'Madlax' - Modern Political Affairs?

Although a seasoned otaku, I have only seen two war-related animes. And by war I mean an actual war, not the holy one—the concept not-so-rare and rather overused. The first one was Grave of the Fireflies, the movie that sent me sobbing. The second, First Squad: The Moment of Truth, also made me cry, although for very different reasons. (Hint: read the existing reviews.)

In other words, it's a genre I'm unfamiliar with and experience conflicted feelings about. To say I had any expectations or preferences would be incorrect, so my mind was completely open.

The only thing I was aware of is that it's another creation of people that made El Cazador de la Bruja, one of my all-time favourites. The similarities have been spotted at once.

First of all, I could not help but notice drawing style and general placement of the characters being very similar. Madlax and Margaret strongly reminded me of Nadie and Ellis, not just appearance-wise but also the kind of relationship they share. However, I must note, the latter two sure come from the more developed anime era. Who could have thought anime would develop so much in just three years?

Another similarity would be that both series have a similar set of characters—strangers that follow and watch over the growth of the mains, a couple of close friends, and one psycho that has an unhealthy obsession with one of the two antagonists. The pattern is clear.

I have noticed in the previous reviews people tend to complain it takes too long for the characters to meet. Truth be told, that's probably the most stupid thing I have heard in a while. Like, are you people familiar with Game of Thrones? That's where it takes long.

In my opinion, anime was a little slow paced in the first episodes, but this should be expected as we are being introduced to a whole new universe and the characters that will accompany us in exploring it.

What I found incredibly interesting is how it seemed to touch on sensitive political matters of the time and actually indirectly made accusations towards a certain country for being the puppet master of the blood-spilling civil wars. Since anime has not referred to any existing country, I shall not either, but those who were alive and mature enough back in the day the anime was released should also make very obvious connections.

Another aspect I found appealing was the atmosphere of war itself. It was well perceived and pictured. Although I have never been in a war zone, it made me feel as if I know what would it look like.

However, the best of the best things about the series is what got me in El Cazador as well—the soundtracks. Usually I don't even pay so much attention to them, but in Madlax they were absolutely flawless, well-timed and fitting.

The concept of the anime itself was pretty interesting and I quite enjoyed it. Not gonna lie, what particularly pleased me was development and eventual death of the characters. I though it was just a trick to keep us hooked in the beginning, and the fact the running gag has been forgotten midway through had only confirmed that, the final episodes proved me wrong.

Moving on to the cons of the anime I will start with my biggest pet peeve—art style. While in general it was not too bad for its time, Madlax had a peculiar skill of making the main characters look very retarded at certain angles. I'm quite sure it wasn't their intention either.

I was also annoyed how bits of the background stories of other key characters have been revealed briefly but never developed or completed. I've always had a feeling there was a lot more behind Vanessa and Elenore, and it made me growl to have my interest woken up yet never satisfied.

Another issue would be the entire book business which was meant to be main theme of the series. Let's agree it was not and the spotlight has been stolen by warfare, a far better developed concept which, I think, was meant to be the creator of a mood.

Similarly to the lack of development secondary characters received, the one that got close to none was the main villain. When it started off, Enfant and Friday Monday seemed absolutely badass and I was craving to learn more, even such details as where does the name Friday Monday originate from. We have not been given any of this, and the villain proves to be boring, basic and only put there to, well, be.

Generally speaking, Madlax is anime I could write a lot about (as you might have noticed), but I'm trying to keep it brief. Failing hard, as there are just so many things to be said.

Overall, I truly enjoyed the series, although I had a feeling the story had a very poor time management. Had it taken less time for introduction and warm up, as well as getting one-episode-only characters involved, it would have had more time to develop the ones that were sticking around for a while, especially the god damn villain.

Although peeved about the art style, later on I stopped noticing it and simply accepted the fact times were different. In fact, the story gets so captivating it's the last of your worries.

What these series gave me as a better insight on my own preferences through exploring a genre I'm not too familiar with. I found Madlax truly enjoyable and recognized the work of creators El Cazador de la Bruja, the series I'm a big fan of.

In conclusion, it's a very interesting anime though I would not recommend it to everyone. In fact, I would only recommend it to people who have already seen plenty, just so they can truly appreciate this great show.