Review of Texhnolyze

If all someone expects from anime's art is fan service, no, this isn't your anime. No giant sweat drops. No exaggerated faces. No women written by guys who evidently have never talked to them in their life. No big jock heroes to live through vicariously in the glow of your TV screen. The point of art is not to escape, it's to experience. And when it comes to experience, this is maybe one of the few anime not called "Patlabor 2," "Ghost in the Shell" or "Jin Roh" that do indeed immerse you in a world that is altogether mysterious, but very familiar to anyone whointeracts in adult society. In other words, the characters act like actual people; Anyone more than a casual fan of anime should know this is a rarity.

The art and direction is modeled after no less than Tarkovsky, and it takes quite a few motifs from "Stalker," but whereas that story evoked remote desolation, this one is about societal decay and the fate of our collective species. The plot develops a rich ensemble of characters that resemble actual humans (I can't stress enough how rare this is with anime) whose fates you actually feel for.

I don't want to say anything else about the story. It's a beautifully depicted surrealist masterpiece on the surface, but the writing of these all too real characters is what makes this a truly unparalleled work of art.

In sum, this is for anyone who is seeking a sci-fi work that doesn't insult their intelligence or sense of humanity; a diamond in the rough.