Yeah - The next two episodes?
Those are the source of many of the Evangelion comparisons. It's much more mind-screwy than Eva ever was for me, but they make thousands of times more sense in hindsight.
Episode 11 Act 1
And we start out with a huge number of dialog boxes, and Ayato screaming. "Time shift due to a T-J reversal!" More quantum technobabble(K-mesons disappear within 1/20,000,000 of a second or so and would not be worth screaming about) and more importantly, it's the exact same patterns as in Tokyo Jupiter. We then see RahXephon in front of the dolem, and Ayato continues to scream inside the cockpit, as his heart-rate goes down, and more stuff about how this is like Tokyo Jupiter. Suddenly, within the cockpit, Ayato hears singing, as the dolem starts to restrain the RahXephon in what looks like a hug. I swear, it looks like the dolem is hugging RahXephon. We get more talk inside the control room about the electromagnetic field and we see diagrams of every point in the RahXephon being LOST, as the giant halo of the dolem starts to sweep under it and is teleporting the dolem and the RahXephon...somewhere. Meanwhile, Ayato is orgasming or something, as the control room sees that all contact with either has been lost. Right now, Haruka is pretty much in tears. We get the drop of water we have seen so many times before, and the RahXephon finds itself in Tokyo again. Also, the video has letterboxed itself to a widescreen resolution. Ayato is standing on a roof. "This is..."
"Ninth Movement: Kyoja Circuit / NightMare" What the fuck is Kyoja?
Ayato stands while gray figures walk all around him. Two girls, who actually have color, quickly run by him. Despite being in his street clothes outside the reflection, when he looks at himself through a store window he sees himself in his TERRA uniform. A flash of white light, followed by the grey figures being motionless, and we get to see Asahina and Superchunky again. They are holding each other's hands and playing around with each other, the obvious sign of them being in love. They then kiss, which shocks Ayato. Another white flash. Asahina and Superchunky talk to Ayato, and Ayato is wondering what's wrong, but Asahina doesn't understand what he means. They go out to have fun. Next, we see someone who looks like Superchunky wearing a VR helmet or something and smiling. He's playing some sort of arcade shooter game, I think, but it's hard to tell. Ayato looks sad, and he sees the high score table, with today's date: 2015/07/25. (Also, the third-place score is Buchi. That's the cat.) Asahina, despite being all over Superchunky previously, now has her arms around Ayato. Next, Ayato, Asahina, and Superchunky all have lollipops or something, and then Superchunky's phone goes off. As soon as he goes up to respond to the phonecall, Asahina puts her hand on Ayato's. I'm...confused. Asahina then goes up for a kiss on Ayato, and another white flash.
Ayato, weirded out, starts running. He eventually reaches what I think is an alley and sees a moving penguin doll. Is this what they mean by Evangelion ripoff? The penguin doll moves its hand to say "hi!" and this causes Ayato to panic. The penguin doll blows up like a balloon and then pops, and Ayato is even more freaked out. He runs more, into some weird corridor, which is rendered in the most disorienting angles possible. Another white flash. Ayato standing among the grey masses again. But this time, there's Haruka. Ayato asks why she's here, but there's no response, and a jazz record starts playing. The record is playing inside a restaurant, where there are only two people in the entire thing, Ayato and Haruka. Ayato starts asking about Tokyo Jupiter and time dilation and all that but Haruka's only response is to talk about coffee. Ayato then starts asking about if this is a dream. Haruka says it's the other world that's like a dream, which is blatantly false, as the past ten episodes have quite definitely been a mecha anime and behaved as such, while this episode has behaved as a dream. Ayato, however, is convinced, since the coffee tastes real, and Haruka talks about the infamous "man dreaming he was a butterfly/butterfly dreaming he is a man" thing. The dolem, as Haruka, continues to try to convince Ayato to not try to wake up from the dream.
