Review of Texhnolyze
This was a tough watch at first as the show starts slowly and the first episodes are difficult to understand or follow but this is because the show does not spoon-feed you with every type of information but, with its atypical narration, creates anticipation with a great crescendo that in the last episodes reaches its peak. It is an anime full of details, difficult to grasp immediately but rewarding in its discovery. Definitely a particular anime and not for everyone, but a nice breath of fresh air from a narrative and visual point of view. The story follows Ichise, an underground boxer, moving inside Lux, anunderground city created by men to imprison the impure, where there are multiple power struggles between various gangs. We also follow the stories of Onishi, leader of one of these gangs, Ran, an oracle girl who predicts the future, and many others. The complex and atypical narrative but rich in meaning and symbolism provides the viewer with a lot of material, almost too much but which doesn't leave a bad taste in the mouth. The pacing is slow, very slow especially in the first few episodes. But, as mentioned, it is rewarding in its discovery. Thought-provoking and philosophical the story combines cyber-punk elements such as the union of machines and men or the end of humanity with questions about the meaning and importance of life that place it in the narrow circle of animes who have managed to talk about this in an impeccable way, like the various Monster or Serial Experiments Lain. This is an anime where we witness a clear example of nihilism where nothing makes sense, nothing is important and there is no profound meaning to life, or at least, this is my personal take-away from the anime.
From the point of view of the characters, the latter are strangely compelling. Very realistic and profound despite the dialogues being minimal. Ichise is an excellent protagonist and I loved his constant search for a reason or purpose while repeatedly finding himself just one of many pieces in mosaics that were too much bigger than him. I also loved Yoshii and his descent into desperation (which we only really realize towards the end, a clear example of the slow but rewarding narrative) which leads him to commit a series of crimes.
The animation is of a good standard and I absolutely loved the dark and depressing tones often assumed by the anime which make the experience complete and immersive. The soundtrack is another great point in favor of the anime. In some cases it gave goosebumps.
A clearly experimental anime, difficult to follow and understand and not for everyone but worth giving a chance. You either stay on top and don't even scratch the surface or you sink to very deep depths and you let yourself carry away from a little gem, a hidden masterpiece of animation.