Mardock Scramble is an anime movie (divided in three parts), adapted from its homonymous light novel. It presents some very thought-provoking scenarios and deals with crude themes such as rape, suicide, murder and the ontological dilemma of the worth of a life. It behaves somewhat as a noir and a murder mystery narration, while also being a bit of an homage to the android and sci-fi genre (thinking especially of Ghost in the Shell). If you think this is up your alley, then I would advise you to stop reading this article and watch the animation. I will spoil several plot points and discuss some thoughts, so you have been warned.
So let me explain what ‘Mardock Scramble 09’ refers to; it is a protocol, a life support program that is applied to the special cases of people who have been killed but still have the will to live. This procedure comes in effect through the use of forbidden technology, one that saves the ‘quasi-deceased’, in a way resurrecting them, and give them a fighting chance to open a law suit against their killer. The futuristic technology is alienating at best, but serves as a means to inquire in the psyche of the protagonists.
Let me just say this: the world depicted in Mardock Scramble is an eerie and grim one to say the least. Although it uses bright colours and lights to depict a futuristic setting, it comes at the expense of the humanity of the inhabitants of this dystopia. Technology brings new and twisted ways to face reality, but also to inflict pain and to test the limits and boundaries of normality. Just as an example, I will mention a group of assassins that ‘graft’ the organs of their victims onto themselves. The animation never steers away from representing the harshness of its world and never fears to put its audience on edge.
The main protagonist, Rune Balot, within the very first scenes is taken advantage of and then killed by the antagonist; he represents the corrupt nature of power and money within this dystopia, the higher echelon that has free reign over others if you will. She is saved through the Mardock Scramble 09 protocol and is given the body of an android; it is at this point that she will have to face a choice. She will be able to sue and expose the man who killed her, but that will also mean that she will be forced to expose her own past life and what brought her to that point in life. The animation delves in the harsh flashbacks of a girl whose father had taken advantage of her at a young age and how her life turned out after being abandoned by everyone. Rune is informed that she will be able to make another choice as well: she (as a victim) will be capable of deciding what rules to follow, of determining what is wrong and what is right, and even if she will want to take revenge on her killer.
Mardock Scramble opens up many more discussions than the ones I am prepared to deal with in this article. It beckons a closer inspection: although envisioning a gruesome future and reality, it does ask the audience to think about what is right and what is wrong. Morality and ethics are questioned but not within a vacuum; by providing some very crude and extremes scenarios, it forces the viewers to go beyond the simple grey areas of reasoning.