Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Timordecai
I don’t really know what to say, seems I’m still digesting everything I saw, ultimately very good. I would like to “sing” this show praises (pun intended), as there are many moments that have stood out to me as the most shocking and interesting twists and revelations I’ve seen in any series.
The score. Wow, I mean the soundtrack alone, such beautiful compositions as well as perfect tones and spot on creative sound design. The editing of this show, as well as the animation for being a 2002 animated tv series (done by Bones no less) has some stand out episodes. Though I will say there’s a few frames here and there where they were obviously just moving character models up and down instead of animating walking, but I’ll give it a pass because from the halfway point onward the whole show real…
Read at the sourceQuiddity131
RahXephon originally aired on TV in 2002 and was one of the earliest anime produced by BONES, a studio that was formed when certain staff members from Sunrise, the industry’s foremost producers of mecha anime, broke off to form their own studio. It was the directorial debut of Yutaka Izubuchi, a veteran mecha and character designer who got his start back in the 1970s.
RahXephon’s plot starts in rather complicated fashion. We are introduced to Ayato Kamina, a 17 year old high school student who is an aspiring artist. Ayato and the general populace believe Tokyo to be the only city remaining on the Earth after a mysterious force known as the Mu invaded in 2012. When an enemy force attacks Tokyo, Ayato’s world is suddenly thrown upside down. After departing a crashed subway car, Ayato is pur…
Read at the sourceCrimsnBullet
Ah... RahXephon...
Where do I even begin?
First off, if you're walking into this with expectations, you'll be disappointed. If you have almost no expectations at all (Like I did), you'll still be disappointed.
Story:
I find it funny how people can praise this as being, “Well written,” or say it has a, “Complex story,” seriously...
If you thought either of those things after watching this the whole way through, then you need to see a doctor. Yes, I know there's different ways of telling a story, but then there's just throwing a bunch of random bull!@#$ at the viewers with no context or meaning. Yet, people seem to have a big enough of an imagination that they force themselves (And others) to believe that, if it doesn't make sense you just have to, “Think harder,” because every little t…
Read at the sourcevittumainen
RahXepon was.. something different. Wildly experimental and strikingly abstract, RahXepon shows a great potential in its early episodes. Does it live up to the expectations? Well, not quite.
The show draws a lot of strong influences from other works of art, namely Neon Genesis Evangelion and The Lost Continent of Mu. You can draw many parallels between NGE and RahXepon, that is not to say that RahXepon isn't innovative or original, it is, but with that being said ..
Opening episode starts great. The story kicks off with Tokyo being invaded and our main character Ayato Kamina finding himself in the middle of all of this. While looking for help he encounters his former classmate Mishima Reika, stringing him along a number of puzzling events. He is attacked by government officials and then…
Read at the sourceggultra2764
Rahxephon is an entry in the super robot genre of mecha anime focused on teenager Ayato Kamina coming to realize his seemingly ordinary life is a complete fabrication when he is caught in the middle of a conflict between the blue-blooded Mulian race and a military organization known as TERRA fighting to oppose their attempts to take over the world. Becoming the chosen pilot of the mecha Rahxephon, Ayato fights to protect humanity against the Mulian threat while trying to make sense of what is real to him and who he can trust in a crisis where he feels like a pawn to both sides fighting in the conflict.
Before I get going on the review, I should address one infamous bit of contention that older mecha anime fans usually go off about and that is accusing Rahxephon of being an Evangelion ripo…
Read at the sourceSchrodingersMatt
In the early 00's, a still-young anime studio whose most notable projects up to that point were tie-in movies to successful anime from their parent company hired a mechanical designer to serve as director for an anime-original project, hoping to create a series that would set a new standard for giant robot anime when many would argue that had already been done. This is how RahXephon came to be, and the end result is as difficult to describe and discuss now as it was to predict then. Knowing where to begin, though, has always been painfully easy. RahXephon is not trying to be Neon Genesis Evangelion. Whether you found Eva to be a spectacular failure or just plain spectacular, its goals are not Rah's goals, and to call RahXephon either a ripoff or an improvement of Evangelion would be unfair…
Read at the sourcesushiisawesome
Reality is a concept that has been used in various medium to explore many interesting concepts, not to mention how we as humans view reality. What isn't mentioned as frequently is how people try to run away from reality. This varies from seeing images of people that aren't real (focusing too much on positive or negative aspects of a person instead of seeing the whole picture), seeing the world either extremely positively or extremely negatively, or simply running away from interacting with people for fear they might hurt you.
