Most Revered Heroines.

Most of the time, the stories that you see, the role of the hero, the one who saves lives, protect the innocent and fights villains, is a guy.

But occasionally, there are some stories that feature Heroines. The savior of the story is a woman. Such stories are rare, but there is definitely a number.

I personally have 2 heroines which I admire the most.




Name: Shanoa
Appearances: Castlevania Order of Ecclesia / Akumajo Ubaware no Kokuin

Shanoa is a user of Glyphs. Using the Glyphs that are inscribed on her body, she is able conjure up various weapons and elements.

Near the start of the story, Shanoa lost much of her memory and personality. She was sent to track down her brother. He stole the glyphs and escaped, and ultimately died, revealing that he had wanted to save her from a similar fate. She later discovered her master's true plan was to revive Dracula, but she finally defeated Dracula herself.

Among the Caslevania series, Shanoa isn't just the strongest woman, she is probably the strongest character. With the right tools, she is capable of unleashing massive damage, and she is able to kill almost all bosses in one hit. None of the other characters in the series have as much power as her. Shanoa has the highest attack power. (Not the highest defense power though.) Unlike other Vampire Hunters though, she needs to use a powerful spell that almost cost her her own life to defeat Dracula, because she wasn't able to finish him off through normal means.

What I admire most about Shanoa, is her power.

Shanoa's choice of clothing is an odd combination. She wears a normal sexy looking bare-backed evening gown, but she also wears a half-plate armor in front. Not a very conventional combination, I'd say. I would describe her beauty as a "dark and eerie beauty".

---



Name: Angelique
Appearence: Neo Angelique (PS2 game), Neo Angelique Abyss (Anime, 2 seasons)

Neo Angelique first started as a game in the Angelique series, on the PS2. Later, the story was adapted into an anime spanning 2 seasons, with some changes to the plot. Several new characters were added into the anime. In addition, by the time the first season ended, it was already near the end of the game. In short, season 2 was largely original. Personally, I prefer the anime artwork much more than the game artwork.

Angelique was a seemingly normal girl, attending school with the hopes of becoming a doctor. Her world was constantly attacked by thanatos, creatures which drain the life of their victims. Only a select few individuals have the purification ability, the ability to fight the thanatos. Angelique is discovered to have a special purification ability. She can completely purify any thanatos that is already wounded, and she also has the ability to heal victims of the thanatos. Not only that, she is the Queen's Egg, which means that she can become the queen who will watch over the world. However, Angelique has the physique of an ordinary girl, which means she is incapable of fighting physically. (The anime changed that a little in season 2.) Angelique's powers also only work on a thanatos already wounded, which means a partner must aid and defend her. During dinners, her 4 partners insist on cooking every time, which means she doesn't cook. But she's very good at making desserts though.

Angelique is kind, gentle, beautiful, brave, and even selfless. I personally think that she is the very image of a perfect girl. Obviously a fairy tale, lol. What I admired most about Angelique is her personality.

Neo Angelique is actually a dating-sim game, which means she can have a romantic relationship with one of the 6 guys. There is a choice of any of the 4 partners, as well as 2 more extras. She doesn't actually get a chance to openly flirt with her 4 partners, except during the dinner meetings, where she can smile or wink at them. (Can have an adverse effect if she overdoes it though.) In the ending of the anime, she doesn't actually end up with anyone.

My greatest complaint is that Angelique can't have a harem. I mean, among the girls who deserve to get all the guys, Angelique probably deserves that more than any other girl. She deserves to get all 4 of the guys, to be honest. But sadly, that can't be possible.

---

So, there you have it. Those are the top 2 heroines I admire most. Who do you admire?

Some favorite nominations so far.

Aya (Parasite Eve)
Lightning (Final Fantasy 13)
Leyna (Saver)
Maximum Ride (Maximum Ride)
Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)
Nanoha (Lyrical Magical Nanoha)
Tsukasa (Tokyo Crazy Paradise)
Sarasa (Basara)
Balsa (Seirei no Moribito)
Clare (Claymore)
Yoko (12 Kingdoms)

I know what some of you are thinking, but I don't consider Kyouko to be a world-saving heroine, and she's not really on the top of my most admired list.

