Reviews

There is a significant amount to talk about Ergo proxy and it is quite difficult for me generalize it appropriately. Perhaps the best way to frame it is as a story of lies,truth and happiness that is delved into in a very philosophical sense. It is a story that presents us with an interesting perspective as what defines happiness. To the myopic few, their happiness may be limited to that of which is their own and thus they define it objectively as so. But Ergo proxy presents us with vastly different characters seeking out different forms of happiness and thus in turn showcases the arbitrariness of happiness. It delves into topics that of which defines an individual's reality and as a result sets the basis for an interesting perspective of truth defined within a subjective sense.

An instances of this is shown through the quote:
"A lie is truth, until you recognize it as a lie. To see the truth behind those lies is probably the right thing to do. However, it may not necessarily bring happiness. Lies are Happiness."

This is another form of "Ignorance is bliss" that also differentiates objective truth from subjective truth. Though, I felt at odds with the claim that "Lies are Happiness" just as I did for the statement "Ignorance is bliss" when I first encountered them. That is because I believed that neither lies are necessary for happiness nor is ignorance necessary for bliss. Lies can lead to one's happiness just as equally as truth can and this will vary depending on the context. Of course, Ergo proxy's story exemplifies the significance of this quote.

The manner in which Ergo proxy convey meaning to us is often through reference that range from subtle to blatant, much of which reside in the subtle end as opposed to the blatant end. As a result, I often find myself left to my own devices to decipher implicit meaning through the context. Even the manner in which characters interact with one another within Ergo proxy is usually through references that is sometimes clarified with analogies. This aspect of Ergo proxy, I am quite fond of because it allows the viewer to discern it's meaning, but for some reason there also exist points in Ergo proxy where it provides us meaning through exposition. The exposition seemed very inconsistent with implicit way that the anime conveyed meaning. I am not fond of exposition in any manner of which it is used because it strikes me as contradictory to the nature of story telling. The beauty of story telling lies in it's ability to convey meaning that otherwise cannot be conveyed through only words. After all, words serve only to represent only our perceived meaning of the word and that is potentially in contrast to that of others. Some may of viewed the exposition aspect of Ergo proxy as pretentious and I would of had shared this sentiment had it not been the fact that the exposition does complement the story very well. Though even if I assume the pretentious intent of anime's creator, I do not find that as valid reason to denounce his/her work, because the intent of the work is independent of the work itself.

The structure of Ergo proxy is a bit odd. Initially it's setting is focused on Romdeau and it's peripherals, but then it later transitions to a very episodic structure where we encounter many different settings. This is by no means necessarily a bad thing but it is quite out of the norm. It seemed to hint at an inconsistency of story telling, but I did not notice any such inconsistencies and thus I disregarded that possibility.

The characters within ergo proxy not only have their own interesting story, but also exemplifies the world that surrounds them. I found that many of characters were developed on par to that of the protagonist and though this may be perhaps a be a bit unusual, I found keeping track of each of their stories to be interesting.

Vincent is the protagonist within Ergo proxy. He is the ignorant part of a whole whose traits contrasts with that of Re-I Mayer. While he finds contentment in his own ignorance, Re-I seeks the truth simply for the sake of it, even though she is aware that it may not lead to her happiness. It should be noted that Romdeau is a controlled environment and thus individual's actions are dictated by the reagents. So such anomaly such as Re-I Mayer coming about seems very unusual. It is given that there was a lesser degree of control of her to provide her with a more stimulating environment. This striked me as interesting as it seems that the people of Romdeau were what Aldous Huxley will call "Slaves by consent". They believe they have free will, but it is simply an illusion. Raul Creed is another significant anomaly within Romdeau. His recognition of the system that demeans him leads him to lament it and seek its demise. Daedulus exemplifies the Utopian qualities of Romdeau. He cannot help but seek what he desires even if it leads him to denial.

There seemed to be many philosophies employed within Ergo proxy, but I do not know many philosphers. I believe the only one I recognized was Rene Descartes "I think, therefore I am". This quote is basically a response the doubt of one's existence postulates the existence of one's reality. Ergo proxy frames as "I think, therefore you are" which does differ from Rene Descartes's quote but both simply imply the existence of one's reality.