And now for the moment most have been waiting for!  A Frequently Asked Questions section to answer all the RahXephon fans' questions about the series, and more specifically the ending!  Yay!!  I'll try to focus on the most common questions I've come across, but I'll also try to cover some of the more general questions.  If you can't find what you're looking for here, then send me an E-Mail and I'll try to respond as soon as possible, if the question is valid enough, I'll even post it here. 

Anyways, without further ado, here's the FAQ!

What the fuck just happened?

LOL!  A rather general question, isn't it?  But alas, the most common one. 

To summarize, when Ayato "tuned the world", what he did was to recreate the world to which ever way he desired. In the end of this series, we see that Ayato and Haruka are actually together and married, but the very peculiar thing is that Quon is their baby. What this symbolizes is that both types of humans were merged together to be one. The world is no longer discorded; no longer out of place in both time and race. In other words, there's no people with blue blood, or people with red blood (Maybe purple?  Who knows), there's no time alteration like Tokyo Jupiter with people being a lot younger than they should be.  In this new world there is no Human vs. Mulian war going on. So yes, it's like the Mu War never actually happened in this world that Ayato created, at least not in the memory of everybody, except maybe a select few.

Is that Itsuki or Ayato with Haruka in the end?

That's Ayato!  Itsuki being there makes no sense!  :P  The reason why Ayato looks so much like Itsuki, is because Ayato and Itsuki are actually twin brothers (Ayato was born first though).  How are they twins you say?  Itsuki explained everything to Haruka in one of the later episodes in the series (don't remember which one), and he said that both him and Ayato are actually clones from the Bahbem Foundation... though they are indeed superior clones to the mass produced ones (the D's).  They were made from genes taken from Quon (while she was asleep), and Watari Shirow (who volunteered).  The reason Bahbem created them, is to see if he can recreate Ollins, in other words, he wanted to make his own Ollins and recreate the world as he saw fit.

In the end of the series, after Ayato tuned the world, he remade the world as HE saw fit (not Bahbem), and in his world, him and Haruka are together and married.  So yes, that's Ayato in the end, not Itsuki.

Is Haruka serious when asking who is the girl in the painting?

She was just playing around, probably wanted to hear the story again.  Now, if the question were, "Does Haruka remember all that happened in the anime?", and I believe that's left for interpretation. 

While I'm betting that Ayato does in fact remember (the golden RahXephon and Mishima paintings can be considered proof), I honestly don't know about Haruka, or the rest of the cast.  The rest of the cast I'm pretty sure they don't remember a thing, if they were, then I'm betting Asahina and Mamoru wouldn't have gotten married (Mamoru was a real asshole, I'm sorry Mamoru fans!!), but Haruka is left for debate, because she did in fact took an important role in the tuning by consolidating Ayato, and making him realize his true goal, among other things.  So there's a chance that she in fact remembers, at least I'd like to believe so.

What exactly happened between the two RahXephons?

As you know, it takes two RahXephons to tune the world, in the anime we see Ayato's RahXephon and Quon's RahXephon tuning the world.  The way that this works, is that one of the RahXephons must consume, surpass, or defeat the other to use that power and change the world.  In other words, the two RahXephons must unite to achieve enough power to actually suffuse the world with sound, and recreate it (or fix) to the Ollin's liking.  Of course defeating the other RahXephon is going to hurt, which explains why Quon said to Ayato "Be gentle, ok?".

What the director wanted to portray though, is the two RahXephons making love... which kind of puts a double meaning to what Quon said... :O.

Why did Takeshi/Futagami shoot Bahbem at the end?

Ernst von Bahbem had been THOUSANDS of years for THAT specific moment!  THOUSANDS OF YEARS!!  He has manipulated humanity, he has gone to the extremes of science, he has changed God knows how many bodies to stay alive, he has cloned humans to achieve his dream, which is to create his own artificial god and see it recreate (or destroy) the world... and it will be all for his doing.  Bahbem has been playing God for a long time, and at the very end, he would have become a god (in his own eyes) if he actually saw the tuning to which he contributed. 

Lt. Col. Jumonji Takeshi took all this away by a single shot in the head.  He took Bahbem's literally life long dream with one shot... ouch!  He figured he wouldn't give him the pleasure to see his dream come true after all the wrong things that Bahbem has done.

Why did Sayoko Nanomori stab Itsuki?

At this point in the story, Sayoko had lost her mind.  She didn't know what the hell she was doing, she figured if she can't have Itsuki for herself, then nobody else will.  Since Itsuki doesn't want her, she killed him.  Of course once Itsuki actually noticed and gave Sayoko some feedback, she realized what she had done and tried as hard as she could to tell him her true feelings.  But at this point it was already too late.

