I realize this may come as a shock to anyone who’s been reading this blog, but I’m actually going to review a show that hasn’t been out for nearly a decade. Ergo Proxy is one of the best new anime I’ve seen in a long time and has the look of a show that could very well be remembered as one of the all-time greats. For that reason I will attempt to keep away from as many spoilers as possible. Any details given in this review are minor and shouldn’t hurt the experience from anyone yet to watch the series. And you won’t want anything spoiled, trust me, Ergo Proxy is that good.Set in the distant future, mankind has fled into domed cities to escape the wasteland created after a nuclear war. Ergo Proxy begins in the dome city of Romdo, where the “fellow citizens” believe they are the last outpost of civilization on the planet. Their blissful ignorance is being put to the test however by the Cogito virus, a computer malfunction that is sweeping through the robot population. Since the citizens rely on these robots, referred to as AutoReivs or Entourages, for almost everything this is a serious problem. Detective Re-l Mayer is tasked with investigating the strange events caused by Cogito-infected AutoReivs and she will eventually discover the rabbit hole goes much deeper then she had originally thought.Ergo Proxy appears to be a typical cyberpunk anime at first glance. It has the color palette that rarely strays from blacks and grays, everyone inexplicably wears leather and trench coats, and it’s set in a post-apocalyptic world controlled by an elaborate government. But it quickly differentiates itself from the pack by doing all the little things right. Far too often cyberpunk anime gets bogged down in complicated terminology or giant robots, Ergo Proxy knows exactly what it wants to do and cuts the excess. The show takes a few episodes to get going, and I’m not kidding the opening acts can be incredibly dull, but once it finds traction it grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.Ergo Proxy does an excellent job of creating a universe the viewer will want to understand and explore. Romdo is your typical domed dystopia but luckily we escape its confines fairly early on and see the world beyond, and that world is filled with interesting locales and memorable characters. Ergo Proxy is not a show that gets stuck in one spot for too long, if anything it cycles through settings and secondary characters so quickly you wonder if it might not have benefited from lingering there a little longer. But it’s difficult to hold that against it because while many lesser shows would get mired in fleshing out petty details this anime actually has places to go.The quickest way to draw a viewer into an unfamiliar and foreboding world like this is to show it to them through the experiences of an interesting cast. Ergo Proxy only has three characters that could be considered “core” protagonists but they are more then enough. Each of them has a unique perspective on the world, interesting motivations, and they interact with each other in a realistic manner that keeps you guessing. Unlike many shows where the cast is predictable Ergo Proxy’s main group actually evolves over time in a way that makes you eager to see what will happen next. Focusing on just three characters with what amounts to a revolving door for a supporting cast was a daring decision, but it pays off because of how it’s all handled. You never get a sense of overexposure when it comes to these three because there’s rarely a dull moment that allows for that sort of reflection.The production values are top-notch as well. Monglobe, the same studio that brought us Samurai Champloo, produced Ergo Proxy and they didn’t cut any corners. While it rarely uses any color the animation is fantastic throughout. A limited amount of CG is used but thankfully it doesn’t detract from the visual experience. The soundtrack is nothing memorable but this isn’t a show that relies on a grand score to get points across, instead opting for silence or specific sound effects to set the tone. The opening and closing themes are fantastic and fit the show perfectly and they deserve a special mention. Like most anime produced in the last few years Ergo Proxy’s dub is handled very well. The character’s personalities really shine through in the actors performances, which is crucial because a show that’s this centered on a small cast can’t afford to have any of them seem wooden.With all the praise I’ve heaped on Ergo Proxy you’d think it was without fault, but unfortunately this is not the case. While the show does many things well it has a few flaws in the form of questionable decisions. There is a stretch of three out of five episodes in the latter half of the series that are serious head scratchers. To call them odd would be kind. They completely stray from the series' tone and make you wonder if their was some sort of a minimum episode requirement that had to be met. With such an interesting world to be explored you have to question how the writing staff came to the conclusion that it was better to have three oddball excursions then a few more episodes that would have benefited the whole.But with all that being said those negative points can’t change the fact that Ergo Proxy is one of the best sci-fi anime in years and my personal choice for best new anime of 2007. I’m honestly amazed it hasn’t gotten more buzz within the community then it has, but I have no doubt the positive word of mouth will pick up and help it find an audience for years to come.Final Score: 8.8Storyline: ExcellentAnimation: ExcellentSoundtrack: PassableDub: GoodAlso Try: Wolf's Rain, Serial Experiments Lain
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