Story (9/10)
In the year 2012, a human-like species called the Mu invade Japan. But that is not where our story begins. Our story begins in the year 2015 in Tokyo, where a young artist named Ayato Kamina is attacked by government officials, only to be saved by the mysterious woman, Haruka Shitow. When Ayato learns that those government officials have blue blood, Haruka promises him the truth that has been kept from him for so long, only for him to run from her to chase after a mysterious girl by the name of Reika Mishima with whom he stumbles on a giant egg that holds the RahXephon, an ancient mechanical titan than can only be piloted by Ayato. With this, he learns that there is a separate world, right outside the one he's lived in all his life, with a 12 year difference to that of Tokyo's time. With Haruka and the anti-Mu organization TERRA, Ayato will find the truth. About the RahXephon, about the Mu, and, most importantly, about himself.
As you can tell by that not-so-brief description, there is a lot going on in RahXephon. It's a series filled with lore, mystery, and symbolism that is just begging to be answered and analyzed, yet the series always chooses to hold close to it's chest. The show always gives you enough to work off of, and plenty to keep you interested, but the answers come quite slowly, and there are plenty of times where you're left in a state of confusion where you simply have to sit down for a minute or ten, and think about what you just saw. This makes it such a joy when you finally do get those answers and everything finally comes together, but so frustrating to actually continue on with. Many will find themselves fascinated with the show, and invested to find out it's secrets, but there are plenty that simply get fed up with being kept in the dark. This is understandable, but RahXephon is definitely a series worth sticking with, and and even greater joy to revisit, once you know all the secrets, and realize that the show gave you a lot more to work with than you gave it credit for.
RahXephon is a show doused with Mayan lore and Aztec culture, mixed in with the studies of the fictional continent of Mu, thought up by James Churchwood, plenty of classic literature influence, and plenty of reference to surrealist art. But above all, RahXephon plays with the concept of music. Each episode ends with the words, "The world, suffused with sound", and many music terms are often brought up in cryptic riddles, for example. All because one of the main themes of RahXephon, is the idea of music changing the world, though put in a much more cryptic and spoiler-ish manner, and as such, the show itself plays out like a symphony, playing until it reaches it's coda, and ends with a striking crescendo.
But, while you may further enjoy the show with proper knowledge of it's influence, you don't need to know them to like the show. RahXephon is a cerebral art piece indeed, but it's primarily a romance that centers around revelation and inner strength. It shows how easy it is to come face to face with reality, how hard to is to accept it, and how strong you have to be to move past it in order to find happiness in the bonds that you spend time creating and strengthening, and while it may come with occasional heavy-handedness, the show itself it so genuine, honest, and respectful to it's audience with how it's presented, that those moments never dampen the show, and the shining moments are ones that will linger on with you for quite a while.
Art (9/10)
RahXephon is brought to us by Studio BONES, a studio which few, if any, anime fans are unaware of. How could they be when BONES brought us some of the most noteworthy anime to come out, such as FMA and it's reboot FMA Brotherhood, Wolf's Rain, Eureka Seven, Soul Eater, and Ouran High School Host Club. What some people might be unaware of though, is that RahXephon was one of their first works, and their first big success. While RahXephon is somewhat of a small title these days, it's possible that without it, BONES wouldn't have the same illustrious future. It seems that BONES may have been aware of this at the time of RahXephon's conception, because the show is beautiful, even by todays standards.
The show is surprisingly bright and colorful, despite it's ominous tone, brought out through the simple yet effective design of the island of Nirai-kanai where most of the show takes place, making it all the more relevant when the tone changes and the backgrounds go dim and eery. As a cerebral show, it loves it's share of symbolism and imagery, such as the ever present contrast of red and blue, the reappearing dove portrait, modeled after Rene Magritte's "La Grand Famille", the use of common day items as representation of characters emotions, such as windshield wipers and a chime. But the most distinct aspects of the art in the show has to be the character designs, done by Akihiro Yamada. It's often said that body language speaks louder than words, and RahXephon has proven, possibly more than any other show, that animation is no exception. It's almost baffling just how expressive these characters are. The show says more in it's character expressions more than some shows say in entire series worth of dialogue, and some more subtle touches, like someone taking a few seconds to look someone in the eye, or just a look that the camera panders on for a second or two too long, can almost tell you everything you need to know about that character.
