The World Of Cephiro & The Magic Knights

If there is one show that made me glued at 1000 A.M. every Sunday in ABS-CBN, that would be the story of three girls that were given elemental powers to fulfill the prophecy, to bring peace and order in the chaotic world of Cephiro. This is Magic Knight Rayearth.



Cephiro is in danger of being destroyed because Zagato abducted Princess Emeraude and was kept in his secret domain where no one can come closer. Because of the prophecy written in Cephiro, Emeraude summon three girls from Tokyo. They are Fuu Hououji, Umi Ryuuzaki and Hikaru Shidou. They were welcomed by Master Clef and he explained to the girls their mission, however, Master Clef wasn't able to explain everything because they were attacked by Alcyone, one of Zagato's loyal servants. That is where their quest began, to find the legendary element named "Escudo" that became their weapons and the Rune Gods (guardians of Cephiro) only to find out in the end that their mission is to kill Princess Emeraude because they've discovered she has fallen for Zagato, hindering her ability to pray solely for Cephiro's well-being and that is stated in the law of Cephiro.

In the second arc, the girls went back because three planets have the intention of conquering Cephiro and the Pillar must be chosen before the whole planet gets destroyed. 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.

Hikaru Shidou (Lucy in Filipino-dubbed version) is an eighth-grade girl, small for her age and often teased for her boyishness. She is headstrong, determined and loyal. She is the Magic Knight of Fire. She uses fire-based spells, such as Arrow of Fire (Honoo no Ya) and Crimson Lightning.

Umi Ryuuzaki (Marina in the Filipino-dubbed version) is the only child of a rich family. She is quick-tempered and at first uncaring, though perhaps the best-suited for the task at hand, but is also the most reluctant. She is the Magic Knight of Water. She uses water-based spells called Water Dragon and Azure Hurricane.

Fuu Hououji (Anemone in the Filipino-dubbed version) is the voice of reason. She is also highly intelligent, though this goes more for booksmarts than streetsmarts. She often has moments where she doubts herself, but ends up coming out strong in the end. She is also in love with Ferio. She is the Magic Knight of Wind. Her spells, Winds of Protection and Winds of Healing, are air-based and are mostly healing and defensive in nature, though she has some offensive attacks, such as Emerald Typhoon and Emerald Cyclone.

Clef is the chief of all sorcerers in Cephiro, and was formerly Princess Emeraude's attendant. In the anime, he is turned to stone by Zagato shortly after being introduced to the three girls in the first episode, although he fights the spell and communicated with them through Mokona. In the manga he is referred to as Guru Clef and is not turned to stone. He also leads all of Cephiro until a new pillar can be found. He and all other magicians used their willpower to create a castle to hold the inhabitants of Cephiro.

Mokona is a seemingly intelligent rabbit-like creature with a gem on his forehead. It travels along with the three knights and helps them to find their way to find the runegods.

Ferio is a warrior whom the Magic Knights first meet in the Forest of Silence. A tough young man wielding a sword taller than he is, he quickly develops a soft spot for Fuu, which by the second season has evolved into love.

Presea is the top blacksmith in Cephiro, known there as a Pharle or "artisan." She is one of Clef's students and seems to have a crush on him. She aided the Magic Knights by making their legendary swords of escudo.

Alcyone is an ice sorceress who tutored under Clef and was brought up to attend to the Pillar. However, she fell in love with the high priest, Zagato, and for this love became his servant, although the affection is entirely one-sided.

Ascot (アスコット ,Asukotto?) is a Palu, a young child with the unusual ability to summon monsters, whom he considers to be his friends. Although hideous, they have no ill will, but villagers still fear them. Thus, Ascot was driven away until Zagato offered to give him and his friends a home in exchange for serving under him. In the anime, he destroys Presea's house with his monsters, and essentially causes her death; later, he confronts the Knights again (their first encounter in the manga), but Umi slaps him for using his friends and causing them pain. This causes a change of heart in Ascot, and he then forsakes Zagato. In the second series, he has used the power of his own will to make himself into an adult because of his love for Umi. Also, he still summons monsters but has learned other spells from Clef to avoid using his friends as living weapons.

Caldina is a dancer who speaks with an Osaka accent wears extremely skimpy clothing, and has an endless passion for money.