My thoughts for 180.

I was surprised by a few things. It seems that Kyouko still hasn't gotten round to the idea of sleeping in the same room as Ren. In fact, this time, she went out shopping just so that she could pass the time.

For Ren's past, I think a lot of us guessed it wrong. I had always been under the impression that Kuon had snapped after Rick died. It appears that he turned violent before that. We now have a rough picture of what happened. We have bits and pieces of his flashbacks, but we can now piece most of them together. After the fight, Kuon gave chase, and Rick chased after him. During that chase, Rick got knocked down. It was after that, he went to Japan to become Tsuruga Ren.

Ren feels that he is losing to the darkness that is Kuon. I say that if he wants to conquer that darkness, he is going to have to first accept that it is a part of himself. It is not a disease that manifested from externally, it came from within, and it is a part of himself. He shouldn't be trying to fight it, instead, he should be trying to understand it.

About the fight that happened at the start. Some people offered their opinions about it. Some say that it was racism. Some say that Kuon looks totally American. Some say he was picked on for other reasons. Personally? I don't care! Whatever the cause was, it's not important.

There is one important thing I really don't quite understand. Ren had already known, that if he was going to be B.J., he would have to bring out this darkness. How would he conquer this darkness that was Kuon? Quite some time ago, he made up his mind, that he would conquer it. But what was he planning to do? He wanted to conquer this darkness, yet he took a role that requires it? Was he actually planning to create a new darkness, without ever bringing out Kuon? Or was he trying to bring out the darkness intentionally, while keeping it under control? Perhaps he is disappointed by the fact that the darkness controlled him instead?

And upon hearing what Kyouko said, Ren realizes that he had failed, and instead, brought forth Kuon. If Ren's Kuon side was not what he had intended to be part of B.J., then what was he planning for B.J.? Could it be possible that he wanted to play the role of B.J., while being fully conscious of the fact that he is merely acting out as B.J., and not truly desiring for violence?

Anyway, one more thing. Towards the end of this Chapter, Kyouko called him Tsuruga-san. I personally think it is fitting, because he is definitely not being Cain Heel right now. And it's very impressive that she actually saw through that. He is most certainly not being Cain Heel right now. He is currently the Ren whom Kyouko had always known.

Page 23 show something very clear. Ren is clearly in despair. But when he despairs, it's always the thought of Kyouko that saves him.

On page 23, I was like, WTF? Ren imagines Kyouko calling out to him, naked? No amount of cold shower is going to help that, lol.

My predictions for next chapter. Well, actually I don't have any. But I do have something I really hope to see. I really hope to see this. Ren, in his sadness, asks Kyouko if she could comfort him. Kyouko readily agrees, saying that she will do whatever she can to make him feel better, even if it's just a little. She soon realizes what she just agreed too, when Ren lays her on the bed. Still, she is powerless to resist, unable to resist.

Well, at least she won't have to worry about sleeping any more, cos she won't be getting any! >:D Everyone wins this way, right? ^_^

(Post comments in 180 section.)

Volume 24 Specials Scanlation.

This is is the special from one of the volumes. Credits to the original scanner. I do not know who scanned it unfortunately.

I do not know which volume is this from. Those who know, please tell me.

All 3 specials are now completed. Those who are interested in the Volume 25 and 26 specials, they are also on my blog.



By the way, the "attacked by dogs of a different kind", probably refers to the Valentine's day gifts. For those who recall, Yashiro's gifts largely consisted of toy dogs. The female staff probably heard him, and all unanimously gave him toy dogs as gifts.

There should be a Bishoujo/Erogame starring Athrun Zala!

Athrun Zala, arguably the main character in Gundam Seed Destiny. Kira Yamato is the protagonist from Gundam Seed, the first series, but Athrun Zala takes a more prominent role in the second. Of the 3 main characters, Shinn, Kira, and Athrun, I believe Athrun is the main focus.

