Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy
Cover of the limited edition DVD Set 1 released in 2012
エルゴプラクシー (Erugo Purakushī)
Genre	Cyberpunk, mystery, philosophical
Anime television series
Directed by	Shūkō Murase
Produced by	Akio Matsuda Satoshi Fujii Hiroyuki Kitaura Takashi Kōchiyama
Written by	Dai Satō
Music by	Yoshihiro Ike
Studio	Manglobe
Licensed by	AUS Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment NA Funimation UK MVM Films
Original network	WOWOW, AT-X
English network	AU ABC2 CA G4techTV (Anime Current) US Fuse, Funimation Channel ZA Animax
Original run	February 25, 2006 – August 12, 2006
Episodes	23 (List of episodes)

Ergo Proxy is a science fiction suspense anime television series, produced by Manglobe, directed by Shukō Murase and written by Dai Satō. The anime originally aired from February 25 to August 12, 2006 on the WOWOW satellite network, lasting 23 episodes. It is set in a future where humans and AutoReiv androids coexist peacefully until a virus gives the robots self-awareness, causing them to commit a series of murders. Inspector Re-L Mayer is assigned to investigate, discovering there is a more complicated plot behind it that involves a humanoid species known as 'Proxy' who are the subject of secret government experiments.

The series, which is heavily influenced by philosophy and Gnosticism, features a combination of 2D digital cel animation, 3D computer modeling, and digital special effects. After its release in Japan, the anime was licensed for a DVD release by Geneon Entertainment USA, with a subsequent broadcast on Fuse TV. The show was also distributed to Australian, British and Canadian anime markets. Since its release, Ergo Proxy has received mostly favorable reviews which praised its visuals and themes.

The story begins in a futuristic domed city called Romdeau, built to protect its citizens after a global ecological disaster thousands of years prior. In this utopia, humans and androids known as AutoReivs coexist peacefully under a total management system. A series of murders committed by robots and AutoReivs infected with the Cogito virus (which causes them to become self-aware) begins to threaten the delicate balance of Romdeau's social order. Behind the scenes, the government has been conducting secret experiments on a mysterious humanoid life form called a "Proxy." The Proxy beings (described as almighty, god-like, immortal, omnipotent) are believed to hold the very key to the survival of humanity.

Re-L (pronounced /riːˈɛl/ or "Ree-EL"; also represented by the spelling "R.E.A.L." in the Romdeau citizen database) Mayer is assigned to investigate some of the murders with her AutoReiv partner, Iggy. She encounters two unknown and highly powerful creatures. She later learns that a Proxy was involved. The other central character, an immigrant named Vincent Law, is revealed to be connected in some ways with this Proxy. After being hunted down, Vincent lives in a commune on the outside of the dome for a while. During the massacre of the commune by Raul Creed of the Security Bureau, Vincent leaves the area for Mosk, his birthplace, in an attempt to recover his memories. Re-L later rejoins him to try to discover the truth behind the Proxies and the domes. It is revealed among other things that domes are all created by Proxies as well as the people inhabiting them who are created in special incubators.