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Kalessin wrote:

Like spoiler[how did Nakiami being locked up in a chamber for 1000 years fix anything? Because they can't get inside? They should have just destroyed it.]

The Quickening Chamber had already begun to activate by the end of things, and therefore could only be "stopped" by allowing it to fulfill its purpose--that being to wipe the world clean of tragedy and calamity. Nakiami essentially burdened herself with all of these negative memories by offering herself up to the Chamber and allowing herself to be locked within it for the next millennium. It's paradoxical since the only way the burden could be made real was for the Chamber to lock her in, and in order for the Chamber to be fulfilled she needed to be burdened in the first place... but that's the point, since sacrifice is a major theme of Xam'd--specifically, the idea that a very small minority (in this case one person) may be burdened with a very large circumstantial burden.

Anyway, Nakiami was like a spanner in the works--she broke the machine, but even if she theoretically could have been liberated through brute force (I tend to think she couldn't have, given the supernatural properties of the Xam'd and the Hiruko), her sacrifice would count for nothing without her actually being frozen, and the Chamber would start to work again.

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Or spoiler[how on earth can Akiuki give the emperor his name? Sure, you can tell him that he can use your name, but you don't lose yours doing that. And how does giving him his name turn him to stone only to turn back at some random point years later? The whole turning to stone thing was weird enough in the first place and poorly explained, but what happened with Akiuki in the end made no sense at all.]

Xam'd makes the assertion that name is a vital symbol for tying somebody to their identity/memories; not exactly a groundbreaking theme to tackle, but it's presentation that counts here. You're obsessing too much over the precise mechanics here, I think (I would know, being one who likes to obsess over such things Razz

). Xam'd was clearly reliant on some supernatural elements (the titular beings and the Hiruko) to tell its story, and as is often the case when such elements are incorporated into a story the hows of a particular supernatural processes are of vanishingly little importance compared to the whys--in fact, the latter is essentially used to explain the former.

In other words, Akiyuki was able to genuinely sacrifice his name--and therefore identity--because he was engaged with the Hiruken Emperor on a supernatural plane. The themes of the story permitted the specific magics that allowed the transfer to happen. Furthermore, Akiyuki's subsequent turning to stone is another instance of the kind of singular personal sacrifice that I outlined while discussing what happened to Nakiami, so it ties into that theme as well.

Now the reason he turned to stone was clearly explained, given you accept my interpretation that names hold the thematic/symbolic significance I mentioned. Xam'd is symbiotic if harnessed correctly, parasitic if it is not: as an organism it naturally tends toward complete assimilation of its host, which in this case means complete control over a human body that necessarily requires a complete erasure of that body's memories (this is its parasitic form). If the host is sufficiently sharp of mind though, and they can retain control of their memories (read: identity) after infection, a state is arrived at where Xam'd and host exist symbiotically. The assisstance of other human individuals who have an investment of some kind in the host (friends, family, etc.) can obviously improve ones chances of achieving symbiosis. Nakiami was Akiyuki's initial savior in this case, and she directly demonstrates this time and again by telling him to "keep thinking", for instance.

Therefore, Akiyuki turned to stone because by forsaking his name he did the same for his identity/memories. The final nail in the coffin (of sorts) was that Nakiami was no longer there to stop him from completely losing himself.

As for why he broke free of the stone: I direct you to Shenl742's post. It wasn't an arbitrary amount of time that he was imprisoned for; his liberation arose naturally as a result of Haru remaining absolutely dedicated to him after all was said and done. She imbued him with enough new memories to allow his resurrection.

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And, of course, the whole situation with the haruko and what they were spoiler[was definitely implied but never explained. I guess that they were somehow people's souls, but not even that was actually ever said.]

Again, delving too deep into the mechanics in my opinion. It was blatantly clear that the Hiruko were souls/memories/identities. How exactly these were extracted and weaponized is not really important.

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Also, I don't see how spoiler[a religious figure who is supposed to be a great and good person can possibly think that it's okay to send suicide bombers around to kill people in the hope of creating a X'amd who can take out the emperor just because she feels sorry for him?!] Explanations were seriously lacking. It's a sign of poor story telling IMHO.

See the emboldened text for your problem. Remember: the religious types refer to these people as martyrs. Totally different connotations. Good marketing for that kind of position is important. Laughing

Seriously though, the term martyr is specifically used, at least in the subs that Sony released over PSN, and it's perfectly suited. Human folly is another big thematic component of the series after all, and religion is naturally going to play into that topic at some level.

