Characters in RahXephon
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This is an overview of characters in the anime/manga/novel series RahXephon.
Names are in Western order, with the given name before the family name.
Contents |
[edit] Main characters
[edit] Ayato Kamina
(神名綾人 Kamina Ayato)
Japanese Seiyū: Hiro Shimono
English Voice Actor: Chris Patton
The main character of Rahxephon, Ayato is a 17-year-old Mulian who is destined to re-tune the world using the RahXephon. He was created using the DNA of Quon Kisaragi, along with his brother Itsuki Kisaragi. A quiet young man, Ayato enjoys art very much. Most of his artwork consists of drawings or paintings of a girl, named Reika Mishima, looking inwards into the picture, wearing a yellow dress and scarf. His belly is marked with vaguely rune-like markings resembling birthmarks which are a sign of his being a potential instrumentalist for the RahXephon. He originally lived within Tokyo Jupiter with his adoptive mother Maya Kamina, but was able to leave thanks to the RahXephon. After leaving Tokyo Jupiter, he spent a short period of time living with Haruka Shitow in a houseboat, until they were rescued by members of the organization known as TERRA. He then went to live with Rikudo Shougo, Haruka's uncle, as well as Haruka and Haruka's little sister Megumi on an island known as Nirai Kanai. As a Mulian from Tokyo Jupiter, Kamina struggles to find his place and acceptance in the outside world. Although he is able to and does pilot the RahXephon in defending Nirai Kanai, he often questions himself on his own personal abilities. He believes that his only use is as the pilot of the RahXephon, and thus is a burden to everyone else. At the end of the series, he succeeds in becoming one with the RahXephon and re-tunes the world to one where he was not separated from Haruka and the two are married with a child called Quon.
[edit] Reika Mishima
(美嶋玲香 Mishima Reika, Ixtli)
Japanese Seiyū: Maaya Sakamoto
English Voice Actor: Mandy Clark
A mysterious young woman, who is often seen by Ayato wearing a yellow dress and scarf and who is the subject of most of his paintings and sketches. She appears to be the same age as Ayato. Very little is known about Reika, and it is often questionable if she really exists. Claimed to be a classmate by Ayato, this brings about confused looks from his other classmates. She leads Ayato to the RahXephon, and is shown to have a connection to the giant dolem. She would also later appear to Makoto Isshiki as his assistant. Throughout the series, she leads Ayato towards his destiny of re-tuning the world, and often assists him while he is piloting the RahXephon. It is later revealed that her true name is Ixtli, that she is essentially the soul of the RahXephon, and that she is a manifestation of Ayato's desires which enables him to connect with and fully use the RahXephon. Her form is chosen to mimic that of a young Haruka Mishima (later Haruka Shitow) with whom Ayato had fallen in love—except for the color of her hair. Although Ayato initially rejects Reika after he learns the truth about her and what she is, he later chooses to accept her and become one with the RahXephon, thus enabling him to re-tune the world.
[edit] Haruka Shitow
(紫東遙 Shitō Haruka)
Japanese Seiyū: Aya Hisakawa
English Voice Actor: Monica Rial
A 29 year old captain within the TERRA organization, she is partially responsible for aiding Ayato in leaving Tokyo Jupiter. She has very strong feelings towards Ayato. She struggles at maintaining a relationship with him due to a wide number of reasons. Her position within TERRA is a large one, as Ayato sometimes thinks that she is using him because of his ability to pilot the RahXephon. Ayato's own personal struggles also create barriers for their relationship. Haruka also has some problems trying to resolve her role within TERRA and her personal feelings. It is later revealed that the girl that Ayato is constantly drawing is actually a young Haruka. The two of them had fallen in love when they were younger, and this is the reason why Reika takes the form of a young Haruka (although it is different because Ayato's memory is slightly distorted). When the Tokyo Jupiter barrier was established, Haruka was on a vacation in a different part of Japan, and thus aged much more than Ayato in the outside world due to Tokyo Jupiter's time dilation effect. She had a relationship with Itsuki Kisaragi, possibly due to his similarity to Ayato.
