Genesis of Aquarion

Genesis of Aquarion (創聖のアクエリオン) is an anime TV series written and directed by Shoji Kawamori, produced by Satelight.

The science fiction series is a homage to the Super Robot shows of the 1970s and 1980s, executed with modern animation techniques and aesthetics. 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 aired from April 4, 2005 to September 26, 2005 on TV Tokyo. An alternate retelling of the television series, the Genesis of Aquarion OVA, premiered on September 15, 2007. The television series is licensed in North America by FUNimation while on the 14 February 2006 it aired on MTV Italia.

On April 27, 2009, the series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel.

Plot
Eleven years before the start of the series, a disaster only referred to as the "Great Catastrophe" destroyed/devastated significant parts of the world and killed off many of its inhabitants. Along with the disaster came the appearance of the Shadow Angels (堕天翅), winged beings with unexplainable powers and do not die of old age. They have been in slumber for twelve thousand years in their city of Atlandia (アトランディア) and have technology so advanced, it may be defined as very nearly magic. The Shadow Angels begin invading human cites on Earth to harvest human beings, dubbing them as "the wingless ones", like cattle. The Shadow Angels extract the prana (プラーナ) from the harvested humans to serve as energy and nutrition to them, but also to feed the legendary Tree of Life (生命の樹). The Shadow Angels facilitate their harvesting via giant, floating harvesting machines called harvest beasts (収穫獣) which are guarded by giant mecha called Cherubim Soldiers (ケルビム兵). They are sentient, yet there are times when they are piloted by Shadow Angels.

Ordinary weapons prove ineffective against the Cherubim, but a human expedition under the leadership of Gen Fudou eventually excavates three very technologically advanced fighter planes. Gen Fudou disappears, but an organization called DEAVA (ディーバ) takes over the research of these machines, called Vectors (ベクター), trying to find out how to use them. The three Vectors are colored mostly in white and are the green Vector Luna (ベクタールナ), the blue Vector Mars (ベクターマーズ), and the red Vector Sol (ベクターソル). DEAVA discovers only people with special powers called Elements (エレメント) can control the Vectors and, ultimately, unite the three to form a giant fighting robot with three transformations that is capable of beating the Cherubim. This machine and its forms are called Aquarion (アクエリオン).

During the first sortie to fight a Cherubim by uniting the Vectors into a transformation of Aquarion, DEAVA encounters 15 year-old Apollo, who seems to be the reincarnation of a Shadow Angel named Apollonius, also known as the "Solar Wing", who betrayed his Shadow Angel brethren for his love of the human warrior Seliane: They become convinced when he single-handedly unites the Vectors into Solar Aquarion and defeats the Cherubim.

Mecha
In the process of Unification, each Vector is able to transform into a head section, (a chest with a head and arms) a back section, (a back with a set of wings) or a leg section. (a pair of legs) Thus, when the Vectors combine to form the humanoid robot Aquarion, they make a leg/back/head formation with the head being the leading section. The Vector that makes the head ultimately identifies the form of Aquarion the vectors make as well. The Unification or "Merging" process also combines the souls of the Elements to some degree, as each supplies one of the supposed three aspects of their soul into one when Aquarion is formed. During Unification, the Elements experience an influx of power and energy, which in classic Japanese fan-service style is shown to be a feeling of wondrous power for the men, while for the women it is blatantly orgasmic in nature.

Aquarion

 * Solar Aquarion (ソーラーアクエリオン): Corresponds to Vector Sol as the head, Vector Luna as the back, and Vector Mars as the legs. This is the most balanced of the three basic Aquarion forms as well as the true form of Aquarion, with its specialty in melee combat. It is the only form that can manifest the "Solar Wings" on its back. Later in the series, the Elements develop the Solar Aquarion's signature "Mugen (Infinity) Punch", an attack extending the arm indefinitely in order to reach even the most agile enemy; to elaborate, the Mugen Punch can reach distances that extends to the surface of the moon. The Solar Aquarion is almost always used by Apollo.


