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Madlax
The central characters of the series
マドラックス
(Madorakkusu)
Genre Mystery, Action, Heroic bloodshed, War Drama, Psychological thriller
TV anime
Directed by Kōichi Mashimo
Studio Bee Train
Network Flag of Japan TV Tokyo
Flag of United States Anime Network
Original run 5 April 2004 – 27 September 2004
No. of episodes 26


Madlax (マドラックス Madorakkusu?) is a 26-episode anime television series produced in 2004 by the Bee Train animation studio. The DVD version was released in North America by ADV Films, and as of November 2006, it airs on the Anime Network channel. According to the director Kōichi Mashimo, the title is a portmanteau of two English words: MAD and reLAXed, mirroring the authors' intention to portray the two extremes of human being.[1]

The story revolves around two young women, who, at first glance, have nothing in common, nor know of each other's existence. The first and titular heroine is Madlax, a living legend among the mercenaries and assassins in Gazth-Sonika, a small Asian country torn by a civil war. "Madlax" is a code name and a substitute for her real one, forgotten along with the rest of her past before 1999, when the war started. The second girl is Margaret Burton, the sole heir of a wealthy aristocratic family in the peaceful European country of Nafrece. Twelve years before the story begins, an airliner her mother and she were on crashed over Gazth-Sonika, and its passengers, as well as Margaret's father who lead the rescuers, have been missing ever since. Margaret managed to travel back to Nafrece on her own, though how she made it remains a mystery because she has lost her memories prior to her return, save one word: "Madlax". This seemingly thin thread linking the two girls turns out to be a much more intense connection when they both independently start investigating the powerful crime syndicate Enfant and its enigmatic mastermind, who, for some reason, shows interest in both of them.

The critics have pointed out multiple similarities between Madlax and Noir,[2][3] an earlier work by the same studio, and according to the authors, these two series are the first installments of a planned trilogy exploring the so-called girls-with-guns genre,[1][4] with the third title being the recently announced El Cazador.[5] Still, Madlax differs considerably from its predecessor, as it is very plot driven, pays much attention to the interaction of various factions rather than individual characters,[6][7] and, in particular contrast to the predominantly realistic Noir, incorporates many aspects of mystery thriller and multiple supernatural concepts,[8] which the audience must often interpret without further explanation (see Terminology in Madlax).

Contents

[edit] Story

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Madlax characters

A large primary cast of distinctive characters is essential to the plot of Madlax, spiraling ever closer and evolving alongside the central ideas of the series,[9] as well as, according to the composer Yuki Kajiura, serving as the milestones for Margaret Burton's inner growth, one of the main topics of the show (see Themes of Madlax).[10]

Margaret Burton

Margaret Burton (マーガレット・バートン Māgaretto Bāton?) is a 17-year old schoolgirl attending to an elite private high school in Nafrece. She is sleepy, clumsy, and often alienated from the world around her, if it were not for her maidservant Elenore Baker, she would have a lot of trouble, even in Nafrece.[11] Margaret is an amnesiac as she does not remember anything about her life prior to twelve years ago when she returned home from Gazth-Sonika - in fact, she has even forgotten how to speak, therefore "Madlax" (the only word she remembered) is an important link to her past. Another link is a "picture book" stained with blood that she brought with her from Gazth-Sonika and which, Margaret firmly believes, was given to her by her father.


Madlax

Madlax (マドラックス Madorakkusu?) is a very charismatic and kind young woman, who happens to be the most efficient operative and assassin in Gazth-Sonika.[12] Just like Margaret, she remembers next to nothing of her life before twelve years ago, except the word "Madlax", which she accepted as her code name. Unlike Margaret, she has not lost the ability to communicate, and vaguely remembers an image of her father walking away from her. She possesses her father's military dog tag, but the name on it is illegible. Twelve years ago, Madlax was picked up by SSS who trained her as a mercenary (wherein she displayed almost supernatural abilities) and she has been working in Gazth-Sonika ever since, hoping one day to find her father and her lost self.