Tackling the larger criticism: Sannova was motivated to do what she did by her understanding of "the greater good", which was in this case to ensure that the world was not wiped clean. I never found that explanation lacking. In any case, it's interesting how Bones decided to take the opposite side of the argument compared to what they did in RahXephon. Visual metaphors abound for this about-face in Xam'd I'm sure, but the one that comes to find is the green blood that spills out of the Jirabashi compared to the blue blood that the Mu possess.

Anyway, that's my understanding of things--again.

@Big Hed

Well, you could be 100% spot on with your take on things. However, the ultimate problem is that it wasn't properly explained within the series itself. They left way too much open to interpretation.

I just have one question for you, Big Hed: were you able to come to those conclusions after a single viewing, or did it require multiple viewings? What you say makes sense, but I certainly was not thinking along those lines on my one viewing. (Of course, it took me more than one viewing to make complete sense of Neon Genesis Evangelion, too, and it was at least as abstract as what you're making this one sound like.)

Well, despite how much I love Xam'd, I've only actually seen it in its entirety once, during the PS3 run. Razz

I marathoned the first half again a week and a half ago, but that's it.

Anyway, the answer is yes and no. That first wall of text I posted on the first page regarding the plot breakdown I pretty much had my head around after the first viewing, yeah.

The thoughts I posted above regarding Xam'd's more abstract content I was also having at various levels at that point, but could I have been as coherent about them if I had been asked right after I watched episode 26...? I don't know if I can say objectively. Like I said I've only seen the second half of the series once, but the passage of time since then may have helped resolve some details for me as it did with RahXephon (which I should really rewatch...).

In either case, I've been profoundly attached to Xam'd's characters and (lush) setting since episode 1, so that probably has something to do with the amount of thought I've put into it. Razz

I really didn't have any trouble following the story. Or least I don't think I did.... I forget details but I don't remember feeling lost at all when I first watched the series. So things like Akiyuki losing, finding, then turning and unturning himself to and from stone and why Nakiami has to be sealed away for so long but is still alive worked in my head.

I mention the lack of action as a gripe I have with the series but my main gripe is the show's pacing. Although it has a handful of filler episodes, Eureka Seven was really paced well and had a great balance of story, development, and action. The action to E7 was never really a focus but it gave you enough to excite you and move the story along as well as serve as a tool to motive or serve as a form of expression for the characters or a field of conflict or understanding where opposing ideals can resolve or be brought to light. You know, traditional uses of action and it's quick symbolism.

E7 was fairly traditional in setup, premise, and pacing but it was still distinctly unique in presence and it's execution. I was basically expecting the same thing with Xam'd: That balance. But Xam'd just felt unbalanced to me. Yes, it means it didn't go down a stereotypical/predictable road other series tend to go which has some merit, but I think it worked against the series as a whole as it made the series feel bogged down with too many stories going on like we commented on. I felt they were resolved for the most part but it felt very "Hey... we only have so many episode so we can't really draw out the significance of these stories but they were and this is how we resolve it." Probably the only thing story-wise that I didn't like was how the Xam'd seem to lose their overall significance as the series moved on. It was interesting how they were a type of physical representation of someone losing their way or identity, but the first half of the series made you think they served a higher purpose. The "ironic significant figure that actually isn't all that important" is a interesting idea but it didn't feel like it unfolded well and more like a "Yeah, we ran out of time to resolve this so we will just stop focusing on it even though we spent a good chunk of time on it already."

I think I would have loved this series if it was just longer, as strange as that sounds. Allowing ideals, conflicts, changes, character growth and drama to unfold a more normal pace and sink in more with the viewer. But as it is, it'll stay a B-/C series to me.

Damn it. I've been watching this series on Time Warner Cable's Anime Network on Demand channel(and plan on getting the DVDs soon) and have been really enjoyin' it. I've heard others say that it loses a helluva lot of steam in the 2nd half, but to hear it again from this review bummed me out even more. :/ I mean, I'll still stick with it and buy the 2nd DVD anyway, but I can only hope that I don't think it's as "bad" as this review suggests. Confused

@TatsuGero23: Believe me, I'm totally with you on wishing it could have been longer--though I my case it was just because I wanted "more" of the show, not because I felt conclusions were poorly drawn. But I've gone on about that at length already, so I won't write another brick on it. Razz

The point that you brought up that I would discuss a bit more is the value of Xam'd through the series. I don't think their importance diminished at all.

Leaving aside spoiler[Furuichi's death, which was insignificant as a Xam'd given how rapidly he deteriorated after infection, two out of three critcal Xam'd die--but their deaths have great significance and propel the show forwards in its final episodes. Kujireika becomes consumed by her power and starts slaughtering invading Southern Free Zone forces wholesale, which not only makes for a pretty sweet action set piece but also serves as a wakeup call to Nakiami--the world is falling apart around her, and not even Tessik is sacred anymore. I think it sets her up for her actions in the Quickening Chamber, in that she realizes she has to take drastic steps to reverse the destruction.