Another white flash. All the white flashes have had a figure in this one, but only in this flash can I tell that the figure has his/her face covered. And after the flash, Ayato notices that his hand is now on Haruka's breast. Ayato tries to remove it, but Haruka grabs his hand and puts it back. Somehow, the man running the restaurant doesn't even seem to care. "Haruka" tells Ayato to stop restraining himself and to "be a man". God damn, this dolem needs to get laid. After Haruka makes more comments trying to convince himself he shouldn't go back to the outside world and such, he notices a painting with an angel on it, which then moves. This freaks him out enough that he jumps, and lands on the table, which collapses. Now on the floor, Haruka places herself in an even more blatantly sexual position, and asks whether Ayato can play the music yet. This, I'm guessing, is related to the fact that mech pilots in this show are named "instrumentalists"(which I think was mentioned by hollow in an earlier post and not in the show itself, but oh well) Back outside, Ayato comments on wanting to go back home, and then the eyecatch.
What the fuck did I just watch?
the future we had hoped for
Meet Vivace, the hallucinogenic dolem. Things may make slightly more sense once you've seen the rest of the episode.
The widescreen format is presumably to make a clear distinction between the real world and the dream world.
Episode 11 Act 2
Ayato is the only one in the train bus. This isn't normal for Tokyo, is it? Aren't the trains buses usually packed and full of men trying to grope the women? Ayato is just staring at his hands. Ayato steps off the bus as it stops in Shakuji Park. He then spends a few seconds staring at the nameplate of his home in Tokyo Jupiter. The Mulian(I'm guessing it's a Mulian) is walking towards us in the white flash. Maya opens the door and says "Welcome home" to Ayato. Considering the rest of the content of this dream, I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up trying to put him in Oedipus complex mode. The news is talking about chimpanzees using vending machines, which I'm guessing is code for "complete irrelevance". Maya makes dinner for Ayato, which is presumably a rare occurence, since Ayato comments on it. Considering how quickly Ayato seemed to forget about his mother, I'm guessing she wasn't actually a very good one. The story about chimpanzees continues until the newsman then suddenly starts talking directly to Ayato. The newsman asks Ayato to respond out loud so that they can know where he is. I'm guessing this is the voice of Kunugi or something being broadcasted to him. Then, the newsman gives his last line as the TV starts flipping between him and static of Mishima Reika: "If you do not return, something terrible will happen." I'm guessing the newsman was Mishima.
Yet another white flash. Now, we can clearly see the thing that is over the Mulian's head. What is that thing, anyways? Does it have something to do with piloting the Dolem? Ayato is now laying down in his bed, extending his hand up into the air. Ayato then gets a telephone call. We hear a voice that I think is Superchunky's, telling Ayato that he was worried, because he disappeared so suddenly and that they are so worried about him. Ayato seems to have finally decided that he is going to stay in what is to us the viewer obviously a fake reality constructed by the dolem, but then he suddenly gets up out of the bed and yells "That's what you want me to think, isn't it?!", which is exactly what I wanted to hear. Ayato then starts ripping books out of the bookshelf while repeatedly yelling "Stop messing with me!", but then, after he drops the books, he notices that they're blank, although one of the covers says "art drowing", which is not as hilarious a bad romanization as "REDAEYAL". Also, we suddenly see a canvas appear out of nowhere. I guess the dream is telling Ayato to paint. We can then hear a voice, I think Mishima's, come from the canvas.
Back in the real world, Quon has taken off all her clothes and seems to be going into convulsions or something. Itsuki notices this and quickly runs up to Quon, wondering what's happening. Quon is screaming for Ollin. Haruka, on the other hand, is still incredibly depressed. Megumi keeps trying to contact Ayato over her intercom, and apparently his suit keeps on flipping between active and inactive. Megumi finally decides that it's no use, and takes off her headset, but Haruka stops her and puts it on herself—she isn't giving up. Back in the dream, the canvas asks Ayato to find her. Ayato then asks who is speaking and we see a flash of Mishima Reika. Maya then appears and puts her arms around Ayato, telling him he should listen to what his mother says. The Mulian under the white background again, looking freakier than ever. We then see the canvas in what seems to be an endless room, and Maya starts talking to Ayato about how he's the rightful instrumentalist of the RahXephon, but that he isn't skilled enough to improvise, and should just stay here until he's more skilled, because it's peaceful here.