[edit] Quon Kisaragi
(如月久遠 Kisaragi Kuon, Quon al Padis)
Japanese Seiyū: Houko Kuwashima
English Voice Actor: Kira Vincent-Davis
A mysterious young girl that speak the first words of the TV series and is shown meeting Ayato in episode 4. Quon is often shown undergoing tests (usually along with Ayato) and having to wear a vest-like life support device called a Life Module. Her standard expression of surprise or agreement is "Ra-ra" (or "La-la") and most of her lines are cryptic, musically-themed non sequiturs. She seems, however, to have an understanding of Ayato's situation and what his eventual role is, calling him "Ollin" i.e. "motion" in Nahua. She is shown to be very talented musically, as she is skilled in playing both the violin and piano. Like Ayato, she has prominent birthmark-like symbols on her belly which mark her as a potential instrumentalist. It is revealed that Quon is actually a Mulian like Ayato and was also a candidate for re-tuning the world. She is the adopted sister of Itsuki Kisaragi and the real sister of Maya Kamina. When she entered the human world, she slept - and stayed young - while Maya Kamima woke and grew older - hence Quon is often called the Sleeping Beauty.
In the designs created by Akihiro Yamada and adapted by Hiroki Kanno, Quon is shown wearing a short dress with long sleeves, the Life Module, high heeled shoes, a thigh strap (worn as if a garter), a beret, and a parasol, leading to a stereotypical "French" look. In some illustrations, like Yamada's DVD 2 cover design (used in France and Japan, but not in the initial U.S. and UK release), Quon is wearing a frilly, lace-trimmed dress and stockings, which with the parasol complete a "GothLoli" look. In another anime series, Ouran High School Host Club, the "French Otaku" Renge is shown cosplaying as Quon on one occasion.
In episode 9, Quon goes with Ayato into a shrine (shaped like a Ryukyuan tomb) where she learns that she is "Ollin" as well, and after a period of lying comatose she is again brought to the fore. She goes with Ayato to Tokyo Jupiter, where she finds her own black RahXephon. She merges with this RahXephon, and appears to battle Ayato after he merges with his RahXephon. She is eventually absorbed into Ayato, and he re-tunes the world. In the new world, the infant child of Ayato and Haruka is named Quon and also has pink hair, suggesting that Quon is re-born into the re-tuned world.
[edit] The RahXephon
The RahXephon is a bipedal humanoid mecha which was created by Ernst von Bähbem as a means of re-tuning the world. This re-tuning would involve the RahXephon joining with a special person who has the potential to accomplish the re-tuning, referred to as an instrumentalist and marked by rune-like body markings which resemble birthmarks, which are referred to by von Bähbem as "the carved seal of the Xephon." The RahXephon is several stories tall, is immensely strong, and is capable of unassisted flight. Its offensive capabilities include energy blades which project from its forearms, and an energy bow. It can also form energy shields around its forearms, and create impenetrable spheres of energy in its hands which are used for carrying and protection.
While dormant, the RahXephon's face is covered by a pair of large wings which are attached to its forehead; these wings separate when it becomes active, and appear to be tied into its overall function. Its eyes, while dormant, are covered by a visor-like plate which retracts into its brow when it becomes active. Below its face is a protected barrier which Ayato is absorbed through when entering; he is then dropped through another barrier into the pilot's seat, which resembles a pair of hands and contains two control rods. The RahXephon also responds to Ayato's movements, as he controls the RahXephon's vision by turning his head and moves its arms with corresponding movements of his own arms. The field of view from the pilot's seat is an irregular grid of hexagons which shapes itself to conform to Ayato's field of vision; the RahXephon's shields also have a hexagonal grid shape.
The RahXephon is connected physically, mentally, and emotionally to its instrumentalist. Ayato is shown to be absorbed into the RahXephon in a variety of manners, and it moves on its own to meet Ayato several times. Ayato can also trigger entering the RahXephon through voice command. Ayato also appears to feel damage inflicted on the RahXephon as physical pain. During the battle with the Dolem Forzando, the RahXephon was pierced through the shoulder with a spike of debris; Ayato is shown in the cockpit holding his shoulder in the same place shortly thereafter.
At one point, while Ayato was in a state of deep anger and emotional distress, the RahXephon began to petrify; however, when his mood improved, it returned to normal. The RahXephon also returned to the egg from which it initially hatched (in the Shrine of Xephon, where Ayato first encountered it) after Ayato rejected Ixtli.
