AoD Review: Texhnolyze Vol. #6

[Chris Beveridge]

Review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/3594.php)

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In Summary:
With the finale to the series, it's something that people are going to probably take different things from but it's something that I think will in some way stick with the viewer for some time, much as that half episodes of pure silence at the start of the series. The two are book-ended nicely in a way with the near five-minute end sequence here. Texhnolyze has been a series that has stood out among the waves of other shows that are all so blindingly similar and interchangeable these days due to its design and intent but also for avoiding so many things that are seemingly required to be aired right now. The people behind this show that funded it and stood behind it, which includes Geneon Entertainment USA, have my thanks for doing just that and reaffirms my belief that the US companies getting involved in anime productions will for the most part continue to be a positive thing. The chances of this series even existing without their help is probably pretty minimal.

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A beautifully grim series. Loved every minute. The only ABe work I actually enjoyed.

[Fluffy]

A brilliant series. Loved every minute of it. Thank you Geneon. "A+/Positive" from me. Oh, and thanks for the cool 3D DVD covers. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Dagger]

Man, I can't wait to watch this volume. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[WeirdlyGruesome]

It's shows like this that give anime a good name. Good job Geneon.

[Nylock]

Fantastic end to a really excellent series.

Technically it's one of the most impressive releases I've seen, from the high quality of the original animation, the use of digital filters to mimic things like film grain or to convey mood, the characterisation and plain weirdness, right through to the actual DVD presentation itself, and the acting in both languages. Top notch.

And since I managed to get the onsert for this one after missing out on the previous two, I'll just say this - if you could only have one onsert from the whole series, this is the one to have. Ran just looks amazing.

[christianlf]

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Dagger IX1 said:
Man, I can't wait to watch this volume. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

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Me, too. Mine hasn't shipped yet. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

[Otaku Playboy !]

I want this NOW!! /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

weird, i have 1-5 sitting in the artbox unwatched, with #6 coming in soon. with all the rave reviews, I really should get watching. *plays with lenticular covers*

is it just me or are these damn fun to put on a wall? with enuff of em, at the right angle, it looks like your wall is aglow with a really bright light /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[[D]]

I love the series, but I still have two more to go. I need vol 5 and next week i'll get it with the release of vol. 6. I want to mini-marathon it to the end so I dont miss much. I do think it's gonna pay off though as it has in the previous 4 disks.

[leongsh]

An A/Positive rating from me. Texhnolyze is an anime of real quality instead of the usual fluff and dross commonly found nowadays.

[Zankuro]

Picked this up today at the local Best Buy and will be watching it tonight with great anticipation. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Dagger]

My copy just came in today.

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Man, what a ride. I have to say, I was really upset about Doc. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif Touyama's death scene was pretty cool too (seeing him as a Shape ended up being one of the most shocking moments in the last few episodes for me, although by that point I still couldn't tell whose side he was on).

The narration at the beginning of episode 21 was very stylish and cool--although I was sort of weirded out by Doc being called Ichise's second mother. Given the role she played, I *guess* it makes sense, but I definitely didn't think of her that way.

My thoughts are all muddled now. Let's see... oh, the dub outtakes this time around were quite hilarious, and ended on an amusing note. Watching them was a nice way to say farewell to the series. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif</span>

On the whole I thought Texhnolyze was a lot more (or at least more effectively) bleak and depressing than, say, Saikano. The moments of beauty were probably the most painful parts, because they showed you what could have been. Dunno if that makes any sense. /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

[Jonathan Klein]

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Dagger IX1 said:

<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> Let's see... oh, the dub outtakes this time around were quite hilarious, and ended on an amusing note. Watching them was a nice way to say farewell to the series. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif</span>


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<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> I am Spider-Body Man! And I find you strangely attractive.


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[absolutezero]

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Ran just looks amazing.

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<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> She also looks dead /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

I was seriously more upset about Ran than the Doc, I guess its because the Doc just vanishes while Ran is duck taped onto a freakishly horrible body. </span>

Question : Who were the guys in the pool that Shinji killed? I guess they were the Class but why were they strapped to the machine through the head?

[itsuka]

I haven't seen disc 6 yet, but I'm a bit confused about the number of episodes on this disc, in combination with it being the last disc. How many episodes were there in total? Not a standard amount then, probably.

