Anime: Madlax

Noir mark 2, also known as Madlax. Studio Bee Train messes a little weenie bit with the exact same premise and throws it out supposed as a different anime we should regard differently. I am not fooled by that so as punishment I will even reuse most of my Noir review. Because I am that evil, muahahaha!

Just like THAT previous show as well as the later rehashes, Madlax made some sensation when it first came out. Being emo was cool back then and most didn’t mind watching the exact same thing over and over again. Just like the rest of these Chicks With Guns titles, it was shoved to the side more and more with each new similar anime before eventually being almost forgotten after Requiem for the Phantom came out (which is the best of this sort of shows). Its context was so simple, it got rehashed right away in later shows with gradually better directing. It’s like watching five seasons of Pokemon; the visuals may be improving but they are otherwise THE EXACT SAME THING!

So yeah, the visuals are slightly improved in details and colors next to Noir. The baddies have more details on them and are not mass produced Men In Black clones. They have faces and show a lot more facial expressions while fighting. Plus the sceneries have a lot more flora in them instead of being just squared grey buildings. It’s like the difference between the environments in Metal Gear Solid and Snake Eater; they feel more natural and the battles look less artificial.

Besides that, the animation is rather standard, with people mostly standing still and talking, while action sequences are basically the girls doing some really impossible acrobatics while their enemies are standing frozen for several seconds. Meaning, although the battles seem impressive on a superficial level, it all boils down to a few girls killing a dozen men with a six pistol, while miraculously evading a hundred bullets with fancy aerobics and hitting their opponents easily because they are standing still. Hey, I can only suspend my disbelief for a few episodes before it gets repetitive and the stupidity of the whole thing surfaces. THE MOOKS DON’T EVEN BLEED!

The music is very good if you are fans of lyric music full of ambience. I personally have nothing against it and it holds out as a fine soundtrack to buy. The problem is that sometimes they are reusing the tunes, like they reuse the premise itself. And if you don’t understand what I mean…
Madlax: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqK21m0x9K0
hack SIGN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfDUJ5WAtuE

The dialogues also have some maturity in them for going for some deep psychological or mysterious issues from time to time. Other than that, the overall simple context of the whole series will most likely make them feel like they are repeating pointlessly. Thus it is the music and not the talking that keeps you interested. Sound effects, meh, nothing special to comment.

The story and characters are A MESS! Trying to stretch a simplistic premise to last a full season can only be accomplished by slow pace, repeating flashbacks, going in circles, and throwing in lots of battles with easily defeated baddies. It tries to be mature and mysterious but eventually the ending is one big WTF and you are left wondering the point of the whole show. Something about books which magically brainwash you? Only thing, the setting has NOTHING to do with magic. The main characters DO develop though. And by main, I mean only the girls since the male genre in this series is just an army of weaklings existing to be killed. It’s all about the girls and their emo pasts. There is some interesting chemistry amongst them (hem, yuri, hem) but the whole thing happens so slow and repeats a lot before eventually going for magical nonsense and people who talk for half an hour in the middle of battle instead of doing the unthinkable and just PRESSING THE TRIGGER. Yeah ok, lol and move along.

There is no value in this anime, since as I said Requiem for the Phantom is its nth remake and the best of its kind (although I am no fan of emo chicks with guns and by no means fan of that series). As one described it, such Bee Train shows are basically long moody music videos and not good action/mystery series. So no, I don’t recommend it. Hear the soundtrack and skip the rest.

Overall
Madlax was certainly unique. I've watched a lot of anime before and after this, but still haven't found anything quite like it.

Madlax is often compared to its predecessor Noir, because they have a lot of similar elements. Often Noir is considered the superior one, but I personally think they are equally good.
Though I have to admit that Noir has a lot more entertainment value thanks to it's more plentiful action scenes and simpler plot.

Animation
I gave animation a quite low score. That doesn't mean the animation is bad, but I just personally didn't like the visual style. Floating hair CGI effect looked silly, and the characters had strange looking noses. Also most of the side characters didn't move a lot, thus making the presentation a bit dull and boring.

Sound
What this show lacked in the visual presentation is overshadowed by the amazing soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura. It's just something you have to hear to believe.
Also the english voice talent wasn't bad, and I think it was on par with its japanese counterpart, for those few who perfer their anime in english dub.

Story
The story is something you'll either hate or love. For me it was the latter. The story was interestinq, unique, and the twist at the end was completely unexpected.
The balance between talking- and action sequences is slightly on the talking side, and that might turn some people off.
The story also has a bit of yuri in it, but it's really really slight and there is no nudity.

Character
Most of the characters were interesting and well developed...
...But then there is the other one of the two main characters, Margaret Burton. She was just annoying. Her actions made a bit more sense after seeing the ending, but that doesn't change the fact that Margaret pisses me off.

