No reviews for this yet? Interesting. Alright, I'll do my best. For those of you who don't know, Zero (or Zero: The Beginning of the Coffin) is a manwha that's apparently based on a video game series. It's done by the amazing people at Infinity Studios, who brought you Blood Alone. A pre-review rundown is basically: there are psychic people in this universe, called ESPers, and there are two companies, something of rivals, called the ECS and LEED, and when Espers fight, their powers are measured in something called G's. Anyway, on with the review!
STORY: For the most part the story is standard Seinen. Once
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Aug 18, 2008 Recommended
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 story is woven well and, without giving much away, I'll say that it's about Ayato's journey to learn about: the world he's in, the real world, who he is/was, who the giant flying robots are, and what his purpose is in relation to the people around him. Vague, right? I know, this area is pretty sketchy, and intentionally so. The story is deep, the story is more than slightly convoluted, and the story is good. Give it a chance. 8/10. ART: One of the things I instantly liked about this show was the art. I knew this anime hadn't come out yesterday and, despite being a guy who just has to have what's new and now, I really liked the animation. The colors are great, everything is well drawn, with special detail to the mechas (which, surprisingly, some mecha animes overlook, go figure). I didn't find anything that really stood out as bland and there were few- if any- weak points in the animation. It didn't feel dated at all despite having come out 6 years ago. 9/10. SOUND: The Opening/Ending to RahXephon really caught my ears, just like the art caught my eye. The ending theme is beautiful, and sent me to sleep (in a good way) more than once while watching the episodes back to back. The music always fits the mood, the sound effects are great, and a lot of the tracks are lovable. Indeed, one of the 'themes' of the show is about sound, and there's a bit about singing, which I won't get into unless I want to get into spoiler-land, but Sound is definitely one of RahXephon's strong points. The voice acting is top notch, if you're someone like me who always wonders whether to bother with the dub, well I loved it. Ayato's voice was great, the supporting character's were pretty good, and Vic Mignogna was... well, he's Vic Mignogna. 10/10. CHARACTER: Second to Sound, here's where the series shines the most. And yet it gets an 8- why? Because of the unavoidable connections between Character and Story. The complexities of the Story mixed with the large cast of characters sometimes made it hard to keep track of who was who, something I found really disappointing. Also, aside from Ayato and the main, let's say other two, it was difficult to tell who the main characters really were. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, but the ambiguity, imo, could have been handled a little better. Nonetheless, the characters themselves, once you've gotten to know them, will blow you away. I really connected with Ayato and many of the supporting cast. A lot of them are deep and, over the course of the series go through so many intense emotional periods, the most passionate parts of their lives. You see them at their best and their worst, really getting to know them, and though it can get kind of tricky keeping track of them all, you'll definitely have an opinion of them if nothing else. 8/10. ENJOYMENT: I really don't know what it was. Could it have been the 'artsy' undertones? The score, the production, the characterization? Or maybe I'm just a mecha fan underneath who hasn't come out of his shell, I don't know, but what I do know is: I really, really liked RahXephon, and I put it up there in my top 3 favorite animes ever. I forget how I stumbled across it, really, but I'm glad I did. What began as a way to kill time ended as really something of an experience. I understand this series has many parallels to NGE (see above), and after watching this I started to understand why NGE fans so vigorously shoved it into my face, for I was doing the same with RahXephon. You COULD say having to watch the series a second time to understand everything counts as replay value, maybe, but who knows? I know I didn't fully get everything on the first go around (which is really what keeps this thing from truly, truly being perfect). 9/10. OVERALL (aka: tl;dr version): STORY: Ayato's journey of self discovery takes him into his own mind and places far beyond. Well written, but very complex; worth giving your full attention. 8/10. ART: Fluid, beautifully done, smooth and nicely drawn animations that keep your attention. 9/10. SOUND: Amazing English dubbing, and the japanese voices are nothing short of what you'd expect either. Spectacular music, OP/ED, and overall great OST/sound effects. 10/10. CHARACTER: A (perhaps too) large and real cast of characters, very real, very human, that may or may not make or break the series for you. 8/10. ENJOYMENT: I'm not sure on this one. Watch the first, let's say 6 or 7 episodes, wait for things to really get rolling, and if you don't like it/are totally lost/absolutely hate it, don't watch it. I for one could not stop watching this anime. 9/10. So how do two 8's, two 9's, and a 10 average out to an overall 10? I have no idea, but I cannot recommend this anime strongly enough. It truly is a work of art. [This was my first review; if you did not find it helpful, please let me know. I'm always happy to talk about this series!]
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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