Review of Texhnolyze

I’m very disappointed with this anime. It is not even half as good as many people claim. The biggest problem is not a plot itself, which is actually very shallow and has nothing in it that we haven’t read or seen elsewhere, but the way it was all presented to the audience. I decided to watch it after seeing recommendations for Ergo Proxy fans – I was amazed by the way creators told us the story there. I know Ergo Proxy maybe isn’t very revolutionary when it comes to plot too, but Texhnolyze has so many directorial problems that all the flaws in its storyare more apparent.

I don’t even want to go deeper into the plot, I know there is a lot of symbolism, it is a commentary on society, technology etc. Yes, it could have been interesting if it had been wraped in a better narrative, but instead we got something so unbelievably boring, I struggled not to fall asleep watching every episode. This is not how main characters and their agendas should be introduced to the viewer. 1/3 of the anime we see Ichise walking, groaning, screaming, groaning, crawling. Geez, that was so annoying that even after he started acting more like a human, I wasn’t able to start liking him. But it is not just him. Every character: doctor, Ran, Shinji, Onishii etc. ss flat and has no personality.

I like stories forcing viewer to think more, but Texhnolyze doesn’t do that. It tries to be a challenge, but it is not. And the ending exposes it very much.

The only good thing about this anime is the music. Wasn’t the best and we don’t hear it very often, but every time it started it reminded me how important it is to create not only a good plot and characters, but also an atmosphere. Texhnolyze could have had that mysterious, terrifying atmosphere, but it lacked so many other elements that the series as a whole looks very weak. It is sad, because this story had a great potential.