Texhnolyze

Having really enjoyed Haibane Renmei I was interested to see another film from its creators. While this series is very different; it is slower moving, much darker in tone, violent and has a much bleaker look to it, however the animation is of an equal standard and the backgrounds are very detailed. The series is set in a bleak underground city were various groups are in conflict. As the story begins it is hard to tell who the protagonist will be; there is Kazuho Yoshii a visitor to the city who at first appears to be a tourist but soon starts to stir up trouble, then there is Ichise a young man who is violently attacked in the opening episode and ends up having his severed arm and leg replaced by cybernetic parts, and finally there is Ran a mysterious girl who is frequently seen around the others. As the series progresses we gradually learn more about these characters and others while the situation for them and the other people of the city gets more dangerous. As to the title; Texhnolyzation refers to the process where some people have body parts replaced by cybernetic parts; some people just have one or two parts others are almost entirely mechanical.

For the first few episodes I wasn't sure what to make of this series; there was very little dialogue and what there was didn't make it that clear what was happening; some viewers might find it boring but I found it gradually drawing me in to the lives of the characters. The animation looked good if a little bleak; the bleakness was increased as several scenes the picture contained static like you would find on a television with less than perfect reception. The regular bloody violence means that this series isn't suitable for younger viewers although I suspect the slow pace would put children off watching anyway.