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5
6Also known as ''Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi'' (''Daughters of Mnemosyne'') and marketed in the United States as ''Rin -Daughters of Mnemosyne-'', ''Mnemosyne'' is a six episode UrbanFantasy anime television series and light novel produced by Xebec that follows private investigator Rin Asougi, a member of the AlwaysFemale immortals, as she takes odd jobs and tries to avoid the mysterious connections to her past, while fighting against the sinister AlwaysMale [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] and their leader, [[BigBad Apos]].
7
8All in all, the series is a {{seinen}}, featuring nigh everything older male audiences' hearts may desire: sexy girls, [[CoolOldGuy respectable guys]], MindScrew of a plot, alcohol, blood, and a considerable amount of sex in all flavors. Be prepared to wince a couple of times, though, as the series often [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence blurs the line between its sex and violence]], and [[GoodThingYouCanHeal fully exploits its main character's immortality]] to put her in situations that often lead to what would be the end of a horror story.
9
10Often confused for an {{OVA}}, thanks to its risque content, monthly airing rate, and modest episode number, when, in fact, it aired on AT-X network, whose tenth anniversary it was to commemorate.
11----
12!!This series contains examples of:
13* AGodAmI: Apos proclaims himself God at the end of Episode 5, since [[spoiler:he is [[{{Hermaphrodite}} both man and woman]], both angel and immortal]].
14** He was preceded by [[spoiler:his father, Tajimamori, and succeeded by Rin.]] Presumably, anybody who becomes [[spoiler:Guardian of Yggdrasil]] qualifies for this.
15* AirVentPassageway: Attempted, but Rin’s rear ends up being too big to fit under the lasers.
16-->"Uh, your-"\
17"Don't you ''dare'' finish that sentence!"
18* AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler:The story of Tajimamori, based on an actual Japanese legend (except that he searched for Mandarin oranges and not time spores) and considering the nature of the Guardian's castle, the story about the traveler.]]
19* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:Kamiyama]] and [[spoiler:Yanagihara]] in episode 4.
20* AmateurSleuth: Mishio Maeno talks to herself and in the process does a lot of {{Shout Out}}s to Literature/SherlockHolmes as she investigates Rin. At best, though, she only ''tries'' to be this.
21* AnyoneCanDie: Starting with TheReveal for episode two, it has been established that not even Immortals are safe. [[spoiler:Maeno, Yanigahara, and Mimi's Dog, which is immortal, all die.]]
22* AugmentedReality: Becomes so prevalent in the near future of the last couple episodes that a skilled enough hacker can effectively turn himself into a MasterOfIllusion - the thought of turning their AR interfaces off simply never ''occurs'' to people anymore.
23* BadassBookworm: Mimi, especially in Episode 6.
24* BadassInANiceSuit: Rin's preferred attire is a business suit, giving her something of a {{Bifauxnen}}-like appearance.
25* BadSanta: Though [[spoiler:Laura]] doesn't plan on stealing Christmas, she ''does'' [[spoiler:blow up an apartment building and shoot Rin]] while wearing a Santa outfit, even shouting [[CatchPhrase "Hohoho, Merry Christmas"]] while she's at it.
26* BaitAndSwitchCredits: The last portion of the opening credits shows Rin, alone and in the buff, leaning on a pillar in the middle of mossy ruins, with a swarm of angels descending on her in a buildup to a BolivianArmyEnding. This never happens, since the closest thing to that [[spoiler:doesn't happen amidst ruins - the castle is still ''very'' intact - and Rin is screwing Tajimamori; therefore, she is neither alone nor standing]].
27* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Apos wanted to [[spoiler:permanently secure his position as Guardian of Yggdrasil]]. In the end, Apos got ''exactly'' what he wanted, [[spoiler:hysterical screams of terror as he is literally dragged into Yggdrasil notwithstanding]].
28* BigBad: Apos, a mysterious [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angel]] who leads the AlwaysMale angels, enemy of the AlwaysFemale immortals, and is the ArchEnemy of [[TheHeroine Rin]]. He himself is [[spoiler:actually a [[{{Hermaphrodite}} cross between angel and immortal]]]]. He manipulates the other villains Rin fights and seeks to [[spoiler:secure a permanent position as Guardian of [[TheWorldTree Yggdrasil]] by feeding Rin to it, then turn all men and women into angels and immortals to spark worldwide war]], purely ForTheEvulz.
29* BigDamnHeroes: Subverted. [[spoiler:Rin arrives in time to save Mimi, only to get herself casually killed by Apos.]]
30* BigFriendlyDog: Mimi and Rin's dog Genta. [[spoiler:She is also immortal.]]