Then, another shot of the Mulian looking incredibly creepy. This immediately causes Ayato to be freaked out, and somehow knocks Maya onto the ground. Maya then asks if this is any way to treat a mother who has done everything her son could possibly want. Ayato's response is "That's a lie!" * He then starts yelling about how, whenever he wanted her to be there, she never was. Maya continues her pleading, but Ayato then runs away, and after he disappears, she starts crying, and then starts babbling or something. Next, Ayato is running in front of a weird black-and-white background, and then a yellow rectangle or something, and the drop of water which has shown up way too many times.
Then, he's in a field or something with Mishima, who will probably be incomprehensible as usual. "We meet again" is her first line, which I think makes sense. He yells at Mishima to take him back to the real world, because this world is creepy and surreal, and I, the liveblogger, have to agree. Mishima then warns Ayato that in the real world, there will be things that Ayato does not want to face, and then, she sticks her arm into his mouth, which is kind of gross, and she pulls out a giant stick, which is just plain weird. She then seems to use it to pull out the thing in the middle of the cockpit of the RahXephon. I'm guessing this is Ayato's way back into the real world. As Ayato gets into the pilot's seat, the field turns into the normal color scheme of the cockpit. The RahXephon awakens, and Ayato starts to scream. There is a cord in the RahXephon's mouth similar to the one Mishima pulled out of Ayato, and the RahXephon grabs it and causes it to explode. The dolem's halo then starts to crack and explode into the torrents of blue blood that dolems are known for. We then see the RahXephon, carrying the dolem, come out of the giant cloud of blue blood, and Ayato rips its head off, then bisects it, and we see a shot of the Mulian being bisected in the same way.
Both Megumi and Haruka are amazed at Ayato. Quon is on a hospital-looking bed and finally looks happy. "I found you, my Ollin."
Did I learn anything this episode? I don't think I did.
the future we had hoped for
Taller than Zim
The freudian implications of this dream-state are quite interesting. (and not just the oedipedal ones)
"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent
Dream-Maya implies that the purpose of this dolem, at least, was not to fight Ayato but to persuade him to switch sides to the Mu. She also implies that Ayato was being groomed as the Rah Xephon pilot in Tokyo Jupiter. (This is the episode where we first meet the term "instrumentalist".)
Next episode is also a bit trippy, but is not a dream.
The news is talking about chimpanzees using vending machines, which I'm guessing is code for "complete irrelevance".
Oh, and I've just remembered a detail that I missed the first time through - the inflatable penguin that exploded was wearing Mishima's scarf. (Also, when the TV was turned off, for a moment it flashed on Haruka's face, so I assume that it was Haruka's words Ayato was hearing.)
Okay, an episode late, but I have to say it : Futagami is awesome.
To answer a question further upthread : I watched Ep #19 yesterday. And urghh, this was the only part of the movie that left an impression on me (ohgodsiknowhowthatsubplotisgoingtoend).
I think I got Mishima's deal partway through Ep #18, in a conversation between her and Quon (something that should have been the epitome of crypticness, but actually made some sense). Between this and the —ing awesome trick she pulls at the beginning of Ep #20, I'm finally warming up to her.
Taller than Zim
Alktash got it in episode 20, I think. And it's revealed in either 21 or 22 more explicitly.
"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent
rrrrrrrrr
This is an awesome series and I wish I had paid more attention to some of the episodes that follow after this. I kinda stopped around the beginning of the second half.
A while back someone mentioned something regarding blue blood and "maybe they have something in them that makes their blood not stop being blue when it's oxygenated." This is pretty much impossible. However, there are two major blood types on Earth, red, iron-based blood and blue, copper-based blood. The Mulians are likely copper-based.
This doesn't explain how they're able to maintain normal flesh tones despite the blue blood (their skin should be light blue with a green or ruddy tint from melanin and other pigments, their lips should be bright blue, etc.) but whatever.
Sakamoto demands an explanation for this shit.
Was?
What if Mulains have something other than melanin for pigment?
rrrrrrrrr
There's only so much pigments can do to hide the fact that you have blue blood. Skin is inherently translucent.
