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1[[quoteright:231:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madlax2.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:231:[-"What is my true wish...?"-] ]]
3
4->''"Is this the truth that I've been searching for?!"\
5"No, this is reality."''
6
7''Madlax'' is the second installment of Creator/BeeTrain's GirlsWithGuns trilogy, following ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' and followed by ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja''. In stark contrast to gritty and down-to-earth ''Noir'', ''Madlax'' incorporates many supernatural aspects and concepts associated with psychological thrillers and surrealism, [[ViewersAreGeniuses which the audience must often interpret without further explanation]]. The title is a [[{{Portmantitle}} portmanteau]] of the English words "mad" and "relaxed", playing on the prominent theme of [[OrderVersusChaos active insanity vs. near-catatonic sensibility]] in the story.
8
9The story revolves around two young women who, at first, seem completely unrelated and don't even know of each other's existence. The title character is a legendary mercenary and assassin plying her bloody trade in the fictional [[DuringTheWar civil war-torn]] Asian country of Gazth-Sonika. Almost everything about her, from her real name to her past, is a mystery--even to herself, as she had [[EasyAmnesia lost her memory]] soon after the war started twelve years ago. The other protagonist is Margaret Burton, the sole heir of a wealthy aristocratic family, attending school in the peaceful European country of Nafrece. Twelve years ago, an airliner carrying her mother and her crashed over Gazth-Sonika, and its passengers, as well as Margaret's father who led the rescue party, have been missing ever since. By means unknown, Margaret returned to Nafrece soon after the crash, becoming its only known survivor but losing all memories of the event--all except a single word: "Madlax". Twelve years later, this strange connection and the mystery behind their amnesias come back to haunt them after they cross paths with a powerful crime syndicate, [[NebulousCriminalConspiracy "Enfant"]], whose DiabolicalMastermind leader, the [[MalevolentMaskedMen masked man]] [[BigBad Friday Monday]], seems to have sinister plans for both of them.
10
11Building upon and expanding ''Noir''[='=]s formula, ''Madlax'' stars a much larger main cast and throws {{Mind Screw}}ing mysteries, over-the-top HeroicBloodshed action, and heavy doses of existentialistic symbolism into the blender to produce a complex, yet gripping plot. And if that wasn't enough, Music/YukiKajiura composed yet another stellar soundtrack for this anime. The show was licensed by Creator/ADVFilms in America and Europe.
12
13Not to be confused with ''Film/MadMax'' or [[LaxativePrank mad use of laxatives.]]
14----
15!!This show provides examples of:
16
17* AchillesInHisTent: Madlax spends four episodes in borderline clinical depression after [[spoiler:Vanessa's death]].
18* ActionGirl: Madlax, Elenore, Limelda, and Nakhl all kick ass and take names throughout the series.
19* AllThereInTheManual: Creator comments on the DVD inlets contain a great deal of background information about the characters, partly explaining the big MindScrew this series is.
20* AmnesiacDissonance: Carrossea [[spoiler:discovers that he is actually dead]] in episode 21, and Margaret eventually [[spoiler:finds out that she killed her own father]].
21* AncientTradition: Quanzitta is the last in a long line of the guardians of Thirstari, the third of the Holy Books.
22* AntiHero: [[ProfessionalKiller Madlax]] is the pragmatic kind: while she is a kind and empathetic individual off-work, she shows absolutely no reservations about killing people. Which may be justified by the fact that [[spoiler:she was created specifically for murder--it is part of her true nature]].
23* AnyoneCanDie: Less than a half of the main characters survive to the end of the series.
24* ArcWords:
25** "The Gift" is eventually revealed to be [[spoiler:the RealityWarping ability that Margaret and, to a lesser degree, Monday and Carrossea possess]].
26** "True Nature", depending on who you ask, refers to [[spoiler:the darker, self-destructive impulse carried by all humans or their capacity for forgiveness and self-acceptance]].
27* AssKickingPose: Madlax loves stretching out her gun arm before shooting someone. [[spoiler:After merging with Madlax, Margaret does this same pose before shooting Friday Monday.]]
