Wow great review. Just reading this made me want to watch RahXephon again, to bad I don't own it yet lol.
As you said "This is an excellent beautiful anime full of depth that flows like poetry" I completly agree and highly recomend this anime.
RahXephon tv Review
Story & Characters
Why is it that people with issues always end up piloting a giant mecha? I suppose if that wasn't the case then anime like RahXephon wouldn't be as good, now would they? First I will say I'm not going to compare this with Evangelion. There are similarities, no doubt. I will go as far as to say RahXephon was influenced by EVA, but I find these two anime to be worlds apart in terms of content, story, and message. Now, let us never speak of that again.
There are quite a few characters in this anime; too many to properly describe here. What I will say is BONES took extra care in this category, and it shows. Just off the top of my head, I count 20 characters that play a significant role in the plot of RahXephon. Every character is well developed with many facets to their personalities and agendas. Those that stand out for me are Megumi, Ayato, Haruka and Itsuki. The wonderful part of such a well developed, large cast is it makes the story, the journey with these characters, all the more involving.
Then comes the story. RahXephon's plot is as complex as theoretical astro-physics. You will/should watch this anime more than once to fully appreciate the complexity and arrangement of the story. On top of that, the story unfolds like poetry; each piece of the puzzle revealed at the right moment while turning over a few more pieces. And just when you think everything is understood and explained, another facet reveals itself. It's obvious a lot of time and care went into the story and characters and I'm thankful to those responsible for creating an anime with such substance.
Both of these aspects, the characters and the story, serve each other. The characters all have some part to play in the overall plot, no matter how small it may seem at first. The story reciprocates by developing the characters further, making them grow, change and prove even more interesting as the episodes progress. Everything seems to flow together, at first a mass of unconnected threads, but slowly untangling; by the end turns out there was only one all along. I'm sure I still don't understand/grasp everything that has happened in this anime, but that's just something that will keep me coming back to it.
There are a few plot points that seem slightly odd to me but I could count those on one hand. I would give a short synopsis of the plot, but I feel that would be cheating you from such a wonderful experience. Overall this is a complex, satisfying story filled with wonderful, equally complex characters and everything unfolds beautifully.
Rating:
Art
I have a feeling I'm going to be using the phrase "like poetry" a lot in this review. Truth is there really isn't any other way to explain it. The settings in this anime are quite amazing. There is such variety visually inherent in this series and it is well represented in the art design. From the interiors of Tokyo Jupiter, a normal world pulled from normalcy, the "average" city has an underlying feeling of a foreboding nature. From the first frames of the series you feel as if something here isn't exactly right; like a dream you started trying to rationalize. Then outside to the real world, crumbling ever so slightly; BONES really knows how to use color to convey the emotion of the story. Add that to the varied designs and the locations become an integral part of telling the story. Another category they took quite a bit of care to create.
The character designs share the care the rest of the series has received. The designs of every character are spot-on. They fit the personalities and background of the character they represent, even if you aren't fully aware of it at first. A few favorites are Megumi, Reika, Maya and Itsuki. Of course that's just personal preference. Each and every one is beautifully designed.
The mecha designs are some of my favorite out of any series. The RahXephon is probably the most "normal" of all of the designs. And even it is quite original. The Mu send mecha called Dolem into the "real" world which the RahXephon must fight. This is where the mecha design shines. Instead of creating a clone of the RahXephon or some other bipedal creation, the designers created unique, functional designs that are some of the most original I've ever seen in an anime. While they look like they were created to perform a certain function and nothing more, each Dolem has its own "personality." This results in each encounter with the Dolem being a new experience rather than "just another mecha battle."
Of course no amount of design work would mean anything without great animation to bring them to life. Throughout the series, RahXephon maintains a high level of animation quality. There are a few sporadic scenes that look like they needed some more in-between animation work, but overall the characters, mecha and battles are smoothly animated and detailed throughout. The battles are choreographed beautifully. The drama is portrayed artistically. The angles and cuts used during important scenes or exposition help to tell the story and add emotion; while at the same time remain as detailed and beautiful. Again, like poetry the series unfolds, and the animation adds to this greatly. There aren't any reused sequences to speak of. Even the RahXephon's launching sequence varies from episode to episode. Just another category the creators took great care in creating.
The opening and closing sequences are as beautiful as they are relevant. Tossing aside the average opening that introduces characters in-turn with action scenes between, the opening and closing paints a picture of RahXephon. Everyone is represented, along with the story. The heart of the series is there and no matter what episode you're on, it fits perfectly. Some series shows you everything in their opening, while some show nothing relevant. This series strikes an almost perfect balance. The closing animation is just as good, adding more of the mystery and beauty of the series to the credits.
