ACGISM

Warning:This article might be vague ,including some philosophy perceptions.

Key Words: Cyberpunk Post-industry civilization Post-Human Doomdays

A story could be told in five minutes, but eventually it was turned to more than 15mimutes, as a result the Animation which could be regarded as violence aesthetics production converted to kinda humanism literary film. The uncoordinated rhythm of the anime in a way could afflict your patience a lot, but after you went through it, you will obtain a liberal and enlightened feeling. I don’t want to talk about the details for you in that to maintain the mystery of this anime, I just focus on some notions and conceptions mentioned in the anime, somewhat, stick to talking the scenario is boring sometimes……..in my viewpoint.

Texhnolyze attach charm to itself by of using the reputation of ABeYoshitoshi(安倍吉俊).He is a star staff in making this anime,still, he just accounts for the menu design……. Texhnolyze in some way can be comparable to the Lain, which is an experimental cult anime focus on , in terms of diving the work, this similitude should be ascribed to konaka tiyaki(小中千昭) , he is running the main scenario of Texhnolyze.

The scenario made by Konaka tiyaki include:”Hellsing” “Lain”, “Ayakashi” , however, few one knows him and few article have mentioned him, even you search by the Google you merely can find few date or introduction about him. According to my mind, either <> or <> belongs to the scenario of obscurity and complexity that lead to hard to understand. This sharp his productions as experimental style, so I may as well talk about <> in some sort for the sake of facilitating you to make an comparison with Texhnolyze.

As for the implement of stream of consciousness in anime, <> try to open the gate of consciousness in human’s deep mind, to show a abstract picture that people are wandering in another consciousness platform, a parallel world in heart against the reality. It’s construction based on the thought toward the cyber Internet and quest for human ego, a kind of SF(science fiction) production.<> points out the supposition : in the period of post-industry civilization human’s anxiousness and maze from their being subjected to the frantic impact of rigid development of science and Tec knowledge. But the most concern in <> lies on people how to nourish their mental field while the progressive cyber technique are affecting their real world more and more.. When it come to the Texhnolyze, the theme turn to be emphasize the change of human including both physics and mentality in the post-industry age contributed by the science and technology. It makes up the blank left by <>, besides the consciousness also covers the macrostructure of post-human society. From 1998 till now, XXX is acquainted to rein the narration skill well; consequently his concern to the future of human-being goes deep into a new field. It’s appreciated to see the achievement on his cultivation this point, and increase my expectation for his next production.

Yes, don’t fell skeptical, I’m still talking about the anime, Texhnolyze, it’s a cyber-punk animation, which portrays a image that human race will meet a doomsday in which all of us have evolved from natural person to the cyborg, with fewer motion sensation, our society becomes a cold and indifferent one.

The academe recently incline to use the prefix “post”, they thought this one has a magic to describe the today’s world in a very accordant way: post-modernism、post-colonialism、post-feminism、post-industry age……the ” post” exist against the “former”, it contains a meaning that the sth. has developed and advanced from the olds in the view of history and evolution. Of course, there are lots of ideology and thought, so to interpret the”post” might have various ways. The Technolyze is a gloomy anime which abandon itself to the grief of post-industry age, who has a cute sense to the change of era might have some resonances when they watch this anime. Called as post-industry civilization, is also in existence in contrast with industry civilization. In reality Western developed contraries have already transited form agriculture civilization to the industry civilization two hundred years ago, and now they enter the period which we could it ”post-industry civilization”. The development of science entitle the civilization we have to cling to the technique and network more incontinently, and virtually this industrialization is corroding our earth by degree, most S.F. themes are generated from the brown study to the post-industry civilization, thus Technolyze ,being a cyberpunk animation, has done a terrific job on constructing a possible system of far-reach post-industry civilization.
To define a S.F theme related to post-industry civilization, I think the following factors should be embodied:

*the city civilization
*the development of science and technique is exquisite
*the excess depending on science, or the blind faith toward technique
*The mental status goes a opposite way compared with development of science.
*
So these factors lead to a usual consequence that on one hand we have make splendid progress in science field, on the other hand we may go back to the primitive in terms of human nature: the ethic level is getting lower and lower, mental communication become more difficult. As for the era , people may choose either bring back the old good time or desire for going beyond the confines of restricted boundary could be show well in the post-industry civilization. Well, what a great contradiction for the post-modernism society……

The structure of city in Technolyze also has apparent rank, the administrative levels of the society are well arranged, expect the instant economic system is not represented enough.(a trivial pity). And this provide a mechanical stage for the living of “post-human” (cyborg) ,

Post- human. Form the Darwinism we can know the source of human-being, we created the civilization belongs to human but not other animal, and we are sure that we human-being will multiply and evolve as the time go. Still, what level we might reach to by evolution? What the appearance we human-being might be in the future? What is the exact time we will enter the post- human era indeed?
The only thing we can insure is, human-being will adapt to the development of science and make the compatible evolution spontaneously. Once this evolution begins and reach a given scale, the post-human era will come simultaneously. In Technolyze , living in the period of post-industry civilization , the phenomena that people have deformity in their body exist, linked to the reason that parts of their body are deprived by others or discard by themselves. With the background that science and technique are highly developed, some one longs for make a kind of evolution by the ways of equipping the mechanical artificial limb with some organic attributes , in order to upgrade their force and ability, guarantee themselves could survive in a violent and indifferent society they are facing. This is one possibility of the post-human looks like ,which is worth paying attention. What’s more, there also has a interesting point should be engaged, in the anime the main weapon people in constant use besides guns also include sword, it could be interpreted as a heritage from the former civilization, and it rise a question for us to chew that is it a cold weapon period will come back again in the future?(Just like the Gundam, because of the effect of M particle, the battle turn back to the close quarters fight again…….) Lost their belief and confused their value principles , people in the Technolyze finally just meet a gloominess of world/

By the way, the music in the anime is mainly based on electron and finger style, and these changes to hit and metal in the fight scenes.
And the main guy has a pair of eye just like the wolf’s, which let me bethink the <>.