28* AwfulTruth: [[spoiler:Margaret killed her father. A truth so awful that she created ''two'' [[LiteralSplitPersonality alternate personalities]] to escape it and doesn't admit it to herself until the penultimate episode of the series.]]
29* BadassAdorable: Madlax is cute for a ProfessionalKiller, and [[spoiler:Margaret becomes this after she accepts Madlax as part of herself]].
30* BadassNormal: Limelda, a mundane (albeit elite) soldier, goes toe to toe with the clearly supernatural Madlax.
31* BadBoss: Don't expect Friday Monday to treat his underlings with any kind of respect or attention.
32* BattleButler: Elenore's grandfather is implied to have been one to the Burtons, considering [[NinjaMaid his successor]].
33* BeachEpisode: Sort of. Episode 9 takes place in a holiday resort, complete with swimsuits and gratuitous fanservice. [[MoodWhiplash It also happens]] to be a MythArc-heavy one that [[TwoLinesNoWaiting bridges the Nafrece and Gazth-Sonikan storylines]] for the first time.
34* BigBad: Friday Monday, the insane, [[MalevolentMaskedMen masked]] DiabolicalMastermind leader of [[NebulousCriminalConspiracy Enfant]] who sends his henchmen after the four heroines, instigates [[spoiler:the civil war in Gazth-Sonika]], wants to [[spoiler:[[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil unleash humanity’s darker nature]]]], and is behind [[spoiler:everything bad that has ever happened in Margaret/Madlax's life]].
35* BigDamnHeroes: Madlax does this often, such as when she first introduces herself to Chris Krana and, later, to Vanessa.
36* BigFancyHouse: The Burton Manor is pretty indicative of the family's vast wealth. Too bad the sole heir is too infantile and too amnesiac to appreciate it.
37* BladeReflection: Nakhl uses her blades as mirrors on regular basis.
38* BloodFromTheMouth: In the final episode, [[spoiler:the (hitherto pretty much invulnerable) Madlax starting to bleed symbolizes her newfound humanity]].
39* BloodlessCarnage: For a show with this amount of violence and so mired in HeroicBloodshed traditions, it is rather bloodless.
40* BloodstainedGlassWindows: The final shootout takes place in [[spoiler:the Enfant's HQ chapel]].
41* BodyguardCrush: If the implications of [[HomoeroticSubtext Vanessa and Madlax's relationship]] are anything to go by.
42* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Nearly everyone after being subjected to the Holy Words of Saruon.
43* BrownNote: The Holy Words of Saruon drive pretty much anyone who hears them murderously insane. Only those who possess the Gift are able to NoSell it.
44* BulletDodgesYou: [[spoiler:After embracing her other selves (Madlax and Laetitia) in the final episode, Margaret unlocks the full extent of her RealityWarping powers and effortlessly redirects incoming bullets when Monday tries to kill her.]]
45* CharacterTitle: The show is named after one of its protagonists, [[spoiler:though her name was originally the codename of her creator's father... whom she killed]].
46* ChildrenForcedToKill: Has this as part of the BackStory: [[spoiler:the entire plot basically stems from the fact that Margaret killed her own father (in self-defense) when she was 5 years old]].
47* ClimacticBattleResurrection: [[spoiler:Vanessa, Carrossea, and Elenore are implied to have been resurrected at the end; but, in a subversion, don't actually assist in the battle with Friday Monday or show up again at all.]]
48* CodeName: "Madlax" is both her codename and the [[NoNameGiven only name she has]]. This is because [[spoiler:it originally belonged to the man she was specifically created to kill]].
49* ColonelBadass: Col. Richard Burton, Margaret's dad. [[spoiler:Not only was he able to enter the Sanctuary without possessing the Gift, but he also confronted [[BigBad Friday Monday]], mutilating and ''stripping him of most of his powers'', a feat only surpassed by Madlax who actually killed him... and "Madlax" originally was ''his'' callsign. Too bad he wasn't immune to the Words of Awakening]].
50* ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination: Invoked by Guen [=McNichol=]. He [[SuicideByAssassin hires Madlax to kill him]] while he delivers a speech in order to show the people who were controlling his entire life that he is going out on his own terms.
51* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Vanessa's superiors are actually in cahoots with [[NebulousCriminalConspiracy Enfant]] and [[spoiler:directly involved in [[AmoralArmsDealer selling arms]] to both the government and the rebels in Gazth-Sonika]].
52* CosyCatastrophe: The curiously intact airliner and overturned military vehicles that resemble scattered toys more than the shredded wreckage typically found at crash sites and battlefields. Heck, the two plane crash survivors don't even get ''dirty.'' But then again, [[AWizardDidIt their Gift probably did it]].
53* CreepyChild: Laetitia and Poupee, two eerie children who appear inhabiting the war-torn nightmare land visions throughout the series. They are eventually revealed to be [[spoiler:"memory keepers" of Margaret and Carrossea, trapped within the Sanctuary to prevent them from learning the truth about her patricide and his DeadAllAlong state, respectively]].
54* CriminalAmnesiac: Implied about Madlax and Carrossea. [[spoiler:Subverted in both cases, however: Madlax [[LiteralSplitPersonality did not even exist]] before her "amnesia" and Carrossea only turned to crime afterwards. The real criminal amnesiac is Margaret.]]
55* CursedWithAwesome: Madlax eventually [[spoiler:becomes effectively immortal--ironically, death is the only thing she longs for at that point]].
56* CurtainCamouflage: When Madlax comes to visit Guen [=McNichol=] before his assassination, she is first seen wrapped in a curtain--probably to conceal the fact that she's wearing a cocktail dress.
57* DayOfTheWeekName: Friday Monday. Given that he is the creepy, [[TheSociopath irredeemably evil]], MalevolentMaskedMan BigBad, [[TomTheDarkLord his normal name serves as quite the contrast]].
58* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Carrossea is eventually revealed to have been Poupee: a boy slightly older than Margaret who fell in love with her on the plane and survived the crash thanks to also having a weak Gift. However, Poupee died by TakingTheBullet for Margaret when her BrainwashedAndCrazy father shot her but before she brought herself to kill him. Poupee's love for Margaret allowed him to use his Gift to cast out the memory of his own death in the last moment, creating the Poupee we see in the Sanctuary visions and the amnesiac young man who was picked up by Friday Monday and given the name "Carrossea Doon".]]
59* DeathByFlashback: [[spoiler:After Carrossea learns how his original self was killed twelve years ago, he instantly dies.]]
60* DeviousDaggers: Nakhl, Quanzitta's bodyguard, never parts with her trusty dagger and is scarily proficient with it--even able to dominate Madlax in a close quarters fight.
61* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:Vanessa is reunited with her parents in the afterlife after saying goodbye to Madlax.]]
62* DissonantSerenity: Madlax is surprisingly serene under bullets and especially when gunning down mooks.
63* DisturbedDoves: As befit the series' HeroicBloodshed inspirations, doves go flying, for instance, during Madlax and Limelda's duel in episode 12.
64* TheDragon: Carrossea Doon is the right-hand man to [[NebulousCriminalConspiracy Enfant]]'s leader Friday Monday, and the one who spies on the heroines on his behalf.
65* DuringTheWar: Most of the plot takes place against the backdrop of the Gazth-Sonikan civil war and goes out of its way to remind the audience that people are dying every day.
66* EasyAmnesia: Madlax, Margaret, and Carrossea all lost their memories from before 1999, but seemed to have no trouble picking up all the basic skills like language in no time. [[spoiler:That's because their amnesias were supernatural and self-inflicted.]]
67* EnemyWithout: Subverted with [[spoiler:Margaret and Madlax]]. [[spoiler:Margaret]] originally created [[spoiler:Madlax]] by casting out her self-preservation instinct (and some other parts of her psyche) and discarded her after she fulfilled her purpose. Although she begins to see [[spoiler:Madlax]] as her enemy under [[BigBad Friday Monday]]'s influence, she eventually understands the need to accept her as part of herself ''and'' [[spoiler:Madlax]]'s right to a separate existence.
68* EvilCostumeSwitch: After [[spoiler:Margaret]] is brainwashed by [[BigBad Friday Monday]], she takes to wearing a darker and more ominous version of her usual clothes.
