MADLAX
Encyclopedia
is a 26-episode Japanese anime
television series produced in 2004 by the Bee Train
animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo
directed Madlax and the soundtrack
was composed by Yuki Kajiura
. The DVD
version was released by ADV Films in North America and the United Kingdom and by Madman Entertainment
in Australia and New Zealand.
The story revolves around two young women who seemingly have little in common and do not know of the other's existence at the beginning. The eponymous 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 protagonist 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 spiritual successor to the studio's earlier project, 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.
agents for hire in the war-torn Gazth-Sonika, while Margaret Burton is a sleepy, clumsy amnesia
c living in Nafrece, a country styled after France. When a "picture book", presumably given to Margaret by her late father, attracts the attention of international criminal network Enfant, she discovers that the origins of the book lie in Gazth-Sonika. Enfant's top operative, Carrossea Doon, tracks Margaret down but tips off his superiors in the wrong direction, towards Madlax, who has been causing Enfant trouble for some time. Meanwhile, Vanessa Rene, Margaret's former tutor whose parents died because of Gazth-Sonikan war, discovers that her current employer, Bookwald Industries, covertly supports the war by supplying both sides with firearms and starts investigating its true cause. Her investigation brings her to Gazth-Sonika, where Madlax is hired as her bodyguard
, and together, they uncover data that proves that Enfant orchestrated the entire conflict. Enfant eventually intercepts them and they are forced into hiding. Back in Nafrece, Margaret decides to help Vanessa and travels to Gazth-Sonika, accompanied by her devoted and sometimes overprotective maid
Elenore Baker and Carrossea Doon.
Eventually, Madlax and Margaret meet and embark on a search for Quanzitta Marison, a Gazth-Sonikan mystic who supposedly knows about Margaret's book, Enfant's involvement with it, and Enfant itself. Lady Quanzitta does indeed tell them about Enfant and its plans to plunge the entire world into a total war, starting with Gazth-Sonika. She reveals that Enfant's leader 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.
While Margaret and Carrossea perform the ritual, Madlax is attacked by Limelda Jorg, a Gazth-Sonikan sniper
who holds a grudge against Madlax ever since she failed to stop an assassination by Madlax earlier in the show. Limelda kills Vanessa while targeting Madlax, sending the latter into 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 her 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 mind control
. Only now does the audience learn the back-story
: back in 1999, Monday drove Margaret's father insane with his powers and she was forced to kill her own father. To escape the horrible truth of her patricide
, Margaret split herself into 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.
Madlax is set against the backdrop of Gazth-Sonikan war
and the first episodes contrast the tranquil Nafrece with the war-torn Gazth-Sonika; later, the story moves completely to the combat zone, focusing on the central characters, such as Limelda Jorg, and their suffering. In an interview, the director Mashimo stated that "[t]he story is about portraying inner struggles of people, while showing what life is like in this place of madness and this other place of peace". Accordingly, the series' title is a portmanteau of two English words, "mad" and "relaxed", mirroring the authors' intention to portray the two extremes of human being.
Madlax also plays as the story of Margaret Burton's search for her psychological identity. 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.
genre, and soon after the release of the latter, he confirmed having plans to produce the third installment, which would later become El Cazador de la Bruja
. 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 twist
s, like Margaret and Madlax's connection to each other, were invented by Kuroda and him while drunk.
, an element nearly absent in the former. It was not so in the original screenplay draft written by Mashimo and Kitayama: for example, "Madlax" was Margaret's own nickname and Charlie (Vanessa's colleague at Bookwald Industries) had one of the central roles similar to Speedy's in Avenger
. Only the "draft" characters' names remained of them when Kuroda has rewritten the script. A total of three 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.
