(no subject)
So I've decided to do a recap/analysis of each episode of Rahxephon, because I just finished rewatching it and I love the series. I wish more people watched it!
Rahxephon First Movement: Invasion of the Capitol (Over Lord)
Quon Kisaragi speaks the very first words of the series "The tone of war comes. With groaning wings the sound of a beginning starts."
This anime never turned out how I expected it to be, and for that I am grateful. My dad wanted to watch it because it had giant robots in it, and I reluctantly observed as the show started. A fiery, crimson sunset, a foreboding aircraft, and a bombastic score sets the tone. I was never prepared.
After the very beginning scene where Operation Overlord is underway, we meet Ayato Kamina, an artistic seventeen year old. That the main character enjoyed painting got my attention. Even though Rahxephon is a mecha anime, it isn't very action-oriented. When I saw that the main character was interested in something artistic, it seemed very different to me so I kept paying attention.
(image from kenoki.com/nko
But the fact that he was painting wasn't all that interested me; what he was painting intrigued me. A girl in a yellow dress standing on a ledge, overlooking some strange world.
On his way to school, the city he lives in is attacked. During the panic, Ayato finds a girl in a swirling, yellow dress, standing on a pile of rubble, just like the girl he was drawing earlier. A soft "Laaah" can be heard in the background before she turns to face him. Of course, I didn't pick up on this before, but Ayato doesn't recognize her until she turns and around and looks into his eyes for a moment. He then says "Mishima...Reika?" She has brown hair and orange-ish eyes.
(image from kenoki.com/nko
There are a few (okay, many) things I love about Rahxephon, two of them being the music and the visuals. The score is excellent. When Ayato finds Mishima Reika, before she turns around, there’s a soft “Laaaaaaaaah”, like the note she will sing to awaken the Rahxephon. Then of course there’s the bombastic score played at the beginning that sets the tone, as Quon put it, for war.
One sound I hate in the first ep , though? Asahina’s voice. I think she broke my eardrums.
The colors were off-putting to me at first, but the color palette fits the mood. They’re more subdued and washed out than what you would see in a typical anime, and it’s refreshing to not have your eyes seared off by neon colors. I definitely think the creators played around with color. Mishima Reika’s dress stands out so much because it is a bright yellow. Also, I never noticed this before, but her eyes are an orange-ish color. This is interesting, since orange is the opposite of blue on the color wheel. Blue is a predominant color: Ayato’s eyes, the coloring on Allegretto, and the blue blood.
When Ayato and Reika are running around the subway system, she pauses in front of a mural that looks like La Grande Famille, a painting by René Magritte. She looks like an angel.
(image from Wikipedia)
The two dolems in this ep have horrifying designs. Allegretto is some kind of angel Eldritch Abomination with a death ray and Fortissimo looks like a broken, abandoned doll.
Of course, this ep has to be set up the mysteries of show, or why would anyone keep watching? When Reika shows I up, I immediately want to know who she is ,and why does she appear in the exact same pose as the girl Ayato was painting? I didn’t notice this at first, but right when she turns around it’s obvious that Ayato doesn’t recognize her.
I love how badass Haruka comes across here. She beats up those government thugs, and appears to be a confident woman who knows all the mysteries that we want answered. But upon rewatch, her tenderness for Ayato is more apparent.
Interesting to note that Mamoru says Ayato can make it through anything…
We see a small glimpse of Elvy, one of my favorite side characters.
The ep ends with Ayato and Reika finding the shrine of Xephon, which is just dream-like and gorgeous. The colors here are faded and ethereal. Ayato falls to the ground, curled up in a fetal position as the white egg cracks. He’s about to awaken.
Overall, I liked this ep much better when I re-watched it after completing the series, because I think it serves as a good set-up. The events in this ep were enough to get me interested, but I can’t wait to get to the more plot heavy stuff.
One last thing:
In the dub at least, when Ayato asks Haruka who she is she responds "Oh, I could be a champion of justice."