69* EvilLaugh: [[TheDragon Carrossea]] pulls this off when burning down Enfant's base, while [[BigBad Friday Monday]] does this ''all the time'' in the later episodes.
70* EyepatchOfPower[=/=]MaskPower: Friday Monday wears a cool red-and-gold half-mask over his right eye, [[spoiler:which was [[EyeScream shot out]] by Colonel Burton during their confrontation twelve years ago--which apparently had a side-effect of robbing Monday of most of his Gift powers]].
71* TheFaceless: The most we see of SSS, Madlax's liaison and manager, is the lower half of his face. Friday Monday also gets this treatment early in the series.
72* FacelessGoons: Enfant's agents usually come in droves and die by the dozens.
73* {{Fanservice}}: Madlax's more memorable fights include her ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK_gNbJfbL4 taking out a tank]]'' while wearing a [[FormFittingWardrobe skimpy dress]] and [[CombatStilettos heels]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_gDyDQgyc4 dispatching a group]] of {{mooks}} after [[DistractedByTheSexy distracting]] them by ''[[ShowSomeLeg throwing off her dress]]'' in front of them and subsequently [[FullFrontalAssault wreaking havoc while completely in the buff]]. Also, Madlax runs around in tiny leather hot pants in ''jungle combat''.
74* FantasyCounterpartCulture: AlternateHistory Counterpart Culture, but Gazth-Sonika is somewhere in the vague vicinity of Pakistan but is Southeast-Asian in culture; Nafrece shows some English influence but is mostly France; parallels with the Vietnam War are obvious (and clearly intentional).
75* {{Fingore}}: Do ''not'' lay your hands upon Margaret while Elenore is less than four hundred kilometers away--she ''will'' break them.
76* FiringOneHanded: Madlax and Limelda do this all the time, especially during their duels.
77* {{Flashback}}: The flashback of what really happened 12 years ago is glimpsed in bits and pieces throughout the series before finally coming together in the end, giving TheReveal.
78* FlungClothing: Madlax used it to [[ShowSomeLeg distract the soldiers]] she's fighting on one occasion.
79* ForgotTheCall: After walking into Enfant's data trap, Madlax loses all memory of being a badass mercenary for a couple of episodes.
80* {{Foreshadowing}}: Rather subtle because of the MindScrew nature of the story but it's there if you squint. Luciano's comment of [[spoiler: Margaret "smelling like Gazth-Sonika" before he dies]] is one of the biggest ones early on in the series.
81* FullFrontalAssault: Madlax fights in the nude in episode 16.
82* GagDub: The original English releases from ADV included a hilarious series of extras called "Conversations with SSS", where SSS is shown partaking in some extremely random, outlandish, and just plain weird dialog with the rest of the show cast.
83* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:It's hard to distinguish a DownerEnding from EarnYourHappyEnding when there are [[UsefulNotes/SchrodingersCat vague implications both ways about the eventual fate]] of three supporting characters.]]
84* GirlyRun: Madlax, of all people, does this while running through a jungle and being fired at in episode 19.
85* GratuitousEnglish: Words like "invation" and "denyed" tend to pop up on computer screens.
86* GunFu: Madlax signature combat style revolves around acrobatic leaps and backflips while gunning down mooks.
87* GunsAkimbo: Madlax usually wields her [=P210s=] in pairs.
88* TheGunslinger: Madlax is a mix of the Trickshot and the Woo: she has incredible sharpshooting skills but is also proves quite efficient when surrounded and outgunned.
89* HealingFactor: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the series, Madlax's body seems to effortlessly recover from pretty much any injury she suffers. This probably has something to do with proximity to her creator.]]
90* HeelFaceTurn: Although Vanessa wasn't aware at first of what her company was up to, she was too complicit with it for this to count a MookFaceTurn when she learns the truth and goes against the system. Also Limelda, playing up her role as Vanessa's {{Foil}}, though "Face" in her case means more of a murderous avenger/vigilante.
91* HereWeGoAgain: The series opens and closes with SSS contacting Madlax about her new assignment.
