Review of Texhnolyze

There is no finer embodiment to the shattering melancholy and bracing affirmation of hopelessness than the 22 episodes that make up Texhnolyze. I want to admit that this anime has overwhelmed me immensely for years. My efforts at writing a review before didn't ensue because if written, it would have been nothing but babble. I wonder if this will even be close to a lucid appraisal.. How do I classify Texhnolyze? This is the sort of anime that people will either think is brilliant or terrible. It is brutal, confusing and minimal. It has a lot of violent imagery and cruel messages, a complex storyline andslow but methodical pacing, a minimalistic dialogue and visual and thematic symbolism.

The events take place in a metropolis buried deep inside the earth. A place that reigns with severed limbs and lost souls, Lux is hard to escape, and to stay there is to stay at the very mouth of hell, this underground city of utter damnation felt to me like a character in itself, its landscapes forge a portrait that speaks only of loneliness and alienation. In random impressions It indifferently narrates its lifeless autobiography.

Characters:
I find myself bewildered with how I should speak of the characters. Sometimes they seemed to me like abstract concepts, not much is explained about them and its hard to get emotionally attached to them.
Ichise, Shinji, Onishi, Yoshii, Ran and the doctor, each of the characters had their own ways, their own ideologies. It was interesting to see how each one of them reacted to the conflicts and how they had to take a step back to reassess the path they've been following, how they faced themselves afterwards.
Personally I found Ichise to be a fascinating character, A truly lost human being whose mind struggles in unsuccessful attempts to discover himself. Bit by bit he wrenches himself out of the swamp in which he had long languished.

Art:
Yoshitoshi Abe never disappoints.
The art here is dark and murky. There is some kind of poeticism and sadness to the visuals that emphasize a sense of hopelessness throughout the series.
*There are some scenes in a specific episode that seems to be inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings, something which I found absolutely enchanting.
Here is a link that shows both the paintings and the anime scenes:
https://halfadeckshort.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/hopper-vs-texhnolyze/

Sound:
Most of the time, the anime relies on silence, which suits it's minimalistic nature.
The OST varies between loud guitar solos and tender violin and piano pieces. *There is a specific piece that is hauntingly beautiful and sad "A far away lightning".
The OP is a techno industrial track which fits the show perfectly. The ending song is very emotional and sad, it has nothing to do with the anime yet somehow has everything to do with it.

Overall:
This is a bold and experimental anime that strongly explores nihilistic and ontological themes such as - but not limited to - the search for and annihilation of meaning , texhnolyzation as the last hope for humanity, ditching the body entirely and replacing it with something else for the sake of pursuing a higher state of being.

Texhnolyze is unique in its story, in its characters, in the way it combines silence and mystery with striking atmospheric sensory images to build a montage of profundity and intensity.
A daring and maybe a little scary conception of humanity's future and fate. Brilliantly incorporating political events to help illustrate an abominable image of a world, where a man is only a stranger desperately trying to perceive a reason to continue with the numbing meaninglessness of existence.

This show is not easy or comfortable to watch, it is very cold and humorless, has no fan service and no kawaii android girls, it has possibly the most miserable ending ever made in anime. So check your expectations at the door. Recommended only for those who don't mind their perception of existence to be challenged and possibly torn down.