AUTHOR’S NOTE: This piece will contain spoilers for Volumes 5 and 6 of the Sword Art Online light novels and the second season of the anime.

Welcome to a new addition of Building Character featuring my favorite character from Sword Art Online, Shino Asada (aka Sinon). Seeing as her birthday is today, August 21, I thought I’d write something special for her. Sinon is one of the few characters in the series to see a vast amount of character development and one of the few female characters that is not defined by her relationship with series protagonist, Kirito. She is usually seen as a cool, calm and collected person, but deep beneath that shell is a fragile-minded girl with a deep-rooted trauma.

Sinon is one of the most well-known players in a game called Gun Gale Online. She wields her special sniper rifle, the PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II, with deadly proficiency and is able to shoot targets farther than any other player can. She was considered one of the favorites to win the ‘Bullet of Bullets’ tournament and is known for her cool demeanor. However, the real Sinon is very different from the one the players know so well in GGO.

In real life, Sinon is actually Shino Asada, a seemingly normal girl who goes to high school. When Asada was younger, she was involved in a bank robbery. She ended up in a struggle with the robber to help protect her mother and ended up in possession of the robber’s firearm. When the robber went to strike again, Asada pulled the trigger and the robber was dead. This moment, along with being repeatedly bullied, led Asada to have a deep-rooted fear of any type of firearm, whether they be fake or real. The trauma is so bad, that just seeing someone put a finger gun to her makes her puke. Holding a model gun causes the same reaction.

The red and shakiness is for dramatic effect.

Wanting to help cure her trauma, Asada decides to start playing Gun Gale Online at the suggestion of her friend, Kyouji Shinkawa. She starts with the hopes that constantly using guns within a game would help cure her trauma in real life. Unfortunately, even as she becomes one of the top players in the game, her trauma shows no signs of curing. Asada still has a sickening reaction to holding a model gun and bullies still hold a finger gun to her in the hopes of seeing her react to it. The problem is that Asada looks at Sinon as a completely different person. Asada sees Sinon as this cool girl that can do anything while she sees herself as this weak girl with a traumatizing past.

Asada believes that as long as she’s Sinon in the game, her trauma won’t affect her. However, partway through the Bullet of Bullets tournament, Sinon has a run-in with Death Gun. Death Gun claims to have the power to kill players in real life if he kills them in the game. He happens to use the same gun the robber used in Asada’s past and just like that, her trauma comes rushing back to her. She is no longer Sinon, Shino Asada has been transferred into the body of the once cool sniper. Unable to fend for herself due to this traumatic attack, Kirito is forced to rush-in and save the disabled Sinon. After escaping from Death Gun, Sinon reveals her past to Kirito. She reveals that she’s not strong like he is but Kirito refutes the claim that he is strong. Kirito reveals his past in participating in Sword Art Online and Sinon comes to realize that they are almost the same.

Thanks to the two working together, Sinon and Kirito find out that Death Gun is actually the work of the Shinkawa brothers, one of whom is Sinon’s close friend. After the event is resolved, Sinon is able to come to terms with what she did in her past. This is thanks to the efforts of Kirito and his friends, as they are able to find a bank teller who was at the robbery many years ago. It turns out the teller was pregnant at the time and it turns out Asada saved both the teller and her child by killing the robber. Asada, knowing she helped save two lives at that event, is able to slowly come to terms with her past. Her trauma doesn’t affect her as much and now she is able to hold model guns without much of an adverse reaction.

What I liked about Sinon’s story was that there is more to her than meets the eye. She’s not just some perfect sniper who can do anything. She has deep flaws that make her seem more human than characters such as Kirito. Seeing her try to overcome these flaws helped show her depth of character and helped endear her to me.

This huge character development storyline is not the only reason why I like Shino Asada so much, it’s that she is kind to an unusual degree. After Sinon and Kirito won the Bullet of Bullets tournament, Asada was assaulted by her once close friend, Kyouji Shinkawa. It turned out Shinkawa was behind the Death Gun deaths and wanted to personally end Asada’s life too. Shinkawa held an unhealthy obsession for Asada after learning she had killed a person. This obsession spiraled out of control and eventually led to his assault. After both Asada and Kirigaya were both able to apprehend Shinkawa, they had a meeting with Seijirou Kikuoka. Kikuoka revealed how the Shinkawa brothers were able to pull of their killings. In response to all this, Asada revealed that she would like to visit Shinkawa in prison, in the hopes that she’d be able to save him. Despite all Shinkawa did to her, Asada was still willing to forgive him and try to save him, that takes a lot of strength and kindness and I was honestly shocked when I learned of this which endeared me to her character even more.

In Sword Art Online, most of the female characters fall for the series’ protagonist, Kirito. Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, Leafa and Sachi all were helped by Kirito in some form and then they fell for him. Asuna ends up going out with Kirito, but this weird harem that shouldn’t exist still forms around him. What I like about Sinon is that she’s not like these other female characters. She doesn’t constantly throw herself at Kirito in the hopes of winning his affection. As I said earlier, Sinon herself is not defined by her relationship with Kirito. She is a character that can stand on her own. Kirito helped move her development along but he isn’t the sole pillar for her character. Sure, there may be an interest in Kirito since he helped get Sinon over her trauma, but not to the extent of the other female characters. She seems content just being his friend and she teases and trolls him more than the other characters in the series. It’s refreshing to see a female character in this series that doesn’t swoon at the mere mention of Kirito’s name. I enjoy how she interacts with Kirito after her character story is done and it’s great to see a female character that doesn’t constantly throw themselves at him.

After watching Sinon’s arc in Sword Art Online, it renewed hope for me that Reki Kawahara could create characters with a good backstory and steady character development. She is my favorite character in terms of personality, story, development, and character design in the series. Shino Asada (Sinon) is one of the few characters in the series who is not defined by or heavily reliant on Kirito and I hope to see her utilized more often in the future of Sword Art Online.

 

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Warning: this article contains spoilers for Shadow Hearts, Shadow Hearts II: Covenant, and Koudelka.

At the beginning of Shadow Hearts, the main character, Yuri Hyuga, gets his arm chopped clean off. However, with a smirk and a shrug, Yuri reattaches it with ease. It is a feat he never really repeats for the rest of the series, but you knew he wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with. In response to the amputation, Yuri nearly obliterates the main villain’s face with a single punch. And this is just the opening scene.

I bring up the opening scene for this Building Character segment because it perfectly encapsulates who Yuri is as a character. He is bold. He takes action first and thinks about the consequences later. Even when he acts like he doesn’t care, Yuri is usually saving people’s lives. Though he seems simple, Yuri Hyuga is one of the most complex RPG protagonists in gaming. Better yet, he comes across as the most human.

Despite his crass humor, Yuri actually has a rather tragic backstory. Born to a Japanese soldier and a woman of supposed Russian descent, Yuri had a healthy childhood. However, when his father went to defeat an evil sorcerer name Dehaui, his mother was killed right in front of him by monsters sent by the sorcerer. His dad too lost his life, leaving the boy an orphan.

Yuri then spent years wandering and defeating monsters, using his own Harmonixer ability to transform into various monsters as well. He was led on by a voice inside of his head.

Not only that, but a huge part of the first Shadow Hearts was accumulating hatred, or Malice, from his defeated foes. As Yuri killed more enemies, the Malice grew until he either needed to perform a ceremonial battle to calm the evil spirits or be killed.

Despite all of that, it’s surprising Yuri can wear a smile and bust out an inappropriate joke or two. He’s stubborn and not the brightest JRPG protagonist. He is disrespectful to his elders and just a little bit perverted. How does he keep himself going?

Part of his strength can be attributed to Alice Elliot, a daughter of a priest. Throughout the game, the two act as opposites, Yuri being vulgar and brash while Alice is caring and polite. If the voice in Yuri’s head had not told him to rescue her from the train incident at the beginning of the game, the two may not have blossomed into a couple. Opposites definitely attracted in this situation.

Without Alice, Yuri would be overwhelmed by Malice. Near the end of the first game, Alice makes a deal to take on Yuri’s burden. It’s because of Alice that Yuri no longer has to deal with the rage of his defeated enemies, and he successfully overcomes the weaknesses plaguing his mind.

However, taking on Yuri’s Malice debt is too great for Alice. If you trudge through the rest of Shadow Hearts and ignore a series of side quests to get Yuri’s ultimate Harmonixer monster fusion, Alice dies in her sleep during the ending cutscene. However, if you do finish this quest, she lives. The endings are only slightly altered, either Alice opens her eyes while resting against Yuri or keeps them closed, but the implications are very major.

Here is where you expect things to come to a close with Yuri: he saves the world, learns to better accept himself and his weaknesses, and most likely goes on to live with the love of his life for the rest of their days. However, Shadow Hearts II does something unexpected: the bad ending from the first game is canon. Meaning, Alice dies on the train at the end of the game, leaving Yuri behind.

Choosing this fate for Alice was an interesting choice for the developers because it goes into an area RPGs don’t often venture into: bereavement. Even though a year and a half passes since her death, Yuri remains near her grave. He lives with her uncle, a puppeteer named Gepetto. Yuri still acts like his goofy self from time to time, but this evidence suggests he literally can’t move on. He is still wracked with grief, possibly depression.

In Alice’s place for Shadow Hearts II as the main female protagonist is a German soldier named Karin Koenig. Originally sent to kill Yuri, Karin instead joins him on his quest to overcome a deadly curse placed upon him and stop the evil Rasputin from flooding the world with Malice. As the game progresses, you can tell Karin falls for Yuri romantically, but the game changes players’ expectations once gain: Yuri shows no interest in falling in love with someone new. Alice was his one true love, and the fact that he never moves on is heart-breaking. However, Karin’s fate of becoming Yuri’s mother would have made their relationship even more complicated if anything happened between them.

And let’s not forget his attempt to bring Alice back. Throughout the entirety of the Shadow Hearts series, even going back to the PlayStation One game Koudelka, a book known as the Émigré Manuscript has been a major focus. The ancient tome allows for the dead to be resurrected, but a strict ceremony must be performed. Most of the ceremonies performed throughout the series led to failure. Sadly, Alice’s revival was one of them. You can feel Yuri’s heart break all over again. Seeing Alice’s soul appear and then leave just as quickly allowed for Yuri to finally let out his pent up feelings. It’s the first time we see Yuri allow himself to cry at all.

Yuri is a character overwhelmed by grief but hides it so far beneath the surface you would never guess anything was wrong. Depression is like that: the strongest people are sometimes the ones most hurting. I’m still torn by the endings of Shadow Hearts II. Was it better for Yuri, in the game’s bad ending, forget his memories but still live or should he have died but be reunited with Alice in the good ending? Either way, Yuri Hyuga is such a compelling character and deserves to be recognized.

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Note: The following article contains spoilers for WorldEnd (SukaSuka).

In this Building Character we’ll be taking a look at WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? with the characters of Willem and Chtholly. The setting of the series is a place that’s appropriately described as a “fragile, dying world with no redeeming qualities whatsoever”. At the start of the story humans have gone extinct, the only exception being Willem. In addition to that, the surface of the world is inhabited by monsters which forced the remaining beings of the world to live on islands which float in the sky. Even with that measure, the remaining settlements are still at risk of being attacked.

Before humanity’s end, Willem had trained much of his life to be a warrior. Outside of that, he also spent time helping to take care of the children of the orphanage he stayed at. Eventually as a threat to humanity rose, Willem was chosen to be among a number of people called Braves. They were individuals who were chosen to wield special swords called Carillons. With being a chosen warrior and having people to protect, Willem was more or less poised to fill the role of hero. The battle which occurred lead to the loss of a number of his comrades. For Willem it resulted in him defeating his enemy, but paying a price for the victory. An unfortunate but, seemingly worthwhile sacrifice.

However, Willem was not fated to fall fighting to save the world. Instead he had suffered a curse which petrified him for centuries. The world which he awakened to was far from what he could have imagined. Though the threat that he and friends fought against was defeated, a new danger to humanity rose not long after. A group of creatures called the Seventeen Beasts appeared and in just a year after Willem’s battle, humanity was wiped out. The remaining races of the world could only flee to the skies to escape extinction. The legacy which mankind left behind was one of abhorrence by the survivors.

Few know Willem is human. To all others he is considered a disfeatured, members of races which lack the animal features that the majority possess, and they face discrimination because of it. In addition to the curse, Willem’s body was also permanently damaged from his last battle. While the extent of his injuries do not seem too great, Willem will not be able to fight at the same level which he had before. In the face of his situation and the changed world Willem has to accept the hideous reality. The sacrifices that were made to save mankind were for nothing. He failed to protect all who were close to him, and feels alone in an unfamiliar world.

After sometime of wandering, Willem meets and spends a short time helping a disfeatured girl named Chtholly. This chance encounter is the first in a series which changes Willem’s life once again. Not long after, with some convincing from a friend William accepts the position of being a caretaker for a warehouse that holds special weapons for the military. What Willem unexpectedly finds at the location is an estate with a number of girls that reside there, including Chtholly. Many of them are young, and Chtholly takes on the role of an older sister for them.

