Anime Review & Critical Analysis: RahXephon
It is with a heavy heart that I present the anime I tried to watch over January term at school: RahXephon. This anime had so much potential in my mind and as I entered into it I had only good thoughts and high expectations. Yet it seems that all this high worthy praise ended in utter frustration. RahXephon is a great anime at its core and brings an interesting approach to the mecha world. That of song. When I was watching about the history and story of the mechs themselves I found myself entirely happy and pleased with the anime. Yet everything else falls flat: from characters to pacing. This anime has gained too much praise for what is ultimately an utterly boring and uninteresting piece of "art" (of which it makes great pretentious claims to be). I am suppose to believe that our main character, Ayato, is the reluctant hero, the hero not wishing to be one but to simply go home--to not face change. Reality for him is what the Mu people have provided and because of this he has grown comfortable with such a rule because he has known nothing else. When he encounters others from the "outside" I can understand that to him such people are foreign, strange, and seemingly ruthless compared to the Mu's more efficient way of tackling hostility. Everything about the Mu is rigid and clean-cut. They are like machines in their precision and yet their entire society of mechs and protection is ventured into the art of imagination, song, and sound. Yet even this seems a means to an end--a utilitarian approach to the beauty and harmony of music. This is why, it seems fitting, that RahXephon is considered the one to harmonize the world--he is to bring peace, beauty, and true art back into the world of Tokyo Jupiter. His goal seems entirely counter to the Mu but it is through the Mu that he is even born which seems to form a paradox.
While I understand and can imagine these nuances in thought, how they are handled on screen is a let down. It is as though the creators took such an interesting story, combining different elements familiar enough in narrative, mecha anime history, and the power of sound and made it fall stale and as utilitarian as its antagonists, of sorts. (Though, in some ways, in the beginning we see them more as protagonists considering Ayato's reflections on those outside of Tokyo Jupiter.) Ayato himself is like Oliver Twist is in, well, Oliver Twist--much less interesting than the villains and highly under-developed. You know you are supposed to like him. You know he is suppose to be the reluctant hero and all of the challenges and pitfalls that come with such a title. You know he is suppose to be somewhat aloof to those around him in both Tokyo Jupiter and outside of it. But even knowing these things you look at him and go, "He is supposed to lead our story?" He is a weak character, devoid of true depth and story. What I put into him such as the reluctant hero, and the boy wishing to be with enemy more than actually tackle the problem his world presents, is much more interesting than he himself actually is. You can see what he is supposed to be but he never meets those expectations in a vibrant or impactful way. He just hops from episode to episode just going along with everything and never actually giving me a reason to understand some of the choices he makes.
At one point he doesn't want to help TERRA but then ten minutes later he is helping them--and you don't know his reasoning until the end of the episode. What is his reasoning for this sudden change since it seemed that he was so against helping them--because he can. Because he can? Don't get me wrong I see Ayato as more of a character who just does things because they are in-front of him and he sees no reason to not do them, but really: this is my entire answer for a half-an-hour worth of confusion? Because you can do so? Where was your conviction and passion from before? Where was your loathing? In those moments Ayato seems a much more interesting, developing character. Here Ayato has the potential to be convicted and sure of his stance in the world, regardless if he is going to move away from that or not--you begin to be shown that, not told it should happen because the particular narrative demands it. You see that he will not just suddenly ditch everything he has known, and trusted, and just help people claiming to be saviors, good guys, heroes. He knows and trusts what the Mu have brought and provided him with.
It was in that short instance that I thought this anime could wipe clean its horrific pacing and development. It explains next to nothing and while I love when things are not vomited at me at once, allowing me to want more and seek to understand disparate parts, RahXephon poorly handles this narrative technique by simply being difficult to be difficult and calls it art. (Not to mention that just because you can make obscure literary and historical references does not make your art any better--it just makes your art pretentiously, cultured bad art, which is even worse since you should know better.) There are things that need to be explained for me to keep track with what is happening. I don't want you to tell me everything I need to know episodes later when I should have known it in episode 2. Because of this the pacing is off--way off. Not even mentioning characters, since I still need to deal with that loose baggy monster, the pacing of this show is too fast even though it sports 26 episodes to its name, an average, decent length. I have watched 12 episode shows with more depth and character than this show has offered me in the seven episodes I tried to binge through. (Trying to finish this anime is like pulling teeth for myself. I still need to watch 3 more episodes before I decide I am out of this anime for good.) It should be pointed out, before I continue, for those of you who may suggest that I have no right to criticize an anime while only having watched seven episodes--how many episodes should it take to hold good, powerful prose and dialogue? I would say at least 5-10 in terms of laying the seeds of plot but it should take the first episode to be thoughtful, engaging, and well made. However, just because it takes that long for the plot to develop should not mean that I should forgive an anime for being confusing moreso than it has right to be; or, that it has terrible character development. Trust me, watching this anime's seven episodes told me that the pacing and development of characters was never going to improve from day one.
Moving back to my point, just because you have more episodes to explain things and reveal plot points does not mean you have permission to be obscure with how characters approach subjects, or what those subjects are; nor does it mean you just give up and make it "fast-paced" while inevitably just making it a poorly paced story that goes too fast when it should slow down, or, of course, go too slow when it should be telling me certain things by now. Most episodes leave me wanting because I just don't understand what they want me to know beyond the obvious--here's Ayato, here's the "bad guys," here's Ayato's friends, oh and here's the "peril will begin to shove this hero to actually becoming a hero." It hits these points but does so with no life--it is dull and strangely uninteresting given the fact that the animation of their mechs and the concepts developed around them is beautiful and eye-catching. RahXephon is a gorgeous, ethereal mech that demands a god-like reverence. When RahXephon is on screen I have nothing but praise for this series--he truly is the star of the show and most of my praise and joy comes from seeing his design, his interactions, and his beautiful harmonizing melody that will bring harmony to the chaos.
