, also known simply as ''Aquarion'' is a Japanese
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series written and directed by
Shoji Kawamori
A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque ''fusuma'' is used (oshiire/ ...
, produced by
Satelight
is a Japanese animation studio. Aside from several stand-alone projects, the studio is well known for producing the '' Aquarion'' and '' Symphogear'' franchises, as well as later installments of the ''Macross'' franchise. The company's Represen ...
. Set in the future, a giant fighting machine called the Aquarion is humanity's only effective weapon in the fight against the technologically advanced species called the Shadow Angels. ''Aquarion'' was broadcast on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
from April 4 to September 26, 2005. An alternate retelling of the television series, the ''
Genesis of Aquarion
, also known simply as ''Aquarion'' is a Japanese anime television series written and directed by Shoji Kawamori, produced by Satelight. Set in the future, a giant fighting machine called the Aquarion is humanity's only effective weapon in th ...
''
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
, premiered on May 25, 2007. The television series is licensed in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
by
Funimation
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
. On April 27, 2009, the series made its North American television debut on the
Funimation Channel
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
. A sequel to the series titled was announced on February 25, 2011, and aired in 2012.
[ Sunday, 25 September 2022 ]
Plot
Twelve thousand years in the past, mankind was at mercy of the mythical creatures known as , immortal winged beings with overwhelming powers and technology. That is, until one of their kind, Apollonius, fell in love with a female human warrior, Seliane. Apollonius joins forces with the humans to free mankind from oppression, by using the legendary giant fighting robot .
Eleven years prior to the story, in a disaster referred to as the "Great Catastrophe" Earth's magnetic field shifted devastating significant parts of the world and killing off many of its inhabitants. Along with the disaster came the return of the Shadow Angels who had been in slumber in their city of since their battle with Apolonius. The Shadow Angels began invading human cites to harvest human beings, dubbing them "the wingless ones", like cattle, to extract from the captured humans. Their prana serves as energy and nutrition not only to the Shadow Angels, but also to the legendary . The Shadow Angels facilitate their harvesting via giant, floating harvesting machines called which are guarded by giant mecha called . They are sentient machines, yet there are times when they are piloted by Shadow Angels.
Ordinary weapons prove ineffective against the Cherubim, and rings of projectors around the remaining cities, tapping into Earth's strata to project a quantum shield to keep Shadow Angels from entering or materializing in them, provide only limited protection. However a human expedition under the leadership of
Gen Fudo excavates three very technologically advanced fighter planes, and an organization called takes over the research of these planes, called , trying to identify how to use them. The three Vectors, colored mostly in white, are identified as the green , the blue , and the red . DEAVA discovers only people with special powers, called , can use the Vectors and the three Vectors are in fact the pieces of Aquarion, the same robot used to fight the Shadow Angels twelve millennia before. They also discover the Elements can ultimately unite the Vectors into one of three formations of the giant robot in battle, and can use it to fight and defeat the Cherubim.
During the Elements' first sortie against the Cherubim by uniting the Vectors into a formation of Aquarion, they stumble on 13-year-old Apollo, who seems to be the reincarnation of Apollonius. They become convinced of this when he single-handedly takes control of the Vector Sol, unites the Vectors into the Solar Aquarion formation and defeats the enemy, thus causing him to be recruited by DEAVA to join their ranks.
Religious references
Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius, also known as the Aquarian Age, was a concept popularized by
Carl Gustav Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
. The Age of Aquarius was seen in contraposition with current the Age of Pisces: whereas the Age of Pisces represents duality and antithesis (thus, conflict), the Age of Aquarius is an age of synthesis and spiritualism (in some ways, a new golden age). In the New Age, because of the implications of love, comprehension and one-ness, it can be associated with the fourth chakra. Aquarion as a name is a reference to this concept, but the show digs deeper in symbolism in using the Aquarion as an instrument for a "new era of holy genesis", managing to resolve conflict between the opposing parties of humans and Shadow Angels and showing a not-so-metaphorical process of oneness with the Earth.
Yoga
Aquarion's main theme references Indian lore. The word yoga is translated as "unite" and means "union with the divine through the integration of body, mind and spirit" (in Japanese, the word "kokoro" refers to both heart or mind, but is more often translated as just the heart). During Unification, the Elements merge their bodies, minds and spirits, but a real Unification of the Aquarion can only be obtained with a Shadow Angel on board, fitting the scheme of the divine element necessary into order to achieve true Unification and completing Aquarion's power.