The main villain is other character worth mentioning. He was really cool looking, and had a lot of melodramatic war footage backgrounding his speeches. His motivations were kind of stupid, which is also cool, for a villain at least. What made him even cooler was his name: Friday Monday. All in all cheesy, but cool at the same time. Definitely a memorable villain.

Value
Like many other animes with a huge ending twist, Madlax is interesting to watch again just so you can analyze it with a new perspective.

As has been stated before, this spin-off of the "Noir" genre is similar in many ways, including the animation and the two main characters Margaret Burton and Madlax. However, beyond the existence of the two main female leads and the use of guns, the Madlax series and Noir are completely different.

Madlax is deep, complex, and extremely mysterious; it is not until the final one or two episodes that you will finally realize what exactly is going on. And even in the end you will probably be a little confused over what just happened and why.

The story moves rather slowly, and it is very interesting to see how the two main characters paths eventually intertwine. While this does create a bit of boredom here and there as you wait for things to pan out, and creates a bit of confusion and frustration as you wait for the answers to be revealed, for the most part it is a tense and exciting experience.

Another point about Madlax is the supernatural or magical aspect of the series. While there are no "spells" or magical attacks or wands or anything, there is a definite overtone of the supernatural to the series, especially towards the end of the series.

The characters are all very complex and interesting; Madlax herself and Margaret were by far my favorite characters. I especially enjoyed watching Margaret due to the parrallels between her and another one of my favorite anime characters from Noir.

The animation is good, and the soundtrack is solid. During fighting scenes the gun fights are especially unique and the realistic sounds during battles give the anime a more realistic feel all around.

Overall, a good series, though difficult to completely understand and hard to stick with in the beggining.

(Writers note: If you read this review, RATE this review. Authors thrive on feedback, whether it be a simple happy face, or an in-depth critique.)

The last 4 episodes of Madlax are funnier than most anime comedies. Madlax is an absolutely splendid parody of slow moving action/fantasy/dramas, in the same vein as The Golden Child (Asian kid with magical powers, flying dragons, mythical demons, and Eddie Murphy seeing this ridiculous world through the most cynical eyes.), and The Princess Bride. There’s one problem, however; Madlax was never intended to be a parody. The only enjoyment to be found in Madlax is the kind you bring with you. I enjoyed Madlax in the same way I enjoyed such films as Armageddon, Godzilla, and Troy; by ridiculing them mercilessly.

The animation in Madlax is some of the best I have seen in a TV series. Characters are drawn beautifully and move fluidly through exquisitely rendered environments. From the claustrophobia of a thick Asian jungle, to the bustling madness of a big city, Madlax is filled with beautifully rendered and realized animation. Unfortunately, all of this beauty is marred by an overuse of repeated frames, unnecessary flashbacks, and long, boring panning shots of still frames. These flaws crop up occasionally in the early episodes, becoming more prevalent in the third act.

The music to Madlax is gorgeous. From beautiful operatic singing over a pumping soundtrack, to a quiet humming over a church chorus, the music in Madlax is wonderful to hear. The sound effects could use some work, with unnecessary “swishing” sounds whenever a gun or knife is drawn, which happens quite often. It’s unfortunate that the sound effects artists for Madlax decided to use such a cheesy horror movie cliché in an action/drama. Every time a gun appears on screen, whether it is holstered, drawn, or pointed at something, an annoying gun-cocking sound is heard.

As wonderful as the music is, the music in Madlax suffers from poor editing. The wrong music plays at the wrong times, detracting from moments it was supposed to enhance. One song in particularly I found completely out of place occurred whenever “magic” took place. An annoyingly loud male chorus, with the singers’ voices spiking randomly, resulting in a cacophony of annoying sounds. “Magic” occurs in Madlax only during pivotal scenes, which the annoying music all but ruins. It is unfortunate that such lovely music ended up detracting much more from the viewing experience than it added.

The problems I had with the plot and story of Madlax are far too numerous for me to mention them all without writing another review like the one I wrote for RahXephon. I doubt anyone wants to read 13 pages on how bad Madlax’s story is, so I will summarize.

Madlax’s premise sinks the series the moment we are made aware of it. Assuming the creators have seen the Monty Python sketch “The Funniest Joke In The World”, they should have already been aware that the idea of “dangerous words” is absolutely ridiculous, and impossible to take seriously. Unfortunately, Madlax plays out joylessly, with absolute seriousness; the series’ most fatal flaw. With such an outlandish premise, the audience needs a character, preferable a main character, who sees the story for the mess it is, and reacts to it as the audience does, with incredulousness and cynicism. We need an Eddie Murphy character, who can view these crazy contrivances and respond with, “…Get the fuck out of here!” Or better yet, a character like Jay in Dogma, “What the fuck is this, The Piano? Why ain’t this bitch talking? What the fuck happened to that guy’s head!?”

