Transhumanism, sexual exploitation of womanhood, and ascendancy stuff. Written by Konaka, head writer behind Lain (so keep in mind it's as heavy handed and sometimes obtuse as such, lots of love to the use of "dreams", "god", and grandiose phrases). Unique and really gorgeous style, but is absolutely an acquired taste, PS1 era 3d animation such as Galerians and Koudelka.

A lot of the show is spent in atmosphere building and lingering on the fact that the world Malice@Doll takes place in is completely in ruins, even the robots and machines living in the world after people have gone are breaking down, being made for a purpose and then those purposes not existing anymore. I compared it to Nihei with BLAME! but honestly a lot of it is a bit more reminiscent of Mad God by Phil Tippett or Peripeteia-- just with a bit more of a structured story. Feels very much like planned obsolescence with visuals and narrative.

Rape is a key aspect of the story and one that I’m conflicted on how it handles it. It gives it the respect it needs as a topic, it’s horrific, disgusting, and most notably monstrous. It physically, spiritually, and emotionally changes Malice as who she is. At the same time however, Malice’s background as a prostitute product bought and sold as a commodity shows that she never really has had any agency in her sexuality, while rape is given the due weight of being monstrous, I feel like the prostitution that Malice undergoes isn’t. I think my opinion will change or become more cemented on rewatch.

I think however, with the story’s exploration of humanity, eroticism, and transhumanism, it’s often bogged down by Konaka’s writing. He’s at his a-game with Serial Experiments Lain because confusion is integral to the story, it’s oppressive and borderline schizophrenic because that’s precisely what Lain as a character is going through— it’s denpa. The abrasive nature of it is supposed to make the audience uncomfortable, confused, or not understanding— hell it’s in the theme song. The same argument could be made about Malice but I never fully feel like she’s being barraged with a total usurpation of her life, rather undergoing a painful transformation. This is a common problem I feel with Konaka though, Texhnolyze especially. The small scale format of this protects it from a lot of Konaka’s other works’ downfalls. While it has less time overall to explore Malice’s newfound humanity and the new problems that face her, it instead draws its focus onto her transformation itself and a contrast between man and machine— or rather woman and commodity.

What I am most impressed with in the story that, judging by other reviews, seems lost on others, is that the visuals are seemingly never done with the intent of male gaze. Despite the use of dismemberment in cinematography, such as shots lingering on inner things in particular, I felt that it was showing vulnerability and physical weak spots, never intending to excite the audience but rather hinting at weakness and areas commonly subjected to exploitation. Malice@Doll does more with the intent to disgust than it does to excite, there’s a reason why most of the environment and machines are grimey and decaying.

A lot of other reviews (this one as well) on other sites fall back to comparing it to five hundred different things, I know that can be very annoying for some people, but I feel like for Malice@Doll, its a strength due to just how hostile it can be as a setting and as a story.