31* BlessedWithSuck:
32** Being immortal is pretty nifty, overall, but there are a few issues: first, your body will always regenerate ''to the state it was in when you first became immortal''. That's fine if the subject happen to receive the Seed of Yggdrasil while you're young and healthy, but if they do it while wounded, they must endure an eternity of suffering. Rin ends up as one of the last people on Earth to wear glasses (see below) since she was born with bad eyesight and attained her immortality millennia before corrective surgery - so if she had any now, her eyes would just ''heal'' back to their original, defective state. Second, and more importantly, immortal women become paralyzed with suicidal lust in the presence of angels... which normally results in them ''[[BlackWidow feeding]] [[OutWithABang themselves]]'' to the monster.
33** The angels themselves, meanwhile, get a far rawer deal: they become flying, indestructible, superstrong monsters, but they also lose their sanity, essentially turn into animals interested in nothing except the consumption of immortal flesh and which are doomed to die and evaporate in a matter of hours.
34* BlindWithoutEm: Episode one hints that Rin had eye problems when she became immortal (and thus, can never be cured), so now she's forced to replace her StoicSpectacles whenever they're destroyed. She seems to be able to see ''reasonably'' without them, but they're always the first things she goes for when retrieving her clothing.
35* BodyHorror: The potent-and-bloody yet seamless [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence blend of death and sexuality]] would make HR Giger himself proud.
36* BoundAndGagged: In Episode 1, Rin is strapped down and tortured by Sayara. In Episode 3, Rin is bound to the handrails of a sinking ship. In Episode 6, Rin is chained to a table and ball-gagged in front of a chained Angel by Laura. Then there is Apos' torture victim in various episodes.
37* BrainUploading: [[spoiler:Ruon did this to herself after being killed by her father.]]
38* BreastAttack: A rare dead serious example. Sayara's begins her torture of Rin by stabbing her in the breast, through the nipple.
39* BrandX: Back in the 90's era, Rin and co. used pagers branded as 'Rocket Bell'.
40** The anime doesn't seem too shy about using things that are copyrighted almost to the letter.
41* CameraAbuse: The camera gets splattered with falling blood in the very first scene. It has also gotten wet during {{Shower Scene}}s.
42* CartwrightCurse: Rin. [[spoiler:Yanigahara, who apparently bedded her before, and Ihika, her boyfriend in episode five]] both die. Then [[spoiler:it turns out Ihika is NotQuiteDead and Apos even gets Rin to kill him, by turning the guy into an angel and literally [[LockedInARoom locking them in a room together]]. Tajimamori himself gets stabbed by Apos ''while they're making out'']].
43* ChainsOfLove: With the "love" being used in the most ironic sense possible.
44* ChekhovsBoomerang: A rather interesting case in episode three is that what the gun actually ''is'' isn't shown at all, and is only hinted at until TheReveal. [[spoiler:Shogo's Time Spore is kept in a jewelry case next to some pictures of him.]] After [[spoiler:Maeno leaves to save Rin]], all that's shown is the empty case, though from the [[spoiler:shape of the cushion]], it becomes evident that whatever was in there was [[spoiler:small and round.]] It's eventually used again when [[spoiler:[[MemeticMutation Rin takes it from Mishio... and EATS IT]].]]
45* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:Ivan]]
46* TheChessmaster: It's hard to tell if Apos is one of these, or if he [[VillainsOutShopping just plays chess to kill time.]]
47* ChurchMilitant: [[spoiler:Mimi]]'s temple comes complete with a [[EnergyWeapon laser]] [[LaserHallway cage]], [[InsecuritySystem pressure sensors]], and nuns that use both [[{{Handguns}} guns]] ''and'' [[KatanasAreJustBetter katanas]].
48* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: [[spoiler:Time Spores from Immortals are blue, while Time Spores from Angels are red.]] Furthermore, [[spoiler:Yggdrasil's regular spores are dull and don't glow, while time spores that haven't touched mortals yet are yellow.]]
49* ContemplateOurNavels: Last episode, [[spoiler:After Rin enters Yggdrasil's roots.]]
50* ContrivedCoincidence: As of episode five, Rin and Mimi have gotten involved with ''three'' generations of Maeno. Then again, it might not be coincidental, as Rin has been acting as Teruki's MysteriousProtector ever since [[spoiler:his father died.]] A more proper example would be [[spoiler:Rin finding Maeno's Time Spore after getting shredded by a jet engine and spending 25 years at the bottom of the sea.]]
51** Naturally, it's no coincidence, since all Maenos [[spoiler:are direct descendants of Tajimamori, Rin's immortal secret benefactor and lover (and former Guardian of Yggdrassil)]].
52* CosplayOtakuGirl: Mimi wears a {{Meido}} outfit [[ItWillNeverCatchOn in the early 1990s]], and in episode 4, after [[ClothingDamage losing her clothes]] to an explosion, she wears a ridiculous {{Stripperiffic}} costume much longer than necessary.
53%%* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: For both Rin and Mimi.
54* DamselInDistress: Mimi depends on Rin and other immortals to protect her. [[spoiler:It is then reversed in the final episode with Mimi having to rescue Rin from the castle.]]
