RahXephon

I really thought I would love and never forget RahXephon. Being a huge Super Robot fan made me super pumped to watch it. But it didn't really bring anything new to the table. Characters: Too unmemorable for me to have anything to say about them. Sound: Only two memorable tracks: The opening and the ending. But that's only due to listening to them 26 times. The rest of the music was nice to listen to, but forgettable. Art: It's simply nice to look at, but none of the character, mech, or Robeast designs was memorable at all. Same for the background art, which I've seen a million times before. Story: Sure it's a typical Super Robot vs Robeasts series, but the "mysteries" between fights are too vague to be interesting. Plus it takes far too long for anything to happen. ("Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah?" Is anything happening yet?) Enjoyment: Not unwatchable, but not the best. Why was this labeled an action series? I was excited for action, but then it turns out a single episode of Power Rangers had more action than the entirety of RahXephon. That's right. The unmemorable fights are few and far between, the "mysteries" weren't interesting at all, and the invincible RahXephon doesn't even have to attack anything for more than 30 seconds. And it ended with both an Anticlimax Boss and a Reset Button Ending, both of which I dislike. Verdict: Average - go rewatch How To Train Your Dragon instead. That movie has an actual followable plot and an epic climax.

I'm going to assume that you know how many people have compared this series to Neon Genesis Evangelion due to their similarities. I watched Evangelion before this, although I did so years ago, if you're curious. In the end, I did somewhat regret watching this series after Evangelion, on which I'll elaborate more on at the end of this review. I'll also try to make this spoiler-free. Story This is, in my opinion, the weakest part of RahXephon. The story was a bit too complex for me, as there were many subtle allusions to events in the characters' past throughout, and I had trouble keeping track of them. By the end of the series, I had forgotten about most of them due to my emotional involvement in the series, which ultimately triumphed over my intellectual involvement. This is the first thing to keep in mind: RahXephon will require quite a bit of thinking if you want to uncover all the mysteries in the plot, some of which weren't solved by the end (I'll probably have to watch it a second time). However, the story's complexity does provide some depth. The plot builds up to the ending very nicely, although the ending itself was rather frustrating for me, as I found it contradictory of events earlier in the story. It didn't ruin the series, but it made RahXephon's place in my memory much less secure. Art Considering how old RahXephon is, the art is fantastic. Everything, especially the mechas, is given a lot of detail, and the landscapes contribute to the atmosphere quite nicely. Sound - English subs The music is varied, blending jazz, classical, and other styles. The soundtracks are wonderful, and like the art, they complement the atmosphere very nicely. The voice acting is great, and the characters sang nicely. Character The characters are, for the most part, very good. Ayato is given lots and lots of development, as is the case with most of the other characters. The story's complexity enriches them and gives them a lot of background, which is nice since it renders them not one-dimensional. There are lots of emotional struggles that give the series lots of meaning. Enjoyment This was mainly influenced by the story's ending and how it didn't fit into the series as well as it could have. However, I did very much enjoy the moments leading up to it, and RahXephon had no problem in rousing the same nihilism in me as Evangelion did. Since the makers did decide to take a lot of ideas from a classic like Evangelion, I thought it would be unfair to judge RahXephon as I would normally. Instead, I unconsciously raised my standards significantly so that RahXephon wouldn't just get the easy way out from copying Evangelion. This was for me the only option besides considering it a complete ripoff and not watching it. In the end, I felt that RahXephon fell short of those standards since it didn't elaborate enough on the parts it took from Evangelion or present enough new material to be considered unique from Evangelion. However, the ratings in this review were made without this in mind, since I felt that the makers at least made a legitimate attempt in creating something new. Had I decided to factor in Evangelion's influence, these ratings would likely have been lower. Finally, I conclude that RahXephon is an earnest but misdirected attempt at setting a new standard in the mecha genre of anime. Despite its similarity to Evangelion, I would at least give it a try, as it does have its own artistic merits.