Sakamoto demands an explanation for this shit.
Taller than Zim
I've been re-watching the show, and I really find Megumi's development to be incredibly well-done. She starts out as your standard tsundere, but she really mellows out and matures as the show goes on. She's really sweet and adorable in the post-Tokyo episodes and I feel so bad for her :(
"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent
Finished the series today. Wow, that last episode was awesome. And those last few sequences do lay out the final answers about Reika (although I agree that the hints have always been there : I watched the recap #9.5 episode just after, and they barely could have been more explicit or blatant).
Taller than Zim
The funny thing is that it seems incredibly obvious in retrospect, but very few people actually seem to figure it out before the reveal.
"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent
The most common reaction to that last scene seems to be:
"So that's why she... and he... and that explains... and why didn't I see that... and of course that... and wasn't it romantic how..."
It's a brilliant way to wrap up a Jigsaw Puzzle Plot - you've figured it mostly out, the end credits are rolling - and you drop in one key piece of information that explains a number of loose ends and motivations so perfectly, while at the same time being a completely fitting and emotionally satisfying end scene in its own right.
edited 21st Sep '10 12:02:20 PM by hollow49
Actually, I wasn't exactly talking about the post-credits sequence (though it does clarify a few points, like the name thing), but the piano scene at about the 16:15 mark, which is the point where I figured it out.
I think it works because of a very clever use of misdirection : you think that you've figured Reika's deal about two thirds through the series (and in a sense, you have), but there's still a missing piece that completely changes your vision of the whole puzzle.
Taller than Zim
Yeah, the series loves doing that. It keeps making you try to figure out what's going on, and then offering a new piece of information that fits in with what happens but totally changes the meaning of it.
"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent
Was?
Speaking of Reika how would you guys classify her appearing as Reika and Ayato to Ayato and Quon respectively? Voluntary Shapeshifting, Empathic Shapeshifting or a combination of the two?
Taller than Zim
My impression was that They're separate beings/manifestations of the same being. IE: "Ixtli" isn't so much a name as a kind of title. "Reika" isn't shapsehifting into "Ayato" but rather it's a kind of You Cannot Grasp the True Form or A Form You Are Comfortable With.
edited 21st Sep '10 3:23:10 PM by Arilou
"No, the Singularity will not happen. Computation is hard." -Happy Ent
^^ None of those : my understanding was that something completely different was happening. But that's stuff I don't want to discuss in a liveblog thread that won't reach the relevant episodes for a while, even under spoiler text.
(But I mostly agree with Arilou.)
Isn't there an old thread to resurrect in Manga & Anime for us to discuss this kind of thing ?
edited 21st Sep '10 3:26:39 PM by Jhiday
My network is being dodgy. So, while it is, Rah Xephon liveblog.
Episode 12 Act 1
We start out looking at a heart rate monitor, which seems to be for Quon. Ayato is looking at her, peacefully, as Sayoko makes a joke about how he should kiss her.
"Twelfth Movement: The Black Egg / Resonance" How vague.
We see the island of Nirai-Kanai(I think), and then a village market or something. Some white(or possibly just Mukokuseki) guy with sunglasses and a cap is talking to someone with darker skin and a flower in her hair. The two are now on a truck and the white one starts taking pictures of the mountain. He exits the vehicle and she drives off. He then takes some time to just stare at the mountain. Back to Quon, Sayoko is complaining about having to babysit Quon and white-haired jerk makes a comment about her being "the original M-type". Sayoko wonders if she's listening, white-haired jerk says it doesn't matter, and he also says that he's an honest man and of course whatever they're doing will help Itsuki. Then, the lights go off in Quon's room, and her eyes open—it seems that she's awake, and probably always has been, and maybe listening to them talk. As white-haired jerk exits, Sayoko sees Haruka holding flowers, probably for Quon. This leads Sayoko to ask a question about, of all things, stockings. Haruka then asks "Since when?"...I'm confused as to how this is a response to a question about stockings. Sayoko then says something about not prying, and walks away.
