Finished watching
Texhnolyze. Madhouse produced psychological thriller back in the early 2000's. Creators are the same masterminds that were behind Serial Experiments Lain
Ultra slow paced, but felt rewarded by a deep story filled with fruitless irritation, obsession and ultimately sorrow from an impoverished society trying to survive in a region controlled by criminal factions. The bleak atmosphere & general absence of light really helped to accentuate the chlling nature of the anime, and each lead character progressively grew on me as their hidden motives were unveiled.
There were no immediate selling points whatsoever i.e an adorable female lead or fast paced animation, there wasn't even any talking in the first ten minutes of the debut episode, just a beautifully crafted story - that elects to show, not tell - with a powerful conclusion that'll take the breath out of any anime viewer with the patience to sit through a slow burn, atmospheric thriller. Not surprised it's so low in popularity; regardless, Tex has a spot in my personal top psychological fukkery rankings
1. NGE - End of Evangelion
2. HakoMari
3. Monster
4. Original FMA
5. SEL
6. Tex
Would be remiss to leave out the ED which really drove home the central message of the anime after the conclusion of every episode. Gonna take me some time to get it off my mind