I have heard of this series being compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion as its counterpart or rival, although I also see it as being a starter or growing plan of other BONES’ series such as Eureka Seven & Xam’d Last Memories and also that RahXephon has its share of being close to the aforementioned series but it is far from that to what I watched. There is also the fact that the director of the series Yutaka Izubuchi has worked with Hideaki Anno on a few projects together and he helped with the design drafts of the EVA units. In a world where time passes at a crawl and the blood of your neighbor runs blue, 17 year old high school student Ayato Kamina goes about his daily life within Tokyo Jupiter oblivious to the world around him, having been educated with the fact that the all civilization but Tokyo has been destroyed. But all that changes when the mysterious civilization "MU" invades his home, raining destruction down from the sky in the form of strange monsters called Dolems. The events that occur next will lead Ayato to the mysterious woman named Reika Mishima, to the truth of their existence, the discovery of what and who he is, and to the powerful angelic robot RahXephon. Like I said, the plot, premise, and even the characters is almost similar to EVA although it manages to not mess up or try to make it sound artsy or too pretentious whenever they run out of story ideas, albeit EVA was more of a parody/psychological breakdown of the genre. There is the plotline of being in a war using giant mechas piloted by teenagers to battle with and also the utopian/dystopian element where Kamina discovers that the world he’s been in for so long is not what it seems, with the “humans” in Tokyo Jupiter bleeding blue blood instead of red. Maybe the story isn’t as original and being like NGE, but it is a straight-up mecha anime story that is actually played off well and something that I saw myself liking, much like watching Eureka Seven for the first time. The characters are ranges from being well-developed and semi-interesting, although I will say once again, the character traits have an EVA feel to this, but I’m proud to say that the main character Kamina Ayato is not a Shinji Ikari as you do feel for him when he discovers his whole world is a lie and how would you react, plus it helps that he isn’t a whiner most of the time. I will say that Haruka Shitow is exactly like Misato Katsuragi for being the older motherly figure to Kamina but has some problems of her own, too, and there’s her sister Megumi, which I would say have some similar features to Asuka, but thankfully, not that much as she gotten to be less annoying and more relatable throughout the series. I really can’t tell who the Rei Ayanami of this show is basically either Reika Mishima or Kuon “Quon” Kisaragi as both happened to be silent and stoic figures of the show. There are also Kamina’s friends at Tokyo Jupiter Hiroko Asahina and Mamoru Torigai, who are also more messed up than him ever since he left as one of them discovers the truth for them and that one of them is quite a prick (Try and guess who I am talking about). The animation by BONES is now quite dated with its’ character and mecha designs, being made in the early 2000s, 5 years after EVA, and for what it was, it had great animation for the time being with the art style and colors being muted. Musically, it was rather good to an extent; the background music can get a bit repetitive but sometimes I don’t even notice it that much but I really do love the opening theme for show, “Hemisphere” which was produced by Yoko Kanno but sadly, that’s the only thing she handled in the music department and the ending theme was very silent-sounding and docile but I happened to think it somewhat fits well into the show. The ADV Films dub was actually an okay dub with some overacting in some parts. I really did like Chris Patton’s performance as Kamina Ayato and I can see why the guy is a great voice actor as he played someone that would act realistic in a situation of crazy proportions. I’ll say Monica Rial was good in her role as Haruka but whenever it’s her cue to react or scream at something, it pierces into overacting a little and yes, I will mention that Vic Mignogna is also a part of the dub and he was an alright addition as capturing the prick nature in Mamoru. FINAL VERDICT: All-in-all, Rahxephon is something that I would watch and actually recommend over Neon Genesis Evangelion as this actually goes into that territory without having to stoop into being overly pretentious although Rahxephon is guilty of being like that sometimes.

I’ll go ahead and say that Rahxephon was deeply flawed. It essentially tries to copy Evangelion's general themes and characters but was executed so poorly that the show is worse than its inspiration. Christian symbols are replaced with Aztec/Mayan and characters have somewhat changed. All of this is fine but the execution was poor. One thing wrong with the show is how it mishandles point of view (POV) for the audience. The show bounces between multiple POV inside TERRA, the earth defense force against the alien Mu. It’s a mystery when the scientist/research arm tries to uncover the truth to Rahxephon. It’s a mecha action when Ayato suits up and fights. It’s a romance drama when the female crew deals with complicated relationships. All these subplots are fine but were so disjointed and poorly done. The mystery centers around Raxephon and how it relates to the aliens. The show drip feeds the answers to the world but it’s so obscure and makes no attempt to justify why or how it works until the very end. It feels like they added symbolism to appear deep but isn’t trying to use those symbols to actually convey anything impactful. The mecha action centers around Ayato who is essentially a Shinji that believes in duty. The first episodes show his confusion and hesitation at the situation. He doesn’t understand the world or what he’s piloting but he knows there’s something wrong and that he can pilot to change it. Ayato is the best eyes to the world that the audience has since he’s just as confused as the audience. But only a few occasions does it show Ayato really interacting with this strange new world. Most of his time was spent fighting the Mu machine of the week. The romance and drama subplot was barely more coherent. However, my biggest problem was that there was no build up nor cause to the true romance towards the end. It seemed almost random outside of one dubious reason. They never spent much time to develop these characters nor their relationships with each other cause too much time was spent talking in circles and fighting aliens that have no reason to appear that the conclusion of the romances falls so flat. There’s so many other things to list or expand on what should’ve been. I’ll just add that Episode 19 was what I felt carried the true essence of Rahxephon. The central character in that arc is Ayato and how he deals with his relationships with others both past and present now that his understanding of the world has been shattered. It shows that he’s a well meaning kid, thrust into an alien war, but trapped still between two worlds, piloting a semi-sentient monstrosity that he doesn’t really comprehend, and hearing terms thrown around that make no sense. All he knows is that he can pilot and fight for what he thinks is right. But just because you’re doing what feels right doesn’t mean there’s no consequences to your actions. This could’ve been so much more to the story but they moved past that so quick it’s a shame. Raxephon is an anime that tries to be something that it’s not. It falls flat in so many ways from an attempt to appear more intellectual or philosophical but doesn’t know why it’s doing what it’s doing.

