Some pictures of the re-mastered 4K UHD release of Katsuhiro Otomo’s 3 part sci-fi anthology animated film MEMORIES ( Magnetic Rose / Stinkbomb / Canonfodder – 1995). Priced at 12000 yen ( about $76 USD ), it is a whole lot more than what I would usually be prepared to spend on 4K physical media, but I am such a big Otomo fan and of this film that I was ready to make an exception. I’ll talk a little more about the contents further below.
Here’s a little personal backstory on the movie – I first saw MEMORIES way back in 1996 when I was still a kid; it had been selected as the closing film at the 1996 Singapore International Film Festival. What was particularly memorable about the experience was that Otomo was himself in attendance, dressed up smartly in a white tuxedo as he walked into the cinema with the press in tow. That was the first time I ever saw the man in person; but I could never have imagined that I would be working for him the next time we met.
The contents of the set comes in thick sturdy cardboard slip-case which includes the 4K UHD + blu-ray jewel case, a copy of the movie’s screenplay as well as a storyboard book for Magnetic Rose.
The screenplay book for the film is only in Japanese language, so it is of very limited interest to most unless you can understand the language. I suspect the book was included just so that it can fluff up the size of the package to make it look meatier.
Now the storyboard book for Magnetic Rose however is very much welcomed, although the small print size of the book makes the drawings rather hard to fully appreciate. I believe the layouts are drawn by none other than the late Satoshi Kon.
My hope is that Kodansha will be releasing a proper storyboard book for all 3 segments of the film and not just Magnetic Rose with the Otomo Complete Works. In fact, there is a press release clearly indicating that a book on MEMORIES is in the works; there is just no clear indication what the book’s contents will be.
As far as the video/image quality of the 4K UHD re-master is concerned, it is my opinion a marked improvement from my existing copy of the movie on SD blu-ray, which lacked fidelity, detail and had a whole lot of noise and image artifacts, all of which are cleaned up nicely in the new 4K UHD release.
In summary, despite the aforementioned high pricing of the box-set, I am very satisfied with the presentation of the film itself, and the inclusion of the storyboard book for Magnetic Rose is great as well. If you’re a big fan of Otomo’s films like me, this will not likely disappoint. Recommended.
“MEMORIES – 4K UHD Re-Mastered Blu-ray” details :
Number of discs : 2 ( 4K UHD + blu-ray )
In Japanese language with English subtitles
Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Amazon DE | Amazon ES
You might also be interested in these items :
Memories Of Murder Criterion Collection Blu-ray
Akira 4K Remastered Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Art of Otomo Katsuhiro’s Memories Part I – Magnetic Rose
Otomo Katsuhiro’s Short Peace Blu-ray & Art Book
Nadia : The Secret of Blue Water 4KR Blu-ray
January 6th, 2026 at 9:09 am
Oh my goodness, the storyboard books certainly make this an appealing purchase. However, I do have reservations about the transfer, despite the fact that this release was supervised by Otomo himself.
It seems to have lost the filmic quality present on the blu-ray. (for reference, the one I have is the Discotek release) Personally, I’m not a fan of heavy DNR, as I see it messing with the integrity of the original image too much. (that’s one of the reasons I’ve been hesitant to collect the old Disney films on blu-ray, although they seemed to have changed course with the 4K releases of Cinderella and Snow White)
Have you seen the 4K of Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell? I think it’s an example of how a grainy 4K anime can actually look quite beautiful.
January 6th, 2026 at 9:16 am
(and just to add, despite my misgivings about this 4K transfer, Memories is without a doubt a classic, and one of my favourite anime anthology films)
January 9th, 2026 at 11:55 am
Coffee – The heavy DNR on this re-master actually came up in another conversation I had, interesting. I haven’t done a blow by blow comparison of the SD blu-ray so my initial impressions was just the much cleaner feel. Perhaps too clean ?
The storyboard book certainly makes this set more appealing, necessary even especially for the price it’s going for !
January 9th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
I bought the US bluray a few years back so I don’t know if I really need the 4K…but damn that packaging is beautiful!
The Memories Laserdisc box set also has luxurious packaging…pick that up if you get a chance!
Last year, “manie Manie” was finally released on bluray….but only in France!! I have been waiting for an HD copy for so long…no Japan or US release?? Come on!!
January 10th, 2026 at 4:26 am
Here is an article about the restoration. I don’t read Japanese, but you can see some screencap comparisons! I also saw some hi-res images on a blu-ray.com forum.
https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/topic/2061851.html
Based on the screenshots I’ve seen, it isn’t as bad as *some* DNR’d anime, in that the linework still looks crisp (often DNR’d cel animation has weird smudgy lineart)…but it still is a bit too clean for my taste. If you look at the second comparison in the article, with the explosion from Stink Bomb, you can see what I mean.
Unfortunately, Otomo doesn’t seem to be a film grain lover. It’s something I’ve grown to really appreciate, the more I get into the blu-ray hobby, haha
January 14th, 2026 at 4:58 am
Josh – Oh yes, I remember seeing the Laserdisc box and have been yearning for it ever since, never had the good luck of tracking one down during my trips to Tokyo ( yet ! )
Coffee – Thanks for the link on the restoration. I’ll set aside some time to read it. I’m a novice when it comes to DNR stuff, but perhaps I should learn more about it as more anime titles are getting upgraded to 4K UHD. I have my eyes on Jin-roh Wolf Brigade as well as the 2 Patlabor feature films for now.