Ergo Proxy - Complete Seriesby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 7 In this dark, futurist world, civilized humans overcome emotions and have an AutoReiv (robot) as a companion / assistant. Re-l is a human in the Department of Intelligence. Vincent is an immigrant trying to become a citizen, when he and Re-l (among others) realize he's much more – a Proxy. Pino is an AutoReiv that has gained a soul due to the Cogito virus. The three of them find themselves on a convoluted quest for the truth, and as the mystery unravels, so does society.I saw a few episodes of this back when Geneon had this title. I was correct about two things in that review. First, the dub is great. The sub is also well done, but the dub has some great voice actors and flow that was just really easy to watch. Second, the game show episode is totally random. Pino's dream episode is also random, but at least we're shown how that ties to the bigger picture. The game show is never tied in at all, and there's no explanation as to how they got there or how they left; our trio of travelers never talk of it afterward, either. The story is complimented by the visuals and designs: it's all dark. It's a warranted view of the future. Re-L is my favorite design, as she's fairly "goth" and makes herself stand out from everyone else with her shocking blue eye shadow. It's strange to see her without it, and amusing to see Pino bond with her over it (especially when Pino does Vincent's make-up). The end of the story gets very philosophical and religious, and, for the most part, I enjoy how they handle it. The complete series is on four discs, and disc four is by far the most disjointed and confusing. For a couple episodes I had no idea what was going on or what was real. This is partially due to the mental battles going on. The philosophy itself isn't that complicated, but the angel-like Monad / Real is a bit random, especially since the three-part nature of Vincent / Ergo Proxy is still being worked out. The old love interest is never fully explained and combines with a current love interest for Monad / Real and Re-l. As I said: confusing. Thankfully, the last couple episodes wrap things up in an understandable way, with some things ending and others continuing on. The story progresses a tad slowly but never becomes uninteresting. I could do without the randomness towards the end, but it all works out so that I didn't miss anything or misunderstand. Overall, it's a series I recommend, especially if you like darker stories. There are some pretty cool fight scenes, mainly with the monstrous Proxy, but some firefights with humans and robots. Not much re-watch potential, but definitely worth a watch. Written: November 3, 2012
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