What does this has to do with 'Ergo Proxy', then? 'Ergo Proxy' is made by, and made for these exact people who still keep wondering why Ancient Greeks never bothered to check if their Gods are real. This time it is about philosophical POV's which are apparently purposely misunderstood and misinterpreted by the creators of this work, and then further mistaken by its viewers for an actual anime series about these famous existential questions. I can agree that this work is thought-provoking, but the references in it are fallacies and every in-depth analysis over-analysing of not what is there, but what one believes is there. It chooses the same path as later Freudian literature which was altered by his daughter based to what she thought Freud meant rather than writing the exact thing Freud said. As a conclusion in case my point hasn't been made clear yet: 'Ergo Proxy' is not a work of philosophy, it is a work of its creators interpretations of famous philosophies. This series is not a study nor can it be seen as a reference, it is nothing but a preach by someone who thought they have understood what our great philosophers "really", I mean REALLY meant. To me, their interpretations are no different from those people who ask why Greeks didn't climb the goddamn mountain.
To actually talk about this anime outside is hideous content, it quite literally sucks ass. The directing is a mess, the pacing is so dreadfully slow one has to wonder why the fans of this series consider themselves smart for liking this spoon-fed "deepness". At least Anno, the creator of Evangelion admitted he just threw bunch of religious references in the mix to make it look smart and make people hyped for it being 2deep5anyone and everyone to understand. While I am not sure if the creators of 'Ergo Proxy' are lacking self-awareness or simply never cared to admit that their work is bunch of baloney: it surely is doing an impressive job convincing masses to think that it isn't. They went as far as put bunch of obscure references in the background art, such as faces of these philosophers they claim to imitate because apparently the point of their ideas and philosophies is the best captured by an AD HOMINEM."The essential part of what was said is what the face of the person who said it looks like." Like really, how subtle and how well I can prove my intelligent by liking this.
Now the second attempt to talk about content outside the philosophies. Real is the only interesting character in the series. Most of the others feel more of a try-hard attempts to capture something completely different than personalities, which alone is a respectable idea considering the nature of the series. Still, all of them come out rather uninteresting and content-lacking. If comparing to the same Greek Gods, our characters here are rather empty shells. One could say that this makes it great, other say they deliver as much as any harem girl. Pino, on the other hand, is simply annoying.
The series does contain lot of good as well, they are mainly hidden and short scenes such as a quiz that leads to the OP song to play. Great ideas in not so great series. The opening itself is an everlasting meme. Real creates most of the other interesting scenes and situations in the series, but ultimately leave me wish she was a character inside a better anime.
As a conclusion: Ergo Proxy is not a very good series for those who want something more from anime outside simply "getting it." Getting Ergo Proxy is not by any means any harder than "getting" Sword Art Online. Both can be overanalyzed to the grave by anyone who doesn't know what occam's razor is. To those who are interested in philosophical anime, watch Serial Experiments Lain, GITS SAC, Digimon Tamers, Wolfs Rain, Kino no Tabi (1st season), even the first Pokemon movie (in Jap dub). Watch Ergo Proxy and find not much more than pretentiousness as the series target audience consist of people who saw the meme "The door is red. The author uses the color red to express his anger." and thought this is what all symbolism should be like, regardless if it is intended by its creator or not.