This is a fascinating concept that has been explored in many other anime series, from Neon Genesis Evangelion to Lain. What is different about RahXephon, however, is the way that it views that running away from reality may not necessarily be a bad thing, if it can he…
Read at the sourcexavierxante
This is my first anime review, although I've watched many anime. So I apologize if spoilers might have crept in this review unknowingly.What are we waiting for? Lets get to the review!
STORY: (8.2/10)
Many say that this anime is rip off of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is true that the latter served as an inspiration to Rahxephon and the theme of anime seem to be similar, that is "aliens invading earth and protagonist having a key role in retuning the world". There ends the similarities.
Rahxephon, it is an exhilarating admixture of suspense,action,romance,science fiction and psychological elements. The way the plot is portrayed, its like the various events which have a very intimate connection, yet you wont feel any connection at all until the last part of the last episode.
I cannot comm…
Read at the sourceEastunder
You know, it's actually kind of hard to write a positive review. It's not that it's hard to point out positive aspects of something. But it's a bit harder to justify your praise for it, without coming off as a fanatic that choses to ignore it's flaws. By contrast, it's far easier to justify a negative review. My last review of School Days was one of the easiest things i've ever written. A show that i detested for so many reasons, and that others felt the same about, so it was easy to justify my negativity. But what about a review of my favorite show? One that i believe to be a masterpiece, yet many do not, either out of ignorance of the shows existence, or out of spite for it's similarities to the elephant in the room of anime. It's been a review that i've been a bit fearful of writing, bu…
Read at the sourceCaraniel
A very impressive anime; wonderful animation and brilliant plot.
PLOT: On the surface you do immediately get Neon Genesis Evangelion vibes, but RahXephon quickly establishes itself as unique with fantastic character development and a highly original convoluted plot. The show is also much more balanced than EVA – carefully crafted plot progression and with a satisfying ending, it makes for wonderful viewing as each episode adds something to the rich tapestry of plot threads. The characters are extremely well developed and likable – there is a notable lack of the angst that permeates EVA as RahXephon instead focuses on romance. Indeed the main thread of the plot is a touching love story more than anything else – I found this extremely refreshing in a mecha series. Of course the show has num…
Read at the sourcePoeticJustice
"There are no original ideas. There are only original people."- Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Originality doesn't exist nowadays. If there is an idea out there that someone is contemplating, chances are, someone already beat them to the punch. I remember, during my freshman year of high school my teacher told me that even Shakespeare had taken ideas from even older writers for his plays. In writing, it is common that your ideas share similarities with other works. However, it is the writer’s responsibility to distinguish his/her works from others by adding their own unique style to it. The same applies to anime. RahXephon borrows a lot of elements from its predecessors: Evangelion, Brave Raideen and still manages to maintain its originality.
Story(9/10)- Simply put, the story is about a you…
Read at the sourcenategator
Finally! A Bones animation I didn't like.
A oddly well-received anime, it must translate poorly to Western viewers.
STORY: One of the hardest things in anime is setting up an explanation on (1) why giant robots run around battling each other and (2) why teenagers would be allowed to pilot them. RahXephon fails badly. It forms an alternative alien society that has singing giant robots with an Egyptian/Mayan motif, throws in various conspiratorial entities and characters, adds a dash of military, and blends in a gaggle of harem romances. All of this mixes together to form an unfortunate scramble that was a tad overcooked. The protagonist is boring, most of the female romantic interests (I think that there were like 10 or so) are uninteresting, and the other supporting characters undevelope…
Read at the sourceMaur
Overall/Enjoyment:
Where to begin. First the disclaimer: RahXephon is definitely not for everyone. It's usually best to have little to no expectations so as to not contaminate the experience. With RX there are some things you should, and a lot of things you should NOT, expect.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how significantly challenging of a show it is to get into. You certainly have to be in the right mood/mindset for it. It is easy to label this show as an action, drama, sci-fi mecha romance (or whatever), but what does any of that mean? If you've seen Neon Genesis Evangelion, expect this show to have a very familiar... setting. This is usually the first thing people notice (and usually complain about). Mecha is probably the least important aspect of this show however. The story…
Read at the sourceElydan
After finishing this series and having read a few reviews of this Anime; I have a different view, a different perspective of this Anime.
I just can't agree with the high numbers given to this Anime. I respect their opinions obviously; but here is my opinion:
Quite bluntly said, it was very disappointing.
