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In the decadent futuristic metropolis of Mardock City, teenage prostitute Rune Balot is brutally murdered by her manipulative lover, casino magnate Shell Septinos, who traps her in a burning automobile. Rescued on the verge of death under Mardock City emergency legislation Scramble 09, Balot is reconstructed as a cybernetic cyborg with extraordinary sensory perception and digital hacking abilities. Paired with Oeufcoque Pentea, a sentient golden mouse capable of transforming into any weapon, Balot agrees to testify against Shell in court, triggering a lethal manhunt by Shell's grotesque mercenary assassin Boiled.
⚠ Background — may contain spoilers
Shell dispatches the depraved flesh-harvesting assassin Dimsdale Boiled to eliminate Balot before she can deliver grand jury testimony. Boiled ambushes Balot in an industrial complex, nearly overwhelming her with superior firearms experience and psychic trauma linked to Oeufcoque's past partnership. Pushed into a corner, Balot overcomes her suicidal self-loathing, synchronizes her electronic senses with Oeufcoque, and severely maims Boiled in an explosive gunfight. Surviving the deadly assault, Balot resolves to stop fleeing her painful existence and vows to dismantle Shell's criminal empire in the court of law.
A gripping story led by a terrific protagonist, this first instalment in The Mardock Scramble trilogy is an utter, unabashed triumph at everything which it sets out to do.
I hope in the end that I can give the film series five stars, Rune Balot's story is one I am excited to follow, but with its pacing problems and spotty depth it has to settle for four.
