Science fiction and confusion often go hand in hand, but Ergo Proxy is close to reaching the kinds of befuddling heights scaled only by behemoths like Mamoru Oshii. The dialogue, the action and even the damn visuals are so frustratingly cryptic and symbolic that only vaguely am I able to follow what is going on here – not that this is a bad thing, though certainly the viewer should be in the right (preferably coffee induced) frame of mind to get the most out of Ergo Proxy; just don’t expect answers, only more questions.
My real concern (no pun intended) is that this series severely lacks in compelling human qualities; the similarly bleak cyberpunk thriller Texhnolyze was hardly easy to follow, but at least it introduced us to a cast of interesting, dramatic human characters. Ergo Proxy has Real and that’s it- her predictable resurrection from murder is a godsend in that she is the only character in this show that I can empathise with, the rest are emotionless shells; proxies for Dai Sato’s high brow musings.
The truly great aspect of Ergo Proxy is its dark dystopian vision and pondering philosophy; I can see myself enjoying it much more once a few of the big questions have been answered and I’m able to just sit back and let the atmosphere wash over me. I love that this series has vastly decaying landscapes, a sophisticated and mature theme with proper adult characters and a really unique animation style that takes on bizarre, exciting feats of physical action when Proxies clash heads.
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4 replies on “Ergo Proxy – 9 & 10 – Behemoth of confusion”
It’s bad for your health too watch more than one episode of Ergo Proxy at one sitting. It’s bad for digestion. Sometimes it might be the fault of fansubs making the show even more incomprehensible.
Yeah- more than anything the dialogue gradually wears me down; all the characters talk in such complicated, symbolic ways that it takes 100% attention to just work out what is being said, you can forget about what is on screen.
Ah yes, Dai Sato – how far has this great writer fallen?
I loved Sato’s previous work on Bebop, Wolf’s Rain and Champloo. But this time around it’s been only mediocre at best. You’ve hit the nail on the head by comparing it to Texhnolyze. What’s sad is that, even though Ergo Proxy has been advertised as one of the best sci-fi shows, Texhnolyze trumps it in every area, from animation to plot to characters.
episode 11 is a mind trip. Then episode 13 makes you go through an emotional roller coaster ride. Very awesome episode. Episode 14 is an even bigger mind trip. Things are finally looking up for this series. (reminds me of Witch hunter Robin where the first ten episodes are formulaic and finally after episode 10, does the actual plot start…)