Rating: 
Summary: Great art! Is there an actual story?
Review: After promising NOT to continue buying this series, I went out and got the second DVD because the art in the first one was so nice. And this DVD continues everthing you find in the first DVD, but becomes even more disjointed in the story department.It is an odd collection of nearly random scenes and 'stories'. One minute you are watching Ayato kamina in a training session, suddenly some Dolem is outside in a city, then we are finished the battle. Kamina suddely acquires an inexplicable 'Shinji' disease and doesn't want to fight, but heck- does it anyway without much reason. Slinky and angry female characters pile up like sexual driftwood, another vapid female (who can't reach down to fasten her own silly life jacket) spouts pabulum and hides from the cold, a crew of abusive male leaders, and a lead boy with fairly little personality round out the basic bederock for confusing situations. There is a GIANT Dolem walking through the ocean nearby...for some reason...and you can only see the legs. The fighter pilots shoot the legs out, but it doesn't fall...it is hovering! If it is hovering, why does it need legs? Why is it there? Why is it walking on two tiny legs? Great Ceasar's Ghost - It is all over the place. These stories are truely awful, but the art is so good. SO GOOD, in fact that I will buy the rest of the series (most likely) just to see the art and animation). This series is such a direct take off on Evangelion, you would have to be unimaginitive to not admit the likeness. A young boy, coerced into a top secret military organization, made to fly a robot MADE for him, not wanting to fight, besieged by and living with a slightly older woman in a warm colored waistcoat and tight, black clothes, working together with a hollow girl, having abusive leaders, surrounded by women, he sits in a 'sled' inside a giant robot/creature that fights single 'evil' giant robots sent out by an alien race in the future Tokyo...hmm....no, maybe I made the mistake, there is NO similarity. These are obviously just mere coincidences. Gainax really did their homework on most fronts compared to RahXephon. Evangelion was a nicely coherent story (part of the time) about 'the father, the son and the holy spirit' and the relationship of man to religion and his own perception as a god, etc, etc, etc. RahXephon is unfortunate to be a loose collection of silly images and events that might become a story in the remaining two thirds of the series but i doubt it will really tie well since none of it becomes understandable after 9 episodes. Why singing robots? What next? Smell-bots? Why build a giant robot just to have it use a voice? Couldn't you just have a flying head? RahXephon is very badly thought out when you give it a tiny, tiny amount of thought. Sorry. But the art is AMAZING. 'nuff said.
Rating:
Summary: Good but....
Review: After reading reviews for Raxephon on Amazon.com I decided to purchase the first DVD. My luck had it that when I went to make the purchase, both DVD volumes were available. I watched part 1 and walked away from it feeling content. I watched the second, and became really annoyed. Many Anime series that have been coming out are automatically compared to "Neon Genesis Evangelion." There is a very good reason for this, "Evangelion" is a classic. "Evangelion" is simply one of the best epic story ever written, regardless of it being an anime. I would strongly suggest to fans of "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" to purchase the "Evangelion" box set and watch it! In all probability, it will blow there minds away. Anyway, enough praising of "Evangelion", let's focus on Rahxephon. Rahxephon has some of the best "quality" animation I have seen in a Japanese animation series or stand alone film. The art and colors are amazing. I give the animation a 5 star. Unfortunatly, if a anime was ever to be classified as an "Evangelion clone", this is it. I can live with the similarity between the "angels of Evangelion" and the "Dolums of Rah". The Dolums are even catchier than the "Angels" from Eva. But, as in episode 6, when you start creating fight/action sequences that are equivilant to those seen in EVA action scenes, you've gone to far. And this is what the creaters of Rahxephon did. Episode 8 suffer's from the same problem. Rah was holding it's on, they didn't need to there... My main beef, I have seen Eva and loved it. I would have like to see "Rahxephon" but instead, I will be seeing Eva again. I will continue to follow "Rah" because it does have original content and great animation but I want to see how low they go into the copycat realm.
