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hybreezy said: ProstheticLibido said: hybreezy said: So a dude with a Texhnolyzed heart (most of his upper torso in general in fact) came down from the surface where Texhnolyzation doesn't work From Episode 4: http://i.imgur.com/WQAgFmG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ZIP2731.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fX1fdfc.jpg so his arms and whatever are like Saginuma's legs then? I guess that makes sense. There's texhnolyzation and then there's prosthetics. |
ex_necross said: hybreezy said: ProstheticLibido said: hybreezy said: So a dude with a Texhnolyzed heart (most of his upper torso in general in fact) came down from the surface where Texhnolyzation doesn't work From Episode 4: http://i.imgur.com/WQAgFmG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ZIP2731.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fX1fdfc.jpg so his arms and whatever are like Saginuma's legs then? I guess that makes sense. There's texhnolyzation and then there's prosthetics. Well yeah, but then what's the point of getting texhnolyzed if basic (comparatively) prosthetic technology has advanced that much. Other than punching power I guess since Onishi didn't seem to be able to run faster with his legs. But ultimately I guess it's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. |
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| I wonder what would happen if you attach a Prosthetic Head to Ran's headless body. "I have things in my head, and the way I feel about things changes. Various creators get together, and we start shaping what I have in my head into a story, and I can never tell what kind of chemical changes it will go through inside me at that point. That’s one of the reasons it’s so interesting to me, too. . . But to the question as to what I want to communicate to them [the audience], I really don’t have an answer. It’s all about things that change inside myself, things that I validate inside myself, and experiments that I do inside myself."--Yasuyuki Ueda |
| Well, that was different to say the least. I liked the atmosphere it could give me, especially the use of sounds was very ingenious. The world it presented instantly caught my attention and the first episodes flew by. Sadly I don't think I got as invested in the characters as some people here, so while the ending was very beautifully done (The music was a cherry on the top), I didn't really care for Ichise or Ran dying. Nevertheless this is a very unique psychological show, that deserves its respect. it's up there with Lain with the best cyberpunk I have seen, although I have to say I slightly preferred Lain to this. 9/10 |
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| Onishi sure was blown away... but I wasn't. Something about this anime made it feel like they were "trying" to be unique/weird/psychological, but they just didn't do a good job with it, failed to deliver in almost every aspect. I only finished it for the sake of finishing it. Way too slow and boring for my taste, and I usually like dark/psychological stuff. I give it a below-below average score of 3/10. |
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BurntJelly said: Onishi sure was blown away... but I wasn't. Something about this anime made it feel like they were "trying" to be unique/weird/psychological, but they just didn't do a good job with it, failed to deliver in almost every aspect. I only finished it for the sake of finishing it. Way too slow and boring for my taste, and I usually like dark/psychological stuff. I give it a below-below average score of 3/10. Seems to me like you are trying too hard not to be "unique/weird/psychological". |
| This kept me intrigued from the beginning, but in the end the overall dark theme of this anime was such a huge turn off. I mean damn, I feel so shitty right now. Whatever, I gotta get some rest after marathoning this. |
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LeosApathy said: This kept me intrigued from the beginning, but in the end the overall dark theme of this anime was such a huge turn off. I mean damn, I feel so shitty right now. Whatever, I gotta get some rest after marathoning this. Isn't that the whole point, to make you feel? If you're experiencing these feelings, it means Texhnolyze has succeeded as a form of art. |
| OK. I'll need some time to digest this. |
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| What a journey through the depths of despair. Beautiful ending though, I could not ask for more. 9/10. Now excuse me while I google kitten pictures in an attempt to shake this horrendous feeling of depression. |
| Powerful eyebrows. |
ex_necross said: LeosApathy said: This kept me intrigued from the beginning, but in the end the overall dark theme of this anime was such a huge turn off. I mean damn, I feel so shitty right now. Whatever, I gotta get some rest after marathoning this. Isn't that the whole point, to make you feel? If you're experiencing these feelings, it means Texhnolyze has succeeded as a form of art. The feeling was unpleasant, who enjoys feeling unpleasant? |
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LeosApathy said: ex_necross said: Isn't that the whole point, to make you feel? If you're experiencing these feelings, it means Texhnolyze has succeeded as a form of art. The feeling was unpleasant, who enjoys feeling unpleasant? So you've written off all of the sad drama/tragic/horror anime? Man, you are missing out. That's all I can say really, besides the obvious "man up". |
