Synopsis
Ichise is an “entertainment fighter” in the underground city of Lukuss. However, when a gang punishes Ichise by cutting his arm and leg off, his will to live overcomes the odds and attracts the attention of the ruling Organo syndicate that controls both the city and the cybernetic Texhnolyze technology which is usually reserved for the elite. Meanwhile, an outsider has come down to the city and, along with a young psychic girl, the dominos are beginning to fall in the seething unrest of the city as their paths slowly intertwine with Ichise’s. What will come of these people and what will happen in this city of no hope?
Review
Ahhh….Texhnolyze. The new anime from the staff of Serial Experiments Lain. I would like to get out of the way right now a misconception many have about Texhnolyze, even other reviewers: yoshitoshi ABe (as he prefers it spelled), the creator of Lain, NieA_7, and Haibane Renmei, merely served as character designer and artist for Texhnolyze. He had little to do with the plot and story of the show. The trademarks that NieA_7 and Haibane Renmei share are non-existent here, and you can tell that the show was more in the hands of the other staff of Lain rather than ABe. But that’s no knock on Texhnolyze, which is one of the most brilliant (and overly serious) anime I’ve ever seen. I’ve noticed that little is talked about Texholyze in online circles. Many haven’t seen it and the few who have are turned off by the first few episodes, which throws you right into the show like throwing someone into freezing cold water.
But they don’t know what they are missing. The first two episodes are an extreme version of the style prevalent in the show, which is somewhat abstract and obtuse. But this “extreme” version dissipates as the show progresses (thankfully). The first episode has at most 12 lines of dialogue, and the main character rarely, if ever, speaks throughout the entire show. The creators of Lain were attempting to create something extremely different in Texhnolyze, and in that they succeeded. Each aspect of the show is a symbol, or a representation, of something that can be applied to our own world. Texhnolyze is trying to say something about us as humans and the way we perceive ourselves in the story it tells.
The story revolves around more than just the main character, Ichise. The first half of the show is intra-gang related warfare between three groups; the Organo, those who already control the underground city of Lukuss, the Salvation Union, who don’t believe in texhnolyzing lost limbs (or at all, for that matter), and the Rakan, a reckless group of young adults fed up with how things currently work. These groups battle it out, and the second half of the show is the aftermath and repurcussions of these battles and how it’ll relate to the “surface world” and the elite “Class” group of people who control Lukuss from behind the seat of power.
As you can tell, Texhnolyze is a hard show to pin down and explain. There are a lot of different factions and characters involved, and I became completely engrossed in the story. After a second viewing, the show castly improves, since now you know everything and so the first couple of episodes make A LOT more sense. And that’s the kind of replayablility I can appreciate. The characters are for the most part cold and calculating bastards. Ichise rarely speaks, and the leaders of the gangs generally don’t either. This is a far more visual anime than it is a dialogue heavy one. I don’t want to spoil too much of the show beforehand, but the mysteries surrounding the show are extremely intriguing, from where raffia (the material that the robots parts of limbs is made from) comes from to what the “surface world” is.
The show is dank and dark and depressing, because the entirety of the show takes place underground in an artificial city. When you finally do find out about the much-hyped surface world, you’re mind will be blown away by the sheer amount of things going on, both for the story and symbolically. I was shocked and in awe at the same time. The story slowly dolls out the details, leaving you on the edge of your seat every time to find out more. That’s exactly what I want from an anime like this.
The Breakdown
Texhnolyze is highly underrated, and unfairly maligned because of its experimental style, of which is most prevalent very early on. It goes away for the most part for those who don’t like it, and the show opens up to be extremely compelling and riveting in the end run. The animation is excellent, the music pretty good, and the story downright inspiring and depressing at the same time. The show will tug on your emotions, and the ending will leave you in tears, if not a sentimental smile on your face. The show is abstract and confusing and sometimes hard to put up with, but if you can get through these few problems a great show awaits.
» The Pros
Well, most importantly I should mention the wonderfully deep and brilliant story of mankind and their artificial evolution into becoming a new species, along with the huge amounts of excellently executed symbolism (with regards to flowers, colors, personalities, etc) in trying to show the story more than tell it. I also loved the animation and the animation style as well as the music (for the most part). I also appreciated the fact that the show wasn't just like everything else: it was serious, mature, and was mostly made up of adult characters, which is not the norm in anime.
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» The Cons
My main beef is the lack of answers in the last three episodes of the show. Everything becomes so symbolic its like the creators expected us all to infer everything from subtext. I was not able to do that, personally. The show makes complete sense and is very cohesive until this point, and it isn't like the story fell apart, it just became a bit to obtuse, even for my tastes. I also did not like the fact that some action scenes were not animated. I also wish the characters had more "life" in them (so to speak), but perhaps that's the point. Beyond that, I got nothing.
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» Animation
9 |
Texhnolyze's animation is top-notch for the most part. Characters move fluidly and nothing is static (unless its intended, the styles used in this show make it difficult to really rate the animation). Colors are rich and vibrant, and most every little detail is animated. My only beef with the animation were the action scenes. Not all of them, but some action scenes...aren't animated. They show it about the happen, you are shown a couple of still screens of people getting shot or sliced, and then you are shown the aftermath, with lots of blood and bodies on the floor. This is extremely jarring since everything else is animated so well, which is why this stood out. I was dissapointed, because some of the action sequences could have been really good if animated better. But still, the rest of it was good, and this isn't really an action anime. |
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» Sound
8 |
The music, by Hajime Mizuguchi (Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Escaflowne the Movie) is very different than his normal fair. It's much more "punk" and cold and less present than his usual stuff, which tries to be epic or ethereal to try and catch your attention. Here, the music is sparsely used, but when it is, it's used to good effect and does sound good, but isn't particularly noteworthy. The show's final theme is amazing however, and the ending theme song is equally beautiful. So the use and style of music is a decision by the creators, because by the vocal songs I can tell Mizuguchi is as great as ever. |
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» Story
9.5 |
The most important aspect of any show, is, of course, the story, and Texhnolyze has it in spades. Its not straightforward or simple, and that's a good thing in this case, because anything less than what it is now would not have been able to sustain my interest due to the style the story was told. As is, its one of the most interesting stories ever told in anime, and one of th emost depressing and saddening as well. But if a show can make me feel like that, then it has done what it aimed to, and done it extremely well. |
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» Recommend
7.5 |
While I love the show, it's most definitely not for everyone. Many will be put off by the cold, unfeeling nature of the show and its characters, as well as the lack of dialogue and onscreen action. Others will not understand the story at first and not grasp the subtext the show is trying to present. I'm hoping there aren't a lot of people like this, but from the general reaction towards this show, I'd say that this is the case. But I think people should open their minds a bit and give this show a chance, trying out the first two DVD's to see if it's the kind of show you'd like or not. |
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» Other Information
Language: English/Japanese with English Subtitles
Extras: The series is spread across 6 DVD's, but to sum up all the extras on those DVD's: an interview with the creative staff, dub outtakes for each volume, production galleries and artwork, and textless opening and ending sequences. All in all, not bad.
Package: The covers for each volume are absolutely beautiful, each cover giving ample room to show off ABe's wonderfully downbeat character designs. I really feel the art shows off what the show is all about, and the make great pieces to look at in their own right. I didn't like the side of the front saying "Texhnolyze" in big letters, but otherwise I loved em. |
Friday, April 24, 2026
