Suzaku

First of all, I'll say that the biggest difference between Guilty Gear and BlazBlue is Toshimichi Mori and Daisuke Ishiwatari. Daisuke Ishiwatari may be far more creative, and a better artist, but Mori's setting for BlazBlue is developed much more clearly. I feel like Ishiwatari has a basic outline he's working with, but heaped a bunch of cool characters onto it that don't necessarily fit into the grand scheme. The setting is fluid, the plot changing as he adds and subtracts ideas here and there. Whereas with BlazBlue, Mori has been deliberate. Each character has a part to play, and was created to fill a role, both for players and for the story. He's got everything outlined, mapped out probably, and knows where things will go. Much less fluid. I'll also say that Guilty Gear is much darker, and more violent, and more realistic. Guilty Gear is post-apocalytpic in a way that BlazBlue just isn't. And honestly, I'd sooner compare Guilty Gear to Blade Runner and BlazBlue to the Jetsons than I'd compare them to FFT and FFVII. That's not to say BlazBlue isn't a little dark. It's got some minor Lovecraftian elements with Arakune, and a clean, polished, Orwellian sort of oppression with the NOL. Ghosts and monsters and Carl's mutilated sister and whatnot. Even so, it's still bright, and clean, and sometimes even cute. Moreso than Guilty Gear has ever been. Guilty Gear's brand of fantasy just veers closer to dark fantasy, where BlazBlue's veers towards high fantasy. I think that really sums it up.

Arakune = Lotte Carmine = Roy. There's absolutely no doubt about it. The English localization of CS simply uses "Lotte" or "Carmine" whenever the Japanese dialogue calls him Roy. Specifically, in the flashbacks, Kokonoe calls him Roy in private conversation and then uses his full name, Lotte Carmine, when ordering him to be confined to his room. In the English version, she instead calls him Carmine in the private conversation. Roy makes a bit more sense as his nickname in Japanese, since Lotte is rendered as Rotto in katakana.

Talks about how the PSV can accurately display the "overwhelming 2D graphics", standard PR stuff about how it'll be "new and exciting" even for people who follow the series. New "Stylish Type" touch screen controls, and you can also assign macros to the rear touch pad, like for taunts or simultaneous button inputs (like square + triangle). It'll also have wireless netplay features. More news will be released in the future.

Another note. Hihiirokane is Tomonori's sword (called a time-halting sword or time-cutting sword, I can't remember the term off-hand), but the word "Hihiirokane" is actually a mythological Japanese metal, similar in concept to Mythril. In that old BlazBlue X Curegos cosplay thing, it was stated that the metal plate on Hakumen's chest is made out of that type of metal. I believe the official translation for 半獣人 is "half-beastkin", at least, I think they started using "beastkin" in BBCS. Thanks for the summary!

The theory I've been seeing lately on jbbs is that Terumi put her under a restricting compulsion spell and turned her into a puppet as payback for her doing the same to him during the Dark War. Who knows?

鋼 (Hagane) の (no) 錬金術師 (Renkinjutsushi). Hagane means "steel", no is a possesive marker ("X no Y" means "X's Y" or "Y of X"), and Renkinjutsushi means "alchemist". However, no can also sometimes be used as a modifier to turn a noun into an adjectival noun (a noun that is used like an adjective, aka noun adjunct). The meaning is basically the same as when it's used as a possessive, but there's a very slight linguistic difference, like "Alchemist of Steel" versus "Steel Alchemist". Mustang is basically taking the "Hagane no" from "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi" and turning it into "Haganeno." Which is like taking the "of Stink" from "Alchemist of Stink" and turning it into "Stinky", but in this case isn't insulting, since "Fullmetal" is actually a cool nickname. Oh, and just a note, as far as we know Platinum the Trinity isn't "Trinity" nor is she the Platinum Alchemist. Platinum's a trinity of three personalities (or spirits), which includes Trinity Glasfille, the Platinum Alchemist. The exact makeup / origins of Platinum the Trinity are still a mystery.

