Customer Reviews

RahXephon - Threshold (Vol. 1)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

RahXephon has a lot to live up to, being created by the same studio that brought us the Cowboy Bebop movie, and directed by the director of Gasaraki. Thankfully, I can say (based on this first disc) that it is fulfilling that promise. RahXephon's plot is likely to hook you quickly, and set up a sense of intrigue and mystery that will keep you wanting more.

Though many have scornfully compared this series to Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon is not a series to be dismissed as an "Eva clone." While there are many similarities, it could easily be said that RahXephon pays homage to the earlier anime classic, while maintaining its own story and style. Some may even find it easier to digest than the symbolic and didactic Evangelion.

Now for my only criticism: You'll notice that I still gave this disc a five star rating, because a show should not be judged on the quality of its box. However, I should point out that the box is flimsy, and likely to be bent or creased by the time it arrives in your hands. Also, there are many reports of security tabs being applied directly to the inside surface of the box, necessitating slightly ripping the colored surface in order to remove it. This was a very poor packaging design decision. Finally, the t-shirt that comes with it is poor quality and made of cheap material. The design on the shirt is too small, and obviously cheaply printed in only two colors. This is not a shirt you would be proud to wear... in fact, it looks worse than most bootleg anime goods.

So my advice is, definitely buy the series, but pass on the box. It's one of the worst boxes ADV has put out in a long time. It, and its godawful shirt, are not worth the extra money. The series on the other hand, is a joy to watch... so don't let your enjoyment be spoiled by poor excuses for "collectors items."

(This will be spoiler free, and as a result, brief. I don't want to give away a thing!)

I recently finished watching this series and I have to say that it has been one of the best viewing experiences of my life.

The animation is fluid, smooth, and breathtaking. Strategic placement of various backdrops and images enhance the story, whether by foreshadowing an event to come, or connecting an event from the past.

You can tell from the titles themselves that RahXephon has a very strong musical undertone, and in fact is an integral part of the story. The result is music that is haunting, stirring...memorable.

Above all else the characters are what makes or breaks a story - and these made it many times over. The diversity of characters ensures that you can relate and empathize with at least one, if not more. They are simple, complex, mysterious, or a little bit of each - tied together with the perfect voices, making these characters come to life. You find yourself laughing with them, crying in sorrow, in rage, in joy. You no longer see 'characters', but real souls going through myriad experiences and taking you along for the ride.

After finishing this story I find myself feeling as if I had lost a close friend, since I will never again be able to discover this world and these people for the 'first time'. I'm sure all of you have gone through a similar experience, and realized how profound it was, and how much you wanted to share it with your family and friends, anyone who would listen. RahXephon has been such an experience for me, and it is one I will not soon forget.

This has become a very promising year for US releases of anime. Most of the new issues are at least interesting, and a select few are serious contenders. RahXephon is one of the latter, combining some tried and true story lines with enough original thinking to seem fresh and original.

Sometimes I think Evangelion is the most borrowed from anime ever produced. Many of the results are unsatisfactory because the original set such a high standard that failures are glaring. Not so the case with RahXephon - rather than borrow, it echoes the old themes in an original context. Sure enough, a teen-aged boy (Ayato) finds himself in the middle of an attack on Tokyo and is led to the mystical temple where a giant egg contains RahXephon, who is a very aesthetic combination of EVA 01 and Gundam Wing. And giant space creatures (Dolems) appear in the skies for RahXephon to conquer.

But for each similarity, there are differences. Ayato is a much more vivid character than Shinji. After the first battle, Ayato and the robot catapult outside of the 'hidden' Tokyo. Where Ayato discovers that the city he though was all that was left of the world was really the last stronghold of the alien Mu, who plan the earth. They have locked themselves behind a time barrier in what is now called Tokyo Jupiter.

Ayato's friends have echoes as well - the reticent Reika Mishima who links him with RahXephon, Haruka Shitow - part special agent and part softie. And there is also the stern head of TERRA operations, Jin Kunugi. But despite the parallels, they these new efforts have different and richer personalities than their precursors. And there are many others to fill out the cast. It is clear that relationships will play as important a part in the story as the combat scenes, where 'song' is a weapon.

