Series: Ergo Proxy is set in a utopian society of haves and have nots. The two main components of society are humans and androids, with some class distinctions among the humans according to citizenship. The goal of all people is to achieve citizenship which bestows a level of privilege and rights that are not universal. The androids, on the other hand, are provided to citizens to make life easier, the result of a capitalist society bent on consumption clearly promoted in all forms of promotion (from sidewalk billboards to advertisements stating how patriotic it is to use resources and a number of other subtler forms of communicating the idea presented as well). The show begins with this domed city of Romdo establishing a number of factors that differentiate it from our own world, though as much by what is displayed as by what is not shown openly. A shadowy form of centralized governance in the form of a small cabal of faceless bodies is in charge. This group is all knowing and all powerful, discussing aspects of what needs to be done as well as how to accomplish their goals. They typically use the android population to keep an eye out on people and take care of the mundane aspects of modern day life, the beings being largely autonomous and called auto-revs. Anyone of importance or in a position of authority has at least one of these devices assisting them, the general population unaware that they report anything of importance to the authorities (much like the TV sets of 1984).

One particularly well placed gal in the city is detective Re'l Mayer, the granddaughter of the most powerful city leader and a keenly witted gal rising up the ranks of the Civilian Intelligence Bureau. Her partner is Iggy, a slightly effeminate auto-rev that protects her from harm and allows her substantial leeway in her self initiative oriented investigations that land her in trouble from time to time. She is well aware of her status and uses it as needed to push others into giving her latitude to solve crimes, her Goth styled appearance striking compared to the bland manner in which most people present themselves. A full citizen, she can have someone detained on minimal evidence to further her goals in cases, the gal often displaying a level of contempt to anyone she considers to be a lesser endowed being, regardless of their economic or political status. The cyberpunk style of the first volume permeates the entire story, which tentatively begins with a failed experiment that lets a monster go free to kill mindlessly.

The freeing of the creature is thought to be the result of a random power loss experienced by the city but some are not so sure of this fact. In the ensuing rampage in public areas, the creature, called a Proxy, racks up an impressive death toll before disappearing, soon hunting down an immigrant of lowly status by the name of Vincent Law. Vincent is deathly afraid of the creature and security footage shows him running away from it in a public mall, eventually landing him in the sights of Re'l. For her part, it is clear that Vincent is simply a cog in the wheel and of little consequence, although he falls heavily for the young beauty during their encounter, sparking a later attack on her by a deadly creature that she thinks is the same one responsible for the many deaths the day before. As she investigates though, all the evidence is covered up and she is given orders to drop the matter, something she cannot do as her sense of moral duty goes beyond mindless compliance that others embrace as a means to stay under the radar of those in power. Everyone, including Iggy, try to convince her that the attack was simply her mind playing tricks on her, Vincent earning a spot on the most wanted list because of his unknown connection to the Proxy. The chief of the intelligence bureau, Raul Creed, is charged with finding the Proxy at all costs and his personal motivations remain unclear except that he will do anything to achieve his goals; even sacrifice Re'l if need be since no one is above being expendable in his eyes (a view shared by the council).

Countering Raul's zealous attitude is Daedalus Yumeno, Re'l's personal physician and the leading researcher on the Proxy project. He has insider knowledge of the entire city and how things work but even more than that appears to have been raised specifically to serve Re'l and head up the Civilian Public Welfare Bureau which does a lot more than is stated by the looks of the initial volume. As the series progresses, the connections between the major players shows a lot more than coincidence as Vincent crosses paths with auto-rev Pino; a key player in later episodes that starts off as a child replacement for a wealthy couple (who seek to replace her though Vincent initially thwarts this attempt as part of his official duties). In relatively little time, the heroine on the run dynamic begins, Re'l chasing down Vincent as a means of redemption but also to help solve a crime no one is willing to admit ever happened, much to her chagrin. Thus ended Volume 1 of the show with Vincent inspiring the headstrong Re'l to chase him outside the safety of the domed city to a place where she had been raised to believe was a desolate wasteland where nothing could survive thanks to the events of a long, long time ago.

