DESCRIPTION

CAST

MUSICTsuki no Uta

REVIEWS

• 

  RogueTofu

  70/100
  A dark, psychological piece that questions the means people will take to progress the human psyche.

  

  Preface

  To start, Texhnolyze is definitely not for everyone. It is a slow paced anime filled with a lot of violence and heavy symbolism. I’d classify Texhnolyze as a dark, abstract action-drama-psychological series. It’s quite depressing if you take the time to think about what happened after each episode, and you have to focus and think about every part if you want to enjoy the full experience Texhnolyze has to offer. The show questions the extent to what humans will do and take to progress the human psyche and how they react to it, given a city loosely characteristic of organized crime.

  Story & Characters

  Texhnolyze is divided into two arcs. Both involve a main antagonist trying to change the city of Luxuss that the story takes place in. While each arc is primarily driven by the respective antagonist’s goals and desires, the story of Texhnolyze as a whole does not seem to have any kind of overarching final destination. I would normally be okay with this, because a story does not have to follow a chronological timeline to be a story - it can focus on the many aspects of anything really, and with Texhnolyze, I had hoped it would have been a character study of Ichise and how the setting impacted him, but instead, Texhnolyze left me behind more with a sense of, “I watched something that achieved nothing.” Texhnolyze is markedly a psychological series, but not because of Ichise, which is why the story falls flat sometimes. Due to plot devices that occur within various times of the show, Ichise’s development is limited within the certain logical boundaries that the show has restricted itself to. Ichise aside though, many other characters are extremely interesting and definitely add to the quality of the show. Ran, joined by Doc and Haruhiko create prime examples for what Texhnolyze is able to achieve in regards to character depth and the psychological nature of the show (a feat in which Ichise was not able to accomplish). The rest of the supporting cast does a fine job with whatever roles they were assigned to and add to the positives of the show as a whole. The first antagonist is excellent as a character logically and creates some truly interesting scenarios within the first arc with great pacing. The second antagonist is average because the second arc introduces an abundance of new elements and does not provide ample time to fully explain all of them including leaving out enough time to explain the motives behind this antagonist. This left the second arc feeling rushed with an underdeveloped antagonist, which undermines the show a little since the show is driven by the goals of the antagonists, and not the protagonist. The main pitfall of the show ends up simply being a dialogue problem. In a possible attempt to make the show more abstract or place emphasis on the soundtrack, the show suffers from a lack of natural dialogue, and dialogue in general. Most characters just don’t say enough to make them realistic (with the exception of Haruhiko), and when they do, it seems very stilted. Thus it was hard to sympathize with any character while watching.

  Art & Animation

  To watchers of only airing seasonal anime and anything recent, Texhnolyze art may be a big turn off. The style is “choppier” and more realistic to fit the darker undertones of the setting, so I ended up thinking the art complimented the story quite well. Backgrounds are not detailed, but it doesn’t matter for much of the settings in Luxuss because a flashier background would have taken away from the ongoing events. Animation was standard. The lack of detail in less important scenes versus the amazing detail in close up shots and important scenes was clearly evident, but this goes for most shows more or less. For a show as violent as Texholyze, a bigger budget for the actual action scenes would have definitely added more for the impact of the violence. I’m normally hugely affected by violence, but since these scenes of blood and gore weren’t exactly clear or not executed well, I could sit through watching the many, many body parts fly around in each episode and people getting stabbed and ripped apart constantly.

  Soundtrack

  Since there’s a pretty evident lack of dialogue during the first arc of the show, you are forced to listen to the soundtrack. Nothing about the soundtrack was really memorable. It’s not bad, but nothing made me want to listen to it outside from the anime. The OP is my favorite part about the soundtrack. It sets you up to get energized before watching each episode, which is much needed as each episode seems to drag on and on without end. If the ED was slower and quieter, it would’ve suited the tone of the show much better, but it’s not terribly out of place.

  Final Conclusion

  Would I recommend Texhnolyze to people? No.
  I couldn’t really patch together what Texhnolyze was even trying to accomplish by the end of it, but I do seriously applaud it for making me think about it and making me want to write this first “complete review” of mine right after finishing it. If the goal was some kind of character or setting focus, they could’ve done a better job, but ‘twas a good effort. If it was anything else, then either they completely failed to convey this, or I’m totally missing out on something. Unless the person was a veteran anime watcher that liked to deeply analyze anime objectively and would have no qualms whatsoever regarding the age and art of this anime, I would NOT recommend this series.

  

  ! The rest of this review contains my thoughts on certain aspects this anime did well on as well as did poorly on that require you to have watched the anime first so contains [SPOILERS]. Feel free to read at your own discretion to provide further thinking and discussion on Texhnolyze. !

  __

  • Other Shortcomings -
    Ichise’s sudden personality flip from the first arc to the second arc was extremely unnatural. From the more reserved and quiet Ichise we are introduced to, he starts talking very frequently, which removes the tone of the show they had from the first arc. The second arc’s protagonist’s goals aren’t really evident until his last screen time (of the very few he even got), and it kind of ended up being more reflective on Luxuss and a whole versus adding anything to his character. A weak character in the end, but a necessary one I suppose.

  • Other Highlights -
    The setting in itself is very, very interesting. In the first half of the series, I was left to ponder the hinted “above ground” setting, and was happily pleased with what they decided to make this setting. The stark contrasts between Luxuss and above ground are evident in the art - Luxuss is dark and menacing, while above ground is light and peaceful. There is setting irony though in the fact that while above ground is supposedly the “better” place, it is where people go to die. How it is portrayed is amazing. I could believe such an initially unbelievable setting because there were “people” there following routine until they died. The speakers that tell the thoughts of the lives of the people there as they finally die was an impressive touch.
    Ran’s character is very deep and introspective. We only receive bits and pieces of Ran in the first arc but we can tell that she is very important by the interactions of the first antagonist and her in that first arc. With her major involvements in the second arc, Ran becomes a vital character to the story. Think about the scenes in which Ran wears the mask and
    The ending is very reflective and thought provoking. Loved it. The lead in with the dramatic irony provided by Ran about Ichise’s fate of destroying the city and everyone came true, and we are left to wonder the cruelty of the world in the anime and if the struggles of the people in Luxuss were worth it in the end. No one wins, but what has Texhnolyze proven to us and shown about the evolution of the human psyche and what humans are truly possible of? Is there so much more potential to humans that the violence of war is required to achieve it? I’m sure I missed quite a number of other symbols, but the most evident one was the rose, at the end, when Ichise’s broken Texhnolyze projects the image of the rose that made some other cameos throughout the series.

  Completed Texhnolyze on 4/22/16 :3 !

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• 

  HeadlessHorseman

  100/100
  Whosoever has rejected their baptism into a world of everlasting comfort has embraced a love of their own fate.

  __THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS__

  Texhnolyze is a cyberpunk series that showcases humanity, both at its best, as well as at its worst, oftentimes seamlessly blending the two together in the same moment. Taking place in the dreary underground city of Lux, saturated with a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere, the viewer is soon introduced to several major characters. Among them are a stoic young man who survives as an entertainment fighter, the resolute leader of a mafia-like organization known as The Organo, a girl with increasingly accurate precognitive abilities that allow her to catch glimpses of the future, an iron-willed group that holds idealistic beliefs, a twisted doctor, a gang of rash hedonists, and, perhaps most importantly, a stranger not from the underground city but rather from the surface above who begins a slow descent into this dark, dystopian society soon igniting a series of events that will determine the course of the future of humanity forever.

