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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Sunday, 08 June 2008 16:00 |
 The gang's journey through the wilderness has brought them back to Romdo, just in time to see utopia collapse in on itself. But what's Vincent's role in all this? Is he more human than Proxy, or has be been deluding himself? Re-l also has issues to confront as the series draws to a close...
21 - Shampoo Planet / Place at the End of Time
Vincent and Re-l have both left the ship on scouting missions to Romdo, leaving Pino with orders to stay there until they get back - but more time has passed now than Pino can remember, and she's decided it's time to set out on her on. Her travels bring her to the city, where it appears that all AutoReivs have been infected by the Cogito virus, and are now all stuck in a loop while they try to make sense of their new-found existences. Re-l is also in the city - it's two months now since Mosk was destroyed, and Re-l's still making sense of what's happened since then. She's learnt some tidbits from an AutoReiv disposal team she's met, of how Romdo is collapsing on itself and how Vincent has been regularly seen there in his Ergo Proxy form, and has begun to believe that all that's happening began because of her actions. Meanwhile, while investigating the death of another Proxy, Vincent meets a young woman who doesn't seem to feel any fear at seeing his Proxy form. Her name is Real Mayer - and she seems to have a connection with Daedelus...
22 - Bilbul / Bind
As the effects of Raul's bullet spread through Ergo Proxy's body, he's forced to take drastic action to save himself, ripping off the infected arm before giving chase. Re-l's left behind, and realises that the very fact that she's still alive means that at least part of Vincent's personality is still there within Ergo Proxy. That means she can deal with him. Before that, though, a meeting with Real - her other self - and what she learns from her leaves her wondering what other "truths" she knows are simply lies, and what her own place in the world now is. Real has her own plans for Ergo Proxy / Vincent - to free him from his suffering - while Raul is equally determined to kill him...
23 - Deus Ex Machina / Proxy
Re-l and Vincent / Ergo Proxy come face to face with the real controller of all that's gone on. Looking very much like Vincent, he has things to teach his counterpart - if Vincent can even bring himself to face him. The key is in Vincent learning what he is - Proxies, tools created to help mankind survive while the ruined Earth recovered. Now that that process is underway, a process has begun which will destroy the surviving Proxies - but not if Vincent's counterpart has anything to do it. If mankind would leave Proxies to such a cruel fate, then why should the Proxies save mankind? Meanwhile, with Romdo's dome on a countdown to destruction thanks to Daedelus, Re-l faces a race against time to save what's left of the city...
There's a little bit of a pun going on there, about what's Real and what isn't (Re-l). They're clones of each other - for reasons unknown - but they're very different in thought processes and outlook. What they share is a key role in the events of the disc, and Vincent at different times draws strength from them both.
But then, Vincent isn't really real either - a persona for Ergo Proxy to hide behind, burying the pain of past events and himself a mirror of someone or something else. Confused yet? For once, it's a lot easier to follow if you're watching the episodes that it is reading about it - there's a logical progression to events on this disc, and while if does get into areas where you wonder what's going on, it's usually explained and by the end of the disc all my outstanding questions were answered. I joked in my review of the last volume that I was just waiting for the show to prove me wrong when I said I knew where the story was going - it didn't thankfully, but it did throw in a few unexpected little bits and pieces to keep the sense of surprise alive. I appreciate it when a series does that.
But don't be going into this disc thinking it'll be uplifting - while there is a happy ending, of sorts (more a ray of hope on the horizon), for a lot of the disc the story is knee deed in death and destruction, most of it for no good reason - with their world falling down around them, half the population of Romdo has headed for the wastelands, while those that remain have embraced violence as the city goes through its death throes. That kind of setting is never going to give you a dose of the warm fuzzies - instead, it can be positively depressing in places when added to Vincent's and Re-l's attempts to figure out their place in the new order.
There's also one little scene right at the end, just when you think the world is on the right path again, that is positively chilling and points to things not being all right. Oh, for a second season to see "what happened next". Not that we'll be getting one - this series is complete in its own right, and this volume does a stellar job of pulling any dangling plot threads together and giving them their proper resolution.
I've been a big fan of Ergo Proxy since the first volume, and the series has never let me down. This volume continues that trend, giving the series a suitably impressive send-off and making sure that most questions you're likely to ask about the show's setting have been answered. I wish more shows were as thorough. As ever, the characters make the show and the trials that Re-l and Vincent go through provide the foundation for a very satisfying ending. As ever, highly recommended.
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