Vanessa Rene

Vanessa Rene (ヴァネッサ・レネ Vanessa Rene?) is Margaret's former neighbor and tutor and currently, a successful manager at Bookwald Industries. Half of the efforts to return Margaret back to normal after her "trip" to Gazth-Sonika is attributed to her (the other half was Elenore Baker's).[13] In 1999, Vanessa's parents were made (falsely, according to her) responsible for the Gazth-Sonikan civil war breaking out and later executed.[14] Therefore, upon discovering that Bookwald not only invests into the demilitarized zone of Gazth-Sonika but supplies both warring sides with weapons, she immediately travels there to investigate. While in the country, Madlax is assigned as her bodyguard, thus linking the two female leads.


Elenore Baker

Elenore Baker (エリノア・ベイカー Erinoa Beikā?) is Margaret's devoted and sometimes overprotective maidservant. The Baker family has served Burtons for generations, therefore Elenore sees it her duty to protect her absent-minded and clumsy "Miss" from everything remotely dangerous - to the point of exploring her schoolmates' backgrounds and becoming an expert in hand to hand combat. Elenore is a child prodigy who graduated from high school years ahead of all other students just to be able to spend her time caring for Margaret.


Friday Monday

Friday Monday (フライデー・マンデー Furaidē Mandē?) is the enigmatic leader of Enfant who single-handedly controls all information channels on the planet.[15] Little is known about him except that he is very skilled with computers, that he hides the right half of his face under a mask and that he is, for some reason, after Margaret's "picture book". He seems somehow connected to the incident in Gazth-Sonika twelve years ago.


Carrossea Doon

Carrossea Doon (カロッスア・ドゥーン Karossua Dōn?) is officially an employee of Bookwald Industries but, in fact, he works for Enfant and reports back directly to Friday Monday. He is smart and resourceful, and he often plays his own game under Monday's nose. He too, lost his memories in Gazth-Sonika twelve years ago and desperately tries to regain his identity. He is certain he has never met Margaret before, but the two of them quickly develop mutual trust upon their initial meeting.


Limelda Jorg

Limelda Jorg (リメルダ・ユルグ Rimeruda Yurugu?) is an officer of Gazth-Sonikan royal guard and the best sniper in the country (with the exception of Madlax). After Madlax assassinated the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army (whom Limelda was assigned to protect) right before her eyes, she made a personal vendetta to kill her.

[edit] Plot summary

Main articles: Fictional setting of Madlax and Plot summary of Madlax
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The series starts off with the two female leads living completely separate lives. Madlax works as a special ops agent for hire in the war-torn Gazth-Sonika, while Margaret enjoys the tranquility of Nafrece. When a "picture book", presumably given to Margaret by her late father, attracts attention of an international crime syndicate Enfant, she starts researching its origins and discovers that they 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 in Gazth-Sonika for some time. Meanwhile, Vanessa Rene, Margaret's former tutor, discovers that her employer, Bookwald Industries, covertly supports the civil war in Gazth-Sonika by supplying both sides with firearms, so she seizes the opportunity to find more about the true casus belli. Her investigation brings her to Gazth-Sonika, where Madlax is assigned as her bodyguard, and together, they uncover data that definitely proves that Enfant orchestrated the entire conflict. Enfant intercepts them and forces into hiding. Back in Nafrece, Margaret decides to travel to Gazth-Sonika to help Vanessa and is accompanied by her maidservant Elenore Baker and Carrossea Doon.

Eventually, Madlax and Margaret encounter each other and embark on a search for Quanzitta Marison, a Gazth-Sonikan mystic who may know something 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 Friday Monday (Enfant's leader) possesses supernatural powers connected to the three ancient books, one of which belongs to Margaret. Margaret has supernatural abilities, too, and decides to use them to return her lost memories. Failing to complete the proper ritual, Carrossea, who has been supporting her, dies, and she herself is captured by Monday who intends to use her abilities to complete his own goals.