Kajiura and Yuuka Nanri
's duo FictionJunction Yuuka
recorded the series' opening and ending themes, 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
. 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
.
from 5 April to 27 September 2004, from 1:30 to 2:00 a.m.
every Tuesday (formally, Monday night). Shortly before the series finished airing, it has been licensed in North America and Europe by ADV Films, which has previously acquired distribution rights for Noir and has long had plans to license its successor, as well. The official English dub
has been released in the United States under the trademark MADLAX on a total of seven DVDs from 12 April 2005 to 28 March 2006. A complete collection was released by ADV on 17 July 2007. Madlax has become the first series on which ADV Films' director and producer David Williams
tested the technology of distributing promotional
materials via P2P network
BitTorrent. As of September 1, 2009, all of the titles from ADV's catalog, including Madlax, were transferred to AEsir Holdings, with distribution from Section23 Films
.
The North-American DVD release contains extras available in English only, such the controversial self-parody
Conversations with SSS and Sock Puppet Theater, an Easter egg
live action
about Madlax going after Chris Patton
, Badgis' voice actor and an annoying womanizer.
Since 7 February 2006, Madlax airs on Anime Network (which is, like ADV Films, a subsidiary of A.D. Vision
). 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.
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. A complete collection was released on 4 April 2007.
The series' original soundtrack was released on two albums on 21 July and 22 September 2004 by Victor Entertainment
. Two singles, Hitomi no Kakera
and Inside Your Heart
, 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.
that was published in Japan on 21 May 2005 by Hobby Japan
. Aside from illustrations and artworks for the series, it contains interviews with its authors and seiyū, as well as diverse additional information about the show in Japanese. The artbook has never been published outside of Japan. Since the word "Bible
" is derived from , 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.
model kit known as "Madlax with Guns" has been produced, featuring a figurine
of Madlax dual wielding her signature SIG P210
s. A polystone figurine entitled simply "Madlax", was launched in August 2007. In Japan, a T-shirt
with Madlax logo has been added to the limited edition of the first DVD volume, and the "first press" of the OST albums came with logotype mousepad
s.
s stylistic solutions, such as the story premise
, the two heroines' appearance, and the musical style. Nevertheless, some sources praised the story for being more monolithic and consequent than its predecessor's, owing to all its episodes and subplot
s being tightly intertwined and held together by the primary plot
.
The majority of reviewers perceived the early episodes of Madlax as boring and too slow-paced, but some of the same critics later remarked that the prolonged exposition
is crucial to the unusual finale
of the series, which fully establishes the series' own identity and sets it apart from other works. According to them, after the initial volume, the story gets better and better with every new episode, though some have been dissatisfied with its "pseudo-existentialistic
" ending. Erica Friedman, the president of Yuricon
, highly praised Kuroda's script, naming it "the best writing that Bee Train has done". Professional reviewers welcomed the increased number of sympathetic characters, especially the distinguishable male ones (Friday, Carrossea, Colonel Burton), as opposed to stormtrooper
-like operatives of Soldats in Noir, but the female character designs were still said to be much more detailed (to the point of fanservice in case of Madlax) than the more generic male characters.
The high quality of the animation
in Madlax was generally acknowledged. On the negative side, the episodes that involve computer
use and hacking
received criticism for their lack of realism. In terms of soundtrack, Madlax has not become as innovative as Noir, with critics suggesting its OST to be a blend of Noir and .hack//Sign
styles. Nevertheless, the reviewers acknowledged its superiority over the majority of contemporary works. 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. Reviewers went as far as to suggest that several English voices (especially Mike Kleinhenz
's) match the characters better than the Japanese ones. 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.
The initial slow pacing, especially compared to the first episodes of Noir, 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. 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; the over-the-top action scenes that some felt to be ridiculous; and its unconventional genre, which straddled Madlax uncomfortably between fans of mystical science fiction
and those who prefer Noir' s strict realism.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series produced in 2004 by the Bee Train
Bee Train
, commonly referred simply as Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo in 1997. Since their involvement with Noir, .hack//Sign, and Madlax they have a strong following in the yuri fandom for being involved in series portraying strong female leads with speculatively...
animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo
Koichi Mashimo
is a well-known Japanese anime director and the founder of the animation studio Bee Train. Since the creation of the studio, Mashimo directed or otherwise participated in all its works, for example, as a member of art or sound department...
directed Madlax and the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was composed by Yuki Kajiura
Yuki Kajiura
, born August 6, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as one of the Kimagure Orange Road movies, Noir, .hack//SIGN, Aquarian Age, Madlax, My-HiME, My-Otome, .hack//Roots, Pandora Hearts, Puella Magi...