55* DashedPlotLine: 1/20/14/30 year skips between the first five episodes (the sixth follows the fifth immediately).
56* DeadpanSnarker: Rin in the first episode...
57---> '''Mimi''': "Rin! You were suppose to find our client's lost cat!"
58---> '''Rin''': "So instead of a lost cat, I found a lost man."
59* DeadSidekick: [[spoiler:Subverted; Apos kills Rin first when she comes to rescue Mimi and [[LeftForDead leaves the latter to her fate]].]]
60* DeathlessAndDebauched: Apos has numerous tortured immortals in his lair to help pass his time. A few shots focus on him playing chess with an immortal who is bound and gagged, blindfolded, and has knives and swords stuck through her and kept inside so her wounds don't heal.
61* DealWithTheDevil: Apos likes to make these. Notable examples include [[spoiler:Yuki's brother, Sayara, and Ivan from episodes five and six]].
62* DepravedBisexual: Sayara, a sexual sadist who rapes both Rin and Kouki.
63* DisconnectedByDeath: Subverted; [[spoiler:some several seconds after the sniper pulls the trigger and the phone line going quiet, Yanagihara reaches for the handset and give Rin his findings. Furthermore, he manages to [[FlashBack reminisce about that time he managed to bed Rin]], before finally kicking the bucket.]]
64* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
65** The symbol of the Guardian resembles an uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes.
66** [[spoiler:Yggdrasil's talk about women eating 'white blood' to become pregnant]]. And the way someone acts whenever they [[spoiler:eat time spores]].
67* TheDragon: Laura to Apos, but it only becomes evident when she starts [[spoiler:ordering Angels around]].
68* DramaticChaseOpening: Rin, [[{{Fanservice}} nearly-naked]], being chased through a building by Laura. How they got there is never explained.
69* DressingAsTheEnemy: But not for the purpose of disguise; Rin's hospital gown gets completely destroyed when she's trapped in a facility in one episode, so she borrows the clothes of one of the two guards who she just killed. It fits surprisingly well.
70* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Apos is consumed by his own Yggdrasil egg, and Rin forcibly feeds him Laura's time fruit so he'll know the pain he put her through, while [[WhoWantsToLiveForever Laura gets to finally die]]. Rin, Mimi, Teruki, and Mishio all live to the end credits, and Rin births Tajimamori's son, whose descendants will in time connect all of humanity to Yggdrasil.]]
71* EternalLove: Between [[spoiler: Rin and Tajimamori]].
72* EvilDetectingDog: In episode 5, [[spoiler:Genta growls at Laura after she gets a cyborg body that looks just like Rin]].
73* EvilTwin: [[spoiler:Laura is eventually redesigned to look like Rin. Apos even uses her as a [[ReplacementGoldfish replacement sex toy]].]]
74* ExoticEyeDesigns: It's not noticeable at first, but all the immortal woman have a distinct 'shine' that runs horizontal across their irises. [[spoiler:Sayara gains them when she becomes immortal.]]
75* TheFaceless: [[spoiler:Tajimamori]], the as-of-episode-4 unnamed man with a beard shown in the opening and closing credits. [[spoiler:Is also HeWhoMustNotBeSeen when it is revealed that he is the person that Rin is always talking to on the phone.]] We get a full view of his face in episode five.
76%%* FalseCameraEffects: LensFlare. ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
77%%* FanDisservice ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
78* FanService: The series has a lot of female nudity and enough softcore sexual content it would probably have merited an NC-17 rating if it were made as a movie in the US.
79* {{Flashback}}: Flashbacks generally have a sort of watery distortion to them both in terms of video, and audio, and are also seen from the perspective of whoever is experiencing them.
80* FastRoping: How the Self-Defense Force breaks into Rin's office.
81* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler:Yanagihara]] gets a short one.
82* ForgottenSuperweapon: Rin's [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Shotgun Glove]] doesn't appear again until episode ''five'' where she uses it to [[spoiler:kill three Angels in Mimi's [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs overrun temple]].]]
83* FriendOnTheForce: Tamotsu Yanagihara, a police detective who passes information to Rin on several occasions (and once slept with her).
84* GenreShift: ''Mnemosyne'' can be broadly classified as an UrbanFantasy series, with the immortals, angels, and Yggdrasil existing in the background of a world that is LikeRealityUnlessNoted, but the shift in the last three episodes, especially the closing duology, to a setting TwentyMinutesInTheFuture turns it more into ScienceFantasy.
85* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Immortals can bounce back from nearly anything: Rin variously survives and regenerates from being shot, tortured with a nailgun, blown up by a ''de facto'' suicide vest, and even [[spoiler:[[TurbineBlender being sucked through a jet engine]], though it takes her 25 years to come back FromASingleCell that time, and she loses her memory until the next time she's "killed"]]. The only surefire way to kill an immortal is to remove her time fruit, [[spoiler:and if brought near the roots of Yggdrasil, the fruit itself will regrow them]].