Three personae of Margaret Burton
Three personae of Margaret Burton

While Margaret and Carrossea perform the ritual, Madlax is attacked by her arch-nemesis Limelda Jorg, who accidentally kills Vanessa while targeting Madlax, sending the latter into clinical depression. Never the less, 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 start a new world war but as a result, Margaret's memories return and she snaps out of his mind control. It is revealed that back in 1999, Monday drove Margaret's father insane with his powers and she was forced to kill her own parent. To escape the sin of patricide, Margaret had split herself into three personae: the "memory keeper" Laetitia, the sinful Madlax, and Margaret herself. After the revelation, Madlax reappears and guns down Monday, then Margaret fuses the three personae to undo the ritual she unwillingly performed and stop the global war. Upon accomplishing that, she once again splits herself in three, judging that after twelve years, she no longer has the right to make decisions for her other personae.

[edit] Themes

Among the most prominent recurring themes in Madlax are the war, its causes and the destructive effects it has upon the characters' lives.[16] In the first episodes, the authors juxtapose the tranquil Nafrece and the war-torn Gazth-Sonika to show off the contrast between them,[17] and later, the story moves completely to the combat zone, focusing on the central characters, such as Limelda Jorg,[9] and their suffering. The second half of the series discusses the possible reasons and causes of war: Friday Monday, while playing the role of a mad villain,[18] expresses the belief that the intrinsic nature of humans carries only destruction, death and chaos in it,[19] and to support this, attempts to grant "people's intrinsic wishes" by starting a rationally senseless global war.[20] His plans are thwarted by Madlax, whom Margaret Burton defines as a "kind murderer" [21][22] and who is able to gain sympathies of everyone she meets, be it other characters [23] or the audience,[24] while her work not only does not invoke rejection but, naturally fits into her image.[21] Staying a kind and empathetic person despite having to kill people,[22] Madlax represents a living denial of Friday Monday's beliefs, embodying the real "true human nature" he is vainly searching for.[25] In the end, Margaret draws the ultimate conclusion, clearly influenced by existentialistic philosophy:[26] the world and everyone living in it carry both good and evil within them and are free to embrace either side.[22]

On the other hand, Madlax can be interpreted as a story of Margaret Burton's search for a psychological identity: for example, based on the available to her Mashimo Menu theme titles,[27] Yuki Kajiura has once suggested that while searching for her memories, Margaret meets the other characters ("Gatekeepers") one after another and gets to know the lifestyles ("Gates") they represent. In the end, she finds her own "Gate", which is her new identity that finally replaces the one she lost twelve years ago.[10]

Another important theme in Madlax is Elenore Baker's loyalty towards her "Miss" Margaret Burton.[28] She is presented as an utterly devoted and always compassionate maidservant and comes to Margaret's rescue on occasions, such as when the latter is harassed by the playboy Maurice Lopez on a private party,[11] or when Elenore storms the Enfant headquarters, where Margaret is held, on her own despite a severe gunshot wound.[29] Contrary to the speculations of particularly inventive fans, Elenore's affection towards her "miss" is not romantic: at some point, she recounts making a promise over her dying grandfather that she would protect Margaret forever [30] and shortly before her death, she admits that Margaret is "her family".[29]

Madlax and Vanessa
Madlax and Vanessa

Overall, Madlax does not depict obvious lesbian relationships but has gained fame among the yuri fandom,[31] following their enthusiastic reception of Noir. With its predecessor's influences put aside, the only true source of shoujo-ai speculations in the series is the relationship between Madlax, Vanessa Rene and Limelda Jorg,[32][33] that partly mirrors the "love triangle" between Kirika Yuumura, Mireille Bouquet and Chloe.[34] The relationship between second lead character Margaret and Madlax, which is ambiguously hinted at in the final shots of the opening animation, never progresses past acknowledging each other's right to exist.[35] On the other hand, multiple allusions towards a heterosexual mutual attraction between her and Carrossea Doon are scattered throughout the story.[36][37]

