Mardock Scramble: The First Compression
Synopsis — from MyAnimeList
Rune Balot is a down-and-out teen prostitute in Mardock City. One day, she's picked up by an ambitious casino manager named Shell who gives her everything she could want. Renewed by a false innocence, a false past, and now the false life Shell has given her, Balot feels grateful. However, she can't help but be curious about why he's done so much for her, so she does some research about his past on a computer. This turns out to be a mistake which will change her life greatly. When Shell finds out what she's done, he attempts to burn her to death by blowing up her car. Due to the high crime rate in Mardock, a new law called "Scramble 09" has given police carte blanche to take extreme and otherwise illegal measures to revive crime witnesses. With this in mind, they allow a professor to bring Balot back from the brink of death by reassembling her entire body with reinforced synthetic fiber. When she finally wakes up, her confused mental state eventually turns toward revenge as Shell is revealed as her killer.
Audience Consensus
Audience reception is sharply divided due to the anime's extreme content and narrative ambition. While praised for its visually stunning animation and philosophical depth, many viewers find its pacing uneven, plot confusing, and excessive depictions of violence and sexual themes to be gratuitous or off-putting. This polarization makes it a love-it-or-hate-it experience.
Strengths
- Stunning and highly detailed animation, especially in action sequences.
- Compelling and unique character dynamics, particularly between Rune Balot and Oeufcoque.
- Interesting and philosophical themes explored, such as memory, regret, and rebirth.
- Original and ambitious storytelling with a strong cyberpunk setting.
Weaknesses
- Significant pacing issues, often described as too fast, vague, or uneven.
- Plot can be confusing and underdeveloped, with many unexplained elements and plot holes.
- Inconsistent tone, with moments of unintentional humor and jarring shifts.
- Characters, other than the main duo, are often underdeveloped and boring.
- Excessive and sometimes gratuitous depiction of violence, sexual assault, and taboo themes, which some find unnecessary or exploitative.
- Overuse of 3D CGI that can detract from the overall art style.
- The ending of the first movie is abrupt and leaves many questions unanswered.