| | Alternate title : RahXephon
Studio : BONES
Licenced by :
Length : 26 Episodes
Year : 2002
Genre : Science-Fiction - Mecha - Action
Synopsis :
What if everything you were told about the world was a lie? What if you don't know what you really are? What if you found out your [spoiler edited out] had blue blood?
Added : 2005-10-30
Synopsis by : Kaiser
Last update : 2008-05-10
Last update details : Song modified
Score : 8.59
Number of reviews : 29
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : Maaya Sakamoto - Hemisphere
Ending #1 : Ichiko Hashimoto and Mayumi Hashimoto - Yume no Tamago (Fledgling Dream)
Release(s) :
2004-02-25 -- Episode(s) 26 by Anime-Legion. BT Link
Found 1 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
Hits : 32876
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Posted by : Melancoholic
Posted on : 2008-06-17 
RahXephon is one of the series that got me into watching anime. I saw it shortly after watching Evangelion, and found much to compare and contrast between the two. Lots of people have, rather unfairly in my opinion, called RahXephon a clone of Evangelion. I disagree whole-heartedly, but I'll come to that later. First I'll get the technical stuff out of the way.
In terms of visuals, the quality of the art and animation isn't mind-blowing. It's above average, sure, but it could never stack up to visual feasts such as Ghost in the Shell or Karas. Not that it should, mind. In terms of the general appearance, RahXephon can feel quite muted, its colors a little washed out, perhaps. The lack of vibrancy is, however, made up for by the solid animation and, in particular, by the extremely intelligent direction. Every single shot appears to have been well thought out and, rather than just being a "that'll look cool" afterthought, the 'camera angles' are cleverly and subtly employed to evoke mood. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the vision/dream sequences, where the direction takes a surreal turn and yet still never feels unnatural. Fight scenes are brutally visceral, and usually make up for the show's lack of color, with blue blood flying in every direction.
And the characters are good as well. There are one or two that might grate; the 'American' pilot for one is a terrible cliché, with her brash rock and roll attitude and music, but others are sensitively and believably developed. The love story that is played out is original both in its protagonists motives and interactions and in the unreasonable situation they find themselves in. Supporting characters could, perhaps, have been a little stronger, but even then, they are well drawn and believable.
The story itself is, in my opinion, one of the best conceived and written in anime history. Here, I'd like to return to the comparisons with Evangelion. The reason it has been likened to Gainax's masterpiece is obvious, there are obviously strong parallels in terms of plot. However, I repeat, to compare RahXephon unfavorably because of that is unfair. The whole ethos of the show is so different. There are striking opposites, for example Evangelion's monotheistic bent background and western Christian styling is in contrast to RahXephon's much less easy to define spirituality, which might be Pantheistic, but which is at least influenced by ancient Greek/Egyptian culture and art. Then there is the general philosophy, Evangelion's characters always traveling the routes of their flaws down the road to self destruction, whereas RahXephon has characters who struggle towards betterment of themselves and others, in spite of the hardships they undergo. Both have young male leads, thrown into fighting they didn't wish for, but, where one boy slides inevitably towards destruction and madness, the other is able to take control of his future and overcome the trials put before him and grow because of them.
It's as if Evangelion and RahXephon are two sides of the same coin, an analogy I particularly like in this case. I firmly believe RahXephon deserves to stand alongside Evangelion with equal plaudits for intelligence, depth and storytelling verve.
Finally, a thought about the music. For an anime that basically has music (and sound) as the central theme - and even as its reason to exist - this could so easily have been the stumbling point. I'm so glad to say that the music is top quality. People who say this music is rubbish either don't know anything about music, or have such a narrow view of the subject that they are blinded to anything but unsubtle rock/pop. Indeed, it would have been so easy for RahXephon to go down the usual J-pop route in terms of musical philosophy (as if that generally soulless stuff has some deep kind of meaning to humanity!), but instead we're treated to modern-classical inspired brilliance. Bgms such as Flew Over and 12 Years would not be out of place if adapted for concert orchestras; something you can't usually say for anime music (and added to that, The Chariot has some of the most mental piano playing I've ever heard!). Even the jazz styled music worked really well, and I'm not a fan of jazz usually. The OP, Hemisphere is the closest RahXephon comes to pop, though even this is well written and full of depth and a diversity of mood. It's a classic anime song, in my eyes, one of the very best. The ED is harder to defend. Many people dislike the style and pacing, and I have to admit, I didn't like it much upon first hearing. However, it grew on me, and I eventually realised it was totally in keeping with the rest of the show. It's still not a favorite of mine, of course, but there you go. Overall, though, the music was a big part of what made this show a classic.