86* GooGooGodLike: [[spoiler:Rin's son]], who is a more subtle example. [[spoiler:Instead of being [[AGodAmI all powerful]], he is the first of a bloodline of humans who will be directly connected to Yggdrasil.]]
87* {{Gorn}}: The stuff that happens to Rin is at times quite gruesome.
88* GoryDiscretionShot: Which actually makes it ''worse'' in a few cases. Surprisingly used often considering how violent this show is overall.
89* {{Gotterdammerung}}: By episode five, [[spoiler:Laura has hunted the immortals down to near extinction, Yggdrasil hasn't made an appearance in thirty years, and Apos even mocks Tajimamori in his own room, calling him a 'former god'.]]
90* GratuitousEnglish: The AnimeThemeSong "Alsatia" by Music/{{Galneryus}}, which is known for writing their lyrics in English.
91* GroinAttack: Female-to-female example, played for horror. Part of Sayara's torture of Rin involved shoving a hook attached to a chain into her vagina. Not content with that, Sayara then tortures Rin further ''by pulling the chain''.
92* TheGunslinger: Laura, though she also uses [[MadBomber explosives]] without much reservation.
93* HandCannon: Laura's handgun from episode four, which has enough recoil to blow Rin several feet back. The former has no problem using it one-handed since, by then, [[spoiler:she's a cyborg]].
94* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Rin and Mimi seem to spend much of their time drinking.
95* HealingFactor: Being immortal means
96* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Maeno giving what was left of his humanity to save Rin's life.]]
97** Subverted when [[spoiler:Mimi also pulls one of these, only to be saved by the person she was trying to save in the first place]].
98* {{Hermaphrodite}}: [[spoiler:Apos, as it's his way of being both an angel and an immortal so he can be a Guardian, and he quite clearly identifies as male. But despite popular {{Fanon}}, this isn't the case with Tajimamori, an angel, who eats empty time spores to stay immortal, or with Rin, an immortal, who can grow wings once she becomes a Guardian.]]
99* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: The person Rin talks to on the phone in every episode. [[spoiler:Eventually revealed to be Tajimamori, TheFaceless man with a beard from the credits. He was the Guardian of Yggdrasil, at least until Apos replaced him.]]
100%%* HighPressureBlood
101* HollywoodBoardgames: Apos is occasionally seen playing chess against an immortal, [[BoundAndGagged blindfolded, bound, gagged]], and [[{{Gorn}} stabbed in several places to her chair]], and using rather creepy-looking chess pieces at that.
102* HollywoodCyborg: As [[spoiler:Laura]] continues to get horribly maimed, she is eventually turned into one of these once the appropriate technology is developed.
103** [[spoiler:Sayara as well, though her machinery may be just a PoweredArmor.]]
104* HolographicTerminal: Everybody's using these by episode five.
105* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:Rin loses her memory after being shred to pieces by a jet plane engine. After she gets shot again she gets a 'reset' to her old self]].
106* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: X(s) Don't/Doesn't X. Episode six is the OddNameOut.
107* IdiotHair: Mimi.
108* ImplacableMan: Laura, in this case, is an Implacable Woman. Subverted in that [[spoiler:she actually gets wounded and the injuries' effects are dealt with realistically. She wears an eyepatch in episode two a year after Rin throws a bullet into her eye, [[PocketProtector which Rin caught earlier with a book when she is shot at]], and becomes a cyborg in episode four, some three decades after [[TakingYouWithMe blowing herself up along with Rin with a claymore mine]]]].
109* ImmortalityHurts: The tagline for the English release of ''Mnemosyne'' even said, "It only hurts '''forever'''."
110* ImmortalityInducer: Any female who happens to get in contact with a [[spoiler:Time Spore]] becomes immortal. This also applies to [[spoiler:dogs]], apparently. Furthermore, a recurring theme throughout the series is how humanity in general craves it.
111* ImmortalityPromiscuity: All immortals are shown to be very promiscuous. The issue of the ImmortalProcreationClause is never directly addressed (mostly because normally, only women can become immortal in this setting, and they prefer [[YuriGenre each other's]] company to mortals), but it is implied, insofar as in [[spoiler:the only case when an immortal gives birth in the series, the baby's father is a male immortal, who is said to be a unique aberration]].
112%%* ImmortalLifeIsCheap ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE
113* InsideAComputerSystem: Deconstructed. '2.0' is highly addictive, and when it's introduced in episode 4, people can be seen lying around on sidewalks like a bunch of hobos while plugged into the network.
114* InvisibleToNormals: [[spoiler:The Time Spores and Yggdrasil]] can only be seen by immortals and angels.
115* JekyllAndHyde: [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out that the 'Rin' who killed immortals and tried to attack Mimi in episode five was actually [[EvilTwin Laura manning a cyborg copy of Rin]].]]
116* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Rin and Mimi.
117* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Sayara does this in the first episode to Rin, [[spoiler:as well as the third, after it turns out that she also became immortal]], explaining her experiments and EvilPlan to [[spoiler:infect the world]]. In the fourth episode, the honor falls to [[spoiler:Ruon]].
118* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Sayara is killed by the zombies she created. [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat Or so it seemed]], but she returns later.]]
119* KickTheDog: [[PsychoLesbian Laura]] [[spoiler:throwing Ihika's Time Spore out the window]] in episode six.
120* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Mimi's dog.]]
121** [[spoiler:Laura, '''[[ImplacableMan finally]]''', in episode six.]]
122* KillSat: [[spoiler:Mimi hacks into one of the [[MegaCorp Maeno Group]]'s microwave satellites to try and stop Apos' plan, only to have the seraph's egg still standing there [[OutOfTheInferno without a scratch as the flames die down]].]]
123* KissMeImVirtual: The Ruons work like this, [[spoiler:except she is the spirit of the actual Ruon looking for pleasure]].
124* KissOfDeath: [[spoiler:Rin giving Apos a taste of his father's time spore.]]
125* KnowledgeBroker: An [[NoNameGiven unnamed woman]] and two of her successors, who [[TrademarkFavoriteFood drink Grasshoppers]] and [[SexForServices take sex as payment]].
126* LaserHallway: Combined with AirVentPassageway.
127* LastKiss: [[spoiler:Rin's goodbye to Maeno as he drops her into the ocean so his angel self will not eat her.]]
128%%* LaserGuidedAmnesia
129* LockAndLoadMontage: Episode five has Rin buying a new suit and digging up a weapons cache she stored in her grave.
130* LockedIntoStrangeness: Kouki gets a gray streak in his hair starting in the second episode, presumably at the same spot that [[spoiler:he shoots himself in in episode one]].
131* LodgedBladeRecycling: Rin pulls it off in episode three [[spoiler:after being vivisected to death, killing her torturer with the scalpel he accidentally dropped inside her stomach.]]
132* LukeYouAreMyFather: It is eventually revealed that [[spoiler:[[BigBad Apos]]]] is [[spoiler:Tajimamori]]'s son.
133* MagicalLibrary: [[spoiler:Yggdrasil appears on a regular basis and sheds time spores around the world, which it uses to collect 'memories' of whatever they touch. Immortals and angels get special mention.]]
134* ManipulativeBastard: Apos, probably more so than being a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] even though he plays chess every now and then.
135* MarketBasedTitle: In America, Creator/FUNimation is marketing the series as ''RIN ~Daughters of Mnemosyne~''.
136* MayflyDecemberRomance: Present (or at least Mayfly December {{UST}}), but it doesn't really come up. Thanks to the time scale of the series, mortals age and die, but nobody ever dwells on it.
137* MeaningfulName: With a little knowledge of japanese, the Maeno (前, "in front of", 埜, "field, wilderness") family names suddenly start to make sense in context:
138-->Maeno Kouki (前埜光輝): "Brightness of the Field Before You"
139-->Maeno Yuki (前埜有紀): "Chronicle of the Existence of the Field Before You"
140-->Maeno Teruki (前埜輝紀): "Chronicle of the Radiance/Shine of the Field Before You"
141-->Maeno Mishio (前埜美汐): "Beauty of the Tide of the Field Before You"
142** Considering how closely tied to Rin's character and destiny the Maeno family ends up being, it's interesting to notice their names all correlate the owners to some important event or situation in Rin's life similar to what their name implies (Kouki showing Rin the bright side of life, Yuki raising Teruki alone, with Teruki later proving to be the initial trigger to Rin [[spoiler:recovering her memories]], and Mishio awakening Rin to the new and beautiful experience of parenthood). It's also interesting to note how the first kanji in their family name is precisely the kanji to indicate something in front of something else, alluding to the fact that they were always beside Rin, partly because [[spoiler:of their destiny as descendants of Tajimamori]].
143* MenGetOldWomenGetReplaced: Almost all recurring female characters being (or becoming) immortal. The lead characters Rin and Mimi are immortals and remain at the same physical age throughout the series' 65-year span, while their nameless female informants are replaced with their own younger apprentices after every TimeSkip. Meanwhile, guys like Tamotsu, Maeno, and Teruki are allowed to reach venerable ages on-screen. The only obvious exception is the BigBad Apos, but he [[spoiler:is eventually revealed to be a {{hermaphrodite}}]].
144* MundaneUtility:
145** Yggdrasil seeds the world with [[spoiler:time spores]], creating immortals and angels for the purpose of [[spoiler:collecting additional data through their experiences]].
146** [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl Immortals don't get hangovers.]]
147* MyGrandsonMyself: Rin takes this route when visiting a person she met back in WWII.
148** Inverted in episode five, where Mishio considers the possibility of Rin being the [[IdenticalGrandson daughter]] of the woman (also Rin) that she saw in a 30-year-old video.
