The characters of RahXephon.
Warning: MASSIVE Spoilers abound.
open/close all folders
TERRA
Ayato Kamina
Ayato Kamina
Voiced by:: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)
The Protagonist of the series. An artistic youth, he finds himself drawn into a chain of events beyond his capacity to understand and through the people around him he has to find his place in the world.
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: Happens once he's merged with the RahXephon. In the anime, he rewrites history and returns to being a normal human, while he stays ascended in the movie.
- Age-Appropriate Angst: Of the existential variety. He never descends
beyond what's understandable, either. - Childhood Friend Romance: With Haruka. She was his childhood love, but she went elsewhere and aged, whereas he did not. They end up together again over time.
- Chick Magnet: Haruka, Megumi, Hiroko, Reika, and Quon all seem to have a thing for him, while Elvy flirts with him when she gets drunk. Although Reika is just trying to convince Ayato to accept the RahXephon while Quon is actually just trying to look out for her son.
- Dangerous 16th Birthday: He celebrates his 17th birthday by the time the story begins. His age in particular is significant since one has to be 17 to pilot the RahXephon.
- Determinator: No matter how much he has suffered or how much he is attacked by the Mu, he refuses to lose.
- Falling into the Cockpit: Subverted: Ayato has been prepared for piloting the RahXephon his entire life, he just doesn't know it until midway through the series.
- Female Gaze: His bath scene in episode 21 shows him sitting on the bathtub, exposing his bare buttocks for a few seconds.
- Fusion Dance: Ayato fuses with Ixtli during the final episodes into an ascended RahXephon.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: Inverted: Because he pilots the RahXephon, he's none too shabby at aerial dogfight arcade games. He's no match for Ace Pilot Elvy, though.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Maya heavily modified Ayato's memories of life before Tokyo Jupiter and erased his memories of Haruka in particular, so she could more easily control him.
- Likes Older Women: Averted. One of the first things he says to Haruka is that he doesn't like older women. Luckily for her, he falls in love with her just as much as he did with the teenage one.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Vivance the Dolem traps him in one of these. He breaks out because of Reika and beats the hell out of Vivance with RahXephon's help.
- Male Gaze: As he's introduced to the cast, the camera has a tendency to fixate on the particular features of the ladies.
- Refusal of the Call: In a few episodes, he tries to avoid piloting the RahXephon though it doesn't last. During the final episodes, Ixtli tries to convince Ayato to accept her and he refuses until he asks her to help him protect Ayato, allowing him to ascend as the True Rahxephon.
- Technician Versus Performer: Ayato's (artistic) ability to pilot the RahXephon is contrasted by Itsuki's failed (scientific) attempts.
- Time Travel:
- Not literal, but he feels like this after being brought out of Tokyo Jupiter, comparing himself to Urashima Taro (Japanese Rip Van Winkle and main character of the first documented story about time travel).
- He later does use actual time travel after he accidentally provokes Elvy into trying to kill him when they are fighting a dolem together.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Unbeknownst to Ayato and all but a few high ranking TERRA members, Ayato is a Mulian.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: When the Mu Phase in his blood activates, the people around him begin to have doubts about how trustworthy he really is. He proceeds to prove them all wrong by being such a decent guy.
- You Are Not Alone: In the finale, he receives messages of support from his friends both living and dead.
Haruka Shitow
Haruka Shitow
Voiced by:: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)
A spunky and mysterious woman who first meets Ayato in the subways of Tokyo and promises to reveal to him the secrets of the world. Her professional competence and tough exterior hide a complex and sensitive woman.
- All Love Is Unrequited: She's in love with Ayato, but he isn't interested until he realizes that they were in love before Tokyo Jupiter separated them and his memories were changed.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Ultimately winds up with her middle-school boyfriend Ayato.
- Femme Fatale: Subverted. Her introduction paints her as a shifty and potentially dangerous person, future episodes reveal her to be nothing but sweetness and fun.
