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Reviews
Tekunoraizu (2003)
Post Modern Cyberpunk is not necessarily Narcissistic and Nihilistic
If you are looking for a nicely packaged anime series that will answer all your questions simply, through the use of a linear plot and likable characters, this show is not for you. This show is for a very specific audience and it will simply bore or go over the heads of many people who will inevitably watch it. If you are a fan of Lain, Boogiepop Phantom or The Fountain or Mullholand Drive or Cyberpunk generally I would highly recommend watching this series. During this review I will analyze different reasons why I feel this show is a 10 and why one should watch it and maybe give some insight into how one should watch it.
Firstly, what is Texhnolyze about? On the surface level, Texhnolyze revolves around the lives of a few individuals and the respective movements and ideals that they represent. Ichise, the protagonist was a boxer in an underground boxing ring, however due to extenuating circumstances he loses an arm and a leg. He is able to get replacements through something called Texhnolyzation. One of the most important themes in this film is the issue of pushing humanity forward through this process of mechanization through texhnolyzation. As texhnolyzed limbs can be far stronger than limbs made of flesh.
There are many philosophical approaches that can add insight into the issue of texhnolyzation. The major issue at play here is one that is quite common to revolutionary theory and that is can man change his destiny as a race? Can man transcend the limits that make us human? This film has some very strong Nietzchean themes as well as ones dealing with Ontological Anarchism.
The story of Texhnolyze takes place in the city of Lukuss, which happens to be controlled by the Organo, essentially a very well organized Mafioso style organization. Given that this group controls and rules Lukuss in a very authoritarian manner, there are two other groups vying for control. The first of these groups is the Union. The ideals of the Union express a very common moralist revolutionary aesthetic. They hate texhnolyzation for they see it merely as a way for the Organo to rule over them and thus they oppose this technology and are flesh purists. The other group vying for control is Racan. This group is the most interesting in my view. They seem to espouse a very Stirnerian ideal of ontological anarchy. They do not have some moralistic cause like the Union. They are not well organized. They are a merely a group of individuals who come together of their own freewill. Their existence is solely tied to their own ego as individuals and furthering that ego through fighting authority not to pursue justice, but to win. In other words they do this to assert their existence and also transcend the absurd.
There are many other issues within the plot that I could divulge but what is more important about this series is the passion and feeling that is possesses. Often this anime is criticized for having cold, alien characters. For people, who give this as a criticism I have two responses, firstly, consider environment as a factor in determining outlook. I don't think it would fit to have likable and overly open characters considering the environment in which they exist. Secondly, I would go so far to recommend that a person not to take the characters as separate whole entities, but rather as fragments of what we would consider human. I think only when taken into totality can the characters and their relationships be truly understood. The characters seem to represent particular psychological drives, and only through totality can all the characters and their relationships be understood. They cannot be isolated, so it seems meaningless to look at them as such.
The number one reason to watch this series is because it is Human all too Human. It evokes so much and constitutes all that is human with a sort of Dionysian passion.
Gattaca (1997)
Subtle Dramatic Conflict and Thought Provoking Questions of Bio-Ethics
The premise of this film is that in the not so distant future, the idea of "designer babies" will be both accepted in an extreme form and almost have become the norm of society. So obviously within the first few minutes of this film questions of whether humans should tamper with the natural reproductive practices have some light shed on them. Should we use technology to better the population through an "unnatural means", is another interpretation of this issue that resides throughout this film.
The plot itself is centered around Vincent, a man who was born using natural means and is likely to have heart failure by the time he is thirty. In the aforementioned world that he lives in this prevents him from doing anything that most people would see as significant. However his will forces him to find a way to realize his goal of becoming a space explorer.
The plot is very strong it flows and has a dreamy and surreal quality to it. The conflicts of the plot are not made overly dramatic. Which in my opinion has thrown some other reviewers who have panned this film off. The conflict like the plot are very dreamy and don't have the harsh tone that is common in many mainstream films. The conflict is not hyped up in an unnatural way. The plot itself because of the dreamy feel moves at a relatively slow pace. So if you think that you will like this movie because Sci Fi films usually have fast paced stories and lots of action don't watch this film because you wont enjoy it. However the plot's slowness serves to give the viewer more time to consciously question the ethics and issues that are raised in the film.
The characters of this film are superbly acted and magnificently constructed. The characters who play major dramatic roles in the film are not archetypes. Nor are the characters particularly likable. The protagonist has a great heart and will, but at the same time he is flawed in his selfish and overly competitive nature. Which is probably the reason why I respected the character construction so much. Characters should not meant to be likable they should be meant to be real.
Altogether if you are looking for a fast paced Sci Fi film with lots of action stay away from this film. However if you seek dramatic thought provoking conflict and a moving human drama, then I definitely recommend you watch this film.