Anime Review: Ergo Proxy

[juushika]

Ergo Proxy
Manglobe, Shuko Murase, 2006
In the distant future, in the vast wasteland of the world, stands the domed city Romdo, a utopia where humans and androids, called AutoReivs, peacefully coexist under the ever-watchful eye of the ruling government—until some AutoReivs are infected with the Cognito virus and become self-aware. A series of murders results and while investigating them, Inspector Re-l (pronounced Real) Mayer, working alongside her AutoReiv partner Iggy, encounters a mysterious, unbelievably powerful humanoid lifeform called a Proxy. Meanwhile, immigrant Vincent Law, charged with hunting and disposing of infected AutoReivs, flees Romdo for the wastelands beyond, and Cognito-infected child companion AutoReiv Pino follows in his wake. Re-l's investigation leads her in pursuit of Vincent and to a journey where she must discover the truth behind the domed cities, the Proxies, the role of self-awareness, and her own existence.

I have been meaning to write a review of Ergo Proxy since I watched it some months ago. Now, at circle_of_ashes's prompting, I've been reminded to do so. Ergo Proxy is a post-apocalyptic/pre-apocalyptic/post-cyberpunk/steampunk/scifi anime with a slowly-revealing plot and a heavy emphasis on character motivations—almost as hard to categorize as it is to summarize. In many ways it resembles Ghost in the Shell, investigating similar concepts of self-awareness: what makes a human being? at what point does an AI become human? does self-awareness create free-will, or are our actions still predetermined? Ergo Proxy's pre- and post-apocalyptic setting presents issues of self-awareness on both a personal and a global scale. Re-l's journeys within and without Romdo bring her face to face with a number of individuals struggling with issues of self-awareness and freewill: Vincent Law, who is running from his past; Pino, a doll who is becoming a real girl; finally Re-l herself, as she discovers that her family and her past may both have engineered to put her where she stands now. Meanwhile, what Re-l learns about the role of the domed cities and the worlds outside of them puts these personal struggles on a world-wide scale: the whole planet is struggling to balance self-awareness and freewill with safety and fate.

These issues are of course couched in a show entire. The plot unfolds in arcs: at first confusing, then revealing itself, then becoming confusing again as a new layer is drawn. This confuse-and-reveal pattern allows for a number of surreal events (at one point, the entire cast is duplicated; at another, they become lost in a living theme park) that allow for even more introspection into character mindset and motivation, all the while resolving to a more logical science-fiction-based plot. The overarching plot and various themes are balanced against half-hour episodes that are reasonably self-contained, as well as moments of humor, romance, inter-character interaction—all number of little things which make each episode interesting and satisfying, and keep the story and characters grounded despite the reach and gravity of the show's themes. All of this appears in the show's distinctive style, a combination of 2-D and 3-D animation, high-contrast with selective saturation, and somewhat stylized, particularly in the almost-human AutoReivs and Proxies. Character design is distinctive and intentional: Re-l's hair style and eyeshadow, both of which become plot devices, Pino's adorable bunny suit, and most of all Vincent Law, whose narrow eyes widen through the course of the story. The settings and background details are similarly intentional, giving a gritty steampunk/post-cyberpunk detail to the post-apocalyptic world and a deceptive sparsity and shine to the would-be-utopias.

In fewer words, Ergo Proxy is a brilliant show that is both watchable and meaningful, mixing plot and introspection, science and philosophy, localized characters and generalized themes. It has a distinctive, beautiful style, skillful pacing and script, and achieves a great deal in its mere 23 episodes. I would compare it to similar introspective sci-fi anime like Ghost in the Shell and Neon Genesis Evangelion, although it has its own style and flair as well and its own particular answers to the same questions of self-awareness, identity, and freewill. Likewise, I would recommend it just as strongly as I would GitS and Eva—to scifi anime fans, but to others as well. It's unique and may take time to adjust to, but in the end the show's specific style is one of its best features. I'm glad to have seen it and plan to rewatch it—I expect that there is even more depth the second time around.