Anime Review: Ergo Proxy

Sometimes, while watching anime, you come across something truly special in the dark depths of mediocrity and clichés. After watching Future Diary, a show that was horrendous in nearly every aspect, I needed something that was genuinely good so that my faith in anime could be restored. So, I watched Problem Children, which was okay, but didn’t really do what I was hoping for. Then I decided to watch something that was held in very high regard in the community, even if a scant amount of people has actually seen it. This anime is Ergo Proxy, a science fiction dystopia anime that caught my interest after watching multiple reviews and other videos about it. Does it deserve its title as one of the best, or did it fall flat on its face? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review the highly acclaimed Ergo Proxy.

The Setup:

The problem with talking about any specific details of this anime is that I believe it is best to go into Ergo Proxy not knowing that much about it. The most I knew going into it was what ShadowACS had described in his video, and having seen the show, I actually think it was too much information. The show’s cryptic but not obnoxiously enigmatic nature calls for you to watch it with basically a blank slate, so you can come up with your own conclusions right from the beginning. The general setting of Ergo Proxy (may as well talk about the settings, since I can’t talk about the story) is in a dome called Romdo, which is one out of many that houses humanity after the apocalypse destroyed the Earth. From there, there’s mystery, suspense, action, psychology, wonder, and tragedy ahead. 

The setup section was left rather vague...

The Characters:

As I’ve stated before, characters are the most essential part of any story for me. Without good characters that are interesting and relatable, then I won’t care about any of the events that transpire because I don’t care about the people going through those events. With such a complicated plot, this was a section that Ergo Proxy had to nail, and fortunately, they did. Ergo Proxy’s cast is very well developed, and it uses the ever so loved tactic of not having a true main character; instead, there are three, and each of these main characters has a substantive amount of screen time. First, let’s start off with Re-L, who’s probably the most popular character of the show and for very good reason. Her personality is saturnine and rather selfish in the beginning, but she’s also rather curious, incredibly intelligent, and won’t take any nonsense from anyone. She initially thinks that she has no true purpose, hence her surly disposition, but once she becomes invested into something (not going to spoil what it is), she will stop at nothing to solve the mystery, which ties into one of the many themes of the show that I’ll touch on later. Anyway, I enjoyed every second that she was on screen, and she’s now one of my favorite female characters of all time. Next, there’s Vincent, an immigrant into Romdo. Vincent’s personality is shy and timid, and his only real desire is to be accepted by society. Then…oh, how I wish I could talk about him without spoiling anything…unfortunately, I can’t go into much detail. I will say that the mystery surrounding him is executed beautifully, and he turns out to be a very sympathetic character in the end. The final main character is Pino, an Autorave infected with the Cogito virus. She tags along with Vincent on his journey. What I especially like about her character is how she’s portrayed, and the moral ambiguity surrounding her character (and other Autoraves with the virus for that matter). She’s shown as a character that’s stuck in the halfway point, as her emotions and independence are still developing. Pino’s a very interesting character, to say the least. As for the side characters, they’re also really good. There’s Daedalus, a brilliant scientist with a strange obsession over Re-L; Raul, the leader of the Investigation Division who slowly atrophies into madness; Iggy, Re-L’s autorave; and there are others that will be left unmentioned due to spoilers. This cast, while relatively small for a 23-episode series, is very well developed and each character plays some role in the story. No one is just there for fanservice or because the creators wanted an extra character for no reason, which is something that I can respect. I’d rather have a small cast of complex characters that all feel defined than a huge cast of simple characters that feel pointless (cough Future Diary cough cough).

From left to right: Pino, Daedalus, Re-L, Vincent

The Story:

Ergo Proxy’s plot can be described as complicated, but not so complicated that you can’t follow what’s happening. Sure, a lot of it is left up to interpretation, especially in the second half, but the abject story is actually rather simple; it just follows our three main characters as they try to go back to Romdo. It’s the details behind the story and the world the characters live in that can get pretty confusing at times, which is why the show can be interpreted in multiple ways. There are episodes that almost feel like you’re being trolled, but later on you learn that they did have a purpose in the end, no matter how tiny. This is what Ergo Proxy excels at: the fine inner workings of the story and characters. The show focuses on small details that most shows wouldn’t even pick up on, showing how even the smallest action or decision can affect the story in a huge way. If you, as an audience member, don’t pay attention to the transpiring events, then you’re going to be completely lost. The anime doesn’t treat you like you’re five years old, but more like you’re an intellectual, with a naturally serious tone and some darker moments that will make you cringe. To put it bluntly, this story is nothing short of a masterpiece, despite its confusing nature. In order to truly enjoy it, you must ditch your myopic views and watch it prepared to think long and hard about the show. Though, keep in mind that the pacing can be slow at times.

