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Texhnolyze
テクノライズ
Genre	Cyberpunk, Drama, Psychological, Science Fiction
TV anime
Directed by	Hirotsugu Hamazaki
Studio	Madhouse
Network	Fuji Television Encore Action
Original run	2003 April 16 – 2003 September 25
No. of episodes	22

Texhnolyze (テクノライズ, Texhnolyze^?) (pronounced [téknolàiz]) is an anime series broadcast in 2003 by director Hirotsugu Hamazaki. It is an extremely dark and violent series that makes use of very experimental cinematic and dramatic techniques.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Story 3 Analysis 4 Symbolism and Notes 5 Cast 5.1 Main Characters 5.2 Recurring Characters 6 Minor characters 7 Trivia 8 External links

The story of TEXHNOLYZE takes place in the crumbling underground city of Lux. Lux has artificial sunlight, water, and even day and night cycles. Denizens of Lux have come to call it The City and treat it as a sentient force. The landscape of the underground area is primarily desert. Initially the series is mostly concerned with the conflicts between the factions in Lux, but changes scale as the series goes on to look at the city's interaction with the surface world. The central plot device is a method of creating prosthetic body parts, called "Texhnolyze."

Lux is the battleground of three factions: the Organo, the Union, and the Racan. The Organo is a business-like organization that is linked to the manufacture and sale of Texhnolyze prosthetics. The Union is a populist or luddite-type group whose primary motivation is to interfere with Texhnolyze. They view the Organo as esurient and parasitic. The Racan are a marauding group of Texhnolyzed youths who commit violent acts in hope of triggering an all-out war between Texhnolyze and the Union. A fourth faction, known as the Class, rarely get involved with the City because they are closely connected to the surface world.

Membership in Texhnolyze, the Union, or Racan confers privileges. The rest of the populace are extremely poor. Overrun by such criminal organizations, Lux quickly became a dystopia. The nominal protagonist of the series is Ichise, a boxer who is Texhnolyzed after being maimed, and his struggle to adapt to his cybernetic existence and find a purpose in his life.

The series begins with a number of seemingly unrelated events: a man from the surface world begins his descent into Lukuss, an underground fighter resting after a fight, the leader of the Organo lost in thought, and a girl at the center of it all who can see the future.

The first episodes introduce the viewer to the lifestyle of Lukuss. They also introduce the struggles of Ichise after he is dismembered twice (his right arm and his left leg specifically), and is later texhnolyzed by Doc who has taken an interest in him. Doc is the creator of the texhnolyzation science, and is also the technician of Onishi, the leader of Organo. Ran, a girl from the village of Gabe, seems to have a major interest in Ichise as she travels the city selling flowers. A man named Yoshii, comes down to from the Surface World, and begins to explore the city of Lukuss.

Yoshii eventually meets Ran, and follows her to Gabe village. After Yoshii saves the Chief of Gabe from being assassinated by rogue Union members, he becomes friends with the chief. As a reward for his bravery, the Gabe chief asks Ran to escort Yoshii to the city. Later, Yoshii meets Shinji, the leader of Raccan. Meanwhile, Onishi tries to quell a "spectacle" between the Organo and the Union, due to the recent assassination attempts by Union members gone rogue.

Ichise begins to become accustomed to his new limbs, but becomes extremely stressed and angry due to his inability to operate them fully. His frustration causes him to leave Doc's laboratory in a twisted and disoreintated state. Ichise later meets the Organo members who took his arm and leg. Instead of bringing Ichise back to Organo headquarters, he is thrown into Lukuss sewer system. While in the sewer system, Ichise sees that white flowers are flowing down from somewhere. He decides to follow where they are coming from, and eventually finds his way out. These flowers belong to Ran.

Meanwhile, Yoshii becomes more and more interested in the city of Lukuss, and how its people work. Seemingly intrigued by the emotions he sees from the people of Lukuss, Yoshii begins to orchestrate a plan that would cause a Spectacle between the cities warring factions. Yoshii's plans eventually come to fruition as the city erupts in violence. Ichise eventually begins to use his new limbs effectively. Again, he finds the Organo members who maimed him and. These Organo members denounce Onishi to his face, before being subdued by Ichise. Onishi, seeing the potential Ichise has, eventually inducts him into the Organo. Yoshii then tries to assassinate a member of the Class, the mysterious fourth faction of Lukuss. Eventually Onishi and Ichise find Yoshii and kill him before he causes more destruction.

