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March 10, 2006
RahXephon Episode 2 (review) - "Awakening"

Continuing from episode one, episode two looks to provide some of the answers about what it going on in Tokyo.
Summary:
A slight bit of recap as we again hear Reika's voice calling to Ayato to awaken. Ayato is saying his name over and over again, then says "RahXephon" and the egg hatches. We also see the dolems flying around. The thing that emerges from the egg is a humanoid figure, with wings from the head covering the face like a sort of mask. The flying ships of the "invaders" from before fire at the new figure to no effect. The humanoid figure charges energy and then discharges, destroying many of the flying ships. The Dolem Allegretto then sings a tone at the figure, which fires back, destroying the Dolem and sending fragments all over. The Mu thing from last episode that Sunglasses Woman saw then disappears.
We note that the mysterious woman in the viewing area has been told what is going on, and also is told that the "Ollin has been found."
The agents are making photos of Sunglasses Woman from security tapes, and they discover the tracer in the "Ollin's bag", from which they get fingerprints and confirm a match. We leave them searching for her.
Ayato awakens in the hospital, seeing many other survivors of the attack. He asks the nurse if a girl was with him when he was found, but she says no, then tells him that his mother is coming to pick him up. Ayato has flashbacks to the egg hatching and the dolem being destroyed, but can't remember anything clearly. At this point, his mother picks him up, and we realize (if it hadn't been known before) that Maya, his mother, is clearly the woman in the center chair who watched the battle. As they drive home, Ayato asks his mother about the "secret weapon", as the news is calling the Dolem and if she noticed the humanoid with wings that it was fighting. Maya says no and tells him to relax.
Later that evening, Ayato is dialling the phone. Reika answers, and he asks why she vanished. She doesn't answer that, but asks if he is okay, he says he will explain tomorrow. His mother walks in and asks if he called his friend. When Ayato goes upstairs, his mother hits redial on the phone and gets a disconnected number.
The next day at school, Ayato notices Reika is absent. He flashes back to the Sunglasses Woman offering to explain things. Through the teacher's lecture, we learn that the Invaders destroyed America, Germany, and Britain years ago, and that Tokyo is literally the only place left unscathed, even in Japan. While this goes on, Sunglasses Woman is watching the school.
After lecture - Asahina, Momaru, and Ayato talk about what happened. Ayato mentions that he was running to get help and ran into Mishima. What's odd is that Momaru and Asahina seem confused as to who Reika Mishima is, but as they express this, Reika walks up, and they seem to recognize her after a moment's look at her. Reika thanks Ayato for yesterday. Out by the school pool, Reika and Ayato talk. Reika tells Ayato that she doesn't think his vision of the humanoid figure was a dream; that it must have been real - "It is a mirror that reflects the truth... and if it is the truth you desire, I think you might meet it again."
After school, Ayato heads home, but once there finds a note with a photo. The photo shows some of the things he saw yesterday and the note says "Don't you want to see how the world truly is? Meet me tonight at 2 AM in Shakujji Park." That night, we see the destroyed Dolem is repairing in the center where Maya watched the battle. Several people are watching the humanoid figure, saying it shows no sign of awakening from its sleep.
Ayato of course sneaks out, while we notice that a short distance away, Sunglasses has knocked out the two agents watching Ayato's house. At the meeting spot, she picks up Ayato, and tells him she knows he is curious about things. She asks him a strange question - "How many humans are on Earth?" Ayato answers with the answer from school - "23 million." She replies "Try 6 billion." Ayato is shocked.
They drive through a security gate, sounding an alarm, and grab an aircraft from a base there. Meanwhile, the agents have awoken and told Maya what is going on. We see Fortissimo is repaired as Reika is walking on water across to the RahXephon in the floating temple area (The Shrine of Xephon). The people in the viewing area pick up something moving towards the RahXephon, but they can't view it on the cameras.
Sunglasses is flying the plane when it suddenly starts flying on its own and she can't regain control. As this happens, Reika starts singing the one note tone she did in episode one from on top of the RahXephon's shoulder. The agents and Maya are heading towards the shrine, with Maya saying that if "it" starts to move, they need to activate the Dolem immediately. Ayato can hear Reika's tone in the aircraft and insists that he must get to it, saying someone is waiting for him. Sunglasses sees the RahXephon, calls it by name, while Ayato jumps from the cockpit, with Reika saying "Come Ayato..."
The jet loses control and crashes, but Sunglass is fine. She starts climbing the shrine to reach the RahXephon. Ayato sees the face of the RahXephon and looks upon it, his eyes glowing red. He walks into the face of the RahXephon.
Inside, he is in a room with standing water and a seat in the middle. As the RahXephon opens his eyes, Ayato can see through them. He is frightened and realizes where he is... he starts to ask "What is happening?" then remembers what happened before and starts screaming "Noooooooooooooo!"
Sunglasses barely hangs on as the RahXephon bursts free. The Dolems appear and begin to sing. As the RahXephon breaks free, debris hits Maya in the face. She is cut, but bleeds blue blood. Ayato notices this from the "cockpit" of the RahXephon. End of episode.
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I know you're thinking that many parts of this sounds like the Matrix - "Is this the real world?" It's safe to say that many parts of this are a reverse of the Matrix - is the outside world truly destroyed?
An interesting scene was when Ayato's classmates don't seem to know who Reika is, then as she walks up, it's hard to say, but it almost seems like they are fed information on who she is. Almost like a software update in the Matrix.
And yet, there are several differences from the Matrix. Clearly, the authors/writers are not trying to set up a "fake" world in the manner of the Matrix where people inside are only representations - we are given every indication that these are real people. We also know that everyone doesn't have blue blood, as we saw Asahina bleeding red in episode one.
Maya's role remains unclear. She seems to be the leader of the people who watch over Tokyo, but what is her purpose? What is the shrine of Xephon and the Room of Rah, and how do they relate to the RahXephon? What is the Ollin? I know now that many of these terms come from Aztec legends, but it's still interesting food for thought. Ayato is clearly the Ollin, but what does that mean?
In the end, we still have a ways to go till things are explained. Can Sunglasses guide Ayato to some answers? What will Reika reveal? If Maya has blue blood, does Ayato?
Perhaps episode three will enlighten us.
Posted by Drylnn at March 10, 2006 12:08 AM