ME!ME!ME! (NSFW)

[VanQ]

So I'm a bit behind in having watched this and most anime-savvy folks have probably already at least seen or heard of this but recently a crowdfunded short animated film called ME!ME!ME! was exhibitioned at Animator Expo Japan. Probably not of interest until you find out that the project was spearheaded by many industry veterans such as Hideaki Anno and Hayao Miyazaki.

You can see the video here: http://animatorexpo.com/mememe/
The video can't be embedded because it's hosted directly on the site and not on YouTube.

For those of us that can't understand Japanese, the lyrics have been translated here [http://www.reddit.com/r/listentothis/comments/2oc5d0/teddyloid_ft_daoko_mememe_electro_dubstep/cmlstz4] at Reddit and make a lot more sense of the video.

Why did I post this on The Escapist? Well, mainly because the last minute of the show are very heavily influenced by video games, it has a very neon-CoD feel to the fight as well as how it is chock full of pop culture references. I honestly feel like I'd love to play a game with that kind of feel and look to it.

So what do my fellow Escapists think? For me, it was certainly an... experience. That's really the only way I can describe it. I know some people will take a lot of issue with the overt sexuality of the clip but I feel like it's an expression of the artists free from corporate or network interferences. And despite the sexuality of the clip, I never actually found myself aroused by it, though it did raise an eyebrow more than once.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Well... That was... Um... Something....

OK, no... I... Have no clue what I just watched...

Very surreal... - Well... The lyrics translation helps a tiny bit... But... Wow.

I... I mean, what can you even really say about something like that?
I just... Don't know...

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

There's one Youtuber's analysis of the video here He raises a few good points. They video may in fact have a deeper meaning, and I can kind of see it the way he does.

Unfortunately my only reaction was wondering what combination of drugs went into the creation of this thing. I guess I'm not deep enough.

I never actually found myself aroused by it, though it did raise an eyebrow more than once.

Spoiler

It'd be kinda weird if you were aroused by a girl vomiting bucket loads of semen into your mouth.

 

[Zhukov]

*shrug*

It looked like a music video, except with anime sensibilities.

Song sounds (and reads) like every other J-Pop song I've ever heard. Not that I'm a connoisseur of the genre.

Oh, the sex stuff. Umm... there were tits. Not much else to say about it. The sexy girl as predatory monster motif isn't exactly uncommon.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

I think the video is a little masterpiece.

It's wonderfully animated, great music, and even the first time watching it I was able to understand the deeper meaning behind it, which is clearly presented without coming across as pretentious. Even the sexual imagery I think is used to great effect. I was never really weirded out or intimidated by it. I guess I'm just used to this watching stuff like this.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well, it certainly seems to have something to say about the pandering state of the anime industry today (and maybe even the entertainment industry as a whole), but instead of making a weird shocking parody video it might've been a better idea to just make something counter to it, like with Little Witch Academia.

 

[VanQ]

There's one Youtuber's analysis of the video here
snip.
He raises a few good points. They video may in fact have a deeper meaning, and I can kind of see it the way he does.

Unfortunately my only reaction was wondering what combination of drugs went into the creation of this thing. I guess I'm not deep enough.

I never actually found myself aroused by it, though it did raise an eyebrow more than once.

Spoiler

It'd be kinda weird if you were aroused by a girl vomiting bucket loads of semen into your mouth.

Spoiler

Whoa whoa, wait a minute! That was semen!? I just thought it was drool! I need to watch that part again.

Anyways, about whether it has deeper meanings or not, I'd still have to watch it a few more times before I'd be able to start piecing things together.

 

[Scarim Coral]

My inital interest toward that music video was that it was done by the same artist who did some of the Panty and Stocking OST (TeddyLoid). Other than that, the video itself look like one hell of an acid trip (with some hidden meaning I guess since the guy look like he had a girlfriend at some point in his life)!

 

[manic_depressive13]

I don't have an issue with the sexuality. It's obviously meant to be a subversion and critique of the sexualisation in anime and the subset of the fanbase who idolise those characters to an unhealthy degree.

My interpretation is that he feels pain and regret for ditching the pink haired girl for the blue haired girl. Not sure what the blue haired girl is meant to represent though. Unrealistic expectations created by media? Some sort of obsession/ addiction to anime? Whatever, he feels so much grief at losing the pink one that he blames her for the pain he feels, even though he appears to be responsible. His bitterness at having lost her thus leads him to demonise women as these monstrous temptresses. I thought it was pretty cool.