- I Will Wait for You: She's only in one serious relationship since Tokyo Jupiter separated her from Ayato. And even then she only dated Itsuki because of his resemblance to Ayato.
- May–December Romance: She's one of Ayato's love interests even though he's a child and she's an adult. Played straight until the very end where it's subverted because Ayato's re-tuning resulted in him growing to be the same age as Haruka.
- Mysterious Protector: Works to protect Ayato from the Mulians and even TERRA's intrigue, but never tells him just why he's so important to her.
- Spanner in the Works: She ruined Maya's plans simply by dating Ayato, which took away her absolute control over his life.
Quon Kisaragi
Quon Kisaragi
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
Sister of Itsuki and test subject of TERRA. She knows much about the plot but will never give a straight answer about it.
- Cryptic Conversation: Pretty much whenever she says anything.
- Dark Is Not Evil: After absorbing the Black Egg, it seems like she's Slowing Slipping Into Evil. Despite this, she's willing to help Ayato find his lost love for Haruka
- Demoted to Extra: She sleeps through almost the entire movie.
- Foil: As it turns out, she's one to Ayato. Both of them are able to pilot RahXephon, are considered important for TERRA, are key players in the story and are both instrumentalists associated with an egg motif. Both of them are related to Maya and during the final episode take on ascended forms.
- Genius Ditz: More like Genius Cloudcuckoolander. She learns shogi (Japanese chess) from Rikudoh. The next time the camera focuses on them (in the same episode), Rikudoh is noticeably having a hard time in the game.
- Lady of Black Magic: After absorbing the Black Egg, she ends up gaining powers similar to Ixtli.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: It turns out that Quon is in fact the biological mother of Ayato and Itsuki, and is Maya's older twin sister.
- Older Than She Looks: Quon is Maya's older twin sister, but has only aged since leaving stasis right before the formation of Tokyo Jupiter.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: "To be perfectly honest, I'd like to take off everything...but if I came here to get my haircut naked I'd probably get scolded, don't you think?"
- Verbal Tic: "Ra-ra?" which she uses when she's surprised or as an equivalent to what most people would respond with a "what."
- Waif Prophet: She turns out to be a key part of
Itsuki Kisaragi
Itsuki Kisaragi
Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese), Jay Hickman (English)
A scientist of TERRA and brother of Quon.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He is in love with Haruka, who is still very much in love with Ayato.
- Big Brother Instinct: Ironic considering he's actually Quon's son and Ayato is his older brother.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Nothing explicitly overt, but his affection for Quon is a tad bit obsessive.
- Cain and Abel: He's a good guy despite an upbringing under Bähbem. His dynamic with Ayato is quite interesting, though not as vicious as other examples of this trope.
- Defrosting Ice King: He's quite aloof in the first part of the series. Once his motivations are fleshed out, however, he becomes much nicer.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: He is Ayato's twin brother.
- Replacement Goldfish: To Haruka, in a sense. It's heavily implied that she once had a relationship with Itsuki because he looked like Ayato. He hasn’t gotten over it.
Sayoko Nanamori
Sayoko Nanamori
Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Kelly Manison (English)
A scientist at TERRA. Works under Itsuki, and harbors some feelings for him.
- Character Death: She commits suicide when she kills Itsuki and realizes the truth from Bähbem.
- Driven to Suicide: After accidentally killing Itsuki and being revealed to be a Tomato in the Mirror.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She immediately regrets it when she kills Itsuki and later realizes that she was an Unwitting Pawn.
- Running Gag: Her windshield wipers work on their own when she's in her car and upset.
- Together in Death: She commits suicide to be with Itsuki, who she unwittingly killed.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Bähbem gave her false memories, hiding that she's actually a clone of Quon.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Becomes more and more angry and bitchy as the series goes on.
- Unwitting Pawn: Isshiki and Bähbem used her as a pawn in their schemes.