Some people have posted shots of the cover or the book sitting on the carpet or whatever, but no interior shots that I've seen.

Bit more info. Trinity's full name was Trinity Glasfille (トリニティ＝グラスフィール, Toriniti Gurasufiiru), and she was known as the Platinum Alchemist (白金の錬金術師, Hakkin no Renkinjutsushi), hence "Platinum the Trinity". Note: Gurasufiiru could be just about anything, from Glassfill to Grassfeel to Grasfiel... So, without much to go on, I found that Glas (actually pronounced "gla") was French for "(funeral) bell" and fille is French for "girl" so I went with that because it suits her just about perfectly. Still probably not what the official translation is supposed to be, though.

Actually, seems he was a quiet, wimpy bookworm that kept to himself, and apparantly made other people uncomfortable. :/ Edit: Found a review, but it's not very in-depth. Still gives an idea of how the book progresses. To summarize it... The book's purpose is to reveal the origins of Hazama. It begins at the Magic Guild not long before the events of Phase 0, with Caelica, Trinity, and Nine as students. An amnesiac student, Kazuma Kval, is the protagonist, and things start getting strange when he meets a mysterious man named Yuuki Terumi. The outcome of the book is basically known from the start, but it was unexpected to see the book actually take place before Phase 0. It's apparantly pretty exciting, and it seems that part of what's really cool in the book is that Kazuma gradually becomes more and more manic after meeting Terumi, until he completely transitions into being Hazama / Terumi. Trinity also apparantly plays a major role in the book, and even appears in a color illustration, so it's possible that she might be considerd the actual heroine of the book.

More stuff. Dialogue from the book: "Light will shine down from heaven as the city burns, and a goddess of imagination and destruction will arise." There's also been some speculation regarding how Terumi may have progressed from body to body, such as "original body -> Susano'o Unit -> temporary body -> Kazuma", or that he might have just originally been the Susano'o Unit, or that he maybe didn't have an original body at all and is only a spiritual entity. At any rate, when the story starts, he's already lost/discarded whatever his original body was. That's it for now. Edit: More info. This seems to clarify the situation a bit. Kazuma Kval (カズマ＝クヴァル, Kazuma Kuvaru) Kazuma was a student at the Magic Guild who had lost his memory seven years earlier, while traveling the world under the tutelage of Relius Clover. He was quiet and frail, disliked physical activity, and preferred to stay indoors, reading. Kazuma occasionally experienced auditory hallucinations or had visions of someone appearing in his dreams, and feared what truths may have hidden in his past, so he wasn't eager to regain his memories. In truth, Kazuma was actually created by Relius to act as a vessel for Yuuki Terumi, and is now the body known as "Hazama". In the year 2100, after Terumi's spirit form was damaged by the Black Beast, Kazuma was sent to the Magic Guild to keep his memories safe while Terumi recovered. "Kazuma" was not Terumi, nor was he a completely different character, and upon merging with Terumi loudly declared, "I've taken it back." Tomonori (トモノリ) Tomonori was a white-haired cat beastkin and Mitsuyoshi's younger brother. He was a proud and reticent man of "faith" who believed he could do anything he set his mind to, no matter how dangerous. Banding together with Clavis Alucard in an effort to kill Kazuma and Terumi, he wielded the time-carving blade "Hihiirokane" and rushed into the jaws of death. Note: I've got no idea how Kuvaru is supposed to be romanized. Kvar, Kval, Kvale, Kuvar, Cuvalle... No idea.