92* HeroicBloodshed: The series obviously takes up a lot of stylistic clues from Hong Kong Blood Opera movies, just like ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' took inspiration from European crime films and, of course, FilmNoir.
93* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Vanessa attempts to save Madlax from Limelda, but ends up getting herself killed instead. The fact that Madlax didn't need to be protected at that point any more makes it a borderline SenselessSacrifice, too.]]
94* HiddenAgendaVillain: Friday Monday's real goal is not revealed until late in the series but he is clearly the BigBad.
95* HomoeroticSubtext: All over the place. The most prominent example is between Madlax and Vanessa. While their relationship is never explicitly stated to be romantic, they become very attached to each other quite quickly. They both ask the other to [[ThereIsOnlyOneBed share the bed]] with them (even [[SleepCute cuddling together]] on one occasion), [[ThePromise promise]] each other that they'll stay alive, and Madlax even refers to herself as Vanessa's "prince" when she goes to battle [[ColdSniper Limelda]]. Though their relationship carries the strong implication of a mutual BodyguardCrush, they do only ever refer to each other as "friends".
96** Eleanor and Margaret's relationship also has it's fair share of subtext, perhaps even more so than Madlax and Vanessa, at least on Eleanor's side. She's completely devoted to serving Margaret, and pulls a CannotSpitItOut at least a couple times (with what she can't spit out left unstated). [[spoiler:Also, despite not having [[RealityWarper the Gift]], she manages to overcome Friday reading her the Words of Awakening, her Essence presumably being her love for Margaret]]. For Margaret's part, she tells Eleanor that she loves her when the latter agrees to go to Gazth-Sonika to look for Vanessa.
97** Finally, there's Limelda and Madlax, which, again, seemingly moves beyond subtext as far as the former is concerned. Limelda develops a strange love-hate obsession with Madlax after learning that [[spoiler:Gazth-Sonika's civil war was orchestrated, and is being prolonged, by [[TheSyndicate Enfant]]]], and at one point says that she loves her while preparing to snipe her. On Madlax's side, she tells Limelda to keep watching her and to remember her if she dies before the final confrontation with [[BigBad Friday]], which Limelda [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] as sounding quite like a LoveConfession. [[spoiler:And then, after Friday is defeated, Madlax and Limelda essentially ride off into the sunset together, despite Limelda having killed her other ImpliedLoveInterest]].
98* IJustWantToBeNormal: Madlax says this verbatim to [[spoiler:Monday]] who demanded her to embrace her supernaturalness.
99* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: In the original Japanese, each episode's title consists of a two kanji-long Japanese word and a short English word.
100* IdiotHair: [[http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/m-serve/madlax/chara/img/margaret1.jpg Margaret]], presumably to signify her infantile mindset.
101* ImmuneToBullets: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the series, Madlax regenerates from her wounds so fast, bullets no longer hinder her at all.]]
102* ImprobableAimingSkills: Madlax can shoot a bullet out of midair.
103* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: The cocktail dress, in which Madlax takes on a platoon of tanks in the middle of a jungle.
104* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Madlax enjoys looking good and doesn't have any ulterior motive for it.
105* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: The BeachEpisode looks like just another borderline filler before you realize that it's the first step towards all storylines set up thus far to converge into one.
106* InsertGrenadeHere: Madlax blows a tank up like this in her very first big action sequence.
107* JigsawPuzzlePlot: You'll need at least a couple of rewatches to get who does what for which reason in this show. Just check out the FlashBack example description above.
108* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Limelda is accepted by Madlax in the end, despite killing her best friend/possible lover, Vanessa]].
109* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Friday Monday is killed by Madlax, whom he indirectly brought into existence himself.]]
110* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Carrossea]] in episode 21.
111%% Vanessa and (maybe) Eleonor are resurrected, so they do not count.
112* KingBobTheNth: King Korslan IV of Gazth-Sonika never appears on screen, but is mentioned from time to time as one of the major forces in the Civil War.
113* LastOfHisKind: Lady Quanzitta is the last remaining member of the AncientTradition that guards Thirstari; [[spoiler:and, following her apparent death in the ending, presumably the last overall]].
