Texhnolyze

''Texhnolyze'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese experimental anime television series animated by Madhouse and directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki. Set in the fictional city of Lux, the story focuses on Ichise, a stoic prize fighter who loses an arm and a leg after offending an unnamed figure. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka, with original character design by Yoshitoshi Abe, the series was produced by Yasuyuki Ueda and was broadcast on Fuji Television and its affiliates from April to September 2003.

Plot

Lux, a crumbling underground city, survives solely through the mining of raffia—a rare mineral used in the creation of advanced prosthetics. Ichise, a disgraced pit fighter, loses an arm and leg after angering a powerful figure. Rescued from death by scientist Eriko "Doc" Kaneda, he undergoes texhnolyzation, receiving experimental prosthetic limbs containing traces of his deceased mother's DNA woven into their circuitry. Drawn into the city's power struggles, Ichise encounters three warring factions: the Organo crime syndicate that rules Lux, the revolutionary Salvation Union seeking to overthrow them, and the nomadic Raccan youths who weaponize their own prosthetic enhancements. His path crosses with Ran, a seer from the surface village of Gabe who glimpses possible futures, and Kazuho Yoshi, a surface-dweller who sows chaos among the factions to sustain his fading existence.

When Yoshi attempts to assassinate Onishi—the Organo's leader and Ichise's former mentor—Ichise kills him. The conflict escalates with the emergence of "The Class", an elitist group led by the grotesque Kano, a product of generations of inbreeding. Their biomechanical soldiers, the Shapes, begin conquering Lux as preparation for an assault on the surface world. Seeking to stop Kano, Ichise and Doc travel to the surface, discovering a desolate wasteland inhabited by "theonormals"—humans preserved by advanced technology but resigned to extinction. Records reveal that centuries earlier, surface society exiled its undesirables underground to build Lux. Overcome by despair at this revelation, Doc takes her own life.

Returning to Lux, Ichise finds the city in ruins. The Shapes, now immobilized and decaying, litter the streets as infrastructure fails. After mercy-killing his former ally Haruhiko Tooyama—now a tormented Shape—Ichise confronts Kano in the Opera House. The mad visionary, obsessed with forcibly evolving humanity, reveals Ran's suicide. In rage, Ichise beheads him. Mortally wounded on a rooftop as Lux's lights fade, Ichise's failing prosthetics briefly project Ran's crude drawing of a flower—their last connection. As darkness consumes the city, he dies with quiet acceptance.

Characters

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:Ichise is a largely silent and withdrawn individual. He exhibits sporadic bursts of violence despite his typically passive demeanor. Initially introduced as an underground fighter, he gradually becomes entangled in Lux's factional conflicts while searching for purpose. His journey intertwines with the city's power struggles, though he remains an outsider to its political machinations. As events unfold, his actions—often driven by instinct rather than deliberation—influence the shifting balance of power in Lux.
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:Ran, a young child, is a seer from the neighboring city of Gabe. She is primarily seen selling orchids while wearing a white fox mask wherever she travels. Ran has the gift of foresight, which allows her to see glimpses of the future. Unfortunately, this ability often pains her, as she is unable to change the events of the future that she sees. She has an unexplained, but profound interest in Ichise, and throughout the series she appears to help guide him.
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:Doc is a medical specialist from the mysterious Class, a group of elite individuals who live far away from Lux. She studies the process of texhnolyzation, the fictional technology that allows humans to control prosthetic limbs easily. She provides special prototype prosthetics for Ichise to replace his missing limbs, and follows him through the plot out of an interest in both him and the effects her experimental technology have on him.
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:Onishi is the current chairman of the Organo, and claims to hear "the voice of the city" speak into his mind. He is characterized as a confident man with a clear belief in his own purpose and strong willpower, who is skilled in both combat and diplomacy. Throughout the story, Onishi attempts to maintain peace with the Salvation Union and stay loyal to his organization.
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:Shinji is the leader of the Raccan. A young, cocky man, Shinji seems to be the extent of what authority exists in the anarchistic Raccan. He often rails against the interference of the other two factions of Lux into the lives of his group, and harbors a particularly deep hatred for the Class.
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:Yoshii is a mysterious visitor to the city of Lux, who is first seen descending a large, industrial staircase from an unknown location. Adventurous, charismatic, and purposeful, Yoshii's interactions with the citizens of Lux spark a series of changes that send the three factions vying for control of the society into a frenzy.

Release

''Texhnolyze'' aired for twenty episodes on Fuji Television from April 17 to September 25, 2003. Two un-aired episodes were included in the DVD release. Geneon USA's English dub of the series aired in the United States on STARZ!/ Encore's Action channel in 2006, then aired again on Funimation Channel and Funimation Channel on Demand when Funimation licensed the series from Geneon Entertainment. It also aired in Canada on G4techTV Canada's Anime Current block in the mid-2000s. Its opening theme is "Guardian Angel" by the English band Juno Reactor. Japanese visual kei singer Gackt's song '' Tsuki no Uta'' was selected as its ending theme.

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

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{{Madhouse

Anime with original screenplays
Cyberpunk anime and manga
Cyberpunk television series
Existentialist anime and manga
Funimation
Geneon USA
Madhouse (company)
NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Psychological thriller anime and manga