Ichise becomes an official Organo member, carrying out orders from higher-ups. Meanwhile, an enigmatic man called Kano is revealed to be plotting a take over of Lukuss. Ichise eventually finds those who orchestrated his father's murder and gets his revenge. The villagers of Gabe begin to don black fox masks as they prepare Ran's apocalpytic prophecy to come true. Ran also predicts that at the end of the coming apocalypse, that Ichise will be the only one left alive.

Onishi then receives a visit from Kano, who claims that the city belongs to no one and that it must be governed by one force. Onishi remembers that Kano is the boy who received Onishi's legs when they were younger, prompting Onishi to have the texhnolyzation procedure. Kano is also shown to have gone through texhnolyzation (due to genetic rejection) but of a vastly different type.

Kano then begins to unleash his texhnolyzed army upon Lukuss, whom he calls "Shapes." The Shapes are almost fully texhnolyzed save for the person's head, with additional weaponry. Eventually, the remains of Union, the Organo, and the Raccan, band together to try and stop the Shapes. Eventually, the Shapes overwhelm the other factions and continue to assimilate the city. Ichise, and Doc decide to find Onishi. Ichise and Doc find Onishi and Shinji at the train station. Onishi believes that Lukuss' only hope, is appealing to the inhabitants of the Surface World, in the hope that they will help. Sakimura, a man who works as the train operator offers to escort them to the surface.

Ichise, Doc and Sakimura make it to the Surface World and travel to the Government Office building. The Surface World is almost made up of countryside, sparsely placed houses and very little presence. Eventually, the group stops when they hear a voice, coming from a speaker somewhere. This voice belongs to a Mr. Saginuma. He asks what are they doing. He offers to escort them to the Government Office building, in the guise of a small girl clutching a ball.

Ichise and Doc try to appeal to the Surface World's government but are met with questions about the status of texhnolyation in Lukuss. The government concludes that the only reason that they believe to save Lukuss is Raffia (the material which makes texhnolyzation work, that curbs the rejection process), but because the Surface World has no more need of Raffia anymore, there is no reason to step in and save Lukuss. Doc decides to stay in the Surface World, due to her work on texhnolyzation now over. Ichise decides to go back to Lukuss and try to save Ran.

Meanwhile, Ran gathers the remainder of the human population of Lukuss to the Obelisk, there she reveals to them the future of Lukuss, causing everyone to go insane, plunging Lukuss into more chaos. Shinji decides to go to the Hill, where the Class resides. Inside he kills human-like people he finds inside a pool, before he is killed by Kano's blind servant. Now most of Lukuss are dead or texhnolyzed into Shapes. Onishi decides to go to the Obelisk, believing that the Obelisk was the Voice of the City that he has always heard. However, he discovers that, in fact, the Voice of the City is actually Ran and that the Obelisk is simply another manifestation of her.

Onishi, trying to decide his own fate, plunges his sword into the Obelisk and Ran, rendering all texhnolyzed limbs inoperable. Onishi is then ambushed by a few of Lukuss last remaining humans. All of them have guns and have set their sights on Onishi. Meanwhile, Ichise makes his way back down to Lukuss, following visions of Ran, which eventually lead him to Onishi. Just as Ichise calls out Onishi's name, the men surrounding Onishi open fire on him. After the ceasefire, the only things that are left of Onishi are a lot of blood, and his texhnolyzed limbs.

Ichise angered at Onishi's death, begins to fight the deranged group of men, only to be beaten down easily due to his texhnolyzed limbs not working. Ichise then forces his limbs to work by effort alone. Ichise vision then changes quickly to a view of Doc's laboratory, something has activated on a control panel. Ichise's limbs now work again, and he destroys the group that killed Onishi.

Ichise makes his way toward the opera theatre where Kano resides. On the way, Ichise talks to Ran, telling her of his plan to take her to the Surface World, where she would be safe. Ichise finds Kano sitting on a chair, high above the theatre. Kano explains that his plan was not to become the leader of Lukuss, or take over the Surface World. Kano explains further that he knew from the beginning, that such plans would never work. He continues to explain that the reason he let he created the Shapes and let them loose on Lukuss, was to see what effects texhnolyzation had on a person's conscience.

Ichise questions him as to what Kano has done to Ran. Kano explains that his "dear Theoria" shut down her own mind, in an effort to stop the madness. Ichise is horrified to see Ran's head on a statue, attached to a life support system seen in use by the Shapes. Kano, seeing Ichise's anger flare, explains that Lukuss is simply a byproduct of his own mind, and that by killing Lukuss creator, Ichise would be embracing his insanity until death. Ichise, undeterred by anything Kano has said brings back his right fist and throws it at Kano's head. Kano's head is seen skidding across the floor with a trail of blood.