- Woman Scorned: The primary reason why she killed Itsuki.
Kim Hotal
Kim Hotal
Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (JP), Tiffany Grant (EN)
An extremely professional member of TERRA and friend of Megumi Shitow.
- Bridge Bunnies: She serves as one of the bridge officers alongside Megumi.
- Revenge: In her focus episode, we learn that Kim seeks vengeance for the deaths of her parents, who were killed by a Dorem while they were in Australia.
Megumi Shitow
Megumi Shitow
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)
Haruka's younger sister.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: But in a sweet and likable way. While she's still older than most examples, she still fulfills this role quite a bit.
- Big "WHAT?!": After learning that Souichi is getting together with Kim.
- Bridge Bunnies: Along with Kim, she serves as one of the bridge officers.
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: She looks exactly like Hiroko, just with a slightly different hairstyle. This is never commented on.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: "Megumi Shitow used to have a bit of a crush on Ayato Kamina! But she doesn't anymore! That's what she's decided!"
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: He Is Not My Boyfriend: With Ayato. in the later episodes, this attitude starts to change a bit.
- Trademark Favorite Food: She loves her Ramune.
Elvy Hadhiyat
Elvy Hadhiyat
Voiced by: Yuu Sugimoto (Japanese), Christine Auten (English)
Leader of TERRA's airforce and friend of Haruka.
- Ace Pilot: She is a top pilot of TERRA's air force.
- Ambiguously Brown: Averted. It's noted in-story that she's from Indonesia and her nickname, "Bunga Mawar," means "Rose Blossom."
- Character Death: Elvy is shot down when Ayato and the RahXephon sing a song.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: She is hilarious when drunk. "You wanna lock on? Dogfight 'til morning, cutey?"
- Vitriolic Best Buds: She and Haruka exchange quite a few riffs, despite being good friends.
Commander Jin Kunugi
Commander Jin Kunugi
Voiced by: Joji Nakata (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)
The somber commander of TERRA's military operations. He buried Mulians under the cherry trees in his garden.
- Character Death: He dies after doing a Heroic Sacrifice.
- Cynicism Catalyst: His harsh, businesslike attitude is apparently due to firing the bomb that killed his daughter.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: He decides to take Kuki down with him in his Heroic Sacrifice.
- Heroic Sacrifice: And an absolutely badass one, at that
- Memetic Badass: Invoked. Legend says he buried Mulians under the cherry trees in his garden, which is why the cherries that blossom from his trees are blue. When Ayato actually mentions this to him late in the series, his response to laugh uproarouly due to finding the whole rumor ridiculous.
- Not So Stoic: The scene where he laughs when Ayato asks about the blue cherry blossoms. He even mentions that he hasn't laughed that hard in a long time, much to Ayato's surprise.
- The Stoic: He has a calm demeanor, even as a commander. Even when Kuki taunts him about the death of his daughter, he continues to issue orders while refusing to even acknowledge his former commander.
- Taking You with Me: He does this to Kuki as part of his Heroic Sacrifice.
Commander Watari
Commander Watari
Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi (Japanese), Mike Kleinhenz (English)
The operations manager of TERRA.
- Eyepatch of Power: A unique one - it seems he has a perfectly normal right eye, but he wears this anyhow.
- A Father to His Men: He buys them all Christmas presents to make up for leaving them with a boatload of work before the holidays.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: He reveals to Ayato that he is his biological father.
Souichi Yakumo
Souichi Yakumo
Voiced by: Kōki Miyata (Japanese), Mark Laskowski (English)
The second-in-command of TERRA and an all-around friendly guy. He's also Kim's boyfriend.
- Character Death: He gets shot down when Ayato and the RahXephon sing a song.
- The Mole: When Isshiki usurps command, Souichi goes out of his way to kiss the bastard's ass to make sure Isshiki fails.
- The Pollyanna: He's definitely the most cheerful person in all of TERRA.
