[RommieSG]

MADLAX Vol. 1 - 'Connections'
Released by ADV Films

Quote

Madlax - An assassin, head and heels above the rest. She is a deadly poison, yet irresistibly sugar-coated. Nothing can surpass her skill in the art of combat - except perhaps her skill in the art of deception. She will find you, she will charm you, and then she will most certainly harm you. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't even matter if you know she's coming. Because in the end, strong or wise, rich or hardened, friend or foe, Madlax will have you eating bullets out of the palm of her hand.

Margaret Burton - An orphaned schoolgirl with issues the size of plump juicy peaches. Haunted by bizarre and cloudy dreams, she must not only endure the horrifying images of her past, but she must also traverse the treacherous path of high school. Margaret is lost - lost in her way, lost in herself, lost instead of alive. Grasping for the truth, she flutters in and out of reality without ever letting her feet touch the ground. Her connection to Madlax is mysterious. It's dark, it's deadly, and of course, it's classified.

The latest production to come from Bee Train, the creators of Noir, this series is very similar to Noir in many regards. The heroine is a blonde bombshell in black kneehigh boots, who's a killer for hire, and has skills that are unsurpassed. The other, softspoken, aloof when it comes to what's around her, and hides a mysterious past.

But these two series couldn't be more different.

Madlax is much more playful than Mireille was. While Mireille was strict and serious, Madlax is almost childlike in the way she speaks, thinks, and acts. But when it comes down to doing her job, her skills are untouched. In the first episode alone, she was able to take out a dozen men, as well as a helicopter. All in a red dress and high heels. I've yet to learn the significance of this dress, but I'm sure it will be explained in later episodes.

Margaret is similar to Kirika in that for the most part she's quiet, and doesn't seem to be all there at times. From her surroundings, she seems to have a dark past. Something that had happened to her. But she has no memory of this. Only feelings.

Madlax and Margaret haven't even met yet, but they seem to be connected somehow. Margaret kept saying it was going to rain, when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. But lo and behold, it rained cats and dogs where Madlax was.

While Noir was set in Parisian type settings, that were bright and colorful at times, MADLAX is set within Gazth-Sonika. A rundown city, that has seen better days. A civil war within the country has seen to that, and is the principal background in the storylines.

Noir, to me, had serious undertones, and moved at a very slow pace. MADLAX is lighter in tone, what with the comedic lines at times, and the music is more upbeat. I love Madlax's line on her first mission..... "When I get home.....I'm gonna have pasta........yeah, pasta."

This is Nancy Novotny's first lead role as a voice actress. While she was a part of the ensemble cast of Azumanga Daioh (Koyomi Mizuhara), this is her first title character. She does wonderfully in this outing, giving Madlax an almost playful aura to her. Luci Christian has gone from the loudmouth type character she is usually cast in, such as Kaname Chidori (Full Metal Panic) and Yukari Tanizaki (Azumanga Daioh), to a much quieter type voice, similar to Monica Rial's role of Kirika in Noir. This dub also features Christine Auten as Limelda Jörg, Gazth-Sonika's top sniper, who will be featured more in Vol. 2.

I give both the Volume and the Dub an A. Overall, this series far surpasses Noir in my book. It's more upbeat, faster paced, and less philosophical. There's still the espionage, and secret societies, so if that's something that intrigued you with Noir, you'll like MADLAX. This series is rated TV14 for violence, and may not be suitable for younger viewers.

If you liked Noir, you'll love MADLAX. If you loved Noir, you'll go absolutely Mad for MADLAX.

Rommie

[NeuralClone]

RommieSG, on Apr 20 2005, 10:45 PM, said:

If you liked Noir, you'll love MADLAX. If you loved Noir, you'll go absolutely Mad for MADLAX.

Oh, frell. I LOVE Noir! You are trying to make me go bankrupt, aren't you?

Speaking of Noir, did you ever finish seeing the entire series?

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 20 April 2005 - 10:57 PM

[ArchAngel]

Oh, I loved Noir. So this is one title that I'm definitely going to pick up right away. Whenever it makes its way over here that is.

[RommieSG]

NeuralClone, on Apr 20 2005, 08:55 PM, said:

RommieSG, on Apr 20 2005, 10:45 PM, said:

If you liked Noir, you'll love MADLAX. If you loved Noir, you'll go absolutely Mad for MADLAX.

Oh, frell. I LOVE Noir! You are trying to make me go bankrupt, aren't you?

Speaking of Noir, did you ever finish seeing the entire series?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Um......no.

Rommie

[NeuralClone]

RommieSG, on Apr 21 2005, 12:05 AM, said:

Um......no.

If you ever get around to it, you must finish it! The second half is amazingly good and isn't nearly as slow as the first half.