We also learn that Sayoko is yet another of Bahbem's clones.  We learned that she was programmed from the start to fall in love for Itsuki, but never programmed to kill Itsuki.  Why was she programmed to love Itsuki you say?  After Itsuki had failed as an Ollin, and even more, not having Haruka's love (they both dated in college, but never stayed together), Bahbem thought he would need some company... that's really it.  Sad huh?  :( 

What was the deal with the Helena clones?

This is one of the most interesting ones.  Even I was fooled with this one!  You see, there are no Helena clones, there's only ONE Helena in the anime.  That little girl that looks like Helena, the one that seems to always hang around with Bahbem, is nothing but an illusion occurring inside Helena's mind.  It's Helena's sub-conscience telling her that she's also nothing but another of Bahbem's puppets.  How do we see this?  If you remember the scenes where Helena is talking with Bahbem, and little Helena is in his laps, there are a few instances where Bahbem is cherishing mid-air...  o_O  What does that mean?  It means there's nothing there!!

Let me explain, as you know, Helena is a very proud person, in fact, she's extremely proud, if you remember, she was a spoiled brat as a child.  So having her diminishing to the level of a disposable clone was a great insult to her, and more so, it screws with her head!  (Though I'm betting it's Bahbem screwing with her head)  So the little Helena inside the real Helena's mind is suppose to represent her as Bahbem's dear niece, but it also represents that no matter how powerful she can get with her politics and positions, she's still under the grasp and care of Bahbem.

And as you saw in the anime, Bahbem's purpose for Helena was to use her body as his own (trade bodies, so that Bahbem keeps living on).  Why?  Because women get less trouble going around making deals (men fall for hot women... that's a true statement) and what better way for Bahbem to deceive men than using a bit of sensuality.  But of course, we saw how Bahbem ended up. 

And yes, Helena was also one of Bahbem's clones.  The same way Ayato and Itsuki were... though not Makoto, since he was one of the mass produced models (a D).

(I'll post a screen-cap of the scene as soon as I remember what episode that scene took in... sorry!  ^^;)

Why does Haruka fly up to certain death?

This question is referring to the scene where Haruka takes a jet and flies directly in the middle of the RahXephon fight.  Why did she do this?  Haruka was desperate to get in touch with Ayato, and as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.  While I don't know what exactly was going inside her head, I guess she must've figured that Ayato was still conscious enough to hold a conversation when he merged with the RahXephon.  Since there's no way she could know this, she ended up getting caught in the middle of the energy blasts resulting in her death. 

Though the thing is, had she not died, could she get in touch with the real Ayato?  The one that's inside the RahXephon, not the one that's merged with the RahXephon?  By having Haruka die, her spirit could transport to the place where Ayato's and Quon's spirits were being held (the subway scene), and that way she could come in contact with Ayato.  Even go as far as reliving the memory that Ayato had once lost!

Why does Ayato kill Elvy, Souichi, Mamoru, and the others?

As sad as it is, when Ayato merged with the RahXephon, he became a god.  He's no longer human, and cannot go back if he wanted to.  As a side-effect, Ayato lost control over his power and ended up killing everybody without even thinking.  In other words, he wasn't conscious when he did this, he simply lost control.

What precisely was the purpose of the Bahbem Foundation?

Well, the Bahbem Foundation is the institution responsible for all the human clones, the creation of the Vermillion, and more importantly, is the financial backbone of Terra.  They're the ones behind the scenes doing all the work, so to speak.

Why was Ernst von Bahbem helping Terra if he's a Mulian himself? 

Bahbem used to live among Mulians a long time ago, but after something he did (I can't remember what it is), he got expelled out of the Mulian civilization and punished to live among humans, where they thought he wouldn't play God.  I honestly don't know if he hates Mulians, I don't remember him speaking of it.  Though I guess he's indifferent to either Human or Mulian, he only cares about his little RahXephon project.

Who really is Reika Mishima... or WHAT is she for that matter?

The figure of Reika Mishima is Ixtli (true face, it can also be interpreted as the RahXephon's soul), and Ixtli is represented as the person of whom the Ollin cares for the most. In Ayato's case, it's Haruka when she was young. However, Ayato barely remembers Haruka since Maya wiped out his memory when she created Tokyo Jupiter. With what little memory Ayato had left of Haruka, Ixtli took the figure of what Ayato remembered Haruka as (the same girl that is in his paintings). That's why we see that Reika has brown hair and not black like Haruka's, since Ayato only has a basic figure in memory.

Haruka's real name is Haruka Mishima, when her mother remarried, both her and Megumi changed their last names to "Shitow". That's why Ixtli took the name of "Mishima" and made up the first name, for Ayato's liking. Why? Because the Ollin HAS to want the Ixtli if the Ixtli wants to exist.  For the Ixtli to do that easily, what better way than have the image of whom the Ollin loves the most?  If you remember, when Ayato stopped caring for Reika Mishima, she started to vanish.  Mishima said Ayato NEEDS to want her if she wants to stay.  When Ayato decided to stick with her and go through this until the end, her vanishing stopped.