Animation: 9 - Great direction rescues some slightly subpar art. Animation always solid, and fight scenes and "visions" especially good.
Character: 9 - Deep characters, good interaction, one or two cliches but nothing too bad.
Story: 10 - Rivals Evangelion for depth and intelligence. 'Nuff said.
Music: 10 - Maybe the greatest anime music ever - even with that ED.
Overall: 10 - In my opinion, truly one of the greats of the genre, though much misunderstood and maligned. If you loved Evangelion, give this a try too for a different viewpoint. Conversely, if you hated Evangelion and want something with a much more positive message and outlook, I can't recommend this to you enough.
Posted by : taglish123
Posted on : 2007-03-06
This is such an awesome anime!! I love the way it put me through a roller coaster ride of emotions. The thing that impressed me the most is that it made me think.
The people who worked on this anime impressed me a lot. I could feel everything that each character was going through, not focusing entirely on just 2 main characters (Ayato and Haruka), which I tend to feel on a lot of the anime I've seen.
The ending itself was truly amazing. It left me speechless and goosebumps. You have to watch the anime to experience it. It's nothing like I've ever seen before.
This is the most difficult review I've given because it's just so easy to spoil it for people to understand what I'm talking about.
Posted by : facelessenigma
Posted on : 2007-02-17
This is one complicated anime in the sense that it takes the character a while to accept the facts that have been laid out in front of him. The story is great its almost surreal. Plus what really keeps you watching the fact that not everything is disclosed till past the half way point.
Story: 9/10
The music really fits the atmosphere of the anime. Its a lot of sad melodies and some jazz music too. Music: 9/10
The animation isn't mind blowing; but it is very well done. The animation really shines when it goes into the vision or dream sequences in the anime. Animation: 9/10
Characters of this show are really well built; every episode seems to help expand on a specific or a few characters so as to create a deeper character development. Some character development resembles that of Neo Genisis Evangelion. Characters: 8/10
Overall this show is quite enjoyable so I give it a 9/10.
Posted by : alucius
Posted on : 2006-10-03  
If you have been looking for a good anime to sink your teeth into stop your searching, for Rahxephon is here and it will satisfy your cravings. Unlike what most people say it is in no way an Eva copy, all they have are a few things in common and that is not that uncommon because they are from the same genres. But compared to Rahxephon, Eva's plot, characters, and music are shallow and weak.
Music 9/10: The music from Rahxephon is some of the best there is. Its opening is one of the favorite I have ever heard, better than the opening in Fafner which is also pritty good. I find myself constantly whistling it.
Story 8/10: The story is very intricate and deep. It keeps you wondering and curious in such away that it draws you all the way in and maes it so you cant stop watching it. At the end of the series it explains everything answering all the mysteries in the series. It is an anime that you will want to see more than once because there are lots of things throughout the series that didn't make sense or couldn't understand or things said that seamed unecessary or seemed out of place the first time through the anime will now make sence and give more insight to characters and the plot once you have seen all the explinations at the end of the series. That was awsome.
Characters 7/10: The characters in the series where very well done. The series got pretty deep into there lives and there past.
Animation 7/10: The animation in Rahxephon was very well done. Especially the way the Rahxephon looked and the scenery was done beautifully.
Posted by : ariq 
Posted on : 2006-01-19
Wow, out of wataching Evangelion, and Fafner, Rahxephon, in my opinion, pwns both of them. It's a really nice show and it gives a good feeling after you watch it.
The story to the show was pretty good, very interesting, and I would never compare this show to Evangelion cause this show is not Evangelion. This show is way better than that show. Story was interesting till the ending, and the ending was kind of complex, but I rewatched and put some pieces together and it goes pretty much. This show to me has one of the greatest, and nicest endings I have ever seen. The ending to the show was so fitting and so peacefull that it made me think about the ending after I was done with the show.
Characters in the show were very memorable. The main male and female character had a very interesting and strong relationship. The other characters were great but that female friend that the main male character had.
Animation; this show had somewhat of unique animation. I can't really describe it but the animation was very attractive.
Music was decent. I really liked the opeing theme, the ending theme was soooooooo boring, and the backroud music was ok.
Overall this show had one of the best endings I have seen, and the characters are very memorable. This show is great so go watch it.