  Among those who worked on Texhnolyze were Chiaki J. Konaka, Yoshitoshi ABe, and Yasuyuki Ueda who had previously collaborated on the strange and bizarre Serial Experiments Lain. Chiaki J. Konaka has, over the course of his career, acquired a reputation for writing some of the most peculiar works within the medium, with Texhnolyze being among the series that demonstrate his talents strikingly well. ABe's art tends to favor a more realistic design than what is found in most other series and frequently has a gloomy sense of melancholy to it.

  Within Texhnolyze the creators manage to work a lot into the twenty-two episode run. So, what is the point of this series? In essence what the creators want to express is something from within, something beautifully human. Texhnolyze is frequently treated as a series that is all about nihilism. This is not the case though, it is not about pure nihilism. Rather, to me, it seems to acknowledge and explore it, but ultimately it clearly and wholly rejects it. Texhnolyze is dark and remorseless in the pursuit of its message, but fundamentally inspiring and rife with an optimistic outlook.

  A series from Studio Madhouse made in the early 2000s, Texhnolyze begins with an episode that has (almost) no dialogue. Following after that are even more episodes that may, at least at times, feel very slow-paced, for this is a deliberate attempt to demonstrate the nature of the slowly crumbling, monotonous lives led by the people within this series. To have the viewer feel this, it is structured such that it will feel like a brutal and suffocating trek across a wasteland. Being slow does not mean it is bad by any means, as slow-pacing is not an inherently bad thing. As slow as Texhnolyze can be there is almost always something of import occurring during that time. Texhnolyze is a series that relishes in letting its audience draw conclusions for themselves, leaving open many avenues of interpretation, oftentimes focusing more on showing rather than telling as a result—and indeed it loves to show and will rarely if ever tell the viewer what it is actually saying. Moreover, the slow pacing early in the series is utilized to convey the pain the characters experience as clearly as possible—and so, when characters are injured or events transpire we are readily able to glimpse into their feelings via their facial expressions, their displayed behaviors, and the actions they take.

  I suppose it may be worth mentioning that this series lacks "likable" characters, which is probably bound to turn some away. The "main" character will also not be the primary focus of the story in its entirety. It is more like everyone in the story is equally important and feels more like an ensemble cast. "Likable" and/or "relatable" characters are not a necessity for a series to be "good" and so the value of the characters will not be evaluated upon such a belief in this review. What matters is whether or not the characters are handled well. This is the case as none of them are neglected and each one serves a purpose within the story. There are no "good guys" or "bad guys," which is quite gratifying. Instead, characters are treated as though they were an actual human and behave as one might in such a society as the one depicted.

  The characters in Texhnolyze seem almost like a symbolic representation for a characteristic of humanity (at times). Even so they will still maintain their own identity. From here, I will begin to discuss spoilers which will continue until the end of this review. Read at your own risk.

  __BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD__

  Ichise is an individual that I can see as being a representation of the human will to survive. This is demonstrated by the way he is seen crawling around and struggling, yet never giving up, as he tries desperately to cling to life. He loses an arm and a leg, yet continues to grapple and fight to survive. Once we consider him to be the human will to live, his days as an underground prize fighter take on a new meaning. He has always been placed in a situation where he must forcefully struggle just to scrape by in life. He is constantly wrestling with and making efforts to push onward, to the point that he seems like a wild animal—a stray dog as the series puts it—but at the same time much like a human. Ichise frequently makes grunting noises...a lot, but the grunting sounds he makes often do an impeccable job of separating him from other characters and demonstrating that he is an individual who wants to live and will fight to do so. He has "an obsession to live." He may have nothing in the world, but he still refuses to passively die, becoming a perfect representation of human perseverance.

  He is often shown being at the mercy of another, controlled by factors he cannot repel, whether as a prize fighter, as one of Doc's subjects, as a member of the Organo, as one who suffers his own fate; he seems to have very little control over his own life and seeks only his own survival. However, I would say that it is possible to consider that he does have control over his life and his fate. His desire to survive is his choice, thus it is by his own will that he survives. As the will to live should he not have had control over his survival he would not have allowed himself to be subjected to such control to begin with as it would not be in his nature to do so. It must be his choice and no one else's. I would not call him a tragic existence in a pessimistic sense since he has truly lived, and this is expressed most convincingly when he smiles and then subsequently dies at the end. Perhaps it is necessary to consider him as tragic in an optimistic sense—an individual who affirms his life, even the aspects that involve suffering and his death. But did Ichise truly possess a free will, was the genesis of his desire to survive founded by his own freedom, and was there even a choice involved? A question to possibly ponder as well, and moreover one that will receive no concrete answer. If Ran's precognitive abilities and the beliefs and ultimate fate of the citizens of Gabe are considered perhaps it is necessary to take an optimistically fatalistic outlook on Ichise. As Ran states, despite her attempts to interfere with destiny, "Nothing changes." But consider as well that the people of Gabe believed Ran's vistas of the future to be only one possibility, so is there really a choice after all? Their actions are at times in contrast to this as at the end they are resigned to Lux's doom. In any case, it need only be stated that Ichise "loved and hated the monster inside him more than anyone else," for he loved his fate.

  Ran can be seen as a prophet, a guide, an oracle; in a metaphorical manner, Ran is a character that I can see as representing the future of humanity itself, in a sense at least. She has the ability to see the future because she is the manifestation of humanity's future. She wants to protect the future of humanity and prevent its extinction, a future she has prophesied will occur. It is shown that her visions are not necessarily always going to be correct and they can be changed, something that can potentially have to do with fate—fate as written by the individual. Under such an interpretation fate can be loved, as fate is controlled by whomsoever it refers to, not the other way around. It is one's own life, and one's life, every aspect of it—the happiness, the pain and the suffering—all of it is their own, and it is by their own choices that their fate exists. "Fate" in Texhnolyze would then not be the result of something beyond one's control, but rather as something that is dictated by one's choices, and by extension one's choices cannot be dictated by fate. But is this actually the case? Even if it is fate as in one's destiny being beyond one's control it is still possible to love that fate and the happiness and suffering that comes with it. No definitive answer will be given by the series.

  Why does Ran's prophecy about the extinction of humanity come true, or, why is Ran even able to predict the future? It may be due to the concept of the eternal recurrence of the same (note that philosophical concepts are at times integrated into the series, but it is important to acknowledge that they do not define it) which is alluded to a few times in the series. Everything will play out the same way every time, no matter how times, and it cannot be fought. Ran may not be seeing the future, she may be seeing something that has already occurred many times before. When the future of humanity is effectively gone she asks Onishi to destroy her (she is The Voice of the City and during the course of the series Onishi can listen to her without losing his sanity) as she is the cause of the madness in Lux after having shown the residents her visions. The last remaining humans in the city have been consumed by insanity due to these visions.

