In the civil war torn country Gazth-Sonika lives a female mercenary known only by the codename Madlax who is often hired as a bodyguard or an assassin. Elsewhere, lives a teenage girl, Margaret Burton who is the sole heir of a wealthy aristocratic family in the peaceful country of Nafrece. Both girls have similarities amongst themselves, such as having only the past twelve years worth of memories but lives totally different lives in opposite ends of the world.

        The first episode starts off with Madlax in the midst of one of her missions in Gazth-Sonika. It was interesting enough to watch her dispatch many armed military men. However, there was a weird scene where she changed her usual outfit into a red evening gown, which IMO, is a bizarre indication that she has changed to her ‘serious fighting mode’, that eventually led to Madlax succeeding in bringing down a helicopter! She lived up to her 98% success rate as she managed to complete her mission of retrieving a diskette-like storage medium that she was sent out for.

        While the first episode is dedicated at giving a glimpse into Madlax’s life, the second episode does the same for Margaret. Margaret lives with Elenore, a ‘butt-kicking’ maidservant of the Burton family. Being a happy-go-lucky girl who is rather detached from her surroundings, Margaret has to be constantly reminded by Elenore not to ‘fall asleep while taking a bath or while eating’, which gives the impression that Margaret has problems relating to her surroundings. At school, she also has a problem concentrating and is often found saying weird phrases like ‘it’s going to rain’ when it obviously isn’t. Later in the episode, Vanessa was introduced to the story as a 20-something woman who used to be Margaret’s neighbour/tutor, who has moved back into Nafrece after two years of working abroad.

        It was Vanessa who initiated actions that led to the characters from both ends of the world to meet up. Having overheard a conversation relating to the civil war in Gazth-Sonika, Vanessa found out that there is a possibility the organisation Enfant had something to do with prolonging the war for their own gains by supplying weapons to both sides at no cost. Flashbacks indicated that Vanessa’s parents were convicted by the authorities for their role in the war. Convinced that her parents are innocent, she decides to pursuit this bit of information to get to know the truth behind her parents’ arrest and ultimately to expose Enfant’s role in the civil war to the world. Her investigation led her to Gazth-Sonika. Upon hearing news that she’ll be better off with a bodyguard while in that country, she decides to hire one and who else to hire if not the sexy, blonde female gun-for-hire Madlax!

        While investigations are carried out by Vanessa and Madlax in Gazth-Sonika (at the same time evading men sent by Enfant to eliminate them), the story also focused on a mysterious book of Margaret’s called Secondary. It seems that the leader of Enfant, Friday Monday has been searching in vain for that book. This led to Carrasoir (Enfant’s top agent) tracking Margaret down. However, before more details on the book can be related to the viewers, news reports of two wanted people on the loose got Margaret’s attention. It turns out that Enfant has somehow made Madlax and Vanessa felons in their attempt to capture them. Worried for Vanessa’s safety and convinced that there is something amiss, Margaret decides to proceed to Gazth-Sonika along with her ever-faithful Elenore to try sort things out. Once all the characters are in place (Gazth-Sonika), the main plot was eventually related, concerning Madlax and Margaret’s true identity, Secondary (and two other books of the same nature; Firstary and Thirstary) and Enfant’s true intentions for prolonging the civil war.

        Being the second instalment of the Girls-with-Guns trilogy (the first is Noir), I couldn’t avoid comparing Madlax with Noir. Even the two lead characters are very similar; a blonde gun-for-hire and a naïve school girl that hints at a greater power she might possess. The first few episodes was rather boring IMO, which led me to think that there was no way Madlax can succeed Noir. The stunts pulled out by Madlax are downright impossible to perform…unlike the popcorn incident in Noir that was both original and believable. Besides the quality of the animation and the unique opening theme, thus far, Noir is still the better anime. However, the story gets more interesting mid-way of the series, when the characters from both ends starts to meet up with one another (yes, they only met up in the middle of the series….and the two Ms only met up towards the end!). The music also got better as the story unfolds, with the addictive background song ‘Nowhere’ played during most action scenes and the characters’ themes introduced as well. Therefore, my advice to those who couldn’t stand the slow-paced first few episodes to give Madlax another try and be patient as the story gets more interesting in the second half of the series.

        My final verdict; Madlax wins hands down over Noir!

Erm…anyone heard that?! Aaahhhhh!

Chloe: “The true Noir…never lose…”

Characters

        Madlax – Madlax is a 17 year old gun-for-hire in Gazth-Sonika specialising in assassinations and bodyguard duties. Her missions are given to her by a mysterious man known only as SSS, who is also the person responsible for training her on the requirements of the profession. She has no memories of her life before twelve years ago with the exception of a single word, “Madlax”, and a vague memory of a man believed to be her father, walking away from her. Adopting Madlax as her codename in the profession, she proceeds to work in the civil war-torn Gazth-Sonika with the hopes of regaining the memories of her past and locating her father.

        Margaret Burton – Margaret is also 17 years of age who is the only heir of an aristocrat in Nafrece. Unlike Madlax, she lives a perfectly ordinary high-school life with the company of her maidservant Elenore. She is often alienated from the world around her, probably due to a plane crash she was involved in 12 years ago that led to her forgetting her past and even forgetting how to speak. There are indications that Margaret might possess some greater power in her, especially when she unconciously threatens to kill anyone (Naharu in particular) who dares to take a book of hers, known as the Secondary, away from her.
      There were hints throughout the story that Madlax and Margaret are somehow connected to one another, such as the fact that both of them somehow suffered a does of amnesia twelve years ago. Besides that, both often have the desire to eat pasta and Margaret is even able to predict the falling of rain, which eventually came true at Gazth-Sonika (where Madlax resides).

