Ergo Proxy

Ah, Ergo Proxy, how I both loved and despised you.  That’s not an inaccurate statement.  There were episodes where I completed loved this series, and then there were the episodes that felt a bit too much like style over substance, cryptic for the sake of being cryptic, etc.  As I look at it as an overall series, I really did enjoy it, frustrating as it may have been, but I can’t help but think it could have been so much more if it had only added a few more clues; I’m not asking to be spoon fed–that would ruin the series–but just a few more clues to make everything add up.  Then again, perhaps the clues were there and I simply overlooked them the firs time around.

So, what does the series have going for it?  Style, style and more style.  The dark art was rather captivating, although there were plenty of inconsistent moments, particularly if viewing a character from a distance.  There were stand out episodes that really helped you to understand the mindset of characters involved.  Certain story arcs, particularly the trip to Mosk and the time spent with the commune just outside of Romdo were particularly enjoyable.  Fairly strong performances by the seiyuu throughout as well, I particularly liked Re-L’s voice.

Then what was wrong with it?  A few too many trippy episodes that didn’t make a lick of sense–even after finishing the series.  It seems these episodes had a purpose, but sitting through them was quite unpleasant at the time, and you don’t even know that you’re supposed to pull anything from their cryptic mess until the very last episode–if then even.  I didn’t know what the heck was going on until I read a fairly well written post on episode 23, and even then I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how the writer had figured things out.  At least with a show like Lain you can feel there wasn’t really anything there, just an overall mind trip, but with Ergo Proxy you could sense everything was just passing you by and you had no way to figure out what it was (unless subsequent rewatches solves this dilemma.)

So, what do I think overall?  Well, there are some very painful moments, and the art isn’t always up to par, but it really was a great story once you figured out (or at least sort of figured out) what was actually going on.  I still am not certain I understand Proxy One and Ergo Proxy’s relationship, but for now, I’m going to ignore that fact.  I tend to liken this series to Lain, but with a few more episodes which are actually understandable, so if you liked Lain, you’ll probably like this and vice versa.   All that being said, I would recommend this to anyone who was looking for something different in an anime.  Someone that wanted to get away from the comedy, harem, romance, shoot-em-up, mahou shoujo fare that predominates the U.S. market.  If you want to try something different, try Ergo Proxy.  Just make sure you come in with an open mind and a lot of patience.  Critical thinking skills would be useful as well.