  If she represents the future it would be a good reason as to why she wanted to protect and help Ichise who represents the will to survive. With no future (Ran) there can be no will to live (Ichise), and with no will to live there can be no future. The actions and lines spoken between these two throughout the series seemed to indicate such an idea to me at least. These two characters have a very sibling-like relationship within the series, and perhaps the best way to describe the relationship between "the human will to survive" and the "future of humanity" is sibling-like as well. In a way, they would both be like the "children of humanity." Within the series Ichise, or humanity's will to live, wants to know his future and the answer he ends up getting from Ran is one he rejects, saying he would not let it come to pass. (Perhaps you can look at this as a rejection of fate when it is not written by the individual on Ichise's part.) Once Ichise returns to Lux after seeing the surface world of the Theonormals he said something along the lines of "What choice have I got? I have to protect you," to a vision of Ran that he spoke to upon his arrival back in the city. This would also seem like a good indication to me that the "will to survive" and the "future" need to protect each other if humanity is to truly survive. Ichise has come to that realization that he must protect Ran, the same way she has been protecting him throughout the series.

  The flowers that Ran is frequently shown carrying, selling, and dropping at points in the series are in one matter of interpretation meant to represent the hope for the future—hope as in the affirmation of life. In episode five she drops them into the maze of a sewer that Ichise aimlessly wanders and uses them to guide him (the human will to survive) to her. After he manages to escape his unwilling predicament in this labyrinth he falls unconscious and she leaves a white flower by him. The idea of this flower becomes central to Ichise's character for the remainder of the series. Additionally, note the way this scene where Ichise wanders the sewers mirrors the final scenes of the series as well. As Ichise wanders the sewers his confusion and anger at his inability to find the exit is reflective of his internal state at the time. When Ichise returns to Lux at the end of the series whereupon he begins his trek to find Ran and confront Kano he is calm and understands who he is at this point. He understands that he was capable of change, though he also remained much the same person; for even if, and when, a person changes they are still the same person. Ran leads Ichise out of the sewer; Ichise talks with a vision of Ran as he goes to find her in the final scenes. After Ichise escapes the sewer it is Ran who strokes his head; in the end it is Ichise who carries Ran and returns her to the Raffia. Ran leaves the flower by Ichise's head; Ichise's texhnolyze arm projects a flower. Within the sewers Ichise lies against a wall seemingly resigning himself and giving up; at the end Ichise rests against a pillar and bleeds out as he accepts, with satisfaction this time, that he has lived and can die taking comfort in that fact. As the "will to live" it is significant that at the point in the sewers when he has resigned himself, it was almost immediately after that that Ran, "the future of humanity," reignited his desire to survive by dropping the flowers into the sewer to lead him out.

  >If you wish to compare.

  Additionally, Ichise lies against a wall/pillar many times (besides the two notable times I mentioned above) over the course of the series, and each time he does this something of importance about him is being conveyed in that instant. This recurrent visual cue is meant to stimulate within the viewer an association between Ichise and what he is going through at this point in time. When he lies near a wall, the series is asking the viewer to contemplate what is happening because it is often establishing something significant about him as a character.

  There was a time when I thought that the crude projection of the flower Ichise's texhnolyze arm shows in the last scene was something that the doctor, Eriko, was responsible for because one would assume she is the one who would be responsible for it due to her being the person who gave him the texhnolyze limbs in the first place and repairs them when they are damaged. She knew he liked the flowers. There is a scene where they were walking on the surface and she took notice of him looking at them. Also, of note about this scene is that when Ichise looks at the flower on the surface it immediately wilts and dies. He then looks back the way they came, towards Lux, and stares in that direction for a few seconds. The wilting flower is a sign that "hope" for the affirmation of life is dying in Lux, that the future of humanity is soon to be no more. It also doubles as a representation that it is not possible for life to be affirmed on the Surface World.

  >Skip to 1:36

  Eriko witnessed this and while she certainly had come to care about Ichise over the course of the series I have since wondered if Eriko being entirely responsible for the projection within his texhnolyze arm is not actually the case; actually, I think it is more of dual effort, at least in a way. Eriko put it there, but perhaps it is actually Ran who made the projection appear in the last scene (in this way the future and the will to live would die together then). She is the one who controls the texhnolyze limbs through the Obelisk and at this point she has been returned to the Raffia by Ichise—where all the citizens of Gabe go when they die—to be reincarnated in another form of life. This would also parallel the scene where Ichise wanders the sewers in episode five with the final scenes of the last episode rather well, too. Ichise does end up fulfilling the prophecy of Ran and dying "alone," but at the same time he wasn't truly alone because in a way Ran and the others who he met in his life are there with him, and they also die with him. The thoughts that he truly lived his life and is grateful for this and for those he met along the way lets him die satisfied. The flower projection is a reminder of what he found in living. He smiles, one of the only times he does so in the entire series, and slowly fades away.

  Keigo Onishi represents the order of humanity. He works to ensure that the order in the society of the city will be upheld since he believes that is to the benefit of Lux. So, when the order dies—as the people of Lux have gone mad—Onishi being the incarnation of that order soon dies as well by the very people he strove to help. In the series Onishi serves as a mentor to Ichise and is almost like a father for him. He can be considered the Apollinian juxtaposed with Yoshii's Dionysian.

  Kazuho Yoshii exists at the intersection and overlap of the irrationality and rationality of humanity. The actions he takes seem extremely irrational to the other characters, but he also believes he is helping to prevent Lux from becoming like the terrifyingly bleak surface world. He believes Lux is a "living" world unlike the dead one on the surface and does what he deems necessary to prevent it from reaching a similar outcome as that one has. He believes in the "living" human and he believes in the power of humanity. He denies wanting to know his future when Ran asks him if he would like to know it. For him, he doesn't need to know his future because he already knows his life and its meaning. More clearly though, he is widely acknowledged to represent the Übermensch. He is Dionysian, especially in the sense of the concept as it was developed by Nietzsche after The Birth of Tragedy, rather than fitting the term as described within that work. So being the irrationality and rationality representation is somewhat related. Yoshii is the antithesis of the decadence of the surface world. Yoshii embraces his "fate" and loves his life, and when he dies, he does so with a smile. He comes from clear skies and has known solitude like no other. He does not preach. He is no prophet. He comes to Lux to awaken people to themselves—for themselves.

  The doctor, Eriko can represent the advancement of the human species or the desire for more knowledge. She believes the texhnolyze limbs are what can help to achieve this. When she returns to the surface she discovers that they have given up on the texhnolyze limbs, she sees they are now "ghosts," apparently the perfection of the human species. She has lost her purpose, and without that purpose she cannot live, soon dying thereafter. Within the series Eriko is like a second mother to Ichise as well. And this leads to further clarification of her character—is she really pursuing knowledge because she wants to advance the human species? She seems more interested in using it as means of allowing herself to have children. Texhnolyzation is for her the only way she can pass on her genes. To hammer in the fact that the surface world denizens are like ghosts the series goes out of its way to literally have some of them possess the translucent appearance commonly thought to be characteristic of a ghost. Doc deems her entire purpose and everything she has been working for meaningless upon witnessing the state of the Surface.

  Shinji, leader of the Racan, is the naïvety of humanity. He dreams of being one of The Class. When he eventually discovers their true form he proceeds to kill them. He is killing his dream in a literal sense, and seeing as he is no longer that naïve and trusting individual he is meant to represent, he can no longer exist, and is literally killed by his dreams blasting a whole through his chest. He is empty inside, both literally and metaphorically.