But they somehow make RahXephon seem like a beautiful flower in a wasteland--nothing is worth seeing but it. And RahXephon is in this anime too little to actually make it worth watching because they deal with him so poorly in the scheme of their story. How can such a beautiful concept seem dull? Well because those surrounding him are so. I have no reason to care for these people and I am so apathetic to both sides that it is amazing anyone stays awake to even find out what is going on in this story. It feels like I go from jump-cut to jump-cut with all of the plot, development, and depth lost in those jumps. I do not understand why any of the characters do what they do because they just throw themselves into the plot and go, "You should like me now! You need to pay attention: I am important! Listen to me because I have given you no reason to! This is suppose to be emotional so feel what I am shoving down your throat!"
The very first episode does this when it introduces Haruka, a person key to Ayato's development as a hero and sensitive character (I assume), she just yells at him and believes he is going to listen. The thing is--Ayato is entirely unfazed by everything that is happening to him when he meets these people. He doesn't act realistically even though I am to believe he should. There is no law stating that just because your character is more aloof means they handle stress and random people as though he has known them all his life. And Haruka seems attached to Ayato for no reason. She seems almost to love him--but why? She didn't know him. She still doesn't really know him but then she will just go into these sad, depressed moments (in episodes 1-2 mind you) and go, "Ayato..." *sad look and distance gaze*. Why? Well I guess we are suppose to learn to care for Ayato as more important and that Haruka will provide the emotion he lacks. But they start building the roof before they have even provided the foundation. I need to understand that this is their relationship implicitly or explicitly with more than one look and her yelling at him to listen to her--a total stranger. There is no reason that in the space of time they have known each other that she can have this much attachment and emotion to such a character as Ayato who just goes through the motions of his life. There is nothing there for her to be emotional about when she does not even know who he is beyond the fact that he is "the one."
I would say this is the only relationship handled this way but it isn't. Every single woman acts like this towards him. Every. Single. One. One girl starts out loathing him but because he's the main character she likes him by the end of the episode. Also, pulling the, "He's not who I thought he'd be" card only works when we have seen that Ayato is counter to what everyone believes he is. Granted, he is not an evil scum bag, of course not, but I have no reason to believe he is this kind and caring guy ad nauseam when I can hardly understand what he is going to do in any given situation since apparently he'll be a normal teenager to some people, an ass to others, randomly throw fits about dumb things, or just completely shove everything that has made his character thus far because the plot demands it. You couldn't at least give him two episodes to go through his doubts with TERRA? No; we just solve that in a thirty-minute segment and just move on to nothing of importance. I'm not even joking--this anime thinks that adding random episodes of going to the beach or some nonsense actually makes this anime better when it is there for no reason. None. Because it fails at doing what I believe it is attempting to do--develop characters.
Characters themselves act very much like Haruka does: with no true understanding of why they are so attached to him. Or, for the case of their doctor, why he even feels the need to add his ridiculous conclusions about things. You can clearly tell what each character is meant to be and what stereotype or role they play. I am fine with stereotypes but they need to be handled in such a way as to make this character an individual. So to speak, uniquely human. I am fine with mischievous, dark, and mysterious doctor types but make this one interesting by developing him in such a way as to be his own character not just another horrid version of the trope.
Beyond this, characters pop into this anime like rabbits popping out babies in spring. They throw these characters at me, expect me to like them or care about them in ten minutes, and then move on to something else. You can't do that when first introducing new characters. New characters tell Ayato their life story at odd points...because I guess they can too. Everything about this anime ends up being awkward, poorly timed, or just boring. I have never felt a mecha anime such as this could be boring when it has such an interesting history to its own mechs. Don't let anyone fool you when they claim this anime is a piece of high art when it cannot even handle the basics of story-telling and plot correctly. You can throw as many references to stuff I am suppose to awe over and go, "You're cultured and smart," but if it lacks true substance and intellectual thought and rigor then you have just left me with a bunch of obscure references with nothing to hold them together. RahXephon tries to show off like a peacock and parade around claiming to be the best, most inventive of mech animes. The directors or animators themselves may not have said so but the anime itself tells it all. But what it doesn't show in this anime is true heart, great character development, and solid pacing to match its showy display. RahXephon himself falls utterly short when he is nestled into a story that actually makes him underwhelming. And since this anime (tries) to focus on the psychological, internal life of its characters rather than fights and explosions, characters need to be solid to hold the anime together. It is fundamental that what is suppose to drive your anime is not man-handled or sacrificed for pretentious mumbo jumbo.
If you enjoy mecha animes stay clear away from this one. I'd much rather being watching Neon Genesis Evangelion which I sacrificed watching for this anime. Heck, even my old favorite Gundam Wing anime (that is quite bad and cheesy but hilarious) Moblie Fighter G Gundam does a better job at developing characters than this anime does. If you have the stomach to make it through this anime and find something much worthy than me--I tip my hat to you. But otherwise, take my advice--don't bother because ultimately you will be dragged in by RahXephon's amazing concept and end up ditching the anime because of everything else.