Texhnolyze Complete Collection

Label:

MVM

Certificate:

15

Format:

DVD

Discs:

6. (22 episodes)

Running time:

600 mins approx

Subtitles:

English

Video:

16.9 anamorphic

Sound:

English 2.0, Japanese 2.0

Release date:

6th Sept 2010

RRP:

£39.99 - Amazon - Play - MVM

Brief synopsis:

Buried deep in the bowels of the Earth, the experimental city of Lux was originally constructed as the last hope of survival for the rapidly dying human race. Decades later it lies forgotten by the world above and left to fend for itself. Crime syndicates, street gangs and religious luddites rule the city while the population toil away in quiet desperation. A young prize-fighter by the name of Ichise finds himself on the wrong side of his promoter who orders that he be viciously mutilated and left to die on the streets. Near death, Ichise is found by the ruling Organo syndicate and taken to a skilled surgeon who replaces his lost limbs with prosthetic ones, a procedure known a “Texhnolyzation”. Procedures of this kind are seen as the next step in human evolution and the only way to save the human race. Whoever controls Texhnolyzation controls the survival of humanity and many will stop at nothing to be the ones with that control. When Ichise meets Ran, a young girl who can see the future, and Onishi, the leader of the Organo syndicate who can hear the voice of the very city itself, events are set in motion, which forever change humanity’s fate.

But will it lead to the people’s salvation, or to their ultimate demise?

Comments:

From acclaimed manga artist Yoshitoshi ABe (Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei, NieA under 7) and the team behind the likes of Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei and Hellsing comes one hell of an epic head twister so heavy in politics, power plays and behind the scenes machinations that it makes Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex seem easy to follow in comparison. This is actually one of those shows that’s rather hard to recommend out of the blue as, if it’s the kind of thing that will appeal to you then you’d probably have heard of it already. Comparisons are hard to come by as well but it does have similarities to the likes of Ergo Proxy, the aforementioned Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf’s Rain and other anime heavy on the mass conspiracy and amoral political scheming. This is isn’t to say that there isn’t any action, gun-battles or good, old fashioned, bare knuckle fist fighting as it’s far from absent but as it’s not the main thrust of the show it’s used somewhat sparingly. The phrase “less is more” seems to be the watchword of this series but what action you do get is graphic, bloody and holds nothing back. It’s certainly earned it’s 15 cert rating through language, sex and violence, though all three are underplayed and are included to enhance the story and to show the seedy and vicious side of life in the dystopian city of Lux rather than just to titillate the audience. Much of what occurs is heavily implied rather than out and out stated - from motives and repercussions to the eventual fates of several characters - and most of the tells and clues are hard to spot so even the smartarses in the audience will have a hard time sussing the end in advance - which incidentally brings one of the biggest downer endings I’ve ever seen.

The characters are the kind that don’t immediately make you care about them - in fact you’ll probably still have trouble caring about them even towards the(ir) end - but this is a definite “grow on you” type of show. As you get deeper into it they’ll definitely gain your interest, though I wouldn’t go so far as to use the word “engross”. On the whole it suffers slightly from being constricted by the set length of each episode, some could have done with being cut down while others could have down with two episodes being merged together and the whole show really could have done with being a good few episodes shorter though at a grand total of twenty two episodes – much less than the more usual twenty six, it’s obviously already been pruned down as much as was commercially viable.

Visually the art style is very much what the fans have come to expect from Yoshitoshi ABe. If you’ve previously seen Serial Experiments Lain or Haibane Renmei, or have read any of ABe’s lesser known printed works such as White Rain then you’ll know what to expect. While ABe himself wasn’t responsible for the whole look of the show it’s obviously draws heavily from much of his portfolio. A lot of the art’s “experimental” to say the least and can take some getting used to but once you do it really does enhance the look and feel of the show. Just remember to have your TV remote control handy as you’re really going to need those contrast & brightness buttons where you can easily get to them.

Audio/Subtitles

While the original Japanese language track for this show is very good, the Dub track is certainly one of the best around. But with the very limited use of background music - or even background noises - the dub really does need to be good and a bad dub would have made the series unbearable. Victoria Harwood, probably best know as Integra from Hellsing, is as always a joy to listen too and the ADR Director (the same as for Ergo Proxy) even managed to get a decent performance out of Carrie Savage which is quite an accomplishment in itself. Not every line or casting choice is perfect but the good heavily outweighs the bad.

The music used throughout this show is excellent (including the industrial-techno opening theme by British band Juno Reactor who are best known for their work on the various Matrix soundtracks) though as mentioned before it’s used quite sparingly. This is a rather wise move as the music could easily have overpowered the show had it not been restrained. Influences range from mid western country to orchestral to industrial and on the whole it’s somewhat reminiscent of Wolf’s Rain or the less jazz oriented episodes of Cowboy Bebop. Pretty much all of the scenes set underground are light on the background music and are totally bereft of such things as bird song and insect sounds to really bring home how cut off they are from the outside world.

Extras:

Apart from the standard pair of trailers per disc, the textless opening and closing animation and a textless version of the series ending animation each disc includes what they call “Alternate Dialogue Outtakes”. Basically these “re-imaginings” of several major scenes which are basically a chance for the Dub cast to unwind and mess around with the characters making for some great comedic moments which counteracts well with the original gravitas and seriousness of the show in general.

Texhnolyze Complete Collection will be available from 6th Sept 2010 from most online and high street retailers.