Prapti and the Infinity Punch
Yogis are said to develop special powers called siddhis. One of them is called prapti (acquisition) and with this siddhi, the perfect mystic yogi can not only touch the moon, but he can extend his hand anywhere and take whatever he likes. In the series, the Solar Aquarion's Infinity Punch manages to reach the moon, although the real prapti should not involve greatly elongated arms, but rather the ability to cancel distances between objects (resulting in the idea of omnipresence). In this sense, the real prapti in the show is perhaps used by Gen Fudo, who makes things appear out of nothing from his hand. It is worth noting another siddhi called Mahima is the ability to become incredibly big; this may be referenced to the Aquarion's ability to expand itself in size during particular battles with the Cherubim.
Apollonius
The character Apollonius is a passing nod to Greek mythology, seemingly inspired by Apollo, the Greek god of light and Prometheus, who gave fire to humans and was punished by Zeus by having an eagle feast on his liver. Similarly, Apollonius is a Shadow Angel who seems to have light-like powers and gives the humans a fighting chance against the Shadow Angels with the Aquarion, but loses his wings as punishment from the other Shadow Angels. Like Apollonius of Tyana, Aquarion's Apollonius dies and is believed to be reincarnated as the protagonist Apollo, while the Greek god Apollo is stated to have been born in the bank of a lake, Aquarion's Apollo is given his name after he swims in a lake.
The Tree of Life
Atlandia's Tree of Life took on two roles throughout the series. It is basically a large pile of multicolored flowers. The arrangement of the flowers at the end of the top central flowering portion can be easily seen forming the ten interconnecting nodes of the Sephirot from Hebrew Bible/Christianity, only that the flower at the top middle center of this arrangement, the spot that is supposed to symbolize the unity of the nodes, is absent. The tree's first role was made by the Shadow Angels to use it to restart the Shadow Angel race. The second role was its original role and was a similar function to its name, it literally contained the entire planet's life force. Because of this, if that force was unleashed as a power such as to give birth to a race of species, the planet would become lifeless and the tree would die, causing its remains to fall to the Earth's core and make the planet fall apart. This was something the Shadow Angels, who had possession of and took care of the tree, oddly did not know.
Theme music
;Opening songs
# by
Akino (Episodes 1-17)
# "
Go Tight!
"Go Tight!" is the second single from AKINO, produced and composed by Yoko Kanno. The title track is used as the second opening theme of the anime ''Genesis of Aquarion'' and an insert song of the sequel ''Aquarion Evol''. "Go Tight!" peaked at # ...
" by Akino (Episode 18-26)
;Ending songs
# by
Yui Makino
is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her work in the anime ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' where she voices Sakura (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle), Sakura and some of the theme ...
# by Akino
# "Celiane" by
Gabriela Robin
is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...
;Other themes
* by Akino
* "Genesis of Aquarion" by Akino (English lyrics by
Bless4
bless4 is a Japanese vocalist, vocal band (music), ensemble from the United States consisting of four siblings from the Kawamitsu family. Youngest sister Akino (singer), Akino has her own solo musical career, and youngest brother Aiki has also r ...
)
* by AKINO from bless4
Yoko Kanno
is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...
is the composer of the soundtrack music. Performed by the
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra ( pl, Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie) is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, it is one of Poland's oldest musical institutions.
History
The orchestra was conceived on ...
.
Other appearances
* ''Genesis of Aquarion'' made its video game debut in the Sony
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
game ''
Super Robot Wars Z''. It has also appeared in the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
game ''
Another Century's Episode R
is a 2010 third-person shooter video game published by Namco Bandai Games in Japan for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth entry in the ''Another Century's Episode'' series, following '' Another Century's Episode 3: The Final'' (2007). The player ...
'' and the
PSP game ''2nd Super Robot Wars Z'' (both parts).
Reception
In the United States of America, ''Genesis of Aquarion'' has been praised for its excellent mecha designs, musical score and animation style. The story, however, has mixed reviews. AnimeonDVD, and Anime News Network has rated the series overall a C+, claiming that ''Aquarion'' tries to please everyone with the different elements that are reminiscent of other series, and fails to establish its own identity.
See also
*
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
References
External links
''Sousei no Aquarion'' Official Site
FUNimation's Official ''Aquarion'' website*
{{Satelight
Genesis of Aquarion
, also known simply as ''Aquarion'' is a Japanese anime television series written and directed by Shoji Kawamori, produced by Satelight. Set in the future, a giant fighting machine called the Aquarion is humanity's only effective weapon in th ...
2005 anime television series debuts
2007 anime OVAs
Action anime and manga
Anime with original screenplays
Funimation
Satelight
Super robot anime and manga
TV Tokyo original programming