Review of Texhnolyze

Texhnolyze is an engaging and thought provoking show. This anime hooks you in with its dark and somewhat nihilistic themes, gravitating around the meaning of life and idea of what the peak of evolution of mankind can entail. The anime has its flaws, with its dated production and misfires with its own themes., Texnholyze still holds itself well enough to remain as a minor classic in the realm of psychological anime. What is so distinct about Texhnolyze? ---------------------------------------------------- The most crucial factor that distinguishes Texhnolyze from other anime is the dedication it has in its themes. The story, the setting and even the characters are all intentionally setup to create the anime's own take on the concept of existential nihilism. Throughout the anime the story is imbued with a sense of darkness, hopelessness and dystopia that consistently appears and consistently raises issues within the anime that, from a conceptual viewpoint, can resonate with a mind that is curious of what it would be like to find one's own meaning even in the depths of despair, and a mind that is curious about what the peak in evolution of mankind can entail.

Another feature that is special in this show is just how much it does not try too hard to provoke thoughts as the story progresses. The atmosphere of the anime makes for a slow burn in watching it, yet each episode is efficiently paced and laid out to eventually make the point of each story arc clear. Of course sometimes the anime will enter periods where things that feel secondary to the show are explored, for example there is a mildly intricate take on classism and its impact on technological advancement, particularly the equality of welfare improvement on people’s lives. The initial episodes can make one believe that this is what the anime is about, which in the end is a misfire with regards to how the anime can show hints of having a blunt focus.

How the Story is told.
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Texnholyze centres itself in the underground city of Lux, a dark and gloomy city that is regulated haphazardly, with 3 main entities having influence on the city. Each organisation is critical to follow as each of them has been in ongoing conflict with the other due to distinct ideology surrounding governance and the 'texnholyzation' process, where advanced prosthetic limbs are made from the important mineral "Raffia". Apart from the 3 entities are also the main character Ichise, a former underground boxer; Ran, a girl from an outlying area in the mountains who has the power to see the near future; and Yoshi, a man from up the surface where the upper class live, who comes to observe Lux. All of these entities and characters play a critical role in key events that take place in this anime and these characters also drive the direction of where the plot progresses. The story of the show and its characters are hard to separate, as the characters create the spectacle, this makes each character crucial with regards to story progression,

The anime is fairly complex to understand, on initial appearance it can seem too tedious and daunting to go from episode to episode, trying to understand things like how a simple dog fighter like Ichise will impact the story. This is where I give praise to the show because the show does not try to make itself more complicated than it needs to be most of the time, and does not try too hard to be intricate and thought provoking. It adequately lays out the journey of Ichise and the others in Lux with time and with decent pace. The first episode is very, and I mean very confusing, but eventually where each character fits and the dynamic of the world of Texhnolyze opens itself well enough for any viewer that is paying attention. I will also have to say however that as things reach a climax in this anime, ambiguity and complexity can creep back into the show, albeit this is because the true themes of the show are coming into fruition. Texnholyze does not give full exposition with regard to the city of lux and the intentions of some characters in the beginning, it rather follows a gradual progression of incidents and slow revelation of truths about the Lux and its surroundings.

How the production holds up
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The anime is dated, 2003 is almost 20 years ago, and this anime has little staying power to match anything from recent years in terms of visuals. The production of the show is, however, distinct even amongst the dark and psychological anime that was appearing in the 2000s. The anime does not have lush and fancy visuals, instead it has dark and somewhat untidy visuals, with landscapes that are both futuristic and primitive. This is especially the case in Lux. Not much is appealing in the city, and I believe that was exactly the point for the anime’s intention. Characters and objects are designed well, only a few instances would you see odd motions and frames that are not really in sync. As I said it’s dated, but still very efficiently done.

How the Soundtrack fares.
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The soundtrack is pretty good. Everything from the opening theme, to the ambient sounds that play during the anime fit the themes of the show well. The music places itself well and sometimes it is purposefully non-existent to bring the sense of emptiness and when it is there it’s good. The opening is cool, dark and upbeat and the ending has a sweet and sad touch to it.

Overall
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Texhnolyze is very good. Words are not enough to express just how the anime gets its dynamics right and maintains some degree of staying power even two decades later. It’s an anime I easily recommend for fans of the psychological anime genre.