I've watched several anime series. Personally, Athrun is at the top of my list of favorite male main characters. In many anime series I've watched, the male lead is usually completely useless, is overconfident, has a bad attitude, or is too bullheaded. Thankfully, Athrun is none of these.

Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, tells the tale of two powerful nations, both bent on destroying each other. One nation consists of natural born humans, the other consists of genetically enhanced humans, known as coordinators. Both aim to wipe the other out. Amidst this great war, people from both sides and neutral nations come together, in an attempt to put an end to the war, and bring peace.

(A shame that they couldn't incorporate Gundam Seed Astray directly inside either series.)

Those of you who watched the anime, would know that Athrun took on a new identity, as Cagalli's bodyguard, leaving his old life behind, as a soldier, and as the son of the late representative. After which, a series of events led Athrun to return to his old identity, and back into the army as well, forcing him to make a choice on which side to be on.

I would describe Athrun as a soft-spoken, polite gentleman most of the time. But he is also a very brave and capable fighter when he needs to be. Despite that, he is indecisive on many occasions, sometimes being uncertain of what he should be fighting for. Throughout this whole war, Athrun is forced to fight against former allies countless of times, and not wanting to repeat his past mistakes, he is sometimes hesitant to fight.

In a way, he is a reluctant hero, but no one else is more suited for this job than he is.

Therefore, it's not surprising that throughout the whole series, he has the attention of several girls. It might not have been that noticeable to himself though, since he is mostly concerned about putting an end to the war.

Cagalli Yula Athha


Cagalli and Athrun's relation goes way back. By the end of the first series, they were already lovers. At the start of the 2nd series, Cagalli became the representative of Orb, and Athrun becomes her bodyguard, but their relation was much deeper than that.

Before Athrun leaves Cagalli and Orb, he gives her a ring as his promise. But soon after that, things became chaotic, with Athrun rejoining the Zaft army, Cagalli's forced marriage, Orb becoming an enemy of the Plant, and the whole war starting again.

Much later, when Cagalli met Athrun again after his defection, she understood that Meyrin was the one who could care for him. She deemed herself no longer worthy of his ring.

Though it wasn't definitive, it is strongly hinted that Cagalli and Athrun never got back together, and Athrun ended up with Meyrin. (There was no evidence suggesting that Athrun returned Meyrin's feelings though.)

In the first series, Cagalli also seemed to like Kira a lot, but both started to distance from each other when whey found out they were siblings. (Though said to be twins, there was no evidence to suggest that Kira and Cagalli were even blood-related, since Kira is a coordinator and Cagalli is a natural.)


Lunamaria Hawke


A capable pilot in the army. Though she didn't show it openly, she admired Athrun a great deal. When Lunamaria appeared to be jealous over Athrun's actions with Meer, it became clear that she had a crush on him.

Throughout the way, the relation between Lunamaria and Athrun was not an exciting one. He did not show much concern for her beyond that for a fellow pilot. Eventually, after a series of events which include the presumed death of Athrun and her sister, Meyrin, Lunamaria found herself in Shinn's arms.

Eventually, when Lunamaria realized that both Athrun and her sister are both alive, and are both on the enemy's side, she started to hate Athrun, and blamed him for taking Meyrin away.

The truth is, I believe that if Athrun had actually shown Lunamaria a bit more concern, she might have actually fallen in love with him instead. It is shown that Athrun did notice, and did care for her, but yet not as much as he should have.


Meyrin Hawke


Lunamaria's younger sister. She had a deep crush on Athrun right from the start. When Athrun decided to defect from Zaft, she was willing to sacrifice everything for his sake. When Athrun was rescued from the brink of death, she never once left his side. It was obvious that she was in love with him the whole time.

Cagalli knew that Meyrin was able to give Athrun what she herself couldn't, so she asked Meyrin to take care of Athrun. Apparently, she gave up being with him.

It is strongly hinted that Athrun ended up with Meyrin, but no evidence to show that he returned her feelings.


