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I really liked this anime series. I liked it and obsessed over it as much as I
did Neon
Genesis Evangelion, not to say that it is a superior series (it's not). It has
a more
straightforward plot, and catches one's eye better because the animation is a
bit glitzier,
due to innovations made since the early 90's when NGE was released.
The series does have some definite similarities to Evangelion, ones which are
not easy to
overlook. However, the similarities stop at the surface, for while they both
have the basic
structure of "tortured teenage boy pilots humanoid, biomechanical leviathan of
immense
destructive power, saving countless lives from the evil powers that be, over
and over,
going through emotional turmoil all the while," the actual underlying plot is
drastically
different. I'm not going to get into the plot of Evangelion, because it is
complex, and I'm
not writing a review of it at the moment; besides, any self-respecting anime
enthusiast
has already seen it at least once.
The stage for RaXephon is set around a fairly normal, artistic, teenage boy
named
Kamina Ayato, hanging out with friends, going to high school, doing all the
stuff teens
do. The story begins with him leaving an empty home to hang out with a couple
of
friends. Their train derails and crashes in the opening of a tunnel, leaving
most of the
passengers unconscious, save Kamina and one of his friends. He goes out to look
for
help, only to find that the entire city (Tokyo) is under attack by an unknown
enemy. After
nearly being killed by a couple of explosions, he struggles on through the city
and
discovers one of his classmates dressed in a long, flowing yellow dress,
singing to the sky
in an odd manner. He startles her from her song, and the two walk together
through the
city. Their path leads them to a subway station, where he loses sight of her,
has an
encounter with a couple government agents who have blue blood and a mysterious
woman who claims to have answers. In the end, he gets on a train in which his
friend
from school has reappeared. The train stops at the "Xephon Temple," a bizarre
and
surreal cave with a strange sky inside. There is a gigantic egg in a floating
pool above
them. As the egg begins to crack, Kamina collapses in pain, and subconsciously
breathes
the word "RahXephon..." at which point the first episode ends.
The look and quality of the production made me drool. The series must have had
a high
budget, because the animation is exquisite. The colors tend to be darker, and
calm, with
special use of the red and blue, the reason for which is made clear as the
series
progresses. The music is great: it's sort of avant garde-ish classical music
most of the
time, with some Japanese pop-type-stuff and slightly clang-y jazz mixed in at
appropriate
moments.
I think this is a great series, and worth renting, buying, stealing,
downloading or
borrowing, whichever is easiest.
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