Ergo Proxy: Complete Collection (Review)
Thursday, 24th December 2009, 16:42

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Introduction

I’m a sucker for dark dystopian, gritty future stories, which is why I followed Matthew Smart’s reviews of the individual Ergo Proxy volumes on this site so closely. There was a hint of green in my complexion as well; I wanted to review that series! But, as soon as I read his review for the first volume, it went straight on my want list. Of course, Ergo Proxy being such a cool looking series, it really is one of MVM’s star titles. It’s also as likely to receive a discount as a Beez title. I wound up waiting for the inevitable boxset, except when the Region 2 boxset was released, Funimation in the US announced a re-release of the original Geneon collection in a handy m-lock case. What’s more, it was under the customs limit to import, which was significantly cheaper than the UK boxset. As so often happens, my wallet overrode my brand loyalty, except now that I have started watching the US release, MVM have announced a re-release of their own, knocking £10 off the RRP of the UK set come January 2010. I’m always a perpetrator of bad timing.

The future shown in Ergo Proxy is bleak indeed. Romdo is the only place to live. It’s a domed city, a veritable utopia sealed off from the outside world, and with good reason. The outside world has been rendered completely uninhabitable through pollution and overexploitation. Still, the citizens of Romdo ought to have an ideal life; they are exhorted by their government to take life easy, because all their problems are taken care of by AutoReivs, androids who live and work side by side with humans, serving their every need. The problem is the Cogito virus, which is infecting AutoReivs, giving them intelligence and free will. It’s also not a crime-free utopia, with Detective Re-L Mayer of the Intelligence Bureau tasked with solving a brutal murder. That murder leads her to AutoReiv technician Vincent Law, and a mysterious figure known as a Proxy that is stalking the Romdo streets. With the Security Bureau working against her investigation, and with the government trying to stifle the truth, Re-L’s determination to find out about the Proxy, and what it has to do with Vincent Law, will lead them both to the unknown outside world.

This 23 episode series is presented as follows.

Disc 1. Awakening
1. Awakening (Pulse of Awakening)
2. Confession (Confession of a Fellow Citizen)
3. Mazecity (Leap Into the Void)
4. Futu-Risk (Signs of Future, Hades of Future)

Disc 2. RE-L124C41+
5. Tasogare (Recall)
6. Domecoming (Return Home)
7. RE-L124C41+ (RE-L124C41+)
8. Shining Sign (Light Beam)

Disc 3. Cytopropism
9. Angel’s Share (Shards of Brilliance)
10. Cytopropism (Existence)
11. Anamnesis (In the White Darkness)
12. Hideout (When You’re Smiling)

Disc 4: Wrong Way Home
13. Wrong Way Home (Conceptual Blindspot)
14. Ophelia (Someone Like You)
15. Who Wants To Be In Jeopardy (Nightmare Quiz Show)
16. Busy Doing Nothing (Dead Calm)

Disc 5: Terra Incognita
17. Terra Incognita (Never Ending Battle)
18. Life After God (Sign of the End)
19. Eternal Smile (The Girl With A Smile)
20. Goodbye Vincent (Sacred Eye of the Void)

Disc 6: Deus Ex Machina
21. Shampoo Planet (Place at the End of Time)
22. Bilbul (Bind)
23. Deus Ex Machina (Proxy)

Picture

Ergo Proxy Region 1’s 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer is NTSC of course, which means that while you don’t get the ghosting and softness of a standards conversion, you do have to put up with a lower resolution, a barely perceptible flicker (depending on the person), and if you are still watching a television set over 20 years old, possible incompatibility. It’s swings and roundabouts as usual.

That said, Ergo Proxy is perhaps the most striking, atmospheric anime I have yet seen. One of the hardest problems to overcome in the old days of cel acetate was animating nighttime and dark scenes; it was what made Akira such a groundbreaking movie. In the digital age that’s not so much of a problem, but truly dark anime are rare on the ground even still. Ergo Proxy is a seriously dark anime, not just in look, but in tone as well. The future dystopian vision is brilliantly realised, all shadowy and indistinct, overcast and chillingly effective. The world design is astounding, and it’s as unique a prognostication of the future as any sci-fi. What astounds me even more is the character design. These are characters that are unique, memorable, and brilliantly realised. Re-L Mayer with her striking blue eye shadow and gothic costume instantly tops my favourite animated female list, but the true tour-de-force has to be Vincent Law. Vincent is a complex character, when we meet him he’s just a meek bureaucrat, and then when the authorities of Romdo turn against him, he becomes a harried fugitive. As the series progresses, more and more layers are revealed, a man obsessed in love, a hidden steel inner strength, a rebel, a fighter and much more. That’s a lot of emotion and nuance to expect from a single character design, but the animators really excel here.

On top of that all, the animation from Manglobe is top notch, approaching theatrical quality in terms of energy, dynamism and depth of detail. It makes this world seem tremendously vital, when every gust of wind will cause clothing to flutter, hair to be ruffled. Ergo Proxy is a visually vibrant piece that exemplifies what anime is truly capable of.


Sound

The same is true for the audio. Ergo Proxy was an early show that got the HD and 5.1 treatment in Japan, and while HD isn’t forthcoming (and isn’t likely with Geneon in a holding pattern), we do get the full audio effect here, with DD 5.1 English and Japanese, as well as a DTS English track. Translated subtitles and signs are also provided. You can feel the full effect of the native surround sound from the off, with a fully utilised and vibrant soundstage, bringing the desolate future dystopian vision of Romdo and its environs to vivid life. The action envelops the viewer, and the incidental music is well suited to the show. You can’t have a more apt ending theme for this show than Paranoid Android by Radiohead, and their music captures the tone of the story very well. But I have to mention how stunning I found the opening track to be, Kiri by Monaral, a Japanese prog rock band that provide a stunning opening theme to go with some sublime visual imagery.

Yes, I did watch the original language version. I always do, but Ergo Proxy’s dub is stellar as well. There are some outstanding cast choices here, and the quality of the voice actor performances easily matches the original language track. There’s no reason not to watch the English dub other than personal preference. And you really ought to avail yourself of the DTS track for at least one watch through.

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