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: Not Rated
: A.D.V. Films
: Anime, Mecha
: 125 min.
: English, Japanese
: English
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The city of Tokyo has been overthrown, taken over by Invaders who have devastated the rest of the planet. For 15 years, the remnants of the human race have fought a losing battle against the Mu and their Dolem, knowing that the key to victory lies within the domed walls of Tokyo Jupiter, where time flows in a different path and none of the mind-wiped citizens even know that the city has been conquered. But no one has been able to get into Tokyo. Unitl now. Prepare for the ultimate paradigm shift as one young man learns the horrifying secret in RahXephon.
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| inferior EVA clone
by Ming
January 12, 2004 - 2:57 PM PST
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7 out of 9 members found this review helpful
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I really wanted to like Rahxephon better because it started out with such promise, but after watching the whole series I must say I'm disappointed that it is just another inferior EVA clone, and made me appreciate EVA even more.
The first few episodes of Rahxephon has so much style and coolness, and with such a promising and intriguing story that I kept watching hoping to get more. Unfortunately as the series dragged on, it seems to have lost its momentum and the story seems to be getting nowhere, until finally culminating in an almost vertibim copy of the EVA ending (though EVA did it many times better, even with the original ending).
This is not to say Rahxephon is bad at all. In fact it's better than many scifi anime series nowadays. I just wish they had beefed up the story so the series doesn't end up like sacchirin: sweet but without substance.
As for me, I'm going to watch EVA again, just to remind me how much better it is... |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion entangled with Macross without the spiritual schizophrenia
by hneline1
May 10, 2003 - 11:54 PM PDT
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11 out of 11 members found this review helpful
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I love a mystery that pushes me to the edge of confusion but then pulls me back with well-timed hints and the promise of some understanding if I just hang on (e.g. Boogiepop Phantom, Serial Experiments Lain, FLCL). Rahxephon kept me off-balance throughout these first episodes by building realities then expeditiously jerking at the rug underneath me -- Where are those fighters really coming from? Is she actually a longtime classmate? Who are all those people? Who is the real enemy? I had to watch these episodes a second time to finally understand some of the earlier scenes.
In a way, you can think of Rahxephon as Neon Genesis Evangelion entangled with Macross, without the spiritual schizophrenia. There are mysterious aliens, armies and dog fights, political maneuvering, a boy fighting in a mecha with unknown powers, and references to ancient religions. Let me tell you, though, Ayato is a LOT more stable than Shinji and, so far, this series has a good balance of emotional expressiveness and heart-thumping action without wallowing in indecision. I was entranced by the well-developed and likeable characters, the believable relationships, the teasing storytelling, the smooth animation, and the beautiful score (the OP theme, "Hemisphere", is by Yoko Kanno).
I was also fascinated by the theme of art and music throughout these episodes. Ayato is an aspiring artist. Each episode is called a musical movement, and many of the weapons are named after musical references (Allegretto, Fortissimo). Song plays a major part of awakening Rahxephon and is also used as a method of attack. It's great to see art integrated into an action mystery because it's rare to see it as an essential part of a mecha/fighting anime. I think that BONES, the new production company that created Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (aka Cowboy Bebop: The Movie), has created a solid series for their second feature and I am eager to see how future episodes develop.
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| An Eva knockoff, but a good one
by PGraydon
April 26, 2003 - 10:03 AM PDT
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8 out of 9 members found this review helpful
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Warning: some mild spoilers within.
RahXephon has clearly borrowed a lot from Neon Genesis Evangelion: young, reluctant hero-pilot of a giant humanoid fighting bio-machine; a human society living in the aftermath of an alien attack; a 20-something female military lead for the hero; otherworldly goings-on involving the fate of humanity; etc.
The animation production quality is very good, with beautifully detailed artwork and an excellent, well-fitted soundtrack. (Although if you want to see some very gorgeous CG work, see Arjuna.)
As does Eva, RahXephon relies on its human drama much more than it does on its action content. The fight sequences, though they are visually interesting and make use of novel weapons, do not engender the same viscereal rush as the ones from Cowboy Bebop or Macross Plus. As one friend of mine pointed out, there seems to be at least one agnst-ridden scream per episode, but I did not find the drama to be overplayed. RahXephon's dramatic content seems to be a bit less brooding and introspective than Eva's, but still compelling.
Overall, I'd say that RahXephon was interesting without being novel, and compelling without being life-altering. It's just TV, but it's pretty good TV. Rent it and see for yourself. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.72)
243 Votes
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| Mad Brilliant Anime!!! (on-going) 04/04/07 |
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| From the "Good" to the "Holy-Sh#t!!! I can't wait to see more" of all the animation I have seen thus far... (You've got to kiss a lot of Frogs to find the Princes... Here are a few Princes I've found amoung the frogs) [single entry = whole series] |
Ursus
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