Lord_Satorious
13-02-03, 02:22 AM
Here's something I'm sure very few people might have picked up on while watching RahXephon. There's a similarity between Yutaka Izubuchi's RahXephon and Yoshiyuki Tomino's Yuusha (Brave) Raideen. I mean from a purely mecha standpoint. This topic may contain spoilers, so do not continue reading if you don't wish to learn anything before you see it for yourself. This is your only warning.
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Yuusha Raideen (1975)
RahXephon (2002)
OK, where do I begin? How about a few pictures?
Raideen (left), RahXephon (right)
http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/lord_satorious/images/raideen_maf.jpg http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/lord_satorious/images/rahxephon.jpg
First, mecha design. Notice the armor, the way it's designed in overlapping plates. Notice the simple tent-shaped shoulder armor. Notice how the feet are oddly designed, coming to a point. Notice how the chin is long and the face is recessed back a bit.
Secondly, weapons;
1. right arm blade - RahXephon's is energy, Raideen's is physical
2. left arm bow - RahXephon's is energy, Raideen's is physical
3. voice - RahXephon sings, Raideen has God Voice
Thirdly, features;
1. measurements - RaXephon 50 metric tons; Raideen 52 meters
2. both mecha are supposedly ancient
3. both mecha's faces are covered before being piloted
4. both pilots enter the mecha by being "absorbed" into it
5. both mecha are supposedly divine
6. utilizing either mecha too much will eventually damage the pilot
7. both mecha's pilots come from the kingdom of Mu
OK, there are some differences. Like Raideen can transform into "God Bird" mode and RahXephon cannot, and Raideen has an abundance of other weapons (hey, it's a 1970's super robot) as well. But the basics are still there. And Akira and Ayato are both descendants from the Kingdom of Mu! Even the plot terminology is similar.
Let me explain how this is all possible. As some of you may know, Izubuchi is the director for RahXephon, his first attempt in anime direction. Tomino was the director for Brave Raideen (first half of the series). Now Tomino and Izubuchi have worked together in the past, namely mecha design for Char's Counterattack and almost _all_ the design work for Gundam 0080. Here's how I see this playing out;
Tomino and Izubuchi are probably friendly with each other. For Izubuchi's first outing as a director, he wanted a really good mecha design. But he's not forgetting the people who got him where he was. So either Izubuchi asked Tomino to borrow his "Raideen" design (it's old and obscure, few would remember it), or he copied Raideen as a credit to Tomino for allowing him to design some of Gundam's more successful sequels. In either case, there's little denying that Raideen and RahXephon are very similar.
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Lord_Satorious
The World-Wide Gundam Informational Network (http://www.geocities.com/gundam_uc0079/)
"The Nu Gundam isn't just for show!" - Capt. Amuro Ray, UC 0093
...................
Yuusha Raideen (1975)
RahXephon (2002)
OK, where do I begin? How about a few pictures?
Raideen (left), RahXephon (right)
http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/lord_satorious/images/raideen_maf.jpg http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/lord_satorious/images/rahxephon.jpg
First, mecha design. Notice the armor, the way it's designed in overlapping plates. Notice the simple tent-shaped shoulder armor. Notice how the feet are oddly designed, coming to a point. Notice how the chin is long and the face is recessed back a bit.
Secondly, weapons;
1. right arm blade - RahXephon's is energy, Raideen's is physical
2. left arm bow - RahXephon's is energy, Raideen's is physical
3. voice - RahXephon sings, Raideen has God Voice
Thirdly, features;
1. measurements - RaXephon 50 metric tons; Raideen 52 meters
2. both mecha are supposedly ancient
3. both mecha's faces are covered before being piloted
4. both pilots enter the mecha by being "absorbed" into it
5. both mecha are supposedly divine
6. utilizing either mecha too much will eventually damage the pilot
7. both mecha's pilots come from the kingdom of Mu
OK, there are some differences. Like Raideen can transform into "God Bird" mode and RahXephon cannot, and Raideen has an abundance of other weapons (hey, it's a 1970's super robot) as well. But the basics are still there. And Akira and Ayato are both descendants from the Kingdom of Mu! Even the plot terminology is similar.
Let me explain how this is all possible. As some of you may know, Izubuchi is the director for RahXephon, his first attempt in anime direction. Tomino was the director for Brave Raideen (first half of the series). Now Tomino and Izubuchi have worked together in the past, namely mecha design for Char's Counterattack and almost _all_ the design work for Gundam 0080. Here's how I see this playing out;
Tomino and Izubuchi are probably friendly with each other. For Izubuchi's first outing as a director, he wanted a really good mecha design. But he's not forgetting the people who got him where he was. So either Izubuchi asked Tomino to borrow his "Raideen" design (it's old and obscure, few would remember it), or he copied Raideen as a credit to Tomino for allowing him to design some of Gundam's more successful sequels. In either case, there's little denying that Raideen and RahXephon are very similar.
---------------------
Lord_Satorious
The World-Wide Gundam Informational Network (http://www.geocities.com/gundam_uc0079/)
"The Nu Gundam isn't just for show!" - Capt. Amuro Ray, UC 0093