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RahXephon (TV).


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Macross3000



Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 8:41 am Reply with quote


RahXephon (TV)

Genres: action, drama, magic, mystery, psychological, romance, science fiction
Themes: hybrid robot, mecha, military, super robot

Plot Summary: In a world where time passes at a crawl and the blood of your neighbor runs blue, 17 year old high school student Ayato Kamina goes about his daily life within Tokyo Jupiter oblivious to the world around him, having been educated with the fact that the all civilization but Tokyo has been destroyed. But all that changes when the mysterious civilization "MU" invades his home, raining destruction down from the sky in the form of strange monsters called Dolems. The events that occur next will lead Ayato to the mysterious woman named Reika Mishima, to the truth of their existence, the discovery of what and who he is, and to the powerful angelic robot RahXephon.
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Anime Marathon Discussion (Nov. 6th, 2015 - Nov. 15th, 2015) starts here

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The problem I have sometimes with anime series like Rahxephon, NGE, and Lain are that I tend to have nightmares afterwards that carry over into a stress induced temporarily illness as a result of my discontent and frustration involved with trying as hard as I can to understand just what the ... I watched! I'm at home sick at my computer trying to wrap my head around it. I warned myself I wouldn't be sucked into Rahxephon, but instead I had to see how main love story turns out at the end. I thought this was enough to cure me and let me move on, but for some reason my pride won't let me due to the fact that I have watched and understood more complex storylines than Rahxephon and after only seeing them once was able to figure out most of it. However, Rahxephon pissed me off because I only understood it on a superficial level!!!

All I can distinguish from the story is that there is a love story and the identity of the girl in the picture is revealed to be spoiler[ Haruka Mishima ] at the end. Also, it seems that spoiler[ the main antagonist are Mulians AKA Aztec Aliens from MARS? ] and spoiler[ everybody is a clone of everyone else right? ]

Anyways, I could be seriously wrong about some of my assumptions. It's just think that the vagueness and extreme subtlety of key story elements of this title are driving me insane. I wish they would have taken more time to explain things during the series. I feel like I was just ripped off by having the director mind screw me and then laugh at me at the end by giving me the only answer I already knew.

I have so many questions about who all the other people were, but even if they really are all spoiler[ clones of one another ] it doesn't explain who each of them are and I know this is a personal opinion, but it seems to me that spoiler[ even though they may be clones they are all unique people with their own soul/essense that makes them unique...and yet I feel like the director was trying to make the point that everyone was just like everyone else and the only real personality was Ayato and Haruka ].

Also, spoiler[ this Lord Banon? (forgot his name) is the creator of a machine that tunes the world on the last day of the Aztec calendar? Was he really a God or just a madman who claims to have lived for 10,000+ years ago? It seems like he can possess other bodies, but that seems more like a demon...]

Oh, and this is the partial match up I came up with spoiler[

Girl in the picture = Haruka/Mishima/Ayato's love interest...
Megumi = Asayhina = the spastic lady who loved Dr. Itchki?
Ayato = Dr. Itchki = Psycho guy who hates being called a D!
Commander = ?
Commander's Daughter = ?
Commander's Wife = ?
Lientenant Guy under Commander involved with Kim = ?
Kim = ?
Maya = Quon = Ayato's Mother(beginning)/Daughter(end)?
Reporter guy = ?
Blonde chick who grew up with Itchki and Psycho "D" defect = ?

]




Anyways, I have a feeling this wretched series will continue to haunt me until I manage to focus on something else for a long enough time. I really hate feeling like this...


Last edited by Macross3000 on Wed Jan 14, 2004 8:52 am; edited 2 times in total
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SuperSkylineGTR



Joined: 20 Aug 2002
Posts: 471
Location: Chicago, IL
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 8:51 am Reply with quote
Welcome Macross!

Very insightful post. Actually made me stop and rethink my stance on Rah Xephon being unimpressive.

As far as your questions, Zac seems to think very highly of this show. Maybe he can help fill in the blanks for you.
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Daimonwrath



Joined: 18 Dec 2003
Posts: 133
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 9:32 am Reply with quote
Well Im right there with you bro. This was one of those notorious WTF stories where everything is "implied" and left for the viewer to figure out. I think Samauri Deeper Kyo was the exact same way in a lot of the aspects. I could not stand either of them. A friend tried to explain his view of what rahxephone meant and I was scratching my head even more. Therefore I await an answer to this one if it can be entirely done.



Evil or Very Mad

D.W.
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Scaramanga



Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 135
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 9:35 am Reply with quote
Also Macross you may want to look into watching the RahXephon movie. I know it's generally difficult to cram a series into a 100-minute movie, but it does explain some things right up front. And the animation is of course of the same high quality (if not a higher production value) than the series. You may also want to pick up the RahXephon Bible (which admittedly tends to raise more questions than it answers, and does NOT follow the plotline to the conclusion.)
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:27 am Reply with quote
Okeydoke, let me answer some questions for ya.


