Texhnolyze

Texhnolyze (テクノライズ, Tekunoraizu) is a Japanese anime television series directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, from a screenplay by Chiaki Konaka, and produced by Yasuyuki Ueda, with original character design by Yoshitoshi ABe.

The events take place in the vibrant yet dilapidated underground city of Lux. Denizens of Lux have come to call it "The City" and treat it as a sentient force. Three factions vie for control of the city: the Organo, a strictly professional conglomerate with ties to the criminal underworld in the prostheses business ("Texhnolyze"); the Salvation Union, a fanatical populist group interfering with the Organo's affairs; and the Racan, a marauding group of Texhnolyzed youths. The series has an ensemble cast, but events particularly focus on Ichise, a stoic prize fighter who loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged promoter; Onishi, a young but level-headed executive of the Organo who has many enemies; and Ran, a little girl who has a very important gift that affects the entire city. As they struggle to accept the challenges that they are dealt, the characters bear witness to major events that determine whether the city continues to exist.

Texhnolyze aired on Fuji Television from April 16, 2003 to September 24, 2003, totaling twenty episodes. Two unaired episodes were included in the DVD release.

Plot

In a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation vie for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter. On the brink of death he is taken in by a young woman doctor and used as a guinea pig for the next evolution of Texhnolyze. With his new limbs, Ichise is taken under the wing of Onishi, a powerful leader of Organo, an organization with some hold on Lux. As Ichise is drawn deeper into a war for territorial control of the city, he learns of his possible future from the young girl prophet Ran, who guides him from the shadows in his darkest times. With the explosion of the warfare, Ichise must uncover the truth about Lux and fight for his survival as he realizes his destiny.

Characters

Ichise (櫟士)

Voiced by: Akira Haga (Japanese), Justin Gross (English)

Ichise is a street fighter of very few words who participates in underground fight clubs for money. He is tough, cool and violent. Throughout the series, he was saved from the amputation of an arm and a leg by Doc and Onishi, he adopted his texhnolyzed arm and leg, changed his attitude and commit his life helping out Onishi and Organo.

Ran (蘭)

Voiced by: Shizuka Itou (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English)

Ran is a seer from Gabe. She sells Orchid carrying a white fox mask whenever she travels. Ran has gifted foresight, which grants her insight into Lux's one possible outcome of the future. Unfortunately, this ability pains her since she often sees bad future which she's unable to change. She has a profound interest in Ichise and helped him throughout the series. She also helped Onishi as "the voice of the city".

Eriko "Doc" Kaneda (鎌ç"°æ±Ÿé‡Œå­, Kaneda Eriko, ドク Doc)

Voiced by: Shizumi Niki (Japanese), Victoria Harwood (English)

Doc is a researcher on Texhnolyzation from the Class. She develops Texhnolyzation which works naturally for human instead of worshiping functionality and power. In the beginning of the series, she lives and continues her research in Lux. With the help from Onishi, she found Ichise suffering from the amputation of an arm and a leg and installs prosthetic arm and leg of her own design for him.

Keigo Onishi (大西京å'‰, Onishi Keigo)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)

Onishi is the head of Organo, the only person in Lux who can hear "the voice of the city". He is a strong, righteous and capable man, he is almost unbeatable with his sword. He unified organizations and formed Organo with the help of "the voice of the city". He commits his life to bring order and liberty to the city.

Shinji (シンジ)

Voiced by: Masaya Kitaide (Japanese), Jason C. Miller (English)

Shinji is the leader of Racan. He often gets involved in the city's gang wars. He enjoys freedom and wishes he could be enlightened by the Class. He has a texhnolyzed index finger on his right hand.

Kazuho Yoshii (吉井一穂, Yoshii Kazuho)

Voiced by: Takashi Inoue (Japanese), Sam Riegel (English)

Yoshii is a visitor from the surface world. He is seen carrying a bag with him containing an assortment of valued items. Almost half his body has been texhnolyzed. He is adventurous and purposeful. During his journey, he discovers necessities for life in Lux and decides to make changes for the city.

Shapes

Shapes are people who have been completely texhnolyzed. They have had most of their bodies replaced with cyborg components, leaving only their heads intact and connected to an organic life support pod. The Shapes quickly grow into an army which threatens to conquer Lux once and for all.

Episode list

References

External links

• Texhnolyze (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Texhnolyze at the Internet Movie Database
• Texhnolyze at TV.com
• ANN
  • Review of disk 1
  • Series review