Madlax

Madlax’s similarities to Noir kind of turned some people off, and it really IS like Noir. Except I found it better, and quite different in enough aspects to make it worth watching. It’s not JUST a repeat of Noir. Trust me. Alright, so the plot started out a bit slow, and that was kind of annoying. At 26 episodes, it drags. But if it had been condensed into 13, it wouldn’t have fit. So 26 it is. It is infuriating how it takes forever for the characters to meet up, but our interest is maintained through means of some pretty cool gunfights. When things eventually dostart to happen though, Madlax begins to shine. It has a pretty interesting theme and the last few episodes were sad, but it’s good drama. It ended well and had an overall tight plot, despite the unanswered questions. Yes, it is like Noir in the sense that there’s this unsolved mystery and secret organization hanging over the whole thing and pulling the strings, but the mystery’s what kept me interested. It’s different from Noir in that while Noir focused on realism, this went the other way and tried to work on abstract imaginary premises. Madlax has some great characters. My favourite has to be Madlax herself. I like her character design, I like her voice (Sanae Kobayashi is an underrated voice actor), and I like her personality (hardened by war, but still somehow a gentle person. Go fig. That’s an impressive control of emotions). On top of all that, she likes to fight in cocktail dresses. XD That’s never really explained properly, but it’s not overboard as fanservice, and it is pretty funny to watch. Her gun-wielding skills are far above realism, but then again, the entire show deals with surrealism. Margaret is just a tad annoying, but her voice actor portrays her well, and there’s notable character development there. Vanessa and Eleanor were both characters I couldn’t care less for at the beginning, but they gained my attention as the show progressed. Nakhl (Naharu) is another personal favourite of mine, even though all she does it walk around looking cool. She DOES look cool. The antagonist is hilariously lame. Heck, in short, the cast is great. Music. It’s Kajiura, enough said. :P Okay, so while this isn’t my favourite Kajiura soundtrack, the OP is great and I love the two insert songs, “nowhere” and “I’m here”. I find it awesome how the titles are exact opposites of each other. Anyway, the sound is amazing, and a great backdrop for the dialogue and action. Watching Madlax shoot people isn’t nearly half as fun if your speakers are busted. I loved Noir, but I think it was a bit rough around the edges and clumsy with plot development. Madlax has a tighter plot, better animation, a bigger, better-rounded cast, and a stronger conclusion. Worth watching if you like Noir, Kajiura, Bee Train, or gunfights. :) Or really mild yuri implications. I don’t know. It’s a plausible reason. XD

I'm not too crazy about this anime, it is a test of one's patience. A huge chunk of this anime is boring...very boring and everyone lacks a personality. Because of this, over half of the anime was unbearable to watch because it was just so slow and boring and everyone was practically emotionless, they all speak as if they are all on Valium. This anime is a bit vague and pointless yet the biggest thing I dislike about this series is the fact it sets out as a “normal” story and then ends as science fiction. ~art/animation The art and animation aren't bad, but it's not asif it's anything noteworthy enough to be an attraction to watch the series. ~sound The music for this series is on the mediocre side. The OP was very generic sounding....not bad, not good, not worth listening to more than two or three times. The score throughout the show was average...some better than others. But I will credit this much, I really loved the ED theme. I watched this show in English, the cast did the best they could and I don't hold this against them because I have seen their other works and I know that it's not really them but how the show was written and how the characters are supposed to be.....boring. ~story What's the point of this anime? What is the story behind Madlax? Is it really a genius piece remarking on the ideological argument that violence is intrinsic to the human condition or is it just sci-fi rubbish? Frankly, who knows...and who cares? ....I don't for sure! The story and plot is a hot ass mess and all over the place. At first it seemed to be about a civil war, then about a book, then comes some religious cult, then off course the assassin named Madlax. There doesn't seem to be a single central unifying element to this series....”girls-with-guns” is not really central unifying element for telling a story. Just a very superficial reason to create this kind of story/anime. There are some points in the series that are moderately interesting but those only come during the last 25% of the series as more and more revelations and confrontations occur. ~characters UGH! Utterly boring and monotone characters! Nothing ruins an anime more for me than boring characters. I don't mind characters that speak slowly or the one character that doesn't speak or behave robotically but when the whole cast is like that then it affects the whole emotional landscape and tone of the show. No one gets angry, no one yells or raises their voice, there's no humor or laughing or panics...etc... Everyone just has that slow and constant way of speaking, boring....monotone. But also a lot the characters are ridiculously supernatural without any real explanations....and like who in their right mind [a soldier no less] uses a tank to shoot at a single girl with a gun? Or a maid? ~verdict Kind of a pointless anime that was created to cater the fans of the “girls-with-guns” genre.

