Ergo Proxy
Ergo Proxy
TV-MA | 25 February 2006 (USA)

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SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
    Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
    Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
    Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
    Tweekums Set in the distant future this series is centred on Re-L Meyer; a member of the 'Citizen Intelligence Bureau' who is investigating a series of brutal murders. It is believed that they are being carried out by robots, known as 'auto-reivs', that have been infected by the Cognito virus which gives them self-awareness. While investigating she comes across a powerful creature that she learns is called a 'Proxy'; determined to discover what it is she follows immigrant Vincent Law as he leaves the domed city of Romdo. He has lost his memories but believes he can find out about his past if he goes to his old home; another domed city so he heads there along with Re-L and an infected auto-riev called Pino.If you are looking for a fast paced action packed series then this is not it; the pace is slow but this serves to allow the viewer to soak up the atmosphere and get immersed into the story. The animation looks stunning; giving a sense of beauty even to the desolation we frequently see. It also blends 3D elements with the 2D almost seamlessly so it didn't jar at all. As the series progresses we gradually learn more about the world we are watching; from the different nature of humanity to the mysterious Proxies. The three main characters are interesting; Re-L has a fragility that we don't usually see in a female protagonist; Vincent is mysterious and conflicted and somewhat surprisingly young auto-riev Pino feels the most human of all the characters. While these three are the main characters the secondary characters are also well fleshed out. Overall I'd say if you like your anime dark and dystopian you should love this.These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
    Rabh17 Normally, I don't like much Anime because most of it is either kiddie soap opera, or worse, soft Kiddie porn, or even more worse-- Nasty Kiddie Porn. Ergo Proxy first off-- Has Absolutely NONE of the usual penchant for Kiddie porn, graphic violence and even worse-- graphic sexual violence that usually permeates Japanese Anime. So for those of you for whom this matters-- there it is. This series is CLEAN.What Ergo Proxy does give you is a complex layered story filled with terms and concepts that, by design, hearken to philosophical, intellectual, and literary tenets for which I can only describe the creators as being perfectly ARTISTIC Ivory Tower Snobs.The saving grace from the snobbery is the fact that the creators were totally skilled in the ability to layer the story in such a way that the unfolding of the story reveals the connections. And these connections go beyond the up-front mysteries of: WHAT happened to the Earth and What ARE Proxies?Re-L and Vincent Law -- (Note the allusions already?) -- are traveling from RomDo to another failed city to find answers to what Vincent is. And along the way, they will meet other creatures, proxies, strange entities and wild 'entourages' (Note another allusion) And for those of you who are scratching your heads over the weird little girl android: The fact that she's feckless, fey and plays an electronic pipe should ring a BELL. If you can make that connection-- You.Are.SMART. Give yourself a Star: You ARE an Intellectual. The beauty of this series is you go from episode to episode to hear another piece of the puzzle explained. And as each puzzle piece is revealed the growing picture becomes stranger and stranger. In short-- this is not your average Post-Apocalyptic adventure. It's a weird, wonderful exploration of a strange new world.Note I call this an adult anime not because of x-rated content: there is NONE. I call it adult because this is Animation for THINKING Adults. And even better-- this Series works seamlessly in English. So watch it and enjoy.Oh-- and this Anime series IS a Deadly Girlfriend Test. Use it with care, guys!
    dee.reid So here we go again with another piece of Japanese animation (Anime') that serves a purpose as a total mind-f**k experience. I just got done watching the Japanese Anime' series "Ergo Proxy" yesterday and I'm up right now, at 7:00 A.M. writing about it, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around some things.First of all, it goes without saying that this is a very intelligent Anime', produced by the studio Manglobe, and skillfully written by Dai Sato and a team of other writers, and directed by Shukuo Murase. When watching "Ergo Proxy," it helps for the viewer to abandon all known concepts of reality and straightforward storytelling to focus on a confusing (but intelligent, wow-oh-wow) storyline. (Can't think of many Anime' pieces that don't have some sort of absolute gosh-wow factor.)With accompanying beginning and ending theme songs by Monoral ("Kiri") and Radiohead ("Paranoid Android"), respectively, and an out-there creepy sci-fi soundtrack by Yoshihiro Ike, "Ergo Proxy" is set some time in the distant future, when planet Earth has become so uninhabitable because of a worldwide ecological disaster that human beings are forced to live in massive domed cities. One of these domed cities is Romdo, where inspector Re-L Mayer is investigating murders committed by auto-reivs (robots built by humans to help with everyday tasks) infected by an out-of-control virus called the "Cogito Virus," which causes machines to become self-aware. Since machines aware of their own existence are seen as a threat capable of upsetting Romdo's delicate social balance and order, disposal units are given the tasks of destroying any and all infected auto-reivs.In the course of her investigation, Re-L is attacked by a hideous, deformed humanoid monster in her apartment, after the creature had scrawled a cryptic message on her mirror. In searching for answers, she learns that the creature, called a "proxy," may have escaped from a government facility where it was being experimented on because it is believed that this being holds the key to the survival of mankind. Re-L later finds herself (along with her Entourage auto-reiv Iggy), by events too complicated to reveal here, linked to the mysterious Vincent Law and the Cogito-infected Companion auto-reiv Pino, and on a journey outside the city's walls into the wastelands of planet Earth.Just to get pretenses out of the way, "Ergo Proxy" is a visually astounding Anime', mixing two-dimensional cell animation with computer-generated imagery and special effects. The plot-line is even more astounding, with a number of deep philosophical undertones meant to question the role memory plays in developing individual identity. There are plenty of moments when you sit back and say, "What the f**k?" - just as characters often find themselves questioning who they are in long, drawn-out soliloquies (like those in any play you can think of written by Shakespeare).I've been watching the "Ergo Proxy" series for almost a year now and I still find it to be uniquely entertaining stuff. The series at first appears to be another typical Anime' with humans and androids living together and an inevitable conflict arising from their tensions of coexistence, but then a curve ball (more like, curve balls) comes at you fast from left field, catapulting you somewhere you didn't expect to be. Tensions can rise between the viewer and the confusing storytelling narrative, with a number of episodes that seem sporadic and out-of-place (such as the characters appearing as contestants on a life-or-death game show, or Vincent Law experiencing a bunch of random flashbacks in one of the most confusing episodes of the series). But upon closer inspection (more like, deep meditation) of those "questionable" episodes, I've found that they serve a purpose just as the main storyline does, perhaps, sometimes, even more a greater purpose than the general episodes.All of this adds up to a "What the f**k" mind-blowing experience and what some may call a rather cheap and confusing ending. But what "Ergo Proxy" has going for it is a deep and intelligent narrative, properly fleshed out because of Dai Sato and his legion of skilled and thoughtful screenwriters.10/10
    Ecrivon This series is wonderful. Though I cannot explain the storyline, for it is very intricate and I do not completely understand it myself, I can recommend it. If my word is not enough, consider that it is done by the same team which did "Cowboy Bebop", "Wolf's Rain", and "Samurai Champloo" - all wonderful shows. The characters are quite developed and it contains a rich plot. I do warn that if you are not a fan of having to think about something you watch, this is not the show for you; it can be very confusing at times and requires a deal of brain power to understand. If you do not take the time to attempt to understand it, by the first few episodes you will be lost, just a few more before you'll want to give up on the series. But, if you are one who enjoys thought-provoking works, I'm sure you would enjoy this.
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