To better illustrate, imagine Space Balls played absolutely straight. Imagine Mel Brooks’s Yogurt speaking each line as if it was a dire warning, meant to be taken literally and seriously. Now imagine Barf (John Candy), or Pizza The Hut saying their lines in the same way, with muted voices, as if each line should bring tears to your eyes, instead of making you laugh. That is the tone that Madlax has. The characters go through these impossibly ridiculous situations and contrivances, yet never bother to question any of it. With the mindlessly slow pacing of the series, both the audience and the characters are given ample time to reflect on Madlax’s ridiculousness, but only the audience will be making good use of their time.

Madlax has many other problems as well. The gun fighting in Madlax is as cliché as it comes. In the Madlax Universe, it is safer to be surrounded by 20 tanks and 300 soldiers than it is to face one of the main characters. It does not matter if that character has any fighting prowess or not. When the plot says that it’s time for this person to get hurt, or it’s time for this person to die, their fighting abilities drop to zero, with no reason, explanation, or logic behind it.

In lesser anime, in an attempt to lengthen the series to it’s predetermined running time, the director will allow certain scenes to run on longer than is necessary in order to fill up the allotted time. For instance, a panning shot of a still frame of someone’s face that lasts twice as long as it needed to get the intended effect. This is referred to as “padding” a series. In worse anime, flashbacks are used not only at the start, but also in the middle of the series, for no other reason than to help fill up the allotted time. Another ploy is the filler episode. An episode in which characters do not change, the plot does not advance, and nothing much happens in general. Madlax employs copious amounts of all three, creating a mind-numbingly slow and monotonous 26 episode series from what could have been a thrilling two hour movie, or four episode OVA. The first and second act nearly dropped me into a coma, they were so slow.

The characters are yet another fatal flaw in the series. If the director were to replace each character with a cardboard box, most audience members wouldn’t notice. Yes, they are that bland. Margaret Barton takes “blank slate” to a whole new level, with her actions and surroundings having zero impact on her state of mind. Her personality is so arbitrary, that it is impossible to be surprised by anything she does. Give a hundred thousand dollars to a homeless man? Ok. Murder 20 pregnant women? Yeah, why not?

Another main character, Madlax, is a super-assassin, working freelance in the middle of a civil war. She is almost as bland as Margaret, expressing the entire emotional spectrum, from happy, to not so happy, to I’m-not-very-happy.

The Curse of the Talking Hero and the Curse of the Talking Villain are very much alive in Madlax. I counted at least a dozen instances where the story could have wrapped up if only the characters had taken one simple logical action: Pull the trigger. It is so bad, that the villain could literally walk up to Madlax, state plainly, “I am the villain. I will destroy the world and everything you care for just because I can.” And she still wouldn’t shoot him. In reality, people learn from their mistakes. In Madlax, the same mistakes are repeated again and again and again.

I didn’t kill the villain before, so he killed someone precious to me. I have him in my sights again… should I shoot him? Not yet. First I’m going to tell him how mad I am at him for killing that person I liked. Oh crap! He killed another friend of mine while I was standing here chatting and got away! I won’t fall for it a third time, no way!

Hey, there he is again! What should I do? I know! I’ll shoot him dead like I should have done the last two times… but I’ll wait till he’s done talking first. Oh no! His friend saved him and killed yet ANOTHER person I liked!

Now I’m really peeved! If I ever see him again, I’ll make sure to give him a thorough talking to while pointing my gun at him menacingly. Lets just hope his friend doesn’t help again…

To sum up, Madlax is a cliché filled mess, with a preposterous premise that sinks the mystery of the first two acts. The third act is sunk when characters’ IQs skyrocket and plummet at the whim of the plot. Luckily, great fun can be derived from Madlax simply by making fun of it as you watch. The final episodes left me howling with laughter, as one ridiculous contrivance after another rose to the surface, to be accepted blandly by a “blandest of the bland” cast of characters. I had fun watching it. However, emotionally speaking, Madlax achieves the opposite of it’s objective. The Anime Database describes an anime with a 2 rating as being “Worthless”. Madlax is an inspired parody, especially in its third act. However, as far as action/drama/fantasy goes, it is worthless.

excellent and original anime that can compete with the big ones


superb animation
The second-strongest point of the animation. The women in the series are beautiful and attractive without being pornographic, and that is very rare in this time and age. Special notice goes to the maid, Elinor, who is probably the best animated minor character I have ever seen. The male characters are screwed up, but that is not really a problem, because most persons are female ^_^. Especially if you compare this series to its predecessor, Noir, you will see that the artists have really improved their skills.

state-of-the-art music!
Even the other reviewers had to admit it: the music kicks royal ass like I've never heard before. The intro and outro are good, but it is especially the other (instrumental) music that really ceates a sensible and misterious mood. It is not comparable to any series at all.

