Texhnolyze

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

Texhnolyze Volume 4: Suspicions

By otaku_kei
28th May 06

There are certain shows that you really long for between volumes. Whatever has come before has left you frantic to see how the show will move on, and Texhnolyze is one of those shows. From the very beginning this dark tale has provided something very different than the usual shows out there. Texhnolyze is not an action show, or even really a sci-fi tale. Much more than that, this show is a character study of men and women under phenomenal pressure, forced to be pillars of strength in a brutal world that looks as if at any moment it could turn and swallow the weak. Ichise has started to come to terms with his new limbs, and his place within the Organo. Ran is still troubled by her visions of a dark future. The Doctor has her own secrets. Lukuss seems set to dissolve once again into civil war, and Onishi seems trapped between what he feels the city needs and what he really wants. This show has never claimed to be simple, and with all these overlapping stories you need to pay attention to what happens next...

For anyone who has been following this show from the start I am sure you are aware how much attention needs to be paid to what is going on onscreen. Not everything is as it seems and characters can still surprise you after 6 hours of this show already. There remains a lot of tension seething under the placid surface of the city of Lukuss. From the repercussions of the conflict between the Organo, the Rakan and the Union still being felt across the city, but in this volume a new force starts to manipulate all the major power groups within Lukuss. This manipulation leads to the break up of these groups. The Organo implodes from within under the weight of former allies ambitions, whereas the Rakan and the Union fracture along more personal or philosophical lines.

With all the epic changes across this volume you would expect for the character development to fall by the wayside. But for the most part these changes in the structure of Lukuss society is then reflected in how these characters react, and on which side of the battle they find themselves on. The arrival of this new player orchestrating the split of the Triad of Lukuss city power, manages to hasten the path down which many of these characters take. Onishi finds himself cut off from the voice of the city, Ichise throws in his lot with Onishi, the Doctor's own mysterious past comes back to haunt her, each and every character has their own reckoning to deal with in this volume.

I have to say that Texhnolyze makes for addictive viewing. From the opening volume this show has left a distinctive impression after every episode as it slowly peels back the layers of character and plot development. As I mentioned previously, the ambiguous nature of many of these characters still leaves the audience guessing just what direction the show will take next. Far too often in anime plot developments are signposted long ahead of onscreen events and this can make for some rather predictable viewing. The frequent use of genre archetypes also reinforces this familiarity, but Texhnolyze never falls into that trap. As we get to know these characters we can start to guess what they will do next, but even still that is only because as an audience we are starting to understand the motivations of the cast. We have followed their progress through this time of upheaval, and yet still surprises lurk in every scene. That is what makes Texhnolyze such a rewarding joy to watch!

If you are looking for a show that challenges the audience, makes you think about what is going on, keeps you guessing and still delivers all the action that you need then Texhnolyze is the show that you area after. Over the last several volumes this show has really started to build momentum. Events are starting to spiral out of control, and the characters are now set on a collision path with whatever power is manipulating the events of Lukuss. As you can probably guess, I am quite impressed with this show and it only looks set to get better. My recommendation to anyone out there would be to take a plunge and try out something a little bit different this year!

R2 DVD Notes

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

Release information: OUT NOW

Notes: Yet another disc that demonstrates MVM's success story when it comes to disc quality. The audio and visual standard of this release is top notch. This release though suffers from the same problem as all shows that are spread out across mutiple volumes: there are only so mnay extras available, and once exhausted we are left with just the standard extras of Trailers, and the outakes that keep appearing on Texhnolyze releases.

-- otaku_kei 28th May 06

Texhnolyze Images