        Vanessa Rene – Vanessa is Margaret’s former neighbour and tutor. Having moved back to Nafrece after a period of work abroad, she was reunited with Margaret and Elenore, resuming the close relationship they once had. Upon accidentally discovering the connection between the civil-war in Gazth-Sonika and an organisation often linked with crime, Enfant, she sets out to prove that her parents was wrongly convicted and executed for being responsible for the civil war breaking out. Her efforts led her to continue her investigations in Gazth-Sonika, which led to Vanessa hiring Madlax as a bodyguard, thus providing a link between Madlax and Margaret.

        Elenore Baker – The Baker family has served the Burtons for generations (this reminds me of the Butlers serving the Fowls in Artemis Fowl). On her grandfather’s dying wish, she dedicates her life to taking good care of the only Burton alive, Margaret. She is portrayed as an overprotective and loyal companion of Margaret. She has skills in hand to hand combat and even graduated from high-school ahead of others her age, all in order to dedicate her full attention at taking care of Margaret.

        Friday Monday – This peculiarly named character is the leader of Enfant. Little is known about him except that he is after Margaret’s Secondary and already has the Firstary in his possession. His upper-right part of his face is kept hidden by a mask. There are also indications that he has something to do with the start of the civil war in Gazth-Sonika 12 years ago, thus is thought to be the major villain in the story.

        Carrosoir Dawn – Carrasoir has no memories of 12 years ago as well. He is an employee of Bookwald and at the same time, he also serves as an agent for Enfant. Carrasoir was sent by Friday Monday to locate Secondary and Thirstary. His true mission, however, is to uncover the truth regarding his past and he will even deceive Friday Monday in his quest to do so. His search for the books led to the meeting with Margaret. After having a look at Margaret’s Secondary, he had some flashbacks of his past which convinced him that Margaret is the key to uncovering his lost memories. To prevent Friday Monday from discovering Margaret, he falsely reports his findings, leading the attention towards Madlax instead of Margaret.

        Rimelda Jorg – She is the best sniper in the Gazth-Sonika elite guard. Rimelda has been obsessed with Madlax ever since Madlax managed to assassinate the Commander-in-Chief of the Gazth-Sonika Royal Army, right under her watch. Therefore, she set her sights on hunting Madlax down and will even kill anyone who gets in her way. Madlax refers to Rimelda as a ‘scary’ person as only she can stand up to Madlax’s skills.

        Quanjitta Marison – Similar to the character Altena from Noir, Quanjitta is portrayed as a person who watches over time, only observing the events that happen around her. She resides in a rural village in Gazth-Sonika and is able to read the ancient writings of Eliyasu (the writings that can be found in the Firstary, Secondary and Thirstary books). Because of this ability of hers, the characters were led to her in order to help uncover the truth behind the mysterious books.

        Naharu – Naharu is some sort of disciple of Quanjitta’s. She is often gathering information of the various happenings for her master and is able to identify the persons with ‘quality’ that is said to be able to open the ‘doors of truth’. She is very skilled and agile in combat, using blades / knifes as weapons (Chloe!). Like Quanjitta, Naharu is not supposed to interfere with the proceedings around her, but her will power is not always as strong as her combat skills.

Music

        Madlax has some of the best music that I’ve ever listen to, all thanks to the talented Yuki Kajiura who is also responsible for the acclaimed OST for Noir, .hack//sign, Tsubasa Chronicle and many other anime. Some of the music of Madlax has Kajiura’s signature lyrics that seem to be written in a language that is totally foreign yet appropriate with the mood and melody of the music. Some of the best of the lot are as listed below, but for a full listing of the songs that I have from Madlax (which are all very nice too), please visit the MP3 Request List webpage:
Nowhere – Has a nice melody that is suitable with the mood of the scenes that the music is played in, with a lively rhythm that will fit almost any action scenes in the anime. There is a part of the lyrics in the music that totally fits one of the themes in the anime (in relation to Madlax’s and Margeret’s true identities).
Madlax – Being Madlax’s theme, this song portrays a mysterious mood that is appropriate with her character. It contains a killer violin tune, strong vocals (in one of Kajiura’s signature languages), and a lively rhythm. However, to my disappointment, this song is not played much during the anime although IMO, there are many situations that this song can replace the frequently played ‘I’m Here’ along with the actions scenes.
Margaret – Excellent violin accompaniment enhances the already mysterious mood that Margaret portrays. Also suitable with her amnesiac role that also gives a hint of a greater power that she might possess within her.
We Are One – This theme mixes Madlax’s and Margaret’s theme and results in a surprisingly beautiful and powerful ambience portrayed. Both themes are synchronized wonderfully well that IMO, Kajiura has meant for these two themes to be composed in such a way that it can be combined into one….just like the storyline in the anime.
Your Place – This is a really sad and beautiful track that is played only twice throughout the series. A full version of it is played during a very heart-wrenching moment concerning a favourite character of mine, and a partial version is played at the end of the anime. I got so hooked to this song that I even tried reproducing the song on the piano, but failed miserably due to my lack of practice playing the piano over the past few years. ^__^!

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