To say that this anime has taken several elements from Neon Genesis Evangelion would be an understatement. However, that does not mean it is a bad anime. There are worse anime to copy. Without spoiling, the question I want to answer for you with this review is:

Is this anime worth watching or are you better off watching Neon Genesis Evangelion again?

I started watching Rahxephon because I discovered the opening on Youtube. It is composed by Yoko Kanno and sung by the multi-talented Maaya Sakamoto, who is also credited for voicing one of the characters. Maaya Sakamoto is a great performer, I knew her as a singer way before I realised she was a big name in the voice acting scene. The opening reminded me a lot of a certain Yoko Kanno song 'She's so High' from Turn A Gundam, as it shares the same repeating singular guitarish tone from the start.

Rahxephon is a sci-fi anime in which Japan was invaded by the Mu three years ago. Human-like beings from another dimension with blue blood. 17 year old Ayato Kamina becomes the pilot of a mecha called Rahxephon. Much like NGE, the thing about this mecha-anime is that the battles are typically short and the difference here is that the mechas use their voice as a weapon. I am not sure if that is why the anime is labeled with the music genre, but the singing is more like a short monotonal Gregorian chant.

The show introduces many characters in a short timespan and explores the many complicated relationships each have with one another. Many dark things are hinted at first, making you, the viewer, slightly uneasy about their true motives and questioning the safety of the protagonist. I feel like we were kept in the dark about pretty much a lot of things right up to the end, although hints were being dropped here and there. I think rewatching this show would actually be very interesting in a year or so because of this. As the show moves along and the protagonist is settled down a little bit, the show changes into a more episodic anime, where a new threat appears each week.

A problem I had with the show is how Ayato was seen handling life outside of his comfort zone during the first half of the show. If everything you think you know about the world suddenly turns out to be a lie and you are put in a position where you have to fight for your life, it is pretty unbelievable to worry over small, petty, insignificant things like Ayato is shown doing. I guess you can argue that this is a 17 year old boy and they think like a 17 year old. During the second half of the show, Ayato's mental stability becomes an increasing important element to the story, and I liked the direction they went with that.

There is a very powerful episode in the second half called Blue Friend which is so different from the other episodes. It's cuts away from many of the characters, only focusing on a select few and it is exactly this simplicity, combined with the ominous setting that makes this one stand out for me.
The buildup to the grand finale was done very well in hind sight and after all hell broke loose I was left pretty satisfied and happy. Although... I watched it all, yet I did not fully comprehend everything. After reading the wiki page... I feel like everything could be so much clearer, perhaps this is why I feel like a rewatch would be enjoyable in due time. Perhaps the anime just failed to do it's job in providing the necessary information for me to piece together, or perhaps I was just too stupid to understand.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED a lot of the artistic shots in the anime, there was also a lot of symbolic meaning in the shots and colors chosen. The final episode has a greyscale theme going, alongside a widescreened smaller frame. Colors were sparsely used until a certain climactic scene in which the ratio also returned to 4:3. It worked well for me, it reminded me a bit of the final episode of Gunbuster, or the more artistic scenes from Death Note. Also the anime has a drop in quality, starting from episode 3, but it stays at an acceptable good level throughout the rest of the show. I think this is common in anime shows.

I feel like this anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion meets Xam'd: Lost Memories and I was suprised to find out noone recommended Xam'd: Lost Memories to this anime yet. The stories begin in almost the exact same way and there are many more similiarities I can not disclose due to spoilers but which will become obvious along the way if you are familiar with both animes.

Many people say that this anime would be a lot more appreciated if Neon Genesis Evangelion did not exist and I have to agree. Throughout the first half of the anime I felt like I was watching an anime cosplaying NGE. It was hard to shake off that feeling. I felt like the later third of this anime is where the anime manages to rid itself of that costume, however by that time I felt disconnected from the protagonist.

I think NGE is one of the best anime shows ever made, this show does not come close. It is not terrible by any means, I think the mean score is a fair one, but if you enjoyed NGE you might have the same feeling I did watching this show. I think the show had an interesting premise, but did not fully capture my interest or imagination at any point. If you are seriously reading my review to find out if you want to watch this or rewatch NGE, go rewatch NGE... The only reason I wanted to write this review was because noone else has yet. I liked very peculiar things about the show, overall the show is not amazing, not terrible, it's fine.