PS: If you are a person can hardly bare the darkness animation, or lack of enthusiasm, you may as well not watch this anime, ‘cause you might give up halfway and waste your time.

PSS:This artical initially worte in Chinese, interpreted by Pony Mark. If you feel it boring or hard to understand, parts of the reason may be lie on PM’s poor English……(囧)

Manuscript:

明明5分钟可以表达的事情拖成15分钟，于是一部看了介绍后会被认定为暴力美学类型的动画片活活被拖成了人性文艺片。忽快忽慢的节奏相当折磨人的耐力，但是看完之后会有一种豁然开朗的明快。继续保持不剧透原则，因此这次推荐我会着重介绍片中的一些科幻理念，死守剧情实在很无聊。

《机魂末世录》打出1998年成功为实验动画作品《Lain》（《Serial Experiments Lain》）做角色设计的安倍吉俊的名号来吸引人，事实上他只负责台本而已。《机魂末世录》与《Lain》有些类似的实验风格，以分工来看更多因素是来自负责脚本的小中千昭。

小中千昭负责的脚本有：《Hellsing》、《Lain》、《怪》、《飞轮少年》、《机魂末世录》等，可惜很少有文章专门提过他，能搜索到的小中千昭的资料少得可怜。个人认为，无论是《Lain》还是《机魂末世录》的脚本都属于晦涩而具有一定深度的类型，同时也形成了实验作品的风格，因此开篇我会简单提一下《Lain》，以便大家将这两部动画片做一下对比。

对动画中叙事意识流化的运用，《Lain》试图打开深层意识之门，展开人们游荡在另一种意识平台中的心理脉络，《Lain》主要叙述的并不是文明，它的架构体现在对自我的探索以及对网络的思考，是一部实验题材的科幻作品。《Lain》提出了在后工业文明中人类遭受科技冲击而产生的迷茫与焦虑状态，但是《Lain》毕竟关注的是在网络技术发展中的人类的心理发展——那么以科技文明为载体，展现后工业文明为人类从生理乃至到心理的变化为主题的《机魂末世录》，则补完了《Lain》没有叙述展开的后人类景象。从1998年到现在的小中千昭已经能更熟练的运用叙事技巧，他对人类未来的命题也更加深入，这种变化让人更加期待他的作品。

《机魂末世录》是一部塞伯朋克动画片，它描述了人类将迎来由自然人进化为半机械化人类的末世景象，从而体现了人类将进入后人类文明的预言。

后学，一恍惚学术界就把人类拉进了“后”时代——后现代主义、后殖民主义、后女性主义、后工业时代……后是相对于前而成立的，是一种历史上的承接和进化。由于意识形态不同，理论依据也不同，“后”理论所阐释的形象更加纷繁复杂。《机魂末世录》是一部沉浸在后工业文明哀伤的动画片，对时代脉络敏锐的人会在此找到一定的共鸣。所谓后工业文明，同样是相对于工业文明成立的。西方发达国家已经从原来的农业文明过渡为工业文明,又进入到今天称之为后工业文明。科学的发展使得文明日趋倚赖技术，这种工业化的文明正在慢慢吞没地球。科幻题材基本都是建立在对后工业文明的发展思考上构成的，因此《机魂末世录》作为一部塞伯朋克动画片，很好的架构起后工业文明发展的体系。定义后工业文明科幻题材，我认为首先得满足几个条件：

一，城市文明。

二，过度依赖或者迷信科学。

三，科学技术极其发达。

四，随着科技的发展精神状态却反而落后。

这样就导致后工业城市文明一方面拥有科学意义上的文明，相对的另一方面就会趋向人性的原始状态，社会道德感下降。时代的祛魅与返魅都在后工业文明中很好的体现出来，这真是一个后现代的矛盾社会。

《机魂末世录》的城市构造具有明显的阶级特性，社会层次分明，除了没有完整的表现经济体制这一点缺憾，其他一切社会中拥有的因素都很好的展现出来，这就提供了一个提供“后人类”生活的后现代城市。

后人类，从达尔文的进化论中阐述的人类进化史开始，我们创造了人类文明世界，而人类的进化还将继续下去，那么我们会进化到什么程度？人类的未来有是什么样子？我们什么时候才会进入“后人类时代”？

唯一确定的是，人类会应时代科技的发展而自我进化，一旦这种进化开始并达到一定规模，那么后人类时代就已经来临。在《机魂末世录》中，生活在这个后工业文明城市中的人类，存在各种肢体残缺的现象，被剥夺或者自我舍弃。在机械制造与生物技术高度文明的科技背景下，一部分渴望进化的人为自己装上了具有一定生物属性的机器肢体来提高战斗能力和进行脑扩张——这就是片中描绘的后人类形象。还有一个值得注意的现象，片中的主流武器除了枪支居然还有佩剑，这是对古老文化的一种传承，亦或者理解为冷兵器时代会再度来临？在祛魅与返魅同时存在的后工业文明中，在“元”意识也已经不复存在的后时代中，片中的人类迎来了末世的黑暗。

另外值得一提的是，片中配乐是电子以及苍凉的乡村风格指弹（fingerstyle）演奏为主，打斗场景则配以鼓、金属。

男主角栎士有着一双狼一样的眼睛，让我想起《Wolf’s rain》。