Ichise takes Ran's remains and walks toward the village of Gabe, where he throws her remains into a pit of Raffia. Ichise continues to walk through the empty city, fulfilling Ran's prophecy of being the last person alive. Ichise sits on the ground and eventually falls on the ground. After a period of time, his right arm seems to move on its own. Then from a spot on Ichise's arm, a light appears and shines on the ground, displaying a hologram of a white flower. Ichise, for the first time smiles, and eventually dies.

Texhnolyze is an example of an anime which requires interpretation. The characters and the intentions of many scenes, in a sense, are incomplete on their own. At the end of the show, the viewer is expected to form his own understanding of the characters and what each of them symbolizes. This is one of the show's experimental aspects.

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The following is one interpretation of Texhnolyze

Similar to many other popular Japanese Anime series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and RahXephon, Texhnolyze revolves around the concepts of fatalism and free will, Armageddon, the question of one's identity.

Texhnolyze foreshadows a dark fate awaiting humanity in its constant pursuit of advances in technology. In the story of Texhnolyze, the "surface world" symbolizes a society in the throes of its dependence on technology, leading to a silent demise of humanity. The "surface world" is one which glorifies technology, as symbolized in Frank Lloyd Wright's 1936 design of the Johnson Wax Headquarters; expressing the architecture of a new modern era, and where solitude is portrayed using an almost direct replica of Edward Hopper's work[1]. Its counterpart, the "under world" is currently evolving to an inevitable replica of the "surface world" as armies of cybernetic Mecha invade the last pockets of human survivors.

In the world of Texhnolyze, the human beings are isolated and lonely individuals who accelerate their demise by their insatiable desires emanating from their ego, violence, and efforts to texhnolyze their surrounding world. One's end is typically met while gazing at the flower (symbolizing perfection and beauty). What they discover is that they are left behind in the evolutionary process, superseded by a new race of beings as symbolized by the humanoid Mechas that have begun growing roots and merging with the earth (the root and trees are symbols of immortality in many cultures: While other beings wither away in time, the rooted being endures the next stage of evolution).

The dying world of Texhnolyze is one created by humanity itself. A dark manifestation and expression of idealism. There is no absolute outside world to invest hopes in. The world of poverty, pain, and war is nothing but the very result of one's own choices and actions. Without change, there is no escape from the death awaiting our species even with the marvels that technology affords humanity.

• Ran's Fox Mask

"In Japanese society, the fox, is considered to be the guardian deity of farming (rice fields) by some, because the animal eats field mice that often damage or destroy crops. This guardian deity may signify some special power in Gabe, which is an agrarian community, as well?" [2]

• The Capsule Containing Ichise's Mother's Cells

"Some of his mother's body cells are preserved in a solution inside a capsule, which also serves as a makeshift grave for the poor, like Ichise. His longing for his dead mother is the only thing enabling Ichise to maintain his 'humanity'." [3]

• Texhnolyzation

"In order to complete a texhnolyzed unit, an endless number of neural terminals must be connected to one another with incredible precision. This ordinarily tiring process seems to give Doc the greatest excitement." [4]

• Lukuss

"Latin lūx, light"

• The Obelisk

The Obelisk towers above the city of Lukuss and stands as a monument to Texhnolyzation. It is also the source of power for texhnolyzed units, and holds data in regards to their movements.

• Ichise (voice by Haga Satoshi) Ichise is a street fighter who participates in underground fight clubs for money. He is often referred to as a "stray dog," a name that is representative of Ichise's personality; on a dark and unknown path and always struggling for survival. Ichise undergoes a texhnolyze procedure on his arm and leg after being spared from death. He can be seen as symbolizing humanity in its endless struggles for survival.

• Ran (voice by Itou Shizuka) Ran is a flower girl. She comes from the town of Gabe, and can be seen often wearing her fox mask. Ran represents the mysticism aspect of humanity, and its search for the truth. Ran also symbolizes the purity and innocence that suffers and endures pain.
• Doc (DOKU) (voice by Niki Shizumi) Doc is the progenitor of the science of Texhnolyzation. She comes from the Class, and uses texhnolyzation, for what she believes, is the next step in human evolution. Doc symbolizes humans' rationality and scientific endeavour for perfection.

• Onishi Kyogo (voice by Tsuchida Hiroshi) Onishi is the head of the Organo. Onishi is one of the Organo's youngest, but strong leaders. Because of his unusual quick rise to power, he has not gained the respect of some of the Organo's low and high level members. Onishi also claims to hear the Voice of the City, a conscious will of the city of Lukuss. He can be seen as symbolizing humanity's ego and stabilizing qualities, in a never ending effort to dominate his world.