While hinted at, Willem is still unsure about what to make of his new position, and tries his best to have the girls open up as they are initially apprehensive about him. After a few attempts they do come around to Willem. This reminds him of his life from long before, filling the spot of those that were lost. But, as he spends more time with them it becomes apparent that something is off about the girls. After observing one of the girls suffer a serious injury and witnessing her and the others’ complete indifference, Willem finally demands to know the truth about the warehouse.

Although mankind met its end, he finds out the Carillons endured. They would go on to be renamed Dug Weapons and are among the most effective means to combat the Beasts. But the surviving races, which for the most part are mostly animal people, are unable to wield them. This is the reason for the warehouse. Though they seem to be humans they are actually fairies (specifically mentioned as leprechauns), who are basically raised for the role of being a living weapon to use the Dug Weapons. They do not have a fear of injury and for the most part look at death in a similar manner. For those who survive the fighting, over time they may face effects such as losing their memories or minds.

The life of a fairy is short, harsh, and brutal. They live for the most part alone among themselves at the warehouse, and are at times looked down upon by the other races when they do come into contact with them. Their sole purpose is to fight and die against the beasts. From early on, Chtholly seems to have already made peace with the inevitable. However, she does have some things she would like to do before the end. They include desires such as having some fond memories, connecting with someone, and to be remembered. With the short amount of time the girls are given, she wants to leave a mark behind with someone. From the first time they meet, it’s easy to see the person she has in mind is Willem. While it doesn’t take long for the last human to connect with Chtholly and the others, Willem knows of the grim road ahead.

The world that the two live in is bleak, and that’s not even taking into account their own troubles. The fairies wait for what seems to be an unavoidable destiny. Chtholly in the beginning seems to be expecting the end at anytime, seemingly to not even attempt thinking about a chance that she will survive. This could have been from believing it would be easier to avoid thoughts which could just become a false hope. As Chtholly wished, she and Willem end up getting closer to one another. But, as this happens the afflictions of battle begin to wear on her as the battles with the beasts continue.

Willem, who has suffered from the loss of just about everything, now has people he cares for once again. Unfortunately, he knows that like before he could end up losing everyone just the same. In this case it’s more or less expected by all. Willem believes that there has to be a way so that Chtholly and the others won’t have to die. Willem’s role as caretaker keeps him at the estate most of the time, far from the battles that are fought against the beasts. This fact, the weakening of his body, and his failure to save the world in the past puts Willem into a situation where he can do very little to help Chtholly and the others. While he does give advice and help train them with many things, Willem can only hope that they come back and that he can find a way to keep them alive. If not that, then maybe to at make them happy in some way.

While the world only seems to throw tragedy at them, both Chtholly and Willem continue on. Willem wasn’t able to save his loved ones or mankind. While this haunts him he finds a new cause with the girls at the estate. In Chtholly, he finds someone that he wants to protect. The same goes with Chtholly, as she will seek out to protect him too. Most of all though, the two are able to bring happiness to one another even among the sorrow of a ruined world.

WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? can be watched on Crunchyroll and Funimation. The light novel will be published in North America by Yen Press. A sequel series has also been published in Japan.

Author’s note: The article was based off of the anime, not the light novels which it was based from. 

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Note: The following article will contain spoilers for Re:ZERO – Starting Life In Another World. 

For this Building Character my fellow believers in love, we shall be taking a look at Re:ZERO‘s self-proclaimed knight. Similar to KonoSuba’s Kazuma, Subaru is a shut in who ends up in another world. When he is thrust into this new setting Subaru quickly thinks that that he must have some sort of special power now and that he has a chance to be a hero. However, it soon becomes apparent that things are not going as he would have hoped. Wandering around the city eventually leads to an attempted robbery and a fight that does not go in Subaru’s favor. Luckily, he is saved by a silver haired half-elf. The infatuated Subaru then accompanies her to pay back her kindness. After bonding over the course of the day, the search ends with Subaru being mortally wounded and the girl that he promised to help dead next to him. In his last moments as he bleeds out his last thoughts are that he will save her, though seemingly it is too late.

However, this is where we see that there actually is something about Subaru that is special. He has a unique ability which he names “Return by Death”. With it Subaru can return to a set point in the past. Unfortunately, there is a drawback. He has to die. Once he restarts he’ll be the only one who retains any memory of what had happened.

Like his fellow track suit wearing shut-in, Subaru welcomed the idea of living in a different world at the start. In Subaru’s case he did not have someone explain the situation. This did not hinder his enthusiasm as he charges into the unknown. Subaru is a pretty energetic and cheerful type of guy who overdoes it at times. Along with his loyalty to Emilia he also doesn’t mind helping others. This ranges from little things such as playing with the kids from the village near the Roswaal mansion, to more serious situations such as even dying so he can have another chance to make things right.

Though he has a number of admirable traits, Subaru is very much an imperfect individual. For one, he actually isn’t very good at much or possesses any real talent. He isn’t physically that strong or that good of a fighter. Though he does start to learn magic, he is disappointed when learning the type of magic affinity he has is for what he would call “debuffs”. Of which he doesn’t have good control which leads to him becoming exhausted after a single use. To add to that he also overestimates what he is capable of and will push himself farther than he should.

While this new world has a number of dangers, Subaru on a few occasions causes more trouble for himself. At times Subaru rushes in without thinking. Doing so leads to him entering a situation where he is unprepared to help anyone, let alone himself. Other times he lets his emotions take control such as when his argument with Julius leads to a fight that ends with him badly beaten. There was no real reason to fight, other than Subaru being prideful and once again overestimating what he is capable of at the time. On other occasions you can see in a way that there maybe a part of him that doesn’t acknowledge that he could be the one who is wrong.

Subaru’s decision to ignore Emilia’s command not to follow her and the incident with Julius leads to his dismissal. When he hears this, an uglier side of Subaru emerges. He begins arguing and starts telling Emilia that a number of horrible events were avoided because of him.

“Things worked out because of me.”

“All of it was because I was there!”

“All this time haven’t I made everything work out all right?!”

While the fact is that awful things didn’t happen because of Subaru, the the way in which he says this makes it sound like it he was solely responsible for it. Not only that he seems to be frustrated that Emilia hadn’t mentioned that she is indebted to him:

“I risked my life! All because you were important to me!”

“You should have a greater debt to me than you could ever repay!”

Oddly, some of what Subaru says after his dismissal has some similarities to that of another character. This one being the Sin Bishop of Sloth, Betelguese Romanee Conti (DESU!). After attempting to take over Subaru’s body, Betelguese is rejected after a meeting a certain witch. This leads to him questioning why he wasn’t chosen in a way that is reminiscent of when Subaru was dismissed.

Here’s another one of the things Subaru had said in response to Emilia’s dismissal:

“Everything I’ve done has been to repay you.”

While this is what Betelguese utters after being rejected by a certain shadowy figure:

“Why, Why, Why? After Everything I’ve done for you!”

Here’s another line that Betelguese speaks after his rejection:

“I haven’t forgotten a single moment of the things you did for me! Even if you’ve forgotten”

Considering that the fact that Subaru is the only one who remembers the events of a previous life, this wouldn’t be something out of place for Subaru to have said in his argument with Emilia. Emilia even mentions that she doesn’t remember doing anything for Subaru as she questions him about why he helps her. If anything you could say that under certain circumstances Subaru could possibly end up just as deranged as Betelguese.

“Subaru-kun!”

At times the effects of each restart wear on Subaru. Though he knows that if he dies he has another chance to go back and make things right, he tries his best to avoid this option. After all a number of his deaths are excruciating and bloody. Subaru may feel an incredible amount of pain with some of his deaths however, with Return by Death his body will be back to normal.

While his body will have the damage undone, it’s Subaru’s mind that suffers the most. When things go wrong there are times when those he feels close to seemingly forsake him. It’s jarring to think about how a slight change in action could lead to someone’s death or even for another to want to kill him.  The most devastating thing though is the failure of having the people most close to him die. The situation is similar to what happens to a certain mad scientist from Steins;Gate. There are a few points where Subaru faces the combination of being unable to protect those close to him and not knowing what to do. With the worst being the repeated failure of trying to deal with the Witch’s Cult. It is here that Subaru feels that the situation is hopeless.

At this point is where we see Subaru at his worst. Everything he attempts just ends in failure. Requests he makes for help are denied, Rem dies each time, along with Emilia, whose last death was indirectly caused by Subaru from attempting to speak about Return by Death. He basically gives up and ask Rem to run away with him. While the despair that Subaru feels at this time is understandable, this is one of his absolutely lowest points. While he faces something extremely difficult ahead of him, he has an ability that gives him the chance to make a change. He instead contemplates abandoning everything. He is willing to leave Emilia, Ram, and the villagers in the vicinity of the Roswaal mansion to certain death so he doesn’t have to face another failure. Subaru himself should know the futility of trying to escape what must be faced. In his last life Puck had  told him that if Emilia dies he will set out to destroy the world. In the end everything would just repeat once again. Thankfully, Rem is able to dissuade Subaru from such an idea and with that restart is able to get the help needed to face the Witch’s Cult.

Subaru is a character with flaws. He is a normal person and so he makes mistakes. However, they can be ones that can end up having horrible consequences which range from experiencing excruciating pain, to seeing those important to him dying. He suffers from it and it gets to him. We see all sides of him from his lowest and his most disgraceful moments, to when he is finally triumphant and able to save what is important to him. There are times when he seems defeated, but with the help of others he can find the strength to restart once again.

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This article contains light spoilers for The Pet Girl of Sakurasou:

For this Building Character we’ll be looking at two of the main characters from a less talked about anime called The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. It follows several students at a dormitory, where the odd and troublemaking students of their school are sent. At the start we’re introduced to Sorata. The offence that had him sent to Sakurasou was keeping a stray cat, which is against the school’s policy. It appears the only thing that seems to be wrong with him is he can’t stop looking after stray animals.

For the most part, Sorata is the one who gets stuck taking care of things at Sakurasou, so it isn’t much of a surprise that he ends up having to pick up the next student to move to the dorm. The newest addition is Mashiro, who’s a girl that’s a bit quiet and seems slightly unemotional. It doesn’t take long to find out that Mashiro lacks both common sense and the ability to take care of herself. The first day Sorata finds out she barely has any idea on how to dress herself and that she didn’t understand simple things such as speaking with context.

Sorata is then given the responsibility of caring for Mashiro in a way similar to how he takes care of the cats he finds. Although, they probably are more capable of taking care of themselves than her. One thing Sorata does not realize at first is that Mashiro is an extremely talented artist. Since coming back to Japan, Mashiro’s main interest has been making manga. She of course is able to create a manga with amazing art, but is weak in other areas such as story. So of course Sorata ends up assisting her with it.

From the start Sorata is the normal one. He doesn’t cause any real trouble or have a unique personality like the others. Although that seems to a good thing, for Sorata there is a negative side to it. The other students at Sakurasou all have things that Sorata doesn’t believe he has; talent or a dream. Besides Mashiro with her artistry there is Misaki, who already created an anime which a studio purchased from her, and Ryunosuke, who is already known by different companies for his programming abilities. Then there’s Nanami and Jin, who are not at the same level as the others, but work hard to try and reach their goals. In the beginning Sorata doesn’t have either a dream or talent. The only reason he chose his school was that it was near his previous home and the closest thing to goal is him wanting to go back to the regular dorms.

Sorata doesn’t have something that he is good at like Mashiro, and for a while has no idea about what he wants to do with his life. He shows interest in game design but isn’t confident in his abilities. He expresses how it is unfair that people like Mashiro are so talented, and how ordinary individuals such as himself won’t achieve success like them. Even when Sorata decides to go for game design, he of course experiences setbacks. At times he gets angry and even seems to blame Mashiro for his failures and other troubles. He has trouble looking at and being happy for the successes of the others, especially when he does not have any himself. He isn’t a perfect person. He gets frustrated and jealous just like almost everyone else does at some time. If anything you can say he almost has too great a view of some of the others, thinking that they don’t have as a hard of a time as him.  Of course they too face failure or some type of personal issue. Mashiro herself had her manga suffer setbacks and rejections.

Even though Sorata had wished to leave Sakurasou, he slowly begins to embrace all the eccentricities of the different residents. He begins to realize that being “normal” might not be as great of a thing as he thought. Although Mashiro still can’t really take care of herself, she begins to understand and experience more than she ever did before coming to Sakurasou. As much as Mashiro relies on Sorata their relationship is not completely one-sided. Mashiro wants to help him whenever she can and hopes the best for him. Though she seems emotionless at the start, Mashiro cares about everybody at the dorm (even the cats, which dislike her) in her own way. Sorata, unlike Mashiro, had trouble asking for help or would simply avoid doing things that would eventually have him seek it out. The very people that Sorata thought he needed to get away from are the one’s that truly care for him. At one point even the shut-in who isn’t seen for a portion of series helps him take the first steps toward game design. Though a few are a bit odd, the students at Sakurasou all support and believe in each other.

Author’s note: This was based on the anime and not the light novel it was adapted from.

