RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio

[areaseven]

RahXephon: Tagen Hensoukyoku ( ラーゼフォン 多元変奏曲 )

BONES/Fuji TV/Asatsu DK/Shochiku Film/Victor Entertainment, 2003

ADV Films, 2004

Directed by Yutaka Izubuchi (Mobile Police Patlabor, Record of Lodoss War)

Rated 15+ (should be 17+) for graphic violence, nudity, suggestive sex with a minor and strong language.

High school students Ayato Kamina and Haruka Mishima were starting to develop a relationship. Then one day, when Haruka was out of town, a mysterious race known as the "Mu" attacked Tokyo and sealed the city away from the rest of the world with a barrier that resembles the planet Jupiter.

Three years later, while Ayato and his classmates are commuting to school, Tokyo is attacked by fighter planes from outside the city. During the skirmish, he meets a woman named Haruka Shitow and they discover a giant humanoid being called "RahXephon". Ayato pilots RahXephon and takes Haruka with him out of Tokyo. At this point, he finds out that 15 years have actually passed since the Mu invaded Tokyo and the rest of the world has known his hometown as "Tokyo Jupiter". Now a member of the anti-Mu organization TERRA, Ayato and RahXephon struggle to protect mankind against the Mu and find out the truth about his origin.

Story: C (for non-fans); A- (for fans)

If you have not seen the RahXephon TV series, do not watch this movie yet. In the past, compressing anime titles into single movies have been either a good thing (i.e. Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy) or a bad thing (i.e. Mobile Suit Gundam 0083). In the case of RahXephon, compressing the series into Pluralitas Concentio is a little bit on the negative side. As the film focuses mainly on the romance between Ayato and Haruka - as well as his relationship with his classmate Hiroko Asahina, all other characters that were fully developed in the series have either been relegated to minor roles or are simply nowhere to be found. Quon - who was instrumental in the series - is just a "sleeping beauty" throughout the first half. Reika - another important character - only appears for a few seconds (mainly because of her true identity, which was revealed in the final episode). In addition, the explanation of the TERRA vs. Mu subplot practically disappears halfway.

Of course, Pluralitas Concentio being the thearical compilation doesn't mean the story runs exactly the same as the series. New footage either makes or breaks a storyline. Here, an implied love scene between Ayato and Haruka somehow loses meaning afterwards. If you thought certain elements of the TV series was confusing, this movie's much worse.

Animation: A

There are loads of added footage to this film such as a new introduction and an all-new, all-different ending. Otherwise, it's still the same quality seen on the TV series.

Soundtrack: A

Despite not having the show's opening theme "Hemisphere", Pluralitas Concentio has some new jazz/orchestral BGM from Ichiko Hashimoto. The ending theme is another wonderful song by Maaya Sakamoto titled "Tune the Rainbow".

Sub vs. Dub

Reprising their roles are Hiro Shimono as Ayato, Aya Hisakawa (Skuld in Ah! My Goddess, Ami/Sailor Mercury in Sailor Moon) as Haruka, Houko Kuwashima (Kirika in NOIR, Flay in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED) as Quon, Maaya Sakamoto (Hitomi in Escaflowne) as young Haruka and Reika, Ayako Kawasumi (Mahoromatic, Aoi in Ai Yori Aoshi) as Megumi, Yumi Kakazu (Dita in Vandread, Renais in Yuusha-Oh GaoGaiGar FINAL) as Hiroko, Kenji Nojima as Torigai, Mitsuru Miyamoto (Roger in The Big O, Hubb in Wolf's Rain) as Itsuki, Toshihiko Seki (Genjo in Saiyuki, Masato in Hades Project Zeorymer) as Isshiki, Jouji Nakata (Alucard in Hellsing, Jack in Yukikaze) as Kunugi, Kouki Miyata (Daisaku in Samurai Girl Real Bout High School, Tohru in Gilgamesh) as Yagumo, Yuu Sugimoto (Akemi in Saikano) as Elvy, Yuu Asakawa (Sakaki in Azumanga Daioh, Motoko in Love Hina) as Miwa, Houchuu Ohtsuka (Beck in The Big O, Bill in Gunsmith Cats) as Kuki, Mako Hyodo (Sharon Apple in Macross Plus) as Helena, Iemasa Kayumi as Bahbem, and Ichiko Hashimoto as Maya.