| After reading 5 pages (last 3 and first 2) worth of discussion here, I can say for sure that the series wasn't meant for someone like me. I don't really care for what's being explored here, nor bother going that much in depth. Having said that, I still enjoyed the series until the end, that's all that matter to me, for now. I might re-watch the series one day in a sitting and read others' theories and interpretations after to fully grasp the brilliance of the series. |
| Honobono Log - best slice of life short -------------------------------------------- most kawaii loli overlord ---------------------------- Donquixote Doflamingo AMV - Control |
| ex_necross said: LeosApathy said: The feeling was unpleasant, who enjoys feeling unpleasant? So you've written off all of the sad drama/tragic/horror anime? Man, you are missing out. That's all I can say really, besides the obvious "man up". Not at all. It also makes little sense that you can make such a judgment based on my disliking of this particular anime. I doubt Texhnolyze would even fall under the horror genre too. The anime that kills off it's entire cast of characters to send a nihilistic message to it's viewers. Ugh, definitely; you'll never see me watching anime created specifically for those who hate life, ever again, but hey that's just me. |
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LeosApathy said: The anime that kills off it's entire cast of characters to send a nihilistic message to it's viewers. Ugh, definitely; you'll never see me watching anime created specifically for those who hate life, ever again, but hey that's just me. So you're going to be apathetic about these type of anime from now on? |
| Here's something that might be of interest: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdist_fiction You don't necessarily have to sink into despair and hatred just because life has no meaning. There's also freedom. If there's no inherent meaning/purpose in life, then you can live however you want. It's all up to you, so to speak. LeosApathy said: I doubt Texhnolyze would even fall under the horror genre The show does have horror elements, though. Horror along the lines of Poe, de la Mare, Lovecraft, Ligotti: 'Death holds illimitable dominion over all!' 'What is good, what is evil?' 'Is the human race the bearer of universal values?' That kind of horror... |
AnagnorisisAug 29, 2014 9:42 AM
| Im gonna have to rewatch this |
| So I re-watched this a little under half a year after my first watch, and I've got to say I'm liking the ending even more than before. This show only hints at what is actually happening so I was quite confused towards the end of my first watch, (Being very sleepy due to a lack of sleep didn't help!) but this time I feel like almost all pieces of the puzzle found their place, and the story feels much more complete. But most importantly, I could relate to the main character a lot better this time. During my first watch, I didn't really get Ichise in the ending scene, but this time the way the satisfaction of a peaceful death was portrayed, was somehow so bittersweet and powerful. As always, the atmosphere and the worldbuilding were incredible. Simply some of the best in anime. Last time I gave this a 9/10, now I'm edging between 9 and a 10. I'll have to let it sink in before I make my choice. |
cupcOct 25, 2014 9:54 AM
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| Easiest 10/10 I've given to an anime. I don't think I've watched anything as atmospheric and as gripping as this. |
| I enyojed the anime, but I was expecting something better. I was actually disappointed at how this all ended. I really have enough of those pseudophilosophical anime in the likes of this, Wolfs Rain where everyone dies for no good reason whatsever. I liked the "action" part of this anime since it was quite good and interesting, but the "intelligent" part of the anime failed miserably to deliver its message. (What was the message anyways?). I also didnt like the surreal style of last eps. 8/10 cuz most of eps were good, but last few were crap. I guess after watching all those sad post apo anime I've seen in the last few months, I really need to take some rest and watch some cute fluffy loli harems, space mecha battles or something... |
| It was hard to watch as it supposed to be, but still good execution i think. Struggles of humans in Luxus were a bit sad to watch and painful to what still everyone dies in end but as seer said it supossed to end like this and no one can change fate. Overall couldn't get into it, nor marathon it, but still loved the story and Luxus world 9/10 (or maybe 8) |
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Mystikas said: It was hard to watch as it supposed to be, but still good execution i think. Struggles of humans in Luxus were a bit sad to watch and painful to what still everyone dies in end but as seer said it supossed to end like this and no one can change fate. Overall couldn't get into it, nor marathon it, but still loved the story and Luxus world 9/10 (or maybe 8) It's really not something meant to be marathoned lol. LeosApathy said: The anime that kills off it's entire cast of characters to send a nihilistic message to it's viewers. Ugh, definitely; you'll never see me watching anime created specifically for those who hate life, ever again, but hey that's just me. People who hate life wouldn't be moved by this anime. |