Random Fact: The VAs for Sorata and Mashiro voice Sora and Shiro from No Game No Life. 

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is available to watch on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and AnimeLab.

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This article contains some spoilers for Tales of the Abyss

For this Building Character we’ll be looking at the main character from Tales of the Abyss, Luke Fon Fabre. Luke is the son of a duke and the nephew of a king. Although being royalty is not an odd thing for a main character, Luke is not, for example, like Estelle from Tales of Vesperia, who’s an out of touch but compassionate individual. Luke isn’t someone who sets out to help others. Instead he is selfish, full of himself, and condescending. It’s pretty easy to dislike him at the beginning, something the game’s producer intended. Luke however hasn’t had a perfect life. He was kidnapped as a child which resulted in him remembering nothing before the event and he’s not allowed to leave his mansion. Though that doesn’t give him an excuse to be a jackass.

Although cut off from much of the world, Luke becomes entangled in the coming conflict between two kingdoms. One day an intruder appears and attempts to kill Master Van, Luke’s mentor. After intervening Luke ends up stuck in a foreign land away from his mansion and finds himself having to rely on the intruder, named Tear. Tear is the first person Luke has really talked to outside of the mansion and has no issue telling him of the faults in his personality. It’s no exaggeration to say that they do not care for each other when they first meet. Tear isn’t afraid to tell Luke what she thinks and the different things wrong with him, which of course annoys our selfish protagonist. While Luke isn’t that pleasant to be around he does have some redeemable qualities which show up when he starts his journey with Tear.

As time passes, others begin to join up with Luke and Tear. One of them is Mieu, who fills the role of mascot character. While Tear adores him, Luke does not find him endearing and actively mentions how much he dislikes Mieu. For much of the story he address him as “thing”. Even with Luke’s insults and threats, Mieu is extremely loyal to him and believes he is a good person. Some more time passes and it seems things are beginning to go well. Luke is (slowly) beginning to be less of a jerk, and he even becomes an ambassador between the two countries. Unfortunately, he still isn’t all that different from before he left the mansion. At one point Luke and the others set out to help a town when Van tells him what has to be done. Luke does not question it. He doesn’t believe he or Van could be wrong. Tear warned him multiple times not to trust him but he doesn’t listen. The result ends in disaster, causing the loss of an entire town and everyone in it.

Luke realizes he was just a tool, blinded by his admiration for Van. The loss of the town’s people is on him. He didn’t set out to destroy the town, but he was unwilling to listen to Tear and see what would happen. Even though the rest of his group knows that he set out with good intentions, they don’t hesitate to tell him he’s the reason it happened. To add on to that event, Asch, a character who’s been antagonistic to Luke the whole time, reveals the truth regarding his kidnapping. Luke is a replica, cloned from Asch who is the real Luke. He then was sent back to take Asch’s place to be of use for Van one day. Luke was born to be nothing more than a tool for Van. With what has happened the others lose faith in Luke, leaving only Mieu standing by his side. With no one else to turn to he goes to Tear and asks her to watch over him as he promises to change himself. She agrees that she will offer her support.

Luke understands that no matter what he does he can’t bring the town and the people back, but takes responsibility for what has happened. Although a copy of Asch, they both make it clear that they are not the same person, with Asch going on to say that he is no longer Luke anyway. Eventually Asch acknowledges Luke as a person and not just a copy. After making his promise to change, Luke sets out to stop Van’s plot at any cost. What sets Luke apart from other protagonists is the growth that he experiences during his journey. He’s a spoiled brat that eventually has to face the reality that not everything is about him, along with consequences of his bad decisions. It’s when he comes to understand he can’t be the same selfish individual that he begins to take on the role of a hero.

Tales of the Abyss was originally released on the PlayStation 2 and is now available on the 3DS. There is also an anime adaption.

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Xenosaga, being the middle child of the Xeno-prefix Tetsuya Takahashi games, has its fair share of fans and haters. You either love the sci-fi cutscenes filled with Nietzsche references or hate them for sometimes being over 30 minutes. I wear my love for Xenosaga on my sleeve; I mean, look at my author bio for evidence. Whether you loved or hated the series, anyone can appreciate a finely crafted villain. Xenosaga has a plethora of those, but the closest character to my heart in the entire series is Albedo Piazzolla. He has done terrible things: torturing and murdering many Kirschwassers, abducting and abusing MOMO, and nearly killing millions of people. But, if you look into Albedo’s complex past, you not only understand him but also realize he is one of the most tortured, human characters in the entire series. Does that excuse the physical and emotional abuse he inflicts upon people? No, it doesn’t. He’s a villain for a reason. But the tragedies he suffered his entire life explain every action.

Sweet, misunderstood Albedo. Part of the URTV clone program, Albedo was born physically attached to his twin brother, Rubedo (later referred to as Jr.). As such, he was pretty close to his brother. Albedo starts off as more sensitive than Jr., constantly needing rescued. This make Albedo dependent on his twin brother. When Sakura Mizrahi, daughter of the infamous scientist Joachim Mizrahi, becomes a subject of the URTVs trials, Albedo instantly becomes jealous of her presence. Jr. and Sakura start meeting with each other constantly, leaving no time to be with his brother.

Albedo laughing after tearing off his own head.

This is further evidenced in Xenosaga I&II, a Japanese only DS game. Throughout the flashbacks in Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose, you are led to believe that Albedo killed Sakura, or, at the very least, he had some part in it. However, in the DS game, it is revealed that Sakura saved Albedo from getting attacked by U-DO, getting herself killed in the process. Thus began a complex relationship with Sakura that would last for the rest of his life, as he both hated her for taking his brother from him but appreciated her saving his life. With the Kirschwassers and MOMO designed after her, it’s no wonder he felt animosity toward them.

Another defining moment in Albedo’s life happens not too long after that, that being the Miltian Conflict. The URTVs were created to destroy a non-physical entity known as U-DO, and the time finally arrived for them to square off against it. However, in Albedo’s eyes, Jr. betrayed his brother once again by becoming overwhelmed by fear during the battle and severing his connection to his clone brothers. The cut connection caused many URTVs to be infected by U-DO and drove Albedo further into madness. Though Albedo does many terrible things later in his life, his life leading up to those events wasn’t exactly sunshine.

“Graves for Rubedo and Nigredo… It’s just for pretend, though… I’m practicing, so that when they die, I WON’T CRY. If I link with U-DO again… I wonder if he’ll kill me. I hope he will. He is our leader, after all.”

As a twin myself, perhaps I relate a bit too much to Albedo and his brothers. From the very beginning of the Xenosaga series, we learn that Albedo is pretty much immortal; he can regenerate limbs and even his entire head. A heart-wrenching scene in Xenosaga Episode II revealed that his brothers don’t share this ability. Albedo is suddenly scared, realizing that, one day, Jr. will die, leaving him alone. You don’t have to be a twin to relate to such a feeling; everyone fears being alone, having their loved ones die. For Albedo, his immortality was a prison.

Albedo crying over his immortality

From the very beginning, Albedo desires death by the hands of his own brother. But even more, he wants to be with Jr. again, just like they were before they were born. He just doesn’t want to be alone. Though Albedo’s role in the story was more subdue in the last game, Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra, he finally achieved his dream of being with his brother again. Even MOMO tells Albedo to take care while the crew of the Elsa prepared for their journey to Lost Jerusalem, though that could be some lingering Stockholm Syndrome. In the end, Albedo is one of the most tragic and complex characters in the Xenosaga series.

I’d like to give a special nod to the Xenosaga Wiki, which is a good source for information on the series.

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For my contribution to our week of Idea Factory International coverage, I wanted to talk about my favorite character from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, Plutia/Iris Heart, and what makes her my favorite character. Like everyone who really gets into a series (or picks a waifu), there are often very personal reasons for those decisions. So first I’ll give a bit of a character primer on Plutia, and then I will describe why she is so endearing to me. This will be a personal post but I do consider most of the best writing to be personal. So let’s get on with it.

Keeping Plutia happy is a good decision for your mental health.

Plutia was first introduced as a CPU from the past of Planeptune. Initially it can be rather difficult to tell which console she represents, however that is resolved when she finally transforms for the first time. As anyone who plays the series consistently knows, the CPUs and CPU Candidates represent consoles from certain companies. Planeptune represents Sega, so when you see her transform it becomes apparent that she is the Sega Genesis. In her normal form her laziness is even greater than that of Nep-Nep, so apparently it must be something in their genes. In fact, she is so lazy that she wanders around in her pajamas and slippers, and attacks using her stuffed animals. Of course, the stuffed animal attack also takes on a new perspective when you see some other sides of her personality. But initially she is just very sweet and kind and loyal and very easy to get along with or make friends with. Noire was not that keen to help out Neptune when she got trapped in the past, but it was Plutia that adopted the wayward CPU. However, when she transforms a new aspect of her personality comes out. And it is the most drastic change of any of the CPUs in the series thus far.

Serving me is in your best interest.

When she transforms she becomes Iris Heart. Certainly she is very beautiful, but without her even uttering a word, you can tell that she is a CPU cut from a different cloth, and that cloth is leather. That’s right, folks, in this CPU we have our BDSM queen, a Dominatrix. And she does not just wear the outfit, she loves tormenting her girls. Not only does the enemy feel her wrath, but also her companions must be wary lest her whip be turned on them. So, in general, they decide for their own safety that it’s best to keep Plutia calm and only call out Sadie (as she is aptly nicknamed) when things are really desperate. She will destroy the enemy, then grind them into the dust, and then look to her friends for more. Why would the Sega Genesis be represented this way? Well there are a lot of reasons. But my suspicions would be that it is the combination of several factors. The console was a darker and more mature looking black and red compared to the Nintendo consoles of the time. They engaged in an aggressive marketing strategy, in particular focusing on their blast processing and doing things that “Ninten-don’t”. And right from the gates they wanted to focus on more “adult content” for their console, in this case games like Altered Beast, Splatterhouse, and an unedited Mortal Kombat.

Phrases like this are catnip for some individuals.

I actually missed out on Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory the first time around. Although I had owned the previous two games in the series, I had not beaten either of them yet and I was invested heavily in an MMO that was dominating (pun intended) most of my gaming time. So actually I only really got to know her on the fabulous remakes on the PS Vita. She is a playable character on Re;Make 1 and 2, but you don’t have any story or background until 3. I liked her look and her battle quotes a lot in the first two games, but I really fell in love with her once I was able to play her as a main character in Re;Make 3. I ended up loving her so much that it was my only major disappointment with the fantastic Megadimension Neptunia VII that I was not able to play Iris heart again.

It’s okay Iffy, don’t be scared, let me explain.

So why did Iris Heart become my favorite CPU? Honestly, I’m not a very big fan of the Sega Genesis; I was a much larger fan of the SNES and still consider that console to be superior in practically every way. I have gone back and played many of the Genesis games that I missed but they never really captured my heart the same way, especially the Sonic games. So my fondness for her has nothing to do with the console that she represents. It is her personality and design alone. And that attraction for me is almost entirely due to how she represents the BDSM lifestyle. So I’d like to talk about that a bit, both to educate and to enlighten. For the definition of BDSM, I will go with the outline of Tristan Taormino in her book The Ultimate Guide to Kink (pp 4-5) paraphrased. It is one of the better ones that I have come across:

B & D or B/D stands for bondage and discipline. It (isn’t) necessarily meant to denote only bondage and discipline, but rather a range of activities that revolved around power exchange.

SM is the common abbreviation for sadism and masochism or sadomasochism. These terms were coined by Richard von Krafft-Ebing in 1886 and have appeared frequently since then in psychoanalytic literature to describe sexual pathologies; however, kinky people reclaimed them beginning around the 1970s, and S/M was the most popular term until BDSM gained widespread use by the 2000s.

Embedded in the acronym BDSM is D/s, which represents dominance and submission or Dominant/submissive. Today, D/s is most often used to denote relationships that are built around a dominant/submissive power dynamic where power echange is always or very often present (and may exist without other elements of BDSM). In those D/s relationships where the power exchange is always present, partners inhabit their roles and reinforce the dynamic through various rituals, protocols, and behaviors all the time; these relationships may be referred to as 24/7 D/s, lifestyle D/s, TPE (total power exchange), or APE (absolute power exchange).

I define these things because there is a lot of misunderstanding around them and so that you will know what I am talking about here. Especially to point out “lifestyle D/s” as above. While I am not currently in a lifestyle D/s relationship, I have been in the past, and I respect and value them very much. It should come as no shock that this is a relationship type that is very seldom explored in the world of video games. Not only is that a shame for those of us who are into the world of BDSM and Kink, but it also provides and inaccurate view of adult sexual relationships to avoid it entirely. Franky most studies show that the lion’s share of long lasting relationships will at least delve into the world of BDSM , you can look at a more thorough study here or you need only look at the sales figures for the 50 Shades of Grey to understand how prolific that is.

