Ergo Proxy - Reviews

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SEGHE's avatar
Sep 17, 2023

"Ergo Proxy" - A Philosophical Sci-Fi Journey

Story (7/10): "Ergo Proxy" takes you on a mind-bending journey through a post-apocalyptic world where humanity faces existential questions. The story follows Re-l Mayer, a young investigator, and Vincent Law, a mysterious immigrant, as they unravel the mysteries behind the enigmatic Proxies and the crumbling dystopia. The narrative is complex and philosophical, delving into themes of identity, consciousness, and the consequences of unchecked technological advancement. While the plot can become convoluted at times, it offers a thought-provoking experience for those who enjoy philosophical sci-fi.

Animation (7/10): The animation in "Ergo Proxy" is distinctive and atmospheric, with a dark and gritty aesthetic that suits the dystopian setting. The character designs are unique, and the series excels in creating a sense of foreboding and isolation. However, the visual style might not be to everyone's taste, and some action scenes could have been more polished.

Sound (8/10): The soundtrack in "Ergo Proxy" enhances the series' brooding atmosphere. It features a mix of haunting melodies and electronic beats that effectively set the tone for the narrative. Voice acting performances are solid, helping convey the emotional complexities of the characters.

Characters (6/10): The characters in "Ergo Proxy" are as enigmatic as the world they inhabit. Re-l Mayer, Vincent Law, and other key figures are well-developed and undergo significant growth throughout the series. However, the deliberate ambiguity surrounding their motivations and backgrounds can be frustrating, and viewers seeking more straightforward character development might find themselves wanting.

Overall (6/10): "Ergo Proxy" is an anime that stands out for its philosophical exploration within the sci-fi genre. While its complex narrative and unique visual style can be divisive, it offers a rewarding experience for those who appreciate thought-provoking storytelling. However, the deliberately opaque character development and occasional convoluted storytelling may deter some viewers.

As for a comparison to the manga or novel, "Ergo Proxy" is primarily an anime series with no source manga or novel. It's an original creation, so there are no direct adaptations to explore beyond the anime itself.

7/10 story
7/10 animation
8/10 sound
6/10 characters
6/10 overall
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hexkads's avatar
Jul 9, 2023

*spoiler free*

Ergo Proxy is a love at first sight and im still in love with it.

The story might confuse you, thus it is important to pay attention, because it will all make sense the further you watch.

Be prepared for philosophy, ideology, psychology and beautiful scenes.

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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tele92's avatar
Feb 25, 2022

I completely forgot about this but I'm annoyed about it now as I was back then. I've not watched Promised Neverland, but the way people talk about it skipping something like 60 of the most important chapters in the source material and hoping nobody would notice? Yeah, that's Ergo Proxy.

I think it was episode 18 or 19, it's been 5+ years, so I could be wrong, but up until then, the anime was fine... Then it skips I don't know how much of the actual source material and there's like 2-3 episodes left and you have no idea what's going on. What the hell happened?

To the people reviewing this anime so highly, 9's and 10's, I'm genuinely confused. Did we watch the same show? It's like I fell asleep half way through Fellowship of the Ring and woke up to the last scene of Return of the King. It's jarring.

This anime would likely have been a 6+, the action was great and the atmosphere of the world was exciting, but man, that story, wow, completely butchered. Such a shame.

?/10 story
?/10 animation
?/10 sound
?/10 characters
1/10 overall
skrotkanon's avatar
Feb 16, 2012

Ambivalence is what I'd use if I had to describe Ergo Proxy in just one word. It has a few great episodes, a lot of mediocre ones and a couple truly awful pieces.

But first I'm going to talk about characterisation because it's highly relevant to this show. To be like a character he/she must first of all feel like a person obviously. He must have motives to what he does, he needs his unique way of talking and he must have his own values. The best way to show how a character works is to put him in a mundane situation. When we know how a person behaves during his daily routine it gets intereesting to see what happens when he steps out of it. In other words we have a point of reference to compare with.

This is partly what makes the initial episodes of Ergo Proxy so great.

