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As RahXephon progresses, a number of parallels with Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion emerge. Ayato, like Shinji, is the reluctant, chosen pilot of a fantastic mecha; the officers of TERRA are using Ayato as a pawn, as the directors of SEELE used Shinji. The Dolem, the gigantic flying fortresses of the Mu, recall the menacing Angels. But unlike many Evangelion clones, RahXephon is challenging and intriguing. Although Ayato is understandably uncertain about his role in a strange time and place, he remains less alienated and more likable than the schizophrenic Shinji. The interpersonal relationships surrounding Ayato are more complex and involve more humane characters than the remote Commander Ikari or the emotionally scarred Misako. Director Yutaka Izubuchi preserves a sense of mystery without allowing the story to degenerate into incomprehensibility, as he did in the muddled Gasaraki. (Rated 15 and older: violence, brief nudity, minor profanity, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon
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