What was Futagami referring to when he was talking about the "Spirited Forth" story?

The story is about Quon and Maya when they got transported to the human world from the Mu world. They came through that Shrine of Time (in other words, they were "Spirited Forth", the opposite of being "Spirited Away"), and Rikudoh took care of Maya, and Jin Kunugi took care of Quon since she was in a coma state. While Quon was in her coma state, she didn't age and was also used as a test subject (referred to as "Human Specimen No. 1"), while Maya aged normally when she was in the care of Rikudoh, who raised her as his own daughter until she "awoke" and went back to the Mu. That's why these twin sisters have such a difference in age.

Here's the picture of them coming out of the Time Shrine... 

Yes!  They're twins!  :)

What is the Shrine of Time?

The Shrine of Time (the one in the picture above) is actually a gateway to the Mulian world.  It's a place where time flows differently (at the same rate as Tokyo Jupiter) than Earth, which explains why Ayato and Quon were lost for 3 days outside, but were only a few minutes inside. 

Why do the "robots" sing?

Well, they're "Dolems" to be more precise, and they're actually living beings, not robots.  :P  But as for the question, that's the way they fight.  They sing to create what Terra refers as a D1-Aria which is what usually attacks the RahXephon, and triggers whatever ability that specific Dolem may have.  Some create some sort of black hole, and some sing to call out to Ayato and Quon, in waves that they only can hear, etc. 

But if you want to get more technical, the whole theme of the show is music.  So it only makes sense to have the bad guys be some sort of musical being, and the easiest way to do this is to have them sing whenever they attack, or do whatever it is they do.  And if you haven't noticed, the RahXephon sings also!  :P

So what exactly are the "Dolems" anyway?

Dolems are actually the second form of a Mulian.  It is their other being in which they exist, if one dies, so does the other.  In other words, every Mulian is capable of having a Dolem of their own, with its own unique powers and abilities. 

To further explain what exactly are the Mulians, they are beings from another dimension that exists on Earth.  This Mulian place is capable of opening portals that lead to our world, which explains why there are so many Mulians on Earth.  The Shrine of Time that Ayato and Quon went through is one of those portals.  Anyways, Mulians take form of human bodies, so they really ARE humans, just with a slightly different genetic make up that changes the color of their blood...  and have a huge alter ego.  :P

Why did Maya establish Tokyo Jupiter?

Maya wanted to protect Ayato from the outside world.  She didn't want Ayato to poison his mind, and love the human world.  If Ayato was left at the care of Maya, then Ayato's tuning would be in favor of the Mulians.  You see, the way the tuning works, is that the Ollin recreates the world based on a perspective that is best suited for him and the people he loves.  If he only loves his mother, who is a Mulian, then the tuning would turn in favor of the Mulians.

Knowing this, Maya wanted Ayato to love her and only her, but once Ayato started dating Haruka, she knew that Ayato would pick a future that is better suited for him and Haruka.  This is why Maya decided to erase all memories of Haruka, and build a time barrier around Tokyo to prevent anybody else from coming in, and more importantly, to keep Haruka away from Ayato. 

This barrier also serves as a safe-guard for most Mulians that are in Japan, and is a very convenient place for the Room of Rah, as well as the main Mulian military offices, where Maya holds command.

Who did Kunugi meet with during his day off, and what lay behind that meeting?

That was his ex-wife.  Kunugi seems to do this every year, though his ex-wife usually never shows up.  This particular day she did though, she wanted to hand him a musical composition page that their daughter had been practicing once.  This piece was also the missing part in Quon's musical play.

As you know, the reason they met is because it was their daughter's birthday.  Apparently, Kunugi was ordered to issue an attack against a Dolem (despite him being opposed to it) that resulted in killing Michiru, his own daughter.  Grief stricken, he blamed all Mulians for the attack, and decided to be a part of the Terra project in taking out all the Mulians.  This is why Kunugi utterly hates Mulians, including Ayato.  The whereabouts of the man who gave Kunugi the order, are unknown.

Why does Ayato destroy his painting?  How come Itsuki did the exact same painting?

Somehow, Ayato knew that the painting he just finished, wasn't his, it was as if he was somehow programmed to make that painting.  That painting didn't come from him and him alone, it came from something engraved in his head.  That's not what he wanted to show Haruka, he wanted to show her something unique, of him alone.  That's why he destroyed it, he didn't want it anymore.  Itsuki, being a twin clone of Ayato, did the same painting since they both share the exact genetic make up... and even tastes!

So who's related to who in RahXephon?  There are so many connections I've lost track!

For this, I'd like for you guys to wait a bit more until my character profiles are up.  There I'll include all relationships relating to each character, as well as a brief biography, and also some pictures.  So until then... please bare with me.  ^^;

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