[edit] TERRA
[edit] Jin Kunugi
(功刀仁 Kunugi Jin)
Japanese Seiyū: Jouji Nakata
English Voice Actor: John Gremillion
Kunugi is the stern and quiet commander of TERRA's military operations. He prefers delegating task to his subordinates and commanding "by exception". Kunugi was an officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, under the command of Kuki Masayoshi. He was ordered to perform a nuclear strike on the Mu. His daughter Michiru was killed in the following war, and Kunugi became estranged from his wife. It is revealed that Kuki was acting on behalf of the Mu (or some element within the Mu government), who wanted the humans to attack, providing justification for their further plans.
Kunugi eventually stays behind after Nirai Kanai is evacuated and activates a Jupiter device there, sacrificing himself to kill Kuki and destroy Largo, the Dolem which was bound to Kuki.
[edit] Megumi Shitow
(紫東恵 Shitō Megumi)
Japanese Seiyū: Ayako Kawasumi
English Voice Actor: Hilary Haag
Haruka's younger sister. Although seemingly energetic and upbeat, she has many internal issues. She did not fit in all that well at school, so she joined TERRA as a trainee. She would later be promoted to the rank of a full officer. She initially has a crush on Souchi Yagumo, but gives up on him when she finds out that he is seeing her friend, Kim Hotal. Although she initially dislikes Ayato, she develops feelings for him. She feels as if she is constantly living in her sister's shadow, and this culminates in her finding out that Ayato and Haruka had a relationship when they were younger.
[edit] Kim Hotal
(金湖月 Hotaru Kimu)
Japanese Seiyū: Fumiko Orikasa
English Voice Actor: Tiffany Grant
Kim is Megumi's closest friend and a TERRA operative. When Kim was little, her parents were killed in a Dolem attack in Australia. She then joined TERRA in order to take revenge on the Mulians for her parents' deaths.
Kim starts seeing Souchi Yagumo, and although she feels guilty about it because Megumi likes him too, she is able to overcome the situation. It's also strongly hinted that Kim becomes pregnant by Souchi, as she appears to be suffering from morning sickness in two scenes near the end of the series.
[edit] Souichi Yagumo
(八雲総一 Yakumo Souichi)
Japanese Seiyū: Kouki Miyata
English Voice Actor: Mark Laskowski
Souichi is second in command at TERRA and his rank is Major. He often takes command when Kunugi is not present. Souichi also has a soft spot for Ayato and believes that regardless of whether or not Ayato is a Mulian, he is still himself and thus, should be looked at as an individual. Souichi is kind and friendly to everyone, and Megumi misinterprets this as a chance for a relationship. Soichi is oblivious to Megumi's feelings and starts seeing Kim. Despite being soft spoken and friendly, Soichi is also able to command.
Later on in the series, Souichi is killed at the same time as Elvy by Ayato but is brought back after the world is tuned.
[edit] Elvy Hadhiyat
Japanese Seiyū: Yuu Sugimoto
English Voice Actor: Christine M. Auten
An ace pilot for TERRA, she participated in the operation to extract Ayato from Tokyo-Jupiter. She is from Indonesia and is Haruka's drinking buddy. Although she initially does not have a problem with Ayato, she becomes very hostile once she finds out that he is a Mulian. At first, she pilots a high-tech jet fighter equipped with a booster that enables her to pass through Tokyo Jupiter's barrier. Later on, she pilots the Vermillion, a Dolem created by TERRA based off the RahXephon. She uses the Vermillion to follow Ayato when he returns to Tokyo Jupiter. She is later killed in battle against the Mu when Ayato unites with Rahxephon and sings one of his 'songs'. This song is a deadly wave of destruction that destroys her aircraft, surrounding Dolems and various TERRA sea vessels. Elvy, like others who died, is returned when the world is re-tuned.
Her nickname is "Bunga Mawar", which in Indonesian (and Malay) means "Rose Blossom". She has a handkerchief monogrammed with her nickname and a rose emblem. In the scene where this appears she can also be seen wearing a baseball cap with a rose design on the crown. Elvy Hadhiyat parallels Lydia Litvyak, a World War 2 female fighter ace nicknamed the "White Rose of Stalingrad," and namesake of the ship in the series.