I don't think the FPS scene would work as a real video game though. In the context of a 5 minute acid trip video it was okay, but as a video game it would probably just come across as gross and misogynistic.

 

[DefunctTheory]

/watch

Spoiler: /react

Going to be honest here, never watched whatever show this is related to (Or, alternatively, other things from the same creator), and I am certainly not going to do so now. This is the kind of stuff that's going to spawn Slaanesh.

...

/rewatch

 

[Tayh]

Oh, Japan. You never fail to amuse me with your blatant fanservice.
And, godDAMN, that was a long intro.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

From reading the translation and seeing the video, I kinda felt that it was about the guy's regret over breaking up with his now ex girlfriend and how it ruined her while continuing to eat himself up inside.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I got. He broke up with a girl, probably in a manner that said he was just using her for sex, and it devastated her. And the imagery being his regret giving him a nasty nightmare involving him and said regret.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I threw up an armchair analysis, without having a proper translation available, on another forum...

Part of me wants to think that that's (The video looping over and over again without input) intentional, as it echos the "stuck in a rut/loop" message of the narrative.

I really, really like this video, as well as the music. The second bit is just so damned hypnotic and, frankly, very enticing...I quite like the masked character.

My interpretation mirrors that of a few other people, but I'm a bit less hard on the Otaku subculture, I suppose. This is a personal story, for this 'character' and not necessarily indicative of EVERY 'Otaku' or the subculture itself:

The reading I took from it was this; He's broken up with or otherwise lost his girlfriend, perhaps over his pre-existing obsession with teh 2D or even just sex/porn, or for some other reason, and is lying in bed, zoning out, awash in escapism. The easy titillation with little to no input required on his part is a welcoming means of removal from the situation...a means to self gratification without the inherent struggles associated with teh 3D/real life...to get away from the pain.

But he goes too far. He fills his life with it. Fills his time and, by extension, the void left by her with it. More and more until he's reached the tipping point. It's consuming him. The fun, happy facade crumbles away, leaving behind a rabid, raw, fetishized core. And it eats away at him. Literally (in terms of health) and figuratively (in terms of loss of interpersonal relationships).

He remembers the relationship he had. His failures during it. Her attempts to reach him and his subsequent dismissals. He realizes then, too late, that she'd been trying to help. That she was, for lack of a better word, 'real.' He regrets his actions, but can't do a thing about it...but, no! It can't be like that, can it? He can fight to get out of this rut, fight his way out of the escapist nature of his hobbies/fetishes and work his way back, maybe to be with her once more-

And yet, no. He's too far gone. It's too easy to slink back and it just overwhelms him. And he wakes up to repeat the daily/nightly cycle once more.

Which is where the video begins again.

I think the masked girl is basically a manifestation of his desire and she fuckin' owns him.

Dat fem dom pose tho.

All of my unf.

 

[VanQ]

The animation seems nice.

 

[kenu12345]

Uh definetly not for me. I like anime but I never cared for anime that had tons of fanservice even if its done 'ironically'. Maybe something more may not. All I can say is that I definitely don't want to watch it

 

[Silvanus]

That's the strangest thing I've seen outside of David Lynch movies and dreams. Meaningful interpretations didn't really occur to me while I was watching it, though I suppose I can see them now.

Also, at 6:57 in the video...

Spoiler: Machine gun jubblies?!

 

[FPLOON]

The only thing I have to say is Oh my glob! It's LOOPS!

But, other than that, this must be the subversive trials of having a "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"... and, for me, I wish it was longer before the loop kicks in...

 

[Khadhar]

I think they should broadcast this on giant TV screens in every japanese airport with a sign underneath saying "WELCOME TO JAPAN".

Also I liked it. Weird, dark, sexy in places... kinda the internet in a nutshell actually.

 

[DeltaEdge]

I'm not really one to find the deeper meaning in things, so I honestly didn't think that much of it besides that the animation was better than your usual anime and that it was sexy and gore-y at the same time, which is generally a bad combination for me. Wasn't too off-put by the gore though, maybe because the fact that he seemed to get gored a few times made it seem a bit less consequential, so it didn't leave as much of a negative impact with me as it could have.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

That was pretty messed up. I would definitely say they were going for some kind of message with this as opposed to just titillating animation. I think the lyric translation supports that.