THIS REVIEW WILL COVER MAJOR PARTS OF THE SERIES AND THE ENDING KEEP IN MIND OF SPOILERS The Narrative: Talking about Ergo Proxys story and narrative structure is...interesting. It has a straightforward plot that involves all of the characters in the story. Yet it also has twists and turns that are so out there and interesting that it adds layers onto it to make it more interesting yes even the few filler episodes there like Episode 20 and even more of a wild ride to watch. We get to see the world from so many different points of view yet its not overwhelming at all and it all comes together to form a really thrilling engaging plot that starts out small..but becomes SO much more by the end of it that its hard not for me to love it. Some argue that the ending is bad because we dont see what happens to Vincent and everyone else after they escape Romdeau...I personally think its openendedness makes it a really great anime to theorize on kind of like Mother 3s ending weird comparison I know but its the closest I can get to a plot thats like Ergo Proxys because this shows plot is so unique. But yeah going in youd expect it to be about a dystopian scifi city that controls people and by the end everyone dies in it or something youve heard along those lines before it...but nope instead its a nice subversion of expectations. Its overall A++ stuff. Definitely one of the coolest narratives Ive seen in anime Ive watched in a good while not as wild as say something like Serial Experiment Lains...but still nonetheless a really interesting thoughtprovoking VERY wellwritten and unique one. The Characters: Easily one of the best parts of this anime in my honest opinion. Everyone in the story serves some kind of purpose whether it be major or minor and even the side characters have a surprising amount of depth to them that makes them more human which kind of surprised me even if many of them met a rather predictable yet inevitable fate. The character dynamics between the major characters especially when Vincent ReL and Pino come together as a trio are really something neat and we get to see these characters not only alone with their own thoughts but also with other people who completely contrast them and see how they work even at their highs and lows. Once again another piece of media that has its characters so wellwritten and put together that there isnt a single character I disliked theyre all fascinating case studies in their own right. Its hard to really complain about much with them because theyre written so...humanly down to earth and realistic. I really enjoyed seeing what the characters thoughts were on the things transpiring around them and while some would consider that expositionary I personally feel like the show makes their thoughts interesting enough to listen to that it just felt like we were naturally getting to know them more by just spending more and more time with them. On the subject of time the show also does a great job of peppering character development throughout the episodes. Rel for instance goes from someone who just wants to bow her head down and do what shes supposed to do with some mild annoyance harbored on her part to someone who like Vincent and everyone else by the end finds her true self and realizes how compassionate selfless and...well human she really is with the exact same sentiment being applicable to Vincent as well in my opinion. You also get to see the deterioration of other characters as well cough Raul Creed cough so not everyone gets their happy ending and it serves as a nice contrast to the positive changes most of the other people in the cast get and I think its equally just as powerful because its also written in a way where you can feel for them. Psychological anime in general in my term shows like Serial Experiments Lain Neon Genesis Evangelion and Texhnoylze always seem to have some of the most fascinating anime characters to study and of course this one is no exception. Solid A+ work all around. The Visuals: This sections gonna be probably my favorite to talk about given how AMAZING this show is visually. Sure its an anime from 2006 so its definitely aged but its still finelooking anime even nowadays. The character designs are all really nice and all stick out so youre not gonna be mistaking anyone or anything like that and actually characterize everyone based on their colors and clothing overall especially Vincents and Rels clothing...for multiple reasons. The show also uses a neat mix of CGI and handdrawn animation and while the CGI in a few places has aged a little roughly things the statues in the Administration room and the largescale shots that blend the handdrawn and CGIrendered versions of the environment at times still look INCREDIBLE. Im not an animation expert by any means but in my opinion this show still holds up nicely for the most part. I love the drab colors of reds purples blacks and more muted colors it helps give the show the dystopian vibe outerworldlike vibe that its going for. Romdeau and really all of the environments both minor and major all really give off their own special vibes thanks to the coloring to differentiate everything so the show never really looks boring to look at...especially by the end when they start livening up the colors to signal the significance of everything that happens at the end. I think Ive yapped on enough about the visuals. Its a little rough in some places both with the CGI and the handdrawn stuff at times but its overall held up nicely and it has its own distinctive look that differentiates it from some of the same kinds of drab both of the midlate 2000s and the year it came out in. A probably if only because of the slightly aging. The Sound: Aaah feels nice to bring this section back again after some time and luckily Ergo Proxys sound design and music are really interesting so lets get to it. Overall the voiceacting in the sub cause again I dont typically watch dubs unless theyre Fullmetal Alchemist Black Lagoon or Death Notelevel good is excellent all really good performances throughout and I even recognized a few VAs from some other anime Ive watched which was a nice surprise. From what Ive heard of the dub...its kind of...okay. I think Rels voice is a little too energetic for her character since shes more of an introspective and tentative thinkertype character in my eyes but thats about as far as Ill go into that. As for everything else every gunshot seriously ReLs shotgun sounds AWESOME and the sound design really adds to how strong it is and helps sell how rad Rel is in combat every punch thrown explosion shatter of glass and crash man...all of it just engrosses you into the show even more truly topnotch stuff. The music is AWESOME Lots of atmospheric ambient music that fits into the vibe of the show perfectly and really adds to some of the more outthere scenes. The OP and EDs are also great. The grungy rock opening combined with the openings visuals themselves make for an allaround great bitesized look at what Ergo Proxy is about. It helps too that Especially we have FREAKING RADIOHEAD IN ANIME AS THE ENDING MUSIC As a big fan of theirs who grew up on their music gotta say I wasnt expecting THAT but the song works well with the show and actually connects to the theming of humans and autoreivs so its appropriate AND a good song that fits. A++ stuff. The Conclusion: Overall Ergo Proxy was WELL WORTH the time it took for me to get to it and it serves as yet another great psychological anime that anime buffs can theorize and discuss all these years after its creation because of how well put together it really was especially in the writing. I literally had to stop myself from going into too much detail about it to not end up wasting your guys time getting into it theres plenty of good videos online talking about it in detail if you really are interested I know Ill be getting to those just like I did with Texnhnoylze. Speaking of which Id say if you watched Texhnyolze and wanted another psychological futuristically stylish anime with lots of stuff to keep your brain thinking and guessing Ergo Proxys right up your alley its truly phenomenal. I certainly enjoyed my time with it and hope that the side manga for it is also just as good.