Madlax...
From the creative minds behind Noir, comes Madlax, a compelling saga of two lives and the dark circumstances surrounding their mysterious connection...
There's some bloodshed and a lot of good wholesome violence in Madlax, but, not really any gore to speak of. Although there are plenty of ubiquitous bath and shower scenes, there are no naughty bits to speak of. Madlax is prominently featured throughout the series, but, very often she appears in the background as other characters take the spotlight. There's a dark undercurrent throughout the series with a mysterious organization known as "Enfant" lurking in the shadows and seemingly behind much of the unhappy events in the series. Overall, the pace of the series is fairly slow -- events don't really start to move until about halfway through the series. But, even with this minor flaw, Madlax still manages to be entertaining. I gave Madlax a 3 out of 5.
The Madlax soundtrack CD has 23 tracks and I liked 11 tracks for a total of 47.8% which works out to a rating of 2 out of 4. By the way, my favorite tracks on the CD are the instrumental tracks the story begins and pursuit.
According to Wikipedia...Volume 1 - Connections
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 matter where 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.
Volume 2 - The Red Book
The Gazth-Sonika Civil War
As the death toll mounts, questions surface regarding the war's overall purpose and the highly secretive facilitator behind it all. With uncertainty looming, the Army Commander of the ruling party hired MADLAX, a well-versed mercenary, to carry out his own assassination in the hopes of putting an end to the insanity. Meanwhile, the quest for answers continues. Before being murdered by his bizarrely entranced daughter, resistance operative Piederica Morey sent a young boy named Chris deep into Gazth-Sonika in order to find the truth-and turn the tide of the war.
The Red Book
A gift from her father. Margaret Burton cherishes the blood stained manuscript, not only as a family heirloom, but also as the only link to her shrouded past. Within its pages rest an ancient language long forgotten-Elies, The Holy Words of Saruon. But one page from the book is missing. With the help of personal caretaker Elenore Baker and biblio-detective Eric Gillian, Margaret commissions a search. They are to find another copy of the book as well as learn more about its contents. What they discover instead, is trouble.
Volume 3 - The In-Between
Bookwald Industries
As the largest company in the world, Bookwald has investments and interests spread far and wide in dizzying capacity. And with such breadth of scope, comes great power and influence. Bookwald, wary of its deep roots in the war-torn Gazth-Sonika, has gone to great lengths to not only ensure survival, but perhaps something more devious as well. Only the company's directors and secret operative Carrossea Doon seem to know the true nature of their intentions. But even that is mere speculation.
Vanessa Rene
This business-savvy brunette is perhaps a bit too smart for her own good. Her intuitive suspicions have all too often been both correct and dangerous. Most recently, she has uncovered reasons to believe that her own place of employment, Bookwald Industries, is meddling in some adverse affairs. She has discovered links to the war in Gazth-Sonika in addition to the highly covert intelligence organization known as Enfant. This time, she may have dug too deep. Madlax may be her only hope.
Volume 4 - Elda Taluta
Carrossea Doon
Only he understands where his loyalties lie. On the one hand, he is a highly secretive employee for Bookwald, the largest corporation in the world. On the other, he works in a clandestine manner for the mysterious Friday Monday. Carrossea is a chameleon. He weaves in and out and through not only the civil-war-torn GazthSonika, but also some of the most powerful and influential minds on the planet. And he does it all because he is searching -searching for something of his own. But what that something is, only he knows for sure.
Friday Monday
A mastermind, a lunatic, a figment of the imagination. He is the cornerstone behind Enfant, the massive information network connected to the mainframe of everything. He knows where you are. He knows why you're there. And he knows what your next move will be. And of course, he also knows the clouded past-the past holding the keys to Madlax and Margaret and the lives they risk to discover. And that is exactly what Friday Monday plans to use in order to bring upon this world the reality of his wicked dreams.
Volume 5 - Convergence
The Elies Script
The Holy Words of Saruon. A language long forgotten has awakened - and anyone who has allowed it to cross either their eyes or lips has felt its eerie repercussions. Just as detective Maclay Morini was closing in on a murder case, the words entranced him into mindless drone. Literary researcher Eric Gillian sought out the language's origin and ultimately committed suicide. Now, Madlax and Margaret Burton are on the verge of discovering the true meaning behind the words' powers.
Enfant
The secretly controlled hub overlooking the transfer of all the world's digital data. Led by the mysterious Friday Monday, the Enfant network is a clandestine conglomerate of the powerful, the loyal and those unaware of the deceptive depths to which they are involved. Enfant sees all. Enfant knows all. Enfant is responsible for the deaths of Piederica and Anne Moray, the disappearance of Chris Krana, and most importantly, Enfant is the force perpetuating the war in Gazth-Sonika. And now, Enfant is after Madlax and Vanessa Rene.
Volume 6 - Sacrifice
The Gift
Only those with the Gift are able to read the Holy Words of Saruon. They are the pathway to the door of truth -the only means by which the reality of the event twelve years ago can be revealed. But, without the gift the Holy Words can cause grave danger and teeter the delicate balance of creation and circumstance. The Gift is freedom, but only for a chosen few. It will allow Margaret and Madlax to finally discover who they are and where they belong. Only, Madlax does not possess the Gift. She is something different.
Different
Madlax can sense it. Madlax can feel the Essence and touch the realm beyond reality. But, not completely. It is this confusing and frustrating state which has driven Madlax to discover her true existence. She has learned of her powerful yet cloudy connection to Margaret Burton. Drawn together, they have both searched along separate paths to arrive not only at the same destination but also at the same moment in time. It is a moment twelve years ago. It is a moment that will bring them closer together- and tear them further apart.
Volume 7 - Reality
The Essence
When the three books come together, the doorway is opened. It is a doorway that leads to reality. There, Madlax and Margaret Burton can not only discover their collective past, but they can also experience something much more powerful -the essence. It is what Friday Monday has fought so long and hard to reveal. It is more than a simple glimpse into the human psyche - it is the unrestrained embodiment of human nature. It is the will of mankind acting without question. It is what we are. It is the truth.
The Truth
Enfant has manipulated it. Madlax and Margaret Burton have been obsessed with searching for it. Carrossea Doon and Vanessa Rene have died trying to find it. Quanzitta and Nakhl are sworn to protect it. And Friday Monday has big plans for it. The truth is a dangerous thing. It has torn people apart, it has murdered, it has brought war and devastation. Yet, everyone feels compelled to embrace it. Everyone yearns to establish an intimate relationship with the very force that drives them away. Will they find it? Or, will they create it?
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.
There's some bloodshed and a lot of good wholesome violence in Madlax, but, not really any gore to speak of. Although there are plenty of ubiquitous bath and shower scenes, there are no naughty bits to speak of. Madlax is prominently featured throughout the series, but, very often she appears in the background as other characters take the spotlight. There's a dark undercurrent throughout the series with a mysterious organization known as "Enfant" lurking in the shadows and seemingly behind much of the unhappy events in the series. Overall, the pace of the series is fairly slow -- events don't really start to move until about halfway through the series. But, even with this minor flaw, Madlax still manages to be entertaining. I gave Madlax a 3 out of 5.The Madlax soundtrack CD has 23 tracks and I liked 11 tracks for a total of 47.8% which works out to a rating of 2 out of 4. By the way, my favorite tracks on the CD are the instrumental tracks the story begins and pursuit.