I listened to a few seconds of the English dub and switched it back to Japanese due to a lack of interest. It's not bad at all; just not as interesting.

DVD Extras: F (stand-alone DVD)

Trailers do not count as extras.

The movie also comes in a special box that holds the movie and all seven volumes of the TV series. Unfortunately, it would be a waste for those who already have the first box.

The Bottom Line

RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio is not meant to be a stand-alone title. It is advisable to watch the TV series first. At most, this movie is rental material unless you are a fan of the series.

On the bright side, this version's ending is still better than any version of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Links

Official RahXephon Homepage (Japanese)

Shochiku's Official RahXephon: Tagen Hensoukyoku Homepage (Japanese)

Victor Entertainment's Official RahXephon: Tagen Hensoukyoku Page (Japanese)

ADV Films' Official RahXephon Homepage

Reference

Anime News Network

Edited March 31, 2005 by areaseven

[Gui]

Thanks for the infos

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

i saw this at bestbuy on sunday...i wanted to get it really bad since i was a fan of the series...it looks like i have to re-watch the whole thing before i could see the movie

[Pat S]

I saw the movie the other day, and have not seen the TV series.

It really reminded me of Evangelion to the point that I'm not that interested in seeing the TV series. The action seens in the movie were not stressed very much, so I basically think I was watching a love story set in a bizarre sci fi setting. It did ok at that, though didn't try hard to not confuse at the end.

I'm kind of glad I watched the movie, now I have no interest in seeing the TV series.

[Gui]

That's the 'problem' of movie adapatations of a TV show: they discourage you to get into the serie in 'mutilating' the story... This is what happened with Blue Gender aswell

[mpchi]

But on the other hand, I felt like the movie did help me to understand the big picture of the series a lot more, since I did see the TV series first.

This movie can't really be seen as a stand alone to be very enjoyable, but a good suppliment material for someone who watched the TV before hand, while some story elements & character has changed a bit.

[Pat S]

So, did anyone really enjoy Evangelion, and Rah Xephon TV series as well? I was pretty bothered by the similarities I saw in just the Movie.

[Gui]

But on the other hand, I felt like the movie did help me to understand the big picture of the series a lot more, since I did see the TV series first.

This movie can't really be seen as a stand alone to be very enjoyable, but a good suppliment material for someone who watched the TV before hand, while some story elements & character has changed a bit.

I agree

[mpchi]

So, did anyone really enjoy Evangelion, and Rah Xephon TV series as well?  I was pretty bothered by the similarities I saw in just the Movie.

I enjoyed both Evangelion & Rahxephon TV, and don't really feel like Rahxephon is a sort of "Eva Rip-Off" like a number of people say. They just both have an apocalyptic theme with giant robots as one of the main focus in the show, and they both can get confusing towards the end of the series in their own different ways. But they are both very good shows. Eva rank a bit higher on my list as it was very original at the time it came out (1995), but Rahxephon TV is a very high quality show with beautiful designs, animations, great music, and good storytelling.

Whether you will enjoy the Rahxephon TV really depends on your taste. And unlike the Eva movies, Rahxephon the movie IS a compilation of the main story in TV, so you pretty much know & saw the major events of the show. At least in Ayato & Haruka's point of view. You'll see these events in more details and more robot fights in the TV. The fights are short most of the time, but animated very nicely. And some parts of the show can get a bit confusing unless you re-watch it like a couple more times. But since you saw the movie, it kind of spelled out for you already.

To me, Rahxephon is a great show with high production value, but not one of my top favorite shows. I don't mind the confusing part of the story towards the end, but I find the main character Ayato (and some sub characters as well, like Quon, Itsuki, Maya, the Commander guy...etc.) really distant & hard to relate to. And when he is the main character of the show, it doesn't grab you in as much emotionally. Haruka on the hand is great. Very down to earth, and very likable.

[Pat S]

mpchi: Thanks, if I'll try to catch the first few episodes of the TV show, and see if I like it.