Clearly, Haruka is Sailor moon.
Rahxephon First Movement: Invasion of the Capitol (Over Lord)
Quon Kisaragi speaks the very first words of the series "The tone of war comes. With groaning wings the sound of a beginning starts."
This anime never turned out how I expected it to be, and for that I am grateful. My dad wanted to watch it because it had giant robots in it, and I reluctantly observed as the show started. A fiery, crimson sunset, a foreboding aircraft, and a bombastic score sets the tone. I was never prepared.
After the very beginning scene where Operation Overlord is underway, we meet Ayato Kamina, an artistic seventeen year old. That the main character enjoyed painting got my attention. Even though Rahxephon is a mecha anime, it isn't very action-oriented. When I saw that the main character was interested in something artistic, it seemed very different to me so I kept paying attention.
(image from kenoki.com/nko
But the fact that he was painting wasn't all that interested me; what he was painting intrigued me. A girl in a yellow dress standing on a ledge, overlooking some strange world.
On his way to school, the city he lives in is attacked. During the panic, Ayato finds a girl in a swirling, yellow dress, standing on a pile of rubble, just like the girl he was drawing earlier. A soft "Laaah" can be heard in the background before she turns to face him. Of course, I didn't pick up on this before, but Ayato doesn't recognize her until she turns and around and looks into his eyes for a moment. He then says "Mishima...Reika?" She has brown hair and orange-ish eyes.
(image from kenoki.com/nko
There are a few (okay, many) things I love about Rahxephon, two of them being the music and the visuals. The score is excellent. When Ayato finds Mishima Reika, before she turns around, there’s a soft “Laaaaaaaaah”, like the note she will sing to awaken the Rahxephon. Then of course there’s the bombastic score played at the beginning that sets the tone, as Quon put it, for war.
One sound I hate in the first ep , though? Asahina’s voice. I think she broke my eardrums.
The colors were off-putting to me at first, but the color palette fits the mood. They’re more subdued and washed out than what you would see in a typical anime, and it’s refreshing to not have your eyes seared off by neon colors. I definitely think the creators played around with color. Mishima Reika’s dress stands out so much because it is a bright yellow. Also, I never noticed this before, but her eyes are an orange-ish color. This is interesting, since orange is the opposite of blue on the color wheel. Blue is a predominant color: Ayato’s eyes, the coloring on Allegretto, and the blue blood.
When Ayato and Reika are running around the subway system, she pauses in front of a mural that looks like La Grande Famille, a painting by René Magritte. She looks like an angel.
(image from Wikipedia)
The two dolems in this ep have horrifying designs. Allegretto is some kind of angel Eldritch Abomination with a death ray and Fortissimo looks like a broken, abandoned doll.
Of course, this ep has to be set up the mysteries of show, or why would anyone keep watching? When Reika shows I up, I immediately want to know who she is ,and why does she appear in the exact same pose as the girl Ayato was painting? I didn’t notice this at first, but right when she turns around it’s obvious that Ayato doesn’t recognize her.
I love how badass Haruka comes across here. She beats up those government thugs, and appears to be a confident woman who knows all the mysteries that we want answered. But upon rewatch, her tenderness for Ayato is more apparent.
Interesting to note that Mamoru says Ayato can make it through anything…
We see a small glimpse of Elvy, one of my favorite side characters.
The ep ends with Ayato and Reika finding the shrine of Xephon, which is just dream-like and gorgeous. The colors here are faded and ethereal. Ayato falls to the ground, curled up in a fetal position as the white egg cracks. He’s about to awaken.
Overall, I liked this ep much better when I re-watched it after completing the series, because I think it serves as a good set-up. The events in this ep were enough to get me interested, but I can’t wait to get to the more plot heavy stuff.
One last thing:
In the dub at least, when Ayato asks Haruka who she is she responds "Oh, I could be a champion of justice."
Clearly, Haruka is Sailor moon.