Posted by : fresh_no_concept
Posted on : 2006-01-19
It has been a while since I have come across a great mecha anime. Never truly becoming a Gundam junkie, the last decent mecha anime I have watched would probably be Neon Genesis Evangelion. Well, what better way to reimmerse myself into the mecha genre than by watching the publicly proclaimed "Eva clone?" Unfortunately, RahXephon was branded with this moniker during its initial broadcast and release into the world. However, I feel that RahXephon was able to create a story unique in its own right and consequently, make a pretty decent anime, mecha or otherwise.
The beginning of the story surely does have that "Eva" feel to it. An adolescent boy gets put into the cockpit of a huge robot and is ordered to protect Japan from large entities threatening the human existence. Ultimately though, RahXephon becomes a love story with a lot of mecha fights thrown into the mix. Sure, Ayato is destined to change the world or something to that end, but the world and its surrounding events take a backseat to Ayato and his love interests. In retrospect, the story and all its elements are quite well paced until the last couple of episodes. Near the end of the series, they decide to throw so much information and emotion at you, it's difficult to truly take it all in. Also, the story leaves a couple questions unanswered, which is a shame. In the end though, it was an entertaining story with a very satisfying ending. I especially enjoyed how they used every last minute of the anime to bring the love story full circle. The very last scene regarding the beach painting brought a huge smile to my face.
While RahXephon truly only focuses on two characters, the series introduces a vast array of people with varied ages and backgrounds. Unfortunately, many of them were sort of left by the wayside to focus on the love story, which was somewhat dissapointing. Many of the characters seemed to just die off for no reason near the end and due to lack of development, I found myself not caring for about half of the deceased. Perhaps the only character who proved to be more interesting that I previously predicted was Megumi. Her careful nature in choosing the people she likes is marred by cruel irony. Nevertheless, she is able to carry on and continue to help those she cares for and loves. Almost nobody else was able to develop as much as Megumi. Even Quon (whom I figured would become quite the interesting character) was merely a shell of a character with very few redeeming qualities.
The technical side of this anime is a mixed bag. While I found the animation to be quite decent, the character designs themselves didn't scream out "original" too much. Your usual mecha anime archetypes are all here for the picking. I also found the RahXephon design to be a little weird (not to mention RahXephon seemed to be invincible). The fight scenes were a joy to watch though. Blue blood seemed to rain upon the skies of Nirai Kanai and it always brought a smile to my face. Music was altogther a dissapointment. A major theme of the RahXephon series seemed to be music and sound (many of the enemies had musical terms as names). With music being such an important theme to the story, I found it very surprising that the music surrounding the anime was not exactly good. None of the music was truly memorable other than "Hemisphere." A huge dissapointment to my ears.
Luckily, the love story tends to overshadow all the elements that this anime lacks. I was eventually done in, and found myself enjoying this anime (and eventually buying it). RahXephon creates a story intriguing enough to have the viewer look past all the flaws and end up waiting for the next episode. I recommend people to watch this series, if only once. The beach painting scene at the end is more than worth the time spent on completing the rest of the series.
Posted by : Egeria
Posted on : 2006-01-12
Story
*******
Seventeen year old Ayato Kamina grew up in the bustling city of Tokyo, Japan. In school, he is taught that all of civilization was destroyed long ago and Tokyo exists as the lone survivor. When the city is suddenly attacked by invaders known as Mulians, or Mu, Ayato meets Reika Mishima. As the battle between the Mu and human race ensues, Ayato discovers his true identity and his role as the instrument of Rahxephon.
Sights
*******
The graphics were not too impressive. It was very plain and the colors were dull for the most part. Character design was pretty ordinary.
Sounds
*******
There weren't any songs that stand out in this series. Both opening and ending songs were very forgettable. All I can remember is that the ending song was very slow and pretty close to torture.
Opinion
*******
Considering the previous scores Rahxephon has earned, this series was not at all what I had expected. Right from the start the viewer is thrown into confusion with all the random events that take place. After the first episode, I had hoped that perhaps the later episodes would clear things up. I was sadly mistaken. The more I watched the more confusing I became and even at the very end the blue blood dealio made no sense. The worse part of the anime was the number of characters that died really rather suddenly. My favorite character was probably Megumi. She's a very happy and light hearted character who falls in love with the wrong people. The ending to this show was as expected. I would never recommend this anime. A true waste of time.
