Madlax

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Madlax
The central characters of the series
マドラックス
(Madorakkusu)
GenreGirls with guns,[1] mystery, supernatural[2]
Anime television series
Directed by
Bee Train
Licensed by
Original networkTV Tokyo
English network
Original run 5 April 2004 – 27 September 2004
Episodes26 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Tabi Suru Shoujo to Shakunetsu no Kuni
Written bySeiya Fujiwara
Illustrated byShunsuke Tagami
Published byHobby Japan
ImprintHJ Bunko
DemographicMale
Published1 June 2011

Madlax (マドラックス, Madorakkusu) is a 26-episode Japanese

ADV Films in North America and the United Kingdom and by Madman Entertainment
in Australia and New Zealand.

The story revolves around the two young women Margaret and Madlax, who seemingly have little in common and do not know of the other's existence at the beginning. Madlax is a legendary mercenary and assassin in the fictional civil war-torn country of Gazth-Sonika, who cannot remember her past or indeed her real name before twelve years ago, when the war started. The other main character is Margaret Burton, the sole heir of a wealthy aristocratic family in the peaceful European country Nafrece. Twelve years before the story begins, an airliner Margaret and her mother were on crashed over Gazth-Sonika, and its passengers, as well as Margaret's father who led the rescuers, have been missing ever since. Margaret, however, mysteriously traveled back to Nafrece on her own, losing her memories prior to her return; the only thing she recalls is a single word, "Madlax". With this thread linking the two girls, they both independently start investigating the powerful crime syndicate Enfant after its enigmatic mastermind shows interest in both of them.

Madlax was produced as a

Noir, and together with El Cazador de la Bruja, these series constitute a trilogy exploring the "girls-with-guns" genre. The production of Madlax began in 2002 but it wasn't until Yōsuke Kuroda joined the project that the series took its final form. While the critics noted the resulting similarities between Noir and Madlax, they also acknowledged the differences, such as the latter's less episodic and more plot-driven style and, in particular contrast to the predominantly realistic
Noir, incorporation of many supernatural elements, which the audience must often interpret without further explanation.

Plot

See also: List of Madlax characters

The first half of the series alternates between the two leads.

Elenore Baker
and Carrossea Doon.

Eventually, Madlax and Margaret meet and embark on a search for

Friday Monday possesses supernatural
powers connected to the three ancient books, one of which belongs to Margaret. Margaret uses her own supernatural abilities and that of her book to return her lost memories. Carrossea, who has been aiding Margaret, requests that his memories be restored as well despite warnings not to do so; he discovers that he, in fact, died 12 years ago and held on to life only by sheer force of will to protect Margaret. Carrossea disappears, and Margaret is captured by Monday who intends to use her abilities to advance his own plans.

Unable to shoot her father in self-defence, Margaret expelled her wish to survive from herself, creating Madlax, who pulled the trigger for her. Laetitia (originally her doll) was created to seal off the memory of this event, preventing the two from merging.[6]

While Margaret and Carrossea perform the ritual, Madlax is attacked by Limelda Jorg, a Gazth-Sonikan

clinical depression. Elenore and Lady Quanzitta's servant Nakhl
manage to restore Madlax's will to live and persuade her to save Margaret, and the three storm Enfant's headquarters together. During the assault, Elenore is killed and Margaret, now under Monday's control, shoots Madlax.

Believing Madlax to be dead, Monday commences a ritual to unleash people's inhibitions and trigger worldwide anarchy; but Margaret's memories return and she snaps out of his

three personae: the "memory keeper" Laetitia
, the sinful Madlax, and the innocent Margaret herself. Margaret then fuses her three personae back together to undo the ritual she previously performed with Monday, saving the world from insanity. Madlax, who should no longer exist after the fusion, appears and guns down Monday. It becomes apparent that Margaret has once again split herself into three, judging that after twelve years, she no longer has the right to make decisions for her other personae.

When everything is said and done, Margaret fully releases Madlax so she can live her life freely and also adopts Laetitia as her younger sister so she won't be alone. Madlax ultimately makes peace with Limelda and they travel together.