[RommieSG]

NeuralClone, on Apr 20 2005, 09:07 PM, said:

RommieSG, on Apr 21 2005, 12:05 AM, said:

Um......no.

If you ever get around to it, you must finish it! The second half is amazingly good and isn't nearly as slow as the first half.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I intend to, once the individual volumes drop in price. The same goes for RahXephon. With the Complete Sets coming out, the individual volumes should come down in price, and I'll be able to afford them.

Rommie

[ArchAngel]

I'm sure Rommie will buy it, AFTER he has bought RahXephon.

[foborg]

I've taken a break from RahXephon at episode 12. Can't really get into it.

[ArchAngel]

You know I think I'm going to have to stop sitting on my hands and finish writing up my review of RahXephon. If only to try figure out why no one else seems to like it

[foborg]

Eventually I hope to get some answers about where those robots and that timesphere came from, but so far there seems to be no answers forthcoming. If they conclude it in a nice way it'll be fine, I guess. I'm just afraid it will be a cut-off ending like for instance Lost Exile.

[ArchAngel]

Oh they are very stingy about straight up answers, but there are clues throughout the series and they do explain it in the end.

[Niko]

How good of an indicator would you say the first ep. is for liking Madlax, Rommie? I really dislike Noir, so the comparisons TO Noir make me less interested...but then the mention of it being more up-tempo than Noir means maybe I'd like it more...

I know I have a NewType demo disc of "Madlax" around somewhere, so I thought that might be a good thing to try, but those are also so hit-and-miss as to whether it tells you much about the series.

[RommieSG]

Niko, on Apr 21 2005, 08:30 AM, said:

How good of an indicator would you say the first ep. is for liking Madlax, Rommie?  I really dislike Noir, so the comparisons TO Noir make me less interested...but then the mention of it being more up-tempo than Noir means maybe I'd like it more... 

I know I have a NewType demo disc of "Madlax" around somewhere, so I thought that might be a good thing to try, but those are also so hit-and-miss as to whether it tells you much about the series.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well the first episode doesn't even involve Margaret, the second lead character in this series. I believe they use the first two episodes as introductory episodes for the two characters.

This one involves Madlax, on a mission, as she attempts to safeguard some information. There isn't a bunch of cloak and dagger/cover-up type stuff as was in Noir. But I think the tempo is much faster, and you're able to pick up on a couple of things right away. Like what kind of person Madlax is, and the way she handles her business. It really shows her playful type nature, and I love how Nancy Novotny handles the character.

Give it a shot, Niko. The only thing that I think you'd miss out, if you didn't like it, would be 25 minutes of your time. I think it's worth it to check out a glimpse of this series.

Rommie

[NeuralClone]

Niko, on Apr 21 2005, 11:30 AM, said:

How good of an indicator would you say the first ep. is for liking Madlax, Rommie?  I really dislike Noir, so the comparisons TO Noir make me less interested...but then the mention of it being more up-tempo than Noir means maybe I'd like it more... 

How much of Noir have you seen? After the first 5 or 6 episodes the pace REALLY picks up and it's pretty much non-stop in the second half of the series. The first few episodes really aren't a good indication of what happens later in the series.

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 21 April 2005 - 07:11 PM

[Niko]

I forget how many eps. there are per volume, but I gave up after volume 2. (I'm not sure if I actually watched the whole volume...the last episode I saw dealt with an Italian uber-assassin that Mireille knew from childhood.)

It takes a lot to bore me, but after volume 2, I had absolutely no interest in either of the characters, the teeny bit of curiosity I had about their big mystery was gone, and I was sick to death of that same operatic music over the same flashbacks umpteen times in every episode. I guess I can appreciate how it might be more interesting to others, but it really left me cold.

[RommieSG]

Niko, on Apr 21 2005, 05:49 PM, said:

I forget how many eps. there are per volume, but I gave up after volume 2.  (I'm not sure if I actually watched the whole volume...the last episode I saw dealt with an Italian uber-assassin that Mireille knew from childhood.)

It takes a lot to bore me, but after volume 2, I had absolutely no interest in either of the characters, the teeny bit of curiosity I had about their big mystery was gone, and I was sick to death of that same operatic music over the same flashbacks umpteen times in every episode.  I guess I can appreciate how it might be more interesting to others, but it really left me cold.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you may have just summed up what happened to me with Noir.

Rommie

[NeuralClone]

Niko, on Apr 21 2005, 08:49 PM, said:

It takes a lot to bore me, but after volume 2, I had absolutely no interest in either of the characters, the teeny bit of curiosity I had about their big mystery was gone, and I was sick to death of that same operatic music over the same flashbacks umpteen times in every episode.  I guess I can appreciate how it might be more interesting to others, but it really left me cold.

You stopped watching right before they stopped doing all the stuff you just described. It starts picking up around episode 8 or 9.

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 21 April 2005 - 09:58 PM