| So mature and dark, I love it |
| That was a great anime. It did so well with such deep themes and messages, not for a moment did the show not seem sure of what it was doing. This was a masterpiece. Its depressing how everyone went insane in the end though. They make it seem like humanity will somehow restart in the distant future which keeps it from being completely depressing. But then again if they end up living shit lives like the people of Lukass and those on the surface then that would be a bad thing which is even more depressing. I loved all the characters, they were so developed and interesting. Plot was deep and quite unique. I'm gonna have to take form depressing anime for a while because I'm feeling pretty sad from that ending. 10/10.  |
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| Was a great anime, but the ending left me a bit confused. http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=1342351 |
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| What a fascinating anime. I was a little apprehensive going into this because I came away from Lain somewhat disappointed, but this was a much stronger, more cohesive effort from Abe and Konaka. I actually did not find this anime depressing so much as it was gripping, because for me, depressing implies a personal connection established with the story's world and characters, and I never really connected with the show on that level. The last episode hardly left me in tears, and in a way, Ichise's catharsis was sort of uplifting, especially when contrasted with the otherwise doomsday ending. In general, I loved the manner in which Tex contrasted its awfully nihilistic brand of existentialism with the flashes of humanity that the main cast exhibits from time to time. Really helped drive the messages home during the anime's climax. I didn't catch several of the references, so reading this thread has been helpful. Some things I'm still wondering about are why the Gabe villagers' masks were black but Ran's was white; why Ichise's limbs started working again (was there a specific reason beyond giving the scene added weight? seems a bit deus ex machina -y); and what, exactly, are the "ghosts" in the surface world? I probably missed something but I never figured out whether the ghosts were like the holographic avatar that Sugimura had and everyone up there actually did have real bodies, or if they were literal ghosts, or something in between. Oh, just thought of another one - during episodes...I think it was 19-20, during certain conversations the scene would suddenly flash to images of flowers. There was a red flower, then a yellow flower, then a white one, iirc. What did those flowers mean? Also, it would've been nice if the Class had been explored in more detail. I felt like the last third of the anime was a little...not rushed, exactly, but sudden, because up until then we didn't have much information on the Class. I gotta rewatch this at some point. Really good anime, I'm sure there's a lot more I missed. |
PonPonPonJan 20, 2015 8:44 AM
| Those last 4 episodes were amazing, except for the horrible song at the start of the last one. I feel like I haven't got a perfect grasp on the characters, especially Toyama and Onishi, but Ichise is going straight into my favorites. |
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| Everything has its rise, and its eventual fall. Fall to where? That is the question which surrounds Texhnolyze, a beautiful, yet tragic depiction of two different human worlds. The idea of a technocratic dystopia has been a fictional plot device used often many times, with some being impressive and some being less than that. Classic works like 1984 and Brave New World generated interests towards such works; in the other side of the world, Japan takes on a unique approach to such works, with anime like Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion taking the helm. Definitely, Texhnolyze is one of the unique approach to such a subgenre, if one would call it such. Did Texhnolyze do it well? This really depends on perspective. I, for one, appreciated the context in which Texhnolyze uses. It never fails to always remind viewers about the significance of the hellish world Lux is, even when moments of rationale involving one of the protagonists: Oonishi, seemed to sway our general judgement of Lux; even when moments of the surface world is revealed - everything comes back to square one: Lux is purgatory. In no way am I downplaying the role of the surface world in this context too - that is a different hell, something which contradicts Lux's form of hell in Texhnolyze. And talking about Texhnolyze, the main motif which can change both worlds by serving as a bridge between them - but failed to do so. Even technology cannot beat fate - the destiny of all human beings in the world of Texhnolyze. Another praise would go to Texhnolyze's technical execution style, which is undoubtedly flawless. Its dark touches of tone colour, intense imagery with gritty and inhumane action sequences throughout the entire anime only serve to amplify its slow pace. The pace is perfect. Viewers get to feel like Texhnolyze is unlike any other world, but gradually make you think otherwise; for those who have recapped about the