RahXephon: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

RahXephon: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

A steelbook alternative... with better cover-art.

Reviewed by Neil Lumbard June 21, 2022

Rahxephon is an exciting action-adventure anime with an ambitious art style. The anime series comes from animation production studio powerhouse BONES (Bungo Stray Dogs, Eureka Seven). The series aired on Japan on Fuji Television Network. Based on the original manga by creator Yutaka Izubuchi, Rahxephon was licensed for release on home media in North America by Sentai Filmworks. The anime series is a collaboration of producers Daisuke Kawakami, Go Haruna, Katsuharu Nagata, Masahiko Minami, and Shiro Sasaki.

One of the most epic battles of all time is set to unfold. An alien species known as the Mu have been fighting with humans for over 15 years. These alien invaders are now on their last legs as they find themselves becoming trapped within the dome of Tokyo, Japan. The human beings fighting these invaders are tasked with more dangerous perils as the city loses power.

Ayato Kamina (Hiro Shimono), a brave individual, seeks the truth. Ayato meets a beautiful woman from beyond the boundary of the city dome named Haruka Shitow (Aya Hisakawa). Everything starts to come in to focus – and become more complex all at once. An alien plan is unfolding and the plan represents something that will change humanity forever. Can humanity survive to see another day?

The animation is one of the strongest elements of the series. The art direction is by Junichi Higashi (City Hunter, Case Closed). The series has a lovely artistic style with excellent background animation. This is certainly an ambitious series with a robust and colorful creative style. The art is well drawn and has ambition in spades. The effort here is certainly rewarding and one of the most spectacular aspects.

The character designs by Hiroki Kanno (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Yu Yu Hakusho) are vast and imaginative. The designs are exquisite for the character designs. Each of the respective leading cast members looks well-detailed. There is a clear sense of uniqueness to each of these designs and everything about these designs is impressively realized by the talented team of animators involved with the production.

A beautiful steelbook edition.

The mecha designs by Michiaki Sato (Mars Daybreak, Area 88) and Yoshinori Sayama (Patlabor the Mobile Police, Birdy the Mighty) are outstanding. One of the best elements of the entire series production, the mecha designs fit the tone of the series and its ambitious nature. Fans of other animated mecha series will appreciate the efforts by the animators to bring these elements to life.

The cinematography by Naoyuki Ohba (Ghost Hound, Kino's Journey) is exquisite. Rahxephon is a stunningly realized achievement in animated cinematography. Ohba is an immensely talented cinematographer and he manages to imbue the production with a lot of creative energy. The exploration of the storytelling universe is all the more imaginative because of Ohba.

The original score composed by Ichiko Hashimoto (Clover, Code Geass: Akito the Exiled) is superb. Rahxephon is an anime series with a strong musical backbone. The score helps to lift the setting forward: bringing the characters to the center stage with a sense of whimsy. The score adds a compelling element to the entire production and makes it all the more ambitious in scale. Outstanding.

Written and Directed by Yutaka Izubuchi (Star Blazers 2199, Space Battleship Yamato 2199), who co-wrote the series alongside other lead co-screenwriters, Chiaki J. Konaka, Hiroshi Ohnogi, and Ichiro Okouchi, Rahxephon is an anime with a clear vision and sense of scale. Director Izubuchi explores the storytelling universe with a sense of whimsy, imagination, and magic. These elements are what help to make Rahxephon such a success on the whole.

RahXephon: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Rahxephon is presented in the original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The series is an upscale from standard definition material. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be an impressive presentation for viewers to enjoy. The encode is decent-enough for what it presents but the source footage (and upscaling effort) is altogether lackluster and disappointing. A underwhelming presentation which won't please anyone who considers video quality to be an important element.

RahXephon: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. The audio is considerably more impressive than the video presentation. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The score composed by Ichiko Hashimoto is well integrated in to the sound design. Music sounds crystal clear and well balanced. Surround sound fans will appreciate the more engaging sound mix on the English dub option (while purists, who prefer the original Japanese language audio, will also be pleased to have this option on the release).

RahXephon: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The collectors edition includes a collectible steelbook package. The release has a different cover art (and slip-cover) to the main standard edition. The on disc supplements on the release remain the same (as described below).

Rahxephon: The Motion Picture - Pluralitas Concentio (HD, 1:58:42) in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound (with English subtitles) or English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. The feature film is encoded in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition.

Special Features Disc:

Special 1: "Her and Herself" (HD, 15:32)

Special 2: "Memory" (HD, 35:42)

Fate of Katun Music Video (SD, 4:59)

Production Art (HD, 2:25)

Production Sketches (HD, 9:07)

Original Japanese Cover Art (HD, 1:08)

Japanese Previews (HD, 4:54)

Japanese BD & DVD Promos (HD, 2:16)

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 3:04)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Additional Extras from the Archive:

Interview with Hiroki Kanno (SD, 9:26)

Interviews with the Japanese Staff & Cast of Rahxephon (SD, 20:18)

Interview with English Cast (SD, 13:49)

Interview with English Cast II (SD, 42:28)

Interview with English Cast – Finale (SD, 44:13)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Vinland Saga (HD, 1:32), Dororo (HD, 1:32), The Big O (HD, 1:13), and Babylon (HD, 1:34).  

RahXephon: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rahxephon is an entertaining anime series with compelling creativity, ambition, and animation. The series has a strong story and interesting characters. The production team did a solid job. The only downside to the release is a lackluster and disappointing video presentation. Sourced from only mediocre standard-definition materials, the video is often a blurry mess and fails to live up to expectations. The series is worth checking out but the release might leave some fans cringing. As a silver lining, steelbook fans might be pleased with the collectors edition design (even if the ugly looking video presentation within might leave one quivering with fear).