Mignon – Anime Review & Ending Explained

*Spoilers*
I actually disagree with a few points in this review. I think we got a lot of closure. Regarding Mignon's trauma and response to abuse, we can see that in his rebirth, by choosing love and choosing Doc, we see a glimpse of him as a child (your inner child is thought to hold onto your trauma) which I think signifies the acknowledgment of the child that was so often put in harm's way and thus the healing nature of their relationship. We also see Mignon's death wish fulfilled, in which he is not only granted more time with Doc, but eternity. Also, we know the coach and gangsters were dealt with, by the gangsters and then by master woo, respectively. Concerning the future of Mignon, a new vampire, and their relationship, obviously, the two are just having a lot of sex (hence the last scene), but regarding Mignon, what more did we really expect? We see how Doc lives as a vampire functioning in human society, so it makes sense for them both to remain doctors at the underground arena, among other vampires (i.e. Master Woo), where they have access to a sufficient supply of blood.
Lastly, I don't know if there really is a lack of dimension or less of a need for it for the villains. The story was "they need to be together" and the villains merely created a situation to keep them apart. Also, with context to society and their motives (money), I think that's plenty of context. The coach and the sharks were driven by money and worked to exploit others for their own personal gain.

On the other hand, I agree the series was short-lived and that a little, even a little, backstory to the development of their relationship in the past 2 years would've been helpful. But if you really think about it, it would make sense for them to both hold off on their hopes for more with each other in order to hold onto those mundane, routine moments we got to see them share with one another, considering their situations. Also the unknown is scary, that's a moral of the story. I also can see how you say the finale was "smut over substance" but personally, I think sex and love are divine, and compared to some webcomics, it was definitely not as over the top and more tender (especially with the music).

Anyway, this is all my opinion and personally, I think the series was really good and received 10s across the board. Everything was stunning: the music, the visuals and cinematography, the plot, and the characters!
PS. I realized there wasn't a single woman in the entire series LOL

thanks for info

Just finished reading your detailed and insightful review. Wow! Thank you for writing about it. I have just watched this series today and I must say… I am floored by the realistic animation, characters full of raw emotions and a sincere storyline. IMHO, the animators displayed their true prowess in EP5. EP5 is the most nuanced episode in this series and my favourite was THE KISS. But before I can talk about it, I have to talk about EP4 first.

Some people may find it puzzling why Mignon had to bite his own mouth first (I think it was the tongue) before kissing Doc in EP4. That's because Doc had been intentionally starving himself all week in order to quickly fulfil the 100 units of blood (I believe it means 100 blood bags – "Yes Sir, Yes Sir, 100 bags full!") Master Woo wants in order to spare Mignon's life. He would probably steal a mouthful or two sometimes but not enough to sustain himself. Unaware of the blood debt and the fact that his life is in real danger, Mignon had assumed that Doc merely wants more blood to keep himself off hunger. Being a simple-minded beefcake who had a tough childhood (probably facing occasional/frequent bouts of starvation no thanks to his coach's merciless training), Mignon believes that a doctor who no longer worries about hunger will be a happy doctor who will treat him better. Just like a coach with a winning wrestler will be a happy coach who will beat him lesser. However, Mignon was stunned to see that Doc was deathly pale, trembling and in cold sweat (signs of significant blood loss in humans = signs of anorexia in vampires). He couldn't fathom why despite being handed so much blood every night, Doc did not feed himself. When Doc fainted in his arms, Mignon infers that he lacks blood and impulsively bites his own tongue to feed Doc. In a room full of scalpels and needles, he had to bite his own tongue instead of using all that medical paraphernalia around him. I mean… the room had SIX beds. He could just put Doc down on one and extract his own blood in some other way like using his arm, right? Well, I guess the stans can defend him saying that he's a "pea brain" simpleton and his "sausage fingers" were too busy holding on to the unconscious Doc. And yeah, this naive oaf may even cut his own artery and bleed to death if he had used any of the scalpels on his arm… so let's all stick to the circumstances that would conveniently lead to the KISS! Haha, I've watched too many Cinema Sins. LOL…

