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- BirthdayMar 22, 1987
- LocationCalifornia
- JoinedDec 2, 2007
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Mar 3, 2009
Oh my goodness, where to start.
Natsume Yuujinchou is a small gem of a series, and I'm glad I followed a friend's recommendation to watch it. This small, often overlooked series is so beyond charming that I wonder how anyone could pass it up!
The story is simple, because there's no overall arcing plot. The series basically consists of self-contained episodes where Natsume looks to help youkai with their problems and give them back their names. Sometimes he seeks to help out humans troubled by youkai. In any case, Natsume is always trying to help someone while "Nyanko-sensei" scolds him for his human stupidity.
Each story serves as
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character development, either for Natsume, the youkai involved, or both. The youkai teach Natsume about themselves and about humanity, and Natsume ends to teach the youkai that not all humans are so bad. Natsume learns to be more social and gains a few friends as the series goes on. For the most part, each episode has a fairly happy ending, though some are heartbreaking yet beautiful. Generally the show has a very optimistic outlook on things, but doesn't gloss over potential emotional tragedy.
The art is fantastic. Everything about the style is simple and gentle, but very beautiful as a whole. The linework and soft colors work beautifully together, and the animation, when given to show off beyond walking and talking, is awesome. I welcome the simple and more realistic character designs for the humans, and the simple but not generic designs of the youkai.
I LOVE the music. Like everything else in the series, it's subtle and unobtrusive, simple but very pretty. The opening and ending themes are also very fitting.
As for enjoyment and overall value, let me say that I was disillusioned to anime a few years ago, and have very little patience for it now. But Natsume was so charming that I couldn't put it down once I found it. And now I'm hooked on season two! A definite recommendation.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 12, 2008
Ah, the Rahxephon movie. How much you get dismissed.
A lot of things you might hear about the Rahxephon movie is how most of it is just copied and pasted from the series, how it's rushed and makes very little sense. This is true. BUT you need to take into consideration two things: this movie was not a theatrical release, but a made-for-TV special. Secondly, NHK demanded this movie from Bones with a ludicrous deadline that they barely completed as it is. So, with that in mind...
I think, as a stand-alone "movie", it sucks. Which is no great surprise to anybody. I do, however, think it's
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a great supplement to the series. It's really best if you watch it DIRECTLY after seeing the last episode with no break in between. I find it's like End of Eva for me, in that it should theoretically be very confusing, but actually clears up a lot I didn't understand about the series' ending.
The movie is technically an AU or re-telling, but even so it helps clarify the series' version rather than make a completely new and bizarre one. So, as long as you're talking about it as part of the series, I really don't think it's so bad.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 12, 2008
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
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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 be pretty difficult to get into. It was too abstract, too confusing; I had no idea what the hell was going on. I dropped it for a year or so. I'm glad, however, that I picked it up again a few years ago just to see how it ended.
Yes, Rahxephon is very difficult to get into. It's very abstract and doesn't follow too many of the usual anime norms; not to mention all the negative press that it gets for being an Eva rip-off. I feel I need to remind the reader that Evangelion was written as a PARODY of the mecha genre. Yes, there are similarities between the two; but those similarities are exactly what Evangelion was making fun of. Please keep that in mind.
Despite this initial pitfall of being difficult to understand, I have to stress that the series becomes a lot more clear if you stick it out through the end. Unfortunately, unless you pay very close attention to every character and everything that goes on in every episode, the actual plot might still be muddy to you. The whole story is never clearly and succintly explained; I kind of like that, even if I have trouble sorting out the "bad guy"'s motivation and intentions.
I'm a sucker in general for main characters, but I love Ayato. He's not always strong, he doesn't always know what he's doing, he's a bit naive. But he's a good kid and always comes through in the end, and he's very realistic and flawed. Haruka is also a heavily flawed but still likeable character, and you really see why she is how she is by the end of the show.
As for the music and animation, the art style is striking and has a really impressive color palette. Rahxephon's distinctive art direction still sticks in my mind to this day and is a big inspiration in my artwork. The music is also very unusual and never overbearing.
So, bottom line: give it a try, and watch through the end. (Read my review of the Rahxephon movie for additional info) The show is very unusual, but ultimately beautiful. It's heavily abstract and symbolic, so you need to have the right openness of mind to be able to see the show for what it is, but if you do, it's amazing what you'll find in it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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