start to shockingly realise that the entire world of Texhnolyze has been something so much wilder and ominous than expected. The perspective of Texhnolyze definitely is its strongest aspect, and is one which will either make viewers deride it or laud it. Anagnorisis said: Indeed, existentialism is a recurring theme in Texhnolyze, the freedom of not just an individual's existence, but also the right for an individual to take away another individual's existence without questioning. Hope does not exist in Texhnolyze's dictionary, as it is done in a fashion to portray the inevitable doom of humankind in Texhnolyze, which they had deservedly brought forth upon themselves. This touches on another recurring theme in Texhnolyze, which is balance.Here's something that might be of interest: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdist_fiction Common sense may tell us that in all we do, be it physically, mentally and even spiritually, balance is the way to promote sustenance in everything we do. Texhnolyze, however, questions the opposite, and allows us to think once and for all, the result when that very balance is destroyed. We get two juxtaposing worlds, separated only by a rail and a flight of stairs - both facing their inevitable doom albeit by different means. The portrayal of the two worlds with contrasting effect is another charm of Texhnolyze which is done superbly. One where people tolerate to live, and another where people live to tolerate. Take that toleration away, and both worlds crumble. Lux crumbles in the classical fashion, in which death and insanity took humanity away from them. Some tried to forcefully 'evolve' by being fully Texhnolyzed, only to realise that they can never toss away their innate humanity - the desire to wage conflicts with others due to differences. Kano realised that in the end, and in a way accepted his own fate in a cynical fashion. Whereas for the surface world, in which people slowly disappear just like ice melting, crumbling in a gradual fashion where nobody doesn't even care any longer. One which collapses due to clashes in different meanings, another losing its precise meaning. Texhnolyze is a masterpiece. Yet, a masterpiece does not equate to the fact that everyone will appreciate and understand it equally - for one, humans are made unequal. Still, this difference provides us a sort of 'balance', the 'dichotomic' balance which is non-existent in the world of Texhnolyze. 10/10 |
grayrebornnhyJan 25, 2015 3:57 AM
| "If you reject me, I'll blast a hole in you!" Kanzaki H. Aria Just kidding.  |
| Now, I just can't help but anticipate for Despera to be done, given that recent news has said that it got revived after finding a new director. |
| "If you reject me, I'll blast a hole in you!" Kanzaki H. Aria Just kidding. |
| Fantastic. Such a depressing and nihilist ending, this is a masterpiece. So, Kano and Ran were Lux? |
| Wow. Just... wow. I'm not even sure whether I'm supposed to already write something here, because I'm not even sure how coherent my thoughts are at the moment, but damn - that ending was depressing. Having to see Onishi's death again at the beginning of the episode was depressing enough already since he was by far my favorite character, but also Ran's fate, seeing Lux being as desolate as it is, the Shape all being bound to the grounds by roots while everything around them was dead... woah. And then, that ending theme. Just... that ending theme. I'm not even sure how I'll rate it since I still need to sort my thoughts on the series as a whole, but damn, despite it being a kill'em'all ending, it was still powerful. |
| Really, really impressive. I feel as if fully processing this series may take longer for me than with any anime series i've watched so far. However, i can totally appreciate that. Texhnolyze feels like it was made for several rewatches, yet at the same time the pacing and atmosphere of it make this a little hard. Still, even without fully understanding this series at this moment, giving it anything less than a 10/10 would feel very wrong to me. Definitely watching something more light hearted next, but not today. Nope, not watching anything for the rest of the day. Also, where does this notion of 'every story has to be positive and uplifting otherwise it can't be good' come from? Absolute nonsense. |
Malfegor said: Also, where does this notion of 'every story has to be positive and uplifting otherwise it can't be good' come from? Absolute nonsense. I think there are two degrees to this. Anime tends to be removed from the happy ending trope/cliche for the most part, but the message or outlook is still overall positive in the vast majority of cases even for tragic endings like Most people would consider endings like those to be sad ones, even though everything works out in the grand scheme of things. However, an ending like Texhnolyze where there is absolutely no good or happiness to be found is extremely rare. Literally everything was pointless in the end, death is inevitable, trying to overcome obstacles is a meaningless effort; existential nihilism to the finest degree. Such an ending is so unusual that people try to find some kind of "good" in it, as if it is necessary to have positive elements. It is a great departure from the norm. That's why you can't really be neutral for Texhnolyze, people either love it or feel like it was a complete waste. |
