"Madlax" is the second in a trio of similar but unrelated anime created by studio Bee Train (the other two being "Noir" and "El Cazador de la Bruja"). Collectively known as the "Girls with Guns" trilogy, these three anime were moderately successful upon release but these days are almost never talked about, which is quite a shame since they ultimately helped to popularize the very genre they're named after. Out of the three of them, "Madlax" is the first one that I watched, and as far as first impressions go, it's a pretty damn good one, even if it does fall short in a few areas.
Story (8/10):
The events of "Madlax" take in place two fictional countries- the civil war-torn jungles of Gazth-Sonika and the peaceful urban country Narfrece. Within these two countries reside two young women with seemingly nothing in common, aside from a shared love of pasta and the fact they both have amnesia. Madlax is a mercenary who succeeds at nearly all of her jobs and wishes to put an end to the civil war in Gazth-Sonika, which by the time the series starts has been going on for over a decade. Margaret, on the other hand, is an aristocratic girl who's attempting to uncover the truth behind her past, the only clue to which she has is a mysterious book with a page torn out of it. Overtime, the stories of these two women collide, and a conspiracy that threatens to swallow the entire world is gradually uncovered.
The story is quite ambitious, to say the least, and for the most part its ambition pays off. The first two episodes feel as though they come from two completely different shows, due to them both showing how different the lives Madlax and Margaret lead are, and the series starts by switching between the two leads with each episode, with their stories gradually colliding with one another, and seemingly unrelated things turning out to have a connection that you couldn't have seen coming. Notably, it isn't until the final third of the series that Madlax and Margaret finally meet, meaning up until then their character arcs run parallel with each other. This gives the plot a great sense of duality, and allows the viewer to look at things from all sides. Speaking of which, out of the seven main characters, three are villains, and we gradually see their stories develop along with those of the heroes. However, anyone expecting a story with grey morality will be in for a disappointment, as the conflict between Madlax and the main villain is about as black and white as they come, though the other two villains both prove to be very sympathetic.
Unfortunately, the story takes a while to really get going. It isn't until episode 9 that the connection between the two stories truly becomes apparent, and the early Margaret episodes can be a bit boring, especially when compared to the Madlax ones. Additionally, while things do speed up in the second half, they also get a lot more convoluted, with the story introducing various supernatural elements that viewers need to interpret with little explanation. As such, while there are some great twists, they can also be very confusing. That said, these issues ultimately aren't enough to negate the story's strengths, and the last few episodes in particular are a great ride, topping off with a great, highly satisfying ending.
Art & Animation (7/10):
"Madlax"'s visuals are easily its biggest weakness. Bee Train isn't exactly known for making beautiful anime and that really shows here. The character models are very rough around the edges and in particular have almost no detail when looked at from afar. There's also pretty much no blood to be found on-screen, which in a story about war is downright jarring and harder to forgive then if it were a shonen fighting series.
Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
I've been a fan of Yuki Kajiura for about as long as I've been a fan of anime, and she's one of my favourite composers along with Hiroyuki Sawano. That being said, I would have to say that this is one of her weaker soundtracks. Now, don't get me wrong- it's good (this IS the composer of "Fate/Zero" and "Madoka Magica" we're talking about), but there are a lot of tracks that, while not bad at all, tend to just blend in. The opening theme is good enough but not to the extent that I felt the urge to look it up and the ending theme is only slightly better. It does get really good later on, though, one notable track being "I'm Here", which plays in a lot of the later episodes and fits the mood of them perfectly. The voice acting is solid throughout, though the highlights are probably Nancy Novotny, Luci Christian and Vic Mignogna, who voice Madlax, Margaret and Carrossea, respectively.
Characters (7.5/10):
From the very first episode, it's clear that Madlax is a great protagonist (and she is THE main character overall, being much more involved in the action than Margaret). While mercenaries are almost always anti-heroes to some extent, Madlax is pretty much as heroic as you can get. The worst thing that can be said about her is that she kills a lot of people over the series, which in fairness is to be expected when you're trying to end a war as quickly as possible and only accept the toughest missions. She doesn't go out of her way to kill, either, as she will look for a peaceful solution whenever possible and will sometimes let enemies go despite the consequences it could have. As for her actual personality, she's very gentle and kind-hearted, but also won't hesitate to call out people for their foolish choices. Her kindness is most evident by the fact that she often finds herself sticking her neck out for the very people she criticizes, and is deeply saddened whenever she fails to save someone. She can also be extremely cute, particularly when it comes to her love of pasta. Long story short, Madlax is undeniably the star of the show, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she carries the anime at some points.
Margaret is probably best described as the opposite of Madlax. While Madlax is a very independent person who doesn't rely on anybody, Margaret is hopeless enough that she needs people to help her through a typical morning. Besides being very spacey, it's obvious from her very first episode that there's something seriously wrong with her; she describes news about a terrorist attack as 'boring', claims it's going to rain when there's no signs of it, stares at red shoes for ages despite not wanting them, and takes being on someone's mind as sign she did something to offend them. She's far from stupid, however, as she can be surprisingly perceptive and is a good judge of character, and overtime pretty much every one of her odd mannerisms is given some kind of explanation. While I didn't like her as much as Madlax, she, like her, is very lovable and easy to root for, especially when she shows her badass side in the last few episodes.
Of course, as mentioned above, these two aren't the only main characters. One example is Margaret's maid, Elenore Baker. While her character initially seems to revolve solely around Margaret, due to all of her actions being for her in some way, we soon learn that she has a very good reason for this, and considering how clumsy and helpless Margaret is, you can't blame her for being overprotective. She is shown to be hypercompetent at many different things, to the point that there's something of a meme that she's the teacher of Roberta from "Black Lagoon", the anime of which aired 2 years after this series. Another character of note is Vanessa Rene, a woman who tutored Margaret after she lost her memories and whose parents were killed in the war. As such, she is probably the most involved in both sides of the story. She also detests violence, likely due to her past, but is eventually forced to learn how to fight in order to survive. Neither of these two are quite as developed as Madlax and Margaret, but they're still great characters in their own right and both of them prove to be very important to the story.
As for the rest of the cast, anything noteworthy about them is best left unsaid. In particular, to mention anything meaningful about the three villain protagonists- Friday Monday, Carrossea Doon and Limelda Jorg- would risk giving away huge spoilers. That said, I can say that regardless of what you think of Friday Monday's character, you will absolutely HATE him and want nothing more than for Madlax to put a bullet between his eyes. Sadly, the supporting cast are nowhere near as interesting as the main cast, with very few of them being around for more than an episode or two. One should also keep in mind that there is a sense of danger, with not all of the main cast making it to the end.
Enjoyment (8/10):
From start to finish, "Madlax" is a hugely enjoyable thrill ride. Madlax manages to make any action scene a pleasure to watch even if she almost never loses and while the Margaret episodes do start off a bit boring, they just get more and more interesting. Additionally, the series manages to keep a hopeful tone in spite of being about a war, with all the suffering Madlax has seen just making her more appreciative of life and its everyday joys, and avoids being just another depressing story about how horrible humans can be. As for how it does that, well, you'll have to watch it and see.
Overall:
"Madlax" is a good example of an anime that deserves a lot more attention than it gets, especially considering it helped in creating an entire genre of anime. It's by no means a masterpiece, in no small part thanks to the mediocre visuals, but with a complex, gripping plot, good music, great action scenes and a truly fantastic lead character, this is a show that should easily appeal to anyone who's a fan of the "girls with guns" genre, and is ultimately the best out of its trilogy.
Score:
8+7+8.5+7.5+8=39/50=7.8/10