After the first few episodes it is quite easy to agree on this Anime being one of those you enjoy watching. The animation is so-so, but the story is pretty like able since it's being told pretty nicely. Not literally told; but the process in general is well done.
My compliments on that, RahXephon.
However, the downfall of this Anime came closer the more the plot came closer to me, the viewer. You see; an Anime can't expect to get a high rating while all they did was complicate a comp…
Read at the sourcethepinkangel
Okay, let me get this out of the way first: Rahxephon is one of my favorite anime, ever.
I can't say I've ever been much into the mecha genre of anime. I saw Gundam Wing in the early days of Toonami when I was a wee little weaboo, and held little interest for giant robots and political entanglements between fictional countries that I couldn't keep track of.
I remember when Rahxephon was still airing in Japan, and there was a big fuss being made about it over there. In fact, it had caused enough buzz that it was quickly licensed and was already being dubbed by ADV in less than a month after its last episode aired. Not only that, but the art style was interesting, especially the color choices.
The first time I picked it up and watched the first volume, I hit the series' first snag - it can b…
Read at the sourcejagabond
To start off, I'm going to say I am not a big mecha fan. All I knew when I started this series was that it was a mecha/sci-fi/action anime that some of my friends looked down upon due to its unfavorable comparisons to Neon Genesis Evangaleon (which I haven't seen). Other than that, I had no idea what I was in for, and that's how I like it. What I got, in short, was a surprisingly great show, well made, that really grew on me very quickly.
STORY: The story can be the weakest part for some people, it isn't simple or linear, but, I think, it's not too, too complicated. You are in Ayato's shoes at the start, and it's very understandable to be confused as to what's going on. With a little faith and some brain power, keep going forward and it'll all be revealed if you keep your eyes open. The s…
Read at the sourceotousan
I only gave a couple 9's for variety's sake there, this is one of the best. If Anno and the Evangelion crew hadn't scrambled for an ending, and if they had even a trace of sympathy for their fellow man, and if they'd used BONES to animate, they might have come out with RahXephon.
It's about supernatural robots, it's about one young man shouldering the responsibility to save the world, but more importantly it's about things that Eva isn't — love, family, faith in each other, and it carries a message of hope rather than contempt for humanity.
It does all that in an action-packed, surreal, package that's spiced up with a little romance and populated by realistic and likable characters.
Read at the sourceyoung98
if you haven't watched this anime yet, and haven't because of some people saying it is a Neon Genesis Evangelion knock off, i just have to say...yeah, it is, but that doesn't change that it is a great anime, to tell you the truth, i would call this the simpler man's NGE, and it's totally understandable if they enjoy this more than NGE, the story is kind of complicated, but it doesn't leave too many questions left unanswered, and isn't too predictable, the music of the anime fits the mood well, and the ED is a deep, chilling song, the character designs are beautiful, and the animation is always at a high level, character development progresses well, except for the occasional change in feelings or personality that happened too quickly, enjoyment wise, i really liked it, so much that i marath…
Read at the sourceMaster10K
RahXephon is a Shounen, Sci-fi, Mecha, Romance, Drama about a high school boy Ayato Kamina, who believes in the reality that is present before him. However everything changes once he discovers the truth about the world, that humanity is at war.
From the very beginning you will be thrown right into the thick of it, knowing very little about the plot, story and overall premise. However as the show goes on it slowly reveals, bit by bit, what it is all about, which is about humanity's struggle against some weird invaders. The story is told well because everything is straight forward and you won’t feel overwhelmed with the back story and all the terms given. However this anime series may lack some originality because it is not too difficult to spot the numerous parallels between RahXphon…
Read at the sourceHuntsman
A special anime.
Another anime that's arguably is one of the top ten anime ever. RahXephon is compared by many to Neon Genesis Evangelion. Most say it's better just because it came out a little over a year first. I whole heartily disagree. Evangelion was a complete waste of time. Where Evangelion had a convoluted story, annoying charcters, and bad music.
Where Evangelion fails RahXephon succeeds. Rahxephon follows the story of Ayato Kamina who lives in Tokyo, the last out post of the human race. At least that's what he believes until he meets Reika Mishima. She secretly has known him since they were children. She convinces Ayato to leave Tokyo with her, and they escape aboard a giant robot called the RahXephon. When they leave Tokyo every thing changes for Ayato. He learns that there ar…
Read at the source