Search - Kurau Phantom Memory: Complete Box Set on DVD

Enjoyable

Just some old guy. | Wa State | 04/08/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Father has to work on daughters birthday so father takes daughter to lab with him while he works...accident happens... daughter is turned into something else. While Kurau is still human in apperance she is what they call Rynax. Rynax are a paired species but Kurau is alone. Fast forward ten years and even though her father insists she is dead some still believe Kurau is alive.
Kurau coulb be perceived a gender confused boy which adds to a mature theme. She is not the busty type of woman that alot series have. You will not find the fan service type of anime here.
I found this an interesting series and was glad I bought it but the replay value is not the greatest. I did like the fact that it is Thin-Pack but I do not care for Full Screen yet I bought it anyway.
All being said it is 3 and half stars..it moves alittle slow at first but at disc three it really picks up."

Story Driven Anime

James E. Lindsey | 05/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a an anime that was done by Bones who also did Fullmetal Alchemist and still failry recently Xam'd: Lost Memories. It is a story driven anime and moves to a pace similair to Ghost in the Shell. A little girl goes to work with her father who is studying an alien life form and that life form escapes from the lab, however part of that alien gets trapped inside the little girl. I don't want to give the story away, so I will stop there. Personally I think the story is quite interesting, but don't expect it to be an action packed experience."

A story with heart behind the sci-fi glamour

Corey Gardner | SD USA | 04/06/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The product description seems to portray "Phantom Memory Kurau" as a superpowered, sci-fi, action anime. But it really isn't. It's so much more than that.

The story follows Kurau, who is forever changed upon visiting the lab where her father works at a young age. Without revealing too much... After an accident at the lab, Kurau's body is inhabited by a strange being with amazing powers (like flying). Nobody is really sure as to how much of Kurau's self remains as this being inhabits her body. As the story jumps from Kurau's past to her present (around the year 2050 I believe) her younger self spawns from Kurau. The rest of the series surrounds Kurau as she is hunted by the GPO and tries to protect Christmas (her younger self) from them, while both Kurau and Christmas learn more about themselves and try to help others that are terrorized by the GPO.

This series, I believe, delves into and explores the human experience. Even though it is abstracted with science-fiction, superpowers, and beings from who-knows-where; ideas of family, love, alienation, and perhaps even self-identity come through as sincere elements of the story-- unlike in many other anime, where the emotional moments feel tacked-on and overplayed. The only problem I had with the series was that a few moments, and even a whole episode here or there, seemed out of place and a little too campy for the dramatic tone of the rest of the anime. That, and I wish that it had delved deeper into what seemed to be elements of finding wholeness within oneself. If you're signed up for Netflix, most of the series is online and can be streamed to be viewed instantly. If you enjoy anime with a more mature tone, I suggest you at least try a few episodes.

As an anime I believe it deserves 4 stars, but when compared to other movies and tv series I'd give it 3."