As with all series, RahXephon had certain aspects that were truely wonderful and captivating, and some that completely missed the mark. The story unfolded very nicely throughout most of the series. Characters were slowly introducted, each given a moment to demonstrate what role they would be playing, perhaps even given some background knowledge. Each episode covered new, and interesting plot developments, taking its time to explain exactly what was happening, and covering sufficient points to make it all believable. This all changed somewhere near episode 18 or so. For whatever reason the enjoyablely comfortable pace which was unfolding before the veiwer rapidly increased and became very confusing. Characters actions became far-fetched, absurd, and nonsensical. The plot was rushed and nothing was explained. What was once close to being a perfect anime, crumbled away to medeorcrisy. The characters themself were all extremely thought out. Our protaganist, young Ayato, your average high school kid, is thrust into an unbelievable situation which he has no control over. Everything he has ever known and learned to believe has been chalked up to lies and fantasies, and now he must learn some hard truths while dealing with it all. All he can really do is go along with it and hope things work out. His main responsibility consists of piloting the RahXephon, a giant mecha which only he can manouver. He is complimented by an arsenal of military men and women, a small number of friends, and a mother. All have a certain role which they are doted with an each play that role very well. The art is a very simple, very clean, 90's style of animation. It's honest beauty is unparalled with todays standards, but in my opinion, there is absolutly nothing wrong with it. It's perfect. The character designs were unique and not overused. The costumes had a certain chic futuristic look. The backgrounds were swarming with small details that tied entire scenes together. And the camera angles captivated me and left me wanting more. All in all, one of this series best qualitities. My favorite aspect of this series, however, were RahXephon's enemy. The D1 are one of the things that I found were rushed and not explained properly. This being said, each one was designed and drawn perfectly. Each one was completely original. And when each one "sang", with its mouth gaping open, its eyes poppping from its sockets or squeezed shut, its face distorted, it transformed into an unimaginablly frightening (literally) experiance. And its shrill voice topped it off like nothing I have ever experienced. I want to give the guy or girl who developed those mecha beasts a huge hug and tell them that what they did changed me. They are THAT cool. Other then the confusing and rushed plot during the last 8-10 episodes, and the very confusing last epiosde, I would say that I really liked the series. I tried to keep pace with what was going on during those last few, but in the end I just sat back and took it at face value. The interesting characters, classic art style, beautifully rendered BGM, excellent voice acting, and certainly the D1 enemy made this not only an enjoyable watch but one I would highly recommend.

A Christian's Anime Review RahXephon Discernment Topics Violence: \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Mechs and pseudo-organic creatures engage in melee combat and blast each other with energy. Blue blood often sprays as a result of wounds. Some people are shot, stabbed, and crushed off-screen in disasters. Blood is minimal. Military vehicles engage in combat with pseudo-organic creatures... and subsequently get exploded. (Because when has the military ever been able to fight mysterious monsters without the help of a protagonist?) Language:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Frequent mild language. Spiritual Content:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ References to Mayan religion are made several times and constitute for some plot devices. One character is called a "god". The whole "magic is just science" approach could definently work to explain these things. Fanservice:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Semi-perpetual mild fanservice. Occasional overt scenes that could be skipped. Misc. Suggestive Content:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Some people may not like age gap relationships. Detached Assessment Story:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 10/10 Any issues with slow development speed are quickly overshadowed by great storytelling. Characters:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 10/10 Likable and well developed. Art:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 8/10 Dated, but fits well for the story it's telling. Action scenes certainly aren't held back. Sound:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 9/10 OP is very good. ED is too. OST is jazzy and fits well. Some people might be annoyed by the humming sound the "Dolems" make as you'll hear it alot. Enjoyment:\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 10/10 Very fun to watch and rewatch. My all time favorite series. Conclusion Fans of shonen, mecha, and psychological shows will enjoys this. Comparison is often made to "Neon Genesis Evangelion". The difference is "RahXephon" has a really good ending.

