Ergo Proxy = Love. Seriously, my last post about .Hack//Roots really made me think about clever anime, what they are, and what they look like. This episode was so utterly incredible that it gave me such a new insight on this matter. Most people will probably dislike this episode, as it just features Vincent talking to himself for twenty whole minutes. But I totally loved it. So many references were made, so many metaphors were used, and the dialogue was just totally incredible. This episode truly can not be summarized, and I won’t even attempt to do that. So many small things mattered.

First of all, what does define a clever anime? I’d like to think of an anime which really makes me think. And not just a bit, as in a small note which comes to my mind, but an anime who manages to send all kinds of thoughts rambling through my head, like there’s nothing to stop them, something like a fierce mountain river which lasts for kilometres and kilometres. .Hack//Sign was the first example of this. Right now, the only anime I’m watching who accomplishes the same tasks is Ergo Proxy, with Higurashi no Naku Koro no and Mushishi getting very close as a second and third. Higurashi features very carefully written plot and mystery, while Ergo Proxy’s dialogue manages to hit me time and time again and Mushishi’s themes also make you think about the issues they introduce. Apart from these four mentioned, the only other near-clever anime I managed to run into were Fantastic Children, Utena and Fruits Basket, with xxxHolic having very small potential of becoming one. Fantastic Children had its great theme of reincarnation, Utena had its great use of symbols, while Fruits Basket delved deep into the minds of each of the characters.

Each of these anime are extremely well written, and each of them is written in its own way. It’s not just the themes, it’s how the creators make use of it. I’ve also noticed that most of them make good use of phylosophy. Especially Ergo Proxy and .Hack//Sign, and I must admit, I am a sucker for anything phylosophy-related. But still, the fact that phylosophy is used, means that there isn’t just one right answer, and one wrong answer. So many different opinions are possible, and each of them bears some hidden truth.

Anyway, back to the episode, I just loved it. Remember the sentence Raoul said in the previous episode? (I think, therefore I …, leaving the last word open on purpose). This sentence comes back, though slightly altered. It’s not “I think therefore I am”, it’s “I think, therefore YOU are”. Basically, humans are able to create their own world. They do exist, and they make others exist, inside their world. It’s also interesting that Vincent ends up in a bookstore. In there, he finds all kinds of books, and all of them have his name written on their cover. When he looks at the pages, they’re empty. At the beginning of the episode, the books keep increasing. Then Vincent comes at a point at which he begins to recite his own memories, of the things he knows. This makes some of the books disappear. At the end of the episode, Pino ends up at the Usagi again, and even there lies one of these books. Though this time, the books don’t vanish, they only lose their inscription of Vincent on their cover. This probably means that Vincent finally found himself, and accepted the fact that he IS a Proxy. (Interesting note: along with Vincent’s name, this book also featured a butterfly on its cover. This butterfly also vanished along with the name. Would that mean anything?).

Another interesting fact is that there’s the same discussion being held, twice. Once at the beginning of the episode, and once at the ending of the episode. Each of them have different outcomes, showing Vincent what he learned. Vincent lost his way at the beginning of the episode, and decided to go to the bookstore in order to ask for directions. Meanwhile, a fog started coming up, and he lost Pino. He wanted to know all these things at once. At the end of the episode, he finally realizes this. And the bookstore. For some reason, Vincent’s head turned this into a gigantic maze, but for some other reason, the maze formed a perfect circle, with Vincent in the middle. This points at the struggles that Vincent is currently in. Brilliantly found.

This episode certianly played with the minds of the viewers, as we don’t exactly know what happened in Vincent’s head, and what didn’t. For starters: was the bookstore even real, or was this a figment of Vincent’s imagination as well? Everything looked realistic and all, except for the fact that there’s a bookstore in the middle of nowhere. When Pino was walking in the Usagi, you could see one of the books bearing Vincent’s name. Was that because of Vincent’s power as a Proxy? And still, in the end, Vincent did end up getting directions. Is that really something that can form inside your head? What about the fact that at one point, Ergo and the old man were arguing with each other? Can things like these really happen, even inside your head? And if the old man did exist in reality, what part of him was real, and what part wasn’t? After all, he was the only one who didn’t end up with an Ergo Proxy mask. Ergo Proxy uses this opportunity to talk to Vincent, but the two of them indeed seemed to not have the same opinion. In fact, Ergo was just trying to make clear to Vincent that he was is a Proxy, and that the two of them are the same. But does the fact that they share the same body, mean that the two of them are also the same? I mean, Vincent is Vincent, and when Vincent loses control, Vincent blacks out and Ergo appears.

It’s also interesting that Vincent takes a trip along his memories of the past, with each person appearing with an Ergo Proxy-mask (this was, by the way, a scary sight on Pino and other little children). Ergo comes with a nice statement. At the moment, he’s only observing the world, while not being any part of it. Is that what Proxy are able to do? Messengers sent from a higher level? It’s also interesting that near the end of the episode, Real gets to be the one who loses her mask. She disappears afterwards, of course, but then, Ergo sets the mask on fire, while asking Vincent which Proxy he is. I guess he wanted to see how Vincent reacted when the Ergo-mask was to be destroyed. It’s interesting to see Vincent clinging to that mask at such a cornered moment. Afterwards, Vincent becomes surrounded by mirrors, in Ergo-mode, only strenthening this effect.

Okay, I hope that that was understandable… Anyway, overall, this episode was just totally incredible. It SO messes with the viewer’s mind. At least, it did with mine. The Ergo inside Vincent is planning something, but before he does that, he needs Vincent to realize that the two of them are the same. The episode ends with Real catching up with Vincent. You’d wonder how she managed to find him. After all, Vincent was lost. How do you find someone who’s lost? I guess she’s special after all. But in what way?

