Fictional setting of Madlax

Main article: Madlax

Madlax (マドラックス Madorakkusu) 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 the real world (such as in the detailed depiction of existing firearms), the names of all prominently featured countries and political figures have been changed. In fact, the only two countries described in the series are Nafrece (ナフレス Nafuresu) and Gazth-Sonika (ガザッソニカ Gazassonika), whereas others are never depicted and seldom mentioned by name. At one point, Madlax's informant mentions that the civil war in Gazth-Sonika has started in 1999 and has been on-going for twelve years, so the story takes place approximately in 2011.[1]

Background

Nafrece is a tranquil European country apparently styled after France: for example, the Eiffel Tower that can be seen on multiple occasions,[2][3] and in the official English translation (see Releases), the names of these two states are almost exact anagrams of each other. No details on the government or the social structure of Nafrece have been revealed on the series. Notably, no Nafrecian cities are ever explicitly referred by name within the series, either. The currency commonly used in Nafrece is the yul (ユール yūru),[4] which should not be confused with Euro (ユーロ Yūro).

One of the world's biggest enterprises, Bookwald Industries (ブッグワルド Bugguwarudo), is based in Nafrece,[5] and with several central characters being its employees, it plays an important role in the series. Bookwald officially invests into the world's key industries, but also covertly deals with weapons and is, in fact, a subsidiary of a powerful worldwide crime syndicate Enfant (アンファン Anfan),[6] that controls every information channel on the planet.[7] The leader of Enfant apparently has supernatural powers: he is seen as able to erase a person's memory and alter their personality.[7][8] "Enfant" means "child" in French, wherein this organization parallels a similar one in Noir, called "Soldats" (French for "soldiers").[8]

Enfant's headquarters are located in Gazth-Sonika,[9] a country in south-western Asia, that has been plagued for twelve years by a civil war between a Royalist faction and an armed religious group named Galza (ガルザ Garuza).[10] This country may have been inspired by or named after the Gaza Strip, since the syllables ga-za (ガザ) in both Japanese: ガザ地区 (gaza chiku, "Gaza Strip") and Japanese: ガザッソニカ are written with the same kana. Gazth-Sonika is geographically separated into two zones: the combat and demilitarized one,[10] with the city of Daman in the latter being the only city explicitly named in the series [11] (it's unknown whether it has been inspired by Daman, India). The Nafrecian yur is used as a currency in Gazth-Sonika, as well, with 50 yur being considered a very large sum by the locals.[12]

There are multiple general similarities between the real world and the fictional world of Madlax, as well, for example, the Darwin operating system [13] appears throughout the story and the cat statuette that Madlax keeps in her apartment [14] is a traditional Japanese good luck charm called Maneki Neko. Japan itself is mentioned early in the series,[15] although it's the only real country to be so. Moreover, all firearms depicted in Madlax (as well as some vehicles, such as the ERC 90 Sagaie light tank) exist in the real world, for example, Madlax's favorite SIG 210-2 or Limelda Jorg's H&K PSG-1 sniper rifle.[16]

Terminology

Due to the specifics of the genre, many terms and concepts remain unexplained even upon finishing the series, so the audience has to guess their meaning and nature by their visible effects.[17][18]

Holy Books

The three Holy Books

Firstari (ファースタリ Fāsutari), Secondari (セカンダリ Sekandari), Thirstari (サースタリ Sāsutari) are the three Holy Books (三冊の本 sansatsu no hon, lit. "a book in three volumes") written in the extinct language of Saruon (サルオン) with the Elies script (エリエス文字 Eriesu moji). The term "Holy Books" wasn't used in the Japanese original but is, instead, a neologism coined by the English-speaking fandom in attempt to merge the terms "a book in three volumes" and "the Holy Words of Saruon" (サルオンの真言 Saruon no Shingon), which was used by the authors. The origin of the Books is unknown even to Lady Quanzitta Maris, and it is said that none of Four Great Ancient Civilizations (Egypt, Babylon, China, and India, according to the eponymous theory by Chinese historians) could have created them.[21]