Well, BlazBlue: Phase Shift 1 is now out in Japan. A couple people have read it and posted details on Japanese boards, but it's still a bit difficult for me to figure out exactly what's going on in it, so bear with me. It's set before Phase 0, and apparantly ends in the place where Caelica finds Ragna. The main character is Kazuma, a young student of the Magic guild that looks like Hazama. Caelica apparantly dislikes him and feels uncomfortable being around him. It seems that he's actually not human, and was created by Relius to act as a new body for Terumi (who it seems loses his previous body whenever the Black Beast appears and vanishes). Terumi doesn't take over the body, rather he needs to form a mutual pact with Kazuma and fuse with him. To try and stop that, Mitsuyoshi's younger brother, Tomonori, goes after Kazuma to kill him. He arrives too late and Terumi has already obtained the body. Terumi uses Ouroboros (probably not made by Nine) to kill Tomonori, but then gets defeated by Mitsuyoshi, Valkenhayn, and is sealed away by Clavis until the Dark War, when Nine disregards the potential danger and unseals him. She uses a restricting compulsion spell on him called "Ruby: Mind Eater" that basically makes him a puppet that has to follow her orders and help them defeat the Black Beast. At least, that's what I can gather from some early impressions. Take it with a grain of salt for the time being, things should become more clear within a few days.

It's most likely the name of a sword fighting style developed by the NOL or the Kisaragi family. The Kokuu (Void Space) in Kokuujin (Void Space Form) is the same as the Kokuu used in the NOL's Japanese name, Sekai Kokuu Jouhou Tousei Kikou (New World Void Space Cue Administration Bureau). Also, due to the paradoxical nature of BlazBlue, I'm going to go ahead and guess that it was based on observations of Hakumen's fighting style during the Dark War. Maybe by the Kisaragi that was a member of the original Duodecim.

Some minor corrections + commands. Drive Wehrwolf - Switches between human and wolf form. The Wolf Guage drains while in wolf form and refills while in human form. Wolf form cannot be used if the Wolf Guage is empty. Special Attacks Nacht Jäger (Night Hunter) - 236 + A Nacht Rosen (Night Roses) - 236 + C Schwarz Jagd (Black Hunt) - 236 + B -> Weiß Jagd (White Hunt) - 236 + B after Schawrz Jagd Mondlicht (Moonlight) - 236 + B in air Rasen Wolf (Rushing Wolf) - C while wolf form is activated Geschwind Wolf (Quick Wolf) - D during a human form attack König Wolf (King Wolf) - 236 + A or B or C while wolf form is activated Himmel Wolf (Sky Wolf) - 214 + A or B or C while wolf form is activated Eisen Wolf (Iron Wolf) - 236 + D while wolf form is activated Distortion Drives Sturm Wolf (Storm Wolf) - 632146 + C König Flug (King Flight) - 236236 + C in air Astral Heat Name Unknown - 214214214 + C (temporary) Note: It's German, so the letters are all pronounced as such. Wehrwolf = Vehrvolf, Nacht Jäger = Nacht Yaeger, Weiß Jagd = Veiss Yagd, König Wolf = Koenish Volf, and so on.

Probably too much for a PSP sequel, but I'd really like to see something like this: FFI - Warrior of Light, Garland, Red Mage, Chronodia FFII - Frioniel, The Emperor, Leonheart, Deumion FFIII - Onion Knight, Cloud of Darkness, Doga, Xande FFIV - Cecil Harvey, Golbeza, Cain Highwind, Zemus FFV - Butz Klauser, Exdeath, Faris Scherwiz, Gilgamesh FFVI - Tina Branford, Cefca Palazzo, Lock Cole, Leo Cristophe FFVII - Cloud Strife, Sephiroth, Zack Fair, Genesis FFVIII - Squall Leonheart, Ultimecia, Laguna Loire, Seifer Almasy FFIX - Zidane Tribal, Kuja, Adelbert Steiner, Beatrix FFX - Tidus, Jecht, Yuna, Seymour Guado FFXI - Shantotto, Selh'teus, Kam'lanaut, Eald'narche FFXII - Judge Gabranth, Balthier, Ashelia Dalmasca, Vayne Solidor FFXIII - Lightning, Noctis Lucis Caelum Chronodia and Deumion are superbosses from the 20th Anniversary editions of FFI and FFII, since the games don't really have many other interesting villains... Chronodia would fit really well as a Dissidia villain, though. Xande is the obvious choice for FFIII, but I'm not sure what his EX Mode could be. Not sure about