Rating: 
Summary: Rahxephon- A Strange Paradise
Review: Having watched all of the RahXephon episodes, I can safely say to anyone who is picking up this series for the first time that you will not be dissapointed. RahXephon combines stunning artistry and storyline, with excellent character development, and a musical score that in my oppinion has yet to be topped in Anime.
I first started collecting it because of its claim to being a "sequel to Evangellion" which was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration given the storyline of this series, although if you keep focused you may hear a couple of interesting references and similarities, at the risk of spreading spoilers I wont go into it, but even as a stand alone series, RahXephon performs, in a way I guess you coul say it is Eva done right, (animatd properly and with a definative ending.)
Unlike most of the other mecha animes out there, RahXephon does not put alot of emphasis on combat scenes, in fact towards the middle of the show you begin to hear references to them rather than actually seeing them yourselves. This gives more screen time to the story, and allows for in depth and often deeply emotional scrutiny of character bonds. Again, I wont say anything revealing but, the nineteenth movement, wow! I havent seen anything that powerful in a series in a very long time.
Ok, so there are a few dud episodes along the way, places where the story slowed down, and where the animation even seemed to change slightly, but in general this is rare and does not affect the overall picture one bit.
The japanese voice acting is superb, with the english dub being also unfaultable, it does not fall into the trap of over pronounciation, or of extremly emotionless delivery, this is really important for a show such as this one but thankfully they got it right.
So buy it, watch it, and enjoy it. The plot is tar thick ala Serial Experiments Lain, but if you dont get it, watch it again. The overall effect of a mixture of well chosen (not cheesy or out of date) music, superb voice acting, and beautiful surroudings make this a total must have for any fan of deep Anime.
Rating:
Summary: Great art! Is there an actual story?
Review: If there's one thing that gets on my nerves, it's someone that's a great anime an Eva clone. People keep saying Eva is a classic. Well, I'll tell you something, I regret ever buying the box set. I grew up with animes that had an excellent story line and included battle sequences that were just grand. Eva had a few battle sequences, but not enough to make me feel I spent my money on a worthy anime. Eva is too much into messing with the minds of viewers and most people won't understand the ending, which in my book, just blew. I had to listen to the commentary just to understand it, but after that, I hated it even more than before. I just started watching Rah Xephon and it's a hell of a lot better than Eva. How someone like Shinji could be a main character in any series is a big mistake. If you're looking for anime with mecha, blood, and great fight sequences, you want to go with RahXephon, Argentosoma, Escaflowne, or Blue Gender. Stay clear of Eva, unless you need to write a paper for psyche class on how to screw with people's minds. Save your cash for anime you can watch more than once.
Rating:
Summary: Evangelion be damned!
Review: If there's one thing that gets on my nerves, it's someone that's a great anime an Eva clone. People keep saying Eva is a classic. Well, I'll tell you something, I regret ever buying the box set. I grew up with animes that had an excellent story line and included battle sequences that were just grand. Eva had a few battle sequences, but not enough to make me feel I spent my money on a worthy anime. Eva is too much into messing with the minds of viewers and most people won't understand the ending, which in my book, just blew. I had to listen to the commentary just to understand it, but after that, I hated it even more than before. I just started watching Rah Xephon and it's a hell of a lot better than Eva. How someone like Shinji could be a main character in any series is a big mistake. If you're looking for anime with mecha, blood, and great fight sequences, you want to go with RahXephon, Argentosoma, Escaflowne, or Blue Gender. Stay clear of Eva, unless you need to write a paper for psyche class on how to screw with people's minds. Save your cash for anime you can watch more than once.