149* NaughtyNuns: [[spoiler:Mimi actually looks like a real nun, until the point of the yuri orgy]].
150* NewEraSpeech: Inverted, since [[spoiler:it's Rin who does it in the end, and actually means what she says in a positive light]].
151* TheNineties: The first two episodes take place in them.
152* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: '''Shotgun Gloves'''. And Rin herself.
153** [[spoiler:Apos is male ''[[{{Hermaphrodite}} and]]'' female, thus making him/her/them both an Angel ''and'' an Immortal.]]
154* NoNameGiven: Though a university lecture in episode five hints on the identity and name of the bearded man who Rin talks to on the phone OnceAnEpisode, it's only revealed in episode six.
155** Also, Apos' immortal 'opponent'/bound slave whenever he's playing chess. In episode five, it's hinted that she is actually [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Laura]], and that the Laura that tries to kill Rin OnceAnEpisode is an android being remote-controlled by her.]]
156** The show loves toying with this: none of the informants are ever named on-screen, and Laura's name is only given in episode six ([[TrailersAlwaysSpoil unless you watched the trailer]] or the credits).
157* NoodleIncident: Rin's "view" of UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga, which leaves Mishio's sense of history in tatters.
158* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler:Rin even survives falling into a running airplane jet engine, despite her doubts about her chances. It takes her decades though to get resurrected, with amnesia to boot]].
159** [[spoiler:She also survives getting her time spore pulled out, though it turns out that it's not-so-bad-as-it-apparently-seems]].
160* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: [[spoiler:The way Rin turned the tables on Apos in the very end, thanks to her having received the powers of Yggdrasil.]]
161* NotQuiteDead: Presumably, unless [[spoiler:their Time Spores are eaten/stepped on/whatever]], immortals can [[spoiler:regenerate entirely from just them]]. This probably explains how [[spoiler:Rin survived after what happened in Episode five. Angels aren't so lucky, though]].
162** The immortal who survives [[spoiler:a '''nuclear explosion at ground zero''']] in episode six.
163* NumberOneDime: [[spoiler:Yuki's Brother's Time Spore]], which eventually becomes [[spoiler:Maeno's Time Spore]], which is eventually lost, and then later found by [[spoiler:Rin]] when she washes up on the beach. Subverted in that even if she didn't [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forget everything]], she probably wouldn't even know that the two of them were connected. Then again, it could probably be just some [[spoiler:Angel Time Spore]] that fell into the water.
164** When Rin [[spoiler:eats the time spore]] in episode 6, it's revealed that the spore [[spoiler:was indeed Maeno's Time Spore and not just some random spore.]]
165* ObfuscatingStupidity: Though she seems [[TheFool carefree and happy-go-lucky]], Rin instantly reveals herself to be one hell of a badass when the going gets tough.
166* OhCrap: Sayara gets three in a row. [[spoiler:The first is when Rin appears, unharmed, in Sayara's office after being tortured to death, the second when Rin gets up ''again'' after being shot to death, and the third when she hears a knock at the door and runs out of the room... [[KarmicDeath into a mob of the zombies she created]].]]
167* OminousLatinChanting: It's only soft, but since it was combined with the OminousPipeOrgan, the OminousLatinChanting pretty much punctuates and intensifies the disturbing atmosphere of Apos [[spoiler:[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping]] Mimi while she is chained and nailed to a stone lamp post, revealing himself to be a hermaphrodite, and ''using Rin's own hand to dig her Time Spore out of her,'']] all in the span of three minutes.
168* OminousPipeOrgan: Whenever Apos and Rin are in proximity of each other in episode six.
169* OnceAnEpisode: Rin, Mimi, and vodka threesome. This is not the case in episode five. Episode six plays with it- Rin asks for some water, before [[spoiler:realizing she is in a castle and Mimi is nowhere to be seen]].
170** Rin getting maimed/killed, which is actually closer to ''thrice'' an episode on average. Also, Rin talking to HeWhoMustNotBeSeen on the phone, [[spoiler:even ''after'' she gets amnesia. Though in that case, it was more of the phone line opening up so that HeWhoMustNotBeSeen can listen to her voice [[StalkerWithACrush like some stalker]]]].
171** [[spoiler:Yggdrasil showing up and shedding some Time Spores]], with Rin and/or Mimi staring at the event for a couple of seconds. Averted in episode five, where [[spoiler:the tree is only mentioned as a rumor/seen in the credits, and the only time spores shown are either from immortals, or already in the hands of Apos. Episode six makes this a borderline case]].
172** Laura showing up to [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim shoot Rin full of holes]] then [[TakingYouWithMe blowing herself up with Rin]] [[FiveRoundsRapid once that fails]]. [[spoiler:She even starts using a sword in episode six]].
173** [[GirlOnGirlIsHot Lesbian]] sex [[{{Fanservice}} scenes]].