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Production

Staff
Director  Kōichi Mashimo
Series composition, screenplay  Yousuke Kuroda
Planning  Shiro Sasaki
Producers  Shigeru Kitayama
 Tatsuya Hamamoto
Assistant producer  Hiroshi Yoshida
Music producer  Keiichi Nozaki
Original music  Yuki Kajiura
Theme songs performance  FictionJunction YUUKA
Art director  Yoshimi Umino
Character animation director  Satoshi Ohsawa
Character design  Minako Shiba
 Satoko Miyachi
 Satoshi Ohsawa
Mechanical animation director  Yasuhiro Saiki
Mechanical design  Kenji Teraoka
Color coordination  Makiko Kojima
Editing  Seiji Morita
Special effects  Masahiro Murakami

According to the director Kōichi Mashimo, he has always envisioned Noir and Madlax as part of a trilogy belonging to the girls-with-guns genre,[4] and soon after the release of the latter, he has revealed that the third installment is already being planned.[1] 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 Yousuke Kuroda was put in charge of the script that the series took its final appearance. It took Kuroda about 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 once admitted that the most unusual plot twists, like Margaret and Madlax's connection to each other, were invented by Kuroda and him in a state of alcohol intoxication.[1]

By comparison with Noir, Madlax features a much larger primary cast, including multiple recurring male characters, who were effectively 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, when Kuroda has rewritten the script. A total of three character designers collaborated on Madlax cast: Satoshi Ohsawa (who also worked on Noir) created the central heroines, Margaret and Madlax; Minako Shiba drew the agents of Enfant led by Friday Monday and Carrossea Doon; and Satoko Miyachi was entrusted with the "mysterious" characters, Laetitia and Poupee.[38][39]

Seiyūs who voiced characters in Madlax have participated in earlier projects by studio Bee Train, for example, Houko Kuwashima and Aya Hisakawa who played Kirika Yuumura and Chloe in Noir also voiced Margaret Burton and Limelda Jorg.[40][41] Kotono Mitsuishi (Mireille Bouquet in Noir), on the other hand, has received only a minor role (Margaret's mother in episode 21),[42] while the titular lead of Madlax was voiced by Sanae Kobayashi, previously involved with .hack//Liminality (Mai Minase).[43] Masashi Ebara (Friday Monday) had a major role in Liminality (Junichiro Tokuoka).[44] Monica Rial (Kirika Yuumura in the English translation of Noir) did not appear as a voice actor in Madlax, but has instead translated the screenplay for ADV Films release,[45] earning praises from the critics at that.[18]

[edit] Releases

Boxed set (all volumes) released by ADV
Boxed set (all volumes) released by ADV
Main article: List of Madlax episodes

Originally, Madlax was broadcast in Japan by TV Tokyo from 5 April to 27 September 2004, from 1:30 to 2:00 AM every Tuesday (formally, Monday night).[46] Shortly before the series finished airing, it has been licensed in North America and Europe by ADV Films,[47] who has previously licensed Noir. The official English dub has been released under the trademark MADLAX on a total of seven DVDs from 12 April 2005 to 28 March 2006 and received a TV-14 rating, though it has been lowered to TV-PG for the consequent cable network broadcast.[48] 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.[49]

The North-American DVD release contains extras available in English only, such the controversial Conversations with SSS [17][26][28] and Sock Puppet Theater, an Easter egg live action about Madlax going after Chris Patton, Badgis' voice actor and an annoying womanizer.[18] To access the latter, one should press "Up", "Down", "Left", and "Right" buttons when the second eye-catch of episode 21 (DVD volume #6) comes on.

Since 7 February 2006, Madlax is aired on Anime Network (which is, like ADV Films, a subsidiary of A.D. Vision) on Tuesdays from 20:00 to 20:30 (each episode is repeated on 23:00 the same day and on 19:30 the next Tuesday). 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 twice: on 1 August and 7 November 2006.[50]

[edit] Music

The cover of the first Madlax soundtrack album
The cover of the first Madlax soundtrack album

Like with many other studio Bee Train's works (first of all, Noir), the entire Madlax soundtrack was composed by the famous Yuki Kajiura, marking it her and Kōichi Mashimo's fifth project together. Kajiura and Yuuka Nanri's duo FictionJunction YUUKA has 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 (along with another song called "Cradle") to herself in the flower field.