OK, now EP5…

On the surface, the "kiss of blood" looks like one horny tongue fest but it is actually the catalyst that makes Doc realise something about himself and it also made me realise something (pretty poignant) about Mignon. Initially Doc was very hungry (the "full on vampire beast mode" glimmer in his eyes) and kissed Mignon only for his blood. He doesn't even seem to be aware he's actually being fed via a kiss, the hunger having taken over his senses. Around the 00:0023-00:27 mark, Mignon was taken aback by the Doc's strong reaction to his blood and held the rabid Doc's head back for a split second and looked at Doc's hungry face incredulously. The Doc he knows is a stone cold jerk who likes to chase him out of the infirmary. This was the first time Mignon see him wanting him so desperately, albeit in a "beast" mode. You could see Mignon's thoughts naked in his eyes throughout this sequence: "Wow, I have never felt so wanted before. Whoaaa.. he still wants more of me. Ok, whatever. Let's keep it going." From these few seconds, I can see part of the profound effects of abuse in this poor boy. He didn't care if Doc wants him out of animalistic instincts or real love, he just wants to be wanted by Doc.

Then at 00:45, we can see Doc's glimmering eyes turn back to normal. He has already returned to his senses and he could see that he is in the midst of kissing Mignon but he did not stop immediately… which implies he actually has feelings for Mignon. When he finally stopped the kiss, he got furious – at himself, not Mignon – and cursed "Damn it!" That was because he realised that despite being an ancient vampire who is not supposed to be overly attached to humans, he DOES crave for affection and love, which is an intrinsic human desire. But being a vampire, this is a weakness within him that he cannot embrace. But Mignon misunderstood Doc and thought Doc was angry at him. Well, I guess part of this man-child is aware that kissing an unconscious person isn't exactly ethical and he was ashamed of that? Not wanting to lose the only person who makes him feel wanted and desired, he cries and apologises and blames himself despite not really understanding the real reason why Doc is mad. This makes me feel really sad for Mignon; children who endured abuse/traumatic events often blame themselves for being the cause of it despite not fully understanding why do the abuse/said events happen in the first place. Emotionally negligent people (Doc) often put up a wall and push people away because they can't bear to let their loved ones see them at their worst/weakest, but they make their loved ones feel they're responsible for it and it hurts them too. By putting a cotton wool in Mignon's mouth – symbolising some sort of peace offering, if you will – Doc assured Mignon that he is not angry at him and will go back to being his usual cantankerous self, indicating he would still care for Mignon like the child he is. The "where are you going/out for a smoke" exchange hints heavily of Mignon's fear of abandonment; his parents had probably abandoned/sold him to Coach as a child.

This infirmary scene in EP5 gave us all the character background we really need and in a very subtle way. Instead of spoon-feeding the audience literal flashbacks of their childhood/origins to flesh out the characters, the producers used crisp dialogue, the expressions on their faces and their interactions with each other that makes EP5 of this series so sublime.

Well, I am NOT done raving about EP5 yet.

The next scene between Doc and Master Woo also revealed a lot about Doc's growing affections for Mignon. Doc asked for more time to chase Mignon away from the pit, but Master Woo could tell immediately that Doc was reluctant to let him go not just because "he needs to make a living after all." The way he says this line – in a meek voice with downcast eyes – shows he himself is subconsciously not quite convinced of this excuse he made up. Evidently, Doc needs Mignon more than he thinks.

After the conversation with Master Woo, we see Doc passing by the boxing ring in the final scene of EP5 and watching Mignon in awe momentarily before walking away. In the ring, Mignon shows his audience a rugged face of determination and playful confidence that he would smack down his opponent. All Doc ever encountered with Mignon were his child-like and emotionally vulnerable and naive side. I interpret Doc walking away out of his awareness of the artifice in this scene, as if he was warning himself not to get carried away by Mignon's charismatic "game face" , which does not reflect the real Mignon that only he gets to see.

Then we see the digital clock strike midnight before the credits roll. This invokes Cinderella, who had to leave the palace before her beautiful gown and coach and horses turn back to rags and rats at midnight. But I believe this clock can symbolise a few things:

– 00:00, it means going back to ZERO. It means a return to a blank slate. Both characters are beginning to see each other in a different light and are now given a chance to know each other all over again.
– It can also foreshadow something bad to come. For Cinderella, the ball is over and she had to go back to being a servant in rags. Doc – the Cinderella – wished the Fairy Godmother – Master Woo -would give him more time with Mignon, which Master Woo grants but with a warning to "let him go as soon as you can". For Mignon and Doc, it could mean that this little "paradise for two" they've barely began to build in the infirmary will sooner or later be crushed by the reality of the world they live in.