"All I can distinguish from the story is that there is a love story and the identity of the girl in the picture is revealed to be spoiler[ Haruka Mishima ] at the end. Also, it seems that spoiler[ the main antagonist are Mulians AKA Aztec Aliens from MARS? ] and spoiler[ everybody is a clone of everyone else right? ]"

Here's the deal with the Mulians. spoiler[ The MU are a race of aliens who live in an alternate dimension from ours. They aren't connected to the Mayan race beyond a cosmetic similarity. They have the ability to phase in and out of our dimension.]

"I have so many questions about who all the other people were, but even if they really are all spoiler[ clones of one another ] it doesn't explain who each of them are and I know this is a personal opinion, but it seems to me that spoiler[ even though they may be clones they are all unique people with their own soul/essense that makes them unique...and yet I feel like the director was trying to make the point that everyone was just like everyone else and the only real personality was Ayato and Haruka ]."

Here's the deal with the 'clones'. spoiler[ The "clones" (which are not clones but genetic twins created in a lab, something possible even today) were created by Lord Bahbem to make sure his grand experiment with the RahXephon would go smoothly. Pilots, or 'Instrumentalists', are created by Lord Bahbem's 'Foundation'. The only "clones" in the series are Ayato and his big brother, whose assistant is also a clone. Again, They are only "clones" on a genetic level and were raised differently from one another. Everyone had a unique personality; I don't know where you get the 'clone personality' thing from. ]


Also, spoiler[ this Lord Banon? (forgot his name) is the creator of a machine that tunes the world on the last day of the Aztec calendar? Was he really a God or just a madman who claims to have lived for 10,000+ years ago? It seems like he can possess other bodies, but that seems more like a demon...]

spoiler[ Lord Bahbem is a madman. He was expelled from the Mulian civilization for his experiments. He did indeed create the RahXephon system for the Mu, but it was never intended to go as far as it did. Bahbem was expelled to Earth and began his experiments with the RahXephon and the 'tuning of the world'. He wanted to see the world reduced to the whims and desires of only one man; he was playing god. Once the Mu got wind of Bahbem's plan, they took action. Tokyo Jupiter was created in order to protect Ayato from ever finding out about his destiny to become an instrumentalist. His 'mother' created it - she felt terrible about what he was to become. Unfortunately, Bahbem invaded Tokyo Jupiter in an attempt to retrieve his instrumentalist, forcing Ayato to pilot the RahXephon and expelling him from Tokyo Jupiter, thus beginning the story and Ayato's journey to becoming an instrumentalist. Quon, the instrumentalist being controlled by the Mu in order to counter and destroy Bahbem's Rahxephon (hence the battle at the end), is also a "clone", created by Bahbem when he was still accepted by his own people. Yes, Bahbem can transfer 'host' bodies; he primarily inhabits the old man, but sometimes, towards the end of the show, he inhabits Helena.]

Your "matches" here are all wrong.

Oh, and this is the partial match up I came up with spoiler[

Girl in the picture = One and the same. The younger version is Haruka when she's 14. She is an artificial image created by the Ixtli, the system the RahXephon uses to coerce the pilot into tuning the world. Generally it takes on the image of your most beloved person. The older version is Haruka now.

Megumi = Asayhina = These two are completely unrelated. You're way off on this clone thing. Megumi is just a normal girl who falls for Ayato. Asayahina IS a "clone", though, created and programmed by Bahbem to fall in love with Itsuki so he's distracted and can't get in the way of Ayato's development. Itsuki is a clone, and a failed instrumentalist.

Ayato = Dr. Itchki = No. Ayayto and his brother are genetic twins. That's it.

None of the following people are clones:
Commander = ?
Commander's Daughter = ?
Commander's Wife = ?
Lientenant Guy under Commander involved with Kim = ?
Kim = ?

Except these:
Maya = Quon = Maya is technically not Ayato's mother, but she did raise him and thusly grew an intense amount of motherly affection for him. Quon is the "mother" of all instrumentalists, since her DNA was used to create them all.

Blonde chick who grew up with Itchki and Psycho "D" defect = Helena is another failed instrumentalist, along with the psycho "D" you're referring to. D means Dolem, or Defect. He can't handle the failure so he snaps at the end. He can never be what he wants to be, which is basically Ayato. Helena obviously becomes a host body for Bahbem.

]


Hopefully that helps. Let me know if you need any more questions answered.
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Macross3000



Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 12:44 pm Reply with quote
I have a couple things I need to ask...

spoiler[ The Asayhina character in Tokyo Jupiter and Megumi character on the island both seem almost identical. Are you sure they are not the same or cloned from the same DNA? Also, the assistant to Dr. Itchki seemed to resemble them both in that she also had problems with not getting the Ayato/clone to return her affections and getting the shaft...it just seemed too coincidental almost. For some reason, the Dolem psychopath and Dr. Itchki both seem like different shades of teh Ayato character. I thought that Ayato matured into a hybrid of these two men in the last few scenes immediately after the "Tuning" of hte world. Are you sure they don't strike any resemblance to Ayato? ]
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SuperSkylineGTR



Joined: 20 Aug 2002
Posts: 471
Location: Chicago, IL
PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 1:05 pm Reply with quote
I had a small (probably insignifigant) question, who was the Indian-looking girl in the church spoiler[that shot D, and then ended up getting shot in the head by D as a last act for calling him a "dolem"?]