Themes

Madlax is set against the backdrop of Gazth-Sonikan

portmanteau of two English words, "mad" and "relaxed", mirroring the authors' intention to portray the two extremes of human being.[9][10]

Madlax also plays as the story of Margaret Burton's search for her

psychological identity.[11] Based on the Mashimo Menu theme titles available to her, Yuki Kajiura has suggested an interpretation that while searching for her memories, Margaret meets the other characters ("Gatekeepers") one after another and learns about the lifestyles ("Gates") they represent. In the end, she finds her own "Gate", which is the new identity that finally replaces the one she lost twelve years ago.[11]

Production

Writing

According to the director Kōichi Mashimo, he envisioned Noir and Madlax as part of a trilogy exploring the girls-with-guns genre, and soon after the release of the latter, he confirmed having plans to produce the third installment,[9] which would later become El Cazador de la Bruja.[12] In late 2002, Mashimo invited Shigeru Kitayama, the producer of Noir who once came up with its original idea, to discuss a new series entitled Madlax. Kitayama greatly expanded Mashimo's original screenplay plan, but it was not until Yōsuke Kuroda was put in charge of the script that the series took its final appearance. It took Kuroda around one year to finish the screenplays for all 26 episodes, during which he was constantly encouraged by Mashimo to add his own original ideas to their initial plan. Kuroda has admitted that at the time he received Mashimo's invitation, he felt frustrated after his first project has been canceled by the publisher, so he decided to make Madlax "really extravagant", blending as many genres at once as he could. Kōichi Mashimo, furthermore, admitted that the most unusual plot twists, like Margaret and Madlax's connection to each other, were invented by Kuroda and him while drunk.[9]

Character design

By comparison with Noir, Madlax features a much larger primary cast, including multiple recurring male

character designers collaborated on Madlax cast: Satoshi Ohsawa (who also worked on Noir cast) created the central heroines Margaret and Madlax; Minako Shiba drew Friday Monday and Carrossea Doon; and Satoko Miyachi was entrusted with the "mysterious" characters, Laetitia and Poupee.[13][14]

Music

As with many of studio Bee Train's other works, the entire Madlax soundtrack was composed by the acclaimed Yuki Kajiura, making it her and Kōichi Mashimo's fifth project together.[15] In an interview Kajiura recalls having written the score in a hotel high-rise to save studio costs, and that this change in location helped her to explore different styles of music.[15]

Kajiura and

Yuuka Nanri's duo FictionJunction Yuuka
recorded the series' opening and ending themes, "Fragments of an Eye" (瞳の欠片, Hitomi no Kakera) and "Inside Your Heart", respectively, as well as two insert songs: "nowhere" and "I'm here". Aside from the opening sequence, "Fragments of an Eye" is featured in the series itself: at the end of episode 18 and in the episode 24, when Margaret is humming its tune to herself in the flower field.

In the insert song "nowhere", there is a frequently repeated background refrain "Yanmaani" (ヤンマーニ, Yanmāni). It doesn't have any particular meaning but since the song usually plays when Madlax is fighting, "Yanmaani" has become something of a joke to Japanese fans, claiming that it apparently gives her superpowers.[16]

Media

Television series

Main article: List of Madlax episodes

Originally, Madlax was broadcast in Japan by

BitTorrent.[20] As of September 1, 2009, all the titles from ADV's catalog, including Madlax, were transferred to AEsir Holdings, with distribution from Section23 Films.[21]

The North-American DVD release contains extras available in English only, such the controversial self-parody Conversations with SSS[7][22][23] and Sock Puppet Theater, an Easter egg live action about Madlax going after Chris Patton, Badgis' voice actor and an annoying womanizer.[24]

On 7 February 2006, the first episode of Madlax aired on Anime Network (which was, like ADV Films, a subsidiary of A.D. Vision at the time).[25] On 4 April, shortly after the last DVD volume has been released, the consequent broadcast was put on halt and until 27 June, only the first 8 episodes were repeated. Since then, the series has been relaunched multiple times.[26] Madman Entertainment, who previously licensed Noir in its region, has acquired rights for distribution of Madlax in Australia and New Zealand and released it on seven DVD volumes between 20 July 2005 and 26 July 2006.[27] A complete collection was released on 4 April 2007.[27]

Soundtrack

Main article: List of Madlax albums

The series'

Victor Entertainment. Two singles, Hitomi no Kakera[30] and Inside Your Heart,[31] were published in the same year by FictionJunction Yuuka, each containing an opening/ending theme and one insert song, as well as their respective karaoke
versions.

Artbook

MADLAX the Bible is a 95-page

Ancient Greek
: τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια, meaning "holy books", it is likely that the artbook's title is a reference to the Holy Books that play an important role in the series' plot.

