Customer Reviews

Ergo Proxy, Volume 6: Deus Ex Machina

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well this is it, the last volume of Ergo Proxy. Easily my favorite anime of 2007. One of the things I always enjoyed about this series is we're not forced to watch our main character be confident and capable of when he/she sets out to get something done. Quite the opposite in Ergo Proxy. Vincent has always been unsure and doubtful with himself and his abilities. Someone average people can relate to better.

This final volume sees Romdo's fate and a familiar proxy from a past volume. The Vincent we've come to know, is almost entirely absent from these episodes. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet, but Vincent has a very large role with the creation of the domed city, more than we ever could have expected.

My only gripes about this volume is as follows:

-the ending seems rather rushed, I would have liked to see these events get fleshed out a bit more and not so much thrown at us in 1 or 2 episodes.

-the animation takes a dip in quality in the last 2 episodes... Most noticable with Re-L

-the series only has 23 episodes. a minor gripe I suppose, but hey, most series have 26 episodes!

All in all however, awesome series and its been a real treat to watch it over the past year. And with Geneon cutting off all their current projects (all current series will not be finished) i'm very pleased that this last volume got squeezed out before they shut their doors.

"Goodbye Vincent"

I thought this was one of the best anime series to date, when I had seen the whole show from start to finish i came and bought all the discs. I think the ending was a perfect fit for this particular series because all the questions I might have held about Vince and Re-al and The Creator were in-fact answered. I would give this disc a 6 star review if I could, because I know anyone that's into philosophy, religion and general questions like..."why am I here?"...will love this anime and be hooked after the first disc. I was sad to see it end but I honestly couldnt have asked for a better ending.

What more can I say about this phenomenal anime series? For those who have watched through the whole series and finally reached the finally: the end was well worth the wait. You will be awed and shocked by the final two episodes and the events that take place within. The only problem (and a good one) is that the ending is so complex, you may need to watch the series over again to fully understand it. On another note, many viewers may struggle with the complex themes and metaphors throughout the final chapter, but this is one reason why I watch anime so often: you have to actually have a brain and think things through sometimes. This is not Transformers the movie (all action, no story). This is another anime that shows you why these are not made for kids.

This is the greatest artistic anime to date. The colors, the tone, the music, even the voice acting (both Japanese and English are perfect; I actually prefer the English dub). An amazing finale to a great series! This is an instant classic that should be in every anime library.

Pros: Artwork is the best I have seen so far, amazing story, wonderful characters.

Cons: Very advanced story and metaphors, some viewers may be unable to comprehend.

I hope you came to the last volume's reviews to provide that last needed push to purchase the entire series. Hopefully you didn't catch too many spoilers in the process. I rent most of my anime because I'm picky about movies in general, but the margin between great anime and good anime is so wide it's even harder to commit.

Volumes of Ergo Proxy sat unopened, waiting for their siblings to be born, because I knew that fewer than 6 episodes in a sitting would leave me foaming for more. I expected more from the ending, and it almost delivers, but I wouldn't be giving the work its due respect if I got all fanboyish. This is the one that will mobilize or reanimate any interest in Anime, not because it's perfect, but because it engages all the faculties. It is such a glorious and unpredictable reexamination of classic sci-fi themes that even when things seem `off' they only draw you in further.

Ergo Proxy Vol 6 marks the last volume in one of the most intriguing and thought provoking series I have seen in quite some time. While I can't go into too much details as to what actually goes on in the episodes I will give a brief spoiler free overview of where the disc starts. It picks up after Pino, Re-l, and Vincent have returned to Romdo to find that all is not well. There is what could be described as a civil war going on between the humans and the entourages. All the while you can tell there is something sinister lurking in the background just waiting to make itself known. The three episodes on the disc reveal everything that has been hidden in the past. As a result there are a lot of things thrown at you at once (as animes so often tend to do), so you may not get everything right away but after a few watches it does make sense. Re-l's truth and past is revealed along with Vincent's and the truth about what Proxy's are. Not too mention what roles the Regient, Daedalus, and Raul play in the unfolding of it all. One of the things I enjoyed most though, was the fact that this makes the previous episode about the Walt Disney like world make sense. If you read my review about that, I couldn't find anything relevant to it at all in the story. Now I can and that just shows how well the team behind the series developed it. Obviously if you are reading this you have probably watched the rest of the series and will pick this up regardless, but if for some reason you haven't seen any of it or just some, I cannot recommend it anymore. This is one of the best animes to come out in recent memory.

Great show. Interesting, dark visuals. Most of the time has realistic characters, sometimes goes into superhero action mode common to much anime. Interesting characters in Vincent, Re-L, Pino, Daedalus, and the Security Chief. There are some weak episodes that are probably best to skip, namely episodes 11, 14, 15, 16, and 20. And for a slightly more upbeat ending, I would suggest watching episode 19 last.

The story is really about man's ability to destroy and also about his ability to create, and that humans must choose their own fates and not rely on thier rulers, such as Ergo, to save them from the bad things in life.

*** Semi-Spoilers ahead: The basic gist of the story is that after a terrible world holocaust, the leaders of mankind create these superhuman beings called proxies to run the few remaining human domed cities (also referred to as arks) in different parts of the world, in order to prevent man's extinction and resurrect humanity from the ashes of the world war. In the meantime, a machine virus is causing many of the humanoid machines to "develop souls" (ie: become self-aware) and leads to various interesting character developments. As for the proxies, the foremost of the superhuman beings is Ergo, and like his fellow proxies, his dual nature has tremendous power both to create and to destroy. Over the many years, they created many amazing cities and mechanical servants of the remaining humans in these cities to shape humanity for the future. But the catch is, that the ancient humans who created the proxies, were also afraid that they might become too powerful, and so built into them programs that would prevent them from teaming up, as well as self-detructive or violent tendancies that which would make them feared by mankind. Even though the original creators of the proxies are long dead, the rules progammed into them live on. Unless, Ergo can break free and choose his own fate. All in all, a very different and interesting glimpse into the future.

p.s. We send our love to Pino, she is truly a wonderful and sweet human being

While I do wish there had been more hints at a romance I was still very satisfied. I, as expected, cried my little heart out. I highly recommend this anime. You might have to watch all of it to get some of the episodes and really squint to see through the cracks,but in the end you'll understand. Maybe..Heh.

Yes, this series has a very interesting aspect about it. Yes, this anime has great graphics (a bit dark, but that's the way the anime is). Yes, the characters are interesting. Yes the music (when appropriate)is well done. Usually you would expect a great ending right? Ehh somewhat. While the ending did close the doors, I felt it was a bit rushed. It's like trying to get the lunch line first....someone will get hurt getting there...well anyways, it is still an interesting and thoughtful (I mean it really makes you think sometimes!)anime. So I give it a 4.

To me, who tries to stick to it, because I've already bought the last five. This is a big disappointment. A rather weak ending to cap off an great story in my opinion.