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 help the people around you and accomplish something better for many people.
This is treated with a great deal of ambiguity and is left morally grey for the viewer, and it wouldn't work if it wasn't for this show being excellent in presenting its story. The story is very distinct from many mecha series, and while there are undeniably massive influences from more popular mecha shows, the show soon develops an identity on its own and doesn't attempt to clone elements that simply were fit for those particular shows.
The show is extremely rich in themes, from Mayan mythology to music to perception of reality and there is a lot of depth to sink your teeth into. The show is extremely skilled at making the viewer curious about the overall pieces of the plot, showing all of the clues and not holding the viewer's hand or lecturing them about plot details but instead using the absolutely stunning animation quality and various imagery to tell the story, and it works extremely well.
The characters are all developed and almost none of them fall into archetypes that plague the genre. They are all distinct and multi-layered, which is very refreshing. Their actions always make sense, and they never act inconsistently or out of character, although many character actions require a rewatch to fully understand.
The artwork looks gorgeous and the character designs are an absolute beauty to look at. The backgrounds and the scenery present throughout the show is beautiful to look at, which adds wonders to the show's tone and makes the show's presentation all the better.
I cannot praise the absolutely amazing soundtrack enough, which fits the mood of the show, has extremely high hearing value outside of the show, and the various tunes present in the show which fit the mood so well and never feel out of place. This show has one of my favorite soundtracks out of anime and I honestly adore it to pieces.
This show is underrated and under-appreciated, and while the show appears to be very unoriginal initially it quickly becomes very distinct and stands completely on its own. This show deserves more attention and I honestly recommend it a lot if you want a very different experience from your typical mecha anime.
