Aug 2, 2020
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Well, this sure was the rarest piece of media I've consumed. Which is great because I can be the first one to review it!
Before anything, I suggest you to finish the Ergo Proxy anime before reading, as this is a side story that takes place between episodes 3 and 4 while Vincent is mostly bedridden after leaving Romdeau. While that is pretty early on, it has nods to events that will fly over your head until you receive the proper backstory for said events.
That being said, can you still have fun reading a short, obscure story piece of an already short, obscure
...
anime? While I am very biased with EP being one of my favorite animes of all time, I think it's possible to find out
Story: While yes, Pino,Vincent, Quinn and Hoody all make cameos in the story, the plot is centered around Dorothy and Leon and their goal to watch the stars in the could obscured sky of their planet and the misadventures that come along their way. Although it mirrors Vincent's journey to look for his true identity in the anime, it doesnt feel like a retread in the slightest, as the story builds on new characters and further explores the themes in the story such as the morality of robotics and the spread of the cogito right before the Pulse Of Awakening. Additionally, it also gives backstory on who owned the "Rabbit" Vehicle found outside of Mosk, seen as Dorothy of Garland (Not to be confused with the Autoreiv owned by Vincent in Romdeau who's also named Dorothy) makes sure to write the story being read in the final chapter. A nice addition to the worldbuilding that meets the untapped potential of the original story. In a way it feels more like Cowboy Bebop than Ergo Proxy, seen as how every chapter focus on episodic plotlines with elements involving trauma, memory loss and intentity theft, moreso than focusing on a grand mystery with several babysteps towards a grand finale.
Art: Arguably the weakest part of the experience, the art is not bad per se,there is nothing wow-worthy of any interesting use of paneling throughout the story aside from a few good compositions on the final chapter. Also since the characters tend to have similar clothing seeing as they all wear eskimo inspired attire, there were a few times where I mixed up major characters with background ones, which should tell you how uninspired their designs are...
Characters:This is where Centzon Hitchers really shines. Dorothy, similarly to Pino, has a happy,go lucky attitude that contrasts marvelously to EP's gritty, nihilistic setting, her infection with the cogito virus makes her forgetful of her true role as a robot, only having the title of The Wandering Nurse to acompany her, helping both humans and Autoreivs heal to their best condition, or care for them during their last moments. She has a cute relationship with the ship's owner Leon, a loner astronomist who's trying to get over the death of his comrades while accompanied by another woman named Heart, who joins then later during out of story to overcome her prejudice of Autoreivs. My only complaint with them is that, just like the cast in the anime, we dont getmany interactions with them nearly as much as we could have, their interactions are very interesting to see but their relationship is cut short by the 10 chapter-long runtime, which is a shame since it could have gone for a lot longer.
Overall: As short as it was, I enjoyed my time with the manga, and I'd reccommend it to anyone who's a fan of the anime, good luck finding a copy/scanlation of it though cause the accessibility of it is it's greatest problem
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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