This is a list of recurring characters and cast in the anime/manga/novel series RahXephon. Characters without speaking parts or who only appear in one episode or chapter are not included. The characters are first described as they appear in the TV series, followed by their portrayals in the other story versions.

Main characters Ayato Kamina

At the beginning of the series, Ayato Kamina is a student and artist living with his mother in Tokyo. Most of his artwork shown in the series consists of drawings or paintings of a girl on a cliff looking towards the sea. He has birthmark-like symbols on his belly resembling runes, which are revealed to be a sign of his being a potential instrumentalist for the RahXephon.

After being taken from Tokyo by Haruka and the RahXephon, Ayato moves in with Rikudo Shougo, Haruka's uncle on Nirai Kanai. At first, this arrangement does not sit well with Ayato, as Haruka and her younger sister Megumi live in Rikudo's annex, but they slowly adapt to each other's presences. As a stranger from Tokyo Jupiter, Ayato struggles to find his place and acceptance in the outside world. Although he pilots the RahXephon in defending Nirai Kanai, he questions his abilities and self-worth. He also struggles with trying to piece together and understand his relationship with Haruka, handling the feisty Megumi, and interacting with the other TERRA personnel, who regard him with a broad spectrum of reactions, from acceptance and friendship to cool scientific interest to distrust and even contempt.

It is revealed that Quon is genetic provider of both Ayato and Itsuki Kisaragi while she is sleeping. Conceived with the help of Ernst von Bähbem and raised by Maya as an instrumentalist — someone who can successfully use the RahXephon to re-tune the world. There are several other instrumentalist candidates, but at this point of the series most have passed their ideal age.

At the end of the series, Ayato succeeds in becoming one with the RahXephon, and re-tunes the world. In this new world, the great dimensional split never happened, and Tokyo Jupiter never existed. Ayato is now an adult and married to Haruka and have an infant daughter named Quon.

In other versions In the movie, Ayato is Maya's naturally conceived biological son. In this version, he has to remain in his position as a "Watcher of time" and can not return to the world.

In the manga, Ayato is not just the result of in vitro fertilization but also of in vitro growing; multiple tanks with Ayato clones growing inside them are shown.

Haruka Shitou

A 29-year-old officer within the TERRA organization, Haruka Shitou is partially responsible for aiding Ayato in leaving Tokyo Jupiter. Originally a captain in the Intelligence Division, she is promoted to Major in the Tactical Division.

Haruka is shown to have very strong feelings for Ayato and struggles at maintaining a relationship with him for many reasons. Her position within TERRA makes Ayato think that she is only using him because of his ability to pilot the RahXephon. Ayato's own personal struggles also create barriers for their relationship.

It is later revealed that the girl that Ayato is constantly drawing and painting is actually a young Haruka. They had fallen in love when they were younger. The earliest date when the show places them together is at August 10, 2011, at age 13. When the Tokyo Jupiter barrier was established (just after the end of 2012), Haruka was on a vacation in a different part of Japan. Ixtli uses Ayato's distorted memories of Haruka to create the form of Reika Mishima. Haruka aged much more than Ayato in the outside world due to Tokyo Jupiter's time dilation effect. She had a relationship with Itsuki Kisaragi, possibly due to his similarity to Ayato.

In other versions There is no real difference between Haruka's portrayal in the series and in the movie.

In the manga, Haruka is more ditzy but has a similar role in the story until the end, where she is revealed to be a reincarnation of Reika.

Reika Mishima

Reika Mishima first appears in the series as the subject of one of Ayato's paintings. She then appears, in person, during the attack on Tokyo in episode 1. She leads Ayato to the RahXephon, and is shown to have some sort of connection to it via her singing.

Throughout the series, it is hinted that Reika is not a normal human being. She does not have a reflection unless she needs to, Ayato is able to call her at an unassigned phone number, and she appears to alter Ayato's classmates' memories to make them remember her. She later appears as an aide to Makoto Isshiki, apparently altering TERRA personnels' memories in the same fashion. It is revealed that Reika is actually Ixtli, the soul of the RahXephon, and that her appearance is a manifestation of Ayato's innermost desires. This enables him to connect with and fully use the RahXephon; in artistic terms, she is his muse. Her form is chosen to closely mimic that of a young Haruka Mishima (later Shitou) with whom Ayato had fallen in love. This is to ensure that the performer, or instrumentalist, is more cooperative to Ixtli and more trusting of her than would initially be the case. Ixtli appears to Quon as Reika at first but later takes the guise of Ayato as he has become very important to her.

Despite disappearing often, Ixtli/Reika Mishima is quite caring of Ayato, and will go the extra mile to see that he fully matures into his role as 'Ollin' and punishes those who would ruin her goal of a successful 'tuning'.

Although Ayato initially rejects Reika after he learns the truth about her and what she is, he later chooses to accept her and become one with the RahXephon, thus enabling him to re-tune the world.

