How the Fullmetal Alchemist Studio Made the Best Evangelion Clone

Neon Genesis Evangelion graced Japanese television in October 1995, changing the anime landscape. Japanese viewers couldn’t get enough of the show’s strange imagery, dialogue exchanges, unique mobile designs, and its overall existential tone and themes. Almost immediately, other animation studios attempted to replicate Evangelion‘s success by incorporating elements of the series into their own mecha shows. Few anime were straight-up Evangelion clones, but the show’s influences can be felt in many series. Studio Bones, which would eventually animate the acclaimed Fullmetal Alchemist anime adaptations, would construct arguably the most blatant Evangelion clone with RahXephon.

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While many fans would defend RahXephon as being its unique property separate from Evangelion, some of the similarities are too on-the-nose to ignore. So much of the aesthetics in RahXephon are similar to Evangelion. Both shows leaned heavily on the subconscious and mental illness. Both anime have mysterious young girls who are key to changing the world, and the main character has weird mommy issues. Many fans argue that these similarities are superficial. Yet it ultimately doesn’t really matter, as RahXephon offers just as much value as Evangelion. RahXephon is honestly one of the underrated anime of the 2000s and is worth watching, despite its status as a supposed Evangelion clone.

Is RahXephon Actually an Evangelion Clone?

Many anime fans believe that labeling an anime a clone of another anime is superficial and doesn’t capture the nuisance of art. RahXephon fans often believe its comparison to Evangelion is perfunctory, as there are plenty of dissimilarities between the two series. Evangelion is much more abstract, using imagery to convey an emotional response rather than following in a strictly logical sense. RahXephon is more about artistic expression and time distortion. Ayato Kamina, the protagonist of RahXephon, is much more independent and assertive than Shinji from Evangelion. RahXephon is more focused on lost childhood and music, with a deeper focus on the lead’s school life and drama. In contrast, Evangelion is more of a study about depression and humanity’s desire for connection.

Nonetheless, the comparisons between RahXephon and Evangelion aren’t completely unfounded. Many of RahXephon’s imagery and designs feel evocative of Evangelion, including the titular mecha. The RahXephon mecha is very humanoid, like an EVA, and has biblical connotations connected to it. Both series featured protagonists with complicated relationships with their mothers, with mysterious, oddball girls serving as proxies to their mothers. RahXephon also uses angel-like creatures known as Dolems for the protagonists to fight against. Both series leave certain plot points vague and up to the viewer’s interpretation, though RahXephon is comparatively more coherent than Evangelion.

RahXephon Is a Great Anime, No Matter How It’s Classified

It should be noted that Evangelion took plenty of inspiration from other anime shows, most notably from the works of Yoshiyuki Tomino. The similarities between RahXephon and Evangelion may stem from shared inspirations. RahXephon was also more directly inspired by the classic anime series Reideen the Brave. Nevertheless, whatever similarities it has with Evangelion, RahXephon remains a beautiful anime. Bones is one of the best animation studios in Japan, and imbues RahXephon with the same fluid animation that made Fullmetal Alchemist a hit. RahXephon also has more romance and character drama than Evangelion, with an inherently more likable, yet still flawed, cast of characters.

There is a genuine story about losing your childhood and the importance of artistic expression that feels impactful in RahXephon. The way the series handles time travel is fascinating, establishing a situation in which some characters aged faster than others in an interesting and incredibly sci-fi way. The tragic moments in RahXephon hit very hard, with some heartbreak and character deaths being sincerely powerful. There are moments from RahXephon that feel obtuse for the sake of being confusing, and its attempts to capture that same abstractness as Evangelion never work as well. Yet despite that, RahXephon is a fantastic series that deserves to be watched by all types of mecha fans. The series does have something different to say about the human experience than Evangelion, and should be viewed as its own entity.

Have you watched RahXephon? Or does another Evangelion clone stand out to you? Let us know in the comments below!