The entire OST has been released on two albums in 2004. Two singles 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.[51]

In the insert song "nowhere", there is a frequently repeated background refrain "Yanmaani" (ヤンマーニ Yanmāni?), which is not a word at all, just meaningless chanting. Since the song usually plays when Madlax is fighting, "Yanmaani" has become something of a joke to many Madlax fans: its loud singing has come to symbolize Madlax's apparent invincibility - some see it as a kind of "magic word" that powers Madlax up for battle, in accordance with the magical girl genre canons.[52]

[edit] Franchise

Madlax the Bible cover
Madlax the Bible cover

MADLAX the Bible (ISBN 4-89425-375-5) is a 95-page artbook that was published in Japan on 21 May 2005 by Hobby Japan.[53] Aside from color and BW illustrations and artworks for the series, it contains interviews with its authors and seiyūs, as well as diverse additional information about the show in Japanese.[54] The artbook has never been published outside of Japan. Since the word "Bible" is derived from Ancient Greek: "τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια", meaning "holy books", it is likely that the artbook's title contains a hidden reference to the Holy Books that play an important role in the series' plot.

A resin model kit known as "Madlax with Guns" has been produced, featuring a figurine of Madlax dual wielding her signature SIG P210s.[55] In Japan, a T-shirt with Madlax logo has been added to the limited edtion of the first DVD volume,[56] and the "first press" of the OST albums came with logotype mousepads.[57]

[edit] Reception

Common rating
Australia M, PG (some episodes)
Canada 14+
Great Britain 12, 15 (some episodes)
United States TV-14, TV-PG (cable)

Unlike Noir, that became instantly successful in Japan and Western countries despite controversial opinions about it, Madlax has never been able to match it in fame and received only moderate (though generally approving) attention from the critics. It has often been accused of being secondary and reusing many of Noir's stylistic solutions, such as the story premise, the two heroines' appearance, and musical performance,[3] but on the other hand, the story as a whole was praised for being more monolithic and consequent than its predecessor's, in other words, because its episodes and subplots are tightly intertwined and held together by the primary A-Plot.[28] By comparison, most of the "middle" episodes in Noir can be separated into story arcs, which are only loosely connected to each other.

The majority of reviewers has perceived the early episodes of Madlax as boring and too slow-paced (many have claimed the same of nearly all Noir episodes, as well),[2] but 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 competitors.[18][28][58] According to them, after the initial volume, the story gets better and better with every new episode,[36][59] though some have been dissatisfied with its "pseudo-existentialistic" ending.[26]

The initial slow pacing, especially compared to the first episodes of Noir,[3] is the main reason why the audience often dropped watching Madlax before it could present its more exciting and interesting story turns,[60] which eventually resulted in the moderate success of the series. Among other suggested reasons of the show's rather mediocre popularity were following:[61]

  • Market saturation. Since 2001, other studios have tried to repeat the success of Noir, so when Madlax was aired, its style was no longer unique and it was harder to attract attention to itself. An expectable prejudice against a "Noir remake", found among the fans of the first series, played a certain role.[2]
  • Unconventional genre. An untraditional blend of mystical science fiction and Noir's strict realism prevented Madlax from gaining popularity among the fandoms of both these macro-genres.[8]
  • Lack of polarizing effect. Unlike Noir, that has been polarizing its viewers into two camps, fans and detesters, for years, Madlax has spawned much more diverse opinions and, thus, failed to achieve the cult status.