Lafarga is the Captain of the Guard and charged with protecting the Pillar. Although Cephiro is mostly peaceful, he kept himself busy slaying the occasional monsters that would appear. In his takeover of the country, Zagato hypnotized him into trying to kill the Magic Knights as a last-ditch effort to stop them before they challenged him personally, but the girls managed to bring him to his senses. He goes against Zagato roughly at the same time Hikaru must meet Rayearth, and she in fact manages to summon her Mashin while trying to help Lafarga fight Zagato. In the second part of the story, he is romantically involved with Caldina.

Emeraude is the current pillar of Cephiro. Little else is revealed concerning her nature until the climax of the first series, although she is highly loved by her subjects. She is the one who summon the Magic Knights to kill her.

Zagato is the primary antagonist of the first season, his younger brother is Cail Lantis When he is first introduced, he is seen as a terrible villain who has kidnapped the beloved Princess Emeraude, watching cruelly as Cephiro crumbles without its pillar.

The Three Mashin (Rune Gods) are the three legendary guardians of Cephiro. Umi's is Celes (also known as Selece, Seles or Ceres in early translated versions), who first appears as a large blue dragon; Fuu's is Windam (Windom in the official English release of the manga), a great four-winged bird; and Hikaru's is Rayearth (Lexus in the OVA series), a wolf with a mane of fire. The three are old and ancient, and are in fact mecha used by the Magic Knights to help them combat Zagato and ultimately kill the Pillar.

In the second arc, new characters were introduced:

Lantis is Zagato's younger brother, is a powerful Cail or Kailu (magic swordsman) who journeyed abroad for a great deal of time and returned to Cephiro after meeting Eagle in Autozam. Lantis has returned (and first appears) in season two, wanting to get rid of the Pillar System because of what happened to Zagato and Princess Emaurade.

Eagle Vision is a well-known and respected commander from Cephiro's neighbouring country, Autozam, a technologically advanced world reliant on the mental energy of its citizens for its power. It is clear right away that Eagle is an enigmatic and forceful tactician, and though a gentle and chivalrous gentleman, he is the leader of Autozam's invasion of Cephiro. His father is the President of Autozam. When Lantis visited Autozam in the past, he and Eagle became close friends. It is often speculated amongst fans whether Eagle's love ever develops into something more.

Lady Aska is the First Princess of the country of Fahren, and the head of the Fahren invasion force that attacks Cephiro. Her ship is the Dome, an immense dragon-shaped vessel. She laughs constantly and arrogantly, and tends to refer to herself as "we" instead of "I". She is very young, self-assured, and appears fairly bratty (she wants Cephiro so her every whim will become reality and in the anime version, she wants to become pretty to impress Sanyun), but can use all the legendary forbidden spells of the Royal Family, including the ability to conjure up creatures that she draws on ceremonial paper and then uses to attack.

Sanyun is Aska's loyal servant and childhood friend. He's much more thoughtful and studious than Aska (though he really doesn't look it) and hopes to one day assist her in ruling Fahren.

Tarta is the hot-headed princess of the planet Chizeta, which sends its forces to conquer Cephiro and expand its territory. She is especially good at sword combat and can summon the djinn Rakoon. She wants to rule Cephiro as the Pillar to give a better life quality to the people of Chizeta, since their planet is too small.

Tatra is Tarta's calm and seemingly airheaded older twin sister who, when focused, is in fact a formidable warrior. She can conjure the djinn Rasheen to do her bidding and go into battle for her, or choose to use a whip against her enemies. According to Tarta, Tatra is in fact the best fighter in Chizeta.

Nova is introduced as the daughter of Lady Debonair and is an anime-only villainess. She is rather slender with pink hair and elf ears, and appears to be close in age to the three heroines. Throughout the series, Nova gives the impression of being an unstable character, often switching between expressing affection and giving death threats in the space of a heartbeat.

Debonair an anime-only character, is the head antagonist of the second season who awaits the day when Cephiro will crumble due to lack of support from princess Emeraude. Debonair was, in fact, called into being by the darkness in the hearts of Cephiro's citizens, and as such has tremendous power that she wants to rule over Cephiro.

I will always remember this anime!!!