Texhnolyze

Publisher
Geneon / MVM
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
22 episodes / 24 minutes
Year
2003

Texhnolyze Volume 3: Retaliation

By otaku_kei
20th Feb 06

Texhnolyze continues to provide both thought provoking drama as well as a visual feast for the audience! Not afraid of this dark, dystopian vision the creative team seem to revel in the filth, degradation and depravity that they drag these characters through. But as the 'Spectacle' starts to take hold across the city, and the Organo, Racan and Salvation Union warring in the streets it looks as if Yoshi's ruthless manipulation of the citywide tensions will bring an end to Onishi's carefully orchestrated peace. Can Lukuss hold together under all this strain? And just how do Ichise, Ran, Onishi and all the others fit into the future for this town?

With the city in turmoil it is a time of betrayal and political manoeuvring. Onishi finds himself caught between the machinations of Yoshi and his betrayal at the hands of the Organo's leading council! Yet with personal tragedy being thrown into Onishi's path to distract and infuriate him, his reactions to these events really allow us to understand this character much better. Perhaps the reason he then works so hard to stop a greater Spectacle, is due to his life now having been reduced to just his work, but whether it is for the greater love of the city or a simple chance of revenge Onishi becomes a much more rounded character. Ichise also makes some major decisions that will effect his future in this series, but how does Ran and her visions fit feature in Ichise's future?

This volume brings to a close one major story and sets in motion events to come. Yoshi's arrival sparked most of the troubles, as he exploited the social divides of the city to sow terror and disorder. But his death in this volume brings these rash events to a close in a satisfactory manner. Yoshi's death works so well to close this arc as his arrival and then death bookend all the troubles and events so far in this series. Also we can see that the events that Yoshi caused have set into motion the changes and choices that several of these characters are now making.

The following episodes deal with the fallout from Yoshi's attacks and the political upheaval within the Organo. More time is given over to Ichise in these episodes, as we see how all his suffering since the start of the show is changing him. Now working for the Organo, Ichise finds his usual cool head lost when faced with certain home truths about his hated father, as well as bewilderment about his continued meetings with the seer Ran. The increasing amount of information circling about this young girl makes clear that she will be a pivotal character in the progress of this show, as will the secret sect that inhabits Lukuss looking charged with taking care of Ran.

Texhnolyze always had the intention of being a 'high concept' show! From the opening episode that actively demanded the full attention of the audience to follow the depth of the imagery, this show has not been afraid of pushing boundaries. All the while still managing to deliver a riveting sci-fi tale at the same time. The characters continue to grow and develop, and whilst they remain emotionally distant from the audience we are starting to understand their personal motivations. The spiral of events has also showed in this volume that this show is moving onto another story arc, an arc that appears to be far less obvious than the fledgling civil war that has built from the last few volumes.

Texhnolyze has so far been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Yes, I do like the dark vision of the future portrayed here, and the characters and action intrigues me, but at times this show can be a real struggle to watch. This volume though kicks the show up a gear and has really gotten me back into enjoying the show. We are left wanting more, wanting to see which direction the show is going to go in now, as well as find out what is to happen to these characters. For those of you who have been enjoying the show so far then this is essential viewing, and for those out there who felt this show was moving to slowly then I am sure that this volume will turn your opinion right around. This show continues to impress, and personally I cannot wait to see what else is in store for us with Texhnolyze!

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English Language 2.0; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; Textless Closing; Alternate Dialogue Outtakes; MVM Trailers

Release information: OUT NOW

Notes: Another great release from MVM. This show looks great and sounds great as should be expected from such a recent show. The extras are a bit of a mixed bag. The textless closing and trailers are fairly standard for a UK release, but the dialogue outtakes are another matter. For the most part they are amusing, but the question is whether these have been staged with the knowledge of this extra being included for the English speaking DVD market, or whether these are all ad-libbed by the voice talent just on the spur of the moment! I hope for the latter, but have the rather sad feeling that this are not so much 'outtakes' as staged buffoonery. That said the outtkes are still laugh out loud funny!

-- otaku_kei 20th Feb 06

Texhnolyze Images