[edit] Itsuki Kisaragi
(如月樹 Kisaragi Itsuki)
Japanese Seiyū: Mitsuru Miyamoto
English Voice Actor: Jay Hickman
A doctor with TERRA, he is also the adopted brother of Quon. Although most people do not know, he is actually a Mulian and Ayato's twin brother, and his adoptive "sister's" biological son. Like Megumi, he feels inferior to his sibling. He is unable to pilot the RahXephon and he once dated Haruka, but Haruka now rejects him. He was raised in the Bahbem Institute with Makoto Isshiki and Helena Bahbem. Like Ayato and Quon, he bears the marks of a potential instrumentalist on his belly.
[edit] Sayoko Nanamori
(七森 小夜子 Nanamori Sayoko)
Japanese Seiyū: Atsuko Tanaka
English Voice Actor: Kelly Manison
Sayoko Nanamori is Itsuki's research assistant. She is shown to hold unrequited feelings for Itsuki, and to react angrily if anyone touches on the subject. This leads to a small running gag in the series: Whenever she is particularly upset about Itsuki, the windscreen wiper on her car is shown to make an interval swipe. Episode 8, "The Dreaming Stone", centers on what happens when Itsuki gives Nanamori a crystal pendant as a Christmas gift; the crystal grows into the Dolem Sforzando, absorbing Nanamori. Nanamori later enters into a relationship with Makoto Isshiki and supplies him with information, thus unwittingly keeping the Bähbem Foundation abreast of Quon's status. Nanamori struggles with memories of her family, but it is later revealed that she was given false memories and was programmed by Bähbem to love Itsuki. Nanamori ends up stabbing Itsuki to death.
[edit] Makoto Isshiki
(一色真 Isshiki Makoto)
Japanese Seiyū: Toshihiko Seki
English Voice Actor: Illich Guardiola
Makoto Isshiki, also called "The White Snake," is a Mulian who works for TERRA. He is a clone sharing the DNA of Ernst von Bähbem. He has an inferiority complex which stems from being a D-ranked Mulian as a child when he was staying at the Bahbem Institute. He had abilities beyond what was expected of a D type, but he failed to recognize praise from others and let the "D" rating stop him. Because of this, he feels that he has to constantly prove himself. He also has an extremely haughty and arrogant attitude, and is contemptuous and dismissive of Ayato.
When Makoto was younger, he had long hair and was quite close to Itsuki. During childhood he also found an experimental Dolem inside ruins nearby the Bähbem Institute where he was being raised. He was able to connect with the Dolem and tried to get it to find its 'mom and dad' but became heartbroken when he realized that, like him, it had no true mother or father.
Makoto has Kunugi removed from his commmand position, and leads the operation to destroy the barrier surrounding Tokyo Jupiter. Although the operation is successful, it results in a horrific counterattack by the Mu, causing massive loss to TERRA. It is later revealed that he deliberately ignored an order from the Earth Federation to not go through with the operation; he is deposed and imprisoned. Driven to madness, he escapes and goes on a killing spree against his fellow clones, before he's shot to death by Laila Costa, one of Bähbem's assistants.
[edit] Tokyo Jupiter
[edit] Maya Kamina
(神名麻弥 Kamina Maya)
Japanese Seiyū: Ichiko Hashimoto
English Voice Actor: Laura Chapman
Maya is often very busy with her work, leaving Ayato feeling neglected and wishing to spend more time with her. She is a very powerful woman within the Mulian society. Ayato has problems trusting Maya, as he sees her bleed blue blood when leaves Tokyo Jupiter for the first time. It would turn out that she really is an adoptive mother and Ayato's aunt. She was one of two Mulians originally sent to the Human world, along with her sister Quon (Ayato's biological mother). The only Mulian that was there before them was Ernst von Bähbem. For some time, Maya was raised by Rikudo Shougo while Quon slept. When Maya's Mu phase awakened, she left Rikudoh and joined the Mu.
Throughout all the events it may seem as if Maya sees Ayato as nothing more than an object to be manipulated, but she does love him. This love is shown when she pushes Haruka to follow Ayato into the re-tuning.
[edit] Hiroko Asahina
(朝比奈浩子 Asahina Hiroko)
Japanese Seiyū: Yumi Kakazu
English Voice Actor: Cynthia Martinez
A classmate of Ayato's who is lightly injured during the initial attack on Tokyo Jupiter. While Ayato is outside, her "Mu-phase" activates and she is horrified to discover that her blood has turned blue. She has romantic feelings for Ayato, despite seeing his friend, Mamoru Torigai. When Ayato leaves Tokyo Jupiter for the second time, she leaves with him, and the two of them live together for a short period of time. Ayato assures her that her blood is red, and she is afraid to tell him its real color. While she is with Ayato, she has terrifying visions of herself as a Mulian bound to a Dolem. Hiroko also appears to be losing her memory, but keeps a diary where she can write down her feelings. Her Dolem Vibrato eventually shows up, and Ayato destroys it, killing Hiroko in the process. At the end of the series, when Ayato tunes the world, Hiroko (as well as Mamoru) is brought back to life.
