Texhnolyze/YMMV
- Complete Monster: Yoshi. He manipulates everybody to fight everybody, kills people in a very cold manner and his motives are unclear till the midpoint of the series - he says that he is trying to "create" a new strong leader, if this can be considered an excuse. What's worse is that you think that this is the worst things can gets, until Kano comes along. This being the man who would be an Omnicidal Maniac if he didn't have so much fun playing with human beings and turning them into abominations of nature, and then discarding them as soon as he gets bored of his new playthings. He thinks it's funny!
- Crowning Moment of Awesome: In episode 6 after three straight episodes of wandering around confused (having to get used to new limbs is not easy), Ichise manages to come across the man who crippled him. Using his new arm, Ichise grabs the sword and throws it into the leg of a nearby gun wielding mook, then proceeds to punch the man into the ground. Revenge is a dish best served awesome.
- Crowning Music of Awesome: Particularly the opening theme by Juno Reactor.
- Code 07TX, the main action theme of the series is also rather awesome and gets played over several intense action sequences such as the giant Kill'Em All shootout between Onishi and Tsuginaka's respective Organo branches.
- Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy: Yep. Well, there's maybe Ran.
- The series is kind of about this trope. Nothing the characters do has any hope of saving the world, as it turns out; and there are copious hints that this is the case; but the series is very tight-lipped about it, and up to the moment they turn into plants, it looks like the Shapes (that is, the bad guys) might have lives worth living. And we don't get confirmation of Ran's death until the last few minutes. So the first viewing becomes a sort of staring contest: How much do you care about these characters, and how much hopelessness are they worth to you?
- Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory: Inevitable in a series this abstract. One theory among fandom holds that Kano is telling the truth when he claims that Lux exists only within his mind.
- By the end, the series is so heavily saturated in Gnostic symbolism and ideology that you can hardly move for the paranoia, philosophical debate (or maybe "dog fight" would be a better word), and archetypal parallels. The fact that Kano actually thinks he's the demiurge does not help things.
- Wait... wouldn't that make Doc Sophia? Embodying gnosis in the material world through texhnolysation? On second thought...
- By the end, the series is so heavily saturated in Gnostic symbolism and ideology that you can hardly move for the paranoia, philosophical debate (or maybe "dog fight" would be a better word), and archetypal parallels. The fact that Kano actually thinks he's the demiurge does not help things.
- Fetish Fuel: Depending on your fetishistic tendencies, Ichise or Doc can be your Fetish Fuel Station Attendant for this evening.
- High Octane Nightmare Fuel: It's made by the guys who did Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei. What did you expect?
- Probably one of the most disturbing moments is when we get a glimpse into the process of making one of the Shapes. He just keeps smiling...
- The Shapes show up again as a source of Nightmare Fuel at the end: they have grown strange metallic roots out of their feet, and they still keep smiling. Except their faces keep spasming every few seconds into what can only be described as sheer pain and horror.
- It's probably not pain - they've just lost all muscle control, and most don't even seem to be conscious, any more.
- Kano himself probably qualifies as High Octane Nightmare Fuel. Well, at least his mind does.
- Ichise getting one of his legs and arms cut off in retaliation for having used his fists against a woman who stuck her nail in his eye during sex.
- Ho Yay: Toyama is a walking source of Ho Yay in himself, but he seems to have a very particular relationship with Ichise.
- Jerkass Woobie: Ichise & Shinji.
- Magnificent Bastard: there are a couple running around. The most prevalent is Yoshii, who, well, outright manipulated all the factions in Lux against each other, but with so many paranoid people running their own highly convoluted agendas, a good chunk of the cast qualify for Manipulative Bastard in the very least.
- Kano & Onishi have their moments, as well.
- Squick: Everything about Kano.
- Also Toyama and his father. No Yay indeed.
- And the random member of the Rakan who tells Ran 'he 'll show her a good time'.
- Stoic Woobie: Ichise and Ran.
- Tear Jerker: The end of the show.
- True Art Is Angsty: Oh, the bleeding, weeping Utsuge.
- True Art Is Incomprehensible: Maybe not completely, but it doesn't give up its meaning easily.
- Uncanny Valley: The surface world is pretty much at the dead center of Uncanny Valley.
- The Woobie: Any sympathetic character in this show. The main character Ichise may the worst though, as his suffering truly knows no bounds. Lelouch can't hold a candle to Ichise.