Ergo Proxy

     Ergo Proxy is a 23 episode cyberpunk/post apocalyptic sci-fi anime that aired on satellite TV in Japan in 2006.  The series is an original production by the production company Manglobe.

    Years after the world was decimated by a global war, the remnants of humanity reside in domed cities, away from the poisons and dangers of the ravaged world. The domed cities operate independent from each other and are ruled by logic programs. Romdo is the shining jewel of the domed cities. Its citizens are humans with companion androids known as autoreivs. Re-l (Real) Mayer is a member of the Security Bureau in Romdi.  Together with her autoreiv partner, Iggy; they investigate and combat crimes against the domes citizens. Upon investigating a case of an autoreiv that was infected with a new and mysterious virus, they come across a powerful and unknown creature. Through investigating on her own Re-l finds that it is a being known as a Proxy. While tracking the powerful monster she crosses paths with an immigrant named Vincent Law who seems linked to the creature. After Vincent becomes involved in a murder he flees the domed city to the lawless wilderness with Re-l following close behind, intent on discovering the link between Vincent and the Proxy. Once on the outside world Re-l discovers that there are small pockets of humans living off of the land, away from the pampered and protected domes. She and Vincent discover truths about themselves, the Proxy’s and the domed cities, on their trek to Vincent’s home dome.

    This is one of the best looking and interesting TV anime ever made. It is highly detailed with realistic character designs and incredible scenery. In the beginning of the series the quality is of that found in many movies. The story and mystery is engaging but sometimes confusing. While you can compare this series to other stories it is very unique compared to modern standards. It is a breath of fresh air in a stale line of titles available. The main characters are well developed but the side ones are mostly left as 2 dimensional creatures. The story primarily focuses around Re-l, Vincent and their journey to discover answers about the world around them. I would easily include this series in my top 10 best anime TV series ever made. While the art is phenomenal in the beginning, one of two things happens as you get into the series, either they scaled back the quality or you got used to it.  In the later episodes the artwork doesn’t seem as detailed as it was in the beginning. Not that the art is horrible, it is still one of the best looking TV series ever and retains movie quality art through out.

    As the story progresses things tend to get confusing about what is going on, partially because there is so much that they don’t explain until the very end and partially because of reality being bent at times. There was one annoying episode that was out of place in a way, but was used to explain much of what was going on. There was another episode that they could have done with out that dealt with a Disney Land like reality. The end though did seem to be rushed a little and was a little disappointing with how quickly it wrapped up. What would be great would be a theatrical movie to follow up with the end of the series, but that seems unlikely and is unneeded to complete the story, it would just be nice to see a little more of this interesting world. The series, in the end, is very good, one of the best in this decade (2000-2009). If you are a fan of Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed or Noein you will enjoy this series.

    The series is currently available on disc in North America from FUNimation and includes an English dub version.