. The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version was released by ADV Films in North America and the United Kingdom and by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
in Australia and New Zealand.
The story revolves around two young women who seemingly have little in common and do not know of the other's existence at the beginning. The eponymous Madlax is a legendary mercenary and assassin in the fictional civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
-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 protagonist 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
Retrograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia is a loss of access to events that occurred, or information that was learned, before an injury or the onset of a disease....
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 spiritual successor to the studio's earlier project, Noir
Noir (anime)
is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced in 2001 by the Bee Train animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo directed Noir, it was written by Ryoe Tsukimura, and the soundtrack was composed by Yuki Kajiura...
, and together with El Cazador de la Bruja
El Cazador de la Bruja
, is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and animated by Bee Train studio. It is a spiritual successor of Noir and Madlax and the final installment of Bee Train's "girls-with-guns" trilogy. The series was aired on TV Tokyo from April to September in 2007...
, these series constitute a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
exploring the "girls-with-guns
Girls with guns
Girls with guns is a sub-genre of films and animation, especially Hong Kong action films and anime, with a female protagonist in a strong lead role, set in a modern context. The genre involves gun-play, stunts and martial arts action...
" 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
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
Noir, incorporation of many supernatural elements
Fictional setting of Madlax
is a 26-episode anime television series produced in 2004 by the Bee Train animation studio. Unlike its predominantly realistic spiritual predecessor Noir, this series is set in an alternate reality where supernatural events and powers are possible, and although it bears multiple similarities to...
, which the audience must often interpret without further explanation.
Plot
The first half of the series alternates between the two leads. Madlax is one of the most efficient special opsSpecial forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
agents for hire in the war-torn Gazth-Sonika, while Margaret Burton is a sleepy, clumsy amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c living in Nafrece, a country styled after France. When a "picture book", presumably given to Margaret by her late father, attracts the attention of international criminal network Enfant, she discovers that the origins of the book lie in Gazth-Sonika. Enfant's top operative, Carrossea Doon, tracks Margaret down but tips off his superiors in the wrong direction, towards Madlax, who has been causing Enfant trouble for some time. Meanwhile, Vanessa Rene, Margaret's former tutor whose parents died because of Gazth-Sonikan war, discovers that her current employer, Bookwald Industries, covertly supports the war by supplying both sides with firearms and starts investigating its true cause. Her investigation brings her to Gazth-Sonika, where Madlax is hired as her bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
, and together, they uncover data that proves that Enfant orchestrated the entire conflict. Enfant eventually intercepts them and they are forced into hiding. Back in Nafrece, Margaret decides to help Vanessa and travels to Gazth-Sonika, accompanied by her devoted and sometimes overprotective maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
Elenore Baker and Carrossea Doon.
Eventually, Madlax and Margaret meet and embark on a search for Quanzitta Marison, a Gazth-Sonikan mystic who supposedly knows about Margaret's book, Enfant's involvement with it, and Enfant itself. Lady Quanzitta does indeed tell them about Enfant and its plans to plunge the entire world into a total war, starting with Gazth-Sonika. She reveals that Enfant's leader Friday Monday possesses supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
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.
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
who holds a grudge against Madlax ever since she failed to stop an assassination by Madlax earlier in the show. Limelda kills Vanessa while targeting Madlax, sending the latter into clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
. 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 her 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 mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
. Only now does the audience learn the back-story
Back-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
: back in 1999, Monday drove Margaret's father insane with his powers and she was forced to kill her own father. To escape the horrible truth of her patricide
Patricide
Patricide is the act of killing one's father, or a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin word pater and the Latin suffix -cida...
