My name is… Madlax

In the country of Gazth-Sonika, war rages on. A civil war. And it has been there for 12 long years. In one of the last remaining refuges of the country lives Madlax, a skilled assassin with a 98% mission success rate. Her skills border on supernatural, her moves are like a dance with guns. She gets her assignments from a mysterious man named SSS (pronounced Three-Speed), always over the phone. In the seemingly peaceful country Nafrece lives the young Margaret Burton, together with her maid Elenore Baker. They both live a tranquil life. Margaret is a clumsy, mind-absent girl, speaks in riddles sometimes. Elenore is her maid and she has made it her duty to protect and to serve her. Vanessa Rene, Margaret’s neighbor and former tutor works for a company named Bookwald Industries, who is now living in Nafrece and decides to stay with the two girls. However Margaret is in possession of a mysterious picture book, she barely looks at it, and she won’t let her maid see it, for some mysterious reason. As all of them are soon to find out, this book has a significant meaning to all of them – and their destiny.

The main characters of the show: Madlax (center), Margaret Burton (top left), Vanessa Rene (top right), Carrossea Doon (middle left), Limelda Jorg (middle right), Friday-Monday (bottom-left), Elenore Baker (bottom right)

Over the last few days I have been watching an anime television series, named “Madlax” (マドラックス , Madorakkusu). It is a show with 26 episodes, each with 24 minutes runtime. It is a show written and produced by the Japanese company Bee-Train and has been released in 2004, I think it aired in late 2004 for the first time in Japanese TV. Later on it aired in the US and eventually in Europe.

In the beginning, the main characters have seemingly little in common, the episodes switch between different center characters and their lives. You get to know the characters, their stories. As the story is told, and at the second third of the show, the main story kicks in. The picture book somehow has to do with all of this, all the characters are curiously connected to each other, in quite some tight way – as you are to find out. The show tells the story of very different characters, how they meet, and how their destiny has to do with it.

Beauty and skill: Madlax about to ghost soldiers of the Gazth-Sonika war (Episode 1, “Gun Dance”)

Until two days ago I had watched 22 episodes of 26. Up until that point, I was already blown away with the story, how it was told. How destinies intertwined. So I was really looking forward to see the ending of the show. Ordered a good pizza, and let the episodes run on my movie theater. What do I have to say, after having seen the end?

I was pretty much blown away at how the missing pieces of the story fell into place, completing the circle of the characters, their lives, their truths. The story concluded in an absolute fantastic way, there even have been make-you-cry moments in the show. I have seen some anime shows so far, but this has by far been the best. Deep story, deep characters, greater things to life as it originally seemed.

Even the music score of the show was pretty top-notch, superbly done. Some of the insert tracks have the names of characters of the show, and reflect their personality, the way they are, how they live. At other times the very same track (“Margaret” for example), is used to describe a landscape, a scene, an event. I have seldomly heard such a fantastic score that works in so many different ways.

Show Artwork

All in all, “Madlax” is an anime show really well done – arguably the best writing of Bee Train and their people. I was blown away by the story, how the circle closed and how the story was told. If you haven’t seen it, go to your next anime shop or order on Amazon, or download the torrent. Watch it – see it – judge for yourself. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Madlax
Bee Train presents a Bee Entertainment production
Released: April 5, 2004
Runtime: 625 minutes (approx.)
Genre: Anime, Action, Mystery

Madlax tribute: Gravity Of Love (DO NOT WATCH THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE SHOW!)

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