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.

In 1917, the first anime shorts were created, usually based on old
Japanese folk-tales, and their average length was around two minutes. As
animation became more popular in the United States, its popularity also
grew in Japan; the stories became longer and higher-budget, as there was
more demand and funding for it. Then, during the 1930′s and the coming of
war, anime turned more militaristic, and was often used by the government
as propaganda. In the United States, characters like Donald Duck and
Mickey Mouse were used to encourage the American people to participate in
the war effort. The Japanese followed the Disney approach, giving animals
human characteristics. For example, one popular character was called
Private 2nd-Class Norakuro, literally “a very unlucky dog soldier.”
In the early 1940′s, as the war began to shift, the Imperial government
commissioned their first animated feature. It was a black and white
hour-long propaganda film that showed the valiant and brave animal sailors
of the Imperial Navy fighting in Malaysia and freeing the occupants from
the “cruel hands of the West.” Ironically, this feature was released only
months before Japan’s surrender.

After the war, the Japanese animation companies had to adapt to compete
with the American companies. A good example of this is Toei Animation,
created in 1956, the first production of which was the animated short
Doodling Kitty. Released in 1957, it followed the simple formula
that U.S. companies such as Disney were using at the time: showing cute and likable
creatures to gain sympathy from an audience and let people escape from
reality for a little while. Several of these animated features from Japan
were released in other countries, and were somewhat popular, but not well
known or mainstream. Because Disney had such control over the animated
market in the U.S., these films, which might otherwise have gained a
larger audience, were smothered. Disney was not interested in competition.
For over twenty years, anime would not see any following in this country.

Finally, after so much time had passed, American animation had sunken to a
low that beckoned the coming of something new, fresh and different. The US
had run out of storylines and good animators, and the industry had gotten
extremely stale. The Japanese series Astroboy answered the call of
the American public in 1963, depicting a robotic boy who wanted to be human,
saving the world daily with his super powers.

After this first blow came a wave of “Japanimation.” You could turn on the
television and see Captain Harlock, Space Battleship Yamato,
or MazingerZ playing on Sunday morning, a sacred time that had always before contained
the fuzzy little creatures produced by U.S. animation companies. The
animation and comics industry in Japan grew with unimaginable speed as it
gained popularity worldwide. Comics often spawning animated features and
vice-versa. Some comic books were never turned into animated features, but
still received much acclaim for their impressive, intricate plot-lines and
detailed artwork.

The first wave of anime frenzy died off eventually, though it still
retained some popularity. American studios used the new material from
Japan to find out what their audience wanted, and mimicked it, allowing
them to regain at least a portion of their former grip on the animation
market. In the late 1980′s, however, a film hit the mainstream that
shocked and amazed the American populace. Akira was a combination
of breathtaking animation and an intense, disturbing plot that appealed to
more than just the small, exclusive groups that had become the sole
followers of anime at this point. It was a reminder that there are some
things the US just doesn’t have the nerve or intellectual integrity to
create, or at least to pioneer. After this, everyone realized that
animation could be dark, disturbing and suited more to mature audiences.
Things like Heavy Metal, a set of animated shorts created by
different artists, which was known for having large amounts of gratuitous violence
and explicit sexuality (but also superb animation), were created. Slightly
later was the series Aeon Flux, which debuted on MTV in 1991. This
really triggered the appeal of darker, more adult-oriented animation in the
American lesser-mainstream. At this time, anime had seen a comeback, with
series similar to their outdated predecessors, like Space Battleship
Yamato, which became the ever-popular Macross, or as Americans
know it, Robotech. Another series that gained tremendous popularity was
Gundam, with an extensive ongoing plot, good character development, and action
sequences featuring giant, manned robots. It caught the interest of all
ages. Still hot today, there are action figures, detailed model-kits,
video games, multiple offshoots of the series, and a still-growing fan
base for all of it.

Though Gundam is one of the main series that generated extreme
interest in Japanese animation, others that contributed equally are series such as
Sailor Moon, a very “girly” series about a group of high school
lasses who are given super-powers corresponding to different planets to battle the
evil of the megaverse. Another is Dragonball/Dragonball Z/Dragonball
GT, a fantasy series that is longer than one can imagine. It has over 1000
episodes and two sub-series have been produced. It also sparked 13 movies,
RPGs, trading card games, and many games for many different video game
consoles over the years (definitely the most obsessed-over anime series in
the United States, and probably in Japan too). Pokemon is a
child-oriented series that has gained immense popularity among the youth of the U.S. and
many other countries. It is losing popularity now, because the premise of
a kid capturing similar cute creatures and making friends can only be
milked so much before it begins to be stale and repetitive. Ghost in
the Shell, which is based on a manga by Masamune Shirow, is another
popular animated film from Japan. This feature deals with the idea of what makes
us human by having a main character whose physical humanity is limited to
a few vital organs inside a cyborg body. It also breaks new ground in the
use of computers to produce advanced animated effects never before
achieved.