114* LegacyOfService: The Bakers have served the Burtons for centuries.
115* LetsGetDangerous: In an early episode, the snarky but harmless-looking maid Elenore suddenly goes into SWAT mode when she cannot locate her mistress, mounting an emergency search-and-rescue mission and [[NinjaMaid going completely medieval]] on a guy who dared to lay a hand on Margaret.
116* LiteralSplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Madlax and Laetitia are Margaret's self-preservation instinct and memory, respectively. While Poupee is Carrossea's memory of his own death.]]
117* LoveMakesYouCrazy: Limelda's love-hate obsession with Madlax eventually renders her a borderline raving lunatic ready to stalk her object of affection through the jungle, indiscriminately murdering anyone who stands in her way. [[spoiler:She [[HeelFaceTurn gets over it]], eventually.]]
118* MacGuffin: The three Holy Books. Nobody quite knows where they come from and what exactly their contents are, but many characters want them for their own purposes.
119* MadArtist: Friday Monday is revealed to have been an artist (presumably before his criminal mastermind career) in [[AllThereInTheManual the promotional materials]].
120* MeaningfulName: Madlax is a portmanteau of "mad" and "relaxed", as in, someone who manages to stay calm in an insane world.
121* TheMenInBlack: [[NebulousCriminalConspiracy Enfant]] employs them, for instance, to catch Vanessa in Gazth-Sonika.
122* MexicanStandoff: Madlax and Limelda do this ''all the time'', and the latter apparently genuinely enjoys it.
123* MindControlEyes: [[spoiler: Margaret sports these while she is brainwashed by Friday Monday.]]
124* MindScrew: Explaining the plot of the series to someone who hasn't watched it is gonna get you some strange looks. Website/TheOtherWiki tries.
125* MuggedForDisguise: In episode 3, Madlax poses as a maid to infiltrate a hotel. The real maid is briefly shown BoundAndGagged in her underclothes inside a storage room.
126* MysteriousParent: Colonel Richard Burton seems to have known much more about what's going on than anyone gives him credit for.
127* MysteriousPast: Tons of it. Pretty much the only major character who does not have some mystery in her past is Elenore (if you don't count her NinjaMaid training).
128* NameAmnesia: The title heroine has retrograde amnesia regarding everything prior to being left in a warzone by her father twelve years ago, including her true name - "Madlax" is just a codename she picked for her mercenary work because it sounded cool. [[spoiler:It is eventually revealed, however, that her "father" is actually another character's dad, and "Madlax" was actually his old codename.]]
129* NoBodyLeftBehind: [[spoiler:After Carrossea dies for the second time, his body disappears--presumably because his real body remained in the Sanctuary after his ''first'' death twelve years ago.]]
130* NoisyGuns: All over the place, particularly from Madlax whose pistols sound like the pump of a shotgun just from ''pointing'' it at something! A standout example is when she breaches a room, and sweeps her gun across three positions looking for hostiles, and we get a loud cocking sound with each turn, even though she hasn't manipulated any of the gun's controls!
131* NumberTwo: Although it's never actually stated, Carrossea seems to be Monday's right hand man, presumably because the rest of Enfant is made up of FacelessGoons.
132* OldRetainer: Elenore's grandfather to the Burtons.
133* OminousLatinChanting: Several of the often-heard soundtracks are not actually Latin but totally ominous.
134* OneLastJob: Luciano's hit on Carrossea is supposed to be his last job before quitting his mercenary life and settling down. Of course, given how Luciano is a minor character and Carrossea is one of the main ones ''and'' is guarded by Limelda, another main, this job can only end well.
135* OnlyAFleshWound: [[spoiler:As described above, Madlax starts regenerating her wounds so fast in the final episodes, she is practically immune to injury.]]
136* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: This is how Limelda comes to see Madlax eventually, even picking off some of Madlax's pursuers when she thinks they came a little to close to killing her.
137* OnlyOneName: Madlax and Nakhl. Madlax doesn't remember her name [[spoiler:because she never had one]] and goes by her codename, while Nakhl is happy with whatever Quanzitta decided to call her.