 * Aquarion Luna (アクエリオンルナ): Corresponds to Vector Luna as the head, Vector Mars as the back, and Vector Sol as the legs. It specializes in ranged combat, with the ability to wield a bow and arrows, or as another form to partake in melee situations, given the Aquarion Luna's agile movement and reflexes. It too can manifest a set of wings on its back. It is mostly used by Silvia de Alisia and Hong Lihua (Reika).


 * Aquarion Mars (アクエリオンマーズ): Corresponds to Vector Mars as the head, Vector Sol as the back, and Vector Luna as the legs. It does have a set of wings on its back, but it cannot manifest or de-manifest them. This is the fastest of the Aquarion forms. It is Sirius de Alisia ' s favorite because it can wield a sword and due to its long legs and speed, it is perfect for Pierre Vieira ' s "Fire Kick" technique.

Powers and Abilities
Elements: All elements have at least one "main power" that can define what they can do, but with the right equipment they can do more. Aquarion is a big example. In Aquarion their powers are "increased" to obviously use them as powerful weapons during fights. Sometimes these increased powers can enable them to create and use "sub-powers" besides their main power, like to make devastating lighting powered spin-kicks or create and use throwing weapon disks.

Aquarion: All three Aquarion forms are capable of using the powers and/or abilities that the elements piloting it have separately or in any combination, as well as combining them with the main powers of the form Aquarion is in at the time (Mugen Punch, bow and arrows or sword) and using the main powers in special ways, such as classifying them with unique names or using them in unique ways. The elements piloting it can combine their status, such as strength, speed, targeting, mental strength and willpower in any way as well, and enable Aquarion to use it as its own in battle. Gen Fudou also trains the elements routinely on how use their powers to unlock and wield other powers that Aquarion itself has, such as how to firmly attach Aquarion to the ground so it cannot be moved or make Aquarion's body grow. (Ironically after most of these training sessions the Shadow Angels make a weapon that the elements can only stop by utilizing what they learned from the last training session while piloting Aquarion.) Sometimes the elements can even combine their emotions with Aquarion's energies to make new powers, like when Rekia turned her fear of her bad luck into unlucky-like energy to defeat the legend monster or when Pierre turned his determination to save his family into fire-like strength to defeat Kumba and Nikumba.

Secondary forms
The following are other forms the Aquarion can take, but only appear in specific situations:


 * Aquarion Soluna (アクエリオンソルナ): After the Solar Aquarion's arms were destroyed and separated, Lihua, Tsugumi Rosenmeier and Pierre united to form this Aquarion. Essentially the Solar Aquarion, it uses the Vector Luna as the head, but flipped forward, becoming the torso on top of the Vector Sol, making a leg/stomach/head formation. It is assumed this is the tallest of Aquarion's forms due to its configuration.


 * Aquarion Angel (アクエリオンエンジェル): When the Vector Mars was absent, Apollo, Tsugumi, Lihua and even Silvia united to form an Aquarion out of the Vector Sol, Vector Luna and a Military Vector Omega, respectively, with the Vector Omega taking the position of head, the Vector Sol as the back, and the Vector Luna as the legs. It is assumed this form retains all of the Aquarion Mars' abilities, even with the lack of the Vector Mars' presence in the combination.


 * Aquarion Sol 2
 * Another Aquarion form with the Military Vector Omega. It consisted of the Vector Sol as the head, the Vector Luna as the back and the Vector Omega as the legs, It was piloted by Apollo, Lihua, and Pierre.

Assault Type Aquarion
The Assault Type Aquarion (強攻型アクエリオン) is a copy of the original Aquarion, constructed in a joint operation between DEAVA and the New United Nations using Shadow Angel DNA collected by force. It follows the same basic architecture of the original with a couple of physical differences and uses massive versions of conventional weaponry of cannons, rockets and machine guns as opposed to the original's more traditional weapons of bow and arrows, sword and Mugen punch which, due to their size, can enable it to defeat the Cherubim. Colored mostly in gray/black, this Aquarion is normally piloted by one Shadow Angel DNA-infused mentally reprogrammed element or even a normal human being, while the other two corresponding Vectors are AI-controlled. It can configure into six different forms and is composed of three Vectors that look and are colored like the originals. The Vectors are a red Vector named Alpha, a green Vector named Delta, and a blue Vector named Omega, which corresponds to the Vector Sol, Vector Luna and the Vector Mars, respectively. These Vectors are compatible with normal elements and the original Aquarion Vectors and they are mass produced by the New United Nations.


