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Evangelion vs. Rahxephon.


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SinnerTim



Joined: 06 Jan 2007
Posts: 61
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:00 pm Reply with quote
THIS IS NOT A THREAD MEANT FOR ARGUEING! I'M NOT TRYING TO DETERMINE WHICH IS BETTER OR DEMEAN ONE OR THE OTHER!

Just had to put that out there right away.

I just noticed how many people have Rahxephon on their top ten lists and was just curious on people's opinions on these two shows. It seems like nowadays not many people show Eva love anymore. I noticed that most people liked the one they saw first more than the other, just wondering if that was the case.

Personally, I like Eva more. Then again, I did see it first, and when I watched Rahxephon I just kept noticeing all the similarities between the two and it really took me out of the show. Plus the characters seemed so much more one dimensional and not very memorable.

So? Thoughts...
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guet



Joined: 17 Jan 2008
Posts: 492
Location: Sparta
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:28 pm Reply with quote
Hmm, I wonder if this thread can stay civil. Well, I am bored, so will throw my opinion out there.

First, NGE no one can deny the impact this show had on the industry, or on the people who watched it. This was my first serious series that I watched way back when. The greatness of this show can not be questioned. However, the original ending was horrible, it was rushed, confusing, and did not satisfy me in the least. I did watch the movies and enjoyed the revised story and I consider them masterpieces in their own right. The only other complaint was in my opinion that Shinji is one of the most annoying leads ever. So many times in the series did I wish I could actually somehow animate myself just so I could slap some sense into the kid. The other charectors in the show are among my favorites ever.

Next RahXephon. This show gets a bad rap as being nothing but a rip-off of evangelion. I have to disagree. This show is at its heart, a love story. That could not be further from the center of evangelion that is itself more of a story of one boy struggling with his self-worth. The methods used to tell each story are similar. I enjoyed this show mainly because of how well done the story was. Emotionally I could relate more to Ayato than I ever could with Shinji.

Does that mean I like one show more than the other? No, I enjoyed both shows, I think RahXephon owes a lot to Evangelion but both shows bring something differant in their stories, and both are a must watch in my opinion.

Edited for spelling mistakes. I am sure there are still some left, so my apologies for that.
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Xenofan 29A



Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 378
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:48 pm Reply with quote
Like the last poster, Evangelion was the first "serious" anime I saw (that I liked, at least). However, I don't care at all about its impact on the industry. More than that, I went into watching it without knowing at all how popular it was, or how many detractors it had. I think that if anything, the wave of Evangelion rip-offs and shameless murchandising that the show caused are awful. However, I love the series itself, including its original ending (but that's another debate entirely). It remains one of the best anime, artistically, that I have seen.

I watched RahXephon not long after I saw Eva, and I still had it fresh in my mind. I didn't see it then, and I still don't see it, as a rip-off, although it contains elements of overt homage at times. The show is a good work in its own right, and I enjoy the scipting and visual quality of Izubuchi's work. The show has great pacing, directing, and music, as well as an intangible "artistic sense" that I find in all the works that I like best.

Of all the shows often compared with Evangelion, I have found that RahXephon is the best (with Eureka SeveN not too far behind). However, although RahXephon is very good (which is the rating that I gave it personally) I find Evangelion to have more meaning. The direction in RahXephon is good, but I think Evangelion's direction is better. The writing in RahXephon is good, but I think that Evangelion's writing is better.

The two shows are not diametrically opposed, as some fans of one or the other try to claim. I enjoy both of them, and I'm glad that others do as well. (But yeah, I think this will probably devolve into a debate...)
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6902
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:04 pm Reply with quote
You may want to have a look at these threads:

animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=38114
animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=25672
animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15724

Ironically, all these threads came up when I was searching for yet another "Teenagers pilot mecha against mysterious invaders" series, namely Fafner.
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HMMcKamikaze



Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Posts: 189
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:10 pm Reply with quote
Since I haven't seen NGE I can't say anything about it besides what I've heard (which is that the lead is too whiny), but I have seen RahXephon and it is definitely my favorite anime show. The story had a great pace, and even though it had mechas, the fighting wasn't the focus of the show, and it didn't even fill up whole episodes. The whole cast of characters were really fleshed out well, and there were no real good guys or villains in the end because everyone was too complex to fit into those roles. I also liked the overall message of the show, and how uplifting it was. spoiler[Faced with the task of creating an entirely new world] I thought that for a relatively average 17 year old Ayato made some excellent choices, especially since he realized the most important thing was love. The ending was good because it reaffirmed that message when the show could have ended on an entirely different note.
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Veoryn87



Joined: 14 Nov 2006
Posts: 808
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 8:27 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed NGE, but I only found it entertaining. The characters weren't very likable to me and the drop in animation quality in the later part of the series hurt my enjoyment of it. Rahxephon, however, is one of my favorite anime. I either loved the characters (Megumi) or loved to hate them (Mokoto). I was so compelled by it felt their pain and their happiness. The storyline was more solid and I loved the shows artistry. While it definitely has elements in it that were obviously inspired by Eva, it's not a rip-off. The characters and storyline are their own.

And yes, I did see Rah first. That may have influenced my opinion.
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Ryvius213



Joined: 03 Aug 2006
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:33 pm Reply with quote
I actually saw Evangelion first, but I like Rahxephon more. I have always been a fan of abstract ideas and interpretations. Evangelion was a great series, but I felt the writing and execution could have been better. In theory, it was interesting, but the actual execution is somewhat inconsistent. It felt like the creators tried to jam too much information in at the last minute.

