Genres: action, drama, mystery, psychological, supernatural Themes: assassins, girls with guns, military Objectionable content: Significant Number of episodes: 26 Vintage: 2004-04-05 to 2004-09-27
Plot Summary: In the country of Gazth-Sonika, civil war rages. There, a mercenary called Madlax plies her trade, with almost supernatural skill. In the seemingly peaceful country of Nafrece, Margaret Burton lives a tranquil life. As separate as their lives may seem, the two are connected by ties of mystery, and by a holy book that is also sought by the shadowy organisation, Anfan. As Margaret and Madlax follow the path of their destiny, they come ever closer to uncovering the truth - with no guarantee that it is a truth they can bear to learn.
Following Noir, this is the second in Bee Train’s “girls-with-guns” trilogy.
And like Noir, the soundtrack was composed by Yuki Kajiura, one of my all time favorite composers to date. As well, this soundtrack ranks as my favorite soundtrack of all time…in all media (movies, anime, games, etc…). Both the placement and composition are just stellar in my book, and well worth watching this series just for that alone.
If this were a cake, it would be made from awesome flavored cake mix and covered in epic frosting. I LOVE THIS ANIME. The characters are lovable, the plot is solid, there are some good twists, the ending is terrific. If you buy this, try to get the singles. They extras are worth it. That’s about all I feel like saying, I’m sure dragoon with have more to post since he got me into this series
Currently watching this series. Boy did it take awhile, but around episode 6 I fully got into the show, although it didn’t completely win me over. Just watched episode 13 and now I feel like it’s gotten even better. The show is interesting, and I really like the dub. The setting is good too. But something about it all is a little dry at times. But I do like it a lot and can’t wait to see the ending, because I hear good things about it.
Oh and the artwork is nice, I really like the character designs. The backgrounds are great when they’re in the middle eastern country too! And the animation is pretty good. But yet again the music is where this series shines. The OP, ED, and all the insert songs are amazing! I really love the insert song “Nowhere”, by Fiction Junction Yuuka. Damn when you hear that song you just know some serious crap’s ganna go down! Someone’s ganna die, or get messed up! It’s a very heart racing, dirty, and yet beautiful song. Dirty in that is shows the ugliness and unclean parts of the fictional country very clearly, in the way only a song can. But still the beauty of it all shines through. Yuki Kajiura is most definitely one of my favorite composers, and stuff like this is why.
That artbox + singles REALLY looks nice. I’m stuck here with the stupid stackpack, with no extras which makes me want to cry. Wish I went that route for this series, but this was a blind buy at Best Buy awhile ago. Anyway I’m so getting the extras for Noir I don’t care what I have to do for them!
Spoilers up to episode 13
I really was blown away by the fight between Madlax and the sniper girl, Limelda Jorg. That was an AMAZING fight scene. That’s what I want to see now! More stuff like that. Besides that the drama is good, and I really liked the way Margaret and that book detective guy, Eric Gillain, got along. That was cute, and then he had to go and get himself killed .
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Oh and I’m so hoping for Margaret and Madlax to meet up already. It’s bound to happen…so let’s head to that ok? Please? Just a little sooner? I can see it coming up in the future, they are already laying the tracks with the computer program sub-plot with Vanessa. Which is an interesting little side plot too. But I do wish it would somehow get us the two girls together a little faster…then it can do what it wants lol!
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OH and one thing I found odd. Madlax says she’s 17!! She looked more like 20 something to me! Anime characters who don’t look their age, strikes again! Really she looks much older then she is…Odd…
Yeah total bummer, at least you paid a good price. I spent like $80 something to buy the singles 3 and half yrs ago… but it was worth it. The ADV extras in this are legendary and considered some of the best english extras in any anime. It’s absolutely hilarious with the SSS conversations and the Easter Egg which is a tribute to Matt Greenfield’s sock puppet theater where they go around the ADV studios doing some hilarious stuff.
I can’t recommend the singles for the extras of this and Noir enough (Noir’s first thinpak has the extras for said series).
