Ask John: Can You Explain the Ending of RahXephon?

Question:
Can you explain what RahXephon was about or what actually happened at the end?

Answer:
Warning: Spoilers included!

Inevitably comparisons will be drawn between the conclusions of Evangelion and RahXephon, but such are to be expected given the similarities between the two shows in style, theme and intent. The imagery of the finales of both shows as well are bound to create speculation based on their similarity. However, if anything, I personally think that RahXephon has more in common thematically with Shoujo Kakumei Utena, another TV anime that tread the same ground, than it does with Evangelion. On its surface, RahXephon is a complete, logical science-fiction story of Pinocchio- the tale of a puppet who becomes a real boy. If my symbolic analysis is accurate, RahXephon may also be taken as a parable of growth, maturity and most of all self-determination.

Like its predecessors Evangelion and Utena, RahXephon is a story about a youth striving to overcome the insecurities and fears of childhood and develop into a self-aware and self-sufficient adult. Evangelion told the story of a young boy whose self esteem and sense of self worth were so minimal that he was unable to self-actualize and recognize himself as an independent person. Shinji defined himself as the Evangelion Unit 01 pilot, or as his father’s son, or as the object of Asuka’s projected guilt, but never as Shinji Ikari. Shinji’s dilemma is fundamentally different from that of Ayato Kamina, although not entirely foreign to the world of RahXephon. RahXephon is a story about not merely coming into oneself, but fulfilling oneself and, like Utena, revolutionizing the world. While “revolutionizing the world” in Utena meant symbolically exchanging the world of adolescence for that of adulthood, RahXephon plays on both the internal, mental evolution of Ayato Kamina’s own psychological world, and on the external level of Ayato physically altering the world around him by effecting the people that surround him.

In the final episodes of RahXephon, Ayato recognizes that he has lost his memories of his past and has refused to recognize the love extended to him by Haruka and Hiroko and Elvy and Megumi. He’s always running away because he’s uncertain of his own humanity- in effect, afraid of commitment, afraid to be completely Murian or human, child or adult. When he says that either his or Quon’s world must be destroyed and absorbed by the other, he symbolically means that he must determine his own future. He can either take his place in adult society and make his mark on the world, or allow himself to be absorbed, marginalized and victimized by society and life itself, represented by Quon. God has set Ayato on the road of life, and it’s now time for Ayato himself to choose his own direction and purpose. Literally, as the final episode reveals, Lord Barbem is the deistic god of RahXephon who created the board, set the pieces in motion, then stepped back to watch how the game would play out. Ayato is one of the pieces given the choice of not moving, moving as expected, or making his own rules and moving as he desires.

Quon, in the form of Ishitori, seeks to destroy Ayato in the final episode. Quon may be considered the external influence of the world. In Ayato’s mind she explains to him that she is part of him and he, part of her. She also helps him come to realize that he is not alone in the world and that he does have the power to change his own life and change the world around him. At the same time, she is the pressure to grow and mature. If Ayato does not make up his own mind and exert his full potential, he will die, be destroyed. Ayato’s choice is to either forcibly exercises his will on the world by accepting the woman he loves and making sacrifices and accepting his own identity, or be squashed underfoot and absorbed into the larger world as a nameless, faceless pawn. In the same way, Ayato’s mother Maya urges Haruka to make her own fate, shape her own future. Actually, both Maya and Megumi prod Haruka to fulfill her own dream and chase after what she wants. Just as Ayato is never really alone, Haruka as well has people around her that support her and encourage her to grow and mature and shape her own future by her own will.

Itsuki and Makoto and Maya and Sayoko are all in the same situation as Ayato. They recognize themselves as only roles or clones, not individuals. Their inability to will themselves into being anything than mere clones or pawns results in them not being able to exist in the world. In the Darwinistic world of RahXephon, the strong survive. Characters that don’t have the will or determination to force their own personality and desires onto and into the world become nothing more than victims and sacrifices. Characters like Ayato and Haruka and Megumi make an active effort to achieve their desires and express themselves. Itsuki, who sees himself as nothing more than Ayato’s useless brother; Makoto, who is obsessed with being a “D”; Maya, who sees herself as nothing more than Ayato’s mother; and Sayoko, who cannot accept the fact that she’s a clone, but likewise cannot graduate into recognizing herself as an independent individual, do not make efforts to survive or adapt or recognize themselves as valuable, independent people. They do not value their individuality or self-worth and as a result, cease to exist when their self-defined purpose is fulfilled.

Ayato does exert his own will. He recognizes and accepts that he is not alone, is not an island unto himself, and makes a conscious decision to commit to those circumstances. By revealing that Reika Mishima was actually Haruka all along (or at least RahXephon’s “astral projection” of Harkua), the animation reveals to the viewer that Ayato has never been totally alone. The spirit of his first love has always been with him and supported him and gives him a reason to break out of his shell. As the omnipresent birds, and the final imagery of Ayato in Ishitori form all strive to convey, Ayato figuratively spreads his wings. When Ayato “tunes the world,” he attunes himself to the world by proclaiming his individuality and announcing to the world that he will live and be happy and love who he wants to love. He accepts adulthood by accepting responsibility for himself and committing to the future he wants for himself.