Mardock Scramble is a Japanese novel series written by Tow Ubukata. The first novel was published in Japan in May 2003, with the final novel published in July 2003. They were later adapted into a manga series and an anime film trilogy. The story is about a girl named Rune Balot who was taken in by a man named Shell who later tried to kill her and left her for dead. She is saved and turned into a cyborg. It is up to her to stop Shell and his evil gang. In North America, Viz Media licensed the novels and published all three in one volume. Kodansha USA published the manga series in English, and Sentai Filmworks released anime films on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
Plot
Taking place in a futuristic city called Mardock City, Rune Balot is a prostitute who was taken in by the notorious gambler Shell Septinous. One night, Shell abandons Rune and attempts to murder her in an explosion. However, she is rescued and transformed into a cyborg by Dr. Easter under regulation Mardock Scramble 09, an emergency ordinance where experimental technologies can be used to preserve life. An Artificial intelligence who takes the form of a mouse accompanies her to adapt to her new life. Rune is trained to use the advanced technology fitted on her to defend herself against Shell's attempts to have her killed to stop her from testifying against him.
Characters
;Rune Balot ;Œufcoque Penteano ;Dr. Easter ;Shell Septinos ;Dimsdale Boiled ;Welldone the Pussyhand ;Medium the Fingernail ;Rare the Hair ;Mincemeat the Wink ;Flesh the Pike ;Tweedledee ;Tweedledim ;Professor Faceman ;Cleanwill John October ;Octavia ;Bell Wing ;Ashley Harvest ;Marlowe John Fever
Media
Novel
The story was written by Tow Ubukata, and illustrated by Katsuya Terada was serialized in Hayakawa's SF Magazine. The first novel was published in May 2003, and the final novel was published in July 2003. A prequel, Mardock Velocity, was released in three volumes in November 2006. Another volume titled Mardock Fragments was released on May 10, 2011. A sequel titled Mardock Anonymous was released on March 24, 2016. Viz Media licensed the original novels in English and published all three in one volume on January 18, 2011.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima was published in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine between October 9, 2009 and May 9, 2012, compiled in seven volumes. The first volume was released in Japan on March 17, 2010, and the last on June 9, 2012. Kodansha USA published the manga in English, the first volume was released on August 23, 2011, while the last one was released on May 21, 2013. A two-volume spinoff titled Mardock Demons and illustrated by Minamoto Katasuke was published in the NEMESIS magazine from 2016 to 2018.
Cancelled anime OVAs
An OVA anime series was announced by Gonzo in 2005 which would have been directed by Yasufumi Soejima and produced by Geneon, screenplay written by Ubukata himself and character designs by Range Murata. However, the project was cancelled in 2006.
Anime films
On January 18, 2010, a website opened up that announced that an anime adaptation would take place. Later, it was confirmed that the Mardock Scramble anime would be turned into a film trilogy. The film trilogy was animated at GoHands studio and produced by Aniplex, directed by Susumu Kudo and the screenplay was written by Ubukata himself. The soundtrack was composed by Conisch.
The first film, The First Compression, was released in Japanese theaters on November 6, 2010. It was also aired on Anime Festival Asia 2010.
The second film, The Second Combustion, was released in to Japanese theaters on September 3, 2011.
The third film, The Third Exhaust, was released in Japanese theaters on September 29, 2012.
Sentai Filmworks has licensed the three films and released The First Compression on DVD on September 27, 2011 followed by a Blu-ray Disc release on March 13, 2012. On the DVD the nudity from the theatrical release has been censored out, the Blu-ray contains both editions of the movie. DVDs of the last two films, The Second Combustion and The Third Exhaust, where released on January 1, 2012 and March 25, 2014 respectively.
Title
Release date
Live-action film
On May 30, 2012, it was reported that Dentsu and Hayakawa Publishing licensed the rights to produce a live-action film adaptation of Mardock Scramble and Michael Davis is scheduled to produce and direct the film. However, on May 31, Hayakawa editor Yoshihiro Shiozawa confirmed that the rights of the film are not sold yet and have been in negotiations.
