Rating: 
Summary: ... non eva comparison free
Review: It's not that bad reviewers can't help comparing this title to Evangelion it's just that it should be compared to it because it borrows so much from it. As far as I can tell the production crew that does Rahxephon has much to do with Cowboy Bebop and to me Rahxephon comes off as a mix between Eva and Bebop. The main character Ayato almost looks like a cross between Spike and Shinji, call me crazy. Ayato will come off as confident and assertive at times like Spike. In more dire situations, he will act stubborn and childish like Shinji. There are a vast amount of parallels that I will go into later. Regardless of it's borrowing, Rahxephon has great production values. The animation is seamless and incredible expecially during battle sequences. The first time Allegretto made an appearance it blew me away. The mech designs rival Eva and I love Unit-01's design while the character designs are almost as good. It is beautiful, enough said. The music is good but I refrain from judging on that until I see the entire series. The plot seems extremely confusing at first but slows down after the first two episodes. The first DVD is very interesting and yes, many questions are left unanswered. If you're a person that dosen't like that then why do you even like anime? And as much as I HATED ADV's treatment of Evangelion they did a great job with RahXephon. The box art is wonderful and the booklet inserted is really neat. The English voice acting while not near as good as Bebop's(the best) is not near as horrible as Evangelion's(oh god my ear's hurt). Still I watch it in Japanese. Needless to say, I have high hopes for this series.
ONTO THE COMPARISON
Okay where do I start, the only weakness of Rahxephon is it's many smilarities and borrowed ideas from Evangelion. I'll say this, if you like Eva then you'll probably like this even though I haven't seen but the first DVD. Fire away. Okay the first episode is much like Eva's because the main character is trapped in a city at war. The dolems stink of "angel". Reika is very mysterious and quiet like a certain blue haired Eva pilot. Haruka is too much like Misato in fact Ayato ends up in a situation with her and her cute little sister much like Shinji did with Misato(trying to hint not spoil). A drop of water falls into a pool of water just like in Eva. When Rahxephon is activated in one of the episodes it's eyes roll around creepily like Unit-01's when it's headcasing came off. The imagery is what really gets it. In the 4th episode of Rahxephon a dolem attacks at sea and the whole occurence is way too much like the Eva episode where Asuka is introduced. Regardless Rahxephon has a lot of unique things going for it. What sets RahXephon apart is the character's are not as [messed] up as Eva's are which gives it a different flavor. Hopefully, it will pull away and leave us with the same impression Eva did. I want it to succeed. And lots of times great art tends to borrow.
Rating: 
Summary: Evangelion for the New Millenium?
Review: Many people have commented on the similarities of Rahxephon to the seminal anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion, and having viewed both in their entirety its easy to see why. Rahxephon borrows heavily from Evangelion (henceforth Eva) for both its premise and narrative. Nearly every major character in Eva has an analogous counterpart in Rahxephon, and if you swap out Eva's Christian symbolism for Rahxephon's musical references the overall plots are strikingly similar. Yet to simply dismiss Rahxephon as an Eva knockoff is to dismiss one of the best made anime series of the past few years.
The most immediately noticable aspect of Rahxephon is the stellar production values. The animation is simply gorgeous, made all the more beautiful by a flawless DVD transfer. The characters and mechs more with a convincing grace and fluidity not always present in anime TV series, and the amount of detail in the backgrounds is stunning. Also of note is the entire look of the show. The characters are realistically proportioned while still retaining that anime flaire (ie big eyes, spiky hair, etc.). The mechs are among to more interesting designs seen as of late, which like the characters are convincing yet stylized. The other mechanical aspects of the show, such as tanks, fighters, and ships, are all realistically detailed and help to sell the not-too-distant future setting.
This volume introduces a bevy of characters, yet they are all uniquely designed so that keeping track of who's who isn't a problem at all. You may not be able to keep all the Japanese names straight (it certainly took me a while), but you'll never have trouble recognizing a face. And for once in an anime, the characters go through realistic costume changes instead of wearing the same outfit all the time. We also get a lot of solid character development in this volume, although of course there's plenty more the come.
Then there's the narrative. Although it does bear several strong resemblances to Eva, there's more than enough that's different to distinguish the two series. For instance, the plot twist that occurs midway through this volume is completely unexpected and helps to keep things fresh. Rahxephon also spends a lot of time on the details, slowly trickling information to the viewer one juicy detail at a time. I'm currently rewatching the series a second time, and I'm amazed at how much more there is to this show than I picked up on the first time around. Rahxephon is a show that rewards repeat viewings.
