SaikoDragon
It's Judgement Time!
I got this series and it's movie for X-mas. When I saw the commercials I never thought much of it and I now know the adverts for this series do such an injustice to it. It really is better than it appears to be.
The Series: Excellent
The Movie: Pathetic
If you are wondering about this title and thinking about picking it up, I suggest biting the bullet and getting the series. Don't even bother with the movie. The movie is basically a 2 hour recap of the entire series. It shows most of the important parts of the series (with a rushed feel), and changes up other parts. It adds a few scenes and changes a couple bits of dialogue and adds in a new crazy ending. Honestly I thought the movie was really bad.
I'm very glad I saw the series first because I was almost tempted to see the movie first just to get an idea if the series would be worth it. But if I had watched the movie first, I would have really spoiled a lot of the best moments in the series.
With that out of the way, I thought RahXephon was pretty good. It's one of those animes where you must pay attention or else you'll miss certain details of the plot. This anime does not dwell on it's revelations at all, and it will not elaborate any of the plot. You have to not only listen to the conversations but also notice the surroundings carefully.
It sounds like a chore but it's not. The story isnt hard to grasp but it's a good idea to remain attentive to the anime and not zone out or you'll miss key information that will only leave you confused later.
The story wastes no time weaving a mystery that keeps you intrigued from the very first episode. The music and animation is great. I loved the dubbing and the voices, and the characters have great reaction times. You might often see sluggish reaction times from anime characters in other titles. But in this anime, characters react quickly and like normal human beings. So it's refreshing to see each episode keep a steady pace.
The characters are likeable but there are moments where I was like *groan*. For example, the pushy love-interest angle with the older woman liking the young guy. That angle didnt sit well with me at all (I was like "oh let the poor kid have a girl his own age dammit!") but by the end of the series, it makes sense and you realize that it was for the best this way. That only becomes clear by the end of it.
There's a few good twists and turns but really, in the first half of this story you will probably be very very confused at what's going on. Like I said they dont care to elaborate or dwell on any of the plot details. They will describe bits of it in dialogue or backdrops but they wont stop the entire show to make sure the viewer understands what's going on. You have to be attentive enough to put the pieces together to draw your own conclusions.
There's a lot of "I love him but he loves her" drama, too. After a while it gets repetitive but it's pretty good to see characters actively falling in and out of love and trying to score, and not just sitting dumbfounded and blushing in a corner awaiting a happy ending.
The ending was... Well the ending was good. There was really nothing wrong with this series at all, it was fantastic.
To elaborate on the movie, again, the movie is just 2 hours of clips from the series. It's not a "retelling" like the Escaflowne movie and it doesnt have better animation. It's just clips from the series (Much like the first Evangelion movie) but with added bits that really make no additional impact to the story and it has a new ending which is pretty stupid. Really, it's like an "encore" of the more important moments in the series. If you watch the end of RahXephon and say to yourself "I STILL dont get it", then maybe watching the movie would be good for you to put everything into perspective.
If you're wondering what type of anime this is, or what it's about, try google for more information. But basically: It's like evangelion. Set in a near future where one kid must pilot a giant robot because only he can. Drama ensues and all kinds of details fly around. It's Earth vs a race called the "Mu" or "Mulians".
The mechs and Mu have very eccentric designs, very egyptian/roman type designs and I love that. All my friends always told me this was a good series but I was never too sure. But now I'm glad I've added it to my collection.
I would recommend this title to anyone who likes Giant Robot themed drama. There are some cute moments in the series but it's mostly drama and story which is a good change of pace from some other titles.
The Series: Excellent
The Movie: Pathetic
If you are wondering about this title and thinking about picking it up, I suggest biting the bullet and getting the series. Don't even bother with the movie. The movie is basically a 2 hour recap of the entire series. It shows most of the important parts of the series (with a rushed feel), and changes up other parts. It adds a few scenes and changes a couple bits of dialogue and adds in a new crazy ending. Honestly I thought the movie was really bad.
I'm very glad I saw the series first because I was almost tempted to see the movie first just to get an idea if the series would be worth it. But if I had watched the movie first, I would have really spoiled a lot of the best moments in the series.
With that out of the way, I thought RahXephon was pretty good. It's one of those animes where you must pay attention or else you'll miss certain details of the plot. This anime does not dwell on it's revelations at all, and it will not elaborate any of the plot. You have to not only listen to the conversations but also notice the surroundings carefully.
It sounds like a chore but it's not. The story isnt hard to grasp but it's a good idea to remain attentive to the anime and not zone out or you'll miss key information that will only leave you confused later.
The story wastes no time weaving a mystery that keeps you intrigued from the very first episode. The music and animation is great. I loved the dubbing and the voices, and the characters have great reaction times. You might often see sluggish reaction times from anime characters in other titles. But in this anime, characters react quickly and like normal human beings. So it's refreshing to see each episode keep a steady pace.
The characters are likeable but there are moments where I was like *groan*. For example, the pushy love-interest angle with the older woman liking the young guy. That angle didnt sit well with me at all (I was like "oh let the poor kid have a girl his own age dammit!") but by the end of the series, it makes sense and you realize that it was for the best this way. That only becomes clear by the end of it.
There's a few good twists and turns but really, in the first half of this story you will probably be very very confused at what's going on. Like I said they dont care to elaborate or dwell on any of the plot details. They will describe bits of it in dialogue or backdrops but they wont stop the entire show to make sure the viewer understands what's going on. You have to be attentive enough to put the pieces together to draw your own conclusions.
There's a lot of "I love him but he loves her" drama, too. After a while it gets repetitive but it's pretty good to see characters actively falling in and out of love and trying to score, and not just sitting dumbfounded and blushing in a corner awaiting a happy ending.
The ending was... Well the ending was good. There was really nothing wrong with this series at all, it was fantastic.
To elaborate on the movie, again, the movie is just 2 hours of clips from the series. It's not a "retelling" like the Escaflowne movie and it doesnt have better animation. It's just clips from the series (Much like the first Evangelion movie) but with added bits that really make no additional impact to the story and it has a new ending which is pretty stupid. Really, it's like an "encore" of the more important moments in the series. If you watch the end of RahXephon and say to yourself "I STILL dont get it", then maybe watching the movie would be good for you to put everything into perspective.
If you're wondering what type of anime this is, or what it's about, try google for more information. But basically: It's like evangelion. Set in a near future where one kid must pilot a giant robot because only he can. Drama ensues and all kinds of details fly around. It's Earth vs a race called the "Mu" or "Mulians".
The mechs and Mu have very eccentric designs, very egyptian/roman type designs and I love that. All my friends always told me this was a good series but I was never too sure. But now I'm glad I've added it to my collection.
I would recommend this title to anyone who likes Giant Robot themed drama. There are some cute moments in the series but it's mostly drama and story which is a good change of pace from some other titles.