Ergo Proxy is a mixture of genres and styles. Here echoes cyberpunk and mystical philosophy, reasoning about God coexists with thinking about the relationship between man and artificial intelligence. A dynamic thriller in one series is a philosophical meditative drama in another. The series gives a minimum of clues, but vividly and comprehensively demonstrates the world of the future, inviting the viewer to understand everything. Don’t wait for a simple plot or a Sherlock Holmes-style final explanation – the anime simply sets out the plot. We know what heroes do, say and think, but nothing more.
Symbolic and ambiguous are the heroes of Ergot Proxy. The name "Ril Meyer" is not accidentally consonant with the word "reality" - it is a kind of anchor that keeps Vincent Lowe in human form and consciousness, not allowing him to lose touch with his "I". At the same time, this name has a “dark” side – Reel is too attached to everyday reality, her materialism prevents her from seeing the truth, realizing the reasons for what is happening, the solutions sometimes lying on the surface. There is a third sense - it is in its investigation, which gradually turns into a mystical search, that it acquires the fullness of the reality of existence, leaving the illusion of a doomed Romdo - the creation of a man-made devil, an imperfect demiurge.
The name Vincent Lowe sounds like “law” in English. He is the embodiment of the laws of the world in which he participated. Among fans of the series, the interpretation of the combination of the name and surname of this character is widespread - "Winning Law". He is a necessary condition for the existence of this world, but he also rebels against the construction of a doomed, artificial world that awaits only destruction.
Ergo Proxy is the Gnostic Lucifer: every most perfect creation of every false creator is doomed to rebel against him. Is it possible in this case that the one who rebelled against the Rebel is the Savior? Or is it the herald of the Last Judgment, in which those who play the gods will answer for audacity and pride?
There are many bright characters in this anime.
Raoul Creed - another "truthfinder", but his search is based on blind faith, which is displayed in his surname. He believes too much in Romdo, in the law, in himself - the chain dog of the city, he eventually becomes a free wolf (in his name - the "wolf" root, which is best seen in the German version of Rudolph), but too late.
Daedal Yumeno - perhaps here the scriptwriters went on the behest of the viewer and descended to a direct allegory, however, rather gracefully embodied on the screen.
Pino - an obvious allusion to Pinokyo, a girl-robot, gaining humanity, which people can actually escape from this quality. Each Proxy in Vincent’s path is another philosophical paradox, embodied in the madness of another man-made god.
The world of Ergo Proxy is one of the most bizarre in sci-fi anime and manga. The degree of remoteness from our time and whimsicalness with him can argue that the manga Tsutomu Nihei
Blame! and
Knights of Sidonia (the latter, by the way, is filmed, however, not completely). It is worth noting an excellent soundtrack, first of all - the magnificent songs of the bands
Monoral and
Radiohead. Once again I am convinced that the Japanese know a lot about rock music.
The meanings and meanings of Ergo Proxy can be discussed endlessly, especially since it is unlikely that even the creators of the series meant an unambiguous interpretation of his images. But the main question of this anime is: what is the creator and what is his authority? Man is created in the image and likeness of God – does this mean that he is free to act like God in relation to his creatures? Does the Creator have to love His creations, or can He act upon them at will? What if they were closer to the Creator than the Creator? If man dares to create a being that is closer to God than he is, will his creation not then have the right to judge the creator on behalf of him whose will he is?
“Ergo Proxy” is a kind of anti-Matrix. If the Hollywood parable frightened us with the inhuman attitude of AI to man, then this anime is about the inhuman attitude of people to their creations, mechanical and living. Neo was the Messiah - Ergo Proxy - just a rebellious demon who has lost the meaning of being and seeks to find it again. If in “The Matrix” morality was literally written on every fence (whatever they say about the depth of this work), then this series is mysterious, like a tarot deck – like a fog between dome cities, hiding roads and meanings.
10 out of 10
Original