Episode 1: Gun Dance

**"Gun Dance -dance-"** *Transcription:* "Jūbu -dance-" (Japanese: 銃舞 -dance-) is the first episode of *Madlax*. It debuted on April 5, 2004 in Japan.

## Plot Summary

### Japanese

内紛の続くアジアの小国ガザッソニカ。反政府軍ガルザが入手した王国軍のデータの回収を依頼された女性エージェント・マドラックスは、データを持って王国軍の包囲下から逃亡したガルザの若い兵士を救うが、兵士は捕えられた友軍を救うため、敵の本部に戻ろうとする。「もう生きてやしないわよ」と兵士を止めようとするマドラックスだが…。

### English

Gazth-Sonika is a small Asian country where civil war wages. A female agent, Madlax, is commissioned to recover Kingdom Army data obtained by the Galza resistance and saves a young Galza soldier who fled under siege by the Kingdom Army, but the soldier tries to return to the enemy's headquarters to save captured comrades. Madlax goes back to stop the soldiers, "I'm not going to live anymore."

## Synopsis

In the country of Gazth-Sonika, there is a war going on between the King's Army and the forces of Galza. The main character, a young blond woman named Madlax, is being taken via helicopter out into a jungle area. The pilot is surprised to see a pretty young girl confidently handling a gun, and asks her name, but Madlax says he'll die if she talks. The she jumps out of the chopper with a parachute ready at her back.

Two members of Galza, Pete and an un-named Lieutenant, are riding in a truck on a mission. The Lieutenant say there won't be any problems unless or until they run into Gazth-Sonika's most dangerous agent. However, they run into trouble trying to get past a Royalist checkpoint, and shots are fired. Seconds before their vehicle is destroyed by a tank, the Lieutenant gives Pete a disk of important data and says to destroy it rather than let the enemy get it.

Meanwhile, Madlax receives orders from someone she calls Three-Speed. The subtitles call him SSS. His orders are to retrieve the King's Army's data that has been stolen by Galza. Cutting herself free of the parachute and casually remarking that she will eat pasta for dinner, Madlax heads out on mission to kill. The leader of the Royalist group, meanwhile, has captured all of the Galza operants in the area except Pete. The menacing leader demands to know where he is, offering to pay money and ensure the safety of whoever tells him Pete's location. While this is happening, Madlax has a sniper rifle aimed at Pete, but she seeing how young and alone he is, and armed only with a pistol, she takes pity on him and decides not to kill him.

Afterward, Pete is hiding in an old tunnel, when he hears the voice of a comrade calling him. Pete was about to answer and call out to ask if the fatherly Lieutenant is alive, but Madllax stops him, telling him it's a trap. He concedes to follow her quietly to the exit at the far side of the tunnel. Meanwhile the Royalists are setting fire to the entrance. The smoke invades the tunnel, but Pete holds his breath while Madlax deals with the two soldiers waiting just outside the exit. Just before killing them, Madlax is smart enough to listen to the soldiers' conversation with their HQ and learn that their code is "White Rex." Once the soldiers are dead, and someone tries to speak to them over the comm. radio, Madlax instructs Pete to answer with "This is White Rex. We don't need reinforcements."

Later, Pete and Madlax are walking together, and Madlax correctly assumes that the enemy (the Royalist cordon) is probably already starting a search for them. When asked what he wants to do, Pete explains that he intends to go back and save his captured friends, even knowing that one or more of them has turned traitor. He explains that his parents were killed by government troops and the person who acted as his father afterward was the Lieutenant from earlier; so in his mind, he wants to go save his family. Giving Madlax the data disk, Pete runs away.

At first it doesn't seem like Madlax is going to do anything about it, neither stopping him nor offering to help. But then she has a flashback of a tall blond man, probably her father, walking away and leaving her behind. This is Madlax's only memory from before twelve years ago. The flashback inspires her to come to Pete's rescue after all. The young man saw that the Lietenant had been killed, and started a rampage, shooting three soldiers guarding the Royalist camp.

The Royalist cordon leader rides back toward camp to kill Pete, along with at least five other men, maybe a total of eight or ten. They are all armed and riding in 3 humvees and a tank. Madlax appears from the trees and begins her attack. She slaughters the entire company in an epic gunfight. She furthermore takes down a helicopter using a machine gun.

Pete wakes up in a vehicle, being driven by Madlax. Unfortunately, the boy received a fatal wound during his fight. Madlax knows this but happily talks with him during his last few minutes. They flirt and Pete asks her on a date. Madlax accepts. But before she can even tell him her name, Pete passes away. When she reports to Three-Speed later that she recovered the data disk and put it in the safety box, she seems sad. Her pasta bowl is left untouched that evening.

## Credits

### English Vocal Cast

* Madlax - Nancy Novotny

* Pete Anyan - Brandon Scott Peters
* Lieutenant Nyman - George Manley
* Sergeant - Christopher Kring

* Laetitia - Cynthia Martinez
* SSS - Jay Hickman

### Japanese Vocal Cast

* Madlax - Sanae Kobayashi
* Laetitia - Tomoko Kaneda
* SSS - Jin Urayama
* Pete Anyan - Daisuke Namikawa
* Lieutenant Nyman - Naoki Bando

* Sergeant - Takaya Kuroda

### English Language & Subtitled Versions

Presented by ADV Films

* Executive Producers - John Ledford and Mark Williams
* Producer and Director - Kyle Jones
* Production - ADV Studio
* Production Manager - Joey Goubeaud
* Post Production Manager - Shelly Thomas
* International Coordinator - Toru Iwakami
* Project Translator - Sarah Alys Lindholm
* Senior Translator - Shoko Oono
* ADR Script - Monica Rial
* Sound Design & Mix - Cesar Inserny
* Recording Engineer - Stanley Thomas
* Editors - Pat Givens & Neil O'Sullivan
* Production Assistants - Miyuki Kamiya, Maki Nagano, Paul Mericle, Sara Muir

## Preview

Episode 2

*"I keep existing, continuing to be, but that's not the same as being alive. So, does that mean I'm dying?"* – Margaret Burton