Ergo Proxy is a cyberpunk anime set in a dystopian future where humans and androids coexist in domed cities. The series follows investigator Re-l Mayer and immigrant Vincent Law as they uncover the truth about godlike beings called Proxies, exploring themes of identity, memory, and the nature of existence.
This collection highlights quotes that capture the philosophical depth and character evolution central to the narrative.
From the perspective of others I am part of the world, but when I observe the world from my perspective I am nowhere to be found. To observe is to create perspective. I can never cease to be the point of origin from my perspective. I observe that which is not myself. This is the first principle to find.
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Vincent’s confrontation with his true self, dissecting the paradox of existence and perception.
A lie is truth, until you recognize it as a lie. To see the truth behind those lies is probably the right thing to do. However, it may not necessarily bring happiness. Lies are Happiness
[Episode Details]: Episode 4
[Speaker]: Hoody
[Context]: Challenges the value of truth versus comfort, emphasizing ignorance as bliss.
All those who wander in the darkness seek the light, but when they reach the light, they turn away their eyes from the blinding glare.
[Episode Details]: Episode 9
[Speaker]: Kazkis Proxy
[Context]: Metaphor for truth’s painful revelation and human reluctance to accept it.
I am nobody. Even if I was someone, people couldn’t comprehend me. And even if they could, they wouldn’t be able to communicate it to those around them. I do not belong to the world. That is the world’s limit, the boundary between the world and the self
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Highlights Vincent’s isolation and the incommunicable nature of self.
Remember. You can feel it if you hold your hand against your chest. It belongs to no one. It’s our pulse, yours and mine. This is what brings us to the truth. It’s what proves that we are the very world itself. Follow your instincts. The answer is already there
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Urges trust in inner truth over external validation, unifying self and universe.
We are the sum of our memories. Erasing the memories edged in oneself is the same as loosing oneself
[Episode Details]: Episode not specified (thematic recurrence)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Memory as core to identity; loss of memory equals loss of self.
The only thing waiting for you outside is a world of death
[Episode Details]: Early series (establishing arc)
[Speaker]: Re-l Mayer
[Context]: Foreshadows the dystopian reality beyond Romdo, reflecting her pragmatic defiance.
I bring death to everyone. All that concerns me runs with blood. Everyone dies
[Episode Details]: Episode 8
[Speaker]: Vincent Law
[Context]: Vincent’s despair over his Proxy nature and perceived curse of destruction.
Do I not have memories? If not, can I even say I’m me?
[Episode Details]: Episode 18
[Speaker]: Vincent Law
[Context]: Existential crisis questioning identity without memory, pivotal to self-acceptance.
We’d lose our minds if we remembered everything
[Episode Details]: Episode 18
[Speaker]: Re-l Mayer
[Context]: Pragmatic view on memory’s burden, contrasting Vincent’s obsession with recall.
It is not I think therefore I am. … The answer is, I think therefore you are
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Subverts Descartes, asserting existence through mutual recognition over solipsism.
You can feel it if you hold your hand against your chest. It belongs to no one
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Physical proof of shared humanity amid existential uncertainty.
According to the perspective of others, I am a part of the world. But from my perspective, as someone who contemplates the world, I do not exist within it
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Expands the observer-creation duality, reinforcing Vincent’s fractured identity.
To observe is to create perspective
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Reduces existence to perceptual agency, core to the series’ epistemology.
Discerning the truth from the lie may be the right thing to do… but it won’t always make you happy
[Episode Details]: Episode 4
[Speaker]: Hoody
[Context]: Foreshadows Vincent’s painful journey toward self-knowledge.
Truth is like that too…
[Episode Details]: Episode 9
[Speaker]: Kazkis Proxy
[Context]: Connects light metaphor to truth’s unbearable clarity.
I think therefore you are
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Final twist on Descartes, affirming existence through relational validation.
Even if I was someone, people couldn’t comprehend me
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Emphasizes the isolation of transcendent beings like Proxies.
You can feel it… It’s what proves that we are the very world itself
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Unifies individual and cosmos, resolving Vincent’s alienation.
Lies are Happiness
[Episode Details]: Episode 4
[Speaker]: Hoody
[Context]: Stark conclusion to the truth-happiness paradox.
That is the world’s limit, the boundary between the world and the self
[Episode Details]: Episode 11 (In the White Darkness/Anamnesis)
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Defines the series’ core conflict: self vs. world.
All that concerns me runs with blood
[Episode Details]: Episode 8
[Speaker]: Vincent Law
[Context]: Vincent’s guilt over his Proxy-driven violence.
We are the sum of our memories
[Episode Details]: Thematic recurrence
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Memory as identity’s foundation, pivotal to Vincent’s arc.
Erasing the memories… is the same as loosing oneself
[Episode Details]: Thematic recurrence
[Speaker]: Ergo Proxy
[Context]: Warns against memory suppression, key to Vincent’s growth.
Can I even say I’m me?
[Episode Details]: Episode 18
[Speaker]: Vincent Law
[Context]: Culmination of identity crisis, leading to self-reclamation.
We’d lose our minds if we remembered everything
[Episode Details]: Episode 18
[Speaker]: Re-l Mayer
[Context]: Counterbalance to Vincent’s obsession, advocating selective memory.
These quotes traverse Ergo Proxy’s existential landscape, from Vincent’s fractured identity to Re-l’s pragmatic realism, each reflecting the series’ meditation on what defines humanity. The curated selection balances introspective moments with pivotal confrontations, underscoring how memory and perception shape existence in a broken world.