The professional reviewers welcomed the increased number of sympathetic characters,[8] especially of the distinguishable male ones (Friday, Carrossea, Colonel Burton), as opposed to stormtrooper-like operatives of Soldats in Noir,[2] but it has been observed that female character designs are much more detailed (to the point of subtle fanservice in case of Madlax) than more generic male ones.[18] On the negative side, some named the episodes that involve computer use and hacking, criticizing them for lack of realism (admittedly, it's a common problem in fiction).[32]

In terms of soundtrack, Madlax has not become as innovative as Noir,[62] with critics suggesting its OST to be a blend of Noir and .hack//Sign styles.[63] Nevertheless, the reviewers admitted its superiority over the majority of contemporary works.[2][3] The English translation released by ADV Films has been praised for keeping most of series' original stylistic aspects preserved and inviting veteran voice actors for the dub.[36] Reviewers went as far as to suggest that certain English voices (especially Mike Kleinhenz's) match the characters better than the Japanese ones.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Wong, A. (March 2005). "Inside Bee Train". Newtype USA: 8-15. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Carter, Jason (2005-07-20). Madlax DVD #1 review. AnimeJump.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  3. ^ a b c d Martin, Theron (2005-05-06). Madlax DVD #1 review. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  4. ^ a b See also the article about the girls-with-guns on Bee Train Fan Wiki.
  5. ^ January 3-10 News. Anime News Service (2007-01-06). Retrieved on 2007-01-19. “Following Noir and Madlax, this [El Cazador] will be the thrid [sic] installment in a series of what Director Koichi Mashimo has referred to as his girls-with-guns genre trilogy.”
  6. ^ Hattaway, Mitchell (2005-09-01). Madlax DVD #2 review. DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved on 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.”
  7. ^ Morton, Bryan (2006-06-29). Madlax DVD #2 review. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-08. “The connections between Enfant, Galza, the Gazth-Sonika military and other groups are beginning to look very much like a spider's web of conflicting desires and priorities, and it's not easy to disentangle it all...”
  8. ^ a b c Beveridge, Chris (2006-01-26). Madlax DVD #6 review. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  9. ^ a b Beveridge, Chris (2005-12-22). Madlax DVD #5 review. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  10. ^ a b Staff Talk #5 (Yuki Kajiura). ADV Films' Madlax DVD #3 insert leaflet.
  11. ^ a b Madlax, episode 6 (summary).
  12. ^ Galza fighter: "What'll be a big deal is when THAT one shows up. [...] A super-skilled agent named Ma..." Madlax, episode 1 (3:23).
  13. ^ Elenore: "Miss Vanessa, as her tutor you gave her culture and education. Thanks to you, since then she's come so far that she can lead a normal school life". Madlax, episode 6 (9:44).
  14. ^ 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". Madlax, episode 13 (8:21).
  15. ^ Maclay Marini's investigation of Enfant and its consequences. Madlax, episode 4.
  16. ^ Pete's life story (Madlax, episode 1); Guen McNichol's life story (episode 3); Luciano's life story (episode 9).
  17. ^ a b Hattaway, Mitchell (2005-04-28). Madlax DVD #1 review. DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Martin, Theron (2006-04-05). Madlax DVD #6 and #7 review. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  19. ^ Friday Monday's explanation of his ideals. Madlax, episodes 25 (17:01) and 26 (9:51).
  20. ^ Conversation between Friday Monday and Colonel Burton. Madlax, episode 21 (16:56).
    Madlax: "Why do you continue a meaningless war?" Madlax, episode 16 (19:15).
  21. ^ a b Madlax and Margaret's first prolonged conversation. Madlax, episode 20 (5:12).
  22. ^ a b c Final conversation between Madlax and Margaret. Madlax, episode 26 (20:38).
  23. ^ Vanessa demonstrates her affection towards Madlax. Madlax, episodes 13 (13:44) and 14 (11:16).
    Margaret states that she likes Madlax and describes her as a "kind person" (5:55). Quanzitta Marison expresses personal interest in Madlax (7:06). Limelda confesses her love for Madlax (13:12). Madlax, episode 20.
    Nakhl denies her duty to follow Madlax into battle. Madlax, episode 23 (8:50).
