Ergo Proxy

C

Capuchin

School Idol
Just watched the fansub of the first episode, Awakening, and was quite impressed.
It's a cyberpunk sci-fi offering, featuring autoraves which are the cyborgs/robots/androids in this vision of the future, and an infection, "cogito", which they catch and causes them to wreak havoc.
Some sort of police force is charged with stopping the infected autoraves, and in the mean time a governement experiment has escaped and is running rampant....

So far, so-so, but despite the samey plot lines this was very striking for it's detailed depiction of a future world giving it an atmosphere as deep as that found in Stand Alone Complex. It remains to be seen if it will deliver the goods storywise, or just stick with fight scenes and 'shock institutional conspiracy' but it definitely demands the attention to see how it progresses.

Anyone else caught this?
 
Thought it was extremely boring to be honest, the visual's were ultimately pretty bland and boring and the story, well theres not much of one at the moment, I'll probably watch one more episode just to be sure.
 
After months of waiting and wondering, rewatching the stunning trailer time and time again, I just finished viewing the first episode of Ergo Proxy. From the bemusing opening minutes, it's clear that this show is a winner. The animation and character designs (produced by the rapidly successful MANGLOBE) are some of the most instantly appealing seen this side of Gankutsuou.

The sci-fi world in which it is set has already defined a strong sense of depth. Imagine a combination of Stand Alone Complex and Texhnolyze, a world filled amazing technologies but drowing in decaying landscape.

The story itself follows a young lady detective investigating a virus that is infecting a number of house-trained cyborgs, causing them to violently revolt against their human oppressors. The plot may sound cliche by just reading it here, but there is no subsitute for how great Ergo Proxy looks and sounds. I can't imagine that it will snag people with compelling character drama but as pure science fiction, this is one the most promising first episodes I've seen for a very long time.

Anyone else seen this series yet?
 
Theres allready been a thread about this so I'll just give a breif summary of my opinion of the first episode, I thought it was mind-numbingly boring to be brutally honest, nothing new, not much of a story, the characters seemed pretty bland, I think comparing it to Gankutsuou is like comparing caviar and dog poo :lol:
 
Opps, looks like I completely missed the previously created thread.

Anyway, yeah, I figured some people would struggle to be interested by it- it looks like being hard science fiction and seems more grounded in realistic fashions and uncompromising characterization than typical anime. My comparison with Gankutsuou came from the strikingly unique visuals. I don't think you can deny that Ergo Proxy just looks different.

The cyborgs look really strange and scary too! You'd expect these human helping robots to be attractive but many are faceless beasts or dolls with patch work skin! I can see a lot of Tsumo Nihei's work in "Blame!" seems to have influenced a lot of the designs in this.


http://neorpgmaker.free.fr/mon%20blame.jpg
http://toufqb.free.fr/Pics/Compare/Blam ... 5_p187.png
 
Out of all the new series that have bowed this season, Ergo Proxy is, for me at least, the pick of the bunch. Plot-wise, it may not be up to snuff, but the painstaking attention to detail and summarily engrossing, almost 80's-esque, sci-fi backdrop had me staring at the screen, mouth agape for the entire 20 mins. I can't wait to see more.
 
Watdhing the first episode again, there are the kernels of ideas there that could provide complex plotting.

Some sort of crisis in childbirth, people using autoraves as kids, an issue with immigration (possibly connected to population numbers) meaning discrimination is present but officially outlawed. Immigrants have to obtain citizenship; there are monsters on the loose and how does the work of our dour heroine's grandfather fit in?

There is scope for character development here too, with a small aside about the leading lady ordering her autorave partner to cease using an AI or AI voice so that it then returns to using a more robotic tone, showing more in there than action and pretty visuals.

It's definitely got potential, even if it shares so much with other series
(initially helpful technology running riot/government conspiracy/hardnut but attractive militaristic leading lady/immigration problem)

Plus you've got the obvious references to Descarte's 'Cogito Ergo Sum' - I think therefore I am - but what will it amount to?
 