This is.... This is on evangelion level. To be precise, it is on the level evangelion could've been, if things went differently, and circumstances aroudn first evangelion were more favorable... if Shinji wasn't a wuss, if the story was more complex. So perhaps you could say it surpasses even Evangelion. This anime, Rahxephon, is without a doubt on masterpiece level. From the beginning that starts with an amazingly well done mindscrew, it presents a complex story resembling a puzzle, that is being shown out of order to you. Fior the duration of 26 episodes, it keeps throwing more and more pieces of the puzzle at you, and each piece you get is well crafted and well done. But even in the end at the final episode you'll still have to think and piece everything together by yourself. So do not expect questions to be easily answered here. One of the amazing aspects of this anime is musical component, and various creepy creatures that sing. The singing goes through the whole anime, creating some sort of unerathly, ethereial and magical overtones that go through the whole seriea. The story itself gives impression of something that is bigger than inidividual characters, than humanity as a whole, and in that sense it reseminds me of that time where I watched some of the best episodes of Legends of Galactic heroes, except that rahxephon is less indifferent towards its character, and rather than just giving you the big perpsective, it shows characters, entertwines their fates, plays with them, and then puts everything into events that are bigger than humans. And it works out amazingly well. Detailed breakdown below: Story: 10/10. This is outstanding. The anime has next to no filler, and manages to present its story in such way that you'll be figuring it out till the last second of the last episode. Even in this case there will be many things that are left to your interpretation, and are ambiguous. They make you think. The story also had some similarities to the more surreal parts of the anime such as The Big O. But explaining anything more without spoilers would've been difficult. There ARE some very minor issues such as characters occasionally displaying "death flags", which are highly predictable, but they're overshadowed by positive side of the experience. Art: 9/10: The art gets straight to the point. The characters have realistic proportions, do not ever go into chibi mode, there are details, but there are no details that are unnecessary. A similar art style, I believe was employed in "Twelve Kingdoms" (Juuni Kouki), and similar styles were employed in titles such as Tenchi Miyou.. or even Outlaw Star. Meaning ... fluid noticeable lines, but there are biger flat areas filled with the same color without overly focusing on shading. Sound: 9/10: Amazing soundscape through and through. The sound has a bit of "non-standard harmony" feeling about it, which creates eerie feeling that persists across the series. The musical theme of Rahxephon likewise dos great job depicting mysterious atmosphere about it. Character: 7/10: Characters are convincing enough, but I would say they're a bit on a predictable side and sometimes are a bit naively portrayed. Some of the characters are a bit stereotypical as well. However, they're believable enough, and sympathetic in situations where they're portrayed. So they do their job. However the anime shines the most in situations where it goes into "mindscrew" mode, and starts throwing odd and strange imagery at the viewer. Enjoyment: 9/10: Enjoyed it a lot, but there were some episodes in the middle which felt weaker for me. Still, watching it all the way till the end paid off with the ending. Overall: 10/10. This is a masterpiece level material, and "highly recommended" type of anime. IF you haven't seen it, you probably should give it a try. I can't really think of much reasons to skip this one. The story is interesting, eerie, makes you think, and it is a very interesting/unusual take on mecha genre as well. So if you have the time and an opportunity, check this one out.

RahXephon caught my attention for probably the wrong reason, and maybe it’s also the reason that you want to watch it, but I’ll say this about RahXephon. Any comparison to Evangelion is stupid, because RahXephon is two things: A show that is just as good, if not better (depending on who you ask) than Evangelion and a show in its own right. Just because its shares some similarities with Evangelion doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist or that it’s a bad show and if you don’t take my word for it…. Watch the show and make your own judgement, and for those who don’t have a clue what Evangelion is, don’t you worry your pretty little heads about it. The Short Version: (+)The music man, THE MUSIC! (+)The emotional impact of some scenes are phenomenally executed. (+)The pace of the story is damn near perfect. (+)There’s not a lot to hate. (-)The art is a little bit dated. Story (9/10): When you look at the synopsis, the first thought you’ll have about the story is that it’s probably about saving the world, as it is with most Mecha shows, or just most shows in general, and you’d kinda be wrong. While the story is about saving the world, it’s a lot more focused than just that general goal, focusing more on the hero and the people helping him save the world instead of the actual saving itself. That’s the thing I feel will draw you to this show, because it just builds the characters to such a point that when they go into battle that doesn’t look that great, you’re actually scared for these characters. I’m not even going to get into all of the Mayan and Aztec culture references, and just how psychologically deep they get with the main characters, other people will do and have done that for me, and I’ve always geared myself towards strictly entertainment value, like 90% of the community BUT. If you like your anime to be a bit more intellectual then RahXephon’s got you covered. Hell, that’s the reason people call it a rip-off of Evangelion. Characters (10/10): When I look at the characters in this anime (As in all of those with a name.) I look at them and I feel like all of them are actual people and I could tell you that this person loves that person, this person is secretly related to that person but not by blood, but before that a quick run-down of the main characters: Ayato Kamina: The pilot of RahXephon and the one who faces many a dilemma to come. Shitow Haruka: Mother figure to Ayato and seems to know something about Reika Quon Kisaragi: The ‘mysterious’ character and the one who doesn’t mind just casually touching Ayato whenever she wants. Reika Mishima: Classmate of Ayato and is somehow connected to RahXephon. While the entire cast does get some development in, there’s always the few who don’t but in this case I’m going to wave that aside because: 1. Its only 4 characters and 2. They development everyone else more than they needed to. The script writer really went all out when thinking of the character development, and sometimes it’s not even your normal; Character-tells-other-character-something-just-within-earshot-of-the-MC, it’s more, yeah-there's-something-in-this-shot-that-tells-you-about-this-character. An example is how they development the commander, who comes off as a dick up until a certain point, but then the episode finishes and you suddenly know why he is such a straight collar military man to his core, this sort of development happens to almost every character with the exception of only a few. Art & Sound (8/10 & 10/10): The art for the time would’ve been just fine, even nowadays it would hold its own with most of the common show’s that come out. Not the prettiest show to look at, but its fluid as hell, for back then this was probably considered some of the best stuff you could do without treading into movie territory. The sound HAD to be good, considering that the show involves crypt dialogue that heavily hints at musical piece, hell the core elements of the show, RahXephon and Ayato, are later referred to in musical terms. So with all that in account I can say that…. The sound is bloody beautiful, if I find an OST disc I’m buying without a doubt. Keep in mind I only have one other OST disc. I take my OST’s very seriously. What do you think of this anime? I ordered a copy off eBay as soon as I finished it. Would you recommend this anime? Yes. Hell yes. In my opinion this anime is grossly underrated because of its apparent ripping off, but if the Evangelion was never made, this show may very well be on the same level of fame as Evangelion. Yeah I think it’s that good, you should go watch it for your own opinion. Goodbye my brethren, See you in the next.