In the movie version of RahXephon, it is revealed during the prologue that Hiroko was in love with Ayato while they were in their early teens, before Tokyo Jupiter was created.
[edit] Mamoru Torigai
(鳥飼守 Torigai Mamoru)
Japanese Seiyū: Hirofumi Nojima
English Voice Actor: Vic Mignogna
A friend and classmate of Kamina's in Tokyo Jupiter. He was seeing Hiroko Asahina before she left Tokyo Jupiter with Ayato. He holds a high position within the Mulian society. Deep down, he dislikes Ayato because of Hiroko's feelings for him. He follows Ayato to Nirai Kanai the second time he leaves Tokyo Jupiter and lives with Ayato for a short period of time. While in Nirai Kanai, Mamoru discovers that Hiroko died. He blames Ayato for her death and fights the RahXephon with his Dolem Obbligato. However, his Dolem is no match for the RahXephon and loses an arm in the battle. He returns with a fully repaired Dolem and battles the RahXephon again, this time after Ayato had joined with the RahXephon, and dies in the battle. He is brought back to life, along with Hiroko, when Ayato tunes the world.
[edit] Masayoshi Kuki
(九鬼 正義 Kuki Masayoshi)
Japanese Seiyū: Hōchū Ōtsuka
English Voice Actor: Mike Vance
Kuki appears as second in command to Maya in Tokyo Jupiter. Kuki is shown to sometimes question Maya's orders and also shows some disapproval of how she treats Ayato. It is later revealed that Kuki was the JSDF officer that ordered Jin Kunugi to perform the nuclear strike on the Mu in the Great Mu War. Kuki attacks Nirai-Kanai with the Dolem Largo, and appears invincible to its defence systems. Kunugi, however, activates a Jupiter device, killing Kuki and enacting his revenge before dying of his injuries.
[edit] Shinobu Miwa
(三輪 忍 Miwa Shinobu)
Japanese Seiyū: Yu Asakawa
English Voice Actor: Heather Bryson LeMaster
Miwa appears to be third in command in the Tokyo Bay base control center. She is shown working with Kuki in the control center, and holding down the fort with other subordinates while Kuki and Maya are away. In the end of the series Miwa is bound to the Dolem Allegretto.
[edit] Others
[edit] Professor Rikudoh
A retired archaeologist living in Nirai-Kanai. Uncle of Haruka and Megumi Shitow, he also welcomes Ayato into his household. Soft-spoken and wise, he helps to ground the other characters. He is also an expert at shogi, the Japanese equivalent of chess.
[edit] Ernst von Bähbem
Ernst von Bähbem, also called The Designer, is the cloned host body of an ancient Mulian. His practice of cloning himself has some people mistakenly calling him a modern Methuselah. Bähbem is partly to blame for the continent of Mu disappearing into another dimension, and he seeks to rectify the situation by having the world "re-tuned" before the dimensions destroy each other and turn into "mud". Bähbem seems not to care about whether the humans or the Mu are the ones that will succeed in the tuning, or indeed care about the people that he uses to attain his goals.
[edit] Helena von Bähbem
- Japanese Seiyu: Mako Hyōdō
Helena von Bähbem is the niece of Ernst von Bähbem. A childhood acquaintance of Makoto Isshiki and Itsuki Kisaragi, she serves as the second in command in the Bähbem Foundation. In addition to being a childhood dabbler in witchcraft, she was a candidate for being an instrumentalist, but passed the ideal age without realising her potential in this regard. This makes her jealous of Quon and others that might succeed in tuning the world. She eventually allows Ernst von Bähbem to take over her body.
| RahXephon |
|---|
| Main: RahXephon | Characters | Dolem | Episodes and media |
| Music: "Hemisphere" | O.S.T. 1 | O.S.T. 2 | O.S.T. 3 | "Tune the Rainbow" | Movie O.S.T. |