Rating:
Summary: A Cruel Dolem's Thesis
Review: It's a somewhat amusing FanBoy(or Fan Girl?)re-tread of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is almost hilarious to see throw-away episodes like episode 6 waste time until they reach a well-know moment from NGE, in that case, the battle with an Angel/Dolem who pulls things into the ground. In others it's the enemy who absorbs the main character to communicate with him,the falling-out with the surviving adversarial parent, the realization by Shinji/Ayato that he can't just sit on his [back](in Ayato's case, folks can't seem to stop commenting on how cute it is on one way or another)and let the alien threat wreck the planet if he has the unique ability to stop them or the wreckless person who doesn't care if they live or die when engaging the enemy.There's even a battle in which Ayato has to chose between killing a human inside of an Angel/Dolem and dooming the world! It's all there. If you hated the allegory of the futuristic fable NGE, you'll be relieved to know that it has been swapped out for sitcom/soap operatic content in it's stead. The dialogue and character facts are plenty here and much of it very goofy and entirely meaningless outside of it's entertainment value unlike the bare snippets given in NGE, all intended to further the story or make a point. The main character is attractive and gregarious rather than a homely withdraw nigh-autistic wimp like in NGE, though I prefered the latter as it he is someone you won't run into on American TV(at least not as the main character...for long), unlike the former, and it is more interesting to see him finally open up, just to regress even further in the end. Shinji will probably have more appeal at least to those people not obsessed with normalcy and familiarity in fictional characters.The Rei-clone doesn't even become really important until much later in the series than in NGE, giving more time to the more 'well-adjusted' characters. As for the title Titans,rather than mysterious Colossuses with their own motives that the Eva were, RahXephon and the Dolems are just tools for human or Mu use, so don't worry about the quasi-TransFormers of NGE confusing you here, though RahXephon still isn't quite some simple machine. Quite the opposite. It just doesn't really matter in terms of the story. The music of the series is a huge disappointment though. There is only one standard battle tune and the robots just scream at one another as they fight. If the creators weren't just being pretentious, they could have written new music for every episode just like they write new dialogue for each scene. Like all post NGE-End of Evangelion anime, the visuals are nice, though the character designs all strongly resemble other characters we've seen before (Dr.Kisaragi looks just like Citan Uzuki, for example), a common anime problem, I suppose. If you look at it (and it's inspiration) as just another TV show or cartoon, you will be fine with it. I don't take it as some personal offense or anything.Hype that magazines in cahoots with the anime companies like New Type sling can be more harmful than good so pay them no mind. You'll like RahXephon better if you do.I didn't even like NGE at first because of the expectations built up by the hype, but when I gave it a chance and analyzed it myself, I saw that it had a lot to offer. If you hate anime conventions, steer clear. This isn't the break-out title you're looking to make this art medium accessible to you. Anime fans/Otaku would do well to give it a try.
Just two more things: Way more fan service than in NGE (especially in the beach scene of episode 8). Shinji and Ayato have the exact wrong hobbies (Shinji plays violin while Ayato draws, skills their other-worldly equivalent could use).
Rating:
Summary: A little comlicated
Review: Its a good installment to the series with one or two things that I would consider draw backs.
The art and use of color in the series is great. The character design and the RahXephon and other "mech" designs are top notch. Of course this makes me wonder why the cover art on the packaging and promo posters are so bad.
The music is great and I really like the opening theme song. At this point in the series Ayato is trying to find his path in this new world (new for him) and with Terra. He also has to come to understand if not his reason for being able to use the RahXephon then at least his responsibility for being able to use it.
There are a lot of characters in this series which I think is a plus since the focus can shift around and not get stuck in one area for to long - and the focus sure does move around.
Character development is also being handled well. Given the number of players thats an acomplishment.
The only thing I don't like in this second installment is what seems to be the redundency in the fights with the Dolems. It goes like this: RahXephon attacks Dolem - RahXephon gets in trouble - everybody starts yelling Ayatos name - RahXephon beats Dolem. Fourtunatly thats only a small part of the series with so much more good stuff going on to make this only a minor point.
I will say that Vol. 3 gets away from this pattern with some pretty cool and pretty twisted encounters.
Rating:
Summary: A little comlicated
Review: Its a good installment to the series with one or two things that I would consider draw backs.
