Kurau Vol. 1, Phantom Memory: Between Two Worlds [DVD]

Kurau Vol. 1, Phantom Memory: Between Two Worlds [DVD]

The broadcast series Kurau Phantom Memory (2004) mixes the anime genres of magical girl and science fiction into an unsettling fantasy-adventure. While observing an experiment in her father's physics lab, 12-year-old Kurau is struck by a bolt of energy. Her body becomes the home of a Rynax, a strange creature that exists as a double entity. Its "Pair" slumbers within the girl, undetected, while the active being gives Kurau the power to levitate, pass through physical barriers, etc. Ten years later, Kurau uses her superhuman abilities as a sort of freelance law-enforcement officer. One night, the Pair appears, manifesting itself as a naive girl. Overcome with emotion, Kurau names her "Christmas" and vows to protect her. Government agents want to capture Kurau as she's an unregistered "Ryna sapiens." The relationship between Kurau and Christmas feels like an uneasy mixture of parental and romantic, and the uncertainty of the relationship of the original Kurau to the two Rynax only adds to the confusion.