RayearthReviews

Rayearth Ep. 49: The Road to Victory: The Tomorrow that the Believing Heart Opens!

0
Summary

Hikaru approaches Nova and Nova fearfully attacks her. The attacks don’t work and Hikaru reaches Nova. Hikaru hugs Nova and Nova reveals she was lonely until Debonair took her in. Hikaru apologizes and says she wants to love herself, Nova included. Nova returns to Hikaru’s heart. Presea again asks Alcyone where Debonair is before Clef dies. Alcyone realizes she’s not Presea, but her younger twin sister. Sierra introduces herself and says she’s pretending to be Presea to protect the Knights and help Clef. Sierra says it’s fine for her to give up her identity if it allows her to be at Clef’s side. Umi and Fuu enter and also ask where Debonair is. Umi assures her they’ll win and Alcyone sees they’re willing to act for those they love even if they know it’s no use. She decides to tell them about Debonair but her body is wrapped in shadows. She manages to say Debonair is Cephiro’s underside. The shadows engulf her but she tells the others not to cry because it’s the end she chose. Umi and Fuu head out again and join Hikaru. They break through the darkness surrounding Cephiro and head into its underside.

The Knights head into Debonair’s castle where they find Regalia‘s remains. Debonair combines with Regalia and the castle falls apart. The Knights escape and Debonair attacks. Umi and Fuu attack but their attacks are reflected. The Rune-Gods combine together and they clash with Debonair. The NSX, the Dome, and the Bravada all show up to help but Debonair damages them all. The Knights damage Debonair and when she launches a counter attack Lantis’s pendant reflects the blast. Debonair attacks again and knocks the Rune-God down. The Knights wonder why she’s so strong and Debonair says it’s because she was created by the people’s fear of losing the Pillar. Mira and her friends tell the people not to be afraid and to believe in the Magic Knights. Ferio and the others back them up and rouse the people. The power of their hearts go to the Rune-God and the proof of the Pillar appears in front of Hikaru. Hikaru takes it and it becomes a sword of light. The Knights charge forward and run Debonair through. She curses the Knights and is destroyed. Hikaru becomes the Pillar and uses her status to rid Cephiro of the Pillar system. She says Cephiro will now be made by all those who love the country. Light from the sword pieces the clouds and the sun shines on Cephiro once again. The Rune-God disappears and the Knights float down to their awaiting friends. The Rune-Gods tell them their wish to return to Cephiro and fight for their own hearts was granted and confirms that they summoned themselves. They realize they must go home now. Umi is about to tell Clef her feelings but decides against it. Fuu tells Ferio she will never forget him. Hikaru tells Lantis she believes Cephiro will become even more beautiful than when Emeraude was Pillar. She says she loves him and he reciprocates. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu return to Tokyo Tower and are happy this time they could fight with no regrets. A year later the girls visit Tokyo Tower again and see an image of a reborn Cephiro in the sky. Hikaru says she wants to return to Cephiro once more, not out of regret, but to learn the story of the new Cephiro.

Commentary

And the long adventure finally comes to a close. Hikaru settles things with Nova and embraces the less admirable aspect of her heart. We all have a little darkness in us but that’s just another part of what makes us who we are. Alcyone sacrifices herself to reveal Debonair’s true nature. For most of the show she was just a crazy ineffectual villain who didn’t know when to give up but in the end I have to tip my hat to her for her final act. Debonair assumes her role as final boss and it was a pretty awesome fight. She was defeated not just by the Knights, but also by the people of Cephiro and the former invaders. People can accomplish great things when they unite their hearts, which is what Hikaru was counting on when she abolished the Pillar system. Cephiro’s peace no longer relies on just one person, but it is everyone’s burden to bear. It’s a shame the Knights had to return to Earth immediately after, especially with Lantis revealing he also loves Hikaru, but I’m sure they’ll be able to go back someday if they will it. Overall this season certainly had a lot more padding than the first. Chizeta and Fahren could have been removed entirely to focus solely on Autozam and Debonair, but I wouldn’t say any episode was completely skippable. Hikaru had some great development that moved her beyond being just a typical pure hearted heroine, but as a result Umi and Fuu didn’t get much focus. Surely they regretted what happened to Emeraude just as much as Hikaru, so where were their evil versions? Despite that I loved the new additions to the anime and prefer it over its manga counterpart. Magic Knight Rayearth is a unique mecha series with great characters, cool robots, a good sense of humor, and plenty of twists and turns. It has aged really well so definitely give it a watch and let yourself be summoned to the magical world of Cephiro.

Overall Rating
4.5/5
Rayearth Info


Director:
Toshihiro Hirano

Writer(s):
Nanase Ohkawa (CLAMP)
Keiko Maruo
Osamu Nakamura

Mechanical Designer:
Masahiro Yamane

Character Designer(s):
Atsuko Ishida
CLAMP (manga)

Musical Composer:
Hayato Matsuo

Format:
49 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 10.17.1994 – 11.27.1995

Comments

Comments are closed.