Ergo Proxy Vol.2 (DVD)

...the scene...
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Ergo Proxy (or for those hardcore anime-fans, エルゴプラクシー) is based in a fictional futuristic city named Romdo, which is a supposed utopia, built by its citizens after a universal ecological disaster. In this 'bubble', humans and androids (called AutoReivs, or AutoRaves) live together in harmony under a totalitarian management. ...
...good stuff...
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Ergo Proxy is the futuristic sci-fi and the high-class creation of Ghost in the Shell with the feel of George Orwell's '1984' all gathered into one. The mood of the entire anime is grungy and dark, and sometimes ambiguous, which leads to the viewers being totally hooked to try and unravel and mysteries of the clues being found. There were times that I needed to rewatch parts of it, with the amount ... more

Synopsis - setting the scene...
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Ergo Proxy (or for those hardcore anime-fans, エルゴプラクシー) is based in a fictional futuristic city named Romdo, which is a supposed utopia, built by its citizens after a universal ecological disaster. In this 'bubble', humans and androids (called AutoReivs, or AutoRaves) live together in harmony under a totalitarian management. The AutoReivs live to serve their purpose of being servants and assistants to Romdo's citizens. Citizens use them as replacements for children and even as lovers. Problems start to arise as there are a string of murders having been committed by robots infected with the Cogito virus, and begins to disrupt the balance of the society. In the backstages of the government, secret experiments are being conducted on a strange life form also known as a Proxy, the scientists believe that the Proxy is to hold the key to the human race's survival.
Re-I (or Lil, as the English versions call her, I think) Mayar is one of the main concentrations in this anime. Lil, being the Mayor of Romdo, Donov Mayar's, granddaughter, is a young inspector from the Civilian Intelligence Office. Together with Iggy, Lil's own AutoReiv, they go around places to eliminate those AutoReivs infected with the Cogito virus. At the same time, Lil is the probation officer for a young immigrant, Vincent Law. Strange things occur to Lil when she gets attacked by a deformed phantom inside her own home! Which causes her to chase and gather the mysteries of this deformed creature, to the world beyond the limits of the supposed utopia of Romdo, which is gradually breaking down with the destruction of balance.

The good stuff...
----------------------
Ergo Proxy is the futuristic sci-fi and the high-class creation of Ghost in the Shell with the feel of George Orwell's '1984' all gathered into one. The mood of the entire anime is grungy and dark, and sometimes ambiguous, which leads to the viewers being totally hooked to try and unravel and mysteries of the clues being found. There were times that I needed to rewatch parts of it, with the amount of information that gets thrown at you, and certain episodes it is totally random and thrown off the heavy storyline, for example, you are confronted with a befuddled Vincent sitting through a quiz show. It's good to have a little bit of light-hearted things included. For those that get confused through the story, do not worry, as the pieces fall together neatly like a pieces of puzzles.

With the use of classic 2D drawing, mixed with 3D and cell-shading animation, the character designs are ever so unique and beautiful (for those that have watched or will watch, don't you think Lil Mayar looks like Amy Lee from Evanescence?), plus the concept of the storyline has a modern-classic potential. The designing of the environment serves as an excellent background for the characters throughout the anime, for example, when Vincent and Lil shop for more supplies at a deserted dome, the world just seems absolutely tranquil. Which provides a good cover-up of what really is going on behind the deserted planet. The designs of the autoreiv is quite diverse as well; the servant androids are given a distinctively not-human look despite their humanoid appearance.
It's great that the personal and customized autoraves acquire more human features, as it is a bigger step that brings up the lack of interpersonal relationships in the future. This is perhaps a reference to Orwell's ideas that characterises life within the dome (which could be seen as the ultimate universe) being impersonal and controlled, only leading to the ultimate breakdown of a society in the end. A deep, dark and mysterious Lil Mayar that never smiles, a quiet, shy and helpless Vincent Law, and a smiley, cheerful yet naive AutoReiv Pino. There are so many collisions of different personalities. Very philosophical and deep.

Sound-wise, Ergo Proxy does not actually rely much on the soundtrack, only occasionally using it for suspense. Which adds to the overall dark mood very well; the anime doesn't actually start using its opening song until the 3rd episode.
The opening song is 'Kiri' by Monoral, which is very fitting to the lyrics and the added introit to the episode. And the exeunt is 'Paranoid Android' by Radiohead, which is rather unsuspecting from such a big band.

And the bad...
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There isn't much, so literally scraping the bottom of the barrel...
Ergo Proxy's form of fragmented story-telling can sometimes be a turn off to the occasional viewer, while others may enjoy piecing the puzzle together along with Lil Mayer as she tries to get to the bottom of the case regarding the Proxy.
It does have to be noted that the quality of the artwork does diminish as the story goes on...but only by a tad.
The audience of Ergo Proxy may be narrowed down as it can sometimes be very dark and deep, so it is not something in particular that you can sit back and mindlessly enjoy; a lot of brainpower is required!

Personal Thought...
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By far one of the best animes I have ever seen. A truly thought provoking anime. The soundtrack greatly compliments both the introit and exeunt. It's rare (or maybe I just haven't watched it) that there are animes out there that are so extremely deep and psychologically sucks you into the story. How many of you readers consider whether there will one day be a utopia, with robots aiding citizens? This is one good anime to visualise the world that may one day be true...with its own twists of course.

If you would like more information regarding this anime, visit their homepage: http://www.ergoproxydvd.com/ or even their myspace!

Ergo Proxy (TV anime) - 2006
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Genre: Science fiction, Cyberpunk, Horror, Thriller, Psychological, Drama, Mystery
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Directed by: Shukou Murase
Studio: Manglobe
Network: WOWOW
Original run: 25 February 2006 - 12 August 2006
No. of episodes: 23, each approximately 30 minutes

Amazon.co.uk: £19.99, new & used (marketplace) from £8.99 {per volume}
Ebay.co.uk: From £6.99 (complete set!)
Play.com: £14.99 delivered {per volume!}
High street retail Stores: HMV- £15.99 delivered {per volume}, Virgin -£14-£20 {per volume}

Happy watching! =) 

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