Story: It has a lot of "borrowed elements" from NGE but that doesn't make it bad. In fact, it has done what NGE failed to accomplish. The only reason why people said it is like NGE is because there is a robot. The starting of the story really made people think that it is like NGE because of a giant robot attacking the city. :P It left me satisfied with its ending. So people who say that it is a "copycat" of NGE, you guys are dead wrong. It is not really trying to be deep. It is really just because of the "foreshadowing" and the perfectly executed plot. It is not psychological but it is purely sci-fi. Art: What can I say? Very Good Art is one of its strong points. Especially when the main character is an artist himself. It would be a shame if it has bad art XD The character designs were pleasant to the eye and the mecha designs were one of the most unique I have ever seen because almost every mecha in anime looks humanoid :D Music: Music being one of its main themes, it is its main point. Music influences the world, not just the in this anime but also applied in the real world. I was really in awe because it is rare to have both the OP and ED to be equally good( Exceptional). No problem here Characters: The characters really were its strong point. Unlike in NGE where the MC is a sissy, the MC in Rahxephon has a very strong personality. He was confused at first but he faced it like a man. Enjoyment: I really enjoyed all the way through. Though it has harem-like elements, you really can't blame the girls because the MC is awesome. He is an artist, good-looking, and he controls the "Hope of Mankind" which is the Rahxephon. Overall: I give it a 10. I admit that EP 1 was not the first episode because I saw it in an anime channel. I downloaded it and I did not regret watching it. So guys try not to think of it deeply because that will really ruin the show for you. So just pay attention to the show because the show has lots of details that should be pieced together in the END! 10 OVERALL

This is one of the first anime's I fall in love with. Many people compare this to Neon Gen.., but to me they are very different shows. I highy recommend you, watch this show, or even they movie which is good.

Rahxephon is both underrated and overrated. It's underrated because its confusing world and concepts and weak mecha battles turn off viewers who were looking for strong action and romance, before they have a chance to really decipher Rahxephon's message. It's overrated because like Wolf's Rain, this message is executed well by the story but not by the characters, which prevents it from fully capitalizing its massive emotional potential. I can see why this series only has a 7.5 average raiting- it doesn't hook you in with bombastic mecha action nor oversaturated emotional drama. Its battles are cerebral experiences and its characters are relatively subdued. Character motivations and emotions take a while to unearth and understand. This is a series that takes at least two rewatches to appreciate, as the first time around viewers' confusion is going to get in the way of some of the emotional weight. It's a methodical, meditative burn that culminates in a grandiose ending that ties the fate of the world to the emotional stakes of the main characters. Not that it feels slow, as the pacing is pretty good, but it's just that you'll have to wait a long time to find out the answers. Whether or not this ending is set up well makes or breaks Rahxephon, and for me it still needs a few touches on the finer points of characterization for the ending to work and for the message to get through. So what is Rahxephon trying to say anyway? The crux of Rahxephon's argument is that people should connect with those that love them, even if they're afraid of being hurt from being so close. Most people get the first part because it's generic lovey dovey shit that feel good series peddle out as deep revelations. Rahxephon avoids this cheapness by investigating the opposite argument; whether or not a message is preachy depends on how well a show illustrates how compelling the counter arguments are. Isn't it obvious that people should connect to other people? Well, there are good reasons why people don't, and that's why it's not that obvious. The closer you get to someone, the more you see yourself reflected in that person and the more ugly things you see in yourself. Communication is also a big roadblock to connecting with people and the failure to communicate, combined with the ugly side of people, often leads to deep emotional scars. It's easier to keep your distance from people in order to avoid looking at your ugly side and the ugly side of others. It's easier to turn your eyes away from it, shutting yourself off in your own world, and that's what the protagonist, Ayato, does. For a better viewing experience, I would advise potential viewers to look at how the above themes are explored through allegory and the use of blue to represent coldness towards others and red to represent human warmth. Then, all the complicated backstory and confusing events start to fall into place. In addition, each of the characters are explorations of variations of the central theme. However, while the story is used as a coherent allegory for Ayato's inner journey, the characters suffer from being used as additional pieces to convey the message and lack proper characterization. All the characters mirror the theme of connecting with people who care for you instead of ignoring them. This means that there are a ton of "I love him but he doesn't notice" dynamics between every female and male character. The problem is, the show tries to set up romances before they set up compelling individual characters. Characters end up being defined more by their attachment to another character than their own distinctive traits. There was one episode featuring three characters as kids which showed decently written personalities, only for the three characters to be completely lifeless as adults in the next episode. Even discounting the lack of characters that feel like real people, the romantic chemistry wasn't there. It's all too easy and cheap to have one character pine after the other. It's really easy to write "I love you" but it's hard to write characters that feel lovable and interactions that form bonds in a natural way. Rahxephon gets too caught up in its artsy storytelling to bother with the finer points of characterization, the most important points. This wouldn't be a big problem if they got Ayato right, since he's at the center of the story and the message, but his personality is simply "protagonist". He's a generic nice guy with good looks, and this is enough justification for every girl that he meets to fall for him. Yeah, he's polite, but you'd be hard pressed to find a scene where he actually has a natural conversation with someone that reveals more about both himself and the other person. One of the girls crushing on him says he's a nice guy after having a one sided conversation with him in which he ignores what she talks about. This is representative of how Rahxephon has to inform the viewer of Ayato's likability and the connections he forms with others, rather than showing it. It seems to gloss over how connections are actually formed in real life--- by getting to know people, sharing fun times, and empathizing with them. Ayato's staleness weakens the romance that is the basis of the show's emotional core and intellectual message. While I find that Haruka is pretty sexy, she can't carry the romance by herself (it also doesn't help that she's relegated to crying for Ayato for most of the episodes). Plus, Ayato's reason for ignoring her is weak, making him seem like a jerk. Ayato's lack of interesting characterization also undermines the main story as well, since there seems to be no good reason for this generic schoolboy to be the one to possess this much importance and power in SPOILERS reshaping the world ENDSPOILERS. As for the complicated lore about the Mulian stuff, I do think that some of it can be simplified or at least better explained because I do not think that the complication helps articulate the main message. Or perhaps I'm missing something. Anyway, it's a minor problem since you can look up the explanations online. Art: The character designs are amazing. The faces are beautifully human and allow for the expression of a wide range of emotions without exaggeration--- you can see the hurt and sadness in characters' faces. I think the main mecha design could use some simplification, but overall, both the human and mecha designs have a unique, sensual aesthetic. Music: The ending theme really takes the cake. Combined with the art and direction, it gives off a dreamlike, mysterious, and contemplative atmosphere tinged with sadness. In general, no matter my misgivings about the series, Rahxephon's direction and atmosphere are as profoundly beautiful as its painting of the girl in the yellow dress. Like Wolf's Rain, it's worth checking out for the experience alone. For all of its inadequacies in the character department, Rahxephon succeeds in so many ways. The characters are by no means bad or flat (they each get their due attention) while the story, atmosphere, message, and sheer ambition should be admired. You can tell that a lot of love and care went into making this series. I really want Rahxephon (and Wolf's Rain, also by Bones) to be the masterpiece it was meant to be. Basically, replace Ayato with a great protagonist and get a better writer for the dialogue. As it is, I still highly recommend people watch this series keeping in mind the themes I mentioned here and taking the time to try to understand all its symbolism, its allegories, and its allusions to Mayan/Aztec religion. You'll be rewarded with a highly emotional, moving conclusion that ties together threads from all 26 episodes.