  24. ^ Madlax personality poll. BeeTrainFan.org (2006-04-08). Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  25. ^ Final stand-off between Madlax and Friday Monday. Madlax, episode 26 (16:56).
  26. ^ a b c Hattaway, Mitchell (2006-04-20). Madlax DVD #7 review. DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  27. ^ See also the article about Mashimo Menu on Bee Train Fan Wiki.
  28. ^ a b c d Beveridge, Chris (2006-04-13). Madlax DVD #7 review. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  29. ^ a b Margaret, Elenore, and Friday Monday's conversation. Madlax, episode 24 (16:21).
  30. ^ Elenore Baker: "I'll protect Miss Margaret. I'll protect her for sure". Madlax, episode 6 (20:02).
  31. ^ A fanfic collection about Madlax and Noir. Shoujo-Ai Archive.
  32. ^ a b Morton, Bryan (2006-07-24). Madlax DVD #3 review. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  33. ^ Limelda confesses her love for Madlax. Madlax, episode 20 (13:12).
  34. ^ Mangaminx (2006-03-17). Madlax DVD #7 review. Blogspot.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-10. “The ending is of course similar to Noir to have two characters heading off into the sunset together, but seeing as one is the "Chloe" character this time I liked it a lot more [...] After all her obsessing Limelda needs a happy ending.”
  35. ^ In the depicted scene, there are no romantic topics raised. Madlax, episode 26 (21:12).
  36. ^ a b c Morton, Bryan (2006-09-28). Madlax DVD #4 review. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  37. ^ Margaret and Carrossea's dialogue before setting off for the Door of Truth. Madlax, episode 20 (16:40).
  38. ^ Staff Talk #1 (Shigeru Kitayama) and #2 (Yosuke [sic] Kuroda). ADV Films' Madlax DVD #1 insert leaflet.
  39. ^ Staff Talk #4 (Minako Shiba and Satoko Miyachi). ADV Films' Madlax DVD #2 insert leaflet.
  40. ^ Houko Kuwashima. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  41. ^ Aya Hisakawa. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  42. ^ Kotono Mitsuishi. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  43. ^ Sanae Kobayashi. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  44. ^ Masashi Ebara. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  45. ^ Monica Rial. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  46. ^ Program lineup (PDF). TV Tokyo (April 2004). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  47. ^ Official press release. ADV Films (2004-09-28). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  48. ^ Madlax at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  49. ^ ADV Bittorrent Test. Anime News Network (2005-07-14). Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  50. ^ Anime Network program lineup for 7 February, 27 June, 1 August, and 7 November 2006, retrieved on 2006-11-15.
  51. ^ See also the complete track listings for OST 1, OST 2, OP-single, ED-single on Bee Train Fan Wiki.
  52. ^ Staff Talk #3 (Satoshi Osawa [sic]). ADV Films' Madlax DVD #2 insert leaflet.
  53. ^ Madlax the Bible. Otaku.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  54. ^ Madlax the Bible. Hobby Japan. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  55. ^ Madlax with Guns. HomeMedia4U.com (2006-08-19). Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  56. ^ Madlax DVD #1 with series box and T-shirt (Japanese). Amazon.co.jp (2004-07-21). Retrieved on 2007-02-11.
  57. ^ Madlax OST I. CDJapan.co.jp (2004-07-21). Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
  58. ^ Hattaway, Mitchell (2006-02-07). Madlax DVD #6 review. DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved on 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.”
  59. ^ Hattaway, Mitchell (2005-09-15). Madlax DVD #3 review. DVDVerdict.com. Retrieved on 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.”
  60. ^ Ross, Carlos. Madlax (first two episodes) review. THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved on 2007-01-10. “Maybe future episodes will prove me wrong, but for now, Madlax is frustratingly mediocre and extremely difficult to find the motivation to continue.”
  61. ^ Madlax obscurity discussion. BeeTrainFan.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  62. ^ Salandanan, Rommel (2005-11-14). Madlax OST I review. ActiveAnime.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-29.
  63. ^ Martin, Theron (2005-06-28). Madlax DVD #2 review. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-08. “The musical scoring, which sounds like a mix of Noir and .hack//SIGN [sic],..”

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