 * Aquarion Alpha (アクエリオンアルファ): Corresponds to Vector Alpha as the head, Vector Delta as the back, and Vector Omega as the legs. It is the equivalent of the Solar Aquarion. It uses an enormous PSG Cannon on its right arm as its primary weapon and like the Solar Aquarion, it can deploy the "Solar Wings" on its back, but does not have the mystical effect of the original. Oddly enough, its head is shaped like the Aquarion Luna's and has a visor over its eyes. This configuration can transform into the Walker Formation without the need to separate the Vectors and reuniting.


 * Aquarion Delta (アクエリオンデルタ): Corresponds with Vector Delta as the head, Vector Omega as the back, and Vector Alpha as the legs. It is the equivalent of the Aquarion Luna. Taking a similarity to the Aquarion Luna's bow, the Aquarion Delta specializes in long-range combat through a complement of rockets that fire from its own customized bow and can also utilize the Aquarion Omega's machine guns, mounted on the same part as the rockets.


 * Aquarion Omega (アクエリオンオメガ): Corresponds with Vector Omega as the head, Vector Alpha as the back, and Vector Delta as the legs. It is the equivalent of the Aquarion Mars. Using a pair of machine guns, this form is only featured once and can transform into the Armageddon Formation without the need to separate the Vectors and reuniting.


 * Armageddon Formation (アーマゲドン形態): A formation where the three Vectors combine into a 6-legged walker with the Aquarion Alpha's PSG cannon mounted on top, similar to a tank. This formation exists due to the PSG Cannon able to fire at its maximum capabilities with a stable footing. This form can transform immediately into Aquarion Omega without separating and reuniting.


 * Assault Walker Formation (アサルトウォーカー形態): A vehicle formation used for speed, it appears as a jet-like machine with two legs. This form can transform into Aquarion Alpha without separating and reuniting. Its appearance closely resembles the GERWALK mode of the VF-1 Valkyrie from Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, another anime written and directed by Shoji Kawamori.


 * Aquarion Beast form
 * In the Aquarion movie, when Reika got mad and didn't understand why Apollo was helping Silvia (who everyone thought was Scorpus, the person who killed Apollonius) Aquarion Omega transformed into a evil beast form.