Reika is the focus of an important and recurring visual leitmotif used throughout the series. She stands on a higher point, with her back facing Ayato, and slowly turns around to smile upon him. This image is also repeated in Ayato's paintings. The origin of the leitmotif is shown in the "Dandelion Girl Coda" at the end of the series.

In other versions In the movie, Reika is one of the Watchers of Time, a 'soul' of one of the two RahXephons. Further complicating matters, Ayato and Haruka's granddaughter is also named Reika and appears identical to Reika Mishima.

In the manga, Reika is a more comical character who has grown up as Ayato's adoptive sister and who is openly jealous of any woman who gets between them. It is revealed that Reika is a Mulian miko who was forced unprepared into a ritual involving the RahXephon. The ritual failed disastrously, due to Reika's spiritual emptiness and destrudo. She is trapped in a cycle of reincarnation, and is destined to die prematurely. Despite Ayato's best efforts, Reika dies in his arms after they promise each other to meet again in a later life. As Haruka and Itsuki prepare to get married, it is revealed that Haruka is actually Reika's reincarnation and that Itsuki is Ayato's. This is a partial reversal of the TV series, where Reika takes Haruka's image.

Quon Kisaragi

Quon Kisaragi is a mysterious young girl who speaks the first words of the TV series and is shown meeting Ayato in episode 4. Her standard expression of surprise or agreement is "Ra-ra" (or "La-la") and most of her dialogue is cryptic and musically themed. She and Ayato do not connect romantically, but she displays a level of both physical and interpersonal comfort and intimacy with Ayato. She is also one of the few people who never treats Ayato as a curiosity or an annoyance, and she seems to have an understanding of his situation and what his eventual role is, calling him "Ollin" ("motion" in Nahua).

Like Ayato, she has the marks of a potential instrumentalist. She and Ayato are both shown undergoing examinations, and while outside of her home she wears a vest-like device called a Life Module. Quon is skilled in playing both the violin and piano. She also is portrayed as curious about music that other people listen to on headphones, often taking them off to listen to the music.

It is later revealed that Quon is a Mulian. She is the sister of Maya Kamina, and the genetic provider of both Ayato Kamina and Itsuki Kisaragi. When she entered the human world, she slept for quite a while and stayed young, while Maya is awake and grew older. Because of this, she is often called the "Sleeping Beauty".

In episode 9, Quon goes with Ayato into a shrine (shaped like a Ryukyuan tomb) where she learns that she is also "Ollin". After a period of lying comatose she goes with Ayato to Tokyo Jupiter, where she finds her own black RahXephon. At the end of the series, she merges with this RahXephon, and appears to battle Ayato after he merges with his RahXephon. She is eventually absorbed into Ayato, and he re-tunes the world. In the new world, the infant child of Ayato and Haruka is named Quon and also has pink hair, suggesting that Quon is reborn into the re-tuned world.

Design In the designs created by Akihiro Yamada and adapted by Hiroki Kanno, Quon is shown wearing a short dress with long sleeves, the Life Module, high heeled shoes, a thigh strap (worn like a garter), a beret, and a parasol, leading to a stereotypical "French" look. In some illustrations, like Yamada's DVD 2 cover design (used in France and Japan, but not in the initial U.S. and UK release), Quon wears a frilly lace-trimmed dress and stockings, which with the parasol complete a "Gothic Lolita" look. In Ouran High School Host Club, another anime series by Bones, the "French" otaku Renge is shown cosplaying as Quon on one occasion.

In other versions In the movie, Quon is a failed instrumentalist who is forced against her will to destroy the world of the humans. She spends most of the movie asleep, awakening only for her final conflict with Ayato.

In the manga, as in the TV series, Quon and Maya show friendship and love towards each other, but here Quon goes into battle against the malevolent Maya.

The RahXephon

The RahXephon is a bipedal humanoid mecha. It is about 50 m high, immensely strong, and capable of unassisted flight. Its offensive capabilities include energy blades which project from its forearms, concussion energy bullets from its hands or fingertips, releasing immensely powerful shockwaves and/or energy waves with its voice and an energy bow. It can also form energy shields around its forearms, and create impenetrable spheres of energy in its hands which are used for carrying and protection.

The RahXephon is also referred to as 翼神世音 (Yokushin Seon), literally "wing god world sound". This is essentially a translation of the name "RahXephon", and it is also the Chinese term for the series and the mecha.

While dormant, the RahXephon's face is shown covered by a pair of large wings which are attached to its forehead; these wings separate and spread when the RahXephon becomes active, and appear to be tied into its overall function. Its forehead features a golden disk, alluding to the sun god Ra and Ollin Tonatiuh. Its eyes are normally red but are occasionally golden with visible irises; it also has a pair of smaller red eyes on its visor. Below its face is an egg-shaped protected barrier which Ayato is absorbed through when entering; he is then dropped through another barrier into the pilot's seat, which resembles a pair of cupped hands emerging from a seemingly endless pool of dark water and contains two control rods.