[Mahlernut]

Y'know, I really wanted to like this show. The first episode kicked me in the head in all the right ways, but the rest of the show just kept falling flat with me. There was some great design work (though I honestly found the Shapes to be pretty absurd), and some moments of animation that really worked nicely for me. But then, there were a ton of places where things just didn't gel visually for me. The plot was all over the place as well, and for every element that I found engaging, there were two that just made me question whether I should get the next volume. I almost started liking the stuff going on after they reached the surface world, but even that didn't really go anywhere that interested me. As for the ending <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> it was nice and grim I guess, and a damned shame that Ran had to go out at all, much less like that. The image of her head with its dead, staring eyes perched on top of that mannequin body was just horrific. But again, it just missed the mark with me. </span> Oh well, I'm glad I watched it for the most part, though I guess I'd rented it instead. As soon as I get my digital camera back, I'll put this sucker up on eBay and let someone else enjoy it in my place /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Nylock]

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Itsuka said:
I haven't seen disc 6 yet, but I'm a bit confused about the number of episodes on this disc, in combination with it being the last disc. How many episodes were there in total? Not a standard amount then, probably.

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3 episodes on the disc. 22 episodes in total for the series

[christianlf]

I gave the volume an A-, and a big positive for the release.

My final thoughts are that this was a grim, but visually, a beautifully constructed series. Its prognosis for the future of humanity may not be uplifting, but it has a harder edge of reality to it than many of the shows I watch, even those that are apocalypic or bleak in overtone.

I really enjoyed the ride in a grim, sobering sort of way. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>Doc and Ran's ultimate fates were depressing as it was, but Onishi gave me shivers. The way the story went, it's enough to really make you sympathise with Yoshii, without them ever bludgeoning you with the handy "this is why he turned out that way" explanation.</span> And in the end, since film/animation is ultimately a visual mode of storytelling first, and Texhnolyze told much of its story with soley visual means, I have to consider the show an enormous success. This is one of the shows that really makes me happy I discovered this subset of art, and firmly entrenches itself as one of my favourites.

[ArcticWolf]

This series was great. I was hooked from the first couple episodes and even though the middle wasn't quite as good as the beginning and end, I was still immensely entertained. When I first started watching, my initial reaction was 'This is an exercise in atmosphere,' and it kept that atmosphere throughout. Dark and violent, it really showcased the darkness of mankind in a fashion that was quite believable. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who (a.) likes shows with atmosphere, (b.) is fond of dystopian works such as 1984 or Brave New World, or (c.) is disdainful of mankind's violent, aggressive, and cruel nature.

It gets an A from me, lacking the plus only due to the middle being slightly less entertaining than the beginning and ending.

[CuriouslySane]

As much as I hate the darkness and despair of this show, I must confess I was engrossed by every minute of it. From the powerful visuals to the intrigue of watching strong characters play out their lives according to their own principles, I haven't had this much fun watching things go to hell since Berserk.

[Mr-Niceguy2001]

I voted neutral for this. I just found the story to be boring overall despite all the excellent production values. I know the story was meant to be bleak and depressing, and it makes a change with sad ending Ala Cowboy bebop but I still feel that the story never got going in the first place and felt pretentious in places forcing the viewer to accept plot points that were never justified, such as the people above the ground who sat about waiting for death, why? What was the big reason for everyone to act like this or choose to move underground? Did I miss something when I chose to watch with the dub? It just seemed to be very forced and I don't know, seemed as if it was hyped to be something brilliant because it was from the mind of the same person who created Lain, Haibane Renmei etc...

I felt very disappointed in this series. Was it just me? Lol.

[indigo0086]

I loved this series, but ultimately I liked the characters too much, which is why I'm saddened by the end of the series. It all just was so saddening. The series itself drew me in, and despite it's slow moments, I learned to understand what ichise felt for doc and ran, and why everyone acted on their own occord the way they did. But most of the characters were actually likeable and I just thought the end was too much for even myself. And the dvd cover...that's just wrong.

[TonjAsamnare]

A- and positive. Like Haibane-Renmei, the ending took me a couple viewings to get the full effect. I think it still needed one last twist or turn or something. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'> I mean, Ran told Ichise he would "die alone" in her vision........ and he does.... Well, physically alone, anyway. We'll leave the last image on his arm up to interpretation and metaphorical stuff. The monologue before the confrontation with Kano explains it pretty well, and there's plenty more than JUST that, but still, to go exactly where it says it does.... I expected a little twist to it. Or maybe I just don't like things decided by "prophecies."</span>

Still, a wonderful series with plenty of great moments and striking images. The episode "Heavenward" is a surrealistic masterpiece in itself. Oh, and I REALLY hope the "Alternative Dialogue Outtakes" catch on in other releases. Those were fantastic, though I tend to freak out my friends when I quote them (I'm wondering whether they got into hot water with anyone because of them).

"<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>And yet, they STILL cut back to the SAME EYES!</span>"

[mrjk]

Evidently the exit from Lukuss is in Racine Wisconsin since that office building design is essentially the Frank Lloyd Wright design of the Johnson Wax Headquarters building there :-) Those mushroom pillars are the signature.