The very words ‘sadism’ and ‘masochism’ come from the world of novels: Sadism comes from the name Marquis de Sade who wrote The 120 Days of Sodom which features many scenes of sadism (enjoyment at the infliction of pain or asserting control), Masochism comes from the name Leopold von Sacher-Masoch who wrote Venus in Furs and features masochistic tendencies (enjoyment at the receiving of pain or humiliation). I want to spell these things out, not only to educate, but to make the point that if video games want to be considered a high art, like the novel, I expect them to stretch boundaries, not to just exist to make money. I could rant on that one for days.

Pride cometh before the fall.

So why do I love Sadie so much? Because she is an avatar for me. An aspect of me that is seldom explored in this hobby. Sure, I do read a lot of books with BDSM content and I play some visual novels with it as well, but this is one of the few video games that has allowed me that expression. No, I do not dream of Sadie punishing me, while I can switch at times I am mostly a Dominant, but she represents a large part of my personality. And games are often at their best when they are personal, just like writing. The BDSM lifestyle has just as much right to exist in the world of video games as any others that we represent. That is not to say that every developer should insert it into their game to please me. No, I want more content, not less. And I want it to be written by those that have a passion for it. In that respect, it is not a big surprise that it has been coming out of Japan. BDSM clubs and professionals are fairly common in the Land of the Rising Sun (here are some examples of their cultural attitudes for it, or you can watch season 2, episode 7, of Parts Unknown for a more visual exploration). Do I mind that it’s a very strong female character that I see myself as? No, not really. I’m enough of a man to identify with a woman and not feel that my masculinity is in any danger. So those that are looking for strong female characters that meet whatever test or criteria you have set up, feel free to look at Sadie here. Or is she too attractive for you? If so, she will see you in her dungeon; her boots can use a spit shine.

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In this edition of Building Character, I’d like to take a look at the primary couple in CLANNAD: Tomoya and Nagisa Okazaki. Before we begin I’d like to note that this editorial contains major spoilers for the CLANNAD visual novel and both anime series’. Now, with the warning out of the way, let’s get started.

“…Anpan!”

From a simple, unassuming meeting at the bottom of the hill leading to the school blossomed a strong, enduring relationship between two completely different people: the delinquent and serial truant Tomoya Okazaki, and the meek and feeble Nagisa Furukawa. A chance encounter and a few words of encouragement from Tomoya had a profound effect on Nagisa, inspiring her to keep going, one step at a time, with Tomoya by her side all the way. With his help she is able to make new friends, reform the drama club, and perform in her own play, which seemed like a distant dream at the start of the story.

Come the After Story route and the second anime, Tomoya has graduated from high school while Nagisa has stayed behind after missing too many classes due to a long-lasting illness at the end of the year. Tomoya stays with Nagisa as best he can, first taking work at the Furukawas’ bakery and ultimately finding other work so he and Nagisa can move out and start living on their own. And so truly begins their obstacle-filled life together.

Tomoya makes a vow to himself, to Nagisa, and to Nagisa’s parents to take it upon himself to make Nagisa happy. Tomoya, who in high school was unmotivated and lazy, suddenly has something that he finds worth working hard for. For the first time since an injury kept him from playing basketball he has a goal in life. In return Nagisa vows to become stronger, to stop crying from sadness. She finds the strength to do this with Tomoya’s support.

Their lives are far from easy as they face obstacles throughout the entirety of their life together, starting with Nagisa’s struggles to restore the school’s drama club, to her recurring illness forcing her to repeat a third time while Tomoya moves forward in life, to Tomoya’s father landing himself in prison, all the way through to the birth of their daughter Ushio. And they get through it every time, even after Nagisa dies giving birth in the first run through After Story. After Tomoya is forced to face reality by Sanae and Akio leaving him alone with Ushio for a weekend, Tomoya manages to reconcile with his daughter and they begin living together.

CLANNAD is a story about the true, pure love that exists between Nagisa and Tomoya. It shows that nobody is an island, and that everyone needs other people supporting them in order to get through their lives. Everyone needs something to inspire them to keep moving forward and Tomoya provides an example of how a life can be both with and without that driving force, from his empty delinquent life leading to his fulfilling life with Nagisa, to working and gambling his life away after her death, to feeling revitalized and reinvigorated after reuniting with Ushio. Nagisa shows this as well, becoming stronger over time due to Tomoya’s ongoing support, right up until the end. Over the course of the two stories she grows from the girl who blames herself for having no friends, to being able to rebuild the drama club on her own, into someone who is willing to risk her life to give birth to Ushio.

Even at times when Tomoya screws up and is worried that Nagisa may resent him, she never does, instead considering herself lucky to have someone like Tomoya who was willing to stay with her. Tomoya, meanwhile, always believes that her trust is limited and is dreading the day when she’ll change like the city around them, leaving him behind in the past while she moves on. While he was the catalyst for Nagisa’s gradual change in development, he is terrified that he might not be able to evolve alongside her and that someday she might no longer love him. He even grows to regret his apparent interference in Nagisa’s peaceful life and prompting her to change, since it ultimately led to her death when giving birth to Ushio. He blames himself for Nagisa’s death, believing that if he had never met Nagisa she may never have had to die, and maybe she and everyone else would be better off that way. It is Nagisa who breaks him out of his regret, telling him that even if it cut her life short, the time that she spent with him was still worth it.

A gentle push at the bottom of a hill marked the beginning to a pure, unbreakable love transcending worlds and the barrier between life and death.

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The lone man who gave his soul to gaming. Today, he returns.

He will punish those who do not play seriously. Their battered bodies will never forget.

Theme of Segata Sanshiro ~ “Sega Saturn Shiro!”

There is a man who embodies what it means to be a gamer. To dedicate one’s whole life and soul to a singular task. A man who can outrace an Olympic speed skater barefoot. A man who can hit a homerun with a single kick. A man who can make someone explode twice with a single judo throw. A man who will hunt down and punish those who neglect their duties as gamers. A man who willingly sacrificed himself to protect the console and company he loved. This is the man who even Neptune, Vert, and Keima Katsuragi call master when it comes to gaming. This man is Segata Sanshiro.

Segata Sanshiro was created by Sega of Japan to help with advertising the floundering Sega Saturn in Japan. If you were like me and were alive during the Fifth Generation of Video Game Consoles, the Sega Saturn was something of a rarity. Everyone had a Nintendo 64 or a PlayStation. While the Sega Saturn was discontinued in 1998 in North America and Europe, it continued to sell in Japan until 2000. So what was the difference? Poor management is often cited as one of the reasons the Sega Saturn failed. Despite that, many people often credit the Segata Sanshiro ad campaign as the reason the Sega Saturn found success in Japan. So why exactly would a single character be able to change an entire nation’s perspective on a console and why is he so beloved even by people in the West? Let’s take a look at his origins and I think you’ll understand why.

The Origins of a Legend

The insipiration for Segata Sanshiro would come from Akira Kurosawa’s Sanshiro Sugata.

The making of Segata Sanshiro is a match made in heaven. The character itself is an homage to Sugata Sanshiro from the movie Sanshiro Sugata which was the first film directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa. The story is about a young man named Sugata who travels to the city to learn Jujitsu. Shortly after arriving, he sees a Judo master named Yano in action. He begs to become Yano’s student and thus embarks on the path of Judo, dedicating himself to mastering the art. This works very well for Segata Sanshiro’s character. Not only is he a master of Judo, but he also has dedicated himself to the path of gaming. Spending much of his time in the mountains training with a giant Sega Saturn on his back, and by rapidly punching a giant Sega Saturn Controller. If that’s not dedication to your craft, I don’t know what is. So we have the inspiration, but who could possibly play him? You can’t just throw anyone in the suit after all. A larger than life character needs a larger than life actor. Enter Hiroshi Fujioka.

Segata Sanshiro’s actor, Hiroshi Fujioka, was no stranger to playing legendary characters such as Takeshi Hongo. The human identity of Kamen Rider Ichigo.

Hiroshi Fujioka is a Japanese actor who has done quite a lot of work, including voicing the Japanese version of Shan Yu from Disney’s Mulan (in both the movie and Kingdom Hearts II) and Iwao Hazuki from Shenmue. He’s also had several live action roles such as playing Reiji Osakabe in the Tokusatsu Tomica Hero: Resuce Fire. His most famous role is playing the character Takeshi Hongo., a role which earned him the honor of having a minor planet named after him. Who is Takeshi Hongo and why is this such a big deal? Takeshi Hongo is the identity of Kamen Rider Ichigō, the very first Kamen Rider. He is the genesis of a franchise that has lasted 44 years and is known the world over. When Hiroshi once went to Thailand, people recognized him as Takeshi Hongo. The fans there staged a gathering where they all sang “Let’s Go!! Rider Kick”, the opening to the original Kamen Rider series. So, we have our inspiration for Segata Sanshiro and a very famous actor to play him. This certainly explains why the Japanese would already be poised to love him. However, just because you have a good idea and a good actor doesn’t mean things will always go so smoothly. This also still doesn’t explain why Segata Sanshiro is so loved over here in the west, where culturally we don’t have nearly as much as an affinity for Sanshiro Sugata and Hiroshi Fujioka. So, what really drew people to love and adore this character? The answer lies in the commercials themselves and Segata Sanshiro’s debut.

You Must Play the Sega Saturn… or Else

That’s what you get for wanting to play baseball and neglecting the Sega Saturn

The first couple of Segata Sanshiro commercials were very different from the latter ones. These opened with a group of people, such as kids going to play baseball, or youths at a nightclub, just having fun only to run across him. Segata would then lay waste to them, before commanding that they play the Sega Saturn by telling them “Sega Saturn, Shiro!” The translation of which can mean two things. The first is a reference to the white model of the Saturn that had recently debuted. The second meaning is a command, thus “You must play Sega Saturn!” In essence, he punished others for neglecting their duties to the system. The idea of some Judo master showing up to kick your ass, all because you failed to play the latest console from Sega is more than a little dark. However, It’s all done in this very over the top Japanese way that you can’t help but enjoy. It’s ridiculous, but that’s what makes it endearing. Despite this being a defining trait for Segata Sanshiro, only the first few commercials used this gimmick. Two of the 22 commercials feature him punishing people for neglecting the Sega Saturn. Two feature him scaring a group of children by disguising himself as Santa (as not even Christmas is safe from the wrath of Segata Sanshiro). And one features him attempting fight off some zombies, only to learn that Judo throws aren’t nearly as effective on the undead. The remaining 17 commercials instead served to prove just how superhuman and amazing Segata Sanshiro was.

When this is the army you’re facing, you’re only option is to start running. Not that he needs the army mind you.

The second wave of commercial’s all had a similar theme. They would place Segata Sanshiro in some situation related to the game being advertised. Then he would use his awesome abilities to solve the situation. Examples of this would be throwing a man and making him explode… twice (Saturn Bomberman Fight!), rushing into a burning building and attempting to revive a woman (Burning Rangers), or winning the World Cup by Judo throwing a player in order to head-butt the ball into the goal. There really wasn’t anything Segata Sanshiro wasn’t capable of doing (save fighting off the undead). Every time he would perform his heroic deed, his theme song would kick in and it’s was glorious. It really helped to convey that this man was indeed not only larger than life, but someone who would defend the Sega Saturn at at all costs. Which brings me to an interesting point. How synonymous Segata Sanshiro was with the Sega Saturn.

Segata and the Saturn. You can’t have one without the other.

In the opening paragraph of this editorial I mentioned how Neptune, Vert, and Keima would consider Segata Sanshiro their master when it comes to gaming. While I mean this all in good fun, there is something he also has accomplished that not even the Goddess of Planeptune herself can claim. That is, being synonymous with the console and company he represents. Part of that is because Segata Sanshiro is a creation of Sega, thus officially endorsed. Look at Kevin Butler for example, which many would say is the modern day equivalent of Segata Sanshiro for the west. Kevin Butler was indeed quite memorable, and synonymous with the PlayStation brand, something which worked wonders for Sony. It gave a face to the platform and the name, which many would argue Sony was needing for a long time. Nintendo has always had Mario and Link. Microsoft has Master Chief. Sega has Sonic, but Sonic had little presence on the Sega Saturn. Thus, it really was Segata’s console. In fact, just put him side by side with Sega Saturn from the Sega Hard Girls franchise. Both are officially endorsed and both are meant to embody the machine. Sega Saturn even having the same name as the thing she’s representing. However, between the two there’s no contest. Segata Sanshiro just meant that much to gamers then and now. For all intents and purposes he is the Sega Saturn and the embodiment of everything Sega wanted it to be. This of course sadly meant that when the Dreamcast was launching and it was time for the Sega Saturn to retire, Segata Sanshiro would have to go with it. However, you can’t just shelve an icon like Segata. No, if he’s going to go out, it’s going to be spectacle in and of itself.

A Heroic Finale and Birth of a Legacy

Not even the laws of physics are going to stand between Segata Sanshiro and protecting his beloved company.

