Rahxephon
It's an unadulterated Evangelion clone to a T.
- Alien invasion by creepy organic mecha (Angels/Dolems)? Check.
- The nations of the world established a powerful NGO to combat them (NERV/TERRA)? Check.
- Said organization uses their own creepy organic mecha reverse engineered from the enemy (EVAs/Vermillions)? Check.
- Tokyo is at the center of this world ending conflict? Check.
- Protagonist who is a wimp and is the only one who pilot the mecha to fight the aliens and whose parent turns out to be a big bad involved in a conspiracy to end the world? Check.
- Girls inexplicably interested in this wimpy teenager? Check.
- First half of the show is made up of episodic plots about fighting the Angel/Dolem of the week? Check.
- Angelic aesthetics? Check.
- Conspiracy plot dragged out for a long time and lots of playing the pronoun game? Check.
- Up its own ass on psychology and metaphors? Also check.
I could go on.
Unlike Evangelion, Rahxephon is simply not as enjoyable to watch. It doesn't have the same level of production values in terms of art, animation, shot composition/framing, or directing. It is also digipaint and looks oversaturated compared to the cel animation of earlier anime. The moment to moment show isn't as captivating and the cast overall not as interesting or as likeable (I did like the two old commander guys. I guess the newspaper reporter who was snooping around was also interesting). No standout scenes. And so on. A very large percentage of the show's screentime is spent on navel gazing. Evangelion is often criticized for this but IIRC the navel gazing and deep thoughts about nothing were only a fraction of that show's runtime. I ended up feeling like I watched shoddy rehash of Evangelion.
The anime is too vague on the lore on the aliens. How did Ayato get alien blood? His alien mom was born to the grandpa, and I don't think he married an alien, so did the daughter get converted into an alien by the aliens? Was the evil general born an alien from the start and converted into an alien as well? What's stopping the aliens from converting all of the humans into aliens? The alien lore in Evangelion was also very vague but at least it wasn't essential to understanding the plot and character motivations like it is here.
The show has failed to convince me of its main romance, failed to make me believe that they actually love each other. To summarize: Ayato and Haruka were school mates in Tokyo. Haruka was outside of the Tokyo when the aliens trapped Tokyo in a bubble in which time progresses six times slower than the outside world. By the time the show begins, Haruka is a 29 year old woman and Ayato is 17.
At the start of the show, it had only been 2 years since Ayato last saw Haruka. He wasn't thinking about her at all, which seems to imply that he just was never really close to her let alone romantically involved. He also doesn't seem really interested in Haruka as a person once he leaves Tokyo. He doesn't even ask her about how her life has been since she was caught outside of the bubble. In fact, he seems to spend more time talking to the two other girls, Megumi and Quon. So why does he suddenly profess love to Haruka in episode 24?
Then you have Haruka. It has been at 14 years since she last saw Ayato, and yet she is still pining for him? What? This guy doesn't remember you after two years on his end, but you're still infatuated with him after 14? I also find it hard to believe that Haruka hadn't been scooped up by another man by the time the show begins. She's attractive and she is a normal, sane woman who a normal man wouldn't be repulsed by. She isn't a drunk or an adulterous party girl like Misato from Evangelion was. I also find it weird that she would be attracted to a homeless teenager who has no job, no assets to his name, no inheritance (his alien mom seems to be rich but she's an enemy of the rest of the world. Either the aliens win and Haruka is killed or enslaved, or Tokyo is destroyed and mom's assets are confiscated by the victors), and is seen as an enemy of the world. Marrying him doesn't seem like a very secure life decision, especially when again she is surrounded by military officer who do have solid careers and have wealth and probably aren't going to be disposed by the state as soon as they have served their purpose.
I guess a point in this show's favor is that I at least managed to make it through 24 episodes, which is more than can be said for most modern anime. Would never rewatch, though.