Rahxephon on the other hand, does little explaining, and relies more on the viewer's interpretation on what happens in the series. While Evangelion tried to give you all the information, Rahxephon gives pieces of the story here and there, allowing the viewer to piece it together themselves, and leaving just enough pieces missing to allow the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions. Furthermore, Rahxephon's execution and direction are more consistent than Evangelion's, with a darker atmosphere and tone throughout the whole series. But perhaps that was because of Evangelion's time slot(early in the morning), which may have pressured the creators of Evangelion to not make Evangelion's atmosphere and tone TOO dark.
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SharinganEye



Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 402
Location: Les Etats-Unis d'Amérique
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:58 pm Reply with quote
I first watched Evangelion when I was like, eight, so it left a pretty deep impression in me.

When I watched RahXephon, I couldn't help noticing all the superficial similarities.

http://www.evaxephon.com/

What made Eva fun for me was that it got me interested in psychology and philosophy, as well as religion. I had a blast researching the in-world mythos/concepts as well as the external connections. The series was very very meaty for me. It was my first "serious" anime, because the other shows I'd been watching at the time were just cartoons to my eyes. Sure Galaxy Express 999 was fun, but it was just a cartoon. I could feel that something was different with NGE from the moment I watched it.

I finally got a chance to watch it again a few years ago, and still as amazing as I remembered it.
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Ryvius213



Joined: 03 Aug 2006
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:01 pm Reply with quote
SharinganEye wrote:

I don't really like that site. Some of the comparisons are credible, but others are VERY loosely similar, and most of them aren't actually from Evangelion, but rather anime series in general.(i.e. using arms to shield from and explosion, a mysterious girl with angelic wings, main character gets blood on his hands)


Last edited by Ryvius213 on Tue Feb 05, 2008 10:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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SharinganEye



Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 402
Location: Les Etats-Unis d'Amérique
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:04 pm Reply with quote
Ryvius213 wrote:
Rahxephon on the other hand, does little explaining, and relies more on the viewer's interpretation on what happens in the series. While Evangelion tried to give you all the information, Rahxephon gives pieces of the story here and there, allowing the viewer to piece it together themselves, and leaving just enough pieces missing to allow the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions. Furthermore, Rahxephon's execution and direction are more consistent than Evangelion's, with a darker atmosphere and tone throughout the whole series. But perhaps that was because of Evangelion's time slot(early in the morning), which may have pressured the creators of Evangelion to not make Evangelion's atmosphere and tone TOO dark.
Totally opposite from what I got from the two series.

Eva was aired in the morning (like 7 o' clock morning)? You sure?

'Cause a 1 in the morning timeslot probably had the opposite effect on this "said" toning down.
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Ryvius213



Joined: 03 Aug 2006
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:05 pm Reply with quote
SharinganEye wrote:

Eva was aired in the morning (like 7 o' clock morning)? You sure?

'Cause a 1 in the morning timeslot probably had the opposite effect on this "said" toning down.
It originally aired early in the morning, then it was re-run in a late-night time slot.

Rahxephon had the advantage of a 2 AM timeslot, giving the creators more options on what they could and couldn't use in the series.
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SharinganEye



Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 402
Location: Les Etats-Unis d'Amérique
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:15 pm Reply with quote
Ryvius213 wrote:
It originally aired early in the morning, then it was re-run in a late-night time slot.

Rahxephon had the advantage of a 2 AM timeslot, giving the creators more options on what they could and couldn't use in the series.
Well yeah. I thought you meant the whole run of the series.

But I hardly see how RahXephon is any "darker" or more liberal in its plot concepts and presentation than Evangelion. Quite the opposite I'd say. It got moved because it didn't do well, so I hardly think its timeslot had much bearing on what they didn't do in Eva.
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Ryvius213



Joined: 03 Aug 2006
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:47 pm Reply with quote
SharinganEye wrote:

But I hardly see how RahXephon is any "darker" or more liberal in its plot concepts and presentation than Evangelion. Quite the opposite I'd say. It got moved because it didn't do well, so I hardly think its timeslot had much bearing on what they didn't do in Eva.
sorry, Maybe I should've been more specific. The spoiler[battle arc(episodes 7-14)] had a different tone from the rest of Evangelion.(they were more like monster-of-the-week episodes, compared to the rest of the series) True, Evangelion got much darker toward the end, but I felt that the spoiler[battle arc] was an attempt by the creators to make Evangelion more suitable for its original timeslot. It's pretty apparent they gave up on that idea at some point. Rahxephon also had a monster-of-the-week formula at some point, but those episodes were more focused on characters and what drive them, which often affected the outcome of the battles.


Last edited by Ryvius213 on Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:38 pm; edited 2 times in total
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SharinganEye



Joined: 01 Feb 2005
Posts: 402
Location: Les Etats-Unis d'Amérique
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:55 pm Reply with quote
I can see that. I liked Eva for its eclectic mix and a slow evolution process throughout, turning out into what it was.

I want to rewatch RahXephon now. Thank Jebus for thinpaks.
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DClark



Joined: 11 Aug 2007
Posts: 110
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:19 pm Reply with quote
In my opinion Evangelion seemed to take a few more risks with its storyline and its direction, while RahXephon played it a bit safer to try to be more appealing. I'm of the opinion that RahXephon is the kind of series that if you loved Evangelion you'll probably at least like RahXephon, while if you hated Evangelion you'll probably still like RahXephon.

I personally think Evangelion is the better of the two series, however both are worthy additions to any anime collection.
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