The show doesn't slack in the animation department either. In fact, i wouldn't say that it'd be too much of a long shot to say that some parts of the show rival that of modern theatrical releases. But there are two reasons why this section doesn't get a perfect score. The first being the actions scenes. The animation for the action scenes isn't bad, far from it in fact, and the designs for the dolems are actually quite eye-catching, but it doesn't really have the cool factor that you find in most mech fights, and can be a bit formulaic. The second reason is episode 20, which was outsourced to another studio, and looks positively dreadful. Mind you, it's the only episode that looks dreadful, but that simply makes it all the more noticeable. Still, what the show delivered in visuals is far exceeded expectations, and made for a defining point in the career of one of anime's most beloved studios.
Sound (10/10)
To match the show's outstanding visuals, the soundtrack provides a score of equal quality. RahXephon's OST was composed by Ichiko Hashimoto, providing a divisive score, mostly orchestral pieces, where every song stands out from the other and fits the visuals of the show perfectly, but because of this if actually hard to describe, and you'd be best listening to some tracks yourself and then judging it.
As for dub vs sub, you can't go wrong with either one, but they actually provide fairly different experiences. The Japanese track is very subtle and sedated, bringing in some real talent with names like Hiro Shimono, Aya Hisakawa, and, my personal favorite, Maaya Sakamoto, each presenting great performances. The dub on the other hand, is actually a little clunky at first, with some performances starting off rather rough, but eventually evolves into one of the better dubs you could possibly listen to, with Chris Patton and Monica Rial giving possibly their best performances to date with their respective roles as Ayato and Haruka. Unlike the Japanese dub, it's much more emotional, and more fitting to a drama. Both tracks cater ideally to the show, but in different ways, so it really all comes down to personal preference. RahXephon is a show that centers around sound, so it's only fitting that the sound for the show itself comes out with near perfection.
Character (10/10)
RahXephon is a story of love, determination, realization, and acceptance. These are themes that can only get across with a great sense of humanity in it's cast. Luckily, RahXephon delivers fully in that category. The characters follow archetypal designs for it's cast, with Ayato being the calm competent protagonist, Haruka being the protective older woman, Quon being the mysterious doll like girl, so on so forth. But there's one thing that evolve them far past these tropes and labels into something so much more. Their interactions. No line of this show is unimportant, and often, when one character says one thing, they're actually saying 10 different things. It may sound simple, but to achieve it to the level that RahXephon has done is far from an easy task.
By the end of it, these characters seem lot less like works of fiction, and more like actual people, complex with genuine desires, motivations, attitudes, and feelings. It's this that makes a simple fanservice character like Sayako into a tragic case of solitude and unrequited feelings, or a despicable character like Isshiki into a pitiful being of inadequacy and unfilled hopes. While there are some standout characters, like Maya Kamina, who is one of the best maternal characters period, or Johji Futagami, whose basic role in the series is to just keep being awesome, you'll be hard-pressed to find just one favorite character, as there's something to love and adore in nearly all of them. Similar to how i liked the School Days ending because it gave the characters exactly what it deserved, i love RahXephon's ending because it does the same. Only in this case, it takes an incredible cast of characters, shows them true suffering, but eventually gives them the fate that they had deserved right from the beginning.
Evangelion Comparison
In reviews, it's rarely a good thing to compare the work you're reviewing to another work. To be honest, i didn't really want to have to address the RahXephon/Evangelion comparison, but the show has become so associated with Evangelion, that it's almost impossible to avoid. RahXephon came out years after Evangelion, giving the world of mech anime the boost that they needed, and one that would've be given again until the release of Gurren Lagann years afterwards. Since it's release, RahXephon has often been compared to Evangelion by fans and critics alike, some saying that it's an improved version of Evangelion, while others label it as a blatant rip off. Both of these, i highly disagree with.
What makes something a rip off, is when a work tries to ride the coattails of another popular work because the writers simply lack the talent to make something of their own. RahXephon, is an original work with superficial similarities to Evangelion, but is practically it's opposite in themes, tone, and execution. But even if they weren't, would it really matter? Does it matter that the show in front of your face got it's idea from something else, when it provides you a smart, well-written, and emotional story? To some people, it does, and you can spend your time moaning and groaning about it on forums and message boards. But, i will be spending that time watching a fantastic show.
Enjoyment and Overall (10/10)
RahXephon is an anime that has been all but forgotten, in the West and in Japan. But even so, it has it's own loyal fan base that continues to support the show even to this day, and i am proud to call myself one of them. RahXephon has it's flaws and could be considered a bit esoteric to some, but it's imperfections only make it more beautiful in my eyes. RahXephon is my favorite anime, and i doubt that any other show will be taking it's place anytime soon. Anyways, that's all for now. Til next time.