My second favourite episode was EP10. Doc's sincere confession and their tearful embrace almost made me cry. Of course, how can we talk about EP10 without mentioning Mignon's bathtub transformation? Beautiful and surreal sequence of imagery… But I think s3x was somewhat involved in making Mignon a vampire because Doc was licking and kissing him in the bloody bathtub? (Sheesh what's with all this kissing unconscious people? But oh well, if that's the vampire's version of CPR, go cray-cray please.) Like what you said, it represents Mignon's emancipation of his shackles to the ring, his coach, his troubled past and his emotional vulnerabilty. But the way Doc sensuously licked and kissed him in the bathtub was like the vampire version of the Prince kissing Sleeping Beauty to awaken her from the spell. It seems that blood is not enough to resurrect the undying; love and affection is what gives Mignon the will to reawaken.

As for the "all smut and no substance" finale, I believe their s3x scene symbolises Doc's emancipation from his self-imposed wall of emotional repression. He finally lets go of the notion that craving for love and affection is a weakness that vampires should not allow themselves to have. He allows Mignon to take a bite of his ankle but he closes his eyes and covers his face. This "biting ankle" part was tough to figure out. What did the writers want to project – The prey becomes the predator? It was a parallel scene to EP5; this time, it was Mignon who has the "glimmer of hunger" in his eyes. But I believe Doc covered his face and eyes because he was very turned on by this foreplay but he was too ashamed to let Mignon see it. And why did Mignon bit him is because he has this aching desire to know everything about Doc, even how his blood would taste like. It harkens back to what he mused about in EP2: "I wonder if he drank my blood too."

The unsung hero of this series is the MUSIC. Beautiful synth soundtrack that makes me visualise Daft Punk and a-ha got married and produced the soundtrack with some elements of Erasure. It gives me additional clues to the era the characters may be in: the early 1980s OR 1997. In fact there were many clues littered in this series: The old 1960s era phone Master Woo uses, the lack of any computers around any scenes, Doc using the housephone to call Master Woo in EP11, the gaudy clothes of the villains and the coach, the fact that the two male leads who already knew each other for more than TWO YEARS don't already have each other's Naver or WhatsApp so they have to run around in public to find each other instead of texting… It all indicates a bygone era. Initially I thought of the early 80s but the midi ringtone of the coach's cellphone indicates the late 90s (post 1997 Asian Financial Crisis?).

Why the early 80s? There was global recession caused by the 1979 energy crisis which was sparked by the Iranian Revolution. The city scenes and the illegal boxing ring depicted in the series were smudged with a tinge of gloominess from the bleak underbelly of an embittered society, a total contrast to the prosperous BTS-BLACKPINK South Korea we know today. And on top of it, yep as Slaymama commented…NO FEMALE CHARACTERS. I think the real reason for the lack of female characters in this series is because the producers do not have enough budget to hire female voice actresses LOL but this lack of women also seems to reinforce the implication that the era we are looking at is a pre-MeToo, staunchly patriarchal Korea. This would also make sense as to why Mignon as a child had fallen out of the social safety net and ended up being enslaved by Coach way into adulthood. If he had data and Internet, he would have been savvy enough to google the hotline of Korea's Child Protection Services before ending up in the hands of Coach.

All in all, Mignon is a wonderful series for people who hate draggy BL shows with too much crying, too much panning of CGI sceneries and too little fXcking. Mignon officially now stays rent free in my head, enjoyed like its namesake (fillet mignon): seared medium rare, a third bloody from the inside with a glass of fine shiraz.

Mignon has a very tight Fast & Furious plot that blazes through twelve 5-minute episodes, with some slow moments thrown in for contemplation. The animation of the intimate scenes (especially the kissing scenes) seems to have been done by rotoscoping real actors and then using 3D software to stylise it. The 2D pair in this series has such sizzling chemistry that even surpass that of some real human actors in some shows, I wouldn't be surprised if one day I find some news article revealing that their respective voice actors are real life lovers but hey, I am no delulu. The rest of the s3x scenes seems borrowed from high quality hentai anime but oh well, at least they borrowed the good ones. Using s3x as a pivotal tool to reveal the character development of the two leads reminds me of one of my favourite Lee Ang movies "Lust Caution". If y'all crave for a fast paced, barebones storyline with plenty of sensuous initmate scenes and sincerely written mai characters, this 6-chapter manga stays rent free in my head: Oreshika Shiranai Karada by Usui Iroha. Plot is wafer thin but the intimate scenes were so steamy that it's a pity it aint animated. Enjoy on a night where you don't wish to use your brain!

Just like the clock striking 00:00, it is time for me to bid you adieu. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts here! Have a great week!

Thank you so much for the detailed review! The commentary has solidified for me how much I love the series!