On a side-note: What is the memory guardian? Could it be the thing that prevents Vincent from remembering what he does as Ergo? And why was the old man against unlocking it?
On a side-note2: I’ve recently managed to get my hands on the Ergo Proxy OST, and it’s amazing. I really recommend it.

Okay, we’ve reached episode 10, and still no big thing. As everything stands now, the anime can just end at the thirteenth episode without too much problems. TaN has executed its plans, Ovan is kidnapped, and our protagonists will probably need three whole episodes to sort everything out. My predictions are that the first thirteen episodes will be focusing at the natural, while the last thirteen episodes will be focusing at the supernatural. After all, the virus cores are explained, though the strange thing who appeared at the previous episode, or the strange A-like markings have yet to be explained. Still, TaN probably has got something to do with the latter, as one of the virus cores found itself inside one of the spaces that the A-like markings teleported Haseo to.

Still, some major things happened during this episode, and I didn’t like it. Ovan just went and got himself kidnapped, even though he knew it. In that case, why has he been collecting the virus cores so furiously? His smile from the previous episode’d better have some kind of meaning, as I’m beginning to dislike Ovan more and more. At least his disappearance made sure of one thing: Shino. For the first time since the third episode, she played a great part again. The creators made use of a nice technique, by not showing her eyes when she talks. This way, the viewers have no idea about her expression, and have to guess a bit, giving a very nice overall effect.

Another thing I really liked about this episode is the fight that the members of the Twillight Brigade have at the beginning of the episode, against Ender and her goons. Okay, the latter were just horrible, just like the previous episode. But the former really showed their best sides at that moment. Especially the sarcastical Sakisaka and the overenthusiastic Goad. Lots of things happened at the same time, you just have to give the choreographers credit for this.

Still, now that we’ve reached the tenth episode, I know. .Hack//Roots will never reach the perfection of .Hack//Sign. The biggest reason is the following: .Hack//Sign was smart. Very smart. It covered themes that really made you think. Why do you play the game? Just do the things that you want to do. These ones really are nowhere to be found in .Hack//Roots. The first example does return a bit, though most of the characters just throw this away because it’s too much efford to think about it, and only Phyllo manages to give a satisfying answer. The second one, however, just remains oblivious.

The fact is that this remains an MMORPG. Okay, there are guilds, I can accept that. What I can’t accept is the fact that TaN seems to be covering hundreds of members, actually WORKING for the big guy, Naobi. I mean the game remains for recreational purposes. What the heck does Naobi think ordering everyone around? It isn’t a company or some sort of thing. The fact remains that .Hack//Sign really gave the feeling of an MMORPG. In .Hack//Roots, Phyllo is the only one who manages this. .Hack//Sign made very subtle use of the real world. They showed little snippets of scenes in the real world, though very cryptic and subtle. Especially Tsukasa’s flashbacks were great. What does .Hack//Roots do? Nothing. The only sign that we ever get from our main characters is that Ovan and Shino seem to know each other.

.Hack//Dusk went way too extreme in it, but it had the right ideas about the following subject: quests. .Hack//Sign made perfect use of it, though. .Hack//Roots? Quests? What’s that? .Hack//Roots indeed seems to be forgetting one of the most important aspects of an MMORPG. Okay, they may seem a bit weak, but they’re actually quite fun to do. Roots just doesn’t see this. It also seems that NPC’s also don’t exist in the world anymore. .Hack//Sign was also brilliant in keeping its distance from the administrators. You have to realize that they’re the only party who gets paid to do their job. They don’t have anything to do with the player. I was hoping for .Hack//Roots to follow the same example as .Hack//Sign did, instead of following the horrible example that .Hack//Dusk set. But unfortunately, I was wrong. TaN seems to have something to do with the administrators after all.

The point remains that everyone inside an MMORPG remains equal. Nobody has special powers. Everyone can just level up to lvl 99 as same as everyone else. What they do have, however, is some people who are incredibly active, and set some examples to the rest. Think of Subaru in .Hack//Sign. She attempted to start some kind of independant police force, which would be able to control malicious players. Soon, more and more people started to hear about her, she got support, and before you knew it, she was the most famous player in The World, with everyone recognizing her. What the heck did Naobi do to get such a status? Well, he’s just friends with the admins. Woo. It’s the same for the Twillight Brigade. We never get to see what made them so known around The World. I hope this gets answered in the later episodes, though I seriously doubt that they’ll be able to beat Subaru in this.

Another thing is: why the heck is Naobi so obsessed about getting Ovan’s player data. Dude: it’s a friggin’ GAME. What the heck do you hope to gain with this. Ovan also reveals that the strange voice from .Hack//Sign and the Twillight Bracelet from .Hack//Dusk were actually the Key of the Twillight. Not only takes this away all the mystery in one giant blow, it also gives us some large hints that the guy who appeared in the previous episode will have to be playing for the Key of the Twillight-part. I also don’t like the fact that Naobi, of all guys, was the one who told Ovan about the Key of the Twillight. Remember Sora? He was the one who introduced the term in .Hack//Sign. Still, he was just a PK-er, a fouteen year-old guy who liked to play the game. That has to say something, doesn’t it?

Okay, that concludes my little rants. .Hack//Roots still remains entertaining, though that mostly comes from the first 8 episodes. You really had no idea what was going on, and that was the good part of it. Just showing a couple of guys executing their plans wasn’t just too worthwile to see. It’s the preparation that counts, along with all of the unforeseen circumstances. Though Ovan getting kidnapped was just everything away from unforeseen. Still, I’m still waiting for the big thing to show up and give us some material for the last thirteen episodes.

On a side-note: I just loved Tabby’s fangirling at Goad. ^^;