Madlax

Madlax
The central characters of the series
マドラックス (Madorakkusu)
Genre	Girls with guns,[1] mystery, supernatural[2]
Anime television series
Directed by	Kōichi Mashimo
Produced by	Shigeru Kitayama Tatsuya Hamamoto
Written by	Yōsuke Kuroda
Music by	Yuki Kajiura
Studio	Bee Train
Licensed by	AUS: Madman Entertainment NA: AEsir Holdings
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	US: Anime Network
Original run	5 April 2004 – 27 September 2004
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Tabi Suru Shoujo to Shakunetsu no Kuni
Written by	Seiya Fujiwara
Illustrated by	Shunsuke Tagami
Published by	Hobby Japan
Imprint	HJ Bunko
Demographic	Male
Published	1 June 2011

Madlax (マドラックス, Madorakkusu) is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced in 2004 by the Bee Train animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo directed Madlax and the soundtrack was composed by Yuki Kajiura. The DVD version was released by ADV Films in North America and the United Kingdom and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

The story revolves around the two young women Margaret and Madlax, who seemingly have little in common and do not know of the other's existence at the beginning. Madlax is a legendary mercenary and assassin in the fictional civil war-torn country of Gazth-Sonika, who cannot remember her past or indeed her real name before twelve years ago, when the war started. The other main character is Margaret Burton, the sole heir of a wealthy aristocratic family in the peaceful European country Nafrece. Twelve years before the story begins, an airliner Margaret and her mother were on crashed over Gazth-Sonika, and its passengers, as well as Margaret's father who led the rescuers, have been missing ever since. Margaret, however, mysteriously traveled back to Nafrece on her own, losing her memories prior to her return; the only thing she recalls is a single word, "Madlax". With this thread linking the two girls, they both independently start investigating the powerful crime syndicate Enfant after its enigmatic mastermind shows interest in both of them.

Madlax was produced as a spiritual successor to the studio's earlier project, Noir, and together with El Cazador de la Bruja, these series constitute a trilogy exploring the "girls-with-guns" genre. The production of Madlax began in 2002 but it wasn't until Yōsuke Kuroda joined the project that the series took its final form. While the critics noted the resulting similarities between Noir and Madlax, they also acknowledged the differences, such as the latter's less episodic and more plot-driven style and, in particular contrast to the predominantly realistic Noir, incorporation of many supernatural elements, which the audience must often interpret without further explanation.