Texhnolyze

My first review on IMDb, Hiroshi Hamasaki's Technolyze has been so far (in my viewing experience) the most effective way to understand moral ambiguities of the human spirit. Juxtaposing art, architecture, science, psychology and a fair bit of body horror rendered in surreal animation, this series is everything an entire generation of storytellers could want to tell, perhaps, without being able to.

The first episode has exactly five lines of dialogues, the most provocative sound design and surreal animation that can either put you off it or make you bend your knees in awe. From there on, the world of Lukuss takes over, in vivid and astonishing detail.

The denouement is especially haunting and much will depend on your own perceptions. Unless you decide to hanker over the internet trying to find a singular meaning. Which will not be very satisfying. Re-watching this series is going to be my gamble.

I believe Texnolyze is more of an impression. An evolving thought in the minds of Konaka and Hamasaki. And therefore it has movement and fallibility. Sometimes, that is exactly what defines true expression.

Watch it only if you are patient. Or you enjoy art.

"Texhnolyze" (pronounced "Techno-lyze") is a compelling and pretty hard-to-follow Anime' series. The plot is very indirect and slow-moving; it's obvious that a lot of thought went into building its story and characters. The first episode is pretty unique because over 10 minutes go by before a single word is uttered by anyone.

In the presumably distant post-apocalyptic future, years have passed since an unnamed calamity forced much of the human population to abandon Earth's surface and settle into the underground city of Lux. Many humans have undergone "Texhnolyzation" - exchanging organic body parts for prosthetic ones. Lux, meanwhile, is the center of a three-way power struggle by those looking for ultimate control of the city: the Organos, led by Onishi, who all appear to be Technolyzed in some way or another, more or less; the fanatical populist movement the Salvation Union, who are radically opposed to Texhnolyzation; and the Racans, a gang of adolescent street punks.

Thrown into the chaos is Ichise, a prize fighter who is brutally dismembered - his unwise provocation of a ruthless fight promoter's wrath costs him an arm and leg, quite literally - and he is put back together again like the Six-Million-Dollar Man by the beautiful mad scientist Doc. Another wrinkle comes from Ran, a young girl who has the ability to see the future of anyone she comes into contact with. Needless to say, her prophetic warnings to Ichise about his future have horrifying implications not just for him, but for everyone in Lux.

This is an extremely difficult and frustrating Anime' series to try to wrap your head around. I'm not even going to try to decipher what the Japanese artists were trying to convey with this series. Maybe it was mankind's insatiable quest for power? The obsessive need for human perfection by exchanging organic limbs for artificial ones? I have no idea. I do know that this is an unusual science fiction series - definitely not one for the kids, if any are around, since there is plenty of graphic bloody violence, nudity, and some colorful language.

There is also an atmospheric score and soundtrack by Keishi Urata and Hajime Mizoguchi, with songs by Juno Reactor, Gackt, and Yoko Ishida.

Sit back and prepare to be mind-boggled by "Texhnolyze."

10/10

I value animes that seek to provoke reflection and thought rather than simply entertain. Nowadays, most productions focus more on providing instant entertainment than exploring deep concepts, life lessons, or moralities.

Texhnolyze, with its dark and monotonous aesthetic, doesn't stand out for beautiful and captivating visuals. However, it focuses on showing rather than telling a relatively simple but thought-provoking story, although its 22-episode runtime can seem long and tedious to follow.

The visual appearance of the anime faithfully reflects events, sometimes charming despite the lack of colourful images or flashy animations that characterise contemporary animes. This choice, however, contributes to the overall concept of the anime.

Regarding the music, although I haven't paid much attention to the ambient music, I must highlight that the opening song seems very fitting, and the ending song is the best thing I'll take away from the anime; I loved it.

As my final detail, in a world marked by dilemmas addressing violence, cyberpunk issues, and the destiny of humanity, Texhnolyze presents interesting directions that provoke reflections on current and future themes, some of which have already been lived. What will be the human fate in the future? Will it be consumed by the desire for immortality through «texhnolization»? These are fascinating analyses, even in a dystopian setting distant from our own.

However, there are important warnings. The anime's pace is slow, and its 22-episode duration can become tedious. Characters come and go, experience joys and sorrows, without making a significant impact. Although it presents shocking events, it fails to fully deliver, and because of this, the anime doesn't feel worthy of another look. Texhnolyze, while having a well-constructed and fluid story, a gloomy appearance, and interesting themes, lacks the ability to captivate and entertain, which, though not essential, is important. Ultimately, it's a decent anime but one that could easily be forgotten.

With minimal dialogue and an overwhelming emphasis on atmosphere, Texhnolyze's first episode can be off-putting. While there are elements of surrealism in the visuals, this is more of an artistic direction and does not extend to the plot - which for the most part is founded in reality.

While the show's first few episodes were inaccessible and seemingly pretentious, I was surprised that they managed to be entertaining. The overarching plot does not reveal itself until episode 7 of the show. From this point the show becomes far more involved and exciting, and the emotional aspects of characters are developed as the show progresses.

The action sequences are fun to watch but always tasteful, and I think it's the well-handled balance between the violent scenes and more subdued, detached dialogue between characters that made this show great.

The pacing might be alienating to most people, however I never felt that the show tried too hard to appear smart or "artistic".

Texhnolyze is a demanding series - it is not until after episode 10 that each episode becomes filled with clear plot developments - but what is most noteworthy about the series is the final 3 episodes, which are refreshingly beautiful and haunting.

Have you ever watched something so good it made you want to throw up?

I am being completely serious - Texhnolyze, as well as being less than intuitive to spell, is nauseous in all the right ways. The grotesque, bewildering, horrifying and utterly despairing all have their place.

Don't let the first few episodes put you off. At first I kept watching for the style alone (no point bothering with the details but there's some crazy and better yet successfully experimental art/sound/space/editing stuff going on), but far better things grow out of it. The last few episodes, for instance, are honest-to-god one of the most jaw dropping sequences I have ever watched. What happens in between is also great, but fuck me, the end of it..

Lots of anime claims to think. Usually that means half-arsed monologues by side characters that either don't make sense or are completely irrelevant, trying to pass as philosophy by using lots of big words and being boring. Here's one that actually does.