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Texhnolyze:
Music Only Music But Music
Anime Soundtrack Review
A hard pounding Rave beat, combined with a mod Trasher techno sound makes Texhnolyze the cyberpunk soundtrack to the internet-connected lifestyle. Composer Keishi Urata (Sound Architect of Akira) doesn't let the beats get dull because along comes Ben Watkins of Juno Reactor (a major force in Techno, contributing to the movies Mortal Combat and Matrix Reloaded) with "Guardian Angel", the awesome and explosive title theme. This album has the extended remix which goes for more than 5 minutes (very good drive-fast music).
Hajime Mizoguchi is co-credited on the Texhnolyze soundtrack, although he is the overall sound-designer for the series. He provided the total design concept including dialog, music and sound effects, which is far beyond the usual role of sound-designer. He was instrumental in the unique sound design of Serial Experiments Lain, another very popular cyberpunk anime, so he clearly knows his stuff and appears to be the true genius behind this CD as well.
With 25 tracks, this OST is loaded with material and is a sure crowd-pleaser. Loud, brash instrumentals contrast with the surprisingly lush and tragically romantic song, "When Reason Fails", and Gackt contributes the final track "Poem of the Moon" and wraps it all up with you wanting to play it again.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, August 2006
Texhnolyze -
Volume 1 - Inhumane & Beautiful
Anime DVD Review
You are looking at the future of anime. A gritty, futuristic dystopia on the level only previously imagined in the novels of William Gibson, this series is a shocker in its brutality and ground-breaking creativity. Bringing together the talents of Yoshitoshi ABe, Yasuyuki Ueda and Chiaki Konaka, this cyberpunk tour-de-force is a must-have, and will certainly influence filmmaking on both sides of the planet.
The blending of animation techniques is particularly impressive and we appreciate the effort that went into the design of this series. Every dollar spent is on the screen. Take notice and don't blink, it's a lesson on how to do this genre correctly with every frame. Not since Ghost in the Shell has something this impressive exited the studios of Japan. The kick-ass techno soundtrack makes us want to buy the BGM when it's available!
Below: Promotional artwork from Texhnolyze.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, June 2004
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