Ergo Proxy - Re-l Mayer's personality was quite something. Dystopia.

February 14, 2026 · 10:46 AM

Ergo Proxy is a quite iconic post-apocalyptic cyberpunk anime series produced by Manglobe that ran from February to August 2006 with 23 episodes. I rewatched the series a few months ago, nearly 20 years after its first airing, to gain a new perspective on it.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic and very dystopian future where most of the surviving human population is confined within domes that guarantee clean air and a hospitable environment. Humans there are strictly controlled by the government to the point that almost everything is decided for them.

There are robots called AutoReivs in these domes that act as helpers for the humans, serving as remnants of the old civilization. These can be either "Companions" (when they have a human-like appearance) or "Entourages" (when they do not), but regardless, they are considered "less than human."

The amount of makeup that Re-L puts is one of the most easy to remember things of the series. I don't think I've ever seen another main heroine like this.

The difference between makeup Re-L and no-makeup Re-L was staggering as you can see with these two pictures side by side.

The story starts with Re-L Mayer, the daughter of the current ruler of the Romdeau dome, as she is assigned, together with her AutoReiv companion Iggy, to investigate a series of murders. These were caused by AutoReivs being infected with a mysterious virus called "Cogito" that makes them self-aware and extremely dangerous.

As she goes through the investigation, she gets involved with mysterious humanoid creatures named Proxies that seem to be extremely powerful and a secret within Romdeau society. She, together with the immigrant Vincent Law (who is apparently connected in some ways to the Proxies) and the companion AutoReiv Pino, goes through a series of discoveries that will change their lives and the life of everyone in the dome.

The series ranges from episodes that move the storyline forward to completely standalone episodes that don't seem to bring much value to the overall plot (fillers). My second experience with the series has been overall positive, but it was a bit of a rollercoaster in terms of my opinion.

The always adorable Pino as the only 'cute' type of character in the series.

Always be careful when near a glass in this society, they may start writing things on it!

Whenever the main story took control of the narrative, it was so interesting that I simply couldn't stop watching episode after episode. However, we then had an entire episode focused on a bizarre live game show hosted by a Proxy, and I was left wondering what I was even watching because I was so confused.

The series doesn't shy away from going the "incomprehensible but deep" route, which was often popular in that time period, trying to leave many things open for the viewer to think and decide about. While I don't think it is necessarily a bad decision, I do think it sometimes comes across as jarring.

The second part of the series with them on the run in the wasteland world was the most interesting overall.

Re-L scowling at someone must be one of the things you'll see the most often.

While some of the revelations of the series are quite obvious, like the very meaning of the word Proxy (which literally means "representing someone else" in English), others were more difficult to predict, such as the truth behind Vincent's identity and his fragmented memories.

Vincent Law was quite an interesting character and I really liked his journey to recover his memories and his identity. Originally an immigrant from the Mosk dome, he is seen as both coward and incompetent, but as you get to know him better you see that both are really not true. He's just lost and trying to find his life back.

I do prefer her without makeup overall though I'll be honest.

The truth sometimes is best not explored, especially if you live in these post apocalyptic worlds.

Among the characters in the story, I feel that Pino needs a special mention. She acts as an interesting bridge connecting Vincent and Re-L different ideologies. She is self-aware due to being infected by the Cogito virus, and yet she lacks the basic knowledge to understand concepts like "death", which leads to difficult explanations during the most emotional moments of the series.

Ergo Proxy is a series that you may either love or hate because of the way the themes are explained, but I think everyone should give it a shot. It is a piece of history in the anime landscape, and I may do another post about it in the future to discuss some of the themes explored (with spoilers, of course).