Rating:
Sound
The opening theme, I've just discovered during this viewing, is composed and arranged by Yoko Kanno. That would explain why it was/is my favorite piece from this series. I shouldn't have to say more about it, but just in case... the opening song puts you in the proper mood to watch RahXephon while at the same time complementing it through the lyrics and overall composure of the song. Add that to the opening sequence, and that's one I can watch over and over. The closing song isn't quite as appealing as the opening. It's even a bit creepy sounding. But for this series and for the ending sequence it actually works. Not something I'd listen to on its own and not a reason for me to watch the ending sequence every time but good enough.
The rest of the musical score isn't as good as the opening. Most of the music is appropriate for the series. There are a few tracks that seemed like they were trying to convey "weird" and just ended up sounding like they belonged in another series. The most important scenes in the series were well represented by the music fortunately. It just seemed to me that having a series that places music and musical composition at such an important level would've done a better job.
Another part of this series that made me proud was the sound effects. It's a science fiction series with mecha battles. That means the sound effects need to be great. And they are. Fitting the original mecha design, the sound effects are "believable" considering they are coming from a giant weapon. On top of that they just plain sound great. Occasionally there are a few standard machine sound effects but most of those apply to the Terran fighter planes and such so it creates a form of "base" that makes the Dolem and RahXephon's sound all the more appealing. In keeping with the musical nature of the series, the attacks and other mecha related effects have a melodic feel to them. Just another piece that helps to bring life to these monstrous machines.
Another sign of the improving English Dubbing quality, RahXephon's English VAs are pretty good. They all fit the characters pretty well and they carry the weight of the story in their portrayal. Again, my favorite female character in the series just happens to be voiced by Hilary Haag ;). I'm not complaining. Although the English version is well done (and great for when I don't feel like reading) I actually prefer the original Japanese voices slightly more. Maybe it's because I became attached to these characters the first time I saw it (which was in fansubbed form), or maybe it's because they just did a better job; I can't tell.
Since I'm not fluent in Japanese, the English made it easier to comprehend everything that was going on. I blame
that on having to read subtitles and process them while at the same time trying to take in the visual aspects of the
story. So for me, they end up being almost equal. If you understand Japanese fluently, then you'll probably want to
go with the original version.
Rating:
Presentation
Art, animation, music, sound, characters and story all meld together beautifully and the result is a wonderful anime. It is obvious the amount of time, care and determination the creators poured into this series. Everything about it screams "deep" or "artistic" or "poetic." RahXephon is simply a beautiful anime.
The official age rating is "TV14." As far as content goes; there are a few freak-outs, a few "violent" mecha battles, and one or two of each violent (involving humans) and nude scenes. I don't have any objections to the official rating although I think in general a 14 year old might not understand everything going on in the story. I'm trying to be very careful in the wording of that sentence considering most 14 year olds will argue they are old enough to understand, while other older people or parents would argue you should be at least 16-18 to properly understand the series. All I can say to that is: if you aren't sure if you should show this to a "younger" audience; watch it yourself and make your own decision.
To echo everything I've said more than once in this review; this is an excellent, beautiful anime full of depth that flows like poetry. RahXephon is in my "required anime" category. If someone were to ask me for 10 anime they absolutely must watch, this is most likely going to be on that list.
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.8333 (very good)
Reviewed by NovaProspekt, Apr 29, 2006
Comments
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yhakoo Apr 30, 2006
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FrostBlade13 Apr 30, 2006
I liked this anime and this is a fairly accurate review.
Although I didn't think quite as highly as an 8.83, but I can see how people would view it. I recommend this anime, generally to an older audience who are intrested. -
hoduken May 01, 2006
Bah, this anime was just another evangelion. I want to say rahvangelion or evangelxephon. It wasn't really bad or nothin, but i wouldn't give it a 8.
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FrostBlade13 May 01, 2006
First of all, hoduken, your disputing what NovaProspekt said in the first paragraph, but whatever.
I thought this anime was alright, I would consider it a little lower but could see how people view it as highly artistic and would enjoy it. -
NovaProspekt May 01, 2006
's ok. I was waiting for a "this is EVA" post. It's almost required on anything having to do with Rah sadly...
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brightlance May 06, 2006
i think that rahxephon only resembles evangelion on the surface. Both lead characters are male, they pilot mechs, and they have family problems, but after that, the two series don't compare.
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Rassvetnaya May 11, 2006
I really like this series (and go crazy when somebody starts to compare it to EVA, they are REALLY different. I like RX much more). This is magnificent love-story (for me) on great background of the RahXaphon world. I enjoyed wathcing it in both sences - feeling and thinking.
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norine07 Jun 06, 2006
i like both the manga and the anime...! good review veru detailed...! loved it...! ^^
see ya around...! ja-ne...! ^^*sakura-chan*
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dianas Dec 28, 2006
Perhaps u guys will like to take a look at the new Shrine-of-RahXephon group :)
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angelxxuan Banned Member May 23, 2012
there is no better way to explain the perfect mecha other than take a look into this anime. this was my obsession once I saw it, sadly something went horribly wrong when it came to the dubbing of this into the english language, the audio track was seriously off, could barely hear it at times or blow you out of the seat on the very next scene. excellent review.
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