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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Monday, 05 May 2008 16:00 |
 Ergo Proxy continues to mess with the head, as this volume steps up the mind games to the point where it's difficult to tell what's real anymore. Has Vincent awakened? Has the world ended without telling anyone? Answers on a postcard...
17 - Terra Incognita / Never-Ending Battle
As Vincent and the others get ever closer to Mosk, he continues to doubt who he really is - why does he have no memories of his former life? Could his life have really been so bad that it needed to be erased? He still doesn't seem to have come to terms with his being a Proxy, either, and that could well be part of his problem. Another problem arises when Pino disappears during a break in their journey - while searching for her, Re-l and Vincent discover a cave full of the corpses of humanoid creatures, the likes of which they've never seen. Back in Romdo, former security chief Raul finds himself on the run, and reliant on Daedelus to keep ahead of his pursuers...
18 - Life After God / Sign of the End
Vincent, Re-l and Pino finally arrive at Mosk, or at least what's left of it - Raul's actions have made sure that there's little left but a hole in the ground and some smouldering ruins. Certainly no life - Romdo's invasion of the city years before had made sure of that. As they get closer to what was once the centre of the city, Vincent begins to feel unwell, and is forced to return to the ship while Re-l and Pino continue exploring. Being left alone just gives him more time to think of his missing memories, and the past that even being in his hometown can't bring back to him. But perhaps the city isn't as dead as it first appears...
19 - Eternal Smile / The Girl with a Smile
Smile Land - a happy theme park, dedicated to keeping a smile on the faces of its customers. It's also very quick to throw away its old characters, and Pino finds herself in the garbage dump beneath the park, passing the time with discarded cartoon characters who have nothing better to do. Trying to find some meaning for their lives, they decide to pay a visit to Will B Good, the park owner - who also claims to be the person most likely to be able to reunite Pino with re-l and Vincent...
20 - Goodbye Vincent / Sacred Eye of the Void
Vincent awakes, and finds himself back in Romdo - and with his mind having somehow transferred into Re-l's body. She's still herself, and no-one seems to realise he's there, but he can see, hear and feel everything that Re-l does and says. As to how it happened, he has no idea. It's only some time later that he learns that he's alive, somewhere in the city, but that Re-l doesn't want to meet with him. No wonder - she's betrayed him, handed him over to the city authorities to be sealed away as a Proxy. But the being inside Re-l isn't really Vincent - it's a personality created by her own guilt at her betrayal of him, and the new personality is threatening to take over...
So my last review of Ergo Proxy started with the comment that, if you thought the show had been messing with your head up to that point, you hadn't seen anything yet. When the time came to write up this volume, the first draft started off much the same way - there's a definite trend here for the series to really mess with your thoughts, and to teach you every so often that what you thought you knew, you didn't really. I haven't decided yet if that's a good thing or not - it's good to know what's going on, but Ergo Proxy never quite lets you get to that point. There are some little bits of useful information leaked out along the way, but never enough to let you really get a handle on things.
There are two ends to the real story at here - Vincent's arrival at Mosk, which given the duration of the trip to get there turns out to be something of an anti-climax; and events back in Romdo, where Raul's actions after being relieved of his post have a direct impact on Vincent and R-el, despite the huge distance separating them. There's a real feeling that develops as you watch these episodes that the end is near - not of the series (although that's true too), but of humanity's precarious existence on what's left of the Earth. The story is quite blunt about pointing this out - this volume's token Proxy is quite clear that time is running out; there are creatures met that are like humanity in miniature, determined to live in a place where they're doomed to die, just as humanity as a whole seems to be; and more hints besides. Through all this, Vincent is still trying to figure out who or what he is - the destruction of Mosk itself doesn't really get in the way of that, but there's one sequence in particular where you think the pieces are finally about to fall into place for him, before what appears to be his Proxy alter-ego steps in to make sure he can't relearn his past.
The final episode on the disc brings our travellers back to Romdo, although in a way that once again leaves you scrabbling about while you try to figure out what's reality and what isn't. Confused? Yes, I am. I can't say I'm entirely happy about it, either, but if there's one thing that makes Ergo Proxy stand out, it's the ease with which it makes you start thinking about everything you've seen while you try to make sense of it. The end result is that, while I can't deny I'm frustrated at the way the show sometimes presents things, I've also had the ol' brain cells turning over to the point where I think I know where we're going.
Now watch the final volume prove me horribly wrong.
Ergo Proxy is easily my favourite current show, despite the way it insists on trying to keep you in the dark. While that's almost a cardinal sin in some other shows, there's just something about the way it's done here that almost makes the experience enjoyable. With only four episodes to go, though, it's time now for the series to settle down and finally be upfront about what it's trying to do. Hopefully that's what the final volume will give us.
The most important thing about watching Ergo Proxy is to go into it in the right frame of mind - alert, ready to think about it and analyse, and aware that you're still not going to "get" it all. It's not something to watch if you just want to waste an hour or two, but given the attention it deserves, it's hugely enjoyable. If you've been following the series up to this point, this volume will certainly not disappoint.
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