What can this popular phenomenon be attributed to? Why are series that
come out in Japan licensed for US production within a month of their
release? What is it about this style of animation that appeals so much to
some? From my perspective, this animation is appealing for a few reasons:
the content is more interesting, and often more intellectually based than
much of the media produced in our country. There is often a much richer
and more interesting storyline than much of what one sees here in the
States. It looks great and it has a style that is more interesting to look
at than standard American animation. Some of the visual trademarks of
anime (big sad-looking eyes, small mouths, spiky, brightly colored hair,
big robots with weapons of mass destruction that look dangerous even when
standing still, dark and moody scenery) all just seem so appealing and
visually stimulating. I am personally a little disappointed that anime has
recently become as popular as it has in the States, because, as we’re a
major player in the media worldwide, I have a feeling anime is going to
become less unique as time goes on: more American, less original, and
lacking in the intellectual appeal it has always had. Right now it retains
that which keeps me watching, and I hope this continues to be the case.

For those out there who have seen neither this nor X: The Movie; don’t watch the movie to see if you’ll like this, it’s a total spoiler, and it’s not even a fraction as satisfying! The movie is great if you’ve read the manga(I assume, since this is based on it), or seen this series first, but is in no way a substitute or preview. It is a very shortened version of the story, redone in a very basic way, so as not to require so much of the plot to have a finished movie that made some sort of sense.

The movie version is cool, has great animation, and is breathtaking. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most unsatisfying things one can ever watch, if not seen after knowing the full story already. The series is nearly as breathtaking, but with a full, and well-told plot, and thus, is far superior.

The soundtrack to this series is pretty cool too. It isn’t boring, and gives a great atmosphere to it. It is sort of a mixture between American, dramatic movie-music, and weird, anime-techno-classical mood music. It’s not as outstanding as it theoretically could have been, and I’m not about to buy it, but it’s not as bad as could have been either. By far.

Now that I’ve gotten over how well-done it is, here’s a little about the plot.

The premise, is that there has been written in the stars for centuries, how at one point in time, two groups of incredibly powerful individuals, knowing their fates from birth, will come together in two places in Tokyo, the city where the seven shields guarding humanity from apocalypse are held. And they will battle, until their two figureheads “Kamui” will have a final confrontation, deciding the fate of humanity and the Earth. One of the groups, the Dragons of Earth, wish for the world to be cleansed of humanity, so that is can return to its former state, and become healthy again, kinda of like über-extreme environmentalists I suppose. The other are the Dragons of Heaven, who are the pro-further-existence-of-the human-race group. They are shown as the good-guys in th story, and have the main character among them. The “real” Kamui, rather, the one who had been given the name at birth, though his nemesis becomes known as Kamui once they are both awakened.. but anyway.. (punches self for giving away a portion of the plot) One is given more information about the people of the Dragon of Heaven, and sympathises with them from the beginning. The interesting thing about the series, is that contrary to the movie, the Dragons of Earth are not villanized very much, but are shown more to be people who were brought together only by fate’s strings, and are not necessarily doing it out of their own “evil beliefs”.

Here are some more of the reasons I find the series to be so much better than the movie:

Being able to know so much about each character just really makes it a hundred times better. Unfortunately, I saw the movie several times before this even came out, and was never that sympathetic to most of the characters, because they just didn’t mean anything to me, and seemed to die before I even learned their names. “I didn’t care that all the main characters had died, but they sure looked cool..” is a pretty good way of describing the movie, and that’s what is completely different in the series.

And to your great happiness, the series is already being released in the US., and the First disk, along with a pretty box for the whole set is on sale now in most entertainment stores, thanks to anime’s recent popularity in the mainstream. Which I have mixed feelings, about.. but that’s another story.

Go see if you can rent it, or hell, just take my word for it, and buy the damn thing, or download it* if you do that sorta thing.. (slides eyes far to the left)
But watch it.

*BAMboozled.org and its affiliates do not in any way condone the pirating of licensed video in any way, shape or form.

This is definitely one of the weirdest and the best anime that I’ve ever seen.
It starts out seeming like a slightly twisted romance between Naota, a twelve-year-old
boy who has always lived in his older brother’s shadow, and Samejima Mamimi, Naota’s
brother’s girlfriend (who, because his brother has left for America to play
baseball, has decided to force herself on Naota). He doesn’t mind her so
much, but the situation makes him uncomfortable because of his age, and because
she is his brother’s ex.

They live in a little average town, and meet every day under a bridge.
After watching the first episode, all first impressions will have disintegrated
completely, because the weirdness has already started.