The final commercial begins as Sega celebrates the launch of the Dreamcast. Someone decides that Sega’s days are numbered and launches a cruise missile at Sega HQ. Somehow, Segata Sanshiro knew to expect this. He leaps off the top of the Sega Corporation building and goes beyond the impossible. He somehow breaks the laws of physics by catching the missile in midflight, bracing himself against a glass window without breaking it, and then proceeds to flip so that it flies off into space, all the while holding on to ensure he would remain in control of it. The Sega employees can only watch in awe of Segata’s heroic sacrifice. We cut to him on the missile yelling “Sega Saturn Shiro!” repeatedly until the missile finally explodes, seemingly taking him with it. The commercial ends with the announcer telling the audience that Segata Sanshiro will live on in our hearts. This final commercial served also as an advertisement for Segata Sanshrio’s own game, Segata Sanshiro Shinken Yugi, ensuring that he was immortalized on the console he loved. Legends however, never truly die.

I guess we can the “School of the Undefeated of the East” to the list of martial art styles Segata Sanshiro has mastered.

In 2000, Segata Sanshiro would make a cameo appearance in Rent-a-Hero No. 1 for the Dreamcast and in 2002 he would have an AI profile for Aikra Yuki named after him in the Japanese version of Virtua Fighter 4. While these cameos were nice and showed Sega still honored the character, it would be a decade before we’d see Segata come back into focus again. In 2011, a character by the name of Shiro made his appearance during the chirper sections of Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2. The character is pretty clearly an homage to Segata and even appears in Planeptune, which is based off Sega. It was a nice homage and showed that Segata was indeed considered an important part of the company’s history, even according to other developers. I hesitate to say this was the catalyst for Segata’s return but, I almost wonder if someone at Sega took notice as next year gamers would get quite the surprise.

While this just proves Segata Sanshiro is immortal, you also got give credit to that missile considering it hasn’t run out of fuel for over a decade.

In 2012, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was released. During the final lap of the “Race of Ages” course, if the player is in first place at the start of the final lap something special will occur. Segata Sanshiro appears with his beloved Sega Saturn on his back, still riding the missile that supposedly killed him over a decade ago. At the end of 2012 a poll was held on the official Sega forums to nominate a character to be added by DLC. While Segata Sanshiro would not win, he would place third only 766 votes behind the eventual winner, Ryo Hazuki (Shenumue) and 567 votes behind Hatsune Miku. The next closest place? Vectorman, who trailed behind Segata Sanshiro by 1,392 votes. On one hand one could say this just proves both Ryo and Miku’s popularity. Keep in mind though, that Segata has no official presence in the west. He was able to place third based solely on his legend and what fans over the years have come to learn about him. Segata would unfortunately not make his way over in a playable form this time. However, the Judo throwing, Sega Saturn wearing legend would not be denied for much longer.

The Son of Sega Returns

March 16^th, 2013.  Sega threw a concert in the Tokyo TV Center and who should show up but both Hiroshi Fujioka and Koji Ando (the producer for the commercials.) Both appeared on stage to reminisce about the entire Segata Sanshiro experience. We also would learn that Fujioka and the production crew went above and beyond the call of duty by refusing to use stuntmen or CGI. Those commercials, including punching the giant Saturn controller, were all the blood, sweat, and tears of Fujioka. To cap off things, Segata Sanshiro himself came out to sing his own theme song and declare “Segata Sanshiro has returned!” and he would indeed return in a big way.

Hiroshi Fujioka reprising his role as Segata Sanshiro during TGS 2015 to celebrate the character’s inclusion in Project X Zone 2

Last April, Project X Zone 2: Brave New World was announced for international release and Sega fans would get a surprise. In a September issue of Weekly Famitsu, Segata Sanshiro, voiced by Fujioka, was announced as one of the characters. Finally marking his first official playable western appearance. Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time though Segata has interacted with at least one of these characters. One of the most surreal commercial’s that was produced was of him and Sakura Shinguuji from Sakura Wars frolicking through the cherry blossoms. It’s certainly a break from his normal character, but all indications are that the game treats those commercials as cannon. We’ll have to see what role Segata Sanshiro plays in the story as a whole, but you can believe he will punish anyone that would threaten the way of gaming, or his beloved company.

These two have actually met before believe it or not.

No matter what era of gaming you hail from. It’s always important to know where we originated from and the legends that helped build our favorite companies and franchises on both sides of the Pacific. I hope that this piece has left you all with an appreciation for this amazing character and his impact on history. Please take a look at the video below from Saturn Memories’ Youtube Channel which showcases all of Segata Sanshiro’s commercials. I leave you now with the hopes to see your impressions of Segata Sanshiro once Project X Zone 2 releases next month and that you’ll soon be joining others in saying SEGA SATURN, SHIRO!

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As a famous movie villain once said, “It is your destiny.” There have been times when we have felt attached or trapped to a particular role within society or within our own lives. Sometimes, we want to break away from what we feel is a predestined road and forge our own path. One character reminds us all to choose your own path and follow it. In this segment of Building Character, we take a look at the fiery black-haired teenager, Yukiko Amagi, from Atlus’ Persona 4.

Yukiko Amagi is one of the most popular ladies in Inaba. She always attracts the attention of the boys at Yasogami High School. She is introverted and is not always willing to talk, especially when someone mentions her beauty. Despite this, Yukiko cares for her friends, especially for her best friend, Chie Satonaka. At times, Yukiko will end up in long bursts of laughter if she believes something is funny. Yukiko’s family runs the Amagi Inn, a popular hotel destination for the tourists with its famous hot springs. The Inn is the only attraction inside Inaba. She is slated to inherit the Amagi Inn, but there is one problem: she does not want to inherit the Amagi Inn and wishes to choose her own path.

A bird trapped in a cage. The symbolism is obvious.

She ends up being one of the first people to be thrown into the TV after two people in town were discovered dead. When the Midnight Channel broadcasts live to the town of Inaba, Yukiko is dressed up as a princess  and mentions how she waits for her Prince Charming to come to her castle and rescue her. This symbolizes Yukiko’s desire to have someone take her off the predestined path and to a new life. Chie, Yosuke, and the Protagonist jump inside the TV world to find Yukiko and to investigate the strange events unfolding. Eventually, the team meets Yukiko and her shadow. As the shadow taunts Yukiko, she says how the shadow is not her true self. The shadow turns into a large red bird locked to a cage. The bird locked to a cage symbolizes Yukiko’s true feelings of feeling trapped to a predestined role and her fear she can never change it. Eventually she is rescued by the Protagonist, Yosuke, and Chie where she accepts her shadow and gains the persona, Konohana Sakuya. Throughout the game, Yukiko is a reliable healer and user of fire based attacks as the Investigation Team goes to more dungeons.

Yukiko and the Protagonist talk one on one.

As she interacts with the Protagonist, Yukiko reveals to him that she wants to be an interior decorator after graduating High School. She enlists his help when she decides to learn how to cook, a skill she admits is not her biggest strength. By the end of the Priestess Social Link, Yukiko decides to stay in Inaba and help her family run the Inn. She becomes comfortable in her role as the inheritor of the Amagi Inn and vows to continue to improve herself.

Yukiko Amagi reminds us all we can choose our own destiny and our own path. The path does not always have to be defined by someone else as long as you are happy. She learns to become more confident in herself and pursue her own goals by learning new things and taking on more responsibilities. She grows affection for the protagonist and forms a close bond with her friends. In the end, she is okay with her current situation and is fine inheriting the Amagi Inn in the future.

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(Beware of spoilers!)

I think that Ringabel is far and away the most popular character in Bravely Default. The only character who can put up any sort of fight in this regard is Edea, but, even though I might say that, she is slightly edged out by the pompous pompadour wielder. There would seem to be a lot to both discredit Ringabel’s popularity. Bravely Default isn’t an RPG that I feel is memorable for the depth of its characters — the characters can have hidden depths, but they’re not profoundly original or feel especially cleverly executed (with the exception of Airy, maybe.) I do think, however, that Ringabel is the most interesting Bravely Default character.

When we meet him, Ringabel projects a frivolous, self-absorbed playboy image who just so happens to be modestly competent at battle. As if this package isn’t unsavory enough from a distance, Ringabel volunteers himself as a companion to Agnès and Tiz’s fledgling journey, without much apparent reason for doing so beyond “chivalry.” He does not remember his past, and has been living according to a book that seems to tell his future. Such absurd circumstances would put anyone off. Ringabel is (correctly) convinced that the diary suggests joining Agnès and Tiz is essential, and, as a stranger, can only entreat the two with as much charisma and pleading for trust as anyone can muster.

How to not make a first impression. Credit for the image goes to USGamer’s Bravely Default Review

Even when we don’t know much about Ringabel, the game generally casts him as a well-meaning, if a bit quirky, character who is never any serious danger to the party. Rather, Ringabel is quite resourceful, especially as someone who can pilot ships and is knowledgeable about the outside world or other people. Worldliness is a little less apparent in the simple and straightforward Tiz, and the sheltered Agnès. Then, of course, there’s his foil — Edea.

Ringabel is immediately stricken by Edea upon his first meeting with her, as she resembles the dream girl that he is supposed to pursue according to the journal that accompanies him. Edea continually rebuffs his advances and doesn’t find him charming — much like the rest of the party. I think it’s worth noting here that I feel the game is trying to suggest that there’s at least a moderate gulf between the way Ringabel acts and wants to be perceived, and the way the people closer to him actually see him. Contrary to his ladykiller persona, we don’t generally see him as all that successful with women. This is because Ringabel is instead devoted to finding “The One.” He’s a rather serious romantic and does have his standards; the first hint of this can be found with his condemning of Fiore DeRosa during your first encounter with him, with Ringabel unable to contain his disgust with the latter’s bewitching of women.

A large part of what ends up differentiating Ringabel from the other characters is the levity that he brings to the cast. Tiz isn’t all that dynamic of a character, and Agnès is pure, but naive. Edea is fun, at times, because she is so headstrong (she kind of reminds me of a shounen anime protagonist, what with the appetite, hot-blooded temperament/ready-fire-aim mentality, and daddy issues.) But Ringabel plays off of his environment the best, adding the most color to it. Notice that, most of the time, Ringabel isn’t really a happy character, or that when we’re supposed to think he’s happy — his tone of voice and attitude don’t often deviate during minor progressions in the story. He just makes comments that provoke reactions from everyone else (or make fun of his comrades), playfully delighting in their responses. He’s also pretty sharp, too, most obviously demonstrated in figuring out who the killer was in the murder mystery scenario at Harstchild.

Ringabel’s reveal as Alternis (an obviously foreshadowed twist) provides the complete essence of the character. Let us remember that Ringabel is a name assumed at the beginning of the game (he himself states that he doesn’t know who gave him the name and if it refers to any sort of family) when he has lost his memory, and that Alternis was the first known name assumed by Ringabel once Braev Lee found him. Ringabel was an orphan native to the city of Florem, and lived a rough life as a child. Until he was taken in by Edea’s father, Ringabel had to be quite cynical and fearful of the world around him. But his rescue from his dire circumstance brought forth an extremely steadfast sense of devotion in Alternis, towards Edea and Braev. His attachment to Braev is understandable, but we are also lead to believe that as he matured and was raised alongside Edea, he grew to see her as a love interest. I can’t imagine how this dynamic was supposed to work, especially as children, but Edea is actually fairly brash and insensitive, and Ringabel himself can be quite reserved with his true feelings at times, so it sort of stands to reason that there probably wasn’t too much hormonal awkwardness in the Lee household. We hope.

Ringabel is not without his flaws. He is so devoted and passionate that he sort of lacks boundaries and a sense of what’s appropriate. The latter basically helped save the world in Bravely Default (if Ringabel didn’t join Agnès’ party, they wouldn’t know the true nature of Airy!) but these flaws also means he puts off people on occasion. It’s certainly not the worst thing in the world (at least in the ways it’s depicted in-game,) but one could stand to create better boundaries. And, of course, sometimes he can go too far in their jokes or his lusting over women, especially when it makes Agnès uncomfortable. He clearly is perverted or takes his perversion too lightly in such a way to be grating at times during the journey, but I think he was much tamer compared to characters like Sage Yulyana or Barras Lehr.

But to return to his crazed sense of devotion; Edea rejects Alternis’s confession of love (bad timing, my man!) and earnest pleading to return to her father during the Dark Knight Asterisk encounter, and Alternis, an alternate-dimension Ringabel who is still manifest in the same timeline as Ringabel is managing to exist, howls in pain. Alternis is convinced he’s doing what he can to at least protect Edea, if not the world, but is frustrated with Edea’s inability to understand what he’s trying to do.  It’s a dynamic that is further complicated by Edea at the time rejecting her father’s (poorly-communicated!) motivations and actions, while Alternis maintains his loyalty. Edea is also the sort of person who is loath to be controlled, and is rather fiery and independent of spirit. In any case, his pain quickly turns to anger. His pursuit of Edea throughout the game had always vacillated between concern for her safety and rage at her perceived impudence, but Edea’s rejection drives him over the edge and finally prompts him to fight her.