174* OneGenderRace: Immortals are AlwaysFemale, and Angels are AlwaysMale. [[spoiler:Unless you take [[{{Hermaphrodite}} the third option]], as [[BigBad Apos]] does.]]
175* OurAngelsAreDifferent: In here, they spawn from human males with [[spoiler:time spores]], are AlwaysMale counterparts to the AlwaysFemale immortals, and have an instinctual desire to [[BlackWidow have sex with and devour]] immortals.
176* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: In this case, a President Buffoon, who [[spoiler:allows Apos to manipulate him into starting some kind of war involving time spores. It was completely irrelevant to the plot, however, and it's only briefly mentioned in the epilogue that America has fallen into civil war]].
177* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:Apos has Laura killed when she tries to mess up his plan by attempting to feed Rin's time spore to angels.]]
178* PlayingWithSyringes: Sayara's [[spoiler:cloning and immortality]] project. When she's not just doing it [[ForTheEvulz for fun]], that is.
179* PrecisionFStrike: From the dub: "MERRY '''FUCKIN'''' CHRISTMAS!"
180* PreMortemOneLiner: Rin gets one in the first episode, [[spoiler:though the recipient [[LeftForDead doesn't actually die]]]]. From the dub:
181--> '''Rin''': "It's such a shame when the good die young." ''(gunshots)''
182* PrivateDetective: Rin, minus the PrivateEyeMonologue.
183* ProfessionalKiller: Laura, and [[spoiler:the stamp assassin]] from episode two.
184%%* PsychoLesbian: Sayara and Laura.
185* RedSpiderLiliesOfMourning: In episode three, red spider lilies on a black background is a visual motif used when discussing the bioweapon "Higan", which was TestedOnHumans on the so-called "Death Island".
186* RazorFloss: Yet another piece of Rin's arsenal of concealable weapons.
187* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: May be literally so with some of the girls. Rin at one time even says that it has been ''centuries'' since she had a lover (although it also raises the question what Mimi is to her then). In fact, Rin is [[spoiler:at least, a thousand years old in episode six while Mimi can't be much older than one and a half centuries - at the time Rin met her, she was already wearing her trademark killer suit which only went into fashion in the 20th century]]. That, and Mimi didn't know the person Rin met back in WWII.
188* RunningGag: Every episode but 5 has Rin wake up with a splitting headache (Usually [[HangoverSensitivity a hangover]]) and yelling at Mimi to get her some water. Mimi brings her a bottle of vodka instead.
189-->'''Mimi:''' ''Come on,'' vodka means water in Russian, you know.
190* SavePoint: Essentially how immortality works. [[spoiler:Once a Time Spore enters your body, it records your physical condition at the time and then 'reloads' it whenever you're injured/killed/[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking get a haircut]]/whatever.]]
191* SceneryPorn: To the point of sometimes being distracting.
192* {{Sexposition}}: One episode had a scene where Mimi had an orgy with a group of other immmortals. Meanwhile there was a voiceover that discussed their battle plans against Apos.
193* SexForServices: The informants demand sex as payment.
194* SexualKarma: Most of the series' sex scenes are either [[SexForServices transactional]] or [[RapeAsDrama non-consensual]], and are portrayed as such. Rin's love scene with [[spoiler:Tajimamori]] in the final episode is a thing of beauty that they both clearly enjoy.
195* ShoutOut: In episode 1, the pharmaceutical company executive's laptop is named "[[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 cylon]]".
196* ShowerOfAngst: Rin in episode 5.
197* ShowerScene: Rin from episode one, and the second informant in episode 3.
198%%* ShowSomeLeg
199* SmallGirlBigGun: [[spoiler:Mishio uses Laura's HandCannon to kill an angel.]]
200** A partial example would be [[spoiler:Mimi using a KillSat. Guns don't really get much bigger than that.]]
201* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: [[spoiler:Rin with Tajimamori, though she presumably raises the baby as a single mother since Taji was killed by Apos.]]
202* SpoilerOpening: Subverted by the [[spoiler:Root of Yggdrasil. Although in the opening credits, it appears with Rin, Mimi, and Laura at the top, it's ''Apos'' and Laura who end up topping it off]]. We also see [[spoiler:all of the Maenos, as well as Sayara and both of the informants]], however none of these really register until you've seen them in the episodes proper.
203* SpyCatsuit: Sort of.
204** Laura's standard outfit is a black catsuit, but it's not particularly tight, so it's more badass than fanservicey. (Except for one brief, inexplicable shot where it was unzipped enough to show off her cleavage.)
205** Rin fulfilled the trope when she went [[AirVentPassageway exploring air vents]], but not with a traditional catsuit: She wore a black, skin-tight shirt and pants. The shirt had a zipper, and for added {{fanservice}} bared her midriff and [[VaporWear did not feature a bra]]. She also dressed Kouki up in a similar but [[DoubleStandard less fanservicey]] outfit.