I only recently heard of this about 2 months ago an from what I have read an heard it looks good :) will have to see if I can track down the first ep fansub wasn't aware it was out :wink:
 
The third is out now and I'm lost.

What the hell is going on?

The statues are moving and talking.
The city seems to be sealed and floating in the sky?
The weird occurence of a 'pet-type' autorave jars a little against the style of the rest of the show, especially in that fox ear outfit.

Does anyone have a better grasp of it than me?
 
Episode 4 and it's making a bit more sense now, though it's a shame they've regurgitated yet another sci-fi staple in the Metropolis system (cf: Battle Angel Alita, the anime Metropolis, Sky Blue etc.) of inner and outer.
And the concessions to kawaii in Pino don't sit well with me, but maybe that's just me.
 
I've only watched the first episode so far and I was a bit dissapointed, sad to say that I wasn't expecting that much in the first place. Trailers made it look like a mix of Appleseed and I robot and that seems to be what it is.
Going to watch some more, I hope it's good as there isn't much entertaining me right now.
 
Well, the Appleseed similarities are no different to those in Patlabor or Bubblegum Crisis, man-made robots/androids/cyborgs developing problems, though that doesn't even seem to be the main issue here. As for I-Robot, that deals with the same thing and is arguably where those anime have sprung from, but again there's more to it than a "bots-gone-bad" plot.

One thing going for this series is that nothing is explained to you, you don't get a "It is the year 2215. Humans and cyborgs have an uneasy coexistence, but underground groups seek to sway the balance of power..." opening scroll to let you in easy, nuggets of information are dropped here and there as they would be naturally, there's no clumsy exposition speeches to give the viewer all the background.
So you wonder what the proxy is, let alone where it comes from and why? And is proxy even the most important thing going on? What's the deal with Romdeau and the 'outside world'?

However, this murkiness is also a drawback, you feel little pull to invest in a story from which at first there is little reward. You'll get no thrill here from working out the bad guy or his motives, and indeed there isn't really anyone to root for, obviously Lil Mayer is central but she's a bit of a bitch.

Again, I do like the way the creators haven't gone the easy route of familiarity, though I do think this will work against them as many viewers will easily dismiss the show as it's so hard to get into.

Still, it's sufficiently interesting to keep me following and at least it isn't set in or around a bloody high school.
 
just got the first 9 fan-subs while I wait for the dvd's but does anyone who has seen it think it's toooo dark. Sometimes I can hardly see what's happening. If the official release is like this mmmmm



cheers
 
nonno said:
just got the first 9 fan-subs while I wait for the dvd's but does anyone who has seen it think it's toooo dark.
Click to expand...

Its supposed to be dark, something tells me it won't have the same atmosphere if they start with the yellows and pinks.
 
I dont want yellows & pinks just a little more detail.
I love the show so I'll keep watching it. hope everyone who gets a chance to see it enjoys it too.
 
I agree that the lighting is literally too dark in places, though playing with the brightness on your monitor may sort it out.
 
I've seen the first two episodes. The plot is more than a little weak so far, and like many have noticed, really cliched. However, you know, ideas can be repeated, stories inevitably get retold, its how you tell the story that counts. Early days, might proove itself to be something really special, might be a titanic letdown. To be honest I have to say from the trailers and artwork I was expecting a -little- more, but it's still very enjoyable so far, least for me. I can see fully why this would bore people though, there are large moments in even the first 2 episodes where very little seems to happen at all.

The music is freaking awesome though, though I have this thing for ye old male choir. It's a very good atmospheric tool I think.

Considering some of the other anime I've caught this year though this is a frikkin gem. o.o
 
It gets messy and confusing in later episodes, unfortunately, up to episode 9 at the moment. Plus the very-little-happening moments are a fixture throughout the series.
 
Eh I have to say I'm enjoying it more as it goes on. Though I'm a little worried seeing as they seem to have revealed almost all available plot points now and have a good 15 or so episodes to go. I still like it more than I did, mind you. Up to ep 9 myself.
 
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