On the flip side, he does display an admirable sense of devotion, however. The Ringabel that we know and follow from the game’s start comes from a timeline that failed to save Edea, Tiz, and Agnès from being slain by Airy, and was the only one who managed to escape. Once Ringabel becomes cognizant of his “past,” he readily reassumes his commitment to save the three from Airy’s treachery in another timeline, in spite of (and perhaps, because of?) his attachment to his friends in the current timeline. This sense of duty continues even after Ouroboros is slain, as Ringabel vanishes to protect his friends from other timelines. This sort of devotion, whether it be to the Crystals, rebuilding Norende, or to other people, is really a uniting trait amongst the core characters of Bravely Default. However, the others just can’t compete with Ringabel’s hammy personality and his constant antagonizing of his friends. And it’s made all the better by juxtaposing those with his rather melancholy core.

To be honest, I get the feeling that, for the purposes of the plot, Ringabel is the least important character in Bravely Default and is mostly essential for supporting others from a storytelling standpoint. Agnès is the Wind Vestal, Tiz’s loss of his brother and village illustrate the magnitude of the impending threat to the world, Edea’s presence illustrates the political strife (the Orthodoxy against Braev, and the general lack of knowledge regarding the true power of the crystals) that underscores the larger crisis at hand. The game’s story might have been just as fine without the time-traveling shenanigans that are a part of Ringabel within the game. But his personality makes the game much better, because, without him, everything would be far too straight. And that would be an offense to the aesthetic sensibilities of any respectable human being.

Surely Ringabel himself would approve of such a tasteful writeup as this!

Bravely Default is available on Amazon:

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Chrono Trigger is one the most highly revered RPGs from the SNES era. Despite its praise, there have been many debates about the strength of the game’s characters. On the surface, they seem like a bunch of of standard character tropes thrown together. However, after taking a closer look, they are a lot more complex than first imagined. We’ve already covered Frog, so today, I’m going to focus on one my all-time favorite characters, Lucca. Continue reading at your own risk, as there will be spoilers ahead.

The game starts out with the Kingdom of Guardia holding a carnival of sorts called the Millennial Fair, celebrating 1,000 years since the kingdom’s founding. It is here we first meet Lucca, a genius inventor type who is also the best friend to Crono, the game’s silent protagonist. From talking to the other people at the fair, you get the sense that Lucca’s inventions have a tendency to fail, and that Crono is often the guinea pig. Her latest, a machine she calls a “telepod,” is unveiled at the fair. She suckers Crono into demonstrating it, and after one successful test, it malfunctions, setting up the entire adventure.

Lucca’s latest invention, the “telepod.”

Though Lucca’s relationship with Crono tends to take a backseat to the relationship between Crono and Marle, it is still fairly important. While firmly entrenched in the “childhood friend” role, there is not much evidence to suggest there’s any kind of love triangle going on. In fact, when she first sees Crono with Marle, she teases him about it, and later, once they learn the truth about Lavos and the 1999 apocalypse, she suggests that embarking on a quest to save the future would be a good way to impress her. Eventually, she and Marle become friends, permanently easing any possible tension that may have existed. When Crono is endangered, it’s Lucca who comes to his rescue. Actually, she shows up to rescue Crono twice, once when he goes back in time to retrieve Marle at the beginning of the game, and later on when Crono is locked in the Castle dungeon and scheduled for execution by a fraudulent Chancellor.

Being into technology and gadgets, it makes sense that Lucca will form the closest bonds with animated machines. Her relationship with Robo, a robot from the post-apocalyptic future, is one of the central parts of Lucca’s character. Her desire to build a fully-functional humanoid robot is practically fulfilled when she restores Robo’s circuitry and revives him. Despite Robo’s efforts toward a master/servant relationship, Lucca instantly befriends him and treats him like an equal member of the team. The empathy she expresses for the robots — both Robo and the others who attack them due to being slaves to their programming — lets us know she has a deep understanding of human nature and a great care for all living beings, even if she isn’t too adept at showing it.

Lucca is hardly your stereotypical female character. She’s into science and engineering, and always wears a functional outfit, including shorts and a jacket that have tons of pockets, and tool belt to boot. Her main weapon of choice is a gun. She doesn’t hold back from having too much “soup” at a party. She’s strong, confident, and determined. However, there is a lot more to her than this admittedly basic character type. The problem is that most of Lucca’s personal growth happens in scenes that are completely optional to the player. It’s entirely possible to play through this game two, three, even ten times, and not once see just how deep of a character she is.

Lucca has a fairly strong relationship with her family, namely her parents. She and her father, Taban, have bonded over a shared love of science and of inventing things. Her house is full technological gadgets and spare parts. Her mother, Lara, makes some disparaging remarks about machines, which may seem to indicate there’s a rift between them. Astute observers will notice Lara is always sitting down. This is because, years earlier, there was an accident. Lara’s dress got caught in one of Taban’s machines and she ended up paralyzed. As part of one of the optional sidequests later in the game, Lucca wakes in the middle of the night and enters a mysterious time gate which takes her to that fateful night ten years prior.

Most players will go straight for the machine, enter the password and turn it off, rescuing Lucca’s mother from a cruel fate. However, should you fail to save Lara, the screen will fade out and you’ll see Lucca upstairs, in the bedroom of her younger self, crying on the bed after reliving a painful moment from her past. In a nearby diary entry, a young Lucca laments at not being more knowledgeable about machines. As a child, she hated science because it kept her father away from her, but it was because of her mother’s accident that she began her studies. In fact, if you succeed in rescuing Lara, that diary entry indicates her interest in science starts with the desire to prevent further accidents.

After Crono’s death late in the game, the entire party is feeling dejected and defeated. The loss of their friend and leader has everyone feeling down, except for Marle, who is in complete denial and wants to go find where Crono disappeared to. Lucca is the one holding things together. She tries to console Marle without completely destroying her hope, all while trying to keep herself together. Bringing Marle along to ultimately revive Crono makes perfect sense considering their relationship. Lucca will stand there and watch the big romantic scene with Marle hugging him and telling him all that’s happened.

However, should you decide to leave Marle behind, Lucca will be the one to have the emotional moment with her newly-revived friend. She hugs him and scolds him for dying on her, which seems to come from a place of genuine hurt. This is a rare instance where you see just how much she cares for him. While there’s nothing specific in the scene that indicates her feelings are romantic, it does show that her love for Crono goes much deeper than just being the same age and living next door to each other.

While she may not be the most open about her feelings, Lucca’s love for her friends runs deep. That isn’t evident any more than during the game’s “true” ending. As everyone is saying goodbye before returning to their own time period, Lucca freezes when it’s time to bid farewell to Robo. This confuses Marle, who asks her what’s the matter. However, Robo already understands what’s bothering her. The party’s success at stopping Lavos has changed the future, and, since the future Robo came from no longer exists, it’s possible Robo doesn’t exist anymore, either. Lucca loses it and drops to her knees, crying. They share a tearful goodbye as Robo departs through the gate. Her intelligence betrays her as she can’t just say goodbye to her friend without worrying about what cruel fate may be in store for him.

Finally, there was one more moment that showcased Lucca’s character depth. During the new anime cutscene added to the end of the PlayStation and 3DS versions of Chrono Trigger, she stumbles upon a baby that was apparently abandoned. She picks up the baby and takes it home to care for it. The game’s sequel, Chrono Cross, goes so far as to establish that not only did Lucca raise this child as her own, she opened her house to other abandoned children and started an orphanage where she raised many others.

While we were only treated to brief glimpses of the warmth of her character, the love she has for her friends and the empathy she feels for others all flesh her out in a way no contrived plot twist ever could. She may have trouble outwardly expressing her emotions until she’s overwhelmed by them, and she may be more comfortable around machines than people, but that’s something many of us go through. Quite simply, Lucca seems like she could be a real person, and that’s what makes her so special.

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The history of arcade racers has been extensive within the video game industry. Just like arcade fighters, the arcade racer gave people a reason to go to the arcade and spend their hard earned money. Leading the charge for arcade racers was SEGA. Through the success of Virtua Racing and Daytona USA, SEGA made a good profit off those two arcade machines. Although Virtua Racing was a success, the arcade racing genre needed a mascot. There was a need for a character people could identify and recognize as synonymous with arcade racing as Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat were with arcade fighting games. In this segment of Building Character, we will examine the mascot of arcade racers, the 41 Hornet from Daytona USA.

The 41 Hornet drifts around Sonic’s corner

When we think of characters, we often think of people, animals, anthropomorphic characters, and other living and breathing creatures. Inanimate objects can also have character and the 41 Hornet is a great example. For starters, the 41 Hornet is the only thing you remember from Daytona USA outside of the great soundtrack and the racetracks. Do you remember the other cars you raced against in Daytona USA? Do you remember the pit crew? The answer to those questions is most likely going to result in people saying no. Whenever people see the 41 Hornet, they immediately remember Daytona USA.

The car will always find a way to pass other cars in its way

The 41 Hornet is remembered as well as other famous race cars. For example, if I mention the General Lee, the DeLorean, and Herbie, everyone would know which films and TV shows those cars were featured as stars. In auto racing, car numbers are made famous by the greatest drivers in the world. The 43 car was at its prime with Richard Petty as the driver. The 3 was made famous by the late Dale Earnhardt, and the 24 became a legend with Jeff Gordon. The 41 Hornet was made famous in this case by the arcade racing community. It was the players who drove the 41 Hornet and not a fantasy driver. It was we, the people, who made the Hornet the best car out in the racetrack. While the Hornet has displayed several color schemes over the years, the most iconic paint scheme is the famous red, white, and blue colors. Since stock car racing has American roots, it only made since for the Hornet to have the patriotic red, white, and blue colors on the trim. The Hornet was intimidating, cool, and sleek as its opponents were left in the dust. Since its glory days in Daytona USA, the Hornet has gone on to make special guest appearances in Ridge Racer on the PlayStation Vita and in Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed as the character AGES.

The 41 Hornet comes in for a pit stop and some repairs.

The 41 Hornet was not just a racing machine; the Hornet also had a brief career as a fighter. The 41 Hornet was a secret character in the SEGA Saturn exclusive, Fighters Megamix. Fighters Megamix is a crossover fighting game starring fighters from Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers, SEGA’s two biggest fighting franchises during the mid-1990s. There were also several secret characters to be unlocked and the 41 Hornet made the roster. Although the Hornet was a joke character for the developers to insert inside the big roster of characters, it’s fun to see the Hornet stand up on its back tires and attack opponents with all four wheels. Its fighting style is similar to Fighting Vipers and has breakable armor. The Hornet is able to punch and kick with it wheels and grab opponents as it puts it hood right on the face of its opponents. Unfortunately, the Hornet is the weakest character in the game, but I have to commend it for trying a new career path outside the norm.

This image will stay in your brain forever. You’re welcome.

As time marches on, we will always remember the 41 Hornet for its contributions to both the arcade racing genre and for the industry as a whole. Every genre needs a mascot and the Hornet was able to fill the role perfectly in the arcades and at home. SEGA’s proud and long-successful arcade history continued on back in the 1990s thanks to Daytona USA. The cameos and guest appearances ensure we never forget the Hornet’s video game roots. The 41 Hornet will always leave race cars in the dust.

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Nanako is ready to solve the mystery

Author’s Note: Some spoilers from Persona 4 will be discussed in this article

Persona 4 is beloved my many for its social and psychological commentary. It tackles several adult issues and examines the role identities play in society and how people accept them or struggle to establish an identity. Through all the dark and mature themes, there is one character who serves as the contrast to the adult themes presented in Persona 4.

Nanako Dojima is the cousin of the protagoinst and the daughter of Ryotaro Dojima. She is at first shy towards people, but as the game progresses, she warms up to them. The protagonist is often referred to as “Big Bro.” Nanako sees him as a brotherly figure and as part of the family. Nanako is surprisingly independent for her age as she is able to do the chores, get groceries, and keep the house clean while her father is out at work or working on an investigation. She is willing to take on responsibilities while still enjoying being a kid. Junes is Nanako’s favorite place in Inaba. Whenever there is a Junes commercial on TV, Nanako will sing the famous Junes slogan,”Every day’s great at your Junes!” Eventually, she gets to meet all of the protagonist’s friends and becomes a part of the group.

Everyday is Big Bro and Junes Day

Nanako is the representation of innocence. As children, we all started out like Nanako with no problems, no issues, and no trauma to deal with. Nanako reminds us all of our innocent charm we had as kids. Nanako’s mother, Chisato, was killed in a hit and run accident when she was younger. The death had an impact on both Nanako and her father, especially since Nanako has both the looks and actions of her mother. As the protagonist builds a social link to Nanako, he finds out the Dojima family is strained at times. Naturally, Nanako misses her mother and wonders why she could not be with them and why she had to go. She mentions how her father never talks about her mother and never displays any pictures of her in the house. Eventually, Nanako learns her father feels lonely and misses Chisato as much and comes to understand the sadness he struggles to cope with in a daily basis.

Nanako’s favorite place in Inaba, the famous Junes.