138* OutOfTheInferno: In the very first episode, Madlax walks out of an inferno she herself caused. In a completely uncharred cocktail dress.
139* ParachuteInATree: In the first episode, Madlax paradrops into the middle of a jungle and, unsurprisingly, gets stuck on a tree. Instead of dangling there, however, she simply unstraps herself and lands gracefully on the ground.
140* ParentalAbandonment: Madlax has regular flashbacks of being abandoned by her father in the middle of a warzone, [[spoiler:but these are actually fake memories. She never had a father and the man she sees is actually Margaret's dad, whom Madlax was specifically created to kill. Madlax ''was'', however, abandoned by her progenitor--namely, by Margaret, who left her behind in Gazth-Sonika when she returned to Nafrece (something that Margaret ultimately makes up for), so the two facts seem to have conflated into one flashback in Madlax's mind]].
141* PlotTriggeringBook: Margaret's story begins with her searching through her missing father's possessions and discovering a mysterious book written in a strange language. Margaret's investigation of this book's origins leads her to be targeted by an evil conspiracy, discover the truth behind her [[AmnesiacHero missing memories]], [[spoiler:and eventually meeting Madlax. The book turns out to be Secondari, one of the three tomes needed to bring about a new era for the world.]]
142* PosthumousCharacter: Richard Burton, Margaret's father who went missing twelve years ago and is presumed dead by everyone.
143* ThePromise: Madlax and Vanessa promise each other to survive the current predicament. [[spoiler:Vanessa breaks her promise.]]
144* RewatchBonus: Considering how much of a MindScrew the series is, first-time watchers will undoubtedly miss the importance of several moments such as Luciano's comment about Margaret's smell [[spoiler: being similar to that of Gazth-Sonika's]] or why Margaret commented that it was going to rain despite the skies of Nafrece being clear. Watch through the series a second time, and the story will make more sense.
145* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Monday attempted to use his Gift, the three Holy Books, and the power of the Sanctuary to plunge the world into mindless self-slaughter. This accidentally brought down a plane flying over the site of his ritual and carrying two unwitting Gifted children: a boy, Poupee, and a girl, Margaret. Margaret's military officer father went looking for her but stumbled onto Monday's ritual and managed to stop it by depowering Monday. Monday retaliated by driving Colonel Burton violently insane and turning him onto Poupee and Margaret, who survived the crash thanks to their Gift and were watching them from the sidelines. Poupee died TakingTheBullet for Margaret, who, unable to shoot her own father, created a LiteralSplitPersonality to pull the trigger for her. Poupee, who fell in love with Margaret during their brief time together, used his Gift to cast out the memories of his past life, including his death, and to trap them within the Sanctuary in order to continue to exist for Margaret's sake. Margaret herself similarly trapped the memories of killing her father in the Sanctuary and warped back home to Nafrece, leaving her other, murderous self behind. The self-resurrected Poupee was picked up by Monday to serve as an Enfant agent under his new identity of "Carrossea Doon"; Margaret's split personality, in the meantime, was left to fend for herself and took on the name "Madlax"--Colonel Burton's old codename, which Monday used to address him during their fight. The cast-out memories of Carrossea and Margaret/Madlax sublimated themselves within the Sanctuary as Poupee and Laetitia, respectively.]]
146* HesBack: Madlax does it at least twice: after snapping out of her temporary Enfant-trap induced amnesia to save Vanessa and after getting a pep talk from Nakhl to finally snap out of [[spoiler:Vanessa's death-induced]] HeroicBSOD and go save Margaret.
147* ShoutOut: Early in episode 1, Madlax uses her [[SpiritualSuccessor Spiritual Predecessor]] [[Anime/{{Noir}} Kirika's]] CatchPhrase "There we go" ("Yoishou"). Also, the [[http://www.beetrainfan.org/wiki/index.php?title=Red_shoes red shoes]] appear in this series, too.
148* SleepCute: Madlax and Vanessa pull this off at least twice.
149* SlowMotionPassBy: Happens at the end of episode 17, when Margaret and Madlax just happen to be in the cars driving past each other on the same road. They don't notice/recognize each other yet, however.
