Madlax Vol. 3: The In-Between 2004   ADV Films Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Site

If you haven't yet jumped into the world of Madlax, you simply don't understand what you're missing. I know that I've used the comparison many times before, but much like Noir, Madlax is taking anime fans into a whole new world of action and mystery. Honestly, were the characters male, the series probably wouldn't be nearly as interesting, but Bee Train just has a certain knack for giving us characters that are compelling, locations that are fantastic, and a story that just keeps us guessing and the third volume of Madlax, "The In-Between," isn't going to ruin that approach in the least.

The mystery has been growing deeper and deeper with not just each passing volume, but with each episode, and its getting even more complex. Out of the many series that I've been watching and reviewing, this is one of the few that I find myself having to stop every once in a while to ponder over issues that the series is presenting, thinking back on what I've already seen, and trying to determine if I have enough information to piece everything together. I certainly have my theories, but I'm not willing to discuss those just yet and unlike Noir, I've been going into Madlax fresh and clean with absolutely zero previous knowledge of viewings of episodes.

Several intriguing developments came about last volume and not only did we begin to see some traces of the connection between Margaret and Madlax, but there's Margaret's precious book, the Secondari. To her, it's just something that she packs around and wants a complete copy of, but everyone else wants it as well. Something even bigger comes about however. Vanessa discovers that the company that she works for, Bookwald, has connection in Gazth-Sonika and not only have they been supplying them with weapons but they also have a connection to Enfant. Vanessa tries to recover record in the company computers but it all seems to be harmless. She enlists the help of a close friend and computer hacker, but the hack doesn't go quite as planned. Someone knows of the intrusion and while he is successful in grabbing some of the information, it's rerouted onto another computer that just happens to be in Gazth-Sonika.

The only choice now is for Vanessa to pay a visit and get the data, but the whole thing is simply a set up. Vanessa however hires some protection and it just so happens to be Madlax. More interesting however is that Doon is lurking in the shadows and although he is quite aware of who was working to get the computer information, his report states that it was Madlax and her location is now unknown. Of course, we've seen that he wants to have some sort of confrontation with her, and he's just buying time until the opportunity presents itself, unless Jorg gets to her first, and that seems to be fine with Doon. One very interesting revelation with this volume is that Madlax reveals her age. I had assumed she was early to mid 20's, but in fact, she's really seventeen . . . . . though she says "probably seventeen," and she's been in her line of work for three years. Vanessa spends a good deal of time reflecting on how Madlax seems to be unaffected by what she does, and killing doesn't bother her in the least.

I really spent a lot of time with this volume not just getting lost in the story, but in the soundtrack itself. Madlax has an amazing score to back the story going for that world approach that both Noir and Arjuna did, but with that blend of techno, ambient, and many other musical genres as well. There are tracks that once you here them, you know that something is going to happen, and your attention is drawn even deeper into Madlax. Plus, with the top-notch animation, everything works like a finely oil machine and so far, I can't think of a single episode that I have been less than enthralled with.

It's easy to see that there is a theme going on with the additional features that are found on the Madlax volumes, and this one stays with what we saw with the first two. Aside form the clean opening and closing animations you will find a collection of production sketches from the series, a look at original Japanese commercial spots for Madalx and another set of Conversations of SSS spots, these basically being the English voice actors having a little fun with the series. Inside the DVD there is also production notes.

When I initially sat down to watch this volume, my plan was simply to get through half, get to some other work, and then pick up a bit later. It didn't quite work out that way though and I found myself captivated once again by the series. There was no break and I was done before I even realized it and then wishing that I had yet another volume to sit down and review. Madlax is captivating and hypnotic and takes the feeling and intrigue that Bee Train gave anime fans with Noir far beyond what could have even been hoped for. I really didn't think that I'd say it, but I'm starting to become more and more comfortable with stating that Madlax surpasses Noir in just about every way. If we could just see a crossover with the two series', it would be a match that fans would clamor for.

Episode 9 - Scent Left Behind

Vanessa takes Margaret and Elenore to a very exclusive hotel to pay them back for their kindness. It seems that some other people from the company that she works for are there are well, so Vanessa tries to keep her identity hidden. While doing some exploring, Margaret meets Luciano, a man that helped them earlier when their car broke down, but she has no idea of what his true intentions are and Vanessa meanwhile finds that her company is involved in some rather shady business.

Episode 10 - Infiltration

The suspicions about how Bookwald is tied to Enfant and Gazth-Sonika are still plaguing Vanessa, and she does a little investigation on her own but finds that the records look clean. She enlists the help of a friend how excels at computer hacking, but someone is onto his entry and tries to trace the hack itself. Doon meanwhile locates Margaret, knowing that she has the Secondari, and decides that he might pay her a visit.

Episode 11 - Foreign Nation

Vanessa has arrive in Gazth-Sonika, her story is to examine the company's new trade routes but in reality, this is where the stolen data has made its way to. She is unaware that Doon is trailing her, but she does know that there is a possibility her life is in danger. Madlax gets the call to watch out for a civilian and it happens to be Vanessa. While she tries to locate the computer with the data, Madlax is lurking in the shadows, eliminating those that are trying to kill Vanessa.

Episode 12 - Vanished Will

Vanessa is determined to expose the truth about Enfant, but Madlax warns her that it may put her life on the line even more. Doon sends Limedla to find Madlax, convincing her that she is the one that stole the data and the two have a desperate confrontation on the city streets.
 

-mike-