Each Book contains one of the three powerful incantations necessary to reach the Sanctuary and use its power. For humans who don't have the Gift, the incantations are of grave danger because they put those who hear or read them into deep trance [17] (an effect similar to the fnords found in The Illuminatus! Trilogy [22]), making them first murder everyone they can (starting with their own relatives and friends) and then commit suicide.[23][24] This effect has been explained so that a person in the trance is "freed" from moral and ethical restrictions of their upbringing and therefore genuinely enjoys acting cruel and inhumane, or "naturally", as Friday Monday firmly maintains.[25] In rare cases, such as Eric Gillain and Madlax's, the Words of Saruon simply make a person remember once committed, but later selectively forgotten crimes that were so amoral that a mere memory of them can result in their suicide.[26][27]

The only humans who didn't have the Gift but were able to resist the incantations throughout the series are Madlax,[27] Elenore Baker,[28] and Vanessa Rene, though the latter required Madlax's help.[25]

References

  1. Madlax, episode 3 (5:43): The dialogue about Guen McNichol.
  2. Carter, Jason (2005-07-20). "Madlax DVD #1 review". AnimeJump.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  3. Madlax, episode 14: The Eiffel Tower can be observed at approx. 6:25.
  4. Madlax, episode 2 (7:22), the auctioneer: "I'll open the bidding at 1,400,000 yul".
    Madlax, episode 7 (05:58): Elenore and Eric Gillain discuss the latter's payment.
  5. Madlax, episode 2 (11:18): Charlie tells Margaret about Bookwald.
  6. Madlax, episodes 12-26: Vanessa and Madlax's investigation.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Madlax, episode 4: Maclay Marini's investigation of Enfant and its consequences.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Madlax DVD #2 review at AnimeOnDVD.com". Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  9. Madlax, episode 24 (13:45): Madlax and Elenore reach Enfant HQ without leaving Gazth-Sonikan combat zone.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Madlax, episode 11 (1:39): The article about Gazth-Sonika that Margaret reads.
  11. "Madlax DVD #3 review at AnimeOnDVD.com". Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  12. Madlax, episode 1 (7:46): Madlax overhears a soldier reporting on outcome of the negotiations with a Galza fighter.
  13. Madlax, episode 4 (2:50): A "Welcome to Darwin!" message can be seen on the screen of Anne Moré's laptop.
  14. Madlax, episode 13 (12:43): Maneki Neko can be seen on Madlax's desk.
  15. Madlax, episode 2 (8:01), Vanessa Rene: "There was a Japanese firm next to us."
  16. See also the list of firearms in Madlax on Bee Train Fan Wiki.
  17. 17.0 17.1 "Madlax DVD #6 review at AnimeOnDVD.com". Retrieved 2006-11-09.
  18. "Madlax DVD #4 review at DVDVerdict.com". Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  19. Madlax, episode 25 (7:47): Friday explains the significance of his wound.
  20. Nakhl: "I also met one other person who had the Gift. [...] His name is Carrossea Doon". Madlax, episode 15 (4:03).
  21. Madlax, episode 7 (11:47): Eric Gillain's informant on the Elies script.
  22. "The Golden Apple: an excerpt on fnords". Retrieved 2006-11-10. The first conditioned reflex was to experience the panic reaction (the activation syndrome, it's technically called) whenever encountering the word fnord.
  23. "Madlax DVD #2 review at AnimeBoredom.co.uk". Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  24. Madlax, episode 4: The Moré case.
  25. 25.0 25.1 Madlax, episode 22 (13:16): Vanessa is subjected to the Words of Awakening by Friday Monday (16:59) after a short conversation.
  26. Madlax, episodes 7 and 8: Eric Gillain's life story.
  27. 27.0 27.1 Madlax, episode 14 (1:38): Madlax's reaction to Enfant's trap.
  28. Madlax, episode 24 (16:21): Margaret, Elenore, and Friday Monday's conversation.