Before reading this recommendation, I want to notify that I have been quite rough in setting out the points. This is because of if I would set out the points the way I saw Madlax on, they would all be 10. But then again, not everyone have my taste of anime, since I'm a dramaholic and like these kinds of slow animes. Therefore, I set out these points the way I think an average watcher would rate it. But still, ofcourse there will be my own opinions in it. Story; 7 Yes, the story is a bit confusing from time to times. And it proceed slowly, showinglots of their personal life and repeating memories often. But still, it's a quite interesting story showing from a normal life to a supernatural journey. The two protagonists lives in totally different countries, living completely different lives but are connected to each other in a quite complicated way. Art; 7 Yes, the art has not anything specific. It looks like any average anime. Can't really tell so much, but you know what I mean if you have watched anime from 2000 or something. Actionsequences looks cool, but there are things in some episodes that shouldnt be where they are. Sound; 10 This is one of the mainreasons why this is one of my favorite animes. Just as from Noir, Yuki Kajiura is the composer for the soundtrack. And all those who like Yuki Kajiura, yeah you get a picture of it. It's lovely, and it fits really much. Even though they may repeat some songs often, I couldn't care less since I love the soundtrack. Just hearing it makes me feel like a new human. Characters; 8 The characters are interesting just like in any of Bee Train's animes. All of their animes have at least one of those calm and complicated protagonists, which I tend to like. Madlax is kind of hot, and the rest are quite enjoyable to watch. Enjoyment; 6 Yes. It's a 6. As I wrote in the beginning, I tend to like these kinds of slow animes who makes you want to think a bit for understanding the plot, their feelings and such stuff. But I know that not everyone like this, in fact this anime is FREAKINGLY slow and I know many who have dropped this because of that. Also, there are really many repeats in memories and such stuff, which could get on your nerves. Neverless, IF you liked Noir I think Madlax could be something for you. But be aware, it's even deeper then Noir. Overall; 7 Most of the points comes from the soundtrack and the characters. I wouldn't recommend this anime to people who didn't liked Noir or El Cazado or doesn't like drama at all. This anime got so much drama that the humans ego couldn't even be compared to it. But I loved it, and if you like drama here is the anime for you. It got beauty in it too.

Madlax is in many ways quite similar to Noir, so if you hated Noir and think it is an abomination (i'd tend to disagree but to each their own), you will NOT like Madlax, at all. Story: 8 Madlax follows the same general story structure of Noir. The first 2/3 of Madlax is sort of a slow daily life type thing that builds up the characters and gets you attached to them. During this time the overall plot is only visible out of the corner of your eye, although it is tied in to everything discreetly to keep the viewer thinking about it. The last 1/3 ofmadlax is when the story really picks up and all of the story elements in the first 2/3 that you thought were filler lock in to place causing an "oh wow so that is what it is" moment. While the first 2/3 has a lot of moments when you really have no clue what is going on, the last 1/3 does a pretty good job of explaining things (like Noir), including some interesting and surprising plot twists. Art: 8 The art is good. Fight scenes were well done and i liked the character design. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise coming from a Bee Train anime, but Madlax fighting in a dress does look very cool. Sound: 10 The soundtrack of madlax is one of my favorite anime soundtracks. Not sure what else there is to say about it other than i still listen to a few of the songs from it that i really liked. Character: 8 Many of the focal characters are interesting and well developed which is something you don't often see. In Madlax, it isn't just the main two characters who have a background and life to them, it is a large number of people (probably around 5-8). Many characters you sort of write off as not being important end up being the exact opposite and playing a huge part in the story throughout Madlax. The "daily life portion" of Madlax also serves to attach the viewer to the focal characters so that when things happen in the story, there is some emotion to them. Enjoyment: 8 I liked Madlax quite a bit. Up until about half way through i was heavily comparing it to Noir (which i also liked), but shortly after that point Madlax really grew in to its own for me and was a great experience with a good ending. Overall: 8 If you liked Noir, watch this. If you didn't like Noir, watch this anyway. If you hated Noir, well... don't watch this. While on the surface it has a lot of similarities with Noir, it really is its own show with a deep and interesting story that will keep you hooked until the end as long as you can deal with Bee Train's style of setting up the plot to trap the viewer. Great fight scenes, interesting story, ending that actually answers your questions and a great score, what is not to like?