Texhnolyze
a review by HeadlessHorseman
a review by HeadlessHorseman
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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 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
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
"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
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
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
"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
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
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 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
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
Rogue 15: Shapes
Rogue 16: Strain
Rogue 17: Dependence
"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
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
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
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
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
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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