| PRODUCT DETAILS | | Rahxephon - Complete Collection |  | |
Rahxephon - Complete Collection
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.
Manufacturer: Adv Films
Price Range: $47.41 - $89.98
 Rahxephon - Complete Collection
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| User Reviews |  | A very interesting world for us to see...
rating: 3
This was yet another interesting Mecha Anime that I came across. I've noticed I tend to prefer the far more mechanical Mechs you see in things like Mechwarrior, but the Animes seem to favor a more organic or humanoid styled Mech. Maybe it's to make them seem like they're more than just a machine, which is the case in the instance of RahXephon. Despite the fact I'm not too big on the creature designs the stories are still very good and quite enjoyable! Don't get me wrong, the creatures are still drawn quite well and the rest of the art is very nice.
We are first brought into the world of Ayato Kamina. He seems kind of out of touch with reality, but in most Anime's like this the main character has a destiny to fulfill. Like other Anime's I've watched the characters are usually between the ages of fourteen and eighteen and in this case Ayato is seventeen. We see this used commonly in things like Serial Experiments Lain, Last Exile, Burst Angel, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I guess that's the perfect age for things to get interesting. Also like many others I've seen so far start off with a seemingly normal world, lively and normal... except for our out of touch main character. However, there's a major twist because the world has pretty much been destroyed and the only city left is Tokyo. The world's population has been reduced to a mere twenty-three million! How could this happen? Apparently otherworldly beings called the Mu attacked Earth, but only Tokyo managed to survive. As in most other Anime's not everything is as it seems... an air of mystery comes about and something is amiss with the world. The synopsis would technically be much greater than that, but I don't want to give away the mystery or the awe of the world you get to enjoy through this Anime.
I suppose this Anime parallel's Neon Genesis Evangelion quite a bit, but with a major pro in my book. At the end of this series we get at least a decently logical conclusion! They don't go off into any overly philosophical episodes that may or may not have anything to do with the series. This story really does begin and end within the series and we really didn't quite get that in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Do I think that RahXephon is better? Actually... no. I think Neon Genesis Evangelion was a much more profound series, along with being much deeper and I liked the premise behind their Mechs a lot more as well. Despite all the borrowing and influence from various other Animes I think RahXephon managed to construct a decently original universe for us to enjoy and not feel like it's a blatant rip off of another series.
I really did enjoy the world they created for this Anime, but there are a few misgivings that I think really held it back from reaching its true potential. A major downside to this series is the huge cast. It feels like the normal twenty-six episode length is far too short to encompass all the kinds of character depth we need. At the end I was left with too many questions about Ayato's mother for example. She's a very mysterious character and they explain a lot, but I think there should've been a lot more for us to see. There are some expertly written twists and turns throughout the series, but the drama is really what drove my interest in this show. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the action sequences quite a bit, but like many of the Mecha shows I've seen thus far it seems like they force the action sequences in some episodes. As if they need to fit at least one action sequence into EVERY episode. There is plenty of drama and story to build on that they don't necessarily need this. In fact I wanted more of the dramatic elements and background story of some of the characters.
An interesting thing with this DVD set is that there are extras on every disc and these include various interviews with the creators and voice actors. In the end I enjoyed this series quite a bit. Not as profound as some other series I've seen, but it's quite good while it lasts. The last parts involving the God designer character are brilliant and that's the main part where you get a taste of some philosophical notions. If you enjoy a good Mecha with a complex story then I would recommend RahXephon. Just be forewarned that the cast is unnecessarily huge and you won't find out everything about every character. This is unfortunate, but I can't deny that the world and story are still good in the end.
3.5 out of 5.
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Waste of time
rating: 2
Its not that the art is bad, or the action is dull, it's simply a matter of poor plot developement. There's no manga to go with it either, and that's already a sign pointing towards a chaotic plot line. It's almost like it was being written while still in production. It's also surprisingly emo and makes too many failing attempts at being philosophical n such (a common anime thing, but most at least have a foundation to which the idea is represented). So, this isn't an anime I'll watch again when I can just go see the very anime it copied off of, but is well worth the time and money, Evangelion.
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Great Drama Sci-fi Anime For Everyone
rating: 5
I finally got this series a week ago and have found myself to be astounded by both the storyline and the animation.I have seen some reviewers have compared this to Neon Genesis Evangelion and I to have seen some of the same scenarios but unlike NGE this series for the most part gives you the answers to you're questions as well as a decent and for the most part happy ending.That I have to say is what really pleased me I was so disappointed with how NGE was confusing,frustrating,and the open-ended finale of the NGE series made me want to trash the set.Raxephon while in some areas confusing at least made sense the video is standard format with 5.1 english audio or 2.0 japanese audio.The voice actors from ADV films are again superb as well as the japanese voice actors the price is step but I say if you were disappointed with NGE this series will definitely make up for it
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Judge for yourself.
rating: 4
One of the keys to Raxephon is a much friendlier story for an american audience compared to Eva (I loved them both, but saw Eva first so it holds a warm place for me.)
Ayato is about a zillion times better than Shinji.
I agree the themes are the same and Evaxephon dot com clearly points this out so I won't even bother to go there. (It hardly seems worth getting upset over... especially when kids are starving all over the world... hehe getting angry over anime seems pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things.)
Forgive me if this is pretty abstracted from the story... I'm trying to not give too much away to anyone interested in picking this up.
Without spoiling it I would say that love story is complete, even though it isn't traditional in its final stages.
There are some plot twists in the love story that are genuinely satisfying. The twists answer a lot of questions about Reika's significance and Haruka's "seemingly" unprovoked (and often unacknowledged) concern for our hero Ayato.
There is a lot here that is good.
The story is well delivered.
The characters are deep an interesting.
The crisis has a great bit of time distortion, and the story plays head games with this very well.
If one had never seen Eva: In the end this is really hard to say anything bad about.
The animation is solid and in some cases just breathtaking.
The production quality is very high.
The growth of each character in the story is obvious... and reasonable... and therefore believable.
There isn't much, if any, fan service in the way of visuals, BUT there are some characters that have a very sultry demeanor that is very appealing. Some of the characters hit the sexy buttons on all eight cylinders, without showing a bunch of skin... that is really solid feat if you ask me. Less is more in this one when it comes to fan service.
I didn't give this 5 stars because, as good as it was... there was something about it that felt a tad empty. Almost like some pieces were unresolved. I'm not sure. Perhaps it was the music? Kinda haunting and menacing... I'm not sure. What I do know is simple, in the end I wasn't moved. Satisfied but not emotionally shaken from my seat, if you know what I mean.
I borrowed this from a friend and now that I have seen it I'm buying it, so that should really be enough to tell you what I think of it. It belongs in my collection, right between Eva and Noein.
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Rahxephon is an Execelent Anime! (No Spoilers)
rating: 5
I think that this is one of the top five anime's ever made. The animation is great, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the storyline is soild with several twists and turns but pleanty of infomation to explain and back them up. The incompassing of the music into the storyline is also excellent as it gives it a purpose, rather than it just being there so as to give us something to listen to while watching a fight scene.
I recommend getting the Rahxephon Motion Picture as well so as to round the series out.
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Rahxephon - Complete Collection
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