Shadow Angel Mecha and Monsters

 * Cherubim Mars (ケルビム・マーズ): After allying with the Shadow Angels and taking the Vector Mars with him, Sirius uses a Cherubim Soldier in place of the other two Vectors. The Cherubim Mars acts the same as the Aquarion Mars, but if its Cherubim Soldier body is destroyed, another Cherubim can take its place.
 * Antichthon (アンティクトン): A three dimensional polygon that brings out the inner hatred and/or jealousy of those that see into it long enough.
 * Black Rena (ブラックリーナ): A harvest beast with the ability to make itself look and act like what the people facing it fear most. Because the elements were afraid of Rena at the time, it took on a Vampire Rena form and acted like a vampire to drain prana.
 * Cherubim Blumeblatt (ケルビム・ブルーメンブラット): Miniature versions of regular cherubim soldiers that act as anti-military forces. Although they lack legs they are highly maneuverable users of levitation and are armed with pulse lasers from the head and sometimes the hands. They are very important for the Shadow Angel invasions of human cities to harvest human beings, as they are what broadcast the Shadow Angel's "Hypno song", which hypnotizes normal unprotected humans and makes them sitting ducks for the harvest beasts to collect.
 * Graeve Cherubim (グラーヴェ・ケルビム): A special cherubim with immensely thick armor that can stand up to most assaults with very little damage. It can fire CPulse beams from its large head and the hands and it can also use its drill-like gloves for melee combat as well as launch them.
 * Cherubim Iskuron (ケルビム・イスキューロン): A colorful custom cherubim used by (and resembles) Mohora capable of bisecting. Its pulse beams are green instead of blue and aside from being normally fired from the head and club-like claws can also be used as daggers in melee. Other powers include an energy beam from the chest and teleportation.
 * Cherubim Lune (ケルビム・リュンヌ): A special cherubim that was infused with "the moon's ability to be not too near yet not too far". It can dodge nearly any attack and can produce black/purple electric balls from its hands. It can also quickly recover from normal attacks.
 * Cherubim Soldier (ケルビム兵): Standard mecha used by the Shadow Angels capable of flying very fast and firing a verity of blue pulse lasers and sometimes even missiles from their head and palms. The only two notable versions are the soldier armed with the gravity staff from episode 4 and the soldier modified by Futaba in episode 21.
 * Cherubim Sue le Kubera (ケルビム・シュルルクベラ): A black cherubim soldier made and used by Toma in two of the last episodes in the series. It is armed with a pair of rapiers and pulse lasers from the palms designed for impalement like spears and has great speed and agility.
 * Cherubim Verizeva (ケルビム・ヴェルルゼバ): A customized cherubim used by Toma and later Otoha armed with a pair of swords and pulse lasers from the palms designed for impalement like spears.
 * Harvest Beast (収穫獣): Standard Hammerhead shark-like vessels used to collect humans for Shadow Angels. They possess no offensive capabilities.
 * Kumba and Nikumba (クンバ&ニクンバ): A pair of cherubim that share a core and can exchange it between each other; the one without the core becomes indestructible and by exchanging it with the other when the one with the core is struck down, they are almost unstoppable. They look like a fiesta-like mix of the Cheribum Iskuron and the Graewe Cheribum, except they have yellow-and-black coloring.
 * Legend Monster (神話獣): An ancient water-like harvest beast that remained dormant in a lake. A plant-like one was hidden in a building in Apollo's former hometown.
 * Mirror Aquarion (ミラーアクエリオン): A fake version of Aquarion made from three fake versions of the Aquarion Vectors that possesses all the regular abilities except expansion of the body.
 * Mongie (モンジ): Tiny harvests beasts used to consume all the food consumed by humans with a great resemblance to the kaiju Dogora.
 * Titania (ティターニア): A dream manipulator harvest beast from the Moon that exists in the dream world and entraps people in their nightmares.
 * Xibalba (シバルバー): A cherubim-like digging machine that is essentially a giant mechanical worm with large clawed hands and a massive mouth that are used for burrowing through the ground quickly and can fire pulse lasers and missiles from the back of its hands.

Design
Despite early references to biblical trees, the Book of Genesis and such, the bulk of Aquarion is tied to many other non-Christian myths.

Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius, also known as the Aquarian Age, was a concept popularized by Carl Gustav Jung. 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 together their bodies, minds and spirits, but a real Unification of the Aquarion can only be obtained with a Shadow Angel onboard, fitting the scheme of the divine element necessary into order to achieve true Unification and completing Aquarion's power.

Prapti and the Mugen 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 Mugen 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 reincarnates 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 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 re-start 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
 * 1) "Genesis of Aquarion" (創聖のアクエリオン) by Akino (Episodes 1-16)
 * 2) "Go Tight!" by Akino (Episode 17-26)


 * Ending songs
 * 1) "Omna Magni" (オムナ マグニ) by Yui Makino
 * 2) "Kōya no Heath" (荒野のヒース) by Akino
 * 3) "Celiane" by Gabriela Robin


 * Other themes
 * "Nike 15-sai" (ニケ15歳) by Akino
 * "Genesis of Aquarion" by Akino (English lyrics by Bless4)

Yoko Kanno is the composer of the soundtrack music. Performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.

Other appearances

 * Genesis of Aquarion makes its debut in the Sony PlayStation 2 video game Super Robot Wars Z. It is also set to appear in the PlayStation 3 game Another Century's Episode R.

Reception
In 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+, stating that Aquarion tries to please everyone with the different elements that are reminiscent of other series, and fails to establish its own identity.