Texhnolyze: Nihilism

The following article contains heavy spoilers for the series Texhnolyze. If you have not seen the show, and want to avoid spoilers, the first episode can be watched here

Hiroshi Hamasaki’s2003 animated television series, Texhnolyze,is one of the bleakest, most depressing, and nihilistic works of science fiction ever created. It tells a harrowing tale of humanity’s last days before coming to a bitter end. It presents an incredibly cynical and grim view of human nature and behavior. This begs the question, why would anyone watch, let alone enjoy, Texhnolyze?

Texhnolyze tells the story of Ichise, a prize fighter in the post-apocalyptic underground city of Lux, humanity’s last surviving refuge. After losing an arm and a leg as retribution to his dissatisfied promoter, Ichise is granted cybernetic prosthetic limbs by a mysterious benefactor. From there, he becomes involved with the organization that controls the city and is taken under the wing of their leader. One of the main businesses of the city of Lux, is that of Texhnolyzation, the act of replacing one’s body parts with machines. As the series progresses, the various factions in the city begin to war, while the technology that is a necessity to their lives slowly consumes them, ending with the destruction of the city as well as humanity.        

Texhnolyze succeeds in making its crushingly nihilistic story so compelling by presenting its narrative in a way that can only be described as honest. The show doesn’t follow narrative conventions such as a rising action or a mix of highs and lows, it doesn’t try to make its characters likeable, it doesn’t ask the audience to get invested the plot; its imply tells the story that it wants to tell, seemingly disregarding the audience entirely. Because of this, the show is able to convey its themes and ideas in a way that could be described as pure. By freeing itself from narrative convention the show is able to tell its unique story in the most direct way possible.

One of the central themes of the series is that of man’s relationship with technology. In the beginning of the series we see people in various states of texhnolyzation. As the series progresses the people of Lux become increasingly consumed by technology. Late in the series, we learn that the few remaining people on the surface have achieved immortality through technology; however rather than a paradise, life of the surface has become and endless boring monotony, and thepeople that live there have been reduce to nothing but ghosts of their former selves. Texhnolyze presents a grim interpretation of humanity’s relationship with technology. Rather than something that improves their lives, the technology that runs the lives of the people of Lux, ends up being the primary means of their destruction.

Perhaps the most fascinating yet simultaneously terrifying aspect of Texhnolyze is its stark distillation of human nature. The show argues that the ideals and philosophies that guide humanity are nothing more than lies people tell themselves to convince themselves that they’ve reached some form of actualization. In the end, Texhnolyze posits that people are nothing more than savage animals. Throughout the series, we see the people of Lux acting based upon their animalistic instincts.The main character, Ichise, acts as a foil for the rest of the cast; where the other major characters of the series represent some form of ideal or philosophy, Ichise represents pure instinct. He acts seemingly without any sort of overarching goal or motivation, and in doing so, acts as a mirror for other characters in the series, and as a grim reminder of the futility of their struggle.

Texhnolyze is a strange show for one to say that they have enjoyed. Its utterly bleak and grim depiction of humanity’s nihilistic nature is haunting while at the same time incredibly enthralling.The show’s depiction of humanity’s relationship with technology serves as a dire reminder at what the consequences may be for our own society should we allow our own technology to consume our lives. Texhnolyze is a horrifying and depressing piece of science fiction and it is absolutely fascinating.

Screenshot, Hiroshi Hamasaki, director, Texhnolyze, 2003, Studio Madhouse.