150* SmallGirlBigGun: Margaret, after she finally arms herself.
151* SniperRifle: If there's one aspect where the writers have ShownTheirWork, it's guns. Limelda's signature gun is a H&K PSG-1, while Madlax wields a Remington M24 SWS Custom during their SniperDuel.
152* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Madlax'' to ''Anime/{{Noir}}'', ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja'' to ''Madlax''.
153* StrawNihilist: Friday Monday can go on for hours rambling about how humanity is worthless vermin hellbent on destroying itself and how the world is better off burning.
154* SuicideByAssassin: General Guen [=McNichol=] hires Madlax to kill him in public since he's ''that'' sick of the [[WarIsHell war]]. This triggers the rivalry between Madlax and Limelda, who was in charge of the general's safety.
155* {{Synchronization}}: Early in the series, Margaret and Madlax seem to synchronize some fleeting feelings, such as a sudden hunger for pasta or a feeling that it will rain soon--despite being geographically separated.
156* TheSyndicate: Enfant, a global underworld network with ties to the highest corporate and governmental echelons.
157* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Vanessa do this to "save" Madlax (unaware that Madlax is ImmuneToBullets by then). Poupee/Carrossea did it to protect Margaret in the backstory.]]
158* TeachMeHowToFight: After shooting a man for the first time during their escape from Enfant, Vanessa asks Madlax to teach her to shoot properly, despite having previously been against violence.
159* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Whenever you hear the "Yanmaani!" chant, expect Madlax to kick some ass.
160* ThereIsOnlyOneBed: There is only one bed in the hideout Madlax arranges for Vanessa while they're on the run from Enfant. [[BodyguardCrush Not that they have any trouble falling asleep (and cuddling) in it.]]
161* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: [[spoiler:This is essentially [[BigBad Friday Monday]]'s goal, since he sees all humans as evil deep inside and actively tries to bring out their "true natures".]]
162* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Madlax is the tomboy to Margaret ([[spoiler:who is actually [[LiteralSplitPersonality the same person as herself]]]]) and Vanessa's girly girls.
163* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Holy Books contain the Words of Saruon--whose most obvious effect is driving people violently insane and trying to murder their loved ones.
164* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Both Margaret and Madlax have a thing for pasta.
165* UndyingLoyalty: Elenore, towards Margaret. [[spoiler:Sadly, she isn't as undying herself, though she may have been resurrected in the last episode, but it is never shown.]]
166* {{Unperson}}: Maclay Marini, the PI investigating [[TheSyndicate Enfant]], comes so close to learning the truth about him that they destroy all evidence of his existence, eventually forcing even him to acknowledge that he never existed (and fabricating a new identity for himself).
167* UrbanFantasy: It's set partly in a European city, partly in a South Asian city, and partly in the jungle (including most of the last twelve or so episodes). Its contemporary (if AlternateHistory) setting still qualifies.
168* TheVoice: SSS is only ever seen in glimpses, while we mostly hear his voice on the phone talking to Madlax.
169* TheVoiceless: Poupee never speaks, except for a single flashback in the beginning of episode 6.
170* WarForFunAndProfit: This is what [[TheSyndicate Enfant]] (and Bookwald) ''seems'' to perpetrate the Gazth-Sonikan civil war for, [[spoiler:but this war is actually a minor (albeit beneficial) side effect of Friday Monday's previous failed attempt to plunge the world in chaos twelve years ago (They're arming both sides ''for free''). He later uses it mainly as a ruse to conceal his base of operations in the middle of the warzone]].
171* WeirdMoon: It's either red or blue (and in the Sanctuary, there are both at once) in this series.
172* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Signs point to Gazth-Sonika existing somewhere around where Pakistan should be, but it has Vietnam-like jungle and several recognizable Hong Kong landmarks. The name might have been inspired by the Gaza Strip.
173* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: It is implied that Friday Monday went insane after first coming into contact with the Holy Books--which is exactly why Quanzitta's AncientTradition was guarding them from unauthorized access.
174* WordsCanBreakMyBones: The Words of Awakening can be used to drive (almost) anyone insane.

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