Product Description

Return to the world of RahXephon, where humans and Mu fight for dominance over a shattered Earth, and giant statues are the ultimate weapons. Where music forms the fabric of the universe and the link between two hearts is the thread upon which the fate of humanity hangs. It is still a love story, but it is not the same story. Not exactly. Prepare for new visions and new revelations, as the other side of RahXephon is finally revealed. RahXephon was created and directed by Yutaka Izubuchi (Gasaraki, the Gundam franchise), and produced by Bones (Angelic Layer, Cowboy Bebop), Victor Entertainment (Noir) and Fuji TV (Astro Boy, Battle of the Planets). The RahXephon series debuted on Japanese TV in 2002 and became an immediate sensation, with fierce action and the multilayered complexity of the plot and characters drawing in viewers by the tens of thousands. RahXephon: The Motion Picture is a DVD-only release, containing a 120-minute feature in both English 5.1 and Japanese 5.1 language versions with English subtitles. Extras includes an 10-page RahXephon booklet and ADV previews.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54694 in DVD
• Brand: ADV Films
• Released on: 2004-07-20
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Surround Sound, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Amazon.com
RahXephon: The Motion Picture retells the story of the 2002 broadcast series with some minor changes. After a subway accident, high school student Ayato Kamina discovers the city he knows has been hidden by Mulian invaders inside "Tokyo Jupiter," a huge sphere in which time passes slowly. Ayato's half-human/half-Mulian blood makes him the "Instrumentalist" who can pilot the giant mecha RahXephon and "tune the world," which will somehow defeat the Mulians. Ayato undertakes this mission only to save Haruka Mishima, his former high school sweetheart. Condensing the plot of the 26-episode series into just under two hours proves a daunting task for executive director Yutaka Izubuchi and his artists. They leave big chunks of the story unexplained and send characters into the past to visit themselves, creating some thorny, unresolved paradoxes. The results feel like yet another unsuccessful Evangelion imitator. (Rated 15 and older: violence, brief nudity, sexual situations) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

A World in Discord
** Spoilers **

RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio is not a traditional anime movie in the sense that it precedes, follows from, or slightly strays from the series. For the amount of rehashing of old scenes the movie does, it is not a series rehash episode to help fill the audience in either.

RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio is the retelling of Ayato Kamina life before, during and after the incidents that transpire in RahXephon the series. While many of the scenes are recaps of what occurred during the series, to those that haven't seen the series in its entirety they probably won't make too much sense. Despite ridicules claims that the movie does not follow the storylines presented in the series, this reviewer can only find one instance in which this occurs: where Quon during the movie remains asleep and should be awake and present during Ayato's life outside Tokyo Jupiter.

For the full impact of the series one should most certainly see RahXephon the series (the purchase over the movie is recommended... essentially that's the only thing that is a requirement in the world of RahXephon). However those looking for a companion that introduces their favorite characters and experiences through different perspectives, feel free to pick up the movie after seeing the series. For those that know how things turn out in the series, the RahXephon team carefully introduces new scenes and segments which show what was going on behind the scenes from the series.

The "behind the scenes" material isn't earth shaking new material; instead it confirms what many fans knew to have occurred during the course of the series. That is to say that Terra's motives for their actions did not reflect Ayato's emotional well-being - they, in fact, used him as many fans gathered by the end of the series. Again, while nothing earth shaking, the new content is a condensed version of the series which comes across nicely.

Some of the finer aspects of the movie come across in the beginning segments of the film as well as the end segments. In the beginning we see Ayato's life with his childhood love and can sympathize with him more (we also see how frequently he thinks of his childhood love and how later, in time, his childhood love still thinks of him). The ending of the movie simply confirms the end of the series while showing you something akin to "where are they now" segments. Truly beautiful but short and in and of themselves do not constitute "earth shaking" new material.

One of the greatest scenes found only in Pluralitas Concentio is a scene in which Ayato meets up with Haruka shortly after she intercepts the union (or conflict) between Quon and Ayato (essentially a union which will decide how the world is tuned and which forces will prevail victorious). During this scene an almost-stoic Ayato stands before Haruka and explains just what is happening to the world, a world which is filled with dissonant sounds which needs to be retuned. In addition to that those that enjoyed philosophical and religious references found within the series will like how Ayato explains at great length how he, now, stands apart from past and future (essentially becoming almost Buddha-like figure), and will essentially live in all things.

RahXephon is a beautiful series and I highly recommend you see it. I would rent RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio before purchasing it just to ensure that you'll enjoy it. Not a fan of "recap" episodes in anime series, I have to admit I enjoyed Pluralitas Concentio quite a bit. The DVD scores a 4.5 out of 5 while the series itself scores a 5.

This makes no sense!
I spent most of this movie trying to figure out WHY they made it. There are no especially shocking new revelations or things that made me go, "Ah, that explains such-and-such from the series." I consider myself to be fairly skilled at understanding anime, or at least letting drop what I don't understand. However, neither I nor my even more anime-literate friend could figure out precisely what the point of this movie was: what it added to the story, or what action scenes were supposed to appeal to our less intellectual sides, or even what was supposed to be going on.
In other words, the dialogue was full of technobabble and half-formed theories that were never satisfactorily explained, the action was subpar compared to the series (and you can see most of it just by watching the series anyway), and no serious plotholes or loose ends were resolved.
Thus, I can honestly say that I feel this movie has no special artistic merit and should be avoided. Rent it if you must, but save your money.
I can only conceive of two reasonable excuses to purchase this movie:
1. You are a HUGE RahXephon fan. If you have the Instrumentalist signs tattooed onto your body, you qualify. And you need help.
2. You already own the entire series, feel a deep need to complete your set, and have $30 disposable income.

In the end, I think I only liked two things about this movie: the fact that I got to see RahXephon's ultimate attack one more time (it really is awesome) and the ending song. Not nearly enough to amount to a worthwhile purchase.

Fill the wholes and Tune the Rainbow
I imagine I must first explain that emotional content and emotional affect have a great deal to do with how I rate Rah-Xephon: Pluralitas Concentio. This movie rates high in both categories. I viewed the series in total a few years ago on DVD and was left feeling confused and unsure of what had actually happened. I'm in the process of rewatching the series, but only after having viewed the movie. In doing so, I now have better insight into the world and characters of Rah-Xephon.

The movie is emotionally charged. There really is no other way to put it. I must agree with some of the other reviews in that it skips from here-to-there in a number of places and that character development is lacking (for most of the players) when compared to the series. The exception would have to be Ayato Kamina's "other" female friend from school, Hiroko Asahina. Her death in the series was tragic. In the movie it is even more so because we have a better understanding of her feelings for Ayato. We learn that her love for him is as long-lived and every bit as deep as the shared love between Ayato and Haruka. That Hiroko's love is unrequited until just before her death makes it all the more tragic.

Recommendation: This is a hard one to recommend. Mostly because it is so different from the series. If you've seen the series and were left confused then Rah-Xephon: Pluralitas Concentio should be on your "must buy" list.

One last point: The end title song for the movie, Tune the Rainbow is a wonderful piece of music. My understanding is that it is unique to the film and did not appear in the series.