Mulians
Maya Kamina
Maya Kamina
Voiced by: Ichiko Hashimoto (Japanese), Laura Chapman (English)
She is Ayato's mother (or better said, his aunt), a confident and strong woman who wants only the best for her son. She is the leader of the Mu.
- Creator Cameo: Ichiko Hashimoto, the composer of the series, provides Maya's voice in Japanese.
- Graceful Loser: Apparent when she speaks to Haruka in the last episode.
- My Beloved Smother: Well-intentioned, but so very overwhelming to poor Ayato.
- Parental Neglect: Not intentionally. She provides for Ayato but works a lot and doesn't make time for him. Ayato calls her out on it in a dream sequence.
- Pet the Dog: She accepts Rikudo as her father and appears to him to say goodbye before the Tuning.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Maya smothered Ayato as a means of influencing him to create a world favorable to her people at the time of the Tuning.
Mamoru Torigai
Mamoru Torigai
Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)
A friend of Ayato's from Tokyo and Asahina's boyfriend.
- The Dragon: Serves as one to Maya despite his young age and serves as an Arc Villain for a few episodes until the downfall of Tokyo Jupiter.
- Evil Former Friend: After meeting Ayato again, it turns out that he's part of Tokyo Jupiter's military and working for Maya. After Hiroko's death, he goes full on antagonistic in his desire for revenge for her death.
- Face–Heel Turn: In the first few episodes, he was good. Then, he quickly became Ayato's enemy.
- Gaslighting: When Ayato meets him and Hiroko during a return trip to Tokyo Jupiter, he tries to gaslight Hiroko whenever she mentions noticing that something is wrong.
- Irony: His name means "to protect." After he's revealed to be a Jerkass, he does nothing that supports his name. In contrast, one of the most uttered lines from Ayato is that "he wants to protect" something.
- Jerkass: He's quite a jerk to Ayato. Things got even worse after he discovered that Ayato had killed Hiroko.
- Manipulative Bastard: He REALLY likes to play off of Ayato's guilt, even though he didn't know that her death was due to her link to a Dolem.
- Recurring Boss: As a Mulian, he's fought twice in the series. During the second fight, he gets curbstomped hard by an ascended RahXephon.
- Revenge: After Hiroko's accidental death, he decides to take revenge against Ayato for being unable to protect her.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: It's heavily implied in the last episode that he and Hiroko ended up marrying each other in the new timeline.
Hiroko Asahina
Hiroko Asahina
Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu (Japanese), Cynthia Martinez (English)
Mamoru's girlfriend and a friend of Ayato.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Didn't know she had been changed into a Dolem's instrumentalist until the thing appeared and started to rampage and she synchronized with it. We get the barest amount of foreshadowing when she's in denial about her having blue blood.
- Character Death: Ayato beats up a Dolem, but that inadvertently leads to Asahina's death.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Due to her being linked with a Dolem, which Ayato inflicted what would amount to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Which she desperately writes in a notepad as Ayato is unknowngly killing her via destroying a Dolem she's linked to. Once she dies, the lights of the nearby buildings spell it out to him.
- Fish out of Water: She becomes like this once Ayato brings her out of Tokyo Jupiter.
- Tsundere: To Mamoru. We never see her 'dere' side shown to him, but she's got all the Tsun-Tsun mannerisms. And you see how she acts around Ayato...
Masayoshi Kuki
Masayoshi Kuki
Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (Japanese), Mike Vance (English)
The commander of Tokyo Jupiter's military. He is also the conductor of the Dolem Largo.
- Beam Spam: Largo's primary mode of attack. Used to maximum effect to shoot down a Macross Missile Massacre, where it literally just rains down beams non-stop for a half-second.
- Broken Pedestal: Became one to Jin when he ordered the nuclear strike that killed Jin's daughter.
- Colonel Badass: Holds the rank of Colonel, and pilots the strongest Dolem.
