I have watched Anime that have left a gaping hole into my heart once I've reached the end - Avatar: The Legend Of Aang, Gungslinger Girl and Nabari No Ou all stand in that rank. Ergo Proxy has decidedly moved me, although I stopped thinking about it a lot sooner than I would've thought, for something so disturbing, excellent and philosophical.
So, yeah, it's Cyberpunk Anime, that futuristic, apocalyptic stuff. At the beginning, a lot of 'what the fuck'-s were running through my head. I watched episode 1-3 randomly one day, not returning to it for a week or so. By the time I got to watch episode 4, I couldn't stop watching until I got to episode 15 or 16. I crammed 17-23 into the next two days, and by the end, I couldn't believe it was over.
Plot
I suppose I shouldn't say it's original, after all, there's only about 10 plots in the world or something? But it was startlingly fresh. Not even the part about a dying earth wherein civilisation have to live within a dome to survive. The Ergo Proxy, just by itself, was an amazing concept to include. So much mystery surrounded the Proxies, and it gave you just a tiny shred of information every episode so that you were hungry for more. The full truth about these incredible creatures isn't fully revealed until the very end. Man, it's worth the wait.
When I did reach the end, I didn't feel cheated. Things actually made sense, and for that I rate E.P. . The Cogito virus touching pretty much every AutoReiv was chilling and excellent. Pretty sad that Raul died before he got to see Pino again, but I guess Kristeva getting the Cogito and joining the gang made up for that.
The people living outside the dome that Vincent meets when he's first out there - were so temperamental, it pissed me off. But their situation was so sad.
The various proxies were amazing to see. I loved that they all had their own function, but there was so few them. The whole story, as intriguing as it is, is really depressing. But lots of things I've been reading or watching lately have been depressing. I guess it can't be helped.
Anything else? Oh yeah!! Ummm can anybody explain to me about the Monad Proxy?! Anyone? Because why does she appear in the form of Re-L Number 2 wearing white with wings instead of.... well, looking like a proxy? I thought the proxy they showed in intensive care was Monad. Really confused about that. I'd better ask Mike at Uni class on Monday.
Characters
Re-L - You know, her matter-of-fact nature and way of dealing with situations is really on point. I dig that. But her curiosity that never ends, her stubbornness .. that made me really annoyed with her. I was kinda shocked at the amount of people that called her a bitch during the series (Well, only Cogito-infected Iggy and Vincent in the episode where he's in Re-L's head, but they say it a lot of times), although when you think about it, she really is. I wouldn't have thought it, only... the episode when she demands that Pino combs her hair, and then Vincent when Pino refuses. I saw her arrogant side then. She does care about actual meaningful stuff. But when she gets annoyed when Pino plays with her make-up, like hello? You're in an apocalyptic world travelling with a Proxy and an AutoReiv! Who gives a fuck about your hair and make-up?! Damn.
Vincent - SO, SO annoying during the first half when he's a citizen. SO ANNOYING! I can't stand him with his eyes closed! I loved him at the end, though, especially in his proxy form. He's so badass as Ergo Proxy. He doesn't know it though. And he really wasn't cool until he opened his eyes.
Iggy - What an annoying AutoReiv! Can't stand him, nuff said.
Pino - oh God, I love her SO MUCH! She is my favorite character, easily! AFter being affected with the Cogito virus, it's so endearing when she learns when she's feeling sad, when she draws, gets them out of sticky situations, understands what death means, misses her Dad, when she copies what people say, and says that she really like Vincent and Re-L. I love her little bunny costume. She's just so adorable.
Raul - I thought he was a great character overall, but towards the end, when she began to unravel, I didn't like him so much.
Daedalus - OH LORD! Where to even begin? He is such an excellent, excellent character. He's always got something up his sleeve, so sneaky, and you never even know it until his plans come to fruition! It's funny, I was talking to a friend about how incredible the character of Littlerfinger from Game Of Thrones is. That's who Daedalus reminds me of. Anyway. I love how he always looked out for Re-L, especially at the beginning. When he starts to unravel towards the end, as everybody does, it's fascinating and scary to watch. And when he creates(/makes/finds-?) another Re-L, who of course becomes Monad. The transgression of his character was just great.
Those are the only ones that really moved me. Oh, and guess who else pissed me off? Re-L's grandfather's AutoReiv's, the 4 stone statues named after philosophers. I wished they would just shut up, they never helped - only made every situation worse!
Design
The design of the Proxies is exquisite. ^_^ Just... honestly. Ergo Proxy was the most terrifying and therefore my favourite. The mask and hair did it all.
Please do not get me wrong by what I'm about to say. Ahem. Vincent has a piece of material wrapped around his waist and crotch like a loincloth, which, considering that he is wearing clothes, is the most ridiculous character costume design I have ever seen. That is all.
Pino, as I said, is the best thing ever in her bunny costume. But in the end episodes, she has on these green trousers which makes her legs look really fat o_O
The entourage AutoReiv's had a really weird design, I didn't like the look of Iggy and Kristeva very much. But for robots, y'know, they were fine.
Soundtrack
As a lot of people know, I love anime soundtracks, and I'll be looking for the E.P. one when I have time. But immediately, the opening track, Kiri by Monoral, and closing track, 'Paranoid Android' by Radiohead, are really great tracks. It's funny, all of the anime's I liked more or less straight off had opening themes I loved.
MOVING ON...
My list of Anime to watch is endlessly growing, mainly because I want to watch the shounen classics before I go to MCM Comic Con London, secondly because I'm reading this book called 'Anime: From Akira To Howl's Moving Castle' by Susan J Napier, and it's really good. Looking at anime in an academic way is a lot cooler than I thought it would be. Probably because, y'know, it IS still anime.
So yeah, my list is still growing. God knows what I'll be reviewing next.
Star.
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