Merchandise

A

polystone figurine entitled simply "Madlax", was launched in August 2007.[35] In Japan, a T-shirt with Madlax logo has been added to the limited edition of the first DVD volume,[36] and the "first press" of the OST albums came with logotype mousepads.[37]

Light novel

A light novel spin-off of the series, titled A Traveling Girl and the Land of Ignorance (旅する少女と灼熱の国, Tabi Suru Shoujo to Shakunetsu no Kuni), has been published on 1 June 2011 by Hobby Japan. Written by Seiya Fujiwara and illustrated by Shunsuke Tagami (neither of whom had been involved in the production of the original TV series), the book focuses on Elenore Baker as the main character in a setting somewhat different from that of the anime. In this continuity, Elenore is a combat-trained maid traveling across the war-torn Gazth-Sonika, looking for the lost Margaret and, along the way, helping the weary locals with their struggles.[38]

Reception

Madlax was often accused of being secondary and reusing

primary plot.[23][40]

The majority of reviewers perceived the early episodes of Madlax as boring and too slow-paced,

fanservice in the case of Madlax) than the more generic male characters.[24]

The high quality of the

hacking received criticism for their lack of realism.[46] In terms of soundtrack, Madlax has not become as innovative as Noir,[47] with critics suggesting its OST to be a blend of Noir and .hack//Sign styles.[48] Nevertheless, the reviewers acknowledged its superiority over the majority of contemporary works.[4][1] The English translation released by ADV Films was praised for preserving most of the series' original stylistic aspects and inviting veteran voice actors for the dub.[42] Reviewers went as far as to suggest that several English voices (especially Mike Kleinhenz's) match the characters better than the Japanese ones.[24] Others, however, criticized the dub, e.g. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network in his 2009 review of the series rated the performance as "wildly uneven, ranging from good ... to plain amateurish", citing "delivery issues" as main problem of the dub.[2]

