The Hypernatural and Supernatural in Madlax -- Episode 7

Episode 7: bibliodetective and gun action

"Picture Book ~nature~": (繪本: Ehon)

Avant exhibits the people investigating in a cave. One of them says excitedly, finding something like letters on the wall of the cave, “So, this is the Elies of legend…” One of them suddenly causes mental disorder and fires a gun. A man looks back to him. It seems to be the man who took up Poupe in the ruins. The girl holding a doll in her hand and always watching the people from somewhere covers her ears with her hands stricken in terror, though she seems to be located somewhere in different space.

After the title back, the scene shows Vanessa and Margaret seated at a table on a terrace of a shop in Nafrece. Margaret is consulting with Vanessa about a book she is in search of. But it seems she has already possessed the book she is looking for. Inquired by Vanessa, Margaret answers, saying. “Yeah, I have it. But there’s a page torn out, so I want a complete copy.” Vanessa gives her advice to hire a bibliodetective. Margaret shows the book, which is stained with something like a blood patch. It is expected that the piece of paper pinned on the wall of Madlax’s room may afford some clue, regarding the relationship that connects Madlax in Gaths-Sonika and Margaret in Nafrece, who have no direct contact as yet. But the course of the story chooses to follow other derivative details hereafter.

Bibliodetective Eric Gillain takes on the investigation of the book on the request of Elenore who came to his office as the agent of Margaret, and visits his old friend Lucille, who is a linguistics researcher, in order for the research for the rare book he has never seen before. It seems they are old friends reunited three years since. Lucille recognizes the letters written on the book. “Is this Elies?” “What country is it from?” Answering Gillain’s question, she says, “Gaths-Sonika.” One of her emeritus professors went there to study some cave paintings before. Lucille explains, saying, “This IS the “Elies” script that was in those cave paintings. ...They were saying it might be the discovery of a new civilization unlike any of the world’s four great civilizations.” But there was an abominable result ensued to the research. Lucille continues, “All of the people who have been involved with that script have gotten mixed up in bizarre incidents.” Furthermore, the professor had committed suicide taking his family along with him. This episode, having started with Eric Gillain as temporary protagonist, is developing taking the mode of mystery or thriller, implying the existence of an unknown civilization and incidents caused by supernatural power like a curse. The audience’s concern is whether this man is able to survive or not.

Eric Gillain starts for Gaths-Sonica, in order to investigate the book and Eries letters after the advice of Lucille. Gillain arranges to get a bodyguard to protect himself in a country of internal strife. There are some young girls joyously playing in the pool of the hotel Gillain boarded. They are going to function as a kind of underplot to conclude this episode. Lucille is at that time telling someone on the telephone of her encounter with Gillain. It seems Gillain have caused some horrible incident in the past. “What about the you-know-what?” “It looks like he doesn’t remember anything about it. …He’s happier that way, I suppose.” Gillain had a serious experience before, but he has now forgotten everything about that. It is supposed to establish a latent perspective how Margaret’s amnesia disclosed in the episode 6 and Gillain’s lost memory should be connected, insinuating the conformation of a fictional meaning.

It is Madlax who has come to Gillain’s room, hired as a bodyguard to protect him in Gaths-Sonica. Madlax skillfully outwit the band of assassins who came to attack Gillain and run out of the hotel together with Gillain. Her action reminds of one of a typical action movie heroine, carrying out the mission calmly dodging the attacks of the enemy. The depictional mode of the show represented by car actions about this part, embodies the characteristics of the genre usually called “girls gun action”.

At that time, a masked man is receiving a report on Eric Gillain investigating Margaret’s requested book in a mysterious mansion. The reporter had hacked the information on the internet, and acquiring the scanned data of the book, identified the book the bibliodetective started to investigate. The masked man guesses the name of the book at a glance of the image, “This is Secondari.” The reporter answers, “Yes. That which was lost twelve years ago has finally reappeared.” The reporter is the fair-haired young man who had called Margaret to halt in the corridor of the Bookwald. It is already proven that he is Carrossea, one of international criminal organization Enfant. It seems all the main people are related to the incident that took place 12 years ago.

Madlax and Eric Gillain are going to the village Dwaiho where the mysterious cave is located, in order to gain information on the Eries letters. Camping in the woods, Gillain asks Madlax, “How many people have you killed?” Gillain inquires feeling some kind of awe witnessing the girl having killed lots of men unhesitatingly. Madlax returns downrightly simple answer, “So many I can’t count them.” Together with the words “You’ll die,” Madlax have uttered repeatedly, her words spoken here are to be identified as indicating her psychical characteristics, insinuating the basic element that determines the perspective of this anime. At this time Margaret is sleeping peacefully in her bed. Madlax’s line runs over her figure. “I’ve killed so many people I can’t count them…” It is not yet manifested what kind of fact the contrast between Margaret and Madlax shown by cut back directing method is going to disclose.