Meer Campbell

Meer Campbell is to play the role of the real Lacus Clyne during her absence. In a way, she became the Plant's new icon. Meer also started out as another one of Athrun's admirers. Apparently, he was more famous than he thought. Although she's not the true Lacus, her fondness of Athrun was not pretended, and her antics seemed to trouble Athrun somewhat. In an ironic way, Athrun saw her as who she is, not as a replacement for Lacus.

When Athrun decided to defect, he knew very well that both himself and Meer were approaching the end of their usefulness. He offered Meer the chance to go with him, but she refused.

Later, Meer was led to arrange a secret meeting between her and Lacus. At the meeting place, Athrun pointed a gun at Meer. (Not a very cool act.) He knew very well that it was a trap meant to lure Lacus out. In the shootout that followed, Meer actually took a bullet for Lacus, which resulted in her death. Both Athrun and Lacus mourned for her. Her life, in a way, was a tragic one, having to live in someone's shadow, not her own. The man she loved did not return her feelings.


Lacus Clyne

In the first series, Lacus was Athrun's fiancee. Their marriage was arranged due to political reasons, though. While they were pretty close to each other, their relation does not appear to be romantic. All of Lacus' Haro bots were made by Athrun.

From the end of the first series to the end of the 2nd, Lacus and Kira were in love the whole time.

(Her official name appears to be Lacus, but it reads to me as "Lux". Oh well.)


So there you have it. 5 girls, all whose fates were intertwined with Athrun Zala, each one of them could have ended up with him. But of course, the anime was much focused on this war itself, and not much was even spent to describe the aftermath. The anime itself gave no hints on who Athrun ended up with, and even in the specials that were outside of the TV series itself, it has been hinted that Athrun returned to Orb as a commander, whereas the Hawke sisters returned to the Plant. It would have been an interesting outcome to see who Athrun ended up with.

I personally think it would be great if they made a game based on Athrun Zala, much like in the Sakura Wars style. The main character makes a series of choices throughout his journey, and ultimately deciding which girl he ends up with.

There should be options that decide his overall moral values and moral standing. As well as choices for him to be closer to Cagalli, Lunamaria, Meer, Meyrin, or Lacus. Also possible scenario changes, such as having Athrun defect with Lunamaria instead, or giving him the chance to save Meer from death, or even allowing him the chance to snatch back his old fiancee from his best buddy. *pure evilness*

So, anyway guys, I would have truly loved to see a game like that. What do you guys think?



Me? Personally I am partial towards Lunamaria, and I hope to see what a relation between Athrun and Lunamaria working out. Who would you guys prefer?

Chapter 177 version 2 released.

For those still interested, v2 is released. It is HQ (close enough anyway).

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AE54LNI0

I am quitting. This time it's decided.

Chapter 175 and 176 were released by other groups before I could even begin, so I had to give up on them completely. The truth is, I didn't like the idea of giving up there, and I wanted another chance to prove that I could do it. I finally got this chance, and I made full use of it, so I have no regrets.

I've been thinking for a very long time about this. Speed is the only thing I can offer. Other groups, they have everything else. They have accuracy, and aesthetics. And they even have their own scanning.

Translations used to be an enjoyable process. It's not any more. When there's competition with others, and criteria to fill, it actually adds pressure. The last few chapter translations which I did, I didn't even enjoy them any more. The truth is, we don't need two groups doing this.

For those who believed in me, I thank you. But you must know by now that you are the rare few who do. No one was counting on me to release chapter 177 and 176. I had to search for the raws of 177 myself to fight for this chance.

This is the last chapter for me.

Kampfer

01: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TLVTNIS9
02: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LCYLMH21
03: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XOMLI3QP
04: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7BTFYESY
05: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=83K9Z5L2
06: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ECB3T513
07: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I9JB71MI
08: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OF4UR3N5
09: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R9UIUQYP
10: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QB50INKK
11: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8V2NQ34L
12: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8IEJBQOZ
OP: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OOOZ0LCA
OP2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JEN7R362
ED: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T8GXBOSZ

Extras:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DN745CWH

Natsuru was a normal average student. But one day he finds himself turned into a girl. Not only that, he is a Kampfer, and he must fight other people who are also Kampfers.