The climax of the game comes full circle when Nanako is kidnapped and thrown into the TV world. Ryotaro Dojima tries to stop the culprit, but ends up in an accident during the pursuit. This becomes an emotional time for the protagonist and his friends as they immediately go rescue her from the toxic fog. The dungeon, Heaven, is a contrast to the rest of the dungeons. Rather than be dark, sinister, and creepy, Heaven starts as a Utopian paradise full of greenery, blue skies, white clouds, and rainbows. It reflects Nanako’s innocence and it also reflects the goodness from one’s heart. The song playing in the background, “Heaven”, has some of the best lyrics in the game. It explains Nanako’s inner feelings towards the loss of her mother. The beginning of the lyrics goes as follows:

Can’t get my mind out of those memories
Now time to tell them “don’t take my dream”
Still music keeps on turning me from the words that hurt my soul
Removing doubts from my mind

As the party advances to the upper floors, Heaven starts to become more demented. At the summit of Heaven, the party finds out Taro Namatame was the one who kidnapped Nanako. Namatame becomes possessed by Kunino-sagiri, the fog spirit. After the party defeats Kunino-sagiri, they take Nanako and Namatame back to Inaba. Unfortunately, Nanako’s exposure to the fog made her ill and had to be taken to the Inaba Hospital.

An emotional gathering at the hospital

While at the hospital, the party tries to find a present Nanako will enjoy once she gets out of the hospital. As the weeks pass, Nanako’s health began to improve. Once the fog from the TV world begins to leak out in Inaba, Nanako’s health suddenly declines. Everyone quickly rushes to the hospital to see Nanako. With her last breath, she talks to her friends and family. Soon afterwards, her life ends as the heart monitor machine no longer detects a beat. This moment becomes an emotional mixture of sadness and anger for both the party and for the player. Depending on what actions the player selects at that point, the outcome for Nanako changes. By making the wrong choices, Nanako remains dead. By making the right choices, Nanako will awaken from her supposed “death”.

The Dojima family plus the Protagonist.

Nanako reminds us of our innocence we once had as kids. Throughout Persona 4, Nanako keeps an upbeat, optimistic attitude. She creates a bond with her “big bro” and comes to terms with both the death of her mother and her father’s grief over the loss. As an independent kid, Nanako brings a smile to anyone she meets in Inaba.

If you would like to learn more about the social and psychological of Persona 4 as a whole, check out Gaming Crossroads: Persona 4’s Commentary is Influential. In my Gaming Crossroads series, I discuss a variety of topics related to gaming both within and outside the industry.

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The article contains light spoilers for both Senran Kagura: Burst and Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus

It’s time once again for another installment of your Building Character series. Here we take some of our favorite characters in games and anime and tell a little bit about them and why we think they are special. Today, I’m going to talking about one of the Senran Kagura girls, Mirai. Now Mirai may not be as endowed as the rest of the girls, but do not let her small stature fool you. There is a lot of character in that small body.

Mirai was bullied horribly in school by her classmates. She was bullied to the point that she didn’t want to see the world anymore. This is why she wears the eye patch with the red tomoe over her right eye. She wanted to block out part of the world that she hated. She eventually joined the Hebijo Academy, this school is for evil ninjas and will accept anyone. Here she hoped to find a place where she belonged and gain strength to go and extract revenge on all those that had  ridiculed her.

Soon after starting school at the Hebijo Academy she was taken under the wing of the other elite ninja girls in the class. The five of them soon became close, but due to an incident during a mission, Mirai decides to run away. The other girls search frantically for her. This leads to a very emotional scene were Hikage, of all people, showed some emotion. Mirai decides to go back to the academy. She soon learns that her quest for revenge is better served by her knowing that she is more powerful than they could ever hope to become because she has friends who love her and a place where she belongs.

While the core of Mirai’s story is a serious ordeal, some of her other character traits are quite humorous and show off another side of her. She will often make fun of the other girls who are not endowed, such as herself. Ryoubi is usually the target of this, and in Mirai’s defense she is smaller than her with AAA cup size, if that even counts. She also is constantly trying to prove she is grown up, which leads to a hilarious scene in Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus with Haruka’s unmentionables. She also cannot stand to be ignored.  She is usually the victim of this from Yagyu, who she tries to befriend but it’s not Hibari she is not interested most of the time.

I love Mirai because her story is so relatable to a lot of us. We have been picked on for what we look like, our hobbies or in some cases even worse things. Most of the time we want to resort to force to solve these issues, but just as the story here shows, that is not always the best answer. Most of us just search for a place where we can be ourselves and be around people who accept us for who we are. So she may be be one of the least busty Senran Girls, but that doesn’t stop her from being one of my favorites.

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Valkyria, Valkyria, may the bloodline live forever

In 2008, SEGA released Valkyria Chronicles for the PlayStation 3 worldwide. In spite of some strong early promotional efforts in North America, the game didn’t start off strong in sales. But those sales rose sharply following a price cut, and it allowed more people to become acquainted with the peculiar Valkyria Chronicles. It’s a strange hybrid of strategy-RPG and third-person shooter mixed in with unit quirks that become better with micromanagement, conveyed through the awesome CANVAS graphics engine that gives the game its sketchbook watercolor look and the awesome musical arrangements of Hitoshi Sakamoto. The characters aren’t typically cited as one of the game’s most notable strengths, but they’re essential in commanding all of the visual, gameplay and musical tools that make up the Valkyria Chronicles behemoth. While characters like Rosie and Selvaria are pretty clear standouts, nature-boy-wonder and lead protagonist, Welkin Gunther, is also key to the game.

That dinky blue thing is Gallia

The setting of Valkyria Chronicles is loosely based upon World War II-era Europe. Gallia is a small, independent, but prosperous territory caught in between two warring powers: the Atlantic Federation and the East Europan Imperial Alliance (this one is the Bad People.) The lush and resource-rich Gallia resists intervening in the Second Europan War being waged between the Atlantic Federation, but, as the Imperial Alliance gains ground in the War with sheer military power, the Alliance seeks dominion over all of Europa and the important multipurpose mineral, Ragnite, found in abundance in Gallia.

Enter Welkin Gunther. He’s the son of a war hero in the First Europan War that took place decades before Valkyria Chronicles starts. At the beginning of the game, Welkin is enrolled in the capitol city’s university, studying Animal Sociology. How’s that for practicality?  The first we see of Welkin in the game’s story, he’s admiring some fish and enthusiastically takes to his notebook. His suspicious activities alert Alicia Melchiott, leader of the local citizens’ militia in the town of Bruhl (“Thanks, fish.”) The town is on edge with the expectation of an invasion from the Imperial Army from the East. However, Welkin’s adoptive sister, Isara, defuses the escalating situation by explaining that Welkin was caught in the middle of helping her move to the capital city of Randgriz. They both figure it will be safer there in case of an invasion. Alicia relents, but, when a small Imperial contingent is spotted nearby, Welkin assists (universal conscription!) as an armed footsoldier. As larger Imperial forces assault Bruhl, Welkin and Isara make use of a tank left behind by their father to both escape the city and minimize Gallian casualties. At this point, Welkin, Alicia and Isara are all friends, and Welkin finds it harder to separate himself from actively defending Gallia, especially when he is drafted and designated the leader of a new squad in the Gallian army (thanks to that recent military training.)

If only everyone would sketch fish

This is not the path Welkin wanted. Welkin is peaceful and believes in resolving differences through talk. In one of his earlier conversations with Alicia, she asks Welkin if he would consider joining the army and he denies it, saying he wants to be a teacher. But after being drafted, he doesn’t fight it internally. Through his surveys of nature, he comes to the conclusion that death and conflict are parts of the natural world. Beyond the introductory rallying cries for each mission, he’s not interested in propagandizing the war or rallying himself against the enemy.

These early scenes do much to capture Welkin. He protests his arrest, but recognizes that Alicia isn’t going to back down and that there isn’t anything he can say to dissuade her from the idea that he could be a spy surveying Gallian territory. He’s fairly patient, but also comes across as a bit of a spacey dope. The game doesn’t articulate this well, but Welkin does have presence of mind and takes all matters seriously. He just thinks there is a clear time to intervene or get fired up, and a time to let events unfold. Welkin had no problem standing by Isara growing up, as she was on the receiving end of a lot of harassment for being “Darcsen.”

The Darcsen are an ethnic group indigenous to Gallia, and they are hated by some because a massacre that ended with massive incidental casualties was successfully and intentionally attributed to the Darcsens by… some other group of people (maybe I won’t give away everything.) The Darcsen story is inspired by the treatment of Jewish people throughout Europe in World War II, subject to outright discrimination and more passive ostracizing in the game’s mythology, and both equally horrendous.

Another memorable scene takes place early in the game, when the newly-formed squad does not appreciate Welkin’s leadership. Former singer Rosie and Isara begin arguing because Rosie hates “dark-hairs” and Isara is a dark-hair. Resident vegetable-lover and big guy Largo directly asserts his unwillingness to take Welkin seriously. With tension building, a war going on and an unorthodox commander, the eyes fall on Welkin. He then ambitiously claims that he’ll retake Vasel within the next two days, while at a disadvantageous position. If he fails, he’ll resign from Squad 7, and if not everyone shuts up for the time being.

When he suggests this gambit, he’s not actually sure he can pull it off. This is interesting — does he really care about winning the war or not? He probably doesn’t care if he’s the one to do it. If he leaves, he’ll still do what it takes to look after Isara. Typically, wars are bigger than just one person making all of the difference. However, he still does want the squad to band together, if not to win, at least to learn to cooperate and value one another.

In any case, Alicia and Isara approach him later with misgivings about Welkin’s bold move, but Welkin comes up with a plan. He outfits the Squad’s tank to traverse a river, so that they can take out patrols outside of Vasel. When the coast is clear, he’ll signal for the rest of the squad to follow, and strike when the enemy isn’t expecting them. The river is typically deep enough for boats, but he finds a stretch of the river that he is convinced will be shallow enough for the tank to cross. He thinks this to be so because he notices a certain type of plant growing nearby. Long story short, victory for Squad 7, with everyone involved in happy disbelief. This is all vintage Welkin. Thankfully, Valkyria Chronicles doesn’t make a point of solving every problem with Welkin’s esoteric knowledge of nature, which would threaten to dilute him as a character.

One scene that I don’t think receives enough credit involves Alicia coming upon a dying Imperial soldier and comforting him as he passes. It’s one of the moments in the game that makes an effort to take war seriously. This is a scene that really reflects Welkin’s belief that conflict is natural, in the sense that the game’s story isn’t about lamenting that wars happen at all. It presupposes war, but everyone is treated as human. Alicia is more hopeful that a new Gallia will continue living after the war is won. I would suggest that the game and its characters (manifest with Welkin, in particular) make the argument that the racism problem is more important than explaining that war is bad. The latter angle is a bit of a trite observation, though not any less true. The point is that peaceful coexistence is solved from the ground up. Military victories or losses don’t make moral arguments; war is just one side exhausting another. The war is basically started due to the resentment and maladjustment that fomented from one person losing his mother as a result of royal family politics (no one deserves that, to be sure.)

Welkin is there at times for Alicia when her resolve weakens or when she has questions about life in general, and, early on, Alicia connects Welkin to the Squad. They are meant to be each other’s complements for the purposes of the story, especially since Alicia is more practical and has common sense. The only problem here is that, in the story, Welkin is generally so amazing that he’s almost never in a position of vulnerability. When Isara dies, the story and Welkin move on almost inappropriately fast. There’s a war going on, and Welkin’s not unfamiliar with early loss of family, but, when a character like Isara (who is essential for the first half of the story, so we understand racism is bad and that Welkin isn’t held by the same prejudice) is killed, it’s strange that Rosie comes off as more moved than Welkin, even if Rosie was impacted by Isara’s death. And, when Alicia almost commits suicide because she has difficulty reconciling her newfound identity as a Valkyrur and the Alicia that wants to protect life, Welkin… is finally more direct about his feelings for Alicia and proposes marriage. The concept is ludicrous; we know a least that Welkin cares for her as a friend, but it’s such a departure from Welkin as we understand him (and it doesn’t tell us much or represent an evolution in character) and it’s incredibly difficult to rationalize. It’s one of the game’s duller moments in the story.

An event that changed the direction of the war

Welkin only seems to noticeably crack after learning that Faldio instigated bringing out Alicia’s Valkyria powers. Faldio, an archeology major at the same university as Welkin and a friend, surmises that the fight against the Imperial forces (with a Valkyria in their ranks) can’t be won without a Valkyria of Gallia’s own. A chance encounter to a Valkyria landmark with Welkin and Alicia in tow gives him all of the evidence he needs that Alicia has Valkyria blood, so he snipes her while Squad 7 is engaged with the Imperial forces at Ghirlandaio. Valkyria powers are first awakened when someone is near death. When Welkin eventually finds out that Faldio brought this about, he punches Faldio and storms off. It could be said that Isara’s death has fed into this reaction, and Welkin is stressed because Alicia withdraws emotionally from the team after learning she is Valkyria. But it comes across as a more punctuated moment in the story, given Welkin’s personality development/lack of throughout the game. It is, at the least, an interesting change of pace. The nice thing about this exchange is that this moment does suggest that Welkin cares more about Alicia than winning the war.

