Anime Review: Madlax

Review MadlaxWritten by WarpshadowRating very good

The country of Gath-Sonika is wracked by civil war making it the perfect place for Madlax, a female mercenary of amazing skill to work in. Elsewhere in the peaceful country of Nefrece there is a young and rather strange girl named Margaret Burton simply exists. While it seems that these two people would have utterly nothing in common with each other but their destinies are intertwined. Exactly how this could be and what exactly started the war twelve years ago is a mystery and the only possible clue is the bloody book that Margaret possesses.

While it is usually not my policy to compare one anime show to another in reviews the comparison between Madlax and Noir is almost impossible to avoid and will show up in most conversations about Madlax. This is not only because both shows share the same genre but also animation studio, composer (Yuki Kajiura) and if you listen to the subtitled version some of the same voice acting cast. Even with all these similarities Madlax is more than a simple retread of Noir.

This is not to say that the show is without it’s own ups and downs. Like many anime shows it starts out fairly weak (the early Margaret episodes can be a bit grating) but building to more satisfying later episodes. Unlike mediocre shows the early episodes aren’t filler they are used to set up the various puzzle pieces of the show which has a very complex plot. Some may say it is a bit too confusing for it’s own good but the mystery of the show is really intense and worth paying attention to. Even the various oddities in the show, such as Madlax’s propensity to fight in a cocktail dress regardless of the setting this is a good show well worth watching especially if you like the genre.