Sep 28, 2016
Ergo Proxy is not pretentious. However, it is messed up and does a poor job of keeping consistency by appealing to an exaggerated interpretation of post-modernism in literature theory. To me it's the Schrödinger's cat of anime, as I'll later explain.
Story:
The plot starts develops slowly in the first three episodes, giving a general feel of the society's structure and the city's (Romdeau) organization, which reflect quite well with each other. By the end of the third episode, however, the main question of the whole first arch is answered, thus turning the next 9 episodes in an almost filler story that does nothing but repeat the
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whole point made clear on the first three about the society's organization. Thereafter, it takes a fast pace and starts the main character's quest to grasp the idea of personality. This culminates in three genuinely brilliant episodes. In episode 15 the characters are trapped inside a high-stakes gameshow out of nowhere in a brilliant recap/exposition scene, in episode 16 they find themselves unable to keep the journey going and simply get bored, this is the only episode where the characters are likable and reminded me of some of the best moments in Cowboy Bebop; episode 20 delves into a deep reflection on the self as seen by others using a very creative narrative method as the events narrated by one of the characters through the eyes of the other. After that the narrative gets dead boring and by the end of the anime it's all such a mix of references and theories that almost anything could be taken from it. This mix is the weakest link in the story. References range from Pinocchio to Icarus and Nietzsche and although they're more or less tied to the overall theme of personality, at times they are many logic steps away from each other and seem just thrown in. The "death of the author" is evoked sometimes, but it seems like an excuse to atone for the lack of thought put into the binding of the narrative. That's why the show is a Schrödinger cat. It mocks post-modern literature theory, but in the end proves it right. The anime is not pretentious because it makes sense, but in making sense it defeats what is seemingly its purpose.
Art:
When the art is good, it is really good, but that's not the case all the time. Character design is mind-blowing, from Raul, which is evidently a person of power from the first look, to Re-l and her distinguishable eye shade and dark looks. Vincent is a special case, the way his hair and eyes change in every critical moment from clean-cut to spiky (representing rebellion and free-will) and from closed to open (representing his awakening or shying away from harsh truths) is incredible, so much that I'd put him on par with Lain. Background art is inconsistent. The cities are well distinguishable from one another and each of the designs are well relatable to the cities' purpose, way of living and importance in the overall plot. On the other hand, the buildings are boring and generic, so much as the scorched-earth landscapes. Animation is good at times, but some facial expressions got me really confused in the first episodes, Pino makes up for it, though. Battle scenes are subpar, but that's not the anime's purpose.
Sound:
The opening title is great and matches the tone of the show. As for the ending, well... it's Radiohead's Paranoid Android so yeah, freaking awesome. For music that's all that's good, the rest of the OST makes me wanna sleep, it's so boring I can't believe it came from the same studio as Samurai Champloo. Sound effects are really well coordinated and produced.
Character:
If they all died I wouldn't care. Objectively they are well developed, as each confronts their own personalities with the idea of free-will, but none of them can link emotionally to the viewer. Except for Pino, and that's only because she's cute af. As stated, the exception is episode 16.
Enjoyment/overall:
The show can develop complex themes, which is difficult by itself, but ironically that's why it defeats one of its purposes. The plot doesn't tie itself well, but each individual part is nicely explored. Some episodes achieve brilliancy and are 10/10 individually, but others are either boring, useless or too messed up with mixed references and theories. Character design is incredible. The rest is just... meh. That's why I kinda liked it, overall it was as good as it was bad, but the exceptions make me want to give that extra point.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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