Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
MutsumiYours
You know those anime that make you think:
“Ah, this show does not actually have much to say. It just wants to look deep.”
Ergo Proxy feels like the undiluted essence of that kind of anime.
Pure pretentiousness.
I started getting suspicious when I noticed things like the use of Radiohead for the ending theme and the constant references to philosophers and philosophical terminology. And somehow, my suspicion turned out to be completely correct.
What is impressive about Ergo Proxy is that even most supposedly “pretentious” anime usually have some kind of narrative core underneath all the symbolism. There is normally at least a central idea, theme, or argument that the presentation is built around.
Here, I barely felt any of that.
It feels like 100% aesthetic posturing.
Names, symbols,…
Read at the sourceSetHorizon
Ergo Proxy is an anime that I went into truly thinking it was going to be something amazing only to be pretty disappointed with how it turned out. It started off so strong only to immediately slow to a crawl and do a whole lot of nothing, and when they do actually do something it just leaves you feeling confused. It's not subtle either, it hits you like a truck and leaves you coping wondering whether it'll pick back up again or not.
This will be a pretty short review since I haven't got all that much to say about it and its pretty cut and dried.
Let me first get a few things out of the way. The OP is an absolute banger, in fact it's one of my favourite OPs I have ever heard in an anime. Second of all, the art style and overall aesthetic is perfect. Character designs are great, music is g…
Read at the sourceSpider-Mate_MSA
I Think Therefore You Are
You know the sci-fi anime is gonna be fire when the female MC is staring forward in the poster.
We've got another banger anime from the same people who did Samurai Champloo, one of my favourite animes of all time, so I had high expectations for this (watched it in dub, the intended way). What do I think of it?
This is honestly an anime that still has a lot of unanswered questions within its story, and I believe that's a good thing, mostly. The wider story and lore in this anime is quite difficult and hard to grasp and understand the first time, but I believe the more human side to the story makes it very easy to adapt to that and keep you engaged all the way throughout, without feeling like you're lost.
I've gotta say that the characters and their interactions…
Read at the sourcekeruberosumaru
Ergo Proxy had potential: solid characterisation for the female protagonist, a dark world, interesting animation, and strong light and shadow work. However, the story lacks interest and the pacing drags. The narrative tells the viewer nothing from the opening scene to the final episode.
Silence and contemplation work when an author uses them to provoke thought or emotion. Here, the creators use empty pauses and characters speaking in cryptic monologues to pad the runtime and obscure a broken plot. They rely on slow pacing—evident in tedious stretches like the sailing boat journey—and namedropping famous thinkers like Descartes or Berkeley to create an illusion of depth.
The authors gathered cool elements, failed to connect them, and dropped philosophical names so the audience would assum…
Read at the sourceKaijuBattle
Sci fi anime that is in the style of Blame manga. 2000s anime with a great intro and Radiohead outro. The anime has a goth cyber punk feel and anyone who likes 2000s anime with a great story that has a twist will enjoy it. I would recommend it for anyone who likes boogiepop phantom, Blame, serial experiment lain or witch Hunter Robin. There are two main characters and they go on a journey together through what looks like a wasteland. Throughout the anime they encounter crazy things and discover what is happening and who they are. It’s an overlooked classic and recommend it for anyone who likes animes that are intellectual.
Read at the sourceyana_vvv
Dystopic techno-futurism, specifically in anime, as a ultra-niche genre has become an obsession of mine. For years I've been trying to get myself to finish Ergo Proxy but the problem was that the first episode was incredible, I'd argue a perfect first episode. But it stagnates for the first half of the series at a comfortable 6.5-7, so I'd never get beyond episode 10 or so.
But please trust me the second half, episodes 14-23, are where the show really finds it footing and are the main reason I gave this show a 9 rating.
The concept of having a reason to live is rarely explored in dystopian anime, not like this. The typical ‘because i want to live’ or ‘because we have to fix this’ motivations are there but the way the characters all grow to find something larger, beyond themselves and y…
Read at the sourceleaveb2alone
[EN/PT-BR]
[EN]
Ergo Proxy is uncomfortably captivating, and that's exactly why you should watch it.
Ergo Proxy follows the perspectives of two protagonists: Vincent Law, an immigrant living in Romdo who holds the answers to the story's central mystery, and Re-l Mayer, the granddaughter of the city's regent, who pursues Vincent in an attempt to uncover what a Proxy truly is. Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world where humanity has isolated itself inside domed cities, people now coexist with robots known as AutoReivs and Entourages.