  Kano is a representation of solipsism, believing that he is the only thing that he is certain exists. Perhaps he can also even be insanity itself. Though his goals seem to be sane—he wants to improve mankind, or so he claims—his methods to do so are, what many would agree, insane. He "improves" humanity by destroying the very things that make them human. Humans are human because they can die and because they maintain their spirit for the affirmation of their life. By disregarding this and turning them into the immortal Shapes he has failed to help mankind, ironically damning them instead. Eventually it is learned that he doesn't care about humanity or helping them at all, they are just "homunculus in his brain".

  Tatsuya Sakimura is a fantasist. Although I prefer to think of him more as the passive "Conductor". He is "dead" and resigned to his own end like the surface dwellers, but he is captivated by Yoshii; Yoshii's desires are enthralling to him. He dreams of the world Yoshii envisions. He too, much like Shinji, also kills his dreams (Yoshii) when he sees he has been mortally wounded (episode 10) and with it he returns to the already "dead" and seemingly nihilistic surface dweller.

  Motoharu Kimata is the contradiction and hypocrisy of humanity. He is a leader of a group known as the Salvation Union that rejects the texhnolyze despite being a texhnolyze himself. He embodies the contradictory, and in a way the natural contradictions found in humanity.

  Haruhiko Toyama is the oversight of humanity. He will do anything to survive and serves to provide a contrast with Ichise. When he becomes one of the Shapes he ends up thanking Ichise when he kills him having come to realize that he has made a mistake. Being one of the Shapes isn't surviving. By becoming one of them he has forsaken his humanity. At the point when Ichise kills Toyama Ichise has decided to return to Lux in order to protect Ran. Ichise's oversight in this case was that he did not realize that he must protect Ran (the future) before and it has now been "killed" by his decision to return. Ichise's other oversight was wrongfully blaming his father for the death of his mother and that is "killed" as well when he meets the ghost of his father and apologizes to him. Toyama had earlier said "They say acts of self-injury or getting tattoos are ways to deny one's blood relations." and it is no accident that soon after Ichise kills Toyama he meets the ghost of his father.

  Kohakura is a representation of the treachery of humanity. He does betray the leader of the Organo, Onishi, but this is not his biggest act of treachery. His greatest act of disloyalty is to himself. He betrays his own humanity when he becomes one of the Shapes. He is permanently rooted to the ground facing downwards for an eternity with the rest of the Shapes who betrayed their humanity. Lux is meant to represent the Ninth Circle of Hell at this point. These Shapes, who have altered themselves to an unrecognizable existence, "shaped" humanity's end. They have inherited the Earth, though it is ultimately meaningless now.

  The different factions within the series can also be seen as representative of certain things.

  The Organo (means "organs of the body") and perhaps the best term for them is a meritocracy or to a lesser extent an aristocracy. (Or maybe feudalistic is more appropriate.) Their leader is chosen by the group on the basis of ability, there are opportunistic individuals within the organization, the citizens accept them as their form of rule, etc. It is stated at one point that the residents of Lux pay a fee for protection, which can be likened to a tax in a twisted sense. The Salvation Union is fanaticism/idealism and they are Social Revolutionaries. Notice the clenched fist, raised to the sky, that they often show. Some members are quite fanatical. The Racan are Anarchism. They are a group of hedonists who gather around a "leader" but are still free to do as they please and leave if they so choose. The Class are a Caste System. To reflect how such a system can decline with time it has the members inbreed and gives rise to an egoist like Kano. Kano's beliefs are, again, solipsism with maybe some Social Darwinism in there as well. Those of Gabe are deterministic Religion. The Theonormals (surface world citizens) are nihilism (They are meant to represent the "Last Man").

  The name of the city, Lux, appears to be a rather deceitful title for the underground society—initially, at least. This name which means light is seemingly ironic. You may think it sounds strange calling the dark, dismal city of Lux the city of light and hope, however by the end of the series it is realized that it was. We are left with the understanding that the denizens of Lux were indeed the lucky ones when compared to the lives led by those on the surface. Having noticeably been able to maintain their human nature unlike those upon the surface, they never sank into an outright nihilistic or fruitless existence. They had their humanity, though life was tough, brutal, and cruel, they remained alive although appearing lifeless. They never devolved into the lifestyle of those on the surface who merely live as ghosts awaiting their inevitable end, unable to reproduce, too tired to even do anything, let alone die willingly, which the series seems imply they would do if it was not for the effort involved. The Theonormals are the apparent perfection of humans; they do not suffer from disease, there is no war, there is no struggle, everything they could ever want has been obtained, but they are not "alive." They live a decadent life where their only desires are comfort and security, until death finally arrives.

  The art/artstyle of Texhnolyze is bleak, dull, somber, and gloomy. It is coupled with an emotionally evocative soundtrack that does an exceptional job of setting an appropriate tone for the series. Some of the tracks convey a deep sense of desolation, others a great degree of urgency, at other times a track produces a poignant melancholy, and still at other times it provides a gentle tune exuding an air of fragile grace.

  Oftentimes, rather than a soundtrack there are some ambient noises that are occurring instead—an effect that is often very prominent in the series directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki. There is a meticulous attention to detail in the series: from the outfits the characters wear saying something specific about them, to the backgrounds which are often hidden with a subtle meaning themselves—it effectively manages to capture the tone the series is aiming for. Characters' designs had little room for symbolic elements to be implemented due to a desire to make the characters look as realistic as possible, however, there are certain little things there. For example, Ichise's eyes are bright blue, brimming with life; Ran wears a kitsune mask. There is an interaction between light and dark all throughout the course of the series—another trait shared in Hamasaki's works. There is recurrent usage of a train and train tracks meant to symbolize the progression of humanity (within Lux specifically) and, indeed, when we reach the end of those tracks we have also soon reached the end of the series and the end of Lux. They can also be seen as representative of determinism and of fate. Also, recurring in the series are spinning fans which, too, served a purpose. Often simultaneously setting a tone or being used for atmospheric purposes (also common in other Hamasaki series), I believe they also served another purpose. There is an idea of cycles in the series. Humanity has run its course from beginning to end, the characters have completed the cycle from life to death—everything eventually completes its cycle (and the cycle will repeat eternally, if you wanted to apply a literal interpretation of the eternal recurrence which is occasionally referenced).

  Another thing I would like to note is the titles of each episode. From Episode 1's title Stranger where Yoshii, the stranger to the city of Lux in this case, descends into that underground setting, to the tragic irony of Episode 19's Heavenward, to the realization of Episode 20's title Hades referring to the surface once considered by the characters within the series to be a utopian paradise, to the fact that humanity has indeed become a Myth by the end of Episode 22, each title was chosen with calculated contemplation. The next section is entirely dedicated to discussing Texhnolyze's episode titles, their meanings, and other significant elements of the episode. It is written in a more note-like manner for the sake of brevity.

  Rogue 01: Stranger

  • Yoshii; the stranger to Lux, and, like Ichise, a stranger to the world he had lived in on the surface. "Is your arrival good for the city and good for yourself? Or is it bad for the city and bad for yourself?"
  • Ichise; a stranger to the city he lives in. A stranger to his fellow citizens. Struggles to live; "like a dog". You could say he starts as an absurd hero.

