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48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Counter to the Amazon.com review, August 23, 2009
This review is from: Ergo Proxy: Box Set (DVD)
If you're the kind of person that needs a story to tell literal, straight-forward journey from A to B, (like the person who wrote the Amazon.com review) then this isn't for you. But if you appreciate abstract ideas and subjective story-lines open for interpretation, especially thought-provoking stories that pose existential questions, then you'll appreciate Ergo Proxy.
According to Amazon's reviewer, "Ergo Proxy will appeal to viewers who favor violent action over coherent storytelling and credible characters." I don't recall a terrible amount of violent action. The series is arguably slow, actually. Whoever wrote the amazon.com review missed the point, many times over. The 3 episodes that the Amazon.com review sited as "pointless fantasies" are actually the battles with different proxies in their respective cities: beating the game show was defeating a proxy, discerning fantasy from reality in "Ophelia" was defeating a proxy, etc.
As far as copying from Evagelion, I see no similarities. And the only thing that can be accused of copying from Ghost in The Shell is the robots becoming self-aware due to the Cogito Virus. But that idea is in no way original to Ghost in the Shell. How many sci-fi stories deal with the idea of robots becoming self-aware? Besides, "Cogito" is part of the Latin phrase "Cogito ergo sum" or "I think, therefore I am." I think, think, that Descartes was an antecedent to Ghost in the shell, but don't quote me.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and some people enjoy the literal, while others appreciate the subjective. And that's fine, of course; this series isn't going to please everyone. But the points made against Ergo Proxy in the Amazon.com review are unfair and incorrect.
By the way, the art is rather nice, too. Cyberpunktastic.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Looking and Darkly Endearing, November 25, 2008
This review is from: Ergo Proxy: Box Set (DVD)
I cannot say enough about the style of the animation itself, as it is the most attractive looking series I have ever watched, seamlessly blending computer generated effects with more traditional techniques.
The story is moderately complicated and many of details of what is going on are saved for the final few episodes. The series is carried through these long periods by revealing to the viewer just enough information over the course of the series that, with each episode, it does feel as though the answers to the mysteries of the seemingly unassuming protagonist are coming into focus. I would not say that the plot is confusing, as it is largely straight forward account of Vincent Law's journey across a post-apocalyptic Earth. The clues to resolving the mysteries of: (i) who Vincent really is (ii) how the world came to be in its current state and (iii) the changes that are coming and Vincent's role in those changes, these simply are revealed at a slow and deliberate pace.
What propels the series through, however, is a combination of the clever writing and the characters of the three leads, Vincent Law, Re-L Mayer and the android child Pino. Of the three, debates continue as to which is the best of the three. For me personally, it's the surprising choice of the happy android Pino. Re-L is a close second though if only because she cuts such a strong and dark figure on the screen, in a way typically reserved for male characters.
As for the writing, there were several moments where the plot devices caused me to want to roll my eyes (like an episode that entirely comprised exposition, told in the form of a strange game show which the characters find themselves involved with, or an episode that consists entirely of them waiting for the wind to propel their small ship). In the end, though (and perhaps in part because I was so ready to dismiss these devices) I could not help but admire the way the writers twisted what seemed potentially tedious into something delightful. The writers also are very good at connecting seemingly random moments into the grander story in a meaningful and affecting way.
If you dislike movies like Memento (which require you to rethink events previously viewed in light of subsequently revealed information) or if you cannot engage with character driven stories, this is not the series for you. It is not action heavy, and what action there is generally is not crucial to the overall story.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely Compelling, April 21, 2009
This review is from: Ergo Proxy: Box Set (DVD)
If I would have had all the DVDs I would have watched it in one sitting. I found both the narrative and the characters to be fascinating. It presents a very complex and conflicted view of humanity, fate (reason for existence), and spirituality. It intentionally leaves some aspects of the world ambiguous because that's the point. It's meant to make you think, not only about what the writers presented, but about your own existence and your beliefs.
I enjoyed the episodes that seemed out of character with the rest of the series. These are a distinguishing characteristic of chief writer Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Wolf's Rain, Eureka 7). They add something of their own and they also add to the overall development of the characters and the world. They take the characters out of the world they're in an put them into a different one so you can see how they act. I find it to be an interesting and creative character development device.
If you like series that explore the nature of society and humanity, then I guarantee you'll like Ergo Proxy. I enjoyed it a great deal the first time and I liked it even more the second time. They lay subtle hints all over the place which you're a bit confused by the first time, but again, that's the point. You're not supposed to feel comfortable in this world. You're supposed to feel as compelled to unravel it as the characters and in the end, it ends up looking a lot like our own.
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