Now, about the MU: spoiler[Zac I had the same opinion you did that the MU were a mysterious alien race from a parallel dimension. Although Macross' theory about them possibly having some link with the Mayans is very interesting.]

But then again, we probably won't know for sure unless one of the creaters give us a definitive answer. BTW, Is there a good site based on Rah Xephon with lots of interresting tidbits (aside form ADV's official site)?

I must say this discussion has brought a change of heart for me toward this series (either that or I might be in a better mood today Very Happy ). But, spoiler[Elvy and the rest of the Vermillion squad getting wasted was bogus. Sure, you kinda saw it coming, but it was still bogus none-the-less, I loved those guys!]
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Macross3000



Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 5:47 pm Reply with quote
I wonder how interpretive you can be with this series...and how much is set in stone. I was satisfied at the end by the love story, but all the other little details caused confusion for me. Anyways...maybe I was just seeing more than what was really there to begin with. Although, I can't help but feel like I'm missing someting critical. Oh well, it's time to move on regardless. I'm glad I was able to get some helpful feedback on this board nonetheless.
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Foljo



Joined: 23 Aug 2003
Posts: 62
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 8:39 pm Reply with quote
I just watched whole series and I am speechless. This is my favorite anime.. I don’t know what to say, but that I couldn’t stop watching it. Characters, attention to details (which will help to answer a lot of questions by the end), style, music, animation, everything is great. And ending, never anime made me feel so good about ending, I loved it. I don’t know, but RahXephon is superior to NGE in every way. Classic, in my opinion.
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space clam



Joined: 11 Oct 2003
Posts: 636
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 9:35 pm Reply with quote
Foljo wrote:
I just watched whole series and I am speechless. This is my favorite anime.. I don’t know what to say, but that I couldn’t stop watching it. Characters, attention to details (which will help to answer a lot of questions by the end), style, music, animation, everything is great. And ending, never anime made me feel so good about ending, I loved it. I don’t know, but RahXephon is superior to NGE in every way. Classic, in my opinion.


Hear hear, Foljo! Rah is definitely one of my top 5 anime ever. I wouldn't say it's superior to Eva in every way; Eva is very good in its own respects. But I would take Rah over Eva any day.
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Macross3000



Joined: 14 Jan 2004
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 10:49 pm Reply with quote
Did you guys understand everything though? Even with the attention to detail...were you able to follow the complexity of the various areas of the story? For example, the references to spoiler[ Mayan civilization and the reason it was so important to understanding exactly what the Olin and everything that it entails? ] I guess I'm upset because it would've been nice if they explained all of the mythos and background that was supposedly the substance upon which the spoiler[ "tuning of the world" ] is based on. It really helps a fan get into it more...
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CoolEthan



Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 8:13 pm Reply with quote
Okay, I just watched the final episode of RahXephon. It was pretty easy to follow until the part where Ayato and Haruka have a baby named Quan. So, I have a few questions that hopefully some one can awnser.

1. What was the place that Maya showed Haruka after the curtain fell in the room with the checkered floor?
2. Are Haruka and Ayato living in the world in Ayato's painting?
3. Why was thier baby Quan?
4. After the credits, when Ayato was drawing Haruka Mishima, what is the point of that segment, why is her name Haruka, and are they in Ayato's painting world as well?

Thanks for bering with me and my stupidity.
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Mou Kaoru



Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 298
Location: Simple minds are easily amused.
PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 8:28 pm Reply with quote
There was a recent thread on this one. Hopefully this'll somewhat help answer your questions.
animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5237
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CoolEthan



Joined: 25 Jan 2004
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2004 5:06 pm Reply with quote
Thanks Mou kaoru, but that thread didn't really help. I'm still in a horrible state of confusion. I still am wondering what all those places were and why Reika was named Haruka in the last scene.
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Sesshoumaru sama



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 170
Location: Texas, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2004 5:16 pm Reply with quote
CoolEthan wrote:
Thanks Mou kaoru, but that thread didn't really help. I'm still in a horrible state of confusion. I still am wondering what all those places were and why Reika was named Haruka in the last scene.


spoiler[That wasn't Reika, that was Haruka when she first met Ayato when they were 14. Ayato had no memory of when he first met Haruka, so I'm guessing Reika was an image in the subconscience of Ayato's mind that took the form of Haruka. Haruka real name was Mishima Haruka, she had it change to Haruka Shitou when she left Tokyo Jupiter to live with her uncle. My info may be wrong since I have only seen this anime once.]
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