Of Swords and Parasols

*note to self: make and upload better "fight like a girl" icon of Real*

How shall I put this? LESS BLATHER, MOAR ROLLER DERBY!

On the one hand, we have all sorts of awesomeness. The whole thing is like the brainchild of Witch Hunter Robin and Ghost in the Shell. For that matter, as someone pointed out in the comments of another post, Real herself might as well be the love child of WHR's Robin and Amon. Except about 10 times as kickass. I mean, guys, it's post apocalyptic cyberpunk noir. What's not to love? And then you add in the badass heroine, the amnesiac hero searching for the truth about himself, and one of the cutest and least annoying kids to ever grace anime.

And then there's the twist in the Real/Vincent pairing. On the one hand, some bits of it are the normal "badass but emotionally distant hero and the nice love interest bringing them out of their shell." However, the baddass, closed up, emotionally distant hero who would cut off her own arm before saying "I love you" but will leave a trail of bodies to express the sentiment if needed? Real. The less capable(but not wussy or whiny) love interest who's more open and friendly and brings her out of her shell? Vincent. In a lot of ways, it's a complete gender reversal of the trope, but not in a "look, we're being clever" way.

The "look, we're being clever" stuff is saved for the downside. Because for all the awesome setting and setup and characters and atmosphere, every time it got me going in the "OMG! SO AWESOME!" way, it would start in on endless existential blather and messages. Don't get me wrong, I don't go "existentialism, ick" (guys, GITS has it all over the place and, while it annoyed me a bit a few times, it never reached the point of bothering me in either series) but really, at one point, enough is enough. Except that every time it started to be too much for me, it would blatantly cater to one of my kinks, be it character, plot, or pairing, and I'd sink back into it.

So, basically, all in all a good anime, and worth watching. All sorts of awesome sauce in some (the most important) parts, but annoying in others. (MORE ACTION! MORE POST-APOCALYPTIC CYBERPUNK NOIR! LESS PHILOSOPHY!) That said, I plan to get the set if one ever gets put out for a decent price.

Here, have an MV:




PS-Prepared to need a flowchart and possibly wiki(if the entry is decent, I shall go exploring tomorrow) for the last few episodes.

ETA-Also, if you watch, brace yourself for some truly appalling fashion on the part of the male characters. That Vincent never got a new wardrobe is a crime.

It has been asked whether or not it's a bad thing that Vincent in Ergo Proxy is sometimes allowed to do his own hair.  I shall post evidence for you to decide with.

Vincent with access to hairbrush and hairgel:



Vincent when deprived of hairbrush and hairgel:

Guys...Ergo Proxy completely just went to the "giving a girl back her gun that someone stole means true love" place.

...

It's like the series knows when it's about to make someone scream  from all the pretentious existential stuff and goes "OH HAI! MUST CATER TO KINKS NOW!"

(In other news, I just renewed my paid account and can now have 5 more icons than I could before.  Uhm...yay...*will so use them up in nothing flat*)

Real:  "Can I have a costar who can figure out if he's the Damsel in Distress or the epic hero already? Plskthnx.  Also, if I don't figure out what's going on soon, I'll shoot something.  Forget that, I'll shoot things anyway.  Maybe I'll get to kneecap someone."

Vincent:  "I may not know if I'm the Damsel in Distress or the epic hero, and I don't think even I know what's up with me, but I'm sweet and try hard and I'm actually rather cute when I stop squinting and open my eyes.  I should never be allowed to style my own hair, though."

Pino:  "I am clearly meant to raise all sorts of existential questions that will be annoying, but I'm too cute to hold that against me."

Security Bureau Guy:  "I hate Vincent for shooting things in front of me and also dislike Real for some unknown reason.  Clearly, i will be trouble."

Daedelaus:  "You may not be able to tell if  I'm a man or a woman, but I am clearly in love with Real and will be forced to do unpleasant things to the next person who tries anything there."

City:  "Yes, i'm a giant dome keeping everyone from dying of toxins.  They probably told you that in the first episode, you were just distracted by the pretty and Real's eyeshadow."

Again:  Still a little too dense and caught up in its own intelligence, and I can see a few thematic annoyances coming(it's going to be bashing me over the head with existential stuff, isn't it?) but I like the characters and feel and style, so I'm just turning off certain parts of the brain and enjoying myself.  (again, it requires footnotes at the end to explain what they were talking about.  It does, though, include a lot of mythology.)

I have more caps.


Also, I got bored last night and made icons from the first two eps.

This is a bit of an odd one.  Something of a scifi noir, our heroine, Real, is the granddaughter of the regent. 
She works with an organization that, as near as I can tell, polices robots called "autoraves" and looks for signs that they've been infected by a disease that, I think, makes them think they're autonomous enties.  Or something.  Meanwhile, there are these strange things with dramatic white hair that are going around killing people, and seem to have an interest in Real.  

Real starts to uncover what seems to be a conspiracy, though, when she's attacked and she learns that, not only do the higher ups not seem really interested in getting to the bottom of what's going on, but that her personal autorave, Iggy, has had his memories altered, both of the attack, and of their investigation the day before.  A few other important seeming characters who are floating around are Vincent, a young man also being chased by the white haired things, who seems slated for the Damsel In Distress roll, a little girl autorave whose "mother" wanted her programming to be altered to that of a maid when she was able to adopt a "real" baby, and the chief of a department in what I think is the organization Real works for.

Guys, this is the kind of show that has two minutes of footnotes and explanations at the end of the episodes so that it can explain what you just watched to you.  While I wish it were a little less dense(something I don't say a lot) I do like Real (and her Very Dramatic Eyeshadow) and the scifi noir feel, and the story seems interesting.  I just wish it were a little more approachable.  I have a feeling that at one point, I'm going to just stop following the plot and enjoy watching the scifi noir heroine shoot things.

And I have been capping Real and her Very Dramatic Eyeshadow, so here, have a few.




Also, Real's hairstyle reminds me a bit of Lenalee's. (D.Gray-Man)

Or warn me away, whichever is more accurate.

Plot Summary: In a future where the world has been ravaged by a nuclear apocalyse, there exists salvation in a domed city named "Romdeau", where humans and their android servants, the autoreivs, live in. Under the implementation of complete management control, it is a paradise where feelings are literally discarded, and the governing council dictates the way of life the citizens should live. But this utopian landscape is soon broken by a series of mystifying murders. Real Mayar, a female inspector from the Citizen Information Bureau, along with her autoreiv partner Iggy, are tasked to solve the murder cases. She is soon attacked by a creature drawn to her which is neither human nor android, and learns about the mysterious phenomena called "Awakening", an event which draws her further into the case...and to the world beyond the limits of Romdeau.

ETA:  It has been compared to Witch Hunter Robin.  About all I need.