People are used to being fed information and not using their problem solving skills in most anime. Rahxephon does the opposite of that. You will have to use your problem skills, connect all the dots and watch it without distractions or you will find yourself lost and displeased with the ending. If you are able to understand the symbolism, the camera angles, use of lighting and the emotions that these characters are really feeling, you will come to find yourself to really enjoy this. Score:10/10 in my books. I found the story telling to be very consistent if you were paying attention by the way.

The main reason why I'm doing this review is to at least try to show that it has NOTHING to do with eva. Be aware that the manga, anime and the movie are all different. I recommend you start it with this order: ova-anime-movie-manga. At least, this was the one that worked for me, just change it if you want to. Why not the novel? Well, if you'll be able to find it somewhere, then read it after the anime. STORY As you read before, the plot is Terra vs Mulians, the ancient people with blue blood that wants to regain the world from humans, the red blooded people that has their hearts full of despair. The story evolves Ayato's being the only pilot for Rahxephon, a god who controls fate but it's main goal is to grant pilot's happiness/desire. ART Oh, the times where anime wasn't full of CG effects and Bones focused more on quality than popularity. Besides Rahxephon is from 2002, that are some good animation going on, better than some of these new popular series out there. SOUND Here comes one of the most important parts of Rahxephon, the world needs a retune. You will notice that not only the Xephon but also all dolem's have a voice, a tune. Even Quon's urge to create the perfect melody and constantly singing. But the main thing here is the soundtrack, search for it and if I'ts possible, read the op and ed lyrics. Plus, there's a song called "The Garden of Everything" that has a deep connection with Ayato and Reika. CHARACTERS Through the series, the main characters development is pretty clear, there is nothing inexplicable. Quon's might be hard to understand if you don't watch the OVA or don't pay attention to her riddles. Ayato is definetly one of the most easy to get characters ever. His desire to know himself is completely undertandable, just imagine being at his place. Reika is actually the most puzzling. You'll get angry at her during all the series but when you finally read the manga boom, all the answers. ENJOYMENT If you are into drama, romance and psychological anime with some mecha into it, then watch. I won't be saying too much here because you probably will say that I'm biased even though I'm being realistic. Please, be aware that if you come to me talking shit like "rahxephon is a shitty eva rip-off" I'll just answer you one thing, watch the fuck out of BOTH SERIES. If you read and watch the whole eva and xephon series, you'll understand that IT'S NOT A FUCKING RIP-OFF. Bye.