After getting hit by the mysterious pink-haired Haruhara Haruko on her
bright yellow Vespa, then being clocked in the head with her motorized guitar,
Naota has a rather long and strangely shaped bump protruding from his
forehead. At home, he bandages the bump over, and goes downstairs to discover
that his father has hired Haruko to be the housekeeper, which naturally drives
Naota crazy. Later, Naota goes to see Mamimi, who says she is going to overflow,
at which point the bandage on his forehead is forced
off, and his head “gives birth” to a large red robot with a
monitor for a head, followed by a big, white, robotic hand. The two begin to
battle, and after the hand is defeated, Haruko shows up and takes out the
robot with her guitar.

From there, things get stranger and stranger. To fully appreciate the
weirdness of this anime, it must be watched, for it is half weird plot, and half
bizarre animation.

Overall, I’d say this is the 3rd on my top 10 anime list. (You can see that
list in my archives.) This whole anime is just so well put together in
every way; the animation is brilliant and fully lives up to Gainax’s
previous titles.

The soundtrack is also really great; it’s done almost entirely by a JRock
(Japanese rock) band called the Pillows. It’s like a cross between Nirvana
and something like Green Day, with a disturbing and dissonant twist.
Unfortunately, this soundtrack is not currently released in the US,
so you’ll have to either buy the CD imported, or download
the tracks, and wait for the CD to come out in the US. Since the CD is $35
imported, the latter option will probably BE the path for all but the
obsessed. (I plan on ordering it soon.)

The First DVD is scheduled to be released in the US under the lame name “Fooly
Cooly” on August 27th, and the other disks will surely be released later.
I’m gonna hold out for a boxed set, but you can preorder the first disk at Amazon.

If you’re feeling impatient, you can download the six episodes with
file-sharing programs like KaZaA (kazaalite.com) And while this isn’t
technically legal, it does no one any harm as long as you buy it when it is
released. I and Bamboozled.org in no way condone the downloading of
copyrighted material, but I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with
downloading stuff as long as you intend to pay for it when it is available.

This title IS definitely something everyone with any interest in anime
should watch one way or another.

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
2. The Serial Experiments Lain
3. FLCL (Furi Kuri)
4. Ghost in the Shell
5. Noir
6. Perfect Blue
7. Cowboy Bebop
8. Chobits
9. KITE
10. Hellsing

I saw a pigeon the other day, covered with the dirt of the city, its littleeyes glazed with an iridescent film, limping along the edge of the curb; itwent several yards, then fell off; I didn’t see it get back up. That’s oneof the sadder things I’ve seen recently…

Since there are so many good anime out there, I\’m going to do conglomerate reviews with several series or movies reviewed in
each; another is
coming soon.

Series:

Noir

This is a series about two female assassins whose partnership begins on strange grounds; they meet in a very mysterious manner, and
immediately find a
connection between each other that they cannot understand. From the very start, this series has lots of great fight sequences, and the
animation is
exquisite. There is also quite a bit of obscure plotline in between the action sequences, which are also quite enjoyable.

Inuyasha

A TV series not yet released in America; it soon will be.
Based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi, this is a story set partly in the world of today, but mostly in feudal Japan where youkai
(monsters or demons)
run rampant in the forests, coming out every so often to terrify the people of small villages.

A girl named Kagome, living in modern-day Japan, goes to explore the ancient well near her home, and is pulled in, coming out in
another time,
many hundreds of years before. In the past, she meets a Halfling about her age named Inuyasha who mistakes her for one of her ancestors
from that time.
Upon the shattering of the \”Shikon no Tama\”, an evil jewel of great power, they must search throughout the land for it\’s shards before
it comes into
evil hands.

This series is very long (over 55 episodes so far and growing) so I can\’t give a full description of the plot, but on the whole it\’s a
pretty good
show, and has all the necessary aspects to give the series lasting value and hold one\’s attention until the end.

Trigun

An anime based on the manga series by Yasuhiro Nightow, it\’s about a gunman who, while having a hefty price on his head, has never
killed. His past is
unknown, and his name is Vash \”the Stampede\” the nickname given, because along with his presence tends to come destruction. He\’s known
for his large
silver handgun, and long red trench coat.

While so many sinister things are said about him, in truth, he is a kind and honest, though rather on the strange side. This
series starts as
an action-style series, but soon turns somewhat to the science fiction side. It\’s very wacky and well done on the whole; I quite like
it.

Love Hina

This is leaning toward soap-opera, but has lots of oddness and funny scenes to make it, in my opinion, quite worth watching. The main
character is a
clumsy, but well-meaning young guy whose goal is to make it to the prestigious Tokyo-U because of a promise he made as a small child.
While the story
doesn\’t progress as rapidly as some might like, but it\’s very funny, and the melodrama is a bit tongue-in-cheek, so I found it to be
rather enjoyable
on the whole.

To my delight, I discovered that the 3-part OVA that concludes the series was finally released recently in Japan (already got the first
two fansubbed).