Wow Magnetic Rose is such a captivating and interesting film. I love the mood shift from elegant ballroom to deep dread. The animation for the computer’s holograms and defense system was so damn cool. The ending was epic and it had a heartfelt touch to it. Stink Bomb was so sad. I really felt for the kid but at the same time I’m like dude how do you not connect the dots by now? The almost satirical military attacks were a great addition to the story as well. Cannon Fodder was my least favorite but those transitions were absolutely insane.

An ambitious, diverse, and artfully crafted sci-fi anthology that showcases the range of what animation, especially 90s Japanese animation, can deliver. The tonal variety here is one of the highlights: you get haunting, operatic psychological horror (Magnetic Rose), absurdist bio-disaster comedy (Stink Bomb), and bleak industrial satire (Cannon Fodder). While the shorts vary in strength, there’s a consistent thread of artistic ambition, thoughtful worldbuilding, and thematic exploration throughout. Each film plays with memory, systems, and collapse in its own way, and even if not all of them go as deep as they could, they all offer something to take away, whether emotionally, intellectually, or aesthetically. The clear standout is Magnetic Rose, a masterwork of mood, animation, and sci-fi storytelling that makes the entire anthology worth watching on its own. But Stink Bomb and Cannon Fodder add variety and flavor, giving the whole project a unique rhythm. If you’re into sci-fi, psychological themes, or just want to see what mid-90s anime was capable of at its artistic peak, Memories is absolutely worth the watch. It’s experimental, stylish, and unforgettable.

This is my impression of the directors of the 2nd and 3rd short watching magnetic rose for the first time:†"Ahhhh fuck"

very recommended.I enjoy every bit of the three stories. pure awesomeness.

This anime anthology pitches a set of stories that are too long and self-contained for a series, but too short to merit a feature film. All three were dreamt up by the famed auteur Katsuhiro Otomo (_Akira_) and two were then handed off to other creators for expansion and elaboration. The first, a dash of space madness at the intersection of _The Shining, Alien_ and _Cowboy Bebop_, is certainly the best. A careful balance of curious future tech, darkly layered mystery and intensely personal storytelling, its themes land right in the wheelhouse of its screenwriter, Satoshi Kon. Expect dense moods, attention to detail and tragic personalities. Definitely worth watching, even as a standalone. An unwitting plague carrier fronts the second chapter, far lighter and quirkier than its predecessor. This lower-level science lab grunt doesn’t realize the experimental meds he’s casually swiped and gulped aren’t meant for flu symptoms. Nor that he’s the reason everyone within a hundred-foot radius smells flowers before dropping dead. He just thinks he’s barely outracing the sprawling contagion zone, not spreading it to larger and larger metro areas. The political response, frenzied and disbelieving, provides most of this story’s beef, but its upbeat jazz and ska soundtrack lends a unique sense of character. An entertaining distraction from Studio 4°C co-founder Kōji Morimoto that’s not as rich or lingering as the Kon story, but knows its role and plays it well. Oddly, this is the only story of the three not to be animated by Morimoto’s own crew. It’s a Studio Madhouse production. The last installment, helmed by Otomo himself, is an experimental early-days hybrid of traditional and computer-aided animation with an odd visual identity. This seems to be the primary emphasis - testing the limits of new techniques in unusual ways - and in that respect, it’s interesting. The plot, which explores a city dedicated to constantly firing its massive, skyscraper-sized cannons, is like Pink Floyd’s _The Wall_ with narrower focus and a lighter soundtrack. Its cautionary intentions are well-aimed, just blunt and repetitive. Easily the weakest of the three, but also the most visually distinct. As my knowledge of Otomo’s output has been limited to just _Akira_ and the similarly nightmarish _Roujin Z_ until now, it’s nice to experience a few different aspects of his creative energy.