Yeah I’ll probally pick up Noir’s first thinpack to get the extras. Or if it’s cheaper/seems better, go the single route for it. I’ll have to see. And yeah it was pretty cheap at least. Was not planning on buying it or anything, but I was in Best Buy and took the plunge lol. I did want the series, so I bought it cuz there was nothing else I wanted. This was right when this recent box set came out though, so that’s awhile ago now. I do that way too often though lol! (Buying stuff I wasn’t planning on for awhile.) It was a good choice though, as the series is really starting to pick up.
too bad about getting the stack pack prede, they have the singles in the bargain bin at RSI. $30 for the whole series. I also recommend this series to anyone!
The second Noir thin pack also has all the Extras intact. I really enjoyed the big round table at the end, with all the female leads. It was really nice to see 4 of the best VA’s in Texas all together.
Madlax is coming up on my “To Watch” list and I’m really looking forward to it. I really wanted the art box, so I grabbed the singles out of the Bargain Bin a few months ago.
Yay!
This starts next week on VOD.
Though sadly, it’s not for everyone (as I think everyone should watch this, at least once), it’s just for those of us with the higher monthly allotment.
I just got this mostly from the RSI bargain bin (had to get one volume through Amazon) and watched it in like March.
One of the extras is the agent who calls Madlax to assign her jobs more or less crank calling other people from the series, they give you half a dozen or so per disc. Some of them recycle footage from the episodes, others are just the audio. I actually borrowed one and used the audio for a stage number a while back. “I think I like pink!” …
Was this included on any of the Madlax thin-paks/re-releases? I’ve managed to track down every DVD for Madlax except for DVD 6. Of course, DVD 6 is the one that I hear has this legendary dvd extra.
I guess the next question should be: How was the sock puppet theatre bit?
Lacking disc 6 means that I also cannot legally watch the whole show (though TBH I’m only going after this show for the extras).
The unwritten rule around here is unless or until it’s picked up by someone else or the license is announced to have expired it is still a TAN show. To answer your question only the singles have the extra’s.
Talking about extras made me remember Noir. Noir has a page listing a whole slew of intricately hidden extras on ANN. The methods that it describes to see these extras were so ridiculous that I didn’t believe that they were legit, they remind me of cheat codes on PS games, but I tried the only one listed that I could and it actually did work. I’m used to DVD extras being hidden options in menus but pressing button combinations at a certain point in the actual video to “unlock” the extras is new to me.
Does Madlax have any hidden extras like that, besides the sock puppet one?
Just the sock puppet one, although the other stuff that’s easy to come by is funny.
I had no problem buying the series as singles a year or so ago; watch the usual sources for Vol. 6; Amazon, eBay, RSI bargain bin, etc. Unless that one is a short run and people have figured it out, it should turn up cheap - but I do know some other older series where one volume is a short run sometimes they list them with downright silly asking prices.
Sadly Amazon sells all the discs except 6 for under 10 bucks. I don’t have it in me to pay 30 bucks for DVD 6, or 10 bucks used. I could pay ten bucks for the used DVD, just not via amazon, to clarify.
I went through some of the extras and they were humorous, and I liked the homage to other adv shows, namely bgc2040.
I’ve seen the show in complete bundles at cons, but then I’d have one complete bundle and still one incomplete bundle.
I’m still not sure how much I’ll like the show. From what I’ve seen, it’s a rofl inducing comedy, but that’s not how I feel the anime community perceives it.
But can you honestly say that a woman in the jungle, clad in an evening gown, destroying a helicopter by firing a famas-esque weapon, with her eyes closed & while coddling said weapon to her chest as though it were an infant, isn’t downright hilarious?
So it’s 30 bucks for one of Amazon’s few new copies, or 10 bucks plus the possible non-prime shipping for their used DVD, which I avoid after getting some rather beat up used DVDs.
If only adv/Sentai had left the on-disc extras on the thin paks and rereleases then we wouldn’t have issues like these.
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