, Margaret split herself into 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.
Themes
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
and the first episodes contrast the tranquil Nafrece with the war-torn Gazth-Sonika; later, the story moves completely to the combat zone, focusing on the central characters, such as Limelda Jorg, and their suffering. In an interview, the director Mashimo stated that "[t]he story is about portraying inner struggles of people, while showing what life is like in this place of madness and this other place of peace". Accordingly, the series' title is a portmanteau of two English words, "mad" and "relaxed", mirroring the authors' intention to portray the two extremes of human being.
Madlax also plays as the story of Margaret Burton's search for her psychological identity. 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.
Writing
According to the director Kōichi Mashimo, he envisioned Noir and Madlax as part of a trilogy exploring the girls-with-gunsGirls with guns
Girls with guns is a sub-genre of films and animation, especially Hong Kong action films and anime, with a female protagonist in a strong lead role, set in a modern context. The genre involves gun-play, stunts and martial arts action...
genre, and soon after the release of the latter, he confirmed having plans to produce the third installment, which would later become El Cazador de la Bruja
El Cazador de la Bruja
, is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and animated by Bee Train studio. It is a spiritual successor of Noir and Madlax and the final installment of Bee Train's "girls-with-guns" trilogy. The series was aired on TV Tokyo from April to September in 2007...
. In late 2002, Mashimo invited Shigeru Kitayama
Shigeru Kitayama
is a Japanese anime producer.-Works:Staffed in* Ninja Scroll , Assistant producer* 801 T.T.S. Airbats , Producer* Trigun , Producer* Geobreeders , Producer...
, 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
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
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 twist
Plot twist
A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
s, like Margaret and Madlax's connection to each other, were invented by Kuroda and him while drunk.
Character design
By comparison with Noir, Madlax features a much larger primary cast, including multiple recurring male charactersCharacter (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, an element nearly absent in the former. It was not so in the original screenplay draft written by Mashimo and Kitayama: for example, "Madlax" was Margaret's own nickname and Charlie (Vanessa's colleague at Bookwald Industries) had one of the central roles similar to Speedy's in Avenger
Avenger (anime)
- External links :*...
. Only the "draft" characters' names remained of them when Kuroda has rewritten the script. A total of three 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.
Music
Like 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. 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.Kajiura and Yuuka Nanri
Yuuka Nanri
, commonly referred to as Yuuka, is a seiyū and also a known Japanese pop singer. She is contracted to Space Craft Entertainment of Space Craft Group.-Biography:Yuuka Nanri first debuted on NHK's in 1995, as a child star....
's duo FictionJunction Yuuka
FictionJunction YUUKA
is a pop duo, part of Japanese composer Yuki Kajiura’s solo project FictionJunction, consisting of Yuuka Nanri and Kajiura .-Biography:...
recorded the series' opening and ending themes, 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
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
. 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
Superpower (ability)
Superpower is a popular culture term for a fictional superhuman ability. When a character possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used...
.
Anime series
Originally, Madlax was broadcast in Japan by TV TokyoTV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from 5 April to 27 September 2004, from 1:30 to 2:00 a.m.
Late night anime
is a term used in Japan to denote anime television series broadcast late at night and/or in the early morning, usually between 23.00 and 4.00. Sometimes the scheduled times of such broadcasts are advertised in a format using an hour greater than 24 is a term used in Japan to denote anime...
every Tuesday (formally, Monday night). Shortly before the series finished airing, it has been licensed in North America and Europe by ADV Films, which has previously acquired distribution rights for Noir and has long had plans to license its successor, as well. The official English dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
has been released in the United States under the trademark MADLAX on a total of seven DVDs from 12 April 2005 to 28 March 2006. A complete collection was released by ADV on 17 July 2007. Madlax has become the first series on which ADV Films' director and producer David Williams
David Williams (producer)
David L. Williams, sometimes referred to by his initials, DLW, is an American producer and ADR director that has been with ADV Films from the beginning when his living room was used as a production facility for their first show, Devil Hunter Yohko...