The episodes this time were 5) Tasogare, 6) Domecoming, 7) Re-l124c41+, and 8) Shining Sign. The basic idea of them was twofold; the first major dynamic was to showcase Re'l's determination to seek out the truth at all costs, despite being told to refrain from doing so. The second was to change the emphasis of the show from the cyberpunk epic focusing on her with the story of a man on the run in the form of Vincent and his newfound charge Pino. Coming across a commune of city rejects that mostly wanted to rejoin the sheltering safety of Remdo, Vincent finds that the little he knew of his life before seeking such shelter himself was largely a lie. His quest to find his own personal truth and the secret he hides from the world are facilitated by the leader of the village though the extra patrols by automated security drones causing death and destruction force his hand. His caring for Re'l when she comes to reclaim him served to show that he did not fit into the society he was on the run from, and her unwillingness to see him as anything other than a danger spoke of her lack of objectivity. Pino's increasingly autonomous nature makes it clear that she is infected by the cognito virus and her self awareness masks the situation when Vincent makes a deal to save a near death Re'l by sending her back to the city. Her awareness of life outside the city makes her a danger to be controlled too and all the efforts of doctor Daedalus to save her fly ion the face of the situation when she is declared dead. As the secrets of their respective positions come to light, the leads set out on a journey that puts them outside the sphere of influence of the city into a barren wasteland that leaves the commune members dropping like flies.

Like Volume 1 of the series, the self awareness of the characters put into unfamiliar territory sets the tone of the show fusing the various technical elements with the writing I found so intriguing. While different in some ways than the opener's cyberpunk attitude (that reminded me a lot of Blade Runner in both of them; the uncaring bureaucrat investigator moving forward for selfish reasons as she hunted down her own version of a replicant), the show was still a lot of fun to watch with a heaping helping of mystery as the layers unfolded. I rated this one as Recommended too, the saga of limited extras and a somewhat uneven method of story telling impacting the rating a bit more than some of you would feel comfortable with. I think many of you will like the dark nature of the show though so check it out.

Picture: Ergo Proxy was presented in the same 1.77:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color as shot by director Shuko Murase for airing on Japanese television last year. The show is definitely one of the darker themed anime releases of the last few years and the use of shades, textures, and darkness in the video aspects of the episodes all contributed to an almost claustrophobic feel. Due to the way some of the scenes were shot on purpose, there was some shimmer and visual issues at times but they were few and far between, with the pacing of the elements keeping me occupied too much to dwell on them. This is one of the latest examples of a show that could greatly benefit from one of the higher definition formats (HD or BR) for the increase in resolution though the drab nature of the episodes seemed to be by design rather than default. In this sense, the look of the show enhanced the thematic elements on a level that is rare in anime, making it a definite consideration for top lists of titles to pick up in my opinion.

Sound: The audio was presented with three choices; the original Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track, a corresponding English language dub, or a newly commissioned and enhanced 5.1 DTS English language dub, all with optional English language subtitles (all vocals and signs or just signs). Okay, like the way the visual elements were utilized to enhance the story elements, the audio was a similar case of providing some serious quality to the show. The bitrate of 448 Kbps was enough to make me smile but each track had something to offer me. The dub's DTS track had more depth, separation, and dynamic range than either of the others but all of them shared a level of high end quality that few releases in the genre have offered up (ever!). The fact that the dub voice acting was as good as the Japanese cast provided me some belief in the increasing care such tracks have been given by importing companies like Geneon. While some of the supporting cast wasn't quite as well handled, the leads in both versions struck me as worth listening to for their own merits, each providing a slightly different experience thanks to the way their stories were tailored a bit. The subtitles were easy to read, lasted onscreen long enough in most cases, and looked to have a different translation too which is a plus in my book. The moody music and sound effects also served the story well, so I have precious few complaints this time about the audio.

Extras: While the opening volume of the series had a special limited edition with reportedly solid extras, the rest of the series was limited to some trailers and a paper insert listing the tracks. Sucky extras on an anime DVD is nothing new but with a mere four episodes per volume in the series, I was left rolling my eyes at how a quality company like Geneon could drop the ball so readily on a series as great as this one started out.

Final Thoughts: Ergo Proxy avoided the dreaded sophomore slump by taking the characters into a whole new type of situation where their respective worlds collided but were also overturned as they left safety behind to search for their personal goals. Vincent was a fish out of water more than Re'l but each of them had to come to terms with their evolving situation, both of them finding themselves on the wrong side of the authorities in the domed city of Remdo. In short, Ergo Proxy: RE-L124C41+ was nearly a classic in how it stood up to the demands of providing an evolving dynamic not stuck on doing the same old thing as many other shows seem to want to do these days (it's safer to cater to the core audience than to try new things). The series impressed me as a thought provoking science fiction tale that uncovered a lot about human nature, making this volume of the show another you should appreciate.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, Best of Anime 2005, and Best of Anime 2006 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.