Posted by : llyrias
Posted on : 2005-12-10
Okay, when I first started watching it, the only thought that crossed my mind was "Omg, what an Eva rip-off." That was mostly the first couple of episodes. But really, there were way too many plot points and characteristics stolen from Eva (for example, the screaming -cough- Shinji -cough-). So here's what it breaks down to:
Music (9/10) - The music was undoubtedly the best part of RahXephon. The OP is beautiful (ah the orchestration). It's one of the few OP that you don't get tired listening to.
Animation (7/10) - The designs for the RX were really great. The colors, structure and shine were all very nice. The animation far exceeds that of Evangelion but of course, this is also many years later. Now, the designs for the Dolems on the other hand were less than great...
Characters (6/10) - I didn't think the characters were that memorable. Somewhat biased, I kept thinking "Shinji, shinji" for the main character. However, to be fair, I probably wouldn't be too far off from that personality if I were in that situation.
Story (6/10) - Okay, at first it was an Eva rip-off. But then I kept watching and the story does delineate from the "Eva" storyline. RahXephon just barely grasps onto shreads of creativity and originality. However, probably much to Eva's standards, the ending is a bit hasty.
Overall, RahXephon is entertaining once you get past the bleh-y first couple of episodes. The two shining points: OP and Animation. That's about it.
Posted by : kamikaze999
Posted on : 2005-12-08
Story: Intriguing, unpredictable but also very unnerving, what with all these 'what am I?' , 'What if everything I believed in was a lie' ideas...ending was a bit anti-climatic but unique nonetheless...(9/10)
Characters: Likeable main character who isn't annoying despite being whiny. Overall cast is memorable especially Ixtli, though I can't make out wtf Quon is trying to say sometimes...(9/10)
Animation: Despite lack of use of CG, the look of this anime is stunning...the mechs and Dolems in particular stand out...(10/10)
Sound: Probably the best OP I have ever heard which ties in nicely to the story, Orchestra score is also excellent ...great seiyuus too...(10/10)
Overall: 9/10
Posted by : zerosgt
Posted on : 2005-11-11
Overall I thought this was a really good anime, however, I've seen Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE). This series seems to take too many of it's plot lines and it's feel from that. I understand that it's "totally different", but it's still a whiney kid that needs to pliot to save the planet, and doesn't want to.
All in all the characters are memorable and the story line is amusing. The animation is amazing, so I would recommend this, just don't expect to get anything out of it, like you can with NGE.
Posted by : forevergone
Posted on : 2005-10-16
Alot of rumours fly around that Rahxephon is just another ripoff of EVA, but is it really? Not at all. The only thing that really resembles each other is the mecha concept, designs, and a few plot similarities, but other than that, everything else is totally different. Enter Ayato Kamina, a normal 17 year old boy who soon has his life turned upside down. When he becomes the instrumentalist of the Rahxephon, his own life crumbles away bit by bit unknowingly. For me, I'm a big sucker for mecha/romance titles. After seeing Evangelion, I thought that no other series could ever come close to it. Rahxephon went past it and went further.
Sound: 10/10
With the lovely seiyuu, Maaya Sakamoto as well as doing the everso popular OP of Rahxephon, Hemisphere, this was an immediate highlight of the series.
Animation: 9/10
The designs were mouth watering and the battle scenes were executed flawlessly. Every second of each episode was appealing to the eye. After saying this, what more can be said?
Storyline: 8/10
Although there are similarities between Rahxephon and Evangelion, I loved both of these series. The plot structure of Rahxephon was unique in its own way because somehow, after watching an episode, I would always yearn for more. Evangelion didn't do that. The only negative thing that I can about this title is the abrupt ending. In 4 short episodes, they fit the whole conclusion in that short amount of time span where 22 other episodes built up the climax. Not the best use of timing but other than that issue, I really did enjoy watching Rahxephon.
Most people get turned off when they hear that Rahxephon is just another knockoff of Evangelion, but give it chance. You won't be disappointed because in it's own way, Rahxephon will leave an impression on you that will last a lifetime.
Posted by : MrSentimental
Posted on : 2005-09-30
I definitely liked the artwork of Rahxephon better than that of Evangelion. The characters looked cooler, less "tooney", and often more appealing. But besides that, this anime does fall short of Evangelion, which Rahxephon is constantly compared with.