tested the technology of distributing promotional
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
materials via P2P network
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
BitTorrent. As of September 1, 2009, all of the titles from ADV's catalog, including Madlax, were transferred to AEsir Holdings, with distribution from Section23 Films
Section23 Films
Section23 Films is an American home video distribution company specializing in anime and Japanese films. The company is one of five successors to ADV Films, as well as the distributor of titles from Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Films. ADV had announced that it had sold its assets to a group of...
.
The North-American DVD release contains extras available in English only, such the controversial self-parody
Self-parody
A self-parody is a parody of oneself or one's own work. As an artist accomplishes it by imitating his or her own characteristics, a self-parody is potentially difficult to distinguish from especially characteristic productions .Sometimes critics use the...
Conversations with SSS and Sock Puppet Theater, an Easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
live action
Live action
In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation...
about Madlax going after Chris Patton
Chris Patton
Christopher David Patton is an American voice actor who works on anime for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, Seraphim Digital, and OkraTron 5000...
, Badgis' voice actor and an annoying womanizer.
Since 7 February 2006, Madlax airs on Anime Network (which is, like ADV Films, a subsidiary of A.D. Vision
A.D. Vision
A.D. Vision was an American international multimedia entertainment company headquartered in Houston, Texas, prior to its collapse and distress sale to four other Houston-based companies in 2009...
). 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.
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
, 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. A complete collection was released on 4 April 2007.
Soundtrack
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
. Two singles, Hitomi no Kakera
Hitomi no Kakera
is the debut single of J-pop duo FictionJunction Yuuka, from their debut album Destination. It was composed by Yuki Kajiura and released on May 8, 2004. Though this was the group's first single, their actual first recording was Akatsuki no Kuruma. The single debuted at #22 on the Oricon Weekly...
and Inside Your Heart
Inside your heart
"Inside Your Heart" is the second single of J-pop duo FictionJunction Yuuka. It was released on May 8, 2004.This single included the ending and one of the two insert songs for the anime Madlax, both composed by Yuki Kajiura...
, 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
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
versions.
Artbook
MADLAX the Bible (ISBN 4-89425-375-5) is a 95-page artbookArtbook
An art book may mean a conventional book on art or art history, or an artist's book, which is a work of art in the form of a book, usually produced in a small limited edition, often not just using normal printing techniques. The term might also cover graphic novels, books of anime and other types...
that was published in Japan on 21 May 2005 by Hobby Japan
Hobby Japan
HobbyJAPAN CO. is a Japanese hobby magazine and publishing company, specializing in roleplaying, war, and tabletop games, as well as action figures, toys, and artbooks for successful anime, manga and light novel franchises.- Role-playing games :...
. Aside from illustrations and artworks for the series, it contains interviews with its authors and seiyū, as well as diverse additional information about the show in Japanese. The artbook has never been published outside of Japan. Since the word "Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
" is derived from , 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 resinResin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
model kit known as "Madlax with Guns" has been produced, featuring a figurine
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
of Madlax dual wielding her signature SIG P210
SIG P210
The SIG P210 is a locked breech semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Neuhausen am Rheinfall by Swiss Arms AG, formerly SIG Arms AG .It is of all steel construction chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum and 7.65x21mm Parabellum...
s. A polystone figurine entitled simply "Madlax", was launched in August 2007. In Japan, a T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
with Madlax logo has been added to the limited edition of the first DVD volume, and the "first press" of the OST albums came with logotype mousepad
Mousepad
A mousepad or mouse mat is a surface for enhancing the usability of a computer mouse.-History:During a 1968 presentation by Douglas Engelbart marking the public debut of a mouse,...
s.