Ergo Proxy builds its story by drawing the viewer in with mysteries that are gradually unraveled throughout the series. Questions such as "Why is the world like this?" and "Why does humanity live this way?" are never completely answered (or maybe I just w…
Read at the sourceAdd-onis
When was the last time i watched a show with such an ambitious plot...
You will see episodes in this that you will see nowhere else. "Busy doing nothing", "Goodbye Vincent" or "Ophelia" are some of the most memorable episodes i have ever seen. Conceptual episodes like this just dont exist anymore in modern productions. Everything follows predictable arcs. It is in these unqiue scenarios however that you get so much development and conflict that reveals a lot about the characters.
Themes:
Primarily metaphysics of the western canon. Philosophy, art history, psychology, state politics, identity, memory, AI...
It all gets referenced, for some not deeply enough, they wanted more and deeper engagement with these but i dont agree.
The focus is on Vincent and his internal development. These co…
Read at the sourcedim00
Oh god where do I begin. At first the show starts up seemingly convoluted, barely making any sense with all the concepts and vague ideas it throws at you but as you go on the more it all adds up and starts to make sense.
I really liked the Baroque theme fused with advanced futurism and the ecclesiastical music that plays throughout, although I can't really recommend it to everyone due to how depressing the entire show is and revolves around loss and despair, especially in the latter 2/3rds of the show outside the dome city of Romdeau. I did appreciate the intro/outro and the hellenic naming throughout however.
Read at the sourceOlorin666
A masterpiece and a real diamond among anime. A show where it is not easy to follow the plot, because each episode contains dozens of religious, philosophical, psychological, ontological questions. The main character is a woman who lives in a post-apocalyptic world, where humanity has died out, and a small part of it lives in dome cities, where it coexists with anroids with artificial intelligence. But one day, the androids are infected with a dangerous virus. The main character must investigate this case, and at the same time learn not only the history of the world, but also the history of her origin. A melancholic and tragic story, for lovers of complex and intricate plots. Bright and violent cyberpunk, and at the same time a deep religious conviction. A story that captivates with its ma…
Read at the sourceAnimeQSparks
I had the show at 9/10 until episode 15, where everything started to fall off. The only reason it is not a 4-5/10 is because of how good the start of the show was. I would say because of that I have mixed feelings, but I still generally wouldn't recommend it because you won't be satisfied with just the first half.
If you do end up watching it, you can skip episode 15, 19-23 and imagine your own ending, because the second half is just pure bullshit. Honestly not even worth watching episode 16-18 because the timeline will make even less sense (it already makes no sense because every other episode is some bullshit psychological stuff, with timeskips, and you can never tell what is real and what is fake). To be honest, even episode 14 is bullshit but it was the first bullshit episode so it wa…
Read at the sourceImmortalMephisto
Not every story lets you fully grasp its depth at first glance. From the opening moments, it immerses you in a post-apocalyptic world where identity, consciousness, and the essence of humanity are constantly questioned. Every event, character decision, and narrative development is deliberate, building a complex psychological and philosophical tapestry. Even seemingly ambiguous or chaotic moments have a purpose, rewarding close attention and reflection. The journey of the central figures portrays gradual psychological and moral growth, showing how individuals respond differently to loss, isolation, and existential pressure. Each character carries a distinct worldview and inner struggle, making their transformations feel earned and natural. This subtle interplay between environment, philosop…
Read at the sourcenajueon
I swear it has worlds of potential. The atmosphere, themes, characters, world design. All that turns meaningless at the end, and that is not because the final is not giving you a climax.
Of course it can be a final without closure of the story or something satisfying. But that is not even something like that, you should watch videos or something to understand most of the things happened. There is also almost compeletly empty few episodes, just release them as ova's or something it has no affection on the story.
They just messed the potential to look cool and philosophical. And you watch something for a whole episode and at the last 2 minutes of the episode it turns out as dream, this happening like half of the total episodes.
At the end the dark atmosphere, themes and pino is still aw…
Read at the sourcenomi_ya
*Insert Evanescence reference here*
Most people that have watched Ergo Proxy either like it or they don't, no in between, I fall in the first category
This is is one of those animes that had a lot of potential but sadly didn't live up to expectations for a number of reasons, be it lack of resources, financial or whatnot. It might be one of the most philosophical animes, venturing into the realm of gnosticism, the meaning of life and other mumbo jumbo. Everything this show wants to tell is executed in a mediocre way, but with good intentions.