A series with very compelling audio and visuals, but with a kind of an average plot. Yoshitoshi aBe and company are on the cutting eddge of playing with the visuals of the animation to create something you cannot get anywhere else. Look at the color changes, the light changes the static effects, the integration with the sounds. This is what animation can do. You can see it in his older work with the pastels and flat Brown overlays in Haibane Renmei for example to set a mood.

In fact I think I have a trio of directors that are really at home and pushing new effects better than anyone these days - aBe, Satoshi Kon (see Millenium Actress) and Shinichiro Watanabe - for his music and visual integration.

These kinds of series are what make me enjoy this stuff. Someday one will hit with a compelling plot as well - this was more just a cry of despair.

[christianlf]

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mrjk said:
In fact I think I have a trio of directors that are really at home and pushing new effects better than anyone these days - aBe, Satoshi Kon (see Millenium Actress) and Shinichiro Watanabe - for his music and visual integration.

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Just to clarify, ABe is not a director. He didn't even direct Haibane Renmei, which was actually the only show he's written the story for.

Not to undercut ABe's talent or contribution, but he's really only credited with design for Texhnolyze. I would consider it more Yasuyuki Ueda and Chiaki Konaka's show. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Mahlernut]

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ChristianLF said:
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mrjk said:
In fact I think I have a trio of directors that are really at home and pushing new effects better than anyone these days - aBe, Satoshi Kon (see Millenium Actress) and Shinichiro Watanabe - for his music and visual integration.

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Just to clarify, ABe is not a director. He didn't even direct Haibane Renmei, which was actually the only show he's written the story for.

Not to undercut ABe's talent or contribution, but he's really only credited with design for Texhnolyze. I would consider it more Yasuyuki Ueda and Chiaki Konaka's show. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

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Its hilarious how much ABe's name gets thrown around. I remember someone mentioning how much they hated the writing in Lain, and how they weren't even going to give Haibane Renmei a chance, since they were under the impression that ABe had written both. The same occurred again with Texhnolyze, with people accusing him of being responsible for whatever offense they took with the story. I wonder who was responsible for getting his name peddled out so effectively? They should probably get a raise /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[smeagolpoop]

All I can say is, "What?" You all must be geniuses or something if you can figure this volume out. I was totally lost. People think the last few eps of Eva are confusing? They ain't got nothing on Texhnolyze.

The only way I can see this making any sense is to view it as some existential experiment, a la Kafka, and not try to make any logical sense out of the plot but instead focus solely on the characters, their choices, and their relationships, and how these all affect each other.

Unless anyone here can attempt a comprehensive analysis that explains it all clearly to someone as slow as me.

[mrjk]

Yes, That is correct - I was throwing "director" around loosely. There does seem to be an "aBe" team however. Look at Lain, NieA_7, Haibane Renmei and TeXhnolyze and you can definitely see the resemblence in character design, development of art style, and the slightly depressed people floating around the stories. This is despite different character designers, animation houses, directors, etc.

Whether aBe is used as the label because of his short name with funny capitalization I don't know, but it is as good a label as any.

[Grimalkin]

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Mr-Niceguy2001 said:
I voted neutral for this. I just found the story to be boring overall despite all the excellent production values. I know the story was meant to be bleak and depressing, and it makes a change with sad ending Ala Cowboy bebop but I still feel that the story never got going in the first place and felt pretentious in places forcing the viewer to accept plot points that were never justified, such as the people above the ground who sat about waiting for death, why? What was the big reason for everyone to act like this or choose to move underground?


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<span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>From what I understand they were having problems with genetics above ground, this created many humans who could not reproduce at all. This created chaos and fighting that ensued above ground, leading to the point where people were forced below ground. They say that this happend because the people had embraced 'evil' but I think this was to create a population that could still survive while the people above ground could not. This is said when its mentioned that sending the people below ground was meant to save humanity.</span>

Of course this is just my opinion of why all that happend, I could have gotten it totally wrong.

[Mahlernut]

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mrjk said:
Whether aBe is used as the label because of his short name with funny capitalization I don't know, but it is as good a label as any.

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Ah accuracy...always an undervalued currency. Once again, I'll point to the fact that throwing this guy's name around has led people to assume that he's involved in projects in ways that he's not, and to make judgements based on completely incorrect information. If a label creates a false impression, or leads people to incorrect conclusions, then it seems to me that we're dealing with label that is definitely not "as good as any."

[indigo0086]

While I know that Abe is not a director, I think creatively he has a lot of input in more than just the character designs. For Haibane Renmei, the anime wouldn't have existed if the doujin hadn't existed. Directors and writers just built upon his static artwork and it became animated. While the character designs are definitely Abe's signature style, the backgrounds and settings of the maga resemble abe's works as well, especially in texhnolyze. I think creatively, he may not have a hand in the story, but his character designs create a certain story for themselves which a writer and director just pick up on. His artwork itself is a story imo, waiting to be built upon.

