RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio

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More commonly known as "RahXephon: The Motion Picture", this is a slight retelling of the love story between Kamina Ayato and Shitow Haruka.

In the series, you see Ayato struggle to come to grips with the reality that he has to fight "his own people" for his love for Haruka.

However, Izebuchi, in the movie, thought it would be better to focus the entirety of it on Haruka. Haruka, and her mission to gain back what she lost 12 years ago in Ayato.

Though clips were shown of the series, enough has been "changed" or implied that it DOES seem like it's more Haruka's story than Ayato's. The viewer sees how Haruka "mysteriously" appears in Tokyo-Jupiter, by low-altitude drop from Elvy's fighter. You also see how she ALSO struggles to understand what is going on around her, her only clear objective being getting Ayato back. And even then, she clearly struggles with using him as a weapon, the ONLY weapon capable of fighting back against Tokyo-Jupiter and the dimensionally lost Mulians.

In the movie, the story of the series takes a large backseat to the main story between Hero and Heroine. In doing so, some loose-ends are tied up, simply because the RahXephon Bible and "Cliff's Notes" explain it well. Thusly, you understand more of the series, even if you don't agree with the movie.

Overall, the DVD was fantastic in that while it was a different story, it maintained the same characteristics that made RahXephon...RahXephon. You hear a great (though not as great as the series) soundtrack, and the music slowly entices you. You see subtle differences in coloring as the series goes on, gradually falling into bleak and subdued colors to help mood, even when you don't realize it.

The only downfall of this movie was the fact that so much of it was snippets from the TV series. It was Izebuchi's vision to retell the story, but I had not believed it would be a "slight" retelling, rather than a "full" retelling in new animation and new concepts.

But, what made this story great, is the ending. That no matter what happens in the end, it all turns out okay, because Haruka had the strength within her to look past EVERYTHING (and I really, truly mean EVERYTHING) and see Ayato.


Rating: 3.5/5
Story: 4/5
Animation: 3/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5