Product Details

• Actors: Jason Douglas, Hilary Haag, Ayako Kawasumi, Robert Anderson, Cyrille Artaux
• Directors: Yutaka Izubuchi
• Writers: Yutaka Izubuchi, Chiaki Konaka
• Format: Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 7
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Adv Films
• DVD Release Date: May 17, 2005
• Run Time: 650 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000929VA4
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,992 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This imaginative 2002 TV series is vastly superior to creator Yutaka Izubuchi's muddled Gasaraki (1997). High school student and aspiring artist Kamina stumbles into a parallel world after a subway accident. The Tokyo of 2015 that he knows has been hidden in a way that causes time to pass more slowly--it's 12 years later than he believed. The outer world is engaged in a war fought with giant mecha that use sound as a weapon--and in which Kamina will play a key role. Everyone in this world recognizes him as "the Ollin"; when Reika, a girl he's painted, leads Kamina to a gigantic egg, the splendid mecha RahXephon hatches from it and bonds with Kamina. The premise recalls Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure, but RahXephon is better plotted and executed, with more engaging characters and strikingly original mecha designs. This set contains all 7 volumes of the series. (Rated 15 and older: violence, brief nudity, minor profanity, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Product Description
The city of Tokyo has been overthrown, taken over by Invaders who have devastated the rest of the planet. For 15 years, the remnants of the human race have fought a losing battle against the Mu and their Dolem, knowing that the key to victory lies within the domed walls of Tokyo Jupiter, where time flows in a different path and none of the mind-wiped citizens even know that the city has been conquered. But no one has been able to get into Tokyo. Until now. Prepare for the ultimate paradigm shift as one young man learns the horrifying secret in RahXephon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anime doesnt get any better than this!, May 16, 2005

By	B. Ackley "jumpstudios" (Douglasville, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"RahXephon- Complete collection" repackages the 2003 7 disc TV series from ADV Films into a space saving thinpak collection. The orginal cover art is used but buyers wont get the dvd character booklets that accompanied the original release nor is the motion picture included. The series does come in a stylish collectors box with new artwork. If you missed RahXephon the first time don't hesitate to pick up this amazing series.

RahXephon was at first dismissed by some as a clone of Neon Genesis Evangelion with it the similar idea of a protagonist (in this case Ayato Kamina) reluctant to use the giant mecha RahXephon to fight otherworldly invaders. Those who watched the show realised thats where the similarities end.

RahXephon is the story of high schooler Ayato Kamina, a ordinary guy living in Tokyo, the last city on Earth that didnt fall to invaders the MU. The citizens of Tokyo are constantly aware that invasion could happen at any point and in the first episode it does. During the attack Ayato is seperated from his friends and meets up with another classmate Reika who takes him to an underground room where she awakens the RahXEphon and makes Ayato become one with the hulking mecha. Ayato is able to escape the city using the RahXephon where he soon learns Tokyo is actually controlled by the MU.

Over the course of the series Ayato has to unravel the truth of the world, come to grips with his own personal demons and decide how he is connected to the RahXEphon.

The series does a great job of storytelling. The first episode quickly throws many questions at the viewer and has you wondering just what is the truth in the world of RahXephon. The pacing of the story is excellent. Viewers are given just enough answers to questions to keep them satisfied while having new questions crop up. The show will keep you guessing until the end.

A phenomenal anime that has action, romance, comedy, big mecha and lots of mystery- truly something for everyone. If you haven't seen RahXephon yet, what are you waiting for?

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly a great series!, December 22, 2005

By	A. Schneider - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Often enough this series is compared to NGE (Neon Genesis) and is blamed for following in its footsteps. In all honesty I find RahXephon extremely creative, thought provoking and well done. In its own right RahXephon stands out as possibly one of the very best "mecha" series to date, in a class and category all to itself!

As a fan of thought provoking animes (preferring seriousness over humor and calm introspective moments for the characters over highly complicated battle sequences), I was deeply disappointed with NGE and many movies in the Gundam line... was it impossible to fuse high-technology robots with an intellectual storyline? Was it impossible to bring great voice acting, great animation and design together in one series?

At first I thought I was asking a lot ... that was until I caught RahXephon on G4TV.

RahXephon's art alone is superb. The series is drawn and animated quite beautifully, almost everything on the screen is highly detailed and appropriately colored. The series comes across as extremely stunning in comparison with other mecha-type shows. In other shows the artists sacrifice detail in order to bring you quick action sequences - RahXephon doesn't focus too much on the action sequences and instead brings you stunning visuals you're sure to remember.

RahXephon features a creative storyline: a world in which music plays a key role in human events. Music literally shapes the world as a whole and when two races collide (Humans and Mulians); music might just be the world's only salvation. Through themes which were heavily researched (as apparent in the Italian musical notation names of the Dolem - enemy Mu fighting units - and through the use of clever poetry to foreshadow events to come), RahXephon's storyline is one of the most engaging storylines in a mecha-type show I've seen.

RahXephon is a story about uncertainty, taking risks, and exploring the nature of reality. And yet for all the major themes present, through the use of downright loveable characters (who are aesthetically pleasing as well as interesting), we see a world "suffused with sound" in all of its magnificence.

An anime great. I recommend this series to anyone with any interest in mecha combat mixed with a heavy story! Those with a good grasp on what makes a quality Japanese animation are bound to enjoy RahXephon!

30 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Night and Day!, April 2, 2006

By	S. L. Burdick "Zombie Golf Caddy" (South Dakota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off, I loved Rah and hated Eva, so keep that in mind reading this. ;)

As I added to my Eva review here, Eva did it first, but Rah did it RIGHT.

Other people have said Rah blows you away for visuals, and they're right. The Last Exile was the only series I've seen that's on par with the beautiful art here.

The beginning's a bit hectic to be sure, but after the mess that was Evangelion, I was willing to sit it out for a few episodes. Boy am I glad I did!

You won't even notice when Rah works its subtle charm on you, but you'll suddenly realize you're connecting pieces of the story and really getting involved.

Eva NEVER gave me a similar moment, most of that's weak "what if" at best. RahXephon took the entirely different road with their ideas. If you watch to the end and then think about each and every instance, Rah DOES make sense. The wierd happenings all are understandable, something Eva didn't seem to bother with at all.

As to why the Mu only sent out Dolems one at a time? Unlike Eva's Angels which really DIDN'T make sense to be attacking solo, the Mu weren't after conquest. Their whole motive was to awaken Rah. This's why they don't outright try to kill Xephon in the first episode. See? Like I said, Rah makes sense!

Don't even get me started on character differences. Night and day, baby. Rah's populace is heroic and act like actual humans, for the most part. None of the gloom and doom from Eva. As a result, you actually give a damn about them. The underpinning main romance will have ya jumping up and down in your chair screaming "Just tell him!", it's that well written.

And the biggest point in favor of RahXephon? It's resolved. All the philospies and long episodes go somewhere. There's no jumbled mess at the end of Rah. The ending, while ambiguous except for a few characters, is an ending. An ending a HUMAN would choose if given Rah's choices. Eva forgot that it was dealing with humans somewhere, instead turning them all into fatalistic robots with a deathwish in the second half.

Eva did it first, but RahXephon did it right. Here comes the sun, baby.