- Did Not See That Coming: When Jin brings his last trump card, he finally loses his cool, and his Smug Snake demeanor crumbles.
- The Dragon: To Maya.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears wire-framed glasses, and has some serious General Ripper tendencies.
- Humongous Mecha: Largo is 2.6 km long, making it one of the largest Dolem.
- Large Ham: Chews up any scenery that Largo doesn't obliterate.
- This Cannot Be!: Utters this when he realizes Jin is about to pull a Heroic Sacrifice by way of Jupiter bomb.
- The Mole: Implied to have been one before he officially defected to the Mu.
- More Despicable Minion: Maya is the leader of the Mu but a Well-Intentioned Extremist who wants what is best for her people, while Masayoshi Kuki is willing to kill thousands for the sake of power.
Bähbem Foundation
Ernst Von Bähbem
Ernst Von Bähbem
Voiced by: Iemasa Kayumi (Japanese), Ted Pfister (English)
The enigmatic director of the Bähbem Foundation. He harbors a special interest in ancient Mayan civilizations.
- Affably Evil: He is exceedingly well-spoke and polite.
- Big Bad: Not only does he give off this air, but he is behind most of the things that drive the plot.
- Body Surf: After being shot dead the first time, he spends the rest of the episode in Helena's body before being killed off for good by Futagami.
- Character Death: He meets his final end when Futagami finally guns him down.
- Deader than Dead: Ayato erased him from existence, along with the Mu. He's never coming back.
- Dirty Old Man: He seems to enjoy touching the tattoo on Quon's belly far too much. It's even worse in the movie.
- For Science!: His ultimate motivation behind making the RahXephon.
- Grand Theft Me: His means of living so long.
- Immortality Immorality: When your method of choice involves seizing control of people you've raised since birth, it definitely counts.
- Really 700 Years Old: He is literally millenia old, and referred to more than once as Methuselah.
- Smug Snake: Now you see where Isshiki and Helena get it from!
- Wicked Cultured: He knows much about fine art and culture, particularly Nahatual cultures. Given that he lived through most of it, this shouldn't be surprising.
Makoto Isshiki
Makoto Isshiki
Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese), Illich Guardiola (English)
An Earth federation inspector sent to observe and inspect TERRA.
- Berserk Button: Don't call him a "D" or he will get mad.
- The Casanova: He used his sexual conquests to gather information about goings on in TERRA and to gratify his own ego, with no concern for his partner's well-being.
- Character Death: He dies when he gets shot by Laila Costa though he succeeds in getting one last shot against her, taking her with him.
- Deadpan Snarker: He'd be very funny, were he not such a condescending bastard.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: When he fires Haruka over a drawing of him as a white snake, it comes back to bite him when he tries to call for her but is reminded by Souichi she is not there anymore.
- Madness Mantra: After his downfall, he's heard repeating the phrase "Don't call me a D." over and over.
- Meaningful Name: "Isshiki" means "one color." Take a wild guess at which one. Whereas Makoto means either "truth" or "faithful" depending on how it is written. Considering his casanova personality and origin as a clone neither really apply to him. Although knowing his family, this naming was probably intentional.
- Smug Snake: Goddamn, is he ever. Characters in the series even call him "The White Snake". It runs in the family.
- Start of Darkness: He may be a callous prick as an adult, but just try and watch the episode about his childhood and not feel like he badly needs a hug. "And I wonder if that clay doll ever found its parents, in the mud?"
- Tragic Keepsake: He's kept a piece of the clay from the Dolem from his childhood that got stuck with a clump of his hair.
- Traumatic Haircut: After the death of the mud doll, he ends up losing his long hair. After the incident, he never keeps it long ever again.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: When he usurps control of TERRA for a few episodes. This ends once he inadvertently causes TERRA's downfall and his own by destroying the barrier surrounding Tokyo Jupiter, unleashing the Mu.
