The first time I saw Rahxephon at Best Buy, I saw the volume 1 box set and immediately I became interested by the strange looking mecha on the box. Unfortunately I didn't have the money for it at the time. So I managed to pick it up later on a trip to New Hampshire(I love shopping there, no sales tax
). Immediately I was drawn in. I'll break it down....
Music: 4.5/5
Obviously, since this series revolves around music, the music is gonna be top quality. After I finished the series, I went and downloaded the OSTs(flame me for this if u want, but its tough for me to get my hands on anime music otherwise). I officially credit the opening theme, "Hemisphere" by Maaya Sakamoto, as being the song that began my obsession w/ anime music. The music during the episodes was great, it fit w/ the scenes perfectly and enhanced the scenes.
Plot: 5/5
I've never seen a mecha series revolve around music like this one does, and its definetely a unique concept that just enhanced the show. Plot twists showed up just when I thought I knew what was going on and deepened everything. Events seemed to mesh almost perfectly to keep everything together. And every time I finished a volume, I anticipated each volume after it. I won't spoil anything, but the conclusion of the series was quite original and kept me, and probably anyone else who's seen it, on the edge of my seat until the ending theme played. And one other thing I thought was good was they didn't focus too much on the combat like most mecha series(*ahem*Gundam*ahem*)
Characters: 5/5
The characters were done so amazingly that I fell in love w/ so many of them. They all had so much depth and personality that they felt quite real to me. Ayato, Haruka, Megumi, Quon, etc. all seemed to be done so nicely that I related w/ them. Voice acting was also top quality. For once I didn't have a compulsion to put on japanese dialogue and english subtitles, the voices were that good to me.
Animation: 5/5
Wow, I'm amazed. They did an amazing job. Everything moves very smoothly, w/ no noticeable problems or faults. Details were done nicely, the character models were beautiful, and the action was amazing. It was definetely a visual treat for me.
Overall: 5/5
This series is a must see for anyone, I don't care if you hate mecha anime(like one of my friends), it's just THAT good. And if for some reason you don't like it, then I think theres a problem w/ you =P . And remember, the movie comes out July 20th here in the states, so reserve yourself a copy, like me
...
And btw, for anyone who likes to download unlicensed anime thru BitTorrent, download the first episode of Kurau: Phantom Memory, its done by Bones, the guys responsible for Rahxephon....
(and admins, feel free to correct me if u don't like me referring to downloading)