She was an interesting character

Welkin also isn’t the person who brings about the end of the Second Europan War, so he’s not quite messianic. Selvaria, the Imperial-aligned Valkyria, learns that Emperor Maximilian of the Imperial army took her in when she was young only because he knew she was a Valkyria (while endorsing experiments on her prior to her “rescue.”) She decides to end her life and stick it to Maximilian, and reclaim a semblance of autonomy. She spent the better part of her life unflinchingly devoted to Maximilian, so it was a seismic revelation for her. The Valkyria’s Final Flame creates a massive explosion that wipes out most of the Imperial army and some of the Gallian forces, so this is sort of a boon to Gallia for the purpose of their side winning the war.

At the story’s end, Maximilian storms his way to the Randgriz Castle, knowing that it houses a massive Valkyrian lance with unmatched power. Though he easily occupies the castle, Squad 7 rushes to Randgriz after eliminating the last of the Imperial army that isn’t already at Randgriz. Squad 7, in the dramatic last chapter of the game, renders the mammoth tank Marmota inoperable and defeats Maximilian after he dons an artificial Valkyria suit. In mortal peril, Maximilian decides that he won’t simply leave his enemies well enough alone, and attempts to activate a Final Flame of his own. After all, Maximilian is a character mostly motivated by his hatred of people. However, Faldio drags himself and Maximilian to the core of the Valkof tank, killing both of them and prompting the Valkof’s destruction. What was that about one person winning wars?

Flawed as he may be (though not in the obvious sense), Welkin was an essential character in telling Valkyria Chronicles‘ story, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else being the protagonist, even if one might have wished for certain events to unfold differently. Plenty of us might have wanted Isara to stick around for the ending! In any case, Welkin’s gentle, yet resolute nature is a great one for navigating a war tale. Interestingly, he had clear ideas on when to take center stage and when not to do so, and it’s pleasantly odd that, as the story wraps to a close, Welkin isn’t really accelerating the drama himself (he almost never does, as someone mostly undramatic), but serves as a simple hero who unites the story and the Squad against Maximilian. He was clearly positioned never to be the messiah, and Valkyria Chronicles is better for it.

*I didn’t refer to the anime for this writeup. The anime is unfortunate on multiple fronts.*

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Watamote is perhaps one of the greatest depictions of clinical depression and social anxiety to ever exist in any form of fiction. The entire series is based around Tomoko Kuroki, a young girl whose main goal is to become popular despite having crippling social anxiety  The series follows her attempts to try and reach out to the public and make friends. Despite sounding like a light-hearted premise, Watamote is perhaps the single most depressing anime I have ever seen.

The reason for this is just how much insight into Tomoko’s mindset it gives you. To her, so much as saying “Hi” to another person puts an enormous amount of pressure on her. She does everything in her power to avoid talking to anyone else, despite her wanting to be popular. Things that sound relatively mundane in practice become overwhelming and dramatic. For example, in one episode, Tomoko deals with a teacher calling her out in front of the class for not having an assignment done because she was too nervous to get notes from another classmate. This later leads to her becoming massively depressed and stressed afterwards, which does not help with the stormy weather outside, especially considering the fact that someone took her umbrella. After discovering that someone took her umbrella, she ends up breaking down mentally about how someone could steal an umbrella in the rain and goes off on a depressing soliloquy, only to discover that she had it in the other umbrella container.

Yes… yes, you are.

The unique aspect of Watamote’s presentation is that 90% of the script is in monologue. You get a very detailed view of Tomoko’s perspective that shows just how different some people can see things than others. Tomoko carries a very strong resentment toward her other classmates due to not being popular, yet, at the same time, she wants to be recognized by these people. She also does have her own character flaws and is occasionally selfish. This is what really makes Tomoko’s character amazing. People always assume that the quiet and mysterious people are also the smartest and most mature. This is not actually the case in real life. It just appears to be that way because quiet people don’t show any stupid things they do.

An example of her own flaws would be that she cheats at a card game against little kids in order to impress her cousin. Another is that she takes care of her younger brother while he is sick just so she can attempt to catch his cold to stay home from school. Despite this, Tomoko is one of the most endearing characters I have encountered in anime. She just manages to connect with the average otaku on so many levels. A lack of social interaction or desire to leave the house, greatly enjoying anime and video games, perversion and the tendency to have a very cynical view of things, yet still occasionally have a happy moment.

One can also draw a lot of conclusions about the concept of socialization in general based on how Tomoko is portrayed. Unlike a lot of comedy anime whose only plot is to be viciously cruel to an undeserving main character (oftentimes a harem series protagonist), the surrounding characters in Watamote are actually pretty nice (with the exception of Tomoko’s brother, Tomoki, who is a heartless asshole). It really shows that the biggest obstacle that people with social anxiety face is not other people; it is themselves. The fact that so many fans of the series have found Tomoko endearing really shows that some people are nicer than what one may expect. The series may make light of Tomoko’s predicament at some point, but real life is not always depressing; even for people with social anxiety and depression. It also shows that anyone out there could be a Tomoko, and that some people are just afraid to reach out. It is for this reason that Watamote is probably the only anime I have ever seen to outright alter my entire perspective on people in general.

Another excellent aspect of Tomoko’s character is her design. She has a look that is both somewhat tomboyish, and, yet, is also very cute. The marks around her eyes do a great job at showing that she is the type that is not exactly social. Her facial expressions are also amazingly well handled. In addition to this, the backgrounds go grayscale and shift in appearances to reflect her mood. This often manages to work in reflecting both comedic and serious moments.

Oh, the irony…

Lastly, the aspect of Tomoko’s character that goes with Watamote’s message is actually quite simple; she’s a girl. As weird as this may seem, there are a lot of messages that would be missed if this series had a male protagonist. Particularly, it is because there is a stereotype that any moderately attractive woman does not even need to try to get guys to come after her. In reality, such a thing isn’t as easy as people think. Typically, a lot of women are afraid they do not look good enough because they don’t live up to the Hollywood standards of beauty. If you don’t believe me, then just look around Facebook and see how many legitimately attractive women are convinced they are ugly. Of course, a lot of these women also are socially isolated and depressed, as well.

All in all, that is what makes Tomoko’s character so well done. It’s not just that she is cute or likable; her character is great because all of us are like her in some way. A lot of us nerds also tend to have been the type that can’t talk to people or are nervous around them. A lot of us also tend to be the much more sensitive or depressed types (granted, not everyone, but I imagine there are a lot more people who have aspergers or depression that visit oprainfall rather than mainstream sites). I am sure all of us can agree that middle school was utter hell, as well. I can easily say that Tomoko Kuroki’s portrayal is one of the best in recent media, and is a far better example than some recent games.

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Welcome to the finale of this edition of Building Character. Lunar: Eternal Blue takes place 1000 years after the events of Lunar: The Silver Star. The Sega CD and Saturn/PlayStation Versions are the same game with only a few minor differences. Only a couple of characters from the previous game make a return. Spoilers! One of the returning characters is Ghaleon. Ghaleon made a surprising appearance in Lunar Eternal Blue. John Truitt returns as the voice of Ghaleon and he once again did a fantastic job with his performance. Ghaleon is not the main villain in the game, but he is the primary antagonist against Hiro and company……or is he an anti-hero?

“If there is a god of destiny, he is fond of plot twists”

Ghaleon is not revealed until Hiro and his party arrives at the Mystic Ruins. After Lucia reveals old records summarizing the events of Lunar: The Silver Star/Silver Star Story, Ghaleon introduces himself to the group as the keeper of said records. There is no foreshadowing prior to this scene. When I played Eternal Blue for the first time, I was shocked to see him alive when he was defeated in the previous game. This was a double whammy for Hiro and his party. They not only had to deal with Zophar, but now Ghaleon has returned. He has returned to set out his conquest of Lunar and take revenge on the people who disgraced him…..or does he have a different motive? As soon as Hiro and his party leave the Mystic Ruins, they are cornered by White Knight Leo. Ghaleon secretly saves them by electrocuting Leo and his men. One minute, Ghaleon is confronting Hiro. In the next minute, Ghaleon is helping Hiro. So is he good or bad? This is one of the main themes in Eternal Blue. It is revealed Ghaleon was brought back to life by Zophar, the true villain of Eternal Blue, to help aid his revival and to lead the Cult of Althena as the Dragonmaster. He serves alongside “Althena” and “The Four Heroes of Lunar”. He steals the essences of the four dragons and seals away their power. He delays Hiro not only to buy time for Zophar, but to also motivate Hiro and his party to stop Zophar by believing in their own power and fighting spirit.

Ghaleon balances his duties between being Zophar’s right hand man and helping Hiro.

Ghaleon tests Hiro and Lucia a few times. Ghaleon fights Hiro at Pentagulia and emerges victorious. He decides to spare Hiro’s life by having him imprisoned. As Lucia is about to destroy Pentagulia with the power of the four dragons, Ghaleon once again challenges them to a fight. In the PS1 version, Ghaleon gets ready to attack Hiro and company before deciding to spare their lives. In the Sega CD version, Ghaleon freezes Hiro in a crystal. This is a big moment in the Sega CD version because Lucia is forced to make a tough decision. Does she continue on without Hiro and destroy Pentagulia while she has the chance or does she take a detour and revive Hiro back at the Blue Spire? She decides to go to the Blue Spire and revive Hiro before destroying Pentagulia for good. After Zophar’s revival, Ghaleon takes on the party one last time in a showdown. Ghaleon awakens the human spirit inside Hiro and his friends. Ghaleon is able to accomplish this task while holding back and letting Hiro defeat him. Hiro asks Ghaleon to join them. Unfortunately, Ghaleon is not able to do so as Zophar takes back the power keeping Ghaleon alive as soon as Zophar realize he was betrayed. Before he perishes, Ghaleon gives Hiro his sword. Ghaleon’s Sword was eventually used to defeat Zophar and restore peace to Lunar.

Ghaleon Challenges Hiro

Ghaleon arguably was the true hero of Lunar after all. He went from being a despised villain to a man who redeemed himself by wanting to atone for his own sins. Ghaleon’s intelligence, persuasive speaking, and charisma manipulated Zophar to believe Ghaleon was on his side. To fool a dark god to believe he had an ally is a monumental achievement. Although Zophar eventually realized Ghaleon was working against him and took his power away from Dyne’s old friend, Ghaleon could finally rest in peace as a good man.

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Ghaleon Proclaims Himself as the Magic Emperor

Just like The Silver Star, Ghaleon is one of the four heroes who helped save Lunar by defeating an evil man who wanted to become a demi-god. 15 years before the events of Silver Star Story, Althena requested Dyne’s help to ensure she would be reincarnated as a human permanently. Althena believed humans were depending on her too much. Their dependence on Althena caused jealousy and internal bickering. She believed it was time for Lunar’s inhabitants to take control of their own destiny. Dyne helped Althena become reincarnated as Luna, but in the process, he lost his powers as the Dragonmaster. This event devastated Ghaleon and he became angry at Dyne’s actions. Ghaleon believed the world of Lunar needed Althena to bring order and prevent chaos. Without the protection of Althena, Lunar would become a wasteland and the balance of magic would be thrown off course. Eventually, Ghaleon decides to revive Althena so he can rule the world with her by his side.

Ghaleon Prepares For An Epic Battle

He takes the same actions as he did in the Sega CD version with some differences.  Xenobia is not the only right hand villain this time. Ghaleon also recruits Royce and Phacia to help execute his plan and to occupy Alex and his party. Ghaleon no longer kills Quark and the remaining dragons. He instead captures and enslaves them instead to use their energy to take over Lunar. He kidnaps Luna and uses his dark magic on her to revive her as the goddess Althena, but this time as an evil goddess. With Althena under Ghaleon’s control, he uses her and the power of the four dragons to revive Althena’s Fortress. The Vile Tribe is enslaved to build the Grindery and not the villagers of Burg. The grindery is then used to destroy Vane. The magic emperor façade is only an illusion in this interpretation. The game at one point teases players with a false ending only to reveal Ghaleon was not truly defeated. Ghaleon never meets Dyne, but he knows of Laike’s existence.

Never Underestimate The Power of Ghaleon’s Dark Magic

John Truitt’s voice acting shines through in the PlayStation version. He once again embraces Ghaleon’s personality. There is a difference between a voice actor reading his lines and a voice actor embracing his lines and Truitt passionately enjoyed voicing Ghaleon. He had more opportunities to play the role of Ghaleon whereas the Sega CD version was limited due to the hardware limitations.

Ghaleon enjoys taunting Alex and makes it a priority to destroy Alex’s love for Luna in his quest for world domination. When Ghaleon is defeated by Alex, he perishes believing he won since Lunar was under control of the Dark Goddess Althena and he broke Alex and Luna apart. If Ghaleon couldn’t have his way, he wanted no one to achieve their dreams. His misunderstanding of the events between Dyne and Althena drove him mad. Ghaleon never understood Althena’s motivations for a better world and only saw Althena’s disappearance as a path towards destruction. From his point of view, Ghaleon believed his actions were of noble intentions by restoring Althena as the goddess of Lunar with him ruling over it to ensure Lunar never lost Althena. Ghaleon would spend the rest of eternity in the afterlife…….or does he?

Stay tuned for the final segment. It will be out before the end of the month.

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