RAH XEPHON (MANGA VOLUME 2)

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RAH XEPHON (MANGA VOLUME 2)

July 8th 2010 22:31

Category: Graphic Novels/Comics

Publisher: Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd
Story by: BONES Yutaka Izubuchi
Art by: Takeaki Momose
Translation: Iizuka Harumi
Cover Design: We Swee Pheng
Layout/Lettering: We Swee Pheng
Cost: AU$12.95

Mecha have long been a staple of Japanese manga and anime; seeing huge robots rampaging across a landscape engaged in life or death struggles for glory, survival, truth, justice and a good pizza can provide endless hours of entertainment in either medium. Of course as with many such things there are those who like to take a tried and tested genre and take it in other directions, directions that other similar manga/anime have not yet plumbed or even considered to make integral to their own stories. We have seen this in Aquarion, in Fafner of the Azure and with what some would say as the seminal mecha anime Neongenesis Evangelion, sure the giant robots and carnage are there but the creators and writers of each of these show have opted to push the boundaries with their mecha story, to develop other aspects rather than just focus on endless fan service.

So what makes Rah Xephon so different from all the others? Where is its creative staff taking it that makes it stand out in contrast to the other aforementioned mecha stories? Firstly there is the very nature of the actual mecha which is the title character so to speak of the whole saga; Rah Xephon is not your stereotypical mecha that was produced in some kind of secret laboratory hidden away in a remote location and under the auspices of an organisation that is controlled by the UN. Nor is it even some mass produced machine of war created by a cutting edge Japanese armaments manufacturing firm. No Rah Xephon is a living deity that has chosen for reasons unknown to emerge into this era, at a time of great crisis within the world. Although he is not the only such entity to appear, there is another mecha known as Dorem that has also been discovered and deployed to devastating effect.

Struggle is a major feature in the mecha genre; after all without an enemy the protagonist would lead a rather dull life and not find out just what they’re capable of. Here in this particular saga there is a rather unusual setting that makes for an interesting conflict between two groups that represent two completely differing spectrums of ideology and thought. Geographically the setting is the islands of Japan, the main theatres of combat are Tokyo Jupiter and the island of Niraikanai located in the south. The two sides of the struggle are the UN and its strategic research organisation TERRA fighting against MU a mysterious organisation that is in charge of things within the region known as Tokyo Jupiter.
Now no doubt after reading all this you’re wondering just what the heck is Tokyo Jupiter? I can’t find that on Google Earth or even in the old fashioned medium of an atlas. Technically you can, it is where Tokyo is located in the real world, the difference is that the Japanese capital is surrounded by some kind of gigantic bubble that looks like the giant red spot of Jupiter hence the Tokyo Jupiter moniker. Strangely this bubble whilst isolating Tokyo from the rest of the world also warps time within the space enclosed by the bubble, initially the year inside the bubble is 2015 whilst outside of its confines it is in fact 2033, eighteen years further on down the track.
Somehow a mysterious, enigmatic organisation known as MU has managed to create this barrier and seal off Tokyo from the rest of the world. They have also skilfully managed to manipulate information so that as far as everyone living in the city are concerned life is moving on at a fairly normal pace, they’re completely unaware of the fact that the rest of the world attempted to liberate the city from MU in the First MU War, a conflict that saw UN forces soundly thrashed and the control of MU firmly cemented over Tokyo Jupiter. In this particular volume we being to learn more about the nature of MU and why it’s believed by those who live outside of Tokyo Jupiter believe that the inhabitants of this city have blue blood.
Centuries ago there was a civilization of blue bloods, or Mulians as they call themselves, which existed as a peaceful harmonious society focused on the city of Hiranipura. The Mulians had achieved a highly sophisticated culture and employed technology that worked in harmony with the natural world rather than against the natural order, in essence Hiranipura was a Utopia and the Mulians the beneficiaries of a golden age. They seem something straight out of the pages of a New Age utopian fantasy mixed in with elements of Incan and Indian mythology. Naturally MU is an organisation of Mulians who want to return the world to that golden age, that time when they were preeminent. Of course the rest of humanity isn’t factored into the grand agenda of MU, and Ayato Kamina the primary male protagonist discovers some shocking truths about the leadership of MU and his own origins.
So where the heck does the mecha fit into it all? Rah Xephon was once a deity revered by the ancient Mulian culture and he was usually served by a priestess chosen from the ranks of eligible candidates amongst the notables of the Mulian society. Three candidates chosen to be the next priestess of Rah Xephon were Maya, Quon and Ishtori, of the three Ishtori is chosen due to the growing influence of her father within certain circles. Some feel that the selection process has been corrupted and as a result this will have a bad effect on Mulian society, certainly it seems as if this is a self fulfilling prophecy, Maya and Quon are hurled into the time stream ending up several thousand years in the future, a future that no longer has any idea about Mulian society. Ishtori herself is shattered like a flawed mirror and scattered in countless reincarnations down through the eras. One of these reincarnations is the adopted sister of Ayato, Reika Mishima. The plot thickens when it’s revealed that Reika is dying and will die by her seventeenth birthday, as have all previous incarnations have. That fateful day is fast approaching…
Rah Xephon is compelling reading, once I started I couldn’t put it down and considering I read this volume just before the recent third State of Origin match it was better value than watching that game. If you like mecha stories and you’re looking for one that is something different from the usual run of the mill staples of the genre then you cannot go past Rah Xephon. Do yourself a favour and go out and get yourself a copy.

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