RahXephon

RahXephon (ラーゼフォン) is a science fiction anime television series about young Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a god-like mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place with the world around him. There is also a manga adaptation of the anime, created by Yutaka Izubuchi and BONES, with artwork from Takeaki Momose.

The television series was produced by ADV Films, aired from January 21-September 10, 2002, ran for 26 episodes, and 7 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD. Additionally, there is a movie that summarizes the whole story, taking most of the scenes from the TV episodes, but also featuring a couple of new shots. The anime was released in Singapore by Odex. The manga is published in English in North America by Viz Communications, and it is published in English in Singapore by Chuang Yi.

The story has been influenced by the writings of James Churchward (no spoilers), writings that Ayato Kamina is familiar with.

Contents

1 Plot 2 Characters 3 Influences 4 Comparison to other Anime 5 Cultural commentary 6 The Dolems 7 See also 8 External links

Plot

The premise of RahXephon is the fight between Humans, and pan-dimensional invaders known as the Mulians, short Mu (pronounced "moo", or "moo-li-ans"). The Mu appear to be human; the only consistent physical difference seems to be their blue blood. The Mu first invaded in the late 1990's, and after some fighting with Humans involving nuclear weapons, they envelope the entire city of Tokyo and some outlying suburbs in a transdimensional sphere resembling Jupiter. It is referred to as Tokyo-Jupiter. Nothing may cross this "absolute barrier", although it turns out that with enough power and technology it is possible to cross and even destroy it. The Mu control Tokyo, and the citizens are in effect cut off from the entire rest of the world, and are led to believe that the rest of the Earth has been destroyed. The barrier has a time dilation effect, and time passes much more slowly inside Tokyo-Jupiter.

Although RahXephon is usually placed in the mecha category of anime, its "mechas" aren't mechanical at all. They are referred to as "Dolems". This name is derived from the first three notes in the C major scale, "Do-Re-Mi". It also sounds like "golem" and the Italian word "dolere" (to hurt). Dolems are made of clay and are animated by an unknown force resembling magic. Further, each Dolem is controlled by a pilot, and the pilot is bound to the Dolem. When a Dolem is destroyed, its pilot is killed as well.

The underlying theme of RahXephon is one of music and sound. Dolem pilots are referred to as "instrumentalists". Each of the Mulian Dolems has an Italian name from musical notation, like "Allegretto", "Falsetto", or "Crescendo". The ultimate goal of the RahXephon is to "tune the world".

Characters

Main article: Characters in RahXephon

This section represents the story as told in the television series. The manga and movie are different in some respects, including cutting and compositing characters.

At the beginning of RahXephon Ayato Kamina is a modest 17 year old living in Tokyo. Not exactly a model student, he enjoys his spare time painting and being with his class mates Hiroko Asahina and Mamoru Torigai. Ayato's mother Maya spends a lot of her time at work, making his relationship with her rather distant though still loving.

Reika Mishima, another class mate of Ayato's, meets him during an attack on Tokyo and leads him to the RahXephon. Haruka Shitow, an agent of the agency TERRA, takes Ayato and the RahXephon away from Tokyo to TERRA's base at Nirai Kanai in the southern islands of Japan.

At Nirai Kanai, Ayato helps fight Mu's Dolems with the RahXephon. He gets to know the TERRA personnel, Megumi Shitow, Jin Kunugi, Elvy Hadhiyat, and Dr. Itsuki Kisaragi among them, and moves in with professor Rikudoh, Haruka's uncle. Quon Kisaragi, living with Dr. Kisaragi, is a girl that seems to share some of Ayato's abilities; she is a musician.

Ernst von Bahbem of the Bähbem Foundation pulls strings behind the curtain. Journalists and officials from the Federation, a future UN, take an interest in the operations of TERRA.

Many of the characters have family relations (by blood or adoption), friendships and romantic relationships that are revealed as the series progresses. Some of them are profoundly surprising, but the hints to them can often be found earlier in the series and hidden in plain sight.