  Ichise's situation in the world is irrational. There is a big emphasis on sensory experiences, accentuating that one exists within it. The episode title is potentially a reference to Albert Camus's absurdist novel, The Stranger. I will note when some philosophical concepts appear, but I want to reiterate that they are merely integrated into the series and do not define it as a whole—they are parts. They are merely interesting to note when they appear. I will try to identify where some absurdist/existential elements exist when they are overt. I've already attempted to examine the series without a big emphasis on these things above, so now I may end up mentioning them more frequently.

  Rogue 02: Forfeiture

  • The forfeiture of Ichise's limbs, but also foreshadowing his forfeiture of a part of what makes him "human" (in his eyes) when he is to gain the artificial Texhnolyze limbs to replace those he has lost. These Texhnolyze limbs are separate from him, and are considered to be "living entities of their own". Ichise carried his severed limbs through the streets, even though it meaningless.

  Note that Ichise lies on the ground and looks at the vial containing his mother in this episode, paralleling the final scene of the series. He struggles to climb stairs (forfeiture of the ability to complete simple human tasks).

  Rogue 03: Texhnophile/Rogue 04: Synapse

  • The Texhnophile is Doc, obsessed with the technological advancement of the human species. Ichise essentially rejects her entire being when he thrashes his newly acquired limb against her equipment in a rage.
  • Synapse emphasizes the connection of a foreign limb to Ichise's body. Title Synapse is also hinting at the "spectacle" to come in Lux.

  The first word Ichise says in the series is, "Water."; one of the essential things humans need to survive, once again emphasizing his desire to live.

  Rogue 05: Loiter

  • Ichise (seemingly) loiters about throughout the episode, struggling with his new texhnolyze limbs and being dropped in a labyrinthine sewer. This maze that he wanders is reflective of what he is going through internally and the realizations he has begun to draw. Earlier in the episode he broke into a house and stole food; when found and thrown out he lies by trash and begins to laugh. This is where he begins to attain an awareness of how unreasonable his situation in the world really is. First he struggled with limbs he detests, then he struggles to get food to survive, and then he struggles just to find a way out of the hopeless wasteland he is stuck in. Within the sewers he is lost and angry, at one point he begins to give up, potentially just waiting for death (essentially committing suicide), however within the barren sewers he sees a flower dropped, and therefore two things are derived from his consciousness of the absurd: his revolt against it and his freedom within it. Because the episode ends right after he escapes the third consequence is not fully realized yet (from the viewer's perspective), but will be in the next episode. Above I claim the flower to be representative of hope for the affirmation of life, but with this interpretation here, I would rather just call it "beauty in the indifferent world." (This idea will be the only time I apply a philosophical concept when it is not as explicit with its association within the series. Following the line of thought introduced here, I will continue to add to this idea later though. This scene can be taken in a variety of ways, this is merely one of them.)

  This episode is the first one to actually discuss an individual's freedom instead of just showing us what the characters value via their actions. We witness a discussion between Yoshii and Shinji on the topic. Yoshii says, "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, and arduous. You can't hope for security or reward beyond it." Shinji claimed he does not belong to anything and is thus free, but because Shinji sees the lights of the City and dreams of reaching that place Yoshii contends that he actually does belong to something—the City itself, and "without a doubt so does his freedom." This is the episode where Ichise finds his freedom.

  This is a pretty important episode in my opinion.

  Rogue 06: Repetition

  • This episode repeats certain things that have already occurred under a new light, hence repetition. It also seems to imply the eternal recurrence of Nietzsche (more of an abstract mental exercise rather than something literal) with the opening and ending narrations. Ichise once more encounters those who severed his limbs and dropped him into the sewer and brutally attacks them.

  "There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn." —Albert Camus

  Continuing the line of thought from the last episode in the sewer, Ichise scorns the indifferent world and the absurd, revolting against it and finding freedom within it.

  In this episode, from the absurd Ichise derives the third result: his passion. Camus claimed that revolt, freedom, and passion are the three consequences of the absurd. Ichise begins to work towards getting used to his new limbs, managing to climb the stairs once more as he did with his original organic limbs.

  Rogue 07: Plot

  • Yoshi's plot and the overall plot of the series is finally starting to become clear.

  Onishi begins to gain an admiration of Ichise's will to live. Shinji also recognizes Ichise's desire to live upon seeing his eyes. Ran follows Ichise.

  "I wonder by whose will he is being kept alive. Yours? Mine? Or the City of Lux?" —Doc Eriko

  Rogue 08: Crucible

  • Lux itself is the crucible where the different elements within the city (Organo, Racan, Salvation Union, Yoshii, Ichise, Ran) have begun to interact, the implication being that something new will result from it.
  • Indicative of the severe trials the characters face.

  For more on what the different factions represent see earlier in this review. Note that when the conflict finally erupts between the three big factions of Lux Ichise falls right into the middle of the chaos.

  Ichise's newfound values are tested when he meets Yoshii (Ichise immediately attacks him). Yoshii sees promise in Ichise (probably sees part of himself in Ichise).

  Rogue 09: Wiggle

  • The City of Lux and the factions within "wiggle" in the crucible of Lux with the war now ignited. Onishi feels his values "wiggling" as Yoshii makes the conflict personal for him (having destroyed the order Onishi values and targeted his wife). Yoshii is the Übermensch and he desires that others believe more in their own power.

  "I want to enlighten them. So they can believe more in their own power. Now I'm beginning to see, that is my mission." —Yoshii

  Rogue 10: Conclusion

  • The Übermensch dies. A conclusion is reached.

  Yoshii sees promise in Shinji, but Shinji cannot reject his dream of the Class.

  "This is absurd. I'm your friend, you know." —Yoshii

  Yoshii is killed by Ichise, he dies satisfied, and with a smile. Yoshii lived what he believed to be his purpose.

  "After all, nothing changes." —Ran

  Rogue 11: Vagrant

  • Ichise; no longer a "stranger", now a "vagrant". Ichise has recognized the absurdity of life and is now a wanderer. This episode lays the foundation and begins to set up his discovery of what he wants from life, and what (personal) meaning he can potentially find in it. For all characters in the series any meaning found will be personal and created by them.

  Texhnolyze is not a nihilistic series. It possesses both existential and absurdist elements to it. Whether or not you want to call Ichise's journey on the most basic level an existential or absurd one will depend on whether or not he sees any hope, which he currently is not aware of, as right now he is living the three consequences of the recognition of the absurdity of life (to continue the line of thought introduced in Episode 5).

  Ichise is able to empathize with Toyama's hatred of his father and their shared upbringing in the same part of Lux. Ichise learns Toyama became a texhnolyze as a way to deny his blood relations to with his father.

  "But sometimes, I can't help wondering if the decisions I made were right. I feel that way, especially watching you." —Toyama

  Later in the episode Ichise goes to visit Onishi in the hospital (Eriko is already there) where he informs him that Kohakura has given him to Onishi as a "gift". Onishi asks, "And that's fine with you?" to which Ichise replies, "I wouldn't have come here if I didn't want to. To tell the truth, I really don't know. What I want to do, or what I should do. But I'm not going back to where I was before and I have no place to go now. I know that much." This demonstrates that he has begun to attempt to find a meaning to his life. He later runs to locate Ran when he notices one of her flowers floating along the waterway.