ex_necross said: I think there are two degrees to this. Anime tends to be removed from the happy ending trope/cliche for the most part, but the message or outlook is still overall positive in the vast majority of cases even for tragic endings like Most people would consider endings like those to be sad ones, even though everything works out in the grand scheme of things. However, an ending like Texhnolyze where there is absolutely no good or happiness to be found is extremely rare. Literally everything was pointless in the end, death is inevitable, trying to overcome obstacles is a meaningless effort; existential nihilism to the finest degree. Such an ending is so unusual that people try to find some kind of "good" in it, as if it is necessary to have positive elements. It is a great departure from the norm. That's why you can't really be neutral for Texhnolyze, people either love it or feel like it was a complete waste. You explain it well, i can sort of see where they might be coming from. I still think it's a bit unfair, if the plot was engaging throughout (and in Texhnolyze's case everything else is also spot on), it shouldn't be rated as bad or pointless just because it ends on a downer note. Personally i don't think the show is completely depressing, Ichise's life is cut short, but it still changed for the better in some ways. I mean he did die with a smile. |
| Existential nihilism surrounded by dystopia which was the cause of disinfestation among humans. There is no happy ending, or going around the bush. This anime provides us the sad truth and possible end to mankind. Not for everybody, it is a hard nut to crack. Personally I haven't seen anything like it before, sure anti-utopia's, dystopia's and all possibilities of what can happen in the future are provided every season, but no one dared to show the bad end, that we, humans may go extinct. 9/10 - I was actually waiting for Kano and Oonishi to face each other. |
Malfegor said: Personally i don't think the show is completely depressing, Ichise's life is cut short, but it still changed for the better in some ways. I mean he did die with a smile. But this is not the case, as it goes against everything that existential nihilism is. As I was saying before, literally everything was meaningless, there's nothing happy or "for the better" to come out of this. I've only studied basic philosophy in college, so I'm no expert, but existential nihilism isn't that hard of concept to grasp really. You may have misinterpreted the ending. I do tend to side with nihilism in general though, what point is there to life? When I die, I'll be in the same state as before I was conceived, and I don't see how a universal standard of right and wrong could possibly exist. Majucha said: Existential nihilism surrounded by dystopia which was the cause of disinfestation among humans. There is no happy ending, or going around the bush. This anime provides us the sad truth and possible end to mankind. Not for everybody, it is a hard nut to crack. Personally I haven't seen anything like it before, sure anti-utopia's, dystopia's and all possibilities of what can happen in the future are provided every season, but no one dared to show the bad end, that we, humans may go extinct. 9/10 - I was actually waiting for Kano and Oonishi to face each other. If you want something very similar feeling to Texhnolyze, check out Serial Experiments Lain. |
ex_necrossMar 1, 2015 4:58 AM
| been awhile since ive seen an anime were everyone dies at the end.... im very impressed with this series, the way it portrays the human life and the contrast between heaven and hell that it did towards the end |
ex_necross said: Malfegor said: Personally i don't think the show is completely depressing, Ichise's life is cut short, but it still changed for the better in some ways. I mean he did die with a smile. But this is not the case, as it goes against everything that existential nihilism is. As I was saying before, literally everything was meaningless, there's nothing happy or "for the better" to come out of this. I've only studied basic philosophy in college, so I'm no expert, but existential nihilism isn't that hard of concept to grasp really. You may have misinterpreted the ending. I do tend to side with nihilism in general though, what point is there to life? When I die, I'll be in the same state as before I was conceived, and I don't see how a universal standard of right and wrong could possibly exist. I have never studied any kind of philosophy, but i was under the assumption that existential nihilism simply means that there is no higher purpose to anything in life (or in existence in general) beyond what purpose or meaning the individual makes up for himself. Despite the fact that many people seem to interpret it as such, it doesn't have to be inherently negative or depressing. Again, there is a clear change 'for the better' in Ichise life. He starts out as a pitfighter, who is treated more as an object than a person. He has no one in his life, no friends and both of his parents are dead. This changes however. He meets a lot of people throughout the series, some who become trusted friends, one who even becomes a lover of sorts. He learns what it means it means to depend on others and others in turn depend on him. He has a new-found purpose in life. Yes, he still fails in protecting Ran. Yes, it's all meaningless in the end. Yes, everyone dies. No, there is no higher purpose to anything. but for the duration of the show his life has changed for the better, or at least i interpret it as better. he starts out apathetic to virtually anything other than physical pain and is surviving mostly just for the sake of it. I don't think this still applies to him in the end. |
