Ergo Proxy Complete Collection [DVD]

In a futuristic world, the majority of humanity dwells inside the city-sized sphere known as Romdo. This utopian world is crime free, yet it also emotion free where robots called Autoreivs accompany and serve their assigned human masters. The story kicks off with a mysterious and powerful monster known as a proxy getting loose in Romdo and escaping into the treacherous outside world. The plot follows gothic detective Re-L, and the outlaw on the run Vincent Law as they go about uncovering the sinister truth behind the Proxys and the extent of their power.

What ensues is an intelligent and dark dystopian science fiction anime. As the story progresses, several philosophical issues are pondered such as the meaning of existence and the what it means to have a soul. These themes are central to the series and offer some truly intriguing and thought provoking viewing. However, the show has a tendency to come across as abstract and surreal by delving into the psycholigical issues of each of the characters. This results in some bizarre and confusing scenes and even entire episodes that seem to have no meaning except to send the viewer into a state of complete bewilderment. I admit that certain aspects of the show took me a while to get my head around. Furthermore many of the episodes have a dreamlike style to them which certainly adds an interesting if slightly mind boggling layer to the show; especially towards the end. So Ergo Proxy is definetly one to pay close attention to, otherwise you may end up confused.
The characters prove to be another the vital part to the show with each person concealing their own emotional problems. Throughout the course of the series we see some fascinating insight into the backstories of these cast members as well as some amazing characterisation.

One of my personal favourite things about is Ergo Proxy is the lovely attention to atmosphere in each episode. The musical score is well suited to the look and feel of the show and it even gave me goosebumps at times. The opening theme song ('Monoral' by rock band 'Kiri') definetly deserves a mention as it is simply an amazing rock song that has been constantly stuck in my head since watching it. And if there are any Radiohead fans reading this, then you may be pleasantly surprised that their song 'paranoid android' is used for the ending credits.

Like other MVM releases, this complete collection contains all the single release volumes in slim DVD cases inside an attractive hard cover box. The first disc of the set has some nice special features such as interviews with the creators of the english dub and a helpful video called keywords of Ergo Proxy which is worth watching before you start the show in order to get a basic understanding of some of the shows terminology. The remaining 5 volumes contain just traliers. Viewers looking for a lighthearted and happy anime should look elsewhere as Ergo Proxy is unrelentlessly dark and very often disturbing. But it is also intriguing and addictive. For those seeking a challenging and comprehensive anime series that just so happens to look gorgeous, then Ergo Proxy may be the one for you.

The first episode starts particularly strongly and does an excellent job of setting the scene in a gritty futuristic city where the priviledged class of "fellow citizens" dwell in a heavily consumer orientated environment served by their "entourages" (sub-servient androids or "autoreivs") and a lower class of immigrants seeking to better themselves and achieve promotion to the ranks of "fellow citizens".

The two main characters are Re-L Mayer, a citizen of particularly high standing as the grand-daughter of the ruling regent, and Vincent Law, a lowly immigrant. With a virus spreading self-awareness through the "autoreiv" population, both characters are involved in the efforts to stem the spread. This is further complicated by the existence of a mysterious demon-like creature which awakes in the bowels of the city and proceeds to wreak havoc.

The storyline becomes increasingly complicated as the series progresses (as is common in anime), but the presentation remain strong throughout. This is a very well animated series with an engaging storyline.

My main gripe with this series is the prescence of two filler episodes (one in the middle of the series, the other towards the end) which are almost entirely unrelated to anything else - one a sudden impromptu quiz show, the other involving cartoon characters in a theme park setting. Such sudden and unexpected departures seem to detract from the main storyline, offering little in return (though the quiz show at least provides a little of the background and setting to the world and includes the first mention of an additional character).

I also found Vincent Law to be a little frustrating as a character, his voice acting was also a bit too nasally for my liking.

Overall however character design is strong and the voice acting is generally of high quality. The series has also been well adapted into english with signs and hand-writing in the series being in english. Were it not for the two filler episodes I would have given this 5 stars.

There's much debate among anime experts as to what this series actually means. Several weeks after watching the complete collection I'm still turning it over in my mind. It boldly takes on philosophical themes such as 'consciousness', 'personal identity' and 'time' itself. Even has the cheek to name a few of its characters after modern philosophers - Husserl, Kristeva and Lacan. Some will find this dreadfully pretentious, but I can't help admiring the ambition of the creators for coming up with such a thought-provoking work, even if the convoluted plot does leave me feeling somewhat baffled. The visual design is well-judged: pleasingly muted colours which are much in keeping with the dream-like aspects of the narrative. Likewise, the mostly ambient soundtrack is another notable achievement. If you like a plot that slowly evolves and characters that keep asking themselves 'Who am I?', then Ergo Proxy will keep you intelligently entertained for hours.