  Ichise will eventually find the meaning in his life through his relationship with others, specifically, Onishi, Ran, Eriko, and Toyama.

  Rogue 12: Precognition

  • Ichise once more sees Ran walking through the streets, and wonders why she is ignoring him. Ran sees Ichise's future at this point and begins screaming before losing consciousness (These visions that she sees drive the residents of Lux mad when they see them towards the end of the series. She is subjected to them regularly and maintains her sanity.) Ichise will later learn that it is his destiny to "destroy everything", "hurt a lot of people", and "be all alone in the end," according to Ran's precognitive ability.

  Ichise once more looks at flowers in this episode. These represent his continued awareness of the beauty in the world and allow him to recall those who have helped him along the way. The world may be indifferent to him but at least four of the people around him are not.

  Ichise learns the truth of his father's death when the "Voice of the City" (Ran) shares it with him.

  Rogue 13: Vista

  • "You enjoy the beauty of the flowers, do you?" Ichise looks at a view of flowers in this episode. Ran also sees vistas of the future and tells Onishi about what she sees. This is also the episode where Ichise learns his future from Ran.

  Onishi and Ichise's relationship grows closer as the two have a conversation. Onishi shares how he lost his legs with Ichise.

  Rogue 14: Rejection

  • Ichise has rejected the future Ran has seen—he scorns it.
  • Doc Eriko's texhnloyzation is rejected by the Class (essentially her reason for being is rejected as well).
  • This foreshadows those who reject their human soul and become the Shapes.

  Rogue 15: Shapes

  • The introduction of the Shapes and the one who shapes the end of humanity, the egoist, Kano. Numerous members of the different factions begin to desert and become the Shapes, meant to emulate the "hungry ghosts," the Preta.

  Rogue 16: Strain

  • A strained situation is faced by everyone with the Shapes now running rampant. These Shapes are meant to be seen as a different "strain" of humans, those who have forsaken what makes them human in the first place. They have been changed to such a degree that it is damaging and they cannot be considered to be the same "human" anymore. Transhumanism to such a degree is rejected by the series. Defeating the Shapes demands significant effort. Even the weapons the Shapes use are different from those used by humans.

  Rogue 17: Dependence

  • Members of the Salvation Union's dependence on their ideals leads them to rush headlong to their doom.
  • The citizens of Gabe are dependent on the Seer, Ran, and can do little without her guidance.
  • Doc Eriko is dependent on her reason for existing, the technological advancement of the human species, without which she struggles for meaning.
  • The Shapes are dependent on Kano's ideals.
  • Onishi and Ichise are dependent on themselves and the belief systems they have made for themselves.

  "As it is, you will also cease to be, sooner or later. But I want you to stay alive." and "To me, the Organo was nothing more than a means to keep surviving", are lines spoken by Toyama. Ichise says, "I would've been dead now if it weren't for the Organo." This shows his gratitude towards the organization. "You want to live so badly that you'll pay any price?" Ichise asks of Toyama, to which he replies, "You can't live at all unless you pay the full price." Ichise has been doing this the whole time; Toyama has an oversight in judgment and ends up eventually becoming one of the Shapes.

  Ichise learns that Doc lied about his mother, and that she actually dumped the contents of the vial. When Ichise attacks her, she asks for his forgiveness, and he actually gives it. He soon accepts his limbs once more, without a dependence on them containing his mother this time.

  Rogue 18: Throne

  • Kano sits upon his worthless throne. Humanity's reign has ended.

  Sakimura, who idolized Yoshii, sees a hallucination of him in one of the Shapes, eagerly running up to it and asking, "Yoshii. Is this what you wanted to do?" in an attempt to determine if there was meaning in Yoshii's actions and his death. Recall, Yoshii's claim, "True freedom can't lean on anything." Sakimura is still leaning on Yoshii rather than his own power. The Shapes were not what Yoshii wanted to do and are in opposition to it.

  Doc Eriko asks Ichise to hold her as she's "feeling afraid." Ichise does so and she says, "This is how my texhnolyzation should be used." This also emphasizes the divide between her views on transhumanism and that of the Shapes.

  Rogue 19: Heavenward

  • Ichise heads to the surface world with Doc and Sakimura, hence Heavenward. It's tragic irony though, as the surface is actually likened to Hades once they arrive—it is no utopia.

  We learn that Doc's cells are in the bio-circuit of Ichise's texhnolyzed arm. The reason she lied about it containing his mother was to make sure he didn't treat the arm carelessly. "I just had to make sure you would take good care of it. If not anything else, then at least this arm." In the last episode it becomes clear why the arm is so important as it projects an image of one of Ran's flowers as Ichise dies.

  Throughout Lux there was recurrent usage of trains and train tracks; once they reach the surface world the train tracks end, immediately showing the viewer that it is a dead end. A statue of an Angel without a head and arms is shown.

  Ichise notices a flower once again and once he touches it it wilts and dies. He then looks back towards Lux.

  The surface world citizens are likened to ghosts.

  "Where are the people?" asks Doc to which Sakimura replies, "I don't know where they are. Maybe there aren't any human beings left in this place anymore."

  The people of the surface world represent Nietzsche's "Last Man."

  Rogue 20: Hades

  • The surface world is Hades, a hell—Lux is where people were truly "alive."

  Doc's entire purpose has been destroyed upon seeing the surface world, she claims that she has become one of the "ghosts," and cannot leave, soon committing suicide. She views herself as an anachronism.

  "This is a place for dead people. No one is alive here." —Ichise

  Ichise encounters several of the "theonormals" on the surface, one of whom says it would have been nice if he stayed there forever (because Ichise is actually living).

  Toyama assaults the surface with other Shapes, Ichise kills him, at which point Toyama says, "Thank you, brother." While this is able to interpreted as him merely giving thanks to Ichise as a "brother" from the Organo, it is clear that Toyama's relationship with Ichise has often been akin to that of an actual brother as well.

  Ichise apologizes to the ghost of his father—a very important moment for him.

  Rogue 21: Encephalopathy

  • Ran shows the citizens of Lux her visions and they go mad.

  Kano (an egoist) refers to Ran as Theoria. One of the residents of Gabe delivers a monologue about returning to the Raffia. Shinji goes to kill the Class (see earlier in the review for more on him). Ichise returns to Lux and sees a vision of Ran. He wishes to take Ran to the surface world because no one kills one another there.

  "Why did you look after me? Whenever I was in trouble I found flowers that I'd never been able to have before. So what choice have I got? I have to protect you." —Ichise

  Onishi "kills" Ran, the Voice of the City, by stabbing the Obelisk. Ichise watches as the citizens, driven mad, kill Onishi.

  "If the only way to be granted life in this world is to surrender my body and soul to insanity then I shall choose to meet my doom!" —Onishi

  Rogue 22: Myth

  • Humanity goes extinct, becoming myth.
  • The title may also double as another reference to one of Camus's works, his philosophical text, The Myth of Sisyphus, wherein he describes his absurdist philosophy and later relates it to Sisyphus, who was condemned to forever roll a boulder to the top of a mountain only to see it roll back down, at which point he would have to begin anew. Camus claims that Sisyphus recognizes how futile it is but continues anyway, thereby conquering it and being content with it. He imagines Sisyphus is happy.