If the first five installments are any indication, the artwork and character design are outstanding. And true to a series where sound is a weapon, the music (by Khiko Hashimoto) is memorable. The story is carefully paced, but the viewer is treated to an active and often beautiful film surface. Mecha and mystical are mixed together seamlessly. This is a work that stands on its own quite well, but I think that Evangelion fans will be especially pleased.

I am not as excited with the set box and t-shirt, though. I like gimmicks, but while the packaging is pretty, it is not as solid as it should be. And the t-shirt is a bit average. Be warned that, if you are not a collector, the DVD alone is probably a better purchase.

Many people have commented on the similarities of Rahxephon to the seminal anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion, and having viewed both in their entirety its easy to see why. Rahxephon borrows heavily from Evangelion (henceforth Eva) for both its premise and narrative. Nearly every major character in Eva has an analogous counterpart in Rahxephon, and if you swap out Eva's Christian symbolism for Rahxephon's musical references the overall plots are strikingly similar. Yet to simply dismiss Rahxephon as an Eva knockoff is to dismiss one of the best made anime series of the past few years.

The most immediately noticable aspect of Rahxephon is the stellar production values. The animation is simply gorgeous, made all the more beautiful by a flawless DVD transfer. The characters and mechs more with a convincing grace and fluidity not always present in anime TV series, and the amount of detail in the backgrounds is stunning. Also of note is the entire look of the show. The characters are realistically proportioned while still retaining that anime flaire (ie big eyes, spiky hair, etc.). The mechs are among to more interesting designs seen as of late, which like the characters are convincing yet stylized. The other mechanical aspects of the show, such as tanks, fighters, and ships, are all realistically detailed and help to sell the not-too-distant future setting.

This volume introduces a bevy of characters, yet they are all uniquely designed so that keeping track of who's who isn't a problem at all. You may not be able to keep all the Japanese names straight (it certainly took me a while), but you'll never have trouble recognizing a face. And for once in an anime, the characters go through realistic costume changes instead of wearing the same outfit all the time. We also get a lot of solid character development in this volume, although of course there's plenty more the come.

Then there's the narrative. Although it does bear several strong resemblances to Eva, there's more than enough that's different to distinguish the two series. For instance, the plot twist that occurs midway through this volume is completely unexpected and helps to keep things fresh. Rahxephon also spends a lot of time on the details, slowly trickling information to the viewer one juicy detail at a time. I'm currently rewatching the series a second time, and I'm amazed at how much more there is to this show than I picked up on the first time around. Rahxephon is a show that rewards repeat viewings.

Although outwardly similar, anyone who gives Rahxephon a chance will see its not really like Evangelion at all. Rahxephon is a smart, high-concept anime that is executed wonderfully. The show steadily guides the audience along without being too obvious about anything. If you're looking for a show to make you think, Rahxephon is definitely worth picking up. And after all, one can only watch Eva so many times.

It's been a long time since Neon Genesis Evangelion came out and revolutionized the mecha anime. Undoubtly, many tried to mimic the success and ultimately came short.
Meet RahXephon. This series deliver the next step to the mecha anime that's been overdue. From well drawn characters to storyline, this one surpassed my expectation for good.
This series never denies the influence of Evangelion. Rather, it embrasses the basic concept and further develops in their own vision. While some would simply say that there are too much similarity in between RahXephon and Evangelion, I never felt this as mere knockoff clone. Once you start watching it, you would see that this is more like watching alter ego. It gives the sense of alternate reality hence "Parallel Universe".
While mecha (or "gear" if you prefer) is the dominant factor of the series, it never overwhelm the series, nor shy away from the show. Just like in Evangelion, mecha is bonded in personal level that cannot be broken.
Music is what makes this series special. Exceptional combination of fast-paced Jazz and ambient sound of New Age creates uneasiness that makes you sit on the edge. Sound is dominant theme of this series and it shows.
There aren't any ground-breaking acheivement in picture. It has well drawn characters, and back ground; nothing notable.
Within the series, it shows the parallelism right from the beginning. What's more interesting, is that also represents the struggle to break out of blue print created by Evangelion. I believe that they finally found the way to stands out as it own.

