I'll also try to make this spoiler-free.
Story
This is, in my opinion, the weakest part of RahXephon. The story was a bit too complex for me, as there were many subtle allusions to events in the characters' past throughout, and I had trouble keeping track of them. By the end of the series, I had forgotten about most of them due to my emotional involvement in the series, which ultimately triumphed over my intellectual involvement. This is the first thing to keep in mind: RahXephon will require quite a bit of thinking if you want to uncover all the mysteries in the plot, some of which weren't solved by the end (I'll probably have to watch it a second time). However, the story's complexity does provide some depth. The plot builds up to the ending very nicely, although the ending itself was rather frustrating for me, as I found it contradictory of events earlier in the story. It didn't ruin the series, but it made RahXephon's place in my memory much less secure.
Art
Considering how old RahXephon is, the art is fantastic. Everything, especially the mechas, is given a lot of detail, and the landscapes contribute to the atmosphere quite nicely.
Sound - English subs
The music is varied, blending jazz, classical, and other styles. The soundtracks are wonderful, and like the art, they complement the atmosphere very nicely. The voice acting is great, and the characters sang nicely.
Character
The characters are, for the most part, very good. Ayato is given lots and lots of development, as is the case with most of the other characters. The story's complexity enriches them and gives them a lot of background, which is nice since it renders them not one-dimensional. There are lots of emotional struggles that give the series lots of meaning.
Enjoyment
This was mainly influenced by the story's ending and how it didn't fit into the series as well as it could have. However, I did very much enjoy the moments leading up to it, and RahXephon had no problem in rousing the same nihilism in me as Evangelion did.
Since the makers did decide to take a lot of ideas from a classic like Evangelion, I thought it would be unfair to judge RahXephon as I would normally. Instead, I unconsciously raised my standards significantly so that RahXephon wouldn't just get the easy way out from copying Evangelion. This was for me the only option besides considering it a complete ripoff and not watching it. In the end, I felt that RahXephon fell short of those standards since it didn't elaborate enough on the parts it took from Evangelion or present enough new material to be considered unique from Evangelion. However, the ratings in this review were made without this in mind, since I felt that the makers at least made a legitimate attempt in creating something new. Had I decided to factor in Evangelion's influence, these ratings would likely have been lower.
Finally, I conclude that RahXephon is an earnest but misdirected attempt at setting a new standard in the mecha genre of anime. Despite its similarity to Evangelion, I would at least give it a try, as it does have its own artistic merits.
