Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy is really a bittersweet series for me. It had an incredible amount of potential, and quite a few sublime and simply brilliant moments, it also looks and sounds amazing (boasts one of the best OP's I've ever experienced), no expense was spared in the making of this series, hell they even got the the rights to use Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" for the closing theme. Unfortunately Ergo Proxy posseses many deep flaws and misteps that would render a lesser series unwatchable.

Ergo Proxy is set in the distant post-apocalyptic future, where man has turned the earths surface into a cold, barren desert-like wastleland. In this landscape of decay lies an oasis, a utopian city that has sealed itself off from the outside world. The citizens of this meterpolis live out their existance ignorant of the outside world and make use of androids(called auto-raves) to assit them in everyday tasks and activities. Enter Re-L Mayar (who bares an uncanny resemblance to Evanesence's lead singer Amy Lee), a member of the police force and the daughter of one of the city's mysterious founders. She, along with her auto-rave parter, are investegating a stange virus that causes auto-raves to act irractically and sometimes violently. In her investegation, she meets Vincent, an immigrant to the city trying to earn his citizenship. After Re-l is attacked by a strange winged monster, she finds herself the victim of a coverup, she probes for answers, finding dark secrets and clues that point to both the outside world, the strange creature that attacked her and Vincent. When Vincent becomes a fugitive and escapes from the city, Re-l follows him. Together, along with an infected Autorave named Pino, they embark on a journey arcoss the forign land to find the truth about the winged god-like monsters, called Proxys, who seem drawn to Vincent.

Ergo Proxy is a anime of many high and low points. Some episodes are a marvel, utterly compelling and powerful, yet the series contains some of the worst filler episodes I have ever seen, likewise the story is very interesting and original sci-fi, full of many unexpected twists and turns. Re-L and Vincents jouneys feels like a sci-fi version of Apoclaypse Now, complete with a couple paticularly haunting, surreal stops along the way.The story however is also extreamly complex, sometimes ridiculously so, and especially twords the end, becomes hoplessly muddled and distracted, the writers all to content with jetsoning the main story line in favor of brain-melting pop-pschyo-philospophy and mental cross-examianations of the charcters psyche ala Neon Genesis. Vincent and Re-L have a nice, sometimes intesnse chemistry, but not enough screen time is given to this. Ergo Proxy is nearly drailed by its flaws, but despite this it I will always have a special place for it it, the viewing experience was unforgetable(although I screamed at my TV more than one) and it really spoke to me at times. If you have the patience, this is good series to check out.
Grade:B/B+

Reviewed:episodes 1-23(complete) Format: English Dub, DVD