206* StalkerWithACrush: Apos has a ''serious'' obsession with Rin, and of course, in his own 'special' way. [[spoiler:He goes so far as to remodel Laura to [[EvilTwin look just like Rin]] and even ''[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes]]'' her even though she's a cyborg.]] Even after he claims to be just after her [[spoiler:time spore]], he doesn't just go out of his way to dig it out of her.
207** [[spoiler:He does just that in episode five, and using Rin's own hand to do it, too.]]
208** Also, [[spoiler:Ruon to Teruki]] in episode four.
209$$* TheStoic: Rin.
210* StoicSpectacles: Rin's glasses are sure as hell not NerdGlasses.
211* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: Someone gets tied to something nearly OnceAnEpisode. Most notably, Rin is strapped to a chair and tortured in episode 1, and vivisected on an operating table in episode 3, [[spoiler:both times by Sayara]].
212** Episode 4: [[spoiler:Ruon straps Teruki to a table.]] Episode 5: [[spoiler:Apos chains Mimi to a rock.]] Episode 6: [[spoiler: the Yggdrasil roots try to do this to Rin inside the egg.]]
213%%* {{Stripperific}}: Mishio Maeno's outfits.
214%%* StuffBlowingUp: Courtesy of Laura.
215* SupernaturallyYoungParent: [[spoiler:Rin, for the rest of eternity.]]
216* TakeMyHand: A weird example, which starts with [[spoiler:Rin and Tajimamori, then Maeno lends a hand, and then ends up being Rin and Mishio]].
217** This is symbolic of [[spoiler:Tajimamori, Maeno, and their entire bloodline]] living through Mishio as Rin's sworn protectors.
218* TakingYouWithMe: Laura does this a lot, but never succeeds due to both parties usually being immortal.
219** Subverted on one occasion. Rin runs away after seeing Laura's explosive vest, so Laura simply takes it off and throws it after her.
220* TechnologyMarchesOn: InUniverse and PlayedForLaughs in Episode 2, where Mimi retorts Koki's remark about screwing up a computer job by saying "This is a top of the line 16-bit 40MHz CPU and 128MB of RAM with a 300MB hard drive with all the bells and whistles." They go from that, to Koki's granddaughter literally wearing virtual ''clothes'' in episode 5.
221* TechnoWizard: Mimi has claimed to be capable of hacking into the CIA, [=MI6=], and Special Forces Section II. Furthermore, in episode six, she [[spoiler:hacks into a KillSat belonging to Teruki's company and tries to stop Apos with it.]]
222* TimeSkip: Happens OnceAnEpisode. Considering Rin and Mimi are immortal, it's not surprising that the series took place over a period of 65 years, with the epilogue taking place at least nine months after the climax.
223* ToThePain
224* TortureTechnician
225* TurbineBlender: Rin lands inside a running airplane engine in episode four. Her last thoughts are "''This'' may be too much even for me." [[spoiler:Though, of course, she gets better... after 20 years of continuous regeneration.]]
226* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Episodes 3-6, which are set in 2011, 2025, and 2055 respectively.
227** That is, considering the anime was first released in 2008.
228* UnknownRival: While Laura goes PsychoLesbian with her obsession with Rin and spends considerable amounts of time thinking about how to kill her, the latter considers her nothing more than a nuisance.
229* VirtualGhost: [[spoiler:Ruon, and with a touch of AIIsACrapShoot.]]
230* VirtualCelebrity
231* WakingUpAtTheMorgue
232* WeCanRebuildHim: [[spoiler:Laura]], ''after'' she gets dissected and made immortal by Apos.
233* WhamEpisode: 4 already had some serious wham moments, but they upped the ante in 5.
234* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Amongst other catches, when you become immortal, your current physical state is recorded, and you will forever return to it. Bad vision? You can't fix it with surgery. Virginity? You will be deflowered each time. Dying of grievous wounds in extreme pain? Prepare for more pain.
235** Though Rin and Mimi don't seem to mind and find odd jobs to do to pass the time.
236* WhyWontYouDie: Laura has done everything in her [[ProfessionalKiller field of expertise]] to kill Rin, from blowing her to pieces with a shotgun, to [[spoiler:doing a TakingYouWithMe with a claymore mine, to using high-tech large-bore bullets, to '''pouring acid''' on her]]. By the fifth episode, she even admits to have become obsessed with figuring out how to kill her.
237* TheWorldTree: Yggdrasil, source of the [[spoiler:Time Spores]], is visible in the opening credits as an ominous background entity that easily dwarfs Tokyo skyscrapers.
238* WouldHitAGirl: Apos and the angels will outright devour women.
239* {{Yakuza}}
240* {{Yandere}}: Sayara, Apos, and [[spoiler:Ruon]]
241* ZipMeUp: Rin, to tease Teruki.
242* ZombieGait: [[spoiler:Sayara's zombies in episode 1.]]

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