Texhnolyze is a Japanese animetelevision series directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, from a screenplay by Chiaki J. Konaka, and produced by Yasuyuki Ueda, with original character design by Yoshitoshi ABe. The events take place in the vibrant yet dilapidated underground city of Lux. Denizens of Lux have come to call it "The City" and treat it as a sentient force. Three factions vie for control of the city: the Organo, a strictly professional conglomerate with ties to the criminal underworld in the prostheses business ; the Salvation Union, a fanatical populist group interfering with the Organo's affairs; and the Racan, a marauding group of Texhnolyzed youths. The series has an ensemble cast, but events particularly focus on Ichise, a stoic prize fighter who loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged promoter; Onishi, a young but level-headed executive of the Organo who has many enemies; and Ran, a little girl who has a very important gift that affects the entire city. As they struggle to accept the challenges that they are dealt, the characters bear witness to major events that determine the survival and fate of the city.
Plot
In a man-made underground society, descendants of a banished generation live for control of the crumbling city of Lux. Ichise, an orphan turned prize fighter, loses a leg and an arm to satisfy an enraged fight promoter. On the brink of death he is taken in by a young woman doctor and used as a guinea pig for the next evolution of Texhnolyze. With his new limbs, Ichise is taken under the wing of Onishi, a powerful leader of the Organo, an organization with some hold on Lux. As Ichise is drawn deeper into a war for territorial control of the city, he learns of his possible future from the young girl prophet Ran, who guides him from the shadows in his darkest times. With the explosion of open warfare, Ichise must uncover the truth about Lux and fight for his survival as he realizes his destiny.
Characters
Shapes
Shapes are people who have been completely texhnolyzed. They have had most of their bodies replaced with cyborg components, leaving only their heads intact and connected to an organic life support pod. The Shapes quickly grow into an army which threatens to conquer Lux once and for all.