Worth seeing all the way to the end, managing both to improve upon the Eva formula in some areas while suffering in others. What I thought it did well: - Relationships between various characters were generally well done. This is clearly a major theme of the show, and overall I liked it. - It was well acted. Even the english dub seemed solidly written and performed. - The ending felt conclusive. Even built on the Eva model, it was clear the writers knew how they wanted to end the show, and I enjoyed it. - The 2nd half was a big improvement over the 1st half, being far more interesting and did better to explain what was going on. The 1st half did not do well trying to be both mysterious and entertaining. - Characters generally seemed consistent and mostly interesting. No one was straight up crazy, and they all eventually developed into reasonably believable people. although many suffered the usual characteristics of ignorance and immaturity (common to this kind of show) at the start. If only people could talk to each other, all of their problems could be solved! What I thought it did poorly: - Its not very original. Anyone who has seen the Evangelion series will be endlessly reminded of the similarities, not often in good ways. Its not wrong to be similar, but RahXephon is too similar, and not usually in Eva's best attributes. - The roles and organization between the Foundation, Federation, and Terra aren't believable. In Eva they can get away with this because civilization was mostly destroyed. In RahXephon, Tokyo is really the only serious casualty, so how these groups work together (or fail to) and their chain-of-command is utterly ridiculous. A few tweaks to the writing could have fixed this and kept everyone in their place. - Sound and music are not featured in enough quantity or quality despite claiming to be important to the story. There is constant talk of "world full of sound," music, and songs from the Mu and dolems, but there is more reference to this concept than actual application. - A really boring 1st half. I understand the desire to save the big twists and mystery reveals for the 2nd half, but that means capturing the audience in others ways leading up to it. I considered dropping the show due to the lack of character or plot progression and general entertainment, but was determined to see it through. - Boring battles. For what is basically a mecha show, the fights were boring. Add to that, we're given no explanation for what dolems really are, how they function, and why RahXephon is special such that it wins its battles at all (despite getting its ass kicked), making them feel pointless and lacking in any tension or excitement. Overall, it was a good watch. I liked it, especially the 2nd half. I enjoyed the ending. It was an interesting idea. It wasn't great in any areas, but if you have the free time I think its worth seeing through to the end.

Okay so this is my first review... I first started watching this show after listening to DJ Sharpnel's "World Sound" and wondered if there was a theme song for some anime that was in it so I scrolled down... and found about 5 different people saying "It's the opening theme for RahXephon" SO I decided to look at it and from episode 1 I was confused as hell... but when I got to the 4'th episode... I COULD NOT STOP WATCHING IT. The story just wraps itself around you and sucks you in. I LOVED how the main character, Ayato Kamina had to literally accept reality as it was and that the world he was in wasn't really a thing. I loved the fight scenes, the humour was done just right as well. The best part however, aside from Ayato accepting reality, was the romance. it was extremely well done and sometimes blatant, but sometimes subtle and you'd have to pay attention and see who wants who. Overall I would strongly recommend this to anyone who loves a good story driven anime, it will completely suck you in for the 26 episodes. It might seem short but it's amazing. Check it out!

Before I get started I would like to get one thing out of the way, a disclaimer for pretty much anyone that is either a fan of or has simply seen the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion". to put it simply these anime's have very blatant similarities for which I will not get into the details of but just as a bit of warning to any one that really liked NGE and sees this anime and gets a little upset that they did kinda take a few attributes from NGE as this came out about 7 years after NGE and it seems like a blatant copy cat, that is not particularly true as the story goes in a different direction than NGE, but I am only writing this to let you know, because I may mention Evangelion from time to time but I will try not to mention it to much. O.K? lets begin Impression: The set up of this show is pretty good however maybe a little confusing at first as it is not intirely clear who is the actual enemy and what is actually going on until around episode 4 when the series really gets rolling and you finally get everything, though they do take you on a bit of a ride while doing it. The show like evangelion does go over psycho analysis but in this series the psycho analysis is not as crucial or is not given as much attention but is still entertaining to watch. The over all setting is an interesting one as things are a little normal but not really as humanity still has to fight off the "Mu" who are an advanced civilization from another dimension and have occupied tokyo aka "Tokyo Jupiter" for it's out ward appearance. This anime does a pretty good job at keeping things interesting and the whole thing seemed pretty well planned out with character development and the it didn't get repetitive and episodic with a monster of the week sort of deal and there were defiantly parts that I thought were all around genius in execution. the only cons in my initial impression was that this wasn't the greatest anime, I didn't feel like a great anime but as I like back on it now, I thought it was pretty damn good, but not perfect. Characters: I will admit that the characters of RahXephon were a little hard to warm up to at first but as you get to know them and you get see them more you come around to really like them. The first character is Ayato Kamina aka Shinji ikari with a back bone. one thing I liked about this character is that despite his fears of piloting a giant robot to protect humanity he does understand the importance of such a task which was kind of a refreshment in comparison to some of Evangelion's characters. Next is Huruka Shitow aka Misato with short hair, I didn't get particularly attached to this character in particular as she seemed like a copy and paste Misato from evangelion. The last one I'm going to mention is Quon Kisaragi, who was actually like none of eva's characters, she was happy, curious, and was a rather unique character as she would say things in some cryptic manner that made her interesting. Final verdict: I'm going to give this one an 8 out of 10 and I would recommend this to anyone with an empty after noon or is looking for an alternative to evangelion.

