Ergo Proxy

For the last few weeks Ferret and I have been busy watching this anime series, Ergo Proxy. It was a Netflix recommendation and had gotten a bunch of stars. We ended up repeatedly watching and rewinding the first ten minutes of episode 1 because we were so confused. But, we reasoned, the first episode is always meant to be confusing and things will surely clear up with time. Twelve episodes later and midway through the series, we realized that for every question that is answered, two others remained unanswered. Sadly, this was true even after we had finished watching all of the episodes. For example: Vincent Law is Ergo Proxy, who is the Agent of Death - got it. Why did he destroy his memory? - no clue. Why does he fight other Proxies? - no clue. Original humans created proxies who in turn created other subpar humans to live in domed cities - ok. Why were these other humans necessary if the original humans jetted out on their Boomerang? - no clue. How does Ergo Proxy sidestep the Awakening? - eh?? You can clone proxies - really? Re-L >> Real - damn straight. Overall, I wish they had spent less time with the pseudo philosophy and more time on exposition. I do not need an hour devoted to "I think therefore I am" "you are me and I am you" crap. The Nightmare Quiz Show episode ended up being the clearest episode by far even though it was one of the most bizarre. Even with that episode though, I still don't know if it was Vincent's dream or another Proxy world. Despite all this though, I quite enjoyed the series, both for style and the obscure plot. And I really enjoyed the way the characters kept saying the names: Vincente Lawle (Vincent Law), Daaaydalus (Daedalus). Rate: ****