- The Un-Favourite: Especially harsh when your earliest memories are fellow clones suggesting that a short life expectancy for you might be "a small mercy".
- Unwitting Pawn: To both Bähbem and Ixtli. The latter's manipulations end up being key to his Villainous Breakdown.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: As a child, he would spend time taking care of a clay doll by helping it get better by feeding it rocks. After Helana causes it to get killed, he learns that he's a clone of the Master and decides to never have long hair again.
- Villainous Breakdown: After he brings down Tokyo Jupiter, he inadvertently causes the Mulian fleets to start appearing across the planet. After being told by Souichi that he's gone against Federation orders and that there is no second Haruka, he loses it. The next few episodes have him scrawling symbols on a blank wall, then eventually deciding to kill everyone related to Ernest and his machinations. He doesn't take it when Ernest's elite soldiers are also clones of the Master just like him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He tries to make his father proud, but it ends up contributing to the aforementioned breakdown. In the final episode, Quon gets a phone call from him telling her that he only wanted her to love him.
- With Friends Like These...: With Itsuki. The scientist is Isshiki's oldest and closest friend, and Isshiki still treats him like shit.
Helena
- Co-Dragons: Serves as one of Ernest's servants alongside Makoto Isshiki and Itsuki Kisaragi, having been raised through childhood to serve his agenda.
Others
Reika Mishima/Ixtli
Reika Mishima/Ixtli
Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese), Mandy Clark (English)
"Time to sing, [RahXephon]. Issue forth your song. Sing your song that is forbidden. Sing, so that someday all may become one
An ethereal girl in a yellow dress who Ayato seems to recognize from somewhere. She definitely knows more than she lets on and is connected to the secrets of the RahXephon.
- Cryptic Conversation: Which also fully explain the plot.
- Deus ex Machina: A completely justified one.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Her attempt to truly awaken the RahXephon in episode 23 is rather like an Immodest Orgasm.
- Fusion Dance: As the soul of RahXephon, she fuses with Ayato during the final episodes into an ascended RahXephon.
- Mind Control: Will invoke this on people in order to get them to guide Ayato towards his destiny.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting / Empathic Shapeshifter: As the soul of the RahXephon she takes the form of the person most important to her pilots. Since the RahXephon was split in two she had to guide two pilots. For Ayato this was a younger Haruka. For Quon it was Ayato.
Shogo Rikudoh
Shogo Rikudoh
Voiced by: Chikao Ohtsuka (Japanese), John Swasey (English)
Haruka and Megumi's Uncle and Maya's adoptive father. Lives on Nirai Kanai island.
Joji Futagami / Takeshi Jumonji
Joji Futagami / Takeshi Jumonji
Voiced by: Katsunosuke Hori (Japanese), Andy McAvin (English)
A laid back, bumbling observer sent by Terra to placate the media.
- Catchphrase: "What's your take on that?"
- Intrepid Reporter: He's a reporter who is given access to the TERRA organization, and he interviews the staff there to get new information.
- Guile Hero: Futagami is a lot smarter than he seems and uses those wits to learn the truth behind TERRA.
- Hidden Depths: While he seems to be a bumbling reporter, he's actually a skilled intelligence operative
- Obfuscating Stupidity: One of his favorite tactics is playing dumb so TERRA members will divulge confidential information to him.
- Shout-Out: His scrufffy demeanor and use of Obfuscating Stupidity are reminiscent of Columbo. In the English dub, Andy McAvin uses a Peter Falk impression for Futagami's voice.
Cathy Mc Mahon
Cathy McMahon
Voiced by: Kae Araki (Japanese), Allison Keith(English)
- I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: How she tries to 'subtly' convince Ayato to draw her in the Beach Episode.
- Ms. Fanservice
- Phenotype Stereotype: Blonde hair, blue eyes, freckles, cowboy hat, biggest bust in the cast...we've got an anime American girl, all right.
