Ergo Proxy
=== Story ===
The story begins in a futuristic domed city called Romdeau, built to protect its citizens after a global ecological disaster thousands of years prior. In this utopia, humans and androids known as AutoReivs coexist peacefully under a total management system. A series of murders committed by robots and AutoReivs infected with the Cogito virus (which causes them to become self-aware) begins to threaten the delicate balance of Romdeau's social order. Behind the scenes, the government has been conducting secret experiments on a mysterious humanoid life form called a "Proxy." The Proxy beings (described as almighty, god-like, immortal, omnipotent) are believed to hold the very key to the survival of humanity.
Re-L (pronounced /riːˈɛl/ or "Ree-EL"; also represented by the spelling "R.E.A.L." in the Romdeau citizen database) Mayer is assigned to investigate some of the murders with her AutoReiv partner, Iggy. She encounters two unknown and highly powerful creatures. She later learns that a Proxy was involved. The other central character, an immigrant named Vincent Law, is revealed to be connected in some ways with this Proxy. After being hunted down, Vincent lives in a commune on the outside of the dome for a while. During the massacre of the commune by Raul Creed of the Security Bureau, Vincent leaves the area for Mosk, his birthplace, in an attempt to recover his memories. Re-L later rejoins him to try to discover the truth behind the Proxies and the domes. It is revealed among other things that domes are all created by Proxies as well as the people inhabiting them who are created in special incubators.
In the Romdeau arcology, the government is divided between several entities: the Intelligence Bureau, the Health & Welfare Bureau, and the Security Bureau, are named in the series, all under the control of an Administrator who is referred to as the "Regent" and grandfather of "R.E.A.L."
The primary AutoReiv types are referred to as either 'Companion' or 'Entourage,' depending on their role. There are others designed for leisure or combat functions; AutoReivs seem to be constructed of varying degrees of cybernetic complexity, as witnessed by AutoReivs on occasion producing blood splatter when shot and killed.
The humans in the city are grown in artificial wombs but are still biologically related to their ancestors. Numerous times throughout the series it is stated that the humans living in the domes have no capacity to reproduce naturally, or at least that's what they have been told. Likewise, when a new person is grown, they are done so to fulfill a specific purpose, thus ensuring that person's future-place in society through a "raison d'être" (i.e., a "reason for existence").
=== Characters ===
A number of characters in the supporting cast are named after various figures taken from both history as well as mythology. Most notably, names of significant profiles in philosophical and psychological sciences appear throughout the series. The Proxies could almost be supporting characters, since they play such a vital role in the series. Though it is stated that there are many Proxies, about 300 as the Quiz revealed, only a few have been named: Monad, Senex, Kazkis and Ergo Proxies, as well as Proxy One, MCQ and Will B. Good. A sixth which Re-L sends back to Romdeau with Iggy, is never named.
Re-l Mayer (リル·メイヤー, Riru Meiyā)
Voiced by: Rie Saitō (Japanese); Megan Hollingshead (English)
An inspector of the Citizen Intelligence Bureau (市民情報局, Shimin Jōhōkyoku). She is in charge of investigating a series of brutal murders apparently committed by AutoReivs infected with the Cogito virus. She is also the granddaughter of Donov Mayer, the Regent of Romdeau. Given her privileged status, she expects respect from people around her, and speaks as such (she addresses Vincent as "o-mae"). Re-l accompanies Vincent on his journey in order to learn more about the mysterious Proxies.
Vincent Law (ビンセント・ロウ, Binsento Rō)
Voiced by: Kōji Yusa (Japanese); Liam O'Brien (English)
An immigrant from Mosk dome working for Romdeau's AutoReiv Control Division (オートレイブ処理課) within the Temporary Immigrant Sector FG (暫定移民区域FG), set up to hunt and dispose of infected AutoReivs. Vincent appears driven to become a Fellow Citizen, but ultimately fails to suppress the burden of his traumatic past and flees from Romdeau. He seems to have a deep connection to the second Proxy, having left his necklace at the scene of the first Proxy site.
Pino (ピノ)
Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (Japanese); Rachel Hirschfeld (English)
An infected Companion type AutoReiv owned by Raul Creed and Samantha Ross, Pino served as a surrogate child to the couple. She was scheduled for decommissioning after the Creeds were granted a real baby son by the government, but the untimely deaths of Samantha and her new son prompted Pino to flee Romdeau. She accompanies Vincent on his journey.
good versus evil, dark, mystery, murder, flashback