Although outwardly similar, anyone who gives Rahxephon a chance will see its not really like Evangelion at all. Rahxephon is a smart, high-concept anime that is executed wonderfully. The show steadily guides the audience along without being too obvious about anything. If you're looking for a show to make you think, Rahxephon is definitely worth picking up. And after all, one can only watch Eva so many times.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent anime, but you may want to skip the box
Review: RahXephon has a lot to live up to, being created by the same studio that brought us the Cowboy Bebop movie, and directed by the director of Gasaraki. Thankfully, I can say (based on this first disc) that it is fulfilling that promise. RahXephon's plot is likely to hook you quickly, and set up a sense of intrigue and mystery that will keep you wanting more. Though many have scornfully compared this series to Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon is not a series to be dismissed as an "Eva clone." While there are many similarities, it could easily be said that RahXephon pays homage to the earlier anime classic, while maintaining its own story and style. Some may even find it easier to digest than the symbolic and didactic Evangelion. Now for my only criticism: You'll notice that I still gave this disc a five star rating, because a show should not be judged on the quality of its box. However, I should point out that the box is flimsy, and likely to be bent or creased by the time it arrives in your hands. Also, there are many reports of security tabs being applied directly to the inside surface of the box, necessitating slightly ripping the colored surface in order to remove it. This was a very poor packaging design decision. Finally, the t-shirt that comes with it is poor quality and made of cheap material. The design on the shirt is too small, and obviously cheaply printed in only two colors. This is not a shirt you would be proud to wear... in fact, it looks worse than most bootleg anime goods. So my advice is, definitely buy the series, but pass on the box. It's one of the worst boxes ADV has put out in a long time. It, and its godawful shirt, are not worth the extra money. The series on the other hand, is a joy to watch... so don't let your enjoyment be spoiled by poor excuses for "collectors items."
Rating:
Summary: Not great, but very good
Review: This review covers the whole series, because I didn't feel like writing a separate spiel for each DVD.
Rahxephon falls frustratingly short of greatness. I say frustratingly, because you can FEEL greatness so very, very close throughout the series. The production values are generally fantastic; the artwork is classic. The love story driving the plot is both convoluted and brilliant. Small moments and minor characters flesh out the world to the point where it almost seems real. There are moments of action and of character development that are glorious. And yet the series manages to fall just short, just shy of true greatness.
The similarities with Evangelion are the first problem. The parallels are too easily drawn, and in some episodes RahXephon feels almost like an elaborately conceived fan project. There's no reason to go too deeply into this, though, because it's really the sign of a larger problem, which is that the writing is frustratingly uneven. Although the script meticulously shows a number of tiny, important moments, other events are painted in such broad strokes that they become almost a form of caricature. For instance, the staff of TERRA consists almost entirely of attractive women, almost all of whom throw themselves at Ayato within days of his arrival in a transparent and silly display of adolescent wish-fulfillment. Only one of them has an excuse for this; after about the third it just seems stupid. It could have been better. The motivation behind the events of the show is also poorly defined. It's never made clear why the Mu (or Bahbem) are doing what they do. Why did the Mu attack? Why do they want our world?
The epilogue in the final episode neatly encapsulates the show's problem. It ties everything that has happened in the series, from its first moment to its last, into a neat, convoluted, and spectacular package. And at the same time, it leaves you thinking, 'Bahbem, Ayato, and the Mu went through all that... for THAT?' In a way, the mundane nature of the retuning has a message of its own... but it's a trite message, and it ultimately trivializes the rest of the series.
The show's music also shows the same frustrating lack of attention. The music is in almost all cases generic, bland, and western in character. In a show that admirably avoided the contemporary anime obsession with Judeo-Christian religious motifs, this is particularly disappointing. Native American music could have been mined in the same way as Aztec and Mayan symbology. Just a little more attention to detail would have done the trick -- and given that the whole series is predicated on the importance of music, it seems odd that more attention was not paid.
So, it's frustrating. The art (in particular some of the dolem designs), the characters, and much of the plot is fantastic, wonderful and worthy of mention with the best in anime. But there are so many places where RahXephon stumbles in its story and dialogue, and the music, which should have been a major strength, turns into a major weakness. So rather than greatness, RahXephon must settle for 'very good'-ness. That's not BAD, and RahXephon is a wonderful series in many ways. If you want to watch an anime that's occasionally thought-provoking and includes a deep, moving love story, then RahXephon is your ticket. It's a very good series.
But it isn't great. And it could have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Rubbish
Review: What a complete and utter pile of crap. I cannot believe people are praising this anime. It is so unoriginal it makes me want to spew. I didn't pick up one thing that wasn't borrowed from Neon Genesis Evangelion and I don't know how the director can live with himself. If you're the type thats into pretty looking anime then sure, watch it. But if you have respect for anime, do yourself a favour and watch NGE instead.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing, deep but not heavy mech anime
Review: Yes. This is another one of those deep, brooding mech animes following the vein of EVANGELION and ARGENTOSOMA, and yet it's different--and what I like about it is that it's still deep, but not as heavy as Evangelion. Rahxephon follows Tokyo who is trapped in a "protective dome" and believing that the world outside of the dome is destroyed. But the world as the main character knows it becomes unravelling once he finds out that not only is the world outside fine (relatively speaking), but that his city is the attack base of a disguised alien race. Of course controlling mechas come into play but what makes it interesting is the theme of music that's important to the mech. How the secrets behind everything unravel (imagine finding out that your mother bleeds blue blood) and how time travels at different speeds inside and outside the city is really interesting. I'm only on episode five and the more I watch it, the more I'm drawn in.
|