I wasn't terribly interested in this series when I first had a chance to see it and didn't have any real idea what it was really about, but after watching the first episode I was drawn in and completely hooked. The story is interesting and compelling while the animation style and mecha designs are absolutely beautiful. Through out the series I found all the characters to be very fascinating and extremely well developed. As far as the DVDs themselves go I am very pleased too. The inserts contain some great translator notes and other extras.

A lot of reviewers tend to compare Rahxephon to Evangelion, but I don't really think it's all that great of a comparison. Rahxephon is a much better series in my opinion. The characters have much more depth and have more reasonable motivations for their actions and are considerably more believable while the angst is less severe and more reasonable when it is present. The allusions and references are much more literary, like the aliens being called the Mu after Churchward's lost continent of Mu which I believe is often referenced in H.P. Lovecraft, and several rather apt references to various works of Japanese literature. Also the series has an awesome ending which while really weird and somewhat nonsensical at first eventually revealed a wealth of wonderful irony and assorted goodness after I thought about it for a moment. All of which leads to a wonderful series that I greatly enjoyed.

It's been a while since I've seen an anime whit as much depth as RahXephon. Although many people have compared it to Neon Genesis Evangelion this is really not a correct comparison. Although they share similar themes their stories and the way the plot unfolds are total different. While in Neon Genesis Evangelion the anime revolves around the mecha and the pilot's reaction to them and through them, in RahXephon the mecha is just a means to an end. The story is more about the main character, Ayato Kamina come to terms whit him self and the two worlds he is a part of. In Evangrlion the story was forced on the characters. In RahXephon the characters actions force the plot. There is no predicted dooms day approaching and there is never any feeling that he is the only hope for mankind. He is just a kid whit a talent and the world will not end just because something happens to him. This allows for a more realistic character that's easy to relate to.

The Artwork and CG is some of the best that I have seen in anime. They blended the two together so well that in many scenes it becomes hard to tell what is CG and what is drawn. The music very well done, it is predictable enough that it easily brings out the proper emotion for the scene but also surprising and strong enough to be remarkable and memorable.

Yes. This is another one of those deep, brooding mech animes following the vein of EVANGELION and ARGENTOSOMA, and yet it's different--and what I like about it is that it's still deep, but not as heavy as Evangelion.

Rahxephon follows Tokyo who is trapped in a "protective dome" and believing that the world outside of the dome is destroyed. But the world as the main character knows it becomes unravelling once he finds out that not only is the world outside fine (relatively speaking), but that his city is the attack base of a disguised alien race.

Of course controlling mechas come into play but what makes it interesting is the theme of music that's important to the mech. How the secrets behind everything unravel (imagine finding out that your mother bleeds blue blood) and how time travels at different speeds inside and outside the city is really interesting.

I'm only on episode five and the more I watch it, the more I'm drawn in.

I wasnt quite sure of what to expect when i bought this. I was pleasantly surprised. It has a very deep if not confusing story, but since you've probably read a million other reviews for this, I wont go into the story. It has beautiful animation and the music is good but a bit annoying, but this is a bit biased because Im a rocker. The shirt that comes with it is very cool and is the only non-black shirt I wear in public. This is a fine purchase for anyone who likes giant robot anime, like myself.

I've been looking at this for a long time. Obviously it appealed to me due to my deep love for Mecha-based anime, but I wanted to do a little basic research before buying it. After reading some basic info, I decided to buy it, and was lucky enough to find this box set at a Best Buy in New Hampshire, where there's no sales tax, and its about $15 cheaper than on this site. What I got was simply amazing. The animation is crisp and smooth, truly a thing of beauty at many points. The plot so far is very cool, and it's already drawn me in. Like what some have said, it bears some resemblance to Neon Genesis Evangelion, a series which I have the utmost respect for, but it is indeed its own show, and definetely a great show. The characters I've seen so far are excellent and feel very real, and there is some humor in it that makes it a little better(I believe episode 5 is the one with some humorous moments, such as a dinner scene, where there is a subtle but funny reference to sex made by a certain character^_^). The series is definetely going to be one I will keep my eye on in the coming months after each week's paycheck...

And another great thing, this DVD actually is worth the $30 I paid for it. The artbox it comes with for storing all seven DVDs is cool, and I love the shirt it comes with, it has a great black-and-white drawing of RahZephon on it. And of course, the five complete episodes makes it a good starting place for the series...