| Since I typed up this interpretation/summary for one of my clubs I figured I might as well copy-paste it here: Well, I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, but I definitely liked the way it ended. Very atmospheric and borderline nihilistic with a glimmer of hope in the form of Ichise's first and final smile at the end looking at the holographic flower. As for how to interpret the anime as a whole, it's difficult and while I was reading up on various interpretations I came across tons of different ways to interpret it, some of them were similar to my own thoughts, others were completely different. I'd definitely say that the final scene of Ichise peacefully accepting his death was about self-acceptance and being able to find meaning in your actions even when basically everything he tried to do failed (everyone he tried so save died). Just the fact that he had changed to somebody who cared and acted out of more than pure, limited survival instinct like in the beginning of the show made him able to embrace his death with a smile on his face. Ran's role is even more vague in my opinion, but I think one thing is for sure and that's that she saw all this coming from the very beginning. That's why she was so depressed throughout the series and refused to talk about her premonitions right until the very end. She wanted to be the only one to have to suffer from that knowledge and not burden for example Ichise by telling him that he'll basically be the last one to go. One way to interpret the bigger picture is certainly that the show is about the extinction of the human race with the faint possibility of evolution through the Shapes taking root in the earth like that. The duality of the conflict-less but apathetic surface world and the chaotic world of Lux that devoured itself with all the lingering ambitions shows the two sides of humanity brought to their extreme and both eventually failing since by separation the balance was lost. Or in other words they symbolize two different ways of facing (or bringing forth) the extinction of the race. Apathetically, just waiting to die with peaceful memories of the past, or by living and fighting to your last breath so you die at least as a result of your own actions and not just wait for your eventual doom to kick in. The other one is to interpret it more symbolically as an analogy for the inner struggle of someone who lies in a coma with the various characters symbolizing conflicting ideals/wills inside of his mind. One of the main reasons people like it is that the blurred/incomprehensible writings hint at it being a dream since you can't read text in dreams. It also somehow makes sense of those weird radio noises and if you go further you can interpret the whole surface world as lingering memories of the real world of which the coma patient is no longer a part of, which is why everything seems literally so ghostly. Being kept alive by artificial means also ties into the theme with artificial limbs supporting Ichise and some of the other characters, and a lot of the inhabitants of Lux in general. You could even go as far as to say the people are declining parts of the brain that are being kept alive by the machinery that in the dreamworld is symbolized by texhnolyzation. The whole show could depict the conflict about how the mind should deal with the comatose, isolated state it finds itself in. There's the religious angle, the angle of reason/order and the anarchic one, symbolized by the three organizations in Lukuss. There is also the idea of evolving in a way that accepts that decline and that artificial help, which is what the doc is trying to do (also gives additional meaning to her name). Kano is the other character who goes down that road but in a much more extreme manner, almost fully substituting the physicality by texhnolyzation which lead sot the eventual decline into insanity for Lukuss/the mind of the patient while Ichise is on the surface world observing those fading 'memory ghosts' and coming to terms with his father that way. But in the end Ichise, the representation of the will or core humanity if you want to call it that rejects the path of insanity or of battling that insanity by endlessly waiting in the form of those rooted Shapes until something might come out of it and stops struggling, accepting death with a smile on his face. I don't think this theory can explain every little detail of the show, but it's definitely an interesting and mostly coherent way to look at things. The fact that Ichise is the first and last person we see in the anime could also support the theory that the world we see is born and dies with him. At the end of the day I remembered why I loved this show on my first watch through rewatching it. It's not because any particular interpretation utterly captivates me, but because the atmospheric and mysterious narrative appealed to me on a level that didn't even require full, intellectual understanding. It conveys an atmosphere, a feeling, an intuition that just resonated with me and the fact that you can interpret it in so many ways (I found a lot of interpretations