The story is one of the best anime has to offer, despite being slow sometimes

The Themes:

Yes, this will be a new section now, at least when the media in question calls for it. Anyway, back to Ergo Proxy. The show’s themes are very well integrated into the story and deserve to be spoken about in detail, but for the sake of keeping this spoiler-free I’m going to be as vague as possible. I may be making a spoiler filled video about this in the future, so keep that in mind. So, Ergo Proxy talks about what really makes us human, the distortion of humanity, giving up and running away from problems, pushing problems to those who don’t deserve it just to escape responsibility, and the importance of community. The characters all have some degree of unlikability (except for Pino) that ties into a theme, like Re-L’s selfishness, Raul’s pride, Daedalus’ arrogance, and Vincent’s weakness. While some of these characters do grow out of these attributes, others are consumed by his or her trait, leading to tragedy or insanity. Pino, on the other hand, is the childlike innocence that keeps nearly every character moral, which brings up the question: can a robot, especially one infected with the cogito virus, really be treated on the same level as humans? Will robots eventually grow personalities, and how will they react to these newfound emotions? Of course, Ergo Proxy shows the other side of the argument, displaying an Autorave who becomes infected and his emotions become very skewed. However, I think the show answers this question by displaying that, like humans, the reactions and manipulations of the emotions are different for every Autorave, instead of sticking to the usual “Yes, it’s the right thing to do!” mentality, which I highly praise. The next theme that Ergo Proxy discusses is responsibility, and how everyone has their raison d’être (in French, that means “reason to be”). However, the show emphasizes how abandoning responsibility and therefore leaving your raison d’être derelict, you’re nothing but a hollow shell. This is shown in the beginning with Re-L, who had no raison d’être until she began trying to solve the mystery, which leads to her personality and overall outlook on life to change drastically. Vincent, however, is a victim of being handed the wrong responsibility, which results in unjust despair on his part. I think that the show’s true message is to accept responsibility and to never give that weight to someone who doesn’t want it, because everything goes awry when you give it to the wrong person. Granted, this is one of the many interpretations of the ending that you could find, but this is my review and what I thought of the ending. You can come up with your own conclusions once you watch it.

The anime discusses many different themes

The Animation and Sound:

I don’t have many complaints about this section. Manglobe, you need to make more anime. The animation falls into the category of, “Oh my god, this was made in 2006?” The color pallet consists of dark greys, blacks, browns, distorted whites, and every other color is muted significantly. The only color that ever stands out would be Re-L’s bright blue eyeliner, which looks awesome. The character designs are all unique and memorable, looking far more realistic than your average anime, but still fitting the tone and colors rather nicely. The backgrounds look gorgeous in their own way, displaying a post-apocalyptic world that is easy on the eyes but still feels gloomy and foreboding. The actual animation isn’t always perfect, but the moments that look good are phenomenal, and the action scenes are a sight to behold (don’t watch Ergo Proxy just for the action, though; you’ll be disappointed). The music is very fitting, featuring dark choirs, guitar, and some electronic instruments that give the show a science-fiction feel while still sounding ominous. The best piece of music within this anime is by far the one and only opening, though. It’s the textbook definition of a fantastic opening, and I wish that I’d put it higher on my Top 25 Anime list. The animation of the opening is also really interesting to look at, and if you pay attention it actually spoils the biggest plot twist of the show. Now, should you watch this in Japanese or English? Honestly, you should go for your own personal preference, but for me, the English dub was great. It was the first good dub that I’ve heard since Durarara!! (which I watched back in June), and Ergo Proxy’s helped me regain faith in English dubbing (since Future Diary’s was so terrible). 

Opening: