Isolation and vast emptiness are a very basic fear for humanity, the mind often creating horrors far greater than anything set in reality as paranoia takes hold of rational thought. It is through this that the idea of deep water or space can leave one feeling anxious and uncomfortable and the thought of exploring these environments can be all the more terrifying.
The Magnetic Rose is a Sci-fi horror OVA directed by Kōji Morimoto, known for his work as director for the short Beyond for The Animatrix (2003) and the music video for Extra by Ken Ishii (1995). Kōji also worked as an animator on such greats as Akira (1998), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), and Jigen Bakudan, a short story from the anthology Genius Party Beyond (2008). The short is part of a trilogy called Memories (1995) along with two other sci-fi-related OVA Stink Bomb and Cannon Fodder directed by the great Tensai Okamura and Katsuhiro Otomo respectively.
In the year 2092, The Corona, a deep space salvage freighter working on a skeleton crew, receives a distress signal whilst out on a recovery mission. As they investigate the signal, they come across a huge ship graveyard orbiting an abandoned space station. Inside they discover a world built by one woman’s memories and have to navigate their way through before their ship is drawn into the wreckage by the station’s strong magnetic field.
The anime has beautiful hand-drawn animation, heavily influenced by popular sci-fi films such as Alien (1979) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), giving exterior scenes a very sleek and stylized look to them, capturing the realism of the desolation of space perfectly. The set designs are used beautifully to set the ambiance of a scene, with the space station interior lavishly decorated in a classic European style clashing with its overall analogue sci-fi aesthetic helps make the characters feel removed from their reality.
Though being only forty minutes in length, the pacing is a slow burn, with subtle scares unsettling the viewer leading to a crescendo of supernatural events and an ending that leaves a deep feeling of fear and despair. A classical soundtrack and its use in the story add a lot of depth to the ambient mood, with Un bel di vedremo from Giacomo Puccini’s Madam Butterfly taking center stage as an incredible piece intermediately used throughout, giving scenes an overwhelming sense of power and foreboding.
Memories was released to positive reviews and is highly regarded inside and outside the anime community, The Magnetic Rose being favoured as being the better of the three stories, almost feeling out of place by not having a similar tone, as the other two stories are more comedic and less about horror but are still well-made pieces of art.
This is a must-watch for anyone who likes sci-fi or horror with its eerie atmosphere, haunting soundtrack, and is a great introduction to anyone new to the medium of anime with a solid story and beautiful animation.
More Anime reviews:
A notorious adult animation, Advancer Tina is a 1997 sci-fi horror OVA written by Wataru Amano and directed by Kan Fukumoto (director of the infamous La Blue Girl anime). The… Akira (1988) is a classic film, no doubt, as a cyberpunk adventure set in a decaying Tokyo, no different from the dystopian lifestyle of Neon Genesis Evangelion in which the… Happy Sugar Life is an incredibly unique viewing experience. At first, it’s easy to write it off as merely a Higurashi copy: yet another cute, slice of life story hiding… Even after all these years, Serial Experiments Lain remains a cult-classic anime for many. With only 13 episodes and a ton of unanswered questions, fans still want something more of… If someone from ten years ago told me that I would one day be able to find Junji Ito merchandise at even some of the biggest chain stores, I might… It is an undeniable fact that some horror fans also can be huge softies. We enjoy our healthy dose of gore, scares, and violence, but we are not dead inside….
Advancer Tina (1997) NSFW Anime Review – A Beautiful Duality of Life and Death
The Body Horror of Akira (1988) – One of the GOATS of Anime
Happy Sugar Life (2018) Anime Review- Bittersweet Love
Serial Experiments Lain (1998) Video Game Review – Welcome Back to the Wired
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023) Review – A Slight Improvement From The Previous Collection
Natsume’s Book of Friends (2008) Anime Review – A Wholesome Horror
Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.