  Ichise, upon witnessing the death of Onishi, flies into rage and kills the last humans in Lux after being shot multiple times. Ichise's texhnolyze limbs begin to fail to function, but Doc had adapted them prior, and are thus able to work once more. In other words, she helps him to get back on his feet, again.

  Ichise sees the Shapes rooted to the ground. He encounters Kohakura who says, "Someone told me long ago what this place is. He said this is the Ninth Annex of the Reviving Hell."

  Ichise asks a vision of Ran if he's changed. He realizes he has remained the same person in some ways and relates that what he's been doing has been the same thing—just trying to survive.

  "Does that mean that whatever I do doesn't change no matter what? That isn't so, is it?" —Ichise

  Ichise punches the solipsist Kano, killing him. He returns Ran to the Raffia. He then lies against a pillar and slumps over, where Ran's prophecy finally comes true in its entirety. A projection of a flower appears from his texhnolyze arm. Realizing it was Doc who placed it there and likely Ran who has returned to the Raffia projecting it, he feels satisfied with his life and the meaning he found through his relationships with others. He smiles, and dies a happy death.

  With a discussion of each of the episodes complete here are some other ideas and topics that are worth considering and thinking about.

  Section I: Is Yoshii a villain?

  No, I don't think he can be considered a flat-out villain. Some actually consider him to be the protagonist of the series (or at the very least the protagonist of the first part) since Episode 10 ends with his death and is titled Conclusion. In this case I might call him an antihero. The series lacks anything that could be called a hero in the modern conception of the word though, and I think labelling the characters with any of these terms is something of a futile endeavor (see below), although I do believe that Ichise has the most heroic qualities.

  I don't think we are meant to apply morals as we understand them to Yoshii, since Yoshii himself has revaluated the values of his society to reach his views. He was "active" in a "passive" nihilistic society. He wants to force the people of Lux wake up, thereby allowing for the affirmation of their lives. As he sees it the people of Lux aren't nihilistic like those on the surface, but merely afflicted by a "plague," of which they are aware, but which they have not yet found a way to accept. This can lead to nihilism unless they are active against it. Yoshii believes that in inciting them to become active and affirm life he can prevent them from eventually becoming "passive," resigned, and nihilistic like those on the surface are. Whether his intentions are noble enough to justify the means is left ambiguous; they are neither framed as right nor wrong but left up to interpretation, as is nearly everything in the series. What the series does frame as important though is what the views of the characters led to and what it means for them. The series does seem to frame the idea that beliefs of theirs or their created meanings for life can lead to a life where one truly "lived" and a happy death, and this is therefore more of a "good" ending for them. On the other hand, nihilism and the choices of the Shapes are condemned. For the most part, it seems to bounce back and forth between absurdist and existentialist ways of living life for the characters as ways to find satisfaction with it.

  From Yoshii's point of view nihilism is the ultimate "evil," worse than even death. The surface world is a society where morality does not exist and death is meaningless. Up there killing is viewed as neither right nor wrong, good nor evil. He gave up on this society because in the absence of morality there is no chance of anything he does changing the people—when there is nothing to judge him upon, nothing can be condemned. (In his society, that is. As comparison, consider when you go to another country you are subject to the laws of that country. On the Surface world no such laws exist and he therefore cannot be subject to these nonexistent decrees. An interpretation with regards to perspectivism might be considered.) Lux is a dying world to him, slipping towards a similar end as the surface. Yoshii created his own new values on the surface, a place devoid of any such values. His acts are in his view creative, where nothing is unjustified since they are undertaken in his pursuit of the prevention of the complete degradation of humanity. Even deplorable and inhuman means are not, in his outlook, evil. This interpretation tries to probe more into the nature of "good and evil" as it exists (or does not exist) within the world of Texhnolyze and the views of the characters within the series and without regards to our own views on the topic. In calling Yoshii "evil" this applies a personal or more modern view to the interpretation of his character, which I think is fine, but I also think it is worth considering him in his own society with how things are there. His desire to "see humanity beautiful once more" is not detached from his "moral" values since the desire directly stems from the principles. For him, whether or not to choose violent means is irrelevant since he views nothing as unjustified to achieve his objectives. He is more ambiguous and difficult to understand for these reasons.

  Yoshii has moments to demonstrate that his values are the driving force behind his actions and that they are not undertaken merely because he wants to engage in violence: "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, and arduous. You can't hope for security or reward beyond it."; "I want to enlighten them. So they can believe more in their own power. Now I'm beginning to see, that is my mission."; "This is absurd. I'm your friend, you know."; When Ichise meets him for the first time Yoshii sees Ichise as someone similar to himself. To say he prefers to engage in violence merely out of preference would require ignoring much that he said or did that defines him as a character. The violence is a result of it. Nothing he says or does implies that he is using his words or other actions simply in an attempt to justify the use of violence, because he would not see this as necessary to do so in the first place. He comes from a place (the Surface) that lacks morality; what need would he have to create a value system merely to justify violence when there is no need to justify anything in the society he was from? It's the values that he has created for himself that truly matter to him.

  Section II: Morality in Texhnolyze

  The Surface World condemned all of its undesired (violent and/or criminal) elements to Lux 100 years prior. On the Surface morality stagnated. Good and Evil lost meaning because there was only "good" from a moral point of view. With the moral good being all that existed morality lost meaning altogether. Where there was no moral evil there was only moral good, and the knowledge of the moral evil was lost. Only the ideals associated with moral good were existent and deemed relevant. The Surface drove Yoshii to despair because natural elements belonging to humanity were lacking. The Surface world denied impulses natural to humanity. Yoshii was an immoralist, but he embraced life, including the good and the evil (as morality describes it) sides of it. He revaluated what good and evil meant. He had a passion for this life—a Dionysian passion(^). In embracing his Dionysian side he embraced humanity as a whole. It raises the question: Did anyone love humanity more?

  Lux lacked the moral good and developed by means of its own chaotic interactions. In Lux power ultimately prevailed above all else. Much of humanity appears to be in decline. Yoshii wants them to believe more in their own power and less in an ideal. Ideals can lead to stagnation in his view. He wants to have the people of Lux acknowledge the suffering of existence and embrace it.

  ^Note that I use Dionysian here more in the way the term was developed after The Birth of Tragedy rather than the way it was described there.

  Section III: Philosophy in Texhnolyze

  Seeing as Nietzsche has just been brought up: all philosophy is a mere part of the whole in Texhnolyze. Anyone who tells you that Texhnolyze is all about Nietzsche or anyone else is being dishonest.

  Section IV: Free Will and Destiny

  Fate plays a role in Texhnolyze, but how is this fate really depicted? It appears rather ambiguously portrayed and resolved by the series itself. Is free will existent in the series or is it fatalistic? Does it even really matter whether it is fatalistic or not?

  Section V: Truth

  There is no truth.

