AMINE AND MANGA

RahXephon (ラーゼフォン, Rāzefon) is a Japanese anime series about 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a godlike mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place in the world. His life as a student and artist in Tokyo is suddenly interrupted by a mysterious female stalker, strange planes invading the city, and strange machines fighting back.

The original 26-episode anime television series was directed by Yutaka Izubuchi. It was created by Izubuchi and Bones studio and it aired on Fuji TV from January to September 2002. It was produced by Fuji TV, Bones, Media Factory, and Victor Entertainment. The series received critical acclaim and was subsequently translated, released on the DVD and aired in several other countries, including the United States. A 2003 movie adaptation RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, with plot changes and new scenes. The series also spun into novels, an extra OVA episode, an audio drama, a video game, illustration books, and a slightly altered manga adaptation by Takeaki Momose.

The central elements of RahXephon's plot are music, time, archetypal mystery, intrigue, and romance. The series shows influences from philosophy, Japanese folklore, and Western literature, such as, the work of James Churchward. The cultural background of the series is dominated by Mesoamerican and other Pre-Columbian civilizations. Director Izubuchi said RahXephon was his attempt to set a new standard for mecha anime, as well as to bring back aspects of 1970s mecha shows like Brave Raideen.

The backstory of RahXephon is a fight against multi-dimensional invaders known as the Mulians (known as Mu (ムー, Mū^?)). The Mu are visually indistinguishable from humans, however they carry a genetic marker called the "Mu phase" which turns their blood blue and causes memory loss when they mature.

The story reveals two floating cities appearing above Tokyo and Sendai around the end of 2012. The ensuing conflict escalated into nuclear warfare, and the Mu envelop Tokyo and outlying suburbs within a spherical barrier resembling Jupiter, referred by outsiders as "Tokyo Jupiter" ("Tōkyō Jupita"). The barrier has a time dilating effect, which causes time inside Tokyo Jupiter to slow down to one-fifth compared to the outside time.

Although RahXephon is part of the mecha genre of anime, its "mechas" are not mechanical. The mechas used by the Mu, called Dolems, are made of clay, like golems. Each is bound to a certain Mulian, however some are also bound to human hosts, called "sub-Mulians".