[absolutezero]

In a lot of the promotional work for Texhnolyze and Haibane Renmei the public face of the series was Abe.

For instance the interviews that were taken at certain cons featured Abe and Ueda. They both gave off the impression that Abe had a hell of alot to do with nearly everything in the series, story setting whatever.

[indigo0086]

Yeah, though I think the haibane renmei and the texhnolyze interveiw were held at the same con but with different background boards switched. Either way I defintely thing Abe Had his hand in a lot more than we would think.

[JohnAD]

TeXhnolyze is one of those shows that you have to see more than once to get a really good feel for it. Now that the final disk is out for it, I can do so /images/graemlins/happy.gif.

John.

[indigo0086]

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JohnAD said:
TeXhnolyze is one of those shows that you have to see more than once to get a really good feel for it. Now that the final disk is out for it, I can do so /images/graemlins/happy.gif.

John.

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I think you'll change your mind after the last episode...

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Tonj Asamnare said:
Oh, and I REALLY hope the "Alternative Dialogue Outtakes" catch on in other releases.

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Media Blasters does this often. What started out as real goof ups turned into this "best one-liner" spectacle. Kenshin about midway through and all of the Berserk vols have great dub outtakes.

[absolutezero]

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Famicom said:
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Tonj Asamnare said:
Oh, and I REALLY hope the "Alternative Dialogue Outtakes" catch on in other releases.

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Media Blasters does this often. What started out as real goof ups turned into this "best one-liner" spectacle. Kenshin about midway through and all of the Berserk vols have great dub outtakes.

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Singing Griffith = Best Out-takes Ever

[christianlf]

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absolutezero said:
In a lot of the promotional work for Texhnolyze and Haibane Renmei the public face of the series was Abe.

For instance the interviews that were taken at certain cons featured Abe and Ueda. They both gave off the impression that Abe had a hell of alot to do with nearly everything in the series, story setting whatever.

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You'll notice that ABe only ever really talks about design (not just character design) because that's what he does, excepting Haibane Renmei, of course. The real driving force behind these projects is Ueda. I'd agree that ABe may be involved in projects moreso than many pure character designers, and that his work is part of Ueda's vision, but this "ABe anime" label is wholly inaccurate and perpetuates this idea that these shows belong to him.

Again, Ueda invented Lain and Texhnolyze. Ueda wrote the stories. Were other people involved? Sure. Did they affect the way Ueda's vision became reality? Yes, he's stated as much. But ABe is only one piece of that puzzle, and he's not the one who's writing these stories (again, Haibane Renmei being the unique case).

I'm a big fan of ABe's artwork, but he is getting way too much credit.

[bctaris]

A sad sort of love story at the end of the world, wasn't it?

That's almost what it seemed to come down to, at least from one perspective. These various outcasts struggling for livelihood and respect and a sense of being, each cast by their desire for a life-defining relationship.

A real Greek tragedy this was (or a Roman tragedy, with all the blood). Real sad and beautiful in many ways. But excellent, excellent stuff. Ichise’s tragic monologue <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>to Ran while on his way to meet Kano with Ran sort of there to his side,</span> and the song in the background; it was pretty chilling material and imagery for a cartoon, I thought. But tragic it was: Doc, Ichise, Shinji, Michiko, Ran. <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>About the only end that seemed somehow salutary was Onishi’s, with him fulfilling his dept to and honoring the city, finally in peace, it seemed.</span>

Nothing felt particularly complicated or rather unsaid at the end. But I wonder about the raffia (where Ichise <span style='color:#dddddd;background:#dddddd'>dropped Ran’s body into at the end—and which the cover shows her in</span>) and how it seemed explained at one brief point as being literally or representative of the dead of Lukuss and was said to be sent (as sustenance?) to the people above ground. I wonder at that part of the story and if it hinted perhaps at being a literal symbol of the continuance or rebirth of humanity beyond the end of Lukuss. I don’t know. I’ll need to re-watch the series shortly to catch everything I might have missed.

[Jarred]

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bctaris said:
A real Greek tragedy this was (or a Roman tragedy, with all the blood). Real sad and beautiful in many ways. But excellent, excellent stuff.

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Totally! Man, so tragic and bleak. That song at the end gave me chills.

I need to watch this one a few more times to digest it all, but that is why Texhonlyze succeeds. It is because of shows like this that I still have hope for anime. Pushing the boundries, telling unique and stimulating stories, and creating a visual experience that showcases the strengths of animation. In a way, I'm glad shows like these are a rare breed, it makes them that more special when they come around.