Review of Texhnolyze

This is a show that is best described as watching a Lovecraftian scifi story where the crushing weight of reality is the unfathomable monster. Though I would be hard pressed to say that it is a hopeless and nihilistic piece of media, that is just not being fair to what the show does. Though it is still a deeply depressing story but one that excels in giving the audience just that. The art, music, sound design, and writing makes a memorable experience that all work together to provide a haunting experience. The art especially paints a dense, oppressive, and beautiful picture of a city thatis slowly withering away.

Being from the same writer of Lain ( Chiaki J. Konaka) the characters and show as a whole uses less dialogue than most. Konaka has a history of writing these types of dark stories and it is undeniably good at doing them. A lot of the story especially early on is told through body language. This is not detrimental as the show doesn't waste the viewers time, it fully utilizes this method of story telling to the fullest. The characters are strong and are motivated through engaging ways that make it easy to sympathize with, or at the very least understand. The story is also enhanced through the presentation of the show. The art and lighting are all there to paint the picture of what is going on along with the characters mental state. It is simply engrossing and enchanting to where it is hard to pull oneself away as the story furthers to undiscovered levels of melancholy.

The only real negative is the dated CGI that shows up in some shots. Thankfully they are not frequent at all. The other knock on it is that understanding the world itself can be a bit hard as information is not overtly given out.

I would suggest this to anyone who wants to watch an engaging show that has a heavy atmosphere. One that has a overwhelming feeling of dread tied with a beautiful visuals of decay. It is set in the far future and goes into trans-humanism and behavioral sink. A beautiful nightmare is an experience that many should not shy away from.