Ergo Proxy Ep. 9 Review

We learnt a number of interesting plot points in this episode, but first and foremost we learn that Pino knows. I think this is the first time where I've really cared about Pino. She's provided the relief, the cute-factor and the occasional touching moment (Queen's death, for instance), but with episode nine she finally takes on a more definite role: the only genuine companion of the now-isolated, despondent Vincent. The final scene of Vince and Pino sailing on the Rabbit is really touching stuff, and for a series that enjoys isolating and confusing its audience it's all the more affective.

But let's take it from the top. The first part of the episode continues to foster the bewilderment created by the very bizarre episode eight. Vince wakes up in a foreign room with only the handgun given to him by the soldiers as a memento of what's happened previously. In his search for Pino he discovers a strange blond chap with healthy appetite for red wine and suspicious amounts of man-cleavage. After finding Pino, Vince and Man-Cleavage sit down to chat and lots of ambiguous prophetic statements are spouted everywhere. Pino shows a genuine dislike for Man-Clevage and for good reason, later discovering an army of the auto-rave knights that were wreaking so much destruction in the previous episode (as well as knowing truth, we later find). Vince confronts Man-Cleavage about this, handgun firmly holstered in his belt, and Man-Cleavage proceeds to provide countless explanations to their current situation. The female Proxy witnessed prior to Vince's collapse was called Senekis and his mate, and better yet Man-Cleavage wants to find a replacement in Vince, who he holds responsible for her death.

Obviously, Vince is very much about the WTF at this point and outright rejects Man-Cleavage, confused about his role in Senekis's death and how his connection to Proxy is more direct than originally thought. Offended by Vince's choice to discard his memories, Man-Cleavage forces Vince to confront the truth: he is a Proxy, and one of numerous. Man-Cleavage reveals his second form as Kazkis Proxy, emissary of Light, swearing vengeance on Vince. After a brutal pursuit where Vince takes a number of gunshots to the chest, unharmed, he 'awakens' and lets his inner-Proxy break free. Following a prolonged fight, in true frenetic Ergo Proxy style, Vince (now Ergo Proxy) kills Kazkis with the old arm-through-the-chest manure and finally accepts his true self: something not human and a harbinger of death. With this he discovers he is entirely alone with no home and no source of contact. Apart from Pino, of course. They board the Rabbit and set sail for Moscow.

Ergo Proxy maintains its trend of providing a few answers while simultaneously dumping twice as many questions on top. Still, some fractured insight to what exactly a Proxy is and Vince's role in all of this is given, and I'd be lying if I said the speculation wasn't one of the main draws of the show. From what Kazkis suggests there seems to be a number of Proxies, each an emissary for a various elemental aspect of life and each with curious religious pretensions. This backs up much of Daedalus' explanation to Lil on what Proxy (Ergo) is; a god-like being who evidently is going to spell the apocalypse for humanity. No wonder Vince was suppressing all this so desperately.

How this factors in Romdeau's involvement is completely uncertain. Will it be similar to Evangelion in exploring man's interference with 'heavenly' beings to avoid our ultimate destruction, or are the Proxies a man-made creation? Kazkis' brief but enlightening appearance suggests they exist independently of humanity, with other Proxies still sleeping. Another fascinating trail of thought is how Lil Mayer factors in all of this. Will she be Vince's Senekis? And is she even alive after episode seven's dramatic conclusion? Judging by the general Protagonists Never Die rule, it's fair to assume she's alive, though the show is taking its sweet time in giving us the answer.

Conclusion
Ergo Proxy is a mysterious little bugger, ain't it. Assuming it runs to the traditional twenty-six episodes, we've obviously only just tipped the top of the iceberg when it comes to the unexplained. This gives rise to some potentially damaging inconsistencies along the way and I'm curious to see how manglobe & co will manage the show's burgeoning collection of loose ends. Yet Ergo Proxy hasn't given us any reason to doubt that it is tightly scripted with a definite conclusion in sight. I've grown beyond the initial excitement of the show's ambiguities and mysteries onto a definite investment in its characters and story. If it were shown on TV I'd make special effort to sit down and watch it every week. And I haven't made a claim like that since Six Feet Under ended last year (may it RIP, hohoho . . .urgh, sorry).

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Director: Shukou Murase
Production: Geneon Entertainment, Inc.
Fansubs by Anime Jiyuu