Then, Haruka goes into an elevator, and sees Ayato. After a few seconds of quiet elevator, Haruka makes small-talk, asking about his checkup. This causes him to flash back to the nightmare and get a bit mad. He then apologizes, and starts running from Haruka. Haruka then sighs as the elevator door closes. In the main room of TERRA, we see Kim talking about the Bahbem Foundation sending a team of doctors, presumably for Quon. I'm guessing this is related to the Lord Bahbem from earlier. The guy who was taking pictures of the mountain is walking on some path or something, but is tired and sits down to take a break. We can now see that he's looking at some Mayan-looking pyramids, so he's probably one of the archaeologists working on it. He then takes pictures of the site. He then records video as well, but in the middle of the video we see him getting shot. A blonde lady then enters a black room, where the floor has red lines and circles on it, and a man in a very fancy suit is sitting in one of the circles. I'm getting SEELE vibes from him. Apparently her name is Helena, and when she mentions a dog wandering into the complex, we see an image of what I'm guessing is her as a little kid appears in one of the circles. She then starts talking about Quon, which Lord Bahbem(?) doesn't seem concerned about, and then we see him petting young Helena's head. God, he's weird.
Ayato is staring at his drawing, thinking about Mishima Reika again. Futagami asks if anyone is home, which leads Ayato to come downstairs and greet him. Next, we're at Alpha Squadron's base, and the music suddenly cuts off to play something that sounds like rock music. It seems that McMahon disconnected Shapplin's headphones and is playing her own music. Shapplin says that she should listen to Duparc's Rhapsody, which causes McMahon to start arm-wrestling him. Elvy, meanwhile, is staring out the window, depressed and/or mad. Someone comes to Elvy to ask what's wrong, and it seems it's that their mission success rate has gone down since coming to Nirai-Kanai. It seems Elvy doesn't like playing second-fiddle to Ayato. Suddenly, we see a plane with the same Bahbem-symbol from before, which I now notice is a cross with a diagonal line also coming from the center, and circles on all the ends, land on the runway. I'm guessing it contains the doctors. Ayato is explaining to Futagami that he can't say much to outsiders, because of the whole "hiding the giant robot" thing. They then talk a bit, and Futagami reveals that he knows that Ayato came from Tokyo Jupiter, and that the head of the Mu-ruled government of Tokyo is female. I'm guessing she's Maya Kamina. Futagami then shows a picture of "the people who betrayed the world", which causes Ayato's eyes to tear up. In the center of the photo, of course, is Maya Kamina.
Itsuki walks into the hospital room where Quon is in, followed by two Bahbem doctors(whose robes look religious)...and Quon isn't there. It seems that she leaved without putting her life module on, so Itsuki has them look for her as soon as they possibly can. Quon is in a dark-blue-tinted room that is probably the one the RahXephon is in, and I was about to say that she looks like she's sleepwalking because she looks like she's not entirely there, so to speak, but then I remembered that she's always like that. But she sees Mishima Reika and is shocked. She says the word "Ixtli"... and then Mishima turns to Quon, opens her eyes, and they glow red, causing Quon's birthmark and eyes to glow red as well. We then see two schools of fish in the background pass each other on the screen or something behind them, and as they meet, the screen glows white to show the RahXephon, and a pyramid, and a city, and a windmill, and a tree, and Jupiter, and a giant Mu mothership or something, and Kunugi's blue cherry blossoms, and an egg cracking, before going back to blue. I'm sure these all have significance that is normally not going to be all noticeable to anyone who hasn't seen the series already. And then, on the screen, we see a close-up of the face of the RahXephon. It looks at Quon, which causes her to collapse or something, and then the screen glows again and Mishima is now holding her. Then we get Mishima talking to Quon about how the latter is going to have her very own instrument—I'm guessing this is why she's also Ollin.
Huh. I don't think I understood all of what's going on. Not as trippy as 11 though.
edited 23rd Sep '10 8:07:49 PM by Ponicalica
the future we had hoped for
Well Mishima is there but somebody you wouldn't expect to be trippy is causing a lot of it.
Also the reveal of the Instrumentalist that episode freaked me the fuck out.