RahXephon Recommended

Publisher
ADV
Director
Yutaka Izubuchi
Production
BONES, Fuji TV, Project Rahxephon
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Year
2001

RahXephon Orchestration 6: Aria (eps 20-23)

By John Huxley
12th Sep 04

The penultimate sixth volume of RahXephon has been on the shelves for quite a while now, but that won't stop me reviewing it all the same. With only one volume left you'd expect events to be drawing to a close; loose ends to be tied up and perhaps even to wave goodbye to a few familiar faces. Whilst this is all true to a certain extent, what this volume frustratingly fails to deliver is any amount of clarity to RahXephon's central storylines. Sure, we get answers, but for every answer it seems as though five more questions are asked in the process. And with the inevitable finale just over the horizon, it's looking increasingly likely that these questions will never be fully resolved.

Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised. RahXephon has thrived on its sense of mystery thus far, so an open-ended finale could be considered a quite natural and fitting conclusion. An ending that allows you to maintain that sense of mystery even after the final credits have rolled.

But wait - I'm jumping ahead of myself here, the end isn't with quite with us yet because there's still plenty left to discuss in the sixth volume of RahXephon. Having left Tokyo Jupiter none the wiser, Ayato has returned to the comfort of his friends and ‘family'. But someone has followed Ayato from the alternate dimension of Tokyo Jupiter, a familiar face that hides a dark and deadly secret. Of course, we're all well aware of that particular secret by now, which makes it all the more fun watching Ayato discover the grisly truth for himself (particularly if you're in any way sadistic, as I am). After the dizzying pace of the previous volume, the first couple of episodes on this disk do well to slow things down a little with some more sedate character building scenes and little much needed light relief. But the stench of death hangs heavy in the air, and it's not long before things turn catastrophic again.

And when they do, you get the strange feeling that this isn't the same old scenario in which the timely arrival of Ayato and his RahXephon will save humanity from almost certain disaster with the greatest of ease. No, this is the beginning of the end, an event that will trigger some pretty drastic changes in the world of RahXephon. The revelations come thick and fast as we're subjected to a maelstrom of cryptic ramblings, suggestive imagery and fuzzy logic. Characters die, friendships are broken and cities destroyed - all in the space of a half hour. When it's hitting all the right notes RahXephon is a beautiful sight to behold and no mistake, as fine an example for the advantages of animation as one could hope for - a progressive, intelligent plot coupled with some stunning visuals and a rousing score.

Of course, it doesn't always appear to be that way. Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time!) the plot appears to be more confusing and pompous than progressive and intelligent and the animation occasionally falters (the score is never anything but great, so it has no place here), yet I've always found myself gaining some enjoyment from RahXephon even during its less eventful moments. The writers and directors have managed to balance the confusingly abstract and the comfortably familiar with expert precision, a pleasing mixture that should keep even the most easily of distracted viewers ticking over.

With only one volume left to go, hopes are high that RahXephon can maintain the pace and deliver a finale to remember. If you've stuck with RahXephon so far you'll be well aware that it's more than capable of dropping the baton and losing the plot, so lets cross our fingers and pray that doesn't happen!

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, clean open/close, production sketches, interview with the English cast - finale, ADV previews

Release information: UK: 21st June, ADV

Notes: The cover features a montage of three central characters with the RahXephon's spooky eyes peering in the background; a design that's undoubtedly pretty but unfortunately not quite as successful as some that have appeared on earlier volumes. However, the 14 page booklet is as stunning as ever, with that transparent, lightly textured cover and glossy paper housing a wealth of character profiles, interviews and artwork that help give the whole package a touch of class. As if that weren't enough, the extras on the disc are pretty neat, too. The production sketches and clean open/close animations are welcome additions, but it's the interviews with the English cast that stands out. It's not a particularly pressing interview and it may take a while to get to the RahXephon specific questions, but it's an interesting way to spend half an hour (guesstimate) nonetheless. Even if you loathe the series, you can't deny that ADV have put together a great package for RahXephon.

-- John Huxley 12th Sep 04

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