that differed from the two I discussed, but those two were closest to my own, vague impressions that I had trouble putting into words) is a nice bonus and can support the theory that it wasn't intended in one specific way. It's thought-provoking both while you watch it and after you complete it, and according to an interview with the creators that's what they were going for. Or at least they're happy if that's the result of watching this show. Let me quote Yasuyuki Ueda on the question what he wanted to say with the show: So, when it comes to what I want to communicate to the audience, it’s just like ABe’s works. I have things in my head, and the way I feel about things changes. Various creators get together, and we start shaping what I have in my head into a story, and I can never tell what kind of chemical changes it will go through inside me at that point. That’s one of the reasons it’s so interesting to me, too. I’m not sure at all if it’s interesting to the audience as well, but I always do try to make things interesting for them. But to the question as to what I want to communicate to them, I really don’t have an answer. It’s all about things that change inside myself, things that I validate inside myself, and experiments that I do inside myself. So, though it’s different from Haibane, if the viewers feel some kind of empathy – but if they feel something, if they have a fleeting thought, “Oh, maybe it means this”, or if something stands out in their memories, and if some actions are triggered in the viewers by watching the show, then I will be very happy. My work is nothing more than that. The central theme of the show is suffering loss but remaining a will to live which is valid in both the apocalyptic and the internal interpretation.[/quote] As for the people who found it too slow especially in the first half, it seems the creator himself had doubts whether the first half was too slow to appeal to the viewers, but he also said that he wouldn't have wanted to do it any other way. Here is the part of the interview I am referring to: Abe: When creating characters, what I tried to be careful about, or what I wanted to appreciate, was that those characters were living human beings. I said just a moment ago that there was not much room for symbolic decorative elements in terms of designing, and that’s the same thing. There are comics out there, for instance, in which you see lots of bloodshed. In that sense, there are stories that are far bloodier that this one, I think. But, in those stories, the bloodshed itself has become nothing but symbolic. There’s no pain, for instance. Characters are mortally wounded but still can go on fighting like hell. In the Shonen Jump-type of world, for instance, that kind of unreality is accepted as completely normal. [Ueda laughs] Something that makes you go, “That’s impossible!” I didn’t want that. In our story, if the main character’s arm is severed, for instance, I wanted the real pain to be conveyed to the viewers. I wanted to design characters that could make it possible. Ueda: Maybe I was too particular about that as well. Retrospectively, I feel that I was too hung up on that point for the first half of the story. But I wanted it to be taken very seriously, that the characters were having their arms and legs severed. For the sake of story-telling, it might have been better to push it forward in a quicker tempo, with “I’ve got my limbs cut off, but I’m OK! I’ll go on!” kind of attitude, but I couldn’t compromise on that point. In the story as a whole, the texhnolyzed limbs are not a mere substitute for lost limbs. The texhnolyzed limbs take a role, as if they are sort of partners to their respective owners – they have a very important meaning. I wanted to express the pain of loss, and the things that happen after natural limbs are lost. So the first half of the story is very dark and dragging [ABe agrees], but once people watch the story to the end, maybe they’ll think, “Oh, so this is what the creators wanted to do, and that’s why they were so persistent in the first half.” I have a feeling that they will understand. And coming back to the interpretation of the show I discussed previously: His emphasize of loss and the texhnolyzation taking up an important role that goes way beyond just simple substitution also somewhat supports the second interpretation I discussed in my comment in which loss is THE central theme of the show, of sorts. Anyway, I'm happy for any input and discussion about my final thoughts. |
| I probably regret this post by now. |
| Yeah, I'm out of words. Fucking amazing. |
| What a joyous ending. Despite the nihilistic themes, I didn't find this series depressing because I struggled to connect with the characters. Some characters were intriguing due to their charisma (e.g. Onishi, Shinji, and Toyama), but I still didn't really care for them. |
MischievousGhostJan 20, 2018 7:52 PM
| Texhnolyze is a brilliant, yet underrated anime. This is an extremely difficult and frustrating series to watch.You have to be prepared to give it your full attention in order to understand the sinuous story and visual metaphors. For those who can feel it and maybe understand it, Texhnolyze will prove one of the most rewarding experiences. This piece of art deserves to be seen! |
| I always wanted that kind of ending. That is not what you see everyday. |
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