Texhnolyze takes place in a underground cyberpunk dystopia, where multiple factions are vying for control in the crumbling city of Lux. People in the city have augmented their bodies with cybernetics, known as being "texhnolyzed", as the title would suggest. There are the Organo, a mafia-like organization whose members are all texhnolyzed, the Salvation Union, a rebel group which is against any type of human augmentation, and the Racan, a bunch of misfit causing youths. Add into the mix Ran, a girl who can foretell the future, a troublemaking outsider from above ground, and the perpetually unlucky protagonist Ichise, and you have the recipe for chaos in which the show takes place. There is another, much more sinister group, that enters the scene at the halfway point, but to give anything away would be to spoil the show.
A prominent feature of Texhnolyze is how little actual dialogue there is, in fact no one speaks for the entire first half of the pilot episode. While I did not keep count, I would be surprised if the main character, Ichise, utters more than 20 lines of dialogue throughout the series. The story and visuals are very dark and dreary, and the show is saturated with this sense of hopelessness and despair, with an overall very bleak atmosphere.
One thing I will give Texhnolyze credit for is its integration of philosophical themes, namely nihilism and the ideas of Nietzsche. Even though I do not personally agree with these philosophies, I thought that they were well integrated and presented in the show. No matter how much each group or individual tries to exert control or meaning on their society, it only serves to create more unrest. Nietzsche’s idea of the Übermensch was also well done, as there is this ideal of humanity that people are striving towards in the show by becoming texhnolyzed, and this concept if transhumanism is meant to enhance our humanity or surpass it was explored in unique ways. There are plenty of other themes and concepts touched upon by Texhnolyze, far too many to mention here, but I think it’s safe to say that the show does get you to think.
Something which pleasantly surprised me about the show was the music, I think it fit the atmosphere really well. The opening is chaotic and energetic, while the ending theme is much more somber and slow, but I think they both fit perfectly. There was also integration of other musical styles in the show itself, there was some jazz and even some Italian-language music at one point. Despite being made way back in 2003, the animation and art still hold up decently well.
There are issues I have with Texhnolyze. As I mentioned before the show is very dark, not only thematically but also visually, but it is so dark at times that it is hard to make out what is happening. So much of the scenes take place in either pitch black or in blinding light, and it is difficult to decipher what is going on. Added to the lack of dialogue, and a lot of times I kept having to go to the wiki page or scroll down the comment section to understand just what had happened that episode. The show is also so bleak that it gets a bit hard to care about what’s going on after a while.
A huge issue I have with Texhnolyze is not with the show itself, but with the fandom. There is one character (not going to mention the name, as their wicked intentions come out as a surprise) who is a purely evil psychopath. This character has nothing redeemable about themselves, and who brutally murders whoever they meet, yet I have seen post after post online defending this character, with many people saying that this guy this their favorite character of the show. While no one in this show is purely good or bad, with most being morally gray, the character in question is downright evil and I’m a bit disgusted that so many are attracted to him.
Lately there are a lot of issues & concepts in Texhnolyze that are never explained or resolved. Just an example but the character Sakimura who lives in the underground city of Lux is actually from above ground, but this is only vaguely hinted at in the show (it becomes important to the plot at the end). There is a lot of other stuff that is never clarified either, like why Ran and Ichise care so much for each other despite the fact that they have maybe 5 lines of dialogue between themselves. Also, the pacing is really, really, slow, and there were a couple times my finger was inching for the fast-forward button.
Despite my qualms about it, I still think Texhnolyze is an anime worth watching. While it may not be a show I necessarily enjoyed personally, I think this is an anime you appreciate more than you enjoy. And despite the depressing atmosphere of the series, I was still very much emotionally struck by the ending. Yes it is not for everyone, but for the people who don’t mind the slower pace and bleak atmosphere, watching Texhnolyze can be a rewarding experience
