, fluid movement and effects, and so on. Every visual design is a sight for sore eyes; some examples are so stellar that one could be forgiven for thinking that computer-generated or live-action aspects weren't discreetly woven in. In each segment there is at least one little facet that's so striking in the animation alone that I can't help but to some degree lament that live-action film-making is the norm instead of animation like this.

As a matter of personal preference this won't appeal to all comers, for any number of reasons. I should say that for my part, I tend not to favor anthology titles as much as I do singular full-length endeavors. Yet with that in mind, the doing here is so terrific that any such usual qualms are forgotten. I'm not saying that 'Memories' completely demands viewership, but I found myself fully engrossed for the entire runtime, and there is nothing about this to come to my attention in a manner deserving criticism. I assumed I would enjoy it one way or another, and I'm taken by just how super it is all told. When all is said and done, whether one is an especial fan of Otomo or others involved, of anime generally, or just looking for something good to watch, in my mind this stands very tall on its own merits and is well worth checking out. With nice variety from one tale to the next, I'm happy to give 'Memories' my high recommendation!

The movie is a collection of 3 short movies, each one of them has its own story not relatable to the others, i didnt know that until I watched the movie and got disappointed, simply because the first episode was too good and wanted it to continue with the same art style and story unfortunately it ended too early, the first episode was Horror Sci-fi which reminded me a lot of Alien movies, the story was confusing and gripping and the characters were great for their roles, it was unique.

The second episode was comedic, and intriguing at first but then started losing it at the end however it has funny moments so i give it that.

The third and last episode, besides its art style it wasnt good at all, it felt boring and just wanted it to end, i understand what they were trying to present which is warmongering and propaganda machines but it could have been done in a much better fashion.

So the first episode is 9/10 the second episode is 6/10 the third episode is 2/10.

Unless you are an anime JUNKIE, stay away from this one. Three beautifully animated stories. Too bad the stories themselves are boring enough to put you asleep. Like most anime, they all start with promise, drawing you in with beautiful visuals and a story that might just reveal something interesting. Instead, you're left with a bit of annoyance that so much emphasis was placed on the art and so little on creating a worthwile tale.