Raigyo sacrifices himself so that Ishuu can live on to carry the fight forward. It's a simple moment, but that doesn't undermine its value. Ishuu was more important to the resistance movement, and Raigyo knew what he had to do.

And then there's Akiyuki. I think it's hard to argue the Xam'd losing overall significance on account of his actions alone. If he had never become a Xam'd, and come to terms with his symbiosis, the Emperor would've had his way and the whole world would've been tabula rasa. The End.]

What I'm trying to get at is that the Xam'd are not really the messianic figures prevalent in many other anime; they aren't Gundams, Evangelions, or RahXephon (Dolems? I dunno, Bones didn't make that one easy to pluralize). They are few, they are imperfect, and they can't save the world by themselves. They offer exemplary proof for my earlier position that sacrifice is a central theme in the series: their hosts are all essentially regular people who have just had the bad (or good) luck to be caught up in the machinations of larger forces, and it's up to them to decide if they can play a part in making things better, even if that just means saving one Hiruko at a time.

And then there's those without Xam'd--everybody else. Haru, Nakiami, Ryuuzou, Fusa, Ishuu, Kagisu... they're all equally victims of games that the gods play, and they all strive in their own ways to leave the world better off for the part they play in it. Mileage varies, but again what is important is the act of sacrifice in one way or another.

In other words, my opinion on the matter is that the Xam'd never got smaller in the story; rather the world grew a lot larger around them. Geographically the characters go their widely separate ways--and meet still more characters. Personally, they take their own journeys--Nakiami to find her home in memory (physically and psychologically embodied by her experiences in Tessik), Akiyuki to find his home within himself (in terms of his identity/raison d'etre), and Haru to find her home in somebody else (Akiyuki, which she had known for a long time, but she still needed to confront the ugliness/loneliness in certain people on Sentan to give herself that final push). Thematically, those two elements become synthesized as part of larger worldview which seeks to remind us that there's always going to be more to see and understand than we are able to, because that's just how reality is, which is where my desire to see more of Xam'd is derived from--while in the same breath I know that this is one series that shouldn't have a sequel.

And see, this is what I think is so great about Xam'd: the mythical beings aren't the be-all and end-all of the series. There is a big wide world outside of the hero(es) that actually matters and that Bones wanted us to care about (I think this is a direct step forward from E7, and think it isn't coincidence that Akiyuki starts out older and more mature than Renton did), and frankly that's how I prefer my fiction, not just anime. People live within this world irrespective of whether they are a narrative focus, and it shows damn near everywhere.

Soooo... I think that about covers what I wanted to say there.

Sanosuke_Inara wrote:

I can only hope that I don't think it's as "bad" as this review suggests. :S

I hope so too! The vocal minority needs all the help it can get. Laughing

Add: If I sound conceited, my apologies.

I just finished watching it through for the second time, thus a late posting.
Like some viewers, I was confused about some Hiroku and the other elements connected to the xam'd when I saw it the first time. After seeing it the second time, I found more key lines that helps explain a little better what they are.
I was looking for an answer to compare to my theory about Hiroku since stated before, some things could have been explained better.

After deep thinking about the hiroku and such, I've kinda pieced together a theory to help those who might get confused, but again, this is just a theory after seeing it again for the second time.

Hiroku = Solidified form of a Soul. But there are 2 kinds, one of the earth which are Pure and one of the humans.

The human ones being the yellowish color that you see pulled out of the body which have memories (where I think "Lost Memories" statment is for) and are Parasitic and used to make Xam'ds since that's what Lady Sannova is seen using in the Beginning and the kind they gather.

Now the Earth ones I theorized, to think of like an evolution chain

Ututu Seeds (purity is the seed size) === Hiroku === Onboro === Stone (When the soul leaves altogether)

this theory is stated on what Nakiami states that Onboro is the Natural Form of a Hiroku in the episode she finds the entrance to the tessik village. (and the Ututu seeds that are in the shell she puts in the flask from episode 1, grow in to Onboros).

the Ututu seeds which what used for vaccination I think since they are pure and have no memories bound to them, can purify the Human Hirokus and artificial Hiroku since those are what are used to make Humanforms and xam'ds

since Big Hed was able to word better the turning to stone situation with the Xam'd, I won't stated anything about that.

I hope this helps somewhat for those watching the series, from what I was able to piece together.

Overall though, I loved the series myself, on my personal favs list as well. I loved the fact that most of it got to the point, wasn't just fillers all over the place, though I do agree, they did need to have a episode or two explaining history and things a little more.

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REVIEW: Xam'd: Lost Memories DVD 2