Another anime series based on a light novel. Ironically, one of the rare completed series as well. Very few light novels were completed before they were adapted into anime series.

Personally, I can't say I like this one very much. The story is quite shallow, action is very limited, and there wasn't much humor either. I'm not sure why this series is so popular. It's interesting to watch as one of those gender-bender themes, but that's about it.

In addition, this isn't that much of an ecchi anime either. Even though this is the Blu-ray version, they didn't actually remove censors such as mist etc. The only uncensored part was found in the extras.

On a side note. I am a fan of Shining Wind. When I heard Akane's voice in this anime, I was certain that it was the same voice actress as Shiina from Shining Wind. Turns out, I was wrong, and ironically, the voice actress for Akane was actually the same person doing Kureha from Shining Wind. And even more ironic, the voice actress for Shiina is actually in this anime - she's doing the voice of the Lynx.

I am considering whether to continue or not.

Another group is doing Skip Beat, and they release a HQ version in 3 days, which is relatively fast compared to the previous groups.

I tried to improve the quality of my scans, by learning how to use Gimp. I also tried to improve on the translations. However, I'm not so sure that is enough. My end result seems to still fall short, compared to the other group, despite taking a whole week.

Anyway. I need help from someone who understands Japanese to help pick out mistakes in my translations. Previously, I had Katherine to help me, but she's stopped coming here. This would help me out greatly in the accuracy of my translations.

I'm going to try a few more times. But if I can't get a good quality scan within a timely fashion, I probably will have to quit.

Anyway, guys, I still need more feedback for Version 2 of 174. Please give your reviews.

There has been some debate on whether Shouko slept with Shou.

There has been some debate on whether Shouko slept with Shou. 0_o Previously on FH, they were talking about this.

Personally, I don't think so. Shou lived quite a long with Kyouko, without so much as a kiss.

Shouko on the other hand, also seems mature enough not to do something stupid. For her, boundaries between business and personal are probably blurred, but I still doubt that she would do something that could compromise her work.

Someone was also saying, guys around Shou's age, always want it all the time. :P Assuming even if so, I still doubt that Shouko would just say yes.

You can tell that their relation is quite close, him asking her to bathe with him and all. (I had no idea they were even living together until this chapter.) But I still don't think something like that could happen. What do you guys think?

(Post in 173 section.)

I won't be working on a version 2 for Chapter 173.

The main reason is because mangastream has already released something better.

http://read.mangashare.com/Skip-Beat/chapter-173/page001.html
(I can't view anything on their homepage.)

To be honest, I think their translator is more accurate than I am.

However, there are still some parts I don't agree with them.
-Page 1, they translated it as "land of mysteries". The original text is fushigi no kuni, which I believe means Wonderland, as you can tell from the background. Also, I'm pretty sure the description is "dancing", not "out of control".
I was also considering to add in some of the text on the cards before. The words on the cards include: Loathe, hate, evil, happiness, peace, excellence, grudge, safety. There probably won't be enough space to add them, though.
-Page 20, it is debatable which interpretation of what Ren said is more accurate.
-Page 23, I'm not so convinced that this part is more accurate than mine.
-Page 24. The more accurate term should be "Playboy". This also makes it consistent with what she calls him in Chapter 150.
-Page 24. I'm pretty sure the "ayashi" here implies seductive/bewitching, not shady/suspicious. I think the original text is saying something like the gentleman is actually the emperor of the night in disguise.
-page 25, the last part, might not be a self-asking question, since she talks to Bo in the next page.

Apart from these mentioned, the rest of their translations are likely to be more accurate than mine.

When I was translating, I went over each page very quickly, to release it as fast as possible. Hence there were several mistakes. However, for page 20, and 23, I went over these pages many times over, asking for many opinions, and altering them several times. I am pretty confident that I got these 2 pages correct.

So, anyway, there's little point in trying to improve my work now.
(Post comments in 173 section.)