The initial slow pacing, especially compared to the first episodes of Noir,[1] became a main reason why the audience often dropped watching Madlax before it could present its later story turns which eventually resulted in the moderate success of the series.[1] Among other suggested reasons behind the mediocre popularity of the show were: the market saturation, which resulted from other anime series attempting to repeat the success of Noir since 2001; the expectable disinterest against a "Noir remake", found among the fans of the first series;[4] the over-the-top action scenes that some felt to be ridiculous;[49] and its unconventional genre, which straddled Madlax uncomfortably between fans of mystical science fiction and those who prefer Noir's strict realism.[45]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Martin, Theron (2005-05-06). "Madlax DVD #1 review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  2. ^ a b Kimlinger, Carl (2009-08-22). "Madlax Complete Series 2009 review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  3. ^ Galza Lieutenant: "What'll be a big deal is when THAT one shows up. ... A super-skilled agent named Ma ..." "Gun Dance ~dance~". Madlax. Episode 1. 2004-04-05. 3:23 minutes in. TV Tokyo.
  4. ^ a b c d e Carter, Jason (2005-07-20). "Madlax DVD #1 review". AnimeJump.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  5. ^ Vanessa: "My father was a diplomat in Nafrece, you see, and at the time that the threat of civil war here was coming to a peak, he was in charge of relations with Gazth-Sonika. Then the civil war broke out, and my parents were detained by the Gazth-Sonika army under suspicion of inciting the war". "Awakening Sound ~awake~". Madlax. Episode 13. 2004-06-28. 8:21 minutes in. TV Tokyo.
  6. ^ "Holy Blood ~saint~". Madlax. Episode 25. 2004-09-20. 14:36 minutes in. TV Tokyo.
  7. ^ a b Hattaway, Mitchell (2005-04-28). "Madlax DVD #1 review". DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  8. ^ Beveridge, Chris (2005-12-22). "Madlax DVD #5 review". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2008-09-22. [Limelda's] decision ... sets her on a path that isn't quite easy to understand but makes a twisted sort of sense. The kind of sense that someone who's grown up in a country torn apart by civil war and bloodshed might be able to come up with.
  9. ^
    Newtype USA
    : 8–15.
  10. ^ a b Houston, Don (2007-07-17). "Review: Madlax: Complete Collection". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2007-12-31. The title of the show was a combination of two English words (mad and relaxed) that director/writer Kouichi [sic] Mashimo used to portray the duality of human nature he was going for with the themes of the show. ... Looking past the metaphysical pondering that was the main way in which this show deviated from Noir, there was a tightly scripted story that took a lengthy time getting to where it was going but it did so in such a satisfying manner that I honestly can't imagine anyone interested in the genre finding fault with it.
  11. ^
    ADV Films. 2005 [2004]. DMAD/003.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  12. ISSN 1541-4817
    . During an interview, I accidentally blurted out something about [Noir and Madlax being part of] a 'trilogy', which forced me to follow through and actually make a third installment!
  13. ADV Films. 2005 [2004]. DMAD/001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  14. ADV Films. 2005 [2004]. DMAD/002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  15. ^
    Geneon. VICL-61319.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  16. ADV Films. 2005 [2004]. DMAD/002. Archived from the original on 2009-08-29.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  17. ^ "Program lineup" (PDF). TV Tokyo. April 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 29, 2008. Retrieved 2006-10-29.
  18. About.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-14. 'We've been waiting for this show ever since Noir ended,' co-founder Matt Greenfield
    said.
  19. ^ Coulter, Bryce (2007-11-29). "Madlax Complete Collection (Thinpack) review". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  20. ^ "ADV Bittorrent Test". Anime News Network. 2005-07-14. Retrieved 2006-10-29.
  21. ^ "ADV Films Shuts Down, Transfers Assets To Other Companies". Anime News Network. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  22. ^ a b Hattaway, Mitchell (2006-04-20). "Madlax DVD #7 review". DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  23. ^ a b c d Beveridge, Chris (2006-04-13). "Madlax DVD #7 review". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  24. ^ a b c d Martin, Theron (2006-04-05). "Madlax DVD #6 and #7 review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  25. ^ "ADV Announces February 7 Releases". www.warcry.com. 2005-12-20. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  26. ^ Anime Network program lineup for 27 June, and 7 November 2006, retrieved on 2015-06-01.
  27. ^ a b "Madlax". Madman Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  28. Victor Entertainment
    . Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  29. Victor Entertainment
    . Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  30. Victor Entertainment
    . Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  31. Victor Entertainment. Archived from the original
    on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  32. ^ "MADLAX the Bible". HobbyLink Japan. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  33. ^ "Madlax the Bible" (in Japanese). Hobby Japan. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2006-10-29.
  34. ^ "Madlax with Guns". HomeMedia4U.com. 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  35. ^ "Madlax". HobbyLink Japan. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
  36. Amazon.co.jp
    . 2004-07-21. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  37. ^ "Madlax OST I". CDJapan.co.jp. 2004-07-21. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
  38. ^ "旅する少女と灼熱の国 HJ文庫公式Webサイト" (in Japanese). Hobby Japan. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  39. ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5
  40. ^ Hattaway, Mitchell (2005-09-01). "Madlax DVD #2 review". DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved 2006-11-08. ... every new twist only strengthens the plot. Yes, the story is quite complex, but it doesn't appear to be complex just for the sake of being complex. The plot is a big puzzle, but I have a feeling all of the pieces will eventually fall into place.
  41. ^ Hattaway, Mitchell (2006-02-07). "Madlax DVD #6 review". DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved 2006-11-08. Sure, at first glance Madlax appears to be nothing more than another run-of-the-mill girls-with-guns anime, but this series goes a long way to proving that the devil's in the details. ... Unless they really blow things at the end, this will go down as one terrific series.
  42. ^ a b Morton, Bryan (2006-09-28). "Madlax DVD #4 review". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  43. ^ Hattaway, Mitchell (2005-09-15). "Madlax DVD #3 review". DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved 2006-11-08. This series keeps getting better and better. ... I keep waiting for Madlax to implode, but it somehow manages to keep on chugging along.
  44. ^ Friedman, Erica (2007-07-03). "Madlax DVD #7 review". Retrieved 2007-10-25. It's a magic with no roots in our world, so we have to take everything we're given at face value, ... I still maintain that Madlax is the best writing that Bee Train has done. It has the mystery of the .hack series, without the endless meaningless chatter that goes nowhere, the yuri and violence of Noir, the despair and love of Avenger and a story that resolves, unlike all of them.
  45. ^ a b Beveridge, Chris (2006-01-26). "Madlax DVD #6 review". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  46. ^ Morton, Bryan (2006-07-24). "Madlax DVD #3 review". Mania.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  47. ^ Salandanan, Rommel (2005-11-14). "Madlax OST I review". ActiveAnime.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  48. ^ Martin, Theron (2005-06-28). "Madlax DVD #2 review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2006-11-08. The musical scoring, which sounds like a mix of Noir and .hack//SIGN [sic],..
  49. ^ Ross, Carlos. "Madlax (first two episodes) review". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews. Retrieved 2007-01-10. Usually, a show like this is saved by its dramatic themes and its action sequences. Noir was. Madlax is not ... The "action" is so over-the-top as to cross the line between cool and stupid ... Maybe future episodes will prove me wrong, but for now, Madlax is frustratingly mediocre and extremely difficult to find the motivation to continue.

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