The plot is a bit messy at the first watch, you need to pay extra attention to all the hidden messages and the post credits scenes, and also carefully asses the bits and pieces in the Nightmare Quiz episode. If you're a big nerd like me, you'll opt…
Read at the sourcekymaros
The first half is good and simple, with potential to have a meaningful end. Second half defenestrated the plot.
The dynamics between characters end up being shallow at best.
There is a gradual lack of motivation and emotion that makes the story boring.
At least 10 episodes of: "WTF is happening, oh it was a dream." Who thought this was a good idea?
I understand that not understanding may appear to be cool, but anyone with the gift of reason will tell you this is either a psychedelic trip, the ramblings of a madman, or the super-ego of an author who thinks they are writing a millennium masterpiece while not knowing the basics of writing and philosophy. Or maybe they had too much budget for the anime and had to add filler to match the expected duration. Heh.
In general, it is just anothe…
Read at the sourcekurohazama
“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
Above is a quote from one of my most-liked authors. Carl Jung and his works have stretched their influence to countless art, even ones that played a huge part in shaping me as I was growing up. I've always, and will always love philosophical works—especially ones that try to explore psychology and the human consciousness, regardless of how heavy-handed they can get. There's just something deeply fascinating about the human mind. How unyielding but flawed it is. How strong but ambiguous it can get. Even within Jung's often cited principles—Persona and Shadow, Anima and Animus, individuality and collective—ideas that have been exhaustively explored and depicted in stories throughout many decades, are all still infinitely interesting to…
Read at the sourcephiliwilly
I haven’t enjoyed an anime like this since watching Lain last year. This show is the whole package: artful, thoughtful, and gripping. This is what more anime should strive try to be; taking full advantage of the medium to create genuine art. It’s a shame we’ve accepted the modern anime trend of flat storytelling, formulaic plots, and painfully un-stylized visuals; I guess this is most profitable for studios.
That said, I’m not surprised by the mixed reviews. Some of the middle episodes are fairly out there and distract from the main plot. Also I can see how the lack of a “cool” self-insert MC to create emotional buy-in might also be an obstacle to enjoyment. But for me these are not issues; I was never bored watching this.
Instead, this anime doesn't shy away from abstraction and presen…
Read at the sourceRemanTheArchean
I'm giving this a 7/10, but this is not a typical 7/10 show where my thoughts would be that it's decent enough to be fun as I'm watching it, but that it's nothing special. Rather, this is an *extremely* ambivalent 7/10 indicating that I think this show hits more than it misses, but man did it get on my nerves at some points.
This is an extremely pretentious show from start to finish. It seems like whoever created this had a goal to "show that anime can be just as worthwhile as any other medium", sort of like if Ghost in the Shell got a full 23 episodes to flex itself rather than <90 minutes. One one hand this is a good thing since many anime are just utterly unambitious, but on the other hand this really overdoes it at some points.
My biggest issue was in just trying to understand what…
Read at the sourceReddington_BL
When I first heard about Ergo Proxy, I was interested to see what it was. This show is in a really weird place where most of the time you have no have no idea what is happening. Yet, it's oddly really interesting and addicting.
I don't know what happened, but the art style changed from the firs episode to the second - and it was a downgrade. It seemed to have kept changing randomly.
The best part about this show was Re-l. The blue eyeliner did it for me, she is so hot. Given that one of the episodes focused solely on Re-l in her underwear, with closeups on her breasts and panties, I'm gonna say her being hot was the intended focal point of the show.
While there were some good episodes, most of it was just mind boggling. I'm gonna be honest, I'm glad there's only one season, because I do…
Read at the sourceMichaelMorbius
It doesn't matter who made you, what goals you're told to pursue, it doesn't matter how sad life can be; you're a human being. No matter how fucked up things get, you're a human being. With a heart, a soul and, therefore, you need to live. Shit will happen and it will lead to the good stuff. After all, you need to have loss to have love.
That's my main takeaway from one of most complex animes I've ever seen: Ergo Proxy.
A surreal yet magical experience that trescendes animation and makes you wonder who you are and why you're here. One of the finest pieces on animation I've graced my eyes upon.
Plot: 9/10 - The story takes a place in a post-apocalyptic setting, in the dome-city of Rumdeau. It follows the stories of Vincent Law, an immigrant who seems to have lost his memory, and Re-L Meye…
Read at the source