• Shinji (voice by Kitaide Masaya) Shinji is the leader of the Racan. Shinji is one of the few people who began the Racan. He often gets involved in the city's gang wars. He has a texhnolyzed index finger on his right hand. Shinji represents humans' bold, reckless, and adventurous spirit that sees no obstacle in its way to reach its goals. Considering the show's creator has admitted being influenced by Neon Genesis Evangelion in his works, it is possible that the character is named after NGE protagonist Shinji Ikari. NGE fans will point out however that Shinji's personality in Texhnolyze is radically different from the character in NGE.

• Yoshii Kazuo (voice by Inoue Takashi) Yoshii comes from the surface world. Yoshii came from the surface world to see the city of Lukuss, seemingly for no real reason. He seems to be intrigued by humanity's emotions, and the way the city of Lukuss works. Yoshii orchestrates chaos in Lukuss for "revealing the city's emotions". He orchestrates the chaos by killing four Organo officials one Union official, and preventing diplomatic negotiation between the two factions. He also plants a bomb in Racan's hangout. Later he kills Onishi's wife, Mana which sparks Onishi to track him down. Even later he is killed by his friend Sakimura after he is crippled by Ichise. Later after his death, flashbacks seem to indicate that Yoshi may have orchestrated the chaos in Lukuss because he was jealous of the life and emotion that Lukuss had over the bleak and emotional devoid lifestyle that the surface world had.

• Kimata Motoharu (voice by Nakata Jouji) Kimata is the leader of the Union. Kimata believes that texhnolyzation corrupts the soul, and preaches that those in the Union should abstain from texhnolyzation. Although fiercely followed by many, he is still a controversial figure in that his left arm has been texhnolyzed. After Kano's invasion he dies valiantly after making peace with Onishi as they fight the Shape army.

• Chief of Gabe (voice by Koyama Tekehiro) the Chief of Gabe is the head of the town of Gabe. He is the target of an assassination attempt by rogue Union members, but was saved by Yoshii. The Chief of Gabe and his people hold a belief that in every generation, there is a girl born called a Seer, that will fortell of the future of Lukuss. He can be seen as symbolizing humanity's belief in tradition and fate.

• Kano is a member of the Class. As a child, he had an operation that would give him new legs. These legs belonged to Onishii. But later in life he underwent a texhnolyzation procedure and now has robotic legs. Kano developed a new texhnolyzation procedure that he used to produce his Shapes but his motives for this are unclear.

• Sakimura Tetsuya (voice by Tonosaki Akihiko)

Sakimura works as a train operator in Lukuss. He also comes from the Surface World and is a friend of Yoshii's. Sakimura worked in the same facility on the Surface World, before putting in a transfer to work in Lukuss. Later, he escorts Ichise and Doc to the Surface World.

Other characters:

• Hirota Michiko: voice by Sakuma Kumiko
• Haru/Hal(HARU): voice by Okada Mitsutoshi
• Yo-ko(YO-KO): voice by Kaida Yuuko
• Hoshi Ken: voice by Sasaki Seiji
• Gotou Hirohisa: voice by Shibata Hidekatsu
• Izaki Ryuuichi: voice by Kishino Kazuhiko
• Chuugen Takuya: voice by Kawada Shinji
• Mizuno Keitarou: voice by Kamei Saburo
• Kohagura Fuminori: voice by Ootsuka Yoshitada
• Sonoda Akihisa: voice by Egawa Ousei
• Tsujinaka Kenichirou: voice by Hazumi Jun
• Touyama Haruhiko: voice by Hoshi Koumyou
• Ishii Kyousuke: voice by Tanaka Masahiko

• The series is occasionally referred to as "The Staff of Serial Experiments Lain's 5-Year Reunion," because the two series share not only a significant number of staff, including character artist Yoshitoshi ABe, scriptwriter Chiaki J. Konaka, and producer Yasuyuki Ueda, but a similar visual style and dark tone as well.

• The artwork of Edward Hopper was utilized in places during the episodes in which the surface world is seen. The paintings that can be seen in Texhnolyze are "Early Sunday Morning", "Cornhill", "Roofs of the Cobb Barn", "House at Eastham", "Morning Sun", "Hill and Houses, Maine" and parts of "Nighthawks" (mainly the likeness of the characters in that painting).

• Texhnolyze official site
• Texhnolyze at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Texhnolyze OST 1 - Music Only Music But Music at MusicBrainz
• Texhnolyze OST 2 - The Man of Men at MusicBrainz
• No Future No Life - Know Future Know Life - Fan shrine