Rahxephon (2003)

Product Summary Publisher: Uni Dist Corp. (MCA) Format: DVD UPC: 00702727039027 Buy.com Sku: 40216687 Item#: VRJVVC Category Keywords: Action  Adventure  Animation  Anime  Post-Apocalypse  Science Fiction  Science-Fiction  Series  Rating: NR     Features: DVD, English, Dubbed & Subtitled   The city of Tokyo has been overthrown, taken over by the Mu, invaders who have devastated the rest of the planet. Within the domed walls of the city, however, time flows in a different path, and none of the citizens even know they've been conquered. Outside Tokyo, the remnants of the human race have fought a desperate 15-year war against the Mu, knowing only that the key to victory lies within the occupied city. But no one has been able to get into Tokyo-until Ayato Kamina, a young resident fleeing a horrifying attack on the city, unwittingly breaks out. An extraordinary mystery unfolds as Ayato confronts a world he has never known, and begins to learn the horrifying secrets of RahXephon, a humanoid super weapon which apparently only he can control.   Editor's Note Set in the year 2015, just after Earth's civilizations have been all but wiped out by the Mu invaders, the RahXephon anime series finds a high school student named Ayato Kamina struggling to escape the rubble after an attack on his city left him trapped. Finally freeing himself from the debris, Ayato meets a girl named Reika Mishima who takes him to a secret sanctuary that houses the war's civilian survivors. There, a humanoid mechanical weapon named RahXephon emerges from a black egg, bearing the same marking as one Ayato has on his body. It becomes apparent that Ayato is the only one who can pilot the mecha, and he soon realizes that he might be the only person able to defend the world from more destruction. This volume introduces the first episodes of the anime series acclaimed for its innovative music, animation, and complex plot and character development.   Features Region 1 Keep Case Full Frame - 1.33 Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 - Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Additional Release Material: Trailers Bonus Footage: Clean Opening and Closing Credits Interactive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Access Text/Photo Galleries: Production Art   Technical Info Release Information Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (MCA) Release Date: 3/25/2003 Running Time: 125 minutes Original Release Date: 2003 Catalog ID: 001 UPC: 00702727039027 Number of Discs: 1 Audio & Video Original Language: Japanese Available Audio Tracks: English Dubbed, Japanese Available Subtitles: English Video: Color   Cast & Crew Yutaka Izubuchi - Director    Product Image

Less than 5 minutes into RahXephon (pronounced Rah Si-fon), one word comes to mind, Evangelion. Words like brilliant, must have, those all come after you've seen the first volume. It's tough not to draw comparisons between the two anime series. Ayato like Shinji is caught in the middle of a war with some strange invaders (angels) and some ultra high tech orginization that utilizes humanoid type "robots" to defend itself. Like Neo Tokyo, Tokyo-Jupiter has several layers or hemispheres and seems to be a world inside a world. Ayato is facinated with a girl name Mashima who acts alot like a slightly more talkative version of Rei. Only time will tell if other aspects of her character can be related to Rei as well (as a side note, the voice actress for Rei appears as the Pink haired girl in RahXephon). Additionally, like Shinji, Ayato is the only one who can pilot RahXephon. The comparison could go on. Is RahXephon another Evangelion clone. Certainly not! Immediately into the series you find that Ayato's mother has some hand in manipulating him, in fact, almost all the characters on screen have some hand in manipulating him. Of course he does not realize this until after he's "merged" with RahXephon and escapes Tokyo-Jupiter. Over the course of the first DVD there are many, many questions left unanswered. What are the large "D-1" class weapons? Why do some "people" bleed blue blood? What are the characters agendas? To expound on the story further would truly be ruining such a grand (at least hints of it) experience.
 
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