It started out with a BANG in the first few episodes! I was like, "Alright!!! This is looking Good!!!". My interest was right there with the initial action, cool mecha, and introduction to the many mysterious and intriguing characters. There were some neat battle scenes, but it seemed that as the show went on, they were less impressive. None of the Rahxephon battle scenes came close to the jaw-dropping craziest Eva battles in Evangelion, even with Rahxephon's superior artwork.
I also started to feel that the characters that initially were intriguing didn't seem to develop in any strong ways. Except for perhaps Ayato and his "older woman", there weren't really many sparks between the characters. They were for the most part fairly stiff and aloof. Not a lot of caring between the characters, or fun times to be had here. I can't say I was dying to watch the ending episodes.
The Orchestral and techno soundtrack was Great! I had to get it! But I got it mainly because it was just real good music. It didn't really signify or bring me back to any particularly mind-blowing scenes in the show except perhaps for some of the better action scenes in the beginning. Also, the soundtrack didn't really BLAST IN on cue to effectively raise the crazy-action-o-meter like how it would during the better Evangelion scenes.
I'd say it's worth at least a one-shot for the great artwork, some of the initial action, and the well done soundtrack. 7 out of 10 rating. 3 1/2 STARS.
Posted by : krn_psyko_Dawg
Posted on : 2005-09-06
I have to say it was one of the BEST anime that I have seen. This anime was as great or even greater than Evangelion. The plot was not one of those simple cookie cutter methods, but had a very good twists and suspense. The story went really well with the animation. The robots have an eerie like aura. The viewer tends to be overwhelmed at first, but everything gets explained to the viewer's satisfaction in the end. I thought the battle scenes were great and did not drone on like Gundam tends to do sometimes. It has a lot of symbolisms and messages if you think real hard. I'm not going to give away the story, but it is a MUST SEE anime.
Posted by : glidedream
Posted on : 2005-08-08
I'll admit going in that I'm biased, not because I watched Eva first and liked it, but because I hold Evangelion in a special light and if you're going to make an anime that supposedly "does Eva right", you'd better deliver. Unfortunately, Rahxephon delivers only in copying the best parts of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and adds nothing of its own.
SPOILERS:
For those who don't understand the comparison, I'm kind of at a loss to explain other than to tell you to pay more attention to details. It's not so much that both shows are based on giant robots so much as the scenes and feelings that are the exact same in both shows. The entire first episode attack by an alien force, the enemy that swallows the main character into a black hole, the "tadaima okari" scenes, the scene with the world blowing up, the dream sequences inside enemies, the Rei and Kuon characters and more are all pretty much the same to me. Given that Eva came first, I'm hard pressed to be impressed by Rahxephon's implementation of these ideas. Rahxephon even stole the alternate reality part from Eva episode 25 and made that the actual ending. (Terrible idea by the way, there's a reason Eva didn't make that the actual ending, it's because it's a huge cop out and horribly unsatisfying) END SPOILERS
Rahxephon does a few things Eva did poorly, like have a main character who actually felt like a main character, and the whole romance element. I was also impressed by the execution with the Mishima Reika character, and the themes that are not present in Eva such as the time, the egg, and the music are decent. The animation and mecha design are very fluid, and the opening and ending songs are very good. The jazz music OST is a pretty good mood setter. Still, sometimes I wonder how dorky it really is to have the bad guys' greatest weapon as screaming at a really loud volume. I don't doubt that it's effective given how much it sucks to be yelled at by people, but it does seem really ridiculous. I must also say that of all the 26 episodes, one really moved me (the Asahina Hiroko episode), but as good as that episode was, it doesn't come close to matching the numerous really good Eva episodes. My conclusion is that I am unable to offer a rating based on how good this show would be to a person who has not watched Eva. I guess it would be a point or two better. For a person like me who has watched Eva, it adds nothing, and is not better in any way shape or form.
Posted by : kusoXhage
Posted on : 2005-06-18
Unfortunately, I watch Evangelion before I watched RahXephon so, I really didn't enjoy this as much. For those of you who've already seen Evangelion, you will definitely notice a connection between these two. Personally, I think RahXephon is a pretty good replica of Evangelion. However, I would definitely have to say that Evangelion beats this series.
Well anyway, the goodpoints of this series. This series definitely has sharp graphics and pretty ummmmm... interesting music.
The story overall had many twists and turns that made it very enjoyable. Not to mention that it was somewhat unpredictable at times. As the story progresses, it even gets depressing and moves some people's hearts as well.
So, I am left with no choice but to give it a 7/10 becuase I thought this was a complete replica of Evangelion.
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