Soukyuu no Fafner: overall review

Well, I dl this anime actually out of curiosity, as the graphics were most probably drawn by the same pple who did gundam seed and destiny. Made some background checks just in case, and what I read wasn't very encouraging. Most prominent criticism was the lack of originality. The idea of powerful mysterious beings invading earth, and having kids pilot robots to save what's left of the human race was "too wonderfully" depicted by Neon Genesis Evangelion. Thus, Fafner was labeled a copycat, and it could not exceed NGE by most reviewers' standards. Ha! But i chose to watch it anyway. Guess wat? I was pleasantly surprised. Although the general concept of the plot was similar to NGE, fortunately, the specifics weren't. If I'm not wrong, NGE didn't have the idea of assimilation. The concept of existence vs nothingness was very appealing, at least to me. (So, it can be re-used as many times as possible, I'd still be tempted to watch. Rahxephon, Aquarion, here I come!) NGE probably had it(can't remember), but credits to Fafner for bringing it across in a simpler way. Sorry, but sad to say, I'm not a being of great intellect - I couldn't understand NGE's philosophy. Anyway, the pluses to Fafner also include the quality of the graphics. Given that the same bunch of pple drew GS, shouldn't be that surprised XD. The characters are just plain loveable! (I love Tsubaki-chan and Mizoguchi-san!!) So, it was rather sad to see some die/assimilated. Well, one thing I MUST point out is the OSTs and OPED tracks. Fabulous background music, and fantastic vocals by Angela. Personal favourite is "Proof" and "Separation (Piano version)". Some complains though. The characters always have some "lines" on their faces. They can't be blushing all the time, so I thought it was to accentuate thier cheekbones. But. Is it necessary? Luckily they don't do it for GS & GSD. It's just not nice. Also, the relationship between Soushi and Kazuki is so exaggerated. If either one of them was of different gender, I could've sworn they had sth more than friendship going on there. In addition, the writers had included Maya and Shouko to have special feelings towards Kazuki, and deliberate Kazuki/Maya moments. Then, Soushi seems to have special feelings towards Maya too!! This just makes me so confused with the apparent yaoiness. I mean, either he is or he's not. Overall, this anime has created a special place in my heart for me to claim it as a favourite. It has its flaws but what can I say, I'm a sucker for shows with great characters.