interesting story
The story is good, but nothing more. It doesn't really add something to this anime, but I don't really consider this a problem. You can disagree with me at this point, but it is just a fact that you can count the series with a really special storyline on one hand. Point of citicism I have to mention is that it doesn't really develop very fast. If you think this is killing the fun, it's your opinion. I didn't mind it all.

nice set of characters
This is one of the few series where I was really concerned with the characters. The cute, clumsy, nearly authistic Margaret does more with my heart than an extaggarating brat like Naruto, or an overly manly typo like Sasuke, to mention a few everyone has to know. The same goes for the caring Elinor, the brave Vannessa or the character of Madlax herself. These characters are really deep, and when you watch this, you know that the artists have made an effort of them. Of course, the excellent animation plays a part in this, too.

I am currently watching the series for the second time, while the first time is already some time ago. This is the first anime I have ever watched for the second time. And that says something about the value, I think.

I really do recommend this anime. In my eyes, it can compete with big ones like Fullmetal Alchemist, though it is completely different. I have tried to be objective in this review, but of course that wasn't possible. I hope you will at least consider to download and watch the first few episodes, and hopefully you will get just as absorbed by the mood, the pace and the originality of this beautiful anime as I was. Enjoy!

A slow and tiresome, but quite interesting series.

The animation is from BeeTrain, a company which has proven themselves a couple of times already with series as Noir, .Hack//Sign and such. While their characters often look quite similar, they do look nice. It's just hard to distinguish them from characters in other anime they produced, but that aside ;)

They did a nice job on the surroundings, which are filled with atmosphere and often have just enough detail to believe the environment might exist in reality as well. They tend to overdo things a bit when it's about action though, where people can dodge bullets and such even though it's clearly not possible, but that's what identifies the BeeTrain anime ;)
The colors in MADLAX are done well. They tried to give it an impressionistic style, where they didn't bother to use a lot of detail, but rather tried to use a general color in order to reflect the grim situation.

The sound is, as with most of their anime, quite good.
Music from Noir, .Hack//Sign and Avenger are quite similar since most of the songs are composed and exectuted by the same group.
While the series can get boring at times, the music is good enough to keep you listening to it and sometimes one might even like a song well enough to listen to it without seeing the anime.
The voiceactors are chosen pretty well, although one of the main characters has way too much resemblance with Kirika from Noir. After taking a closer look, it actually is the same voiceactress! Such a surprise - well, actually it isn't since the girl she does the voice for is almost a perfect copy of the girl from Noir.

The story is often boring and because the slow pacing of the storyline itself, this series might be hard to watch when you're not fully awake. The series strives to be slow, subtle and mysterious (which is also a characteristic of BeeTrain), but people might believe it's boring instead.
The story itself is done decently. Although the idea is quite interesting, MADLAX takes a lot of time to work with the characters, the story and the conclusions.
Out of all the BeeTrain anime, MADLAX is definitely the one with the most action and the deepest story. But although the idea is good, they tend to repeat things a bit too often (flashbacks) and they seem to like to stretch very obvious things, which might be annoying.
The idea of the books and the connection between Margaret and MADLAX is done nicely. There are plenty of interesting characters, but a few of them are too persistent in making an appearance, resulting in them becoming pretty annoying.
The good part of MADLAX is that they don't just focus on a single main character, but divide the screentime between several other characters, which gives off a feeling that the story is way more complicated and much more connected.
The bad part is that a couple of the important characters have little, if not none, personality.

The characters eventually are usually done well. Margaret is an interesting character, although her way of speaking is, to say it bluntly, very annoying. The girl doesn't seem to have any common sense, which makes her appearance usually pretty sad. But while her history makes her interesting, her present makes her uninteresting.
Her maid has the same kind of character; dull, senseless and with a lack of humor. It almost becomes painful to see them at times and often enough I wondered why anyone would even try to befriend them.
Vanessa on the other hand is a good character and helps the series a lot. MADLAX herself is also a character which gives the series the atmosphere it should have, together with the mysterious man who lurks in the series.
The guy Fliday Monday though, is a very annoying character (not alone because of his name; which is even spelled differently in order to make it not so obvious that they couldn't come up with a name for him - and where they fail miserably).
Luckily there are enough good characters around to make up for Margaret and her maid, since those two lack a lot of depth - and character.

Does that sound like a bad anime? Perhaps it does. But if you've seen Noir and liked it, this series will probably please you as well.
Although it probably isn't a good idea to rewatch this series a lot (once you know the outcome, it suddenly isn't so interesting anymore), it is still quite a decent watch.
I liked the series, although I have to admit that there are some parts where it's just plain boring. The later phases are more interesting though, when the clues are all given and they set out to find the reasons for it.