Influences

RahXephon has many references to the Mayan culture. The Dolem's control system appears to consist of the pilot wearing a helmet shaped like a face from a Mayan sculpture [1] (http://www.ratware.plus.com/Travel/Mexico/LargePics/MayanSculpture.jpg). Also, the cities of the Mu contain artwork that appears to be Mayan in origin. In addition, the date that the RahXephon awoke was December 21, 2012, which is the end of the Mayan long-count calendar (According to the Mayans, December 21, 2012 marks the end of the Age of the Jaguar, and the transformation of Earth into the fifth and perfect phase). Even the leader of the Mu is named Maya. This is probably not coincidential since the series draws many of its references from James Churchward's 1931 novel The Lost Continent of Mu, a story about an advanced ancient race from a large island in the South Pacific which had sunk, similar to the legendary continent of Atlantis.

TERRA is based in Kanai City on Nirai Island, part of the Ryukyu Islands. These places have been named as a pun on Nirai-kanai. In traditional Ryukyu beliefs Nirai-kanai, also called "Nira-hara" or "Niraasuku" is the place out at sea where the gods live. These gods are believed to visit the islands of humans during certain religious festivals.[2] (http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/022/en/study/022_e46.html) In RahXephon, Mu is suggested to be the real-world basis of the Nirai-kanai legend.

Comparison to other Anime

Many fans compare RahXephon to Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE), usually favorably, especially as regards the proactive nature of RahXephon's protagonist and the clearer nature of RahXephon's single ending. But there are also negative comparisons. Some say that since RahXephon was made several years after NGE, and because of similarities in the respective protagonists and in the style and execution of events, RahXephon is not as original or groundbreaking as NGE. They also contend that the series visibly lacks NGE-director Anno's strong and psychology-filled writing. One aspect of RahXephon seen favorably by some is that it devotes less time to battles than NGE does, counterbalancing this with more character development, and an ensemble of characters that have complex relationships.

Cultural commentary

The impermeable barrier between Tokyo and the rest of Japan with the Tokyo-Jupiter effect might be interpreted as representational of a perceived cultural barrier between the urbanized, seemingly more Westernized primate city of Tokyo and the comparably more rural and traditional rest of the country.

This analogy would make the Mu into a representation of the Japanese view of Westerners from just before the Meiji Restoration to the reconstruction following World War II: similar anatomically except for a few minor variances, an invading force, both militarily and culturally, an initially technologically superior enemy that causes the Japanese (or in RahXephon, humans) to require rapid advancement in military technology, and a scapegoat used to inflame nationalistic (or in RahXephon, non-Mu) jingoism.

The Dolems

For an explanation of what a Dolem is see the Plot section. This is a list of individual Dolems featured in RahXephon:

• Allegretto - A Dolem that defends the capital of Japan. It has large bird-like wings and resembles a humanoid female figure. It is able to produce a shield and attacks using a head-mounted laser that pivots 360 degrees.

• Alternate - Two 161 foot Dolems that, at first, appeared as one. While split in two, it trapped Ayato and Elvy in a mirrored phase space. After killing it once, RahXephon turns back time, bringing it back to life. It is defeated once again by Vermillion.

• Arpeggio - Appeared high in orbit above Nirai Kanai. TERRA's attacks were unable to reach it, as Arpeggio was out of their attack range. It emmitted a D-1 Aria that only Ayato and Quon could hear. It sent them a message from Maya. RahXephon eventually shoots it down with an arrow generated from its palms.

• Dotem - 82 foot mobile weapons carried by Forzando.

• Falsetto - A 393 feet tall Dolem that resembles a mushroom. It attempted to swallow RahXephon.

• Fortissimo - A humanoid female figure that resembles a tuning fork. It attacks with high-frequency sound waves.

• Forzando - A Dolem that is 3 miles long and acts like a floating fortress. It carries Dotems inside of it which can be launched out to attack. It has functionless legs which are easily destroyed by the Vermillions. Its upper body was hidden in the clouds. It bound RahXephon in a cloud that it controlled.