This show had a tedious beginning where I began to start asking about 100 questions right out of the gate. Although it does seem to smooth out in the middle, it fails in helping me appreciate it more when it kept intoducing more and more questions for me to answer. The last part of the series was probably the best part as characters started to become more likeable and believable in their actions. The love story is decent between Ayato and Haruka, but it doesn't seem to scream out perfect couple since it felt bizare to see the two communicate or work together to resolve their conflicts. Overall, it is a good anime, however I would not reccommend it to those who want an opening to pull them directly into the series.

To start off, I might have not given a fair review. I really like Mech's I'm that kind of nerd but at the same time I do not like certain ones. Any ways, I watched this in American and Japanese. The Japanese version is so much better like most animes. Anyways the story line was good, they made some stuff confusing but it was mostly easy to fallow.

REVIEW WITH NO SPOILERS This is an anime that I really did not understand nothing in the beggining. You need to really pay attention... it's not an "easy-to-watch-anime" or something to pass the time. It's the kind of anime that you watch to think, or maybe refflect about its story. So I admit this is not an anime for everybody... especially if you want a spetacular animation (it's not a bad animation, it's actually fine if you consider the time it was made). But considering the technical aspects it's a BRILLIANT anime. And I did'nt enjoy it too much... it's more like a really deep type of mecha. So, if you are looking for a reflective, "hard-to-understand" and complex mecha, with great characters (main and supporting), RahXephon it's what you're looking for!

Despite it's interesting plot and setting, things in it seemed to be badly explained (NOT as in - went over your head, BUT rather either explained too early or too late for any drama.) All of the main characters felt really fucking cliched even though it's side-characters were great. It still ruined the quality overall. it nearly felt like a fucking harem at points and I really hated that as well. the main romance was also extremely forced, but at least the last episode explained it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. (like I said, too late for that. the show is literally over by the time they get to it. so all of the dramatic moments earlier just feel hollow.) In terms of characters they nail the side characters but the main leads are incredibly shallow. Haruka was upsettingly disingenious from the very beginning although they try to redeem her by the end. they failed. I still hated the character and the backstory seemed like more of an excuse than a genuine longing. (ie; - something they could've easily fixed had they shown it earlier than the LAST FUCKING EPISODE.) They also wrote her to be a far worse character than her sister even though she was basically useless in the plot, like LOL. okay. Reika Mishima is... idek... [spoiler] she's like a part of ayato's memory or some mulian god or some shit. I don't really understand how it worked. they never explained it. she was like Ixchtli or something, so that would make her a mulian but she also looked like Younger Haruka - [/spoiler] which made no fucking sense. they never explained that part. Quon is like.. a rei clone without any of the same level of identity crisis or emotional depth. she sings I think and lives with her brother. that's about it. that's the most you get out of her character. Ayato is also just a complete fucking cliche. he's like, if you took Hikaru Ichijo from Macross and removed all character flaws and reduced him to a confused husk of a boring protagonist. the most interesting he gets is around ep11-16 but after that it's like his development is reversed for some odd fucking reason. I would've preferred it, had they made him more cynical like they did in those few episodes, but oh well. some cliche about love or some shit. The best character in this show was Johji Futagami but he only gets very little dialogue, despite that his role in the show is revealed to be far more interesting than anything else revolving around the main drama. I cared more about Jin Kunugi, Souichi Yakumo & Elvy Hadhiyat than I did about Haruka and Ayato. They were actually likeable characters that not only had believable flaws but could also be pretty humurous at times while retaing a serious air to them. The most we got out of Haruka and Ayato were interactions in the first few episodes that already felt off - because of the nature of the plot. There's also Itsuki, Makoto, Helena and Sayoko. Despite being given very little attention were far more interesting and far more developed than any of the main cast. My favorite episode was episode 15 and it had nothing to do with the main cast and focused only on 3 side characters. This was the episode that showed me how this show was missing potential. I think the biggest flaw was trying desperately to emulate older better shows when it just could've been it's own thing. Main Characters were written waaaay toooo fucking conventionally for an unconventional plot and it really didn't work. They weren't written like this to subvert a cliche the same way something like Evangelion does, instead they were just there for fan-service and probably merchandising (tho, I doubt the second one.) Eitherway it felt too constrained with narrative tropes and lacking depth so it's like one of those Scifi shows that's really only a little interesting and not too deep or philosophical as it pretends to be. You could watch Black Lagoon and get more emotional depth out of that show than this. Overall, it was fine, the plot was good but reviews on this site definitely over-hyped it. I really wanted to like this show but the main characters were too flat and took too much screen time for how shallow they were. Story - 7/10 Animation - 7/10 Soundtrack - 9/10 Side Characters - 8/10 Main Characters - 3/10 Overall: 6.8/10 (Had Serious Potential)