The art and use of color in the series is great. The character design and the RahXephon and other "mech" designs are top notch. Of course this makes me wonder why the cover art on the packaging and promo posters are so bad.
The music is great and I really like the opening theme song. At this point in the series Ayato is trying to find his path in this new world (new for him) and with Terra. He also has to come to understand if not his reason for being able to use the RahXephon then at least his responsibility for being able to use it.
There are a lot of characters in this series which I think is a plus since the focus can shift around and not get stuck in one area for to long - and the focus sure does move around.
Character development is also being handled well. Given the number of players thats an acomplishment.
The only thing I don't like in this second installment is what seems to be the redundency in the fights with the Dolems. It goes like this: RahXephon attacks Dolem - RahXephon gets in trouble - everybody starts yelling Ayatos name - RahXephon beats Dolem. Fourtunatly thats only a small part of the series with so much more good stuff going on to make this only a minor point.
I will say that Vol. 3 gets away from this pattern with some pretty cool and pretty twisted encounters.
Rating:
Summary: Screw Evangelion
Review: Ok this has to stop people. Neon Genisis Envangelion is a superb anime perhaps one of the best but to compare every mecha anime that comes out after it is not fair. Just like how almost every post apocoliptic anime was compared to Akira after it came out. There were several Post apocoliptic anime before Akira there were many more and when Akira is forgoten (which I hope never happens) there will still be more. Same for Eva. there were Mecha anime before it (Gundam, Robotech, etc.) there are Mecha anime after (Rahxephon) and when Eva is forgoten there will still be more.
Now on to my review lol This is perhaps one of the best story line and action animes I have seen in a long time the Character development and storyline hook you from the start. The music and animation are a treat for the senses now if you want a generic Mecha anime buy Gundam Wing (ZZZZZZZZ) but you want good anime and with mecha's as a backdrop for a good story buy Rahxephon.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have for a sci-fi fan
Review: RahXephon is a sci-fi anime with an intriguing story. Editorial review does a good job for summarizing the overall scenerio, so there is no need to lengthen my review. RahXephon resembles Neon Genesis Evangelion in many respects but it doesn't have the drawbacks of Evangelion that I mentioned in my review of its complete set. If you enjoy science-fiction books or movies having interesting and intriguing subjects, you will enjoy RahXephon as much as I do. If you need an example from anime to make your decision, I can say that the ones liked Gasaraki will probably like RahXephon, too. Video and audio quality of this DVD edition is very good. Most anime fans dislike dubbing and prefer to watch Japanese sound with English subtitles. However, subtitles are not that good. I found out that listening an important conversation, which you couldn't understand it at first, for a second time is much more efficient than figuring out what happened from subtitles. You should notice that there are actually two English subtitles. First subtitle is the regular one and the second one is similar to the "Pill" option of Akira, it only translates Japanese words on the video and background conversation on scenes such as a news heard from a TV. This second English subtitle is benefical to turn on. Leaflets on DVD's are very wellcome and useful. There are fully coloured drawings of mechas and persons together with a brief information. The leaflet of this first volume also includes short interviews with Japanese cast and translation notes. These notes are subjects related to Japanese culture and used in the series and they are very wellcome for me. Other extras in this DVD are :
- Clean opening animation : Animation is very good but the music is spectacular. I really love this opening music, even though I mostly listen to metal music. You can watch the animation and particularly listen to the music over and over again.
- Clean closing animation : Closing music is boring for me, but you may want to watch it as the words are closely tied to the overall story.
- Production sketches : These are clearly drawn in full color and the fantastic opening music accompanies them.
- Interview with the English cast : Voice actors of Quon, Haruka and Ayato answer a few questions, respectively. The questions are somewhat cliche but I enjoyed watching this.
- Oh, the ADV previews are also there, too. Second volume keeps up the good pace of the first one with the next four episodes of the series. I, as a science fiction fan, give five stars to this volume as well as the other three and I am looking forward for the rest.
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