• Grave - The first Dolem encountered outside Tokyo Jupiter. It's a squid-like Dolem shaped like a stringed instrument. It attacks from underwater with its tentacles and easily rips apart ships.

• Larghetto - A 328 foot Dolem that fought RahXephon above the Pacific Ocean.

• Largo - 1.6 miles. The largest of all the Dolems. Its entire lower surface works as a giant beam weapon and can obliterate entire cities. It is defeated when it is encased in a barrier similar to the one that encases Tokyo Jupiter. Bound to Kuki.

• Metronome - Guards the inside of Tokyo Jupiter. Although they float in plain sight, most people seem to be unaware that they are there. They tried to stop RahXephon when it was running around autonomously, but failed.

• Mezzoforte - 56 feet. Appears in large numbers and can crush fighter jets.

• Mud Doll - "The life form that was living underground, beneath Bähbem's mansion. It grows by eating special rock made of a particular kind of mud. It is capable of attacking by using sound and able to resonate with Isshiki Makoto." -From Orchestration 4 booklet

• Obbligato - A humanoid Dolem that has sharp claws on its hands. Has a third arm in its chest. Bound to Mamoru.

• Ritardando - A 951 foot Dolem that appeared in the Aurora Borealis. It appeared 14 years ago and destroyed 8 cities in Australia, killing many people. By studying the D-1 Aria waveform, TERRA was able to predict its path and attack pattern. After unsuccessfully trying to absorb RahXephon, it attempted a final attack, and RahXephon shattered it.

• Schwarzer - Similar to Vermillion, its a black, piloted Dolem with "overtechnology". Looks like Vermillion with no fins on its head or hips.

• Sforzando - A Dolem that was previously attached to Forzando. It was discovered as a crystal in Forzando's remains. After Itsuki gave the crystal to Sayoko as a Christmas gift, it grew and assimilated with her and was able to control the weather. It caused snow and then an intense blizzard as it grew from the crystal.

• Staccato - Accompanies the high-ranking Mulian officials at Hiranipra.

• Vermillion - Unknown Dolem with "overtechnology" built onto it for human pilots to control. Armed with a rail gun and a wave-optical cannon called the Baus-Ghazal. Humanoid with large wings on its head and the rear of its hips. It is carrier-launched and flies by an unknown method.

• Vibrato - Dolem that resembles a girl wearing a hooded sweatshirt and is bound to Asahina. It attacks using a sharp, tentacle-like extension on its bottom. When it is struck by RahXephon, it causes the city lights to turn on in a wave.

• Vivace - A bird-like Dolem with a halo over its head. It engulfs RahXephon in its wings, disappears into a null zone, and forces a Dolem-stone into RahXephon's (and Ayato's) mouth, causing RahXephon to cease most functions and Ayato to hallucinate about being back in Tokyo Jupiter.

See also

• Kanno, Yoko - The composer of the theme song.
• Litvyak, Lydia - The namesake of the aircraft carrier Lilia Litvyak
• Nahuatl language - Classical Nahuatl is supposed to be the "Naacal" language spoken by the Mu. Many of the words in the series come from Nahuatl.
• Operation Overlord - The 1944 allied invasion of Normandy, from which the TERRA operation in the first episode is named.
• Operation Downfall - The planned 1946 allied invasion of Japan. Imperial Japan surrendered before the plans could be carried out.
• Pocky - The snack sticks often offered at Rikudo Shougo's residence.
• Ramune - The soft drink that Ayato is unfamiliar with but encounters after leaving Tokyo Jupiter.
• Shodo - Japanese caligraphy
• Shogi - Japanese chess
• The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz - Book appearing in RahXephon

External links

• Official Japanese website (http://www.rahxephon.com/)
• Official English website (http://www.neo-rahxephon.com/)
• RahXephon (http://imdb.com/title/tt0364863/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Mu timeline (http://www.khantazi.org/Rec/Anime/MuTimeline.html) (spoilers) by Philip R. Banksja:ラーゼフォン fr:RahXephon