Director: Susumo Kudo
Starring: Megumi Hayashibara, Hilary Hassg, Hiroki Touchi, David Matranga, Kazuya Nakai, Kalob Martinez, Norito Yashima, Andy McAvin, Tsutomu Isobe, David Wald
Running Time: 65 Minutes
Certificate: 15
MARDOCK SCRAMBLE: THE SECOND COMBUSTION is part two of an anime trilogy based on a series of novels by Tow Ubukata, which focus on Rune, a 15 year old prostitute given the option to be brought back to life as a government agent, after a brutal attack. The first film MARDOCK SCRAMBLE: THE FIRST COMPRESSION was an interesting film, but lacked an engaging story and was mostly made up of explanatory dialogue. Does the second outing prove any better?
The main reason to watch the MARDOCK SCRAMBLE films is because of the stunning animation. It is absolutely gorgeous in just about every sense of the word. The colours are bold and bright at times, but the animators also know how to construct memorable shading. The city landscapes are rendered with the same darkness and bright neon lighting as BLADE RUNNER. We’re taken out of the city for the majority of this second effort, and are placed in a beautiful paradise with lusciously realised gardens, gay dolphins, and light which reflects off the characters’ skin in a vast array of colours.
The entire tone of this film seems to contrast well with that of the first: there’s a feeling of hope, as opposed to the constant barrage on the senses faced in part 1; the characters becomes at ease with themselves, as well as the world they find themselves in, and action and violence play a prominent part in the second act. The final part of this film sees our protagonist in a casino playing for high stakes. It’s a different kind of tension, and a most welcome one.
MARDOCK SCRAMBLE: THE SECOND COMBUSTION’s biggest problem is its uneven pacing. At just 65 minutes, this is more like an episode of a series than a feature film. It also doesn’t help that there isn’t a clear ending (we’ll have to wait for part 3), and the beginning is the end that was absent from part 1. PErhaps it would be better to sit down and watch all three together as individually there is too much information to process and not enough time to digest.
MARDOCK SCRAMBLE: THE SECOND COMBUSTION is released on DVD and Blu-ray 25th March via Manga Entertainment.
