Magic Knight Rayearth (49 episodes)

**VietLang** · 09-16-2007, 01:11 AM

Magic Knight Rayearth

Plot: The primary protagonists of Rayearth, Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki, Fuu Hououji, and Mokona (also seen in Tsubasa), each represent a member of Clamp. Most other characters and several locations in the story have automobile-related names.

The story is divided into two distinct arcs--one per series. The first begins when three girls from separate schools, all on field trips to Tokyo Tower, are blinded by a flash of light and hear a voice calling for the Legendary Magic Knights to save Cephiro.

In the manga, the characters are sucked through the floor, while in the anime and games, the floor disappears from under them. The characters fall through the sky into another world, known as Cephiro or Zephyr. They meet a sorcerer, Master Mage Clef, who gives them magic and explains to them the peril of Cephiro. He says,"Here, one's will has the ability to change reality for better or for worse. The dark fears in people's hearts become monsters, while a well-intended wish can do miracles. One person, the Pillar, whose will is stronger than anyone else's, is responsible for maintaining through her prayers the well-being of Cephiro."

In the first story arc, the current Pillar, Princess Emeraude, has been captured by her high priest, Zagato. The three girls are charged with the task of saving the Princess (and thus the pillar and the fate of Cephiro) by activating the three rune-gods (Ma-shin, a multiple wordplay on Japanese kanji and the English word machine) of Cephiro, and are given a bizarre creature named Mokona to guide them on their journey. When the girls finally reach Emeraude, they learn that she had fallen in love with Zagato, hindering her ability to pray solely for Cephiro's well-being, and had summoned the Magic Knights to kill her since no one on Cephiro could harm the Pillar.

The second story arc is based on the events that occur near the end of the original series dealing with the aftermath of the first season's climax: three warring planets began their attempts to conquer Cephiro and a new Pillar had to be chosen before the whole planet was destroyed. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are once again summoned to Cephiro. In the manga it is later discovered that the mysterious Mokona is responsible for their being summoned back to Cephiro, and he is, in fact, the creator of both the Earth and Cephiro. In the anime they return to Cephiro because of their (especially Hikaru's) strong desire to do so.

Eventually, Hikaru is chosen to become the new Pillar. However, she rebels against the Pillar system, deciding that the fate of the planet should not be the responsibility of only one person, effectively preventing that person from ever being able to live and love freely.