Ergo Proxy 8

Washi

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Rating: B+
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It’s saddening that the show failed to redeem itself this week, after performing weekly with the last poorly-produced episode. This episode didn’t do it for me for much the same reasons, but it was an improvement over 7 simply because despite similar flaws, it moved the plot in an interesting direction in a fast-paced way. However the poor animation ruined much of the action for me, and made it hard work to appreciate the tense pacing and directing. There was also very little character development, but the strain placed on Vincent as he tried to fight the realisation of Proxy’s relation to him made up for that. The show once again excelled in some areas, while other factors pulled it down, which is one of the most annoying things that can happen to a series. The best thing about the episode was the implications and intrigue it brings to the story

The visual style of the episodes, such as the directing, the use of colours and creative backgrounds is astounding, yet, by cruel contrast, the cel detail is inconsistently lacking detail and correctness. If anyone truly disagrees with me on this I’ll go out of my way to make screencap comparisons! At one point Pino looked like she’d just done a ton of cocaine, and Vincent’s face was notably longer than usual. There were just little inconsistencies everywhere, and while some parts of the numerous action sequences were fluid and well-done, a lot of it was jerky and marred with generous helpings of budget shortcuts. I went back and watched some Samurai Champloo recently and, well, what happened to Manglobe?

Of course the animation isn’t all there is to the show, especially now that the story is quickly coming to light. The show seems incapable of leaving the viewer without a few questions plaguing them, which isn’t a bad thing of course. Before the lack of answers was getting frustrating, but now that we can see that we’re close to the truth, at a point where it’s appropriate to theorise and speculate, it makes the show more compelling. It’s like we’ve been given fragmented answers, which adds a whole new layer of complexity to the story, and while nothing major has been addressed decisively, we’re clearly getting closer. I’m fascinated by the last few minuets of this episode.

It seems to explain that Proxy was related to Vincent, almost a part of him, but he was not physically Vincent. It would seem that the mad woman he met was in a like situation with the other monster. Vincent seemed conscious of when Proxy was coming, and I believe the woman did too, which is what she was rambling about in her cell. So Vincent doesn’t transform into Proxy or anything like that, but he seemed to recognise it as a part of himself, of his mind. I hypothesise that, somehow, Proxy needed his psyche to manifest, either because he is a part of Vincent, or because he was using him as a conduit or channel. What he did to the other monster, who I assume to also be a Proxy, I have no idea.

I found it odd that these people were so unaware to Romdo’s location and significance; it seems my initial outlook on the fictional universe in which Ergo Proxy is set was incorrect to some degree. Humanity is fractured and spread out across the desolate globe, not simply compacted into Romdo as the final remnant of civilisation. Rather, Romdo represents the final paradise, a city essentially free from hardship. I expect we’ll see glimpses into the lives of many other communities outside of Romdo, a prospect I’m not sure I’m entirely keen on. The main lapses in the show’s focus thus far have been spurred by undue focus on such groups of people, who are bound to all die anyway.

Vincent was the main character this time around, as not even Real appeared in the episode. There was only really one scene where we got to get inside his mind for some deep emotional substance, and that was when he began to realise that he’s connected to the monster, that, perhaps, it comes from within him. I think most of the implications of this will be dealt with next episode however. Pino had a small part to play which, as expected, was to walk around being cute an unintentionally meaningful. Although, to be honest, her cuteness wasn’t as astounding this week as it has been in the past, but that’s easily forgivable. Who could stay angry at Pino?

I’ve been over the unsatisfactory animation, and I’ll amend that the music wasn’t well executed this episode either. The show’s music can be great, as seen in episode 6, but it was bland on this occasion. Not a great episode, but certainly better than last week’s, and probably than a few others too, just not as good as it could have been. My main worry for the show is its animation, which is undecided on its quality. Ultimately though, it’s not the stellar show I forecasted and hoped for. The mystery still has me casually hooked so I’ll see where it takes me.

B+