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RahXephon?

ArkArk
edited March 2012 in Anime
Okay, so I watched RahXephon probably in 2006 twice over and haven't watched it since then. I remember getting into a lot of debates on the internet at the time about the relative merits of the show. Personally, I thought it was mediocre and bland but a lot of people defend it as being one of the best series since 2000. Fastfoward to now, I still see a lot of people who I respect most of the time giving this show a huge amount of praise. To me this wasn't even average but so many people have just a strong appreciation for it. What is it I'm missing here?

Comments

  • ReolReol
    I feel the same, I watched it twice when it came out. Once alone, once a bit later with a friend. I definitely was not as interested upon the 2nd viewing. Since then, people that've asked me opinions on it, I generally give them a "Meh" and discourage them from watching it. I just lump it in with the rest of the Bones giant robot shows trying to be another Eva. I've had friends talk about it a bit recently, and now I'm also wondering if I'm missing something
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    I watched it probably around the same time. I really liked it but it does feel a bit like it was trying to be Evangelion. I think so people might have praised it just because they may not have seen a show like that before.
  • gomidoggomidog
    edited March 2012
    I thought it was pretty good, especially in terms of the animation and surrealist design. There were a lot of really slow parts, and the characters were often quite bland, but I liked the ending and there were some fascinating moments in the show. Not on my top 10 list, but still a pretty solid show.
    I didn't get the Eva vibe that much at all. Eva is more about the characters' inner demons, Rahxephon is more a love story.

    Specifically, what was it doing that was "trying to be Eva" that wasn't just "I am a giant robot show with teenager pilots that deals with SciFi mind bending and relationships?"
    Post edited by gomidog on
  • ArkArk
    Personally, I don't really see it as being similar to Eva except on a formal level (ie Post-disaster, Supernatural robot, weird flying enemy structures, pseudo-apocalypse ending etc). In terms of substance they're totally different. My main gripe with the show is that the character development was done terribly. The central cast was huge and most of them receive very minimal and forced development. I always remember that in the 5th or 6th episode they spent the whole time developing a character who then hardly played any role. Likewise one of the middle episodes focused on the childhoods of 3 characters, 2 of whom were not important to the plot at all.

    Also the whole love story aspect always seemed a bit ridiculous to me. If the gender's were reversed it would be seen as perverted.
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    Well it was mostly just the feeling of it more than anything else. I'm not saying that it IS ripping it off or anything, just that I got that feeling when I first watched it.
  • ReolReol

    Specifically, what was it doing that was "trying to be Eva" that wasn't just "I am a giant robot show with teenager pilots that deals with SciFi mind bending and relationships?"
    It just felt like from my interactions with other people, and the types of trailers for the show & the way it was being hyped up at the time, a lot of comparisons were being made to Eva. Looking back, It doesn't look like it has much in common with Eva other than what you said.

  • gomidoggomidog
    edited March 2012
    They both have a little bit of post apocalyptic setting going on, I'll grant you.
    About the love story.
    They were what, about 10 years apart after the time skip? That's not too weird, if they are both of reasonable dating age. I always kinda liked that twist in the show.
    Post edited by gomidog on
  • ArkArk
    They both have a little bit of post apocalyptic setting going on, I'll grant you.
    About the love story.
    They were what, about 10 years apart after the time skip? That's not too weird, if they are both of reasonable dating age. I always kinda liked that twist in the show.
    Ayato is 17 and Haruka is 29. Why would a grown woman be interested in a school boy? The real issue for me is that she's maintained this obsession with a brief high school romance, over a period of 15 years. To me that is slightly demented. Also, I'm kind of sick of all these anime that put a lot of importance on high school romance when something like 80% of 20 year olds in Japan are single. It feels like escapism to me.


  • Not nineNot nine
    It feels like escapism to me.
    Consuming entertainment media escapism? You don't say.
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