  Texhnolyze managed to capitalize on all the potential it had in the greatest way possible making it a work that I can wholeheartedly describe as a glorious triumph within the animated medium. Riveting and thematically rich, psychologically intriguing, and dramatic in remarkable ways, Texhnolyze was a very rewarding experience. Yes, Texhnolyze may seem like an absurdist series in ways, but I also believe that it can be seen as a series about seeking meaning in that meaningless world, with hope—it can be viewed as an existential series. While the series may integrate the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche or Albert Camus or whoever else at times, it never frames any of what they believe as the "truth"; it's just using some ideas, not being defined by them. And it isn't even necessary to know what Nietzsche (or Camus, etc.) is all about to enjoy the series anyway. It's merely interesting to note when some of their ideas come up. Texhnolyze ends with the extinction of humanity—an empty age. The final scene is the slow fading away of the city, and finally the slow fading away of Ichise, the endling of the human species—the last living human. Perhaps this ending seems like a completely depressing, soul-crushing conclusion to some—but I disagree. When the ending is examined a little closer one will find perhaps the most inspiring and optimistic message within it in all of anime. An ending that is nothing short of perfection. An ending that exemplifies what the series wants to express flawlessly. A necessary end. Despite the fact that all who live will inevitably someday meet their end there are still those who can find meaning in their lives—as humans.

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• 

  Wynautt

  99/100
  fate, values and evolution: a story about what makes us human

  (future Wynautt edit: in many instances, this review doesn't showcase what I believe anymore, from my overall values all the way to how I speak of media and structure my reviews. I will leave it up regardless because it's still a valuable reminder of what was my first review, both for me and whoever wants to check it out with that context in mind)

  This is my first full length review.
  Constructive feedback is welcome.
  This review will be mostly a thematic analysis since I love pretty much every aspect of the series.

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  WARNING: heavy spoilers ahead

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  This series is about a lot of things, but if I had to say what its overarching theme is, it would be the evolution of mankind. What does it take to be the perfect human being? The series doesn't reply to this directly, but if we analyze its fascinating world, we might be able to come to certain conclusions on the matter.
  The city of Lux was originated through mankind's will to separate the violent, "inferior" people from what they thought to be the superior race. Lux is the underground home to those who couldn't hide their instincts, while the people of the Surface were to live a life isolated from dangerous factors. The Surface represents complete order, routine, piece at last, while Lux was to be home to the chaotic nature, raw human instinct. This duality can be observed not only in their inhabitants' behavior but also in how the architecture differs drastically between these two locations: Lux's buildings are practical and unadorned, contrasting with the Surface's landscape, which is inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings, known for their portrayal of desolation in late 19th century American cities and rural landscapes.

  

  With this duality in mind, we should now tackle this question: what would happen to these two opposite realities in the long run? Regarding the Surface, the answer seems to be spiritual stagnation. Because just like an individual needs both discipline and raw spirit to be complete, a population can't evolve without both chaos and order. Order without raw spirit becomes weak. If there is no competitive, there is no challenge to one's existence, and that can only lead to the metaphysical collapse of the population.
  I believe this spiritual stagnation of the Surface to be a warning of how our society may move in the direction of Nietzsche's "Last man", an apathetic population that loses the ability to dream, to strive, and becomes unwilling to take risks, instead seeking comfort.

  

  Then what about Lux? When Yoshii arrives at the city, it seems to be more alive than the Surface, but in a closer analysis, we are able to see that this population is also moving towards passive nihilism. The chaotic nature of the original inhabitants was being lost over the generations. Yoshii sees potential in Lux and takes drastic measures in order to "wake up" the city and prevent it from dying like his hometown.

  Now that I've analyzed the duality between the Surface and Lux, I'd like to take a closer look at this underground city, where most of the series takes place.
  The city is divided into factions, and each of them represents a different way of living.
  The Class is a closed group of individuals that resorts to inbreeding in order to reproduce and controls the city - it represents absolute power and the people have no word on who should represent them.
  The people of Gabe worship the seer, a girl that has the power to see one of many possible futures. They live relying on the outcome rather than living by their values.
  The Organo is a very influential group, and those who join it are submitted to rules and hierarchy, while the Rakan seems to represent the opposite: you are free to do as you want.
  Lastly, the Salvation Union's existence is based on a collective of individuals that seem to blindly believe in a shared ideal. They are against texhnolyzation (I'll delve into that topic later on the review).
  The interactions and clashing between these factions are what brings Lux to life (lux meaning "light", humanity's last hope) and Yoshii is well aware of that.

  

  Another fundamental theme the series portrays is that of fate and the different ways to deal with it. This topic can only be discussed because of the existence of Ran, the girl that can see one of many possible futures. I'll now proceed to delve into two of my favorite characters and how they deal with "amor fati" (love for one's life/fate).
  I love Yoshii because he doesn't belong to any group, he is sure of his own values and lives by them, without letting fate interfere with his decisions.
  He rejects the Surface's passive nihilism and comes to Lux in order to change its structure, and by the end, he dies with a smile on his face, showing just how satisfied he was with his life.
  He is truly a übermensch, Nietzsche would be proud.

  

  My favorite character, however, is Ichise. I'm a sucker for character development, and his journey is quite a fascinating one. At the beginning, Ichise clearly represents the raw spirit characteristic of the first inhabitants of Lux, he symbolizes the pure will to survive, and that's a major factor to evolution, something the people of the Surface lacked.
  On the first few episodes we are able to observe, however, that his set of values is weak: he drags his dead limbs with him and even washes them in order to preserve them, he carries dead cells of his mother out of sentimental attachment, he refuses a meal only because he doesn't want to be pitied by others, and at first he doesn't accept the texhnolyzed limbs as his own. Ichise's journey is mostly about putting his values to the test and finding a deeper meaning to his life, as he adapts to his new limbs and accepts them as his own. To question our values and forever be open to spiritual transformation is very important in order to live a more meaningful life.
  By the end of the series, Ichise is like the symbol of the affirmation of human life. We can see he is spiritually alive as the series contrasts his existence with that of the people of the Surface, he has evolved as an individual and cares for others, he rejects nihilism as he kills Kano, and just like Yoshii, he shows love for his life and fate, as even though things ended up like Ran had predicted, he still showed satisfaction.

  Lastly, I feel like I should delve into the reason behind the title of the series. What is texhnolyzation and why is it so important?
  Texhnolyzation is the process of replacing organic limbs with highly advanced prosthetics.
  We know that one of the purposes Lux served to the Surface was to mine raffia and test texhnolyzation, as it was seen as a key factor to the evolution of men.
  And it's with this that I thought it would be the best timing to introduce yet another one of my favorite characters of the series, Eriko Kaneda (aka Doc). I love Doc's character because even though she is a very rational scientist, she values what makes us human. She believes that mankind can evolve through texhnolyzation, but at the same time respects the human factor, as opposed to Kano, who thinks evolution is only possible by discarding our bodies, our humanity.

  

  However, by the end of the series, Doc is confronted by the Theonormal's lack of will to take risks and evolve. With this, her developments on texhnolyzation were deemed useless, detaching our scientist from her purpose and reason to live. Despite dying without love for her fate, Doc leaves us her legacy and masterpiece: Ichise, the proof that men can evolve and live meaningfully without discarding their humanity.

  All in all, texhnolyze has probably the most fascinating setting I've come across in any work, and that's why I decided to give so much attention to the analysis of its world and themes.
  It brings together some of my favorite staff and the result is a timeless masterpiece (Despera when??). It's a series that inspires me to this day so I had to make this.

  Thanks for reading my very first review. Any kind of constructive feedback is welcome, and if you think I should make more reviews please let me know. I leave you with the series' banger opening.
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