| STRANGER | |
|---|---|
| ROGUE: 01 | |
| Air date (Japanese) | April 4th, 2003 |
| Air date (English) | February 13th, 2007 |
| Writer | Chiaki J. Konaka |
| Director | Hiroshi Hamasaki |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous N/A |
Next ROGUE: 02 Forfeiture |
STRANGER is the first episode of the Texhnolyze anime series.
Title Definition
STRANGER – n., 1: one who is strange; 2: one ignorant of or unacquainted with someone or something.
Synopsis
The first few minutes of the episode are silent. We get glimpses of Ichise was first recruited to be a prizefighter. It is also get to see how Ichise won his first fight.
Ichise's promoter's lover approaches him with an offer of his prize money from winning his fight. She coerces him into spending time with her and, sometime during their time together, she loses control of her robotic arm and her nail is brought millimeters away from Ichise’s left eye. He punches her out of the way. Ichise, of the lower class, has dared to push away a woman of the elite.
Afterwards, Ichise wanders around Lux, ending up in the sewers. He peers at his money, looks at the vial, and scrounges for stuff in the sewer. Kazuho Yoshii is also introduced, just peering at things while wearing a gas mask. Keigo Oonishi is seen talking on the phone with his wife, while his head is over his secretary’s lap.
Yoshii meets with Ran, who keeps her mask on. She watches him eat, then she takes off her mask, and motions him to follow her. Evidently, Yoshii has been told to follow a girl and where she waves. Ran takes him into Gabe territory to meet her grandfather.
After some small talk, Ran suddenly goes into a trance and sees an attack on someone. Suddenly, the company is attacked by people spouting off the Salvation Alliance’s motto. Ran is shoved by Yoshii into a corner, then he shields her grandfather.
Elsewhere, Ichise has changed clothes and armed himself, but is too late. Bodyguards for the lady he slept with have found him, and opened fire. They corner him, and take a good hold of him. His arm is held tight, as a sword is raised over it.
Characters
Trivia
- The closing shot of the episode, as Ichise is having his arm cut off, is that of a lizard. This can easily be overlooked, but its inclusion is very much intentional and symbolic. A lizard is a symbol of regeneration. For example, if a lizard loses his tail, he gets a new one quickly. Ichise’s new texhnolyzed limbs later in the series reflects this regeneration.
- The episode title, ‘Stranger’, specifically refers to Kazuho Yoshii.