Reception
Madlax was often accused of being secondary and reusing NoirNoir (anime)
is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced in 2001 by the Bee Train animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo directed Noir, it was written by Ryoe Tsukimura, and the soundtrack was composed by Yuki Kajiura...
s stylistic solutions, such as the story premise
Premise (film)
The premise of a film or screenplay is the fundamental concept that drives the plot.Most premises can be expressed very simply. For example: Othello - Unchecked jealousy leads to death; Titanic - Love conquers all, physically and spiritually; The Silence of the Lambs - Courage destroys evil. ...
, the two heroines' appearance, and the musical style. Nevertheless, some sources praised the story for being more monolithic and consequent than its predecessor's, owing to all its episodes and subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
s being tightly intertwined and held together by the primary plot
A-Plot
A-Plot is a cinema and television term referring to the plotline that drives the story. This does not necessarily mean it is the most important, but rather the one that forces most of the action....
.
The majority of reviewers perceived the early episodes of Madlax as boring and too slow-paced, but some of the same critics later remarked that the prolonged exposition
Exposition (literary technique)
At the beginning of a narrative, the exposition is the author's providing of some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme. Exposition is considered one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, along with argumentation, description, and narration...
is crucial to the unusual finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
of the series, which fully establishes the series' own identity and sets it apart from other works. According to them, after the initial volume, the story gets better and better with every new episode, though some have been dissatisfied with its "pseudo-existentialistic
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
" ending. Erica Friedman, the president of Yuricon
Yuricon
Yuricon is an anime convention geared toward fans of yuri anime and manga. The first Yuricon event was held in 2003 in Newark, New Jersey with about 200 attending, although Yuricon has existed as an online entity since 2000. The event was organized by Yuricon, LLC., which continues to run...
, highly praised Kuroda's script, naming it "the best writing that Bee Train has done". Professional reviewers welcomed the increased number of sympathetic characters, especially the distinguishable male ones (Friday, Carrossea, Colonel Burton), as opposed to stormtrooper
Stormtrooper effect
The Principle of Evil Marksmanship states that enemy marksmen in action films are often very bad shots and almost never harm the main characters. They are generally only capable of hitting a target if the target is either of no value to the plot or if their death will advance said plot...
-like operatives of Soldats in Noir, but the female character designs were still said to be much more detailed (to the point of fanservice in case of Madlax) than the more generic male characters.
The high quality of the animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
in Madlax was generally acknowledged. On the negative side, the episodes that involve computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
use and hacking
Computer crime
Computer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Netcrime refers to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health...
received criticism for their lack of realism. In terms of soundtrack, Madlax has not become as innovative as Noir, with critics suggesting its OST to be a blend of Noir and .hack//Sign
.hack//SIGN
.hack//Sign is an anime television series directed by Kōichi Mashimo and produced by studio Bee Train and Bandai Visual, that makes up one of the four original storylines of the .hack franchise...
styles. Nevertheless, the reviewers acknowledged its superiority over the majority of contemporary works. 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. Reviewers went as far as to suggest that several English voices (especially Mike Kleinhenz
Mike Kleinhenz
Michael Anthony Kleinhenz was an American voice actor who frequently participated in translation and dubbing of Japanese anime. His voice also appeared in national TV and radio advertisements and local advertisements in the Houston area.-History:Mike was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
's) match the characters better than the Japanese ones. Others, however, criticized the dub, e.g. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
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.
The initial slow pacing, especially compared to the first episodes of Noir, 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. Among other suggested reasons behind the mediocre popularity of the show were: the market saturation
Market saturation
In economics, "market saturation" is a term used to describe a situation in which a product has become diffused within a market; the actual level of saturation can depend on consumer purchasing power; as well as competition, prices, and technology....
, which resulted from other anime series attempting to repeat the success of Noir since 2001; the expectable disinterest against a "Noir remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
", found among the fans of the first series; the over-the-top action scenes that some felt to be ridiculous; and its unconventional genre, which straddled Madlax uncomfortably between fans of mystical science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and those who prefer Noir