Re-l Mayer isn't the most interesting character to grace the screen but I can sympathise with her since I'm shown what she works with, where she lives and how she handles her asshole of a boss. (Also I'm a fan of cyberpunk and bleak sci-fi which is what made me watch it in the first place.)

Anyway, we're greeted to this mysterious city called Romdeau and some vague talk about the outside world not faring very well. Re-l stumbles upon a mystery bearing the words Ergo Proxy which soon turns out to be a near immortal monster that for some reason has taken interest in her. Apparently the studio only had a concept for a sci-fi detective thriller at first before the director fucked it up. Because this is glorious. Mystery everywhere with only bits and pieces of information slowly given to the viewer. It's probably the best detective show I've seen in anime ever.

Then they get cast out into the barren, empty world and decide that they're gonna find this city on the other side of the endless ashen desert. After they get there they go home again and then the shows over. Yes, there is more story during the first few episodes than the rest of the show. What starts out as a mystery drama soon turns into your typical shonen filled with existensial angst and demons slinging fireballs. What the hell? There's even a episode where they're stuck in a library and a dude talks for twenty minutes straight about absolutely nothing of value.

Because now we get to the heart of the problem. Ergo Proxy loves it pseudo-intellectuality and napkin philosophy. The characters prance on about the meaning of life, destiny, morale and whatever issue the creators could think of and each topic is given roughly fifteen minutes. It does not work. Books have been written about all these topics which means the show isn't adding anything to the debate and it's not enough time to even make a statement. So all we get is endless babbling. But in all honesty I'm not sure what's worse, the babbling or the horrid fights. (You can't have fireballs and philosophy in the same show and be expected to be taken seriously.)

But in the middle of all this bullshit where I almost stopped watching I'm greeted to this amazing episode where fuck all happens. The wind has stopped blowing so they're stranded in the middle of nowhere. And suddenly the show is all about the characters again. For twenty minutes we get to see what their daily routine is like and how they get when they're really bored. We get little glimpses of their actual personalitys instead of their dramatic personas. I don't remember a single minute of this episode, I just know it's my favourite.

Animation:

The show looks and feels immensely bleak, everything is just screwed beyond recognition. Animation is fluid and character designs pretty good. What more is there to say? Good work guys!

Sound:

Same deal here. The music present works and the voiceacting is all fine. No bad casting or grating voices. It's competent but never exceptional.

Characters:

It sort of falls apart here. I vaguely remember Re-l and I know there was this guy called Vincent, some robot called Pino and a doctor. Also a bunch of talking faces who were pretty hilarious. It gets A for effort because at times it really did seem to try and make us like the characters. But too much time was spent hunting and defeating proxys or talking about gods grand plan.

Overall:

As I said initially, my feelings about this show are hugely conflicting. On one hand I hate the endless blather, the fireball slinging and the monster of the week episode structure. On the other hand I love the slower episodes and especially the first few ones where the viewer is as much in the dark as the characters. So ultimately I like it but I really wished they would have prioritised differently and continued with the detective mystery instead of turning into such a clusterfuck.

5/10 story
8/10 animation
7/10 sound
5/10 characters
6/10 overall
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JukeBoxZero's avatar
Jul 29, 2011

Ergo Proxy is one of those shows you can just watch in between the series you are waiting to really get to. It's not great but it isn't terrible, it's a watch and forget in my opinion..which with my memory is most animes anyway.

The story is your typical post apocalyptic, people living in domes, servant robots, cool monsters, sexy female lead. (Well I really liked the main character 'Lil' but thats just me liking female leads.) Overall the story is pretty good, it can get confusing and slow at times (mainly in the beginning and the end) but you find yourself once again watchin episode after episode.

I for one am not too big on flashy animation or sound quality, so I didn't raise or lower the overall score based on these two facts, the show looked good and sounded good.

As I said before I loved the main character 'Lil' and the supporting cast was pretty good, with the quirky male lead and the young girl robot.

This anime overall was pretty good but it did get slow at times and some episodes you may go ''whats going on here, or did I skip an episode'' but in reality they start like that. 8/10

8.5/10 story
8/10 animation
8/10 sound
8/10 characters
8/10 overall
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