There's definite Eva influences, however, these influences does not mean RahXephone is a replica of Eva. RahXephone should be viewed on its own merits, because while the two series explore similar themes, they are DIFFERENT! And THANK God for the differences, NO one in the series is as annoying as the Eva characters, and the ending is much nicer! And you think Eva was a mind-binder, try watching this series. I'm just glad this series didn't fall into the 'let's play with Christian religion' I was getting really sick of that. Really sick of it.

The relationships between the characters is not what you think they are. The first half of the series set up many romantic possibilities, but as the series progreses, and more and more are revealed about the characters, you just realsise how implausible some of the earlier hints for romantic relations are. To put it simply, the series not only mislead you, they also purposely avoid a few of the stereotypes about romance that's abound in anime. Mind you, the choice of romance between Ayato and 'spoiler' make me wants to cry. It's sad, and at times heart wrenching, but just remember, the ending of this series is much more friendly than Eva. Much more.

Ayato Kamina (main lead) is not a wimp, and settles into everything much faster than one would expect. That include piloting, and he has SOCIAL skills. The boy is relatively charming and nice, but he can also be quite petty and vindictive, and yes, he gets angry.

The few times he went wimpy was because, well, let's just say everything he believed in got turned upside down on him, and he goes completely, uhh, comatose, but as I said he gets over it rather fast (ah, the wonders of youth), and while he also gets over his childish moments very fast. Overall, much more likable and much more assertive. Definitely more assertive.

And the female characters aren't annoying. They're actually useful and intelligent. Sure, a few of them are down right creepy, but damn they are interesting. And I'm not just speaking of Maya here. Quan and Mashima (Ishitori) are equally creepy, if not in the same ways.

Oh yeah, the family tree in RahXephone is really fucked. I dare anyone to try and map out the familial relations. It truly boggles the mind.

The series is one big, giant mind-fuck. I mean really big, it screws with the mind, and there are many occassions when you're not sure WTF is happning, but ohh, the mind- fuck. I LOVE this aspect of it. LOVE it.

RahXephone is also beautiful, and at times gut wrenching. The Hiroko episode broke my heart. The storyline is fascinating, all the characters are well developed and interesting, and the main character isn't overly annoying (and when he was, it was understandable. Most of the time). And damn, I'm still trying to get over certain aspects of the series (in a good way).

Despite its ending, the series make me want to cry. There's an underlining sadness that never gets overwhelming but is always present. I should really like this series (it has everything that marks a series as wonderful for me), yet, there's just something about it that won't allow me to adore it as much as I should. One day I might even be able to figure out why.

However, I want fanfiction for this series. Good fanfiction.

And now, a few questions for those who have seen ALL of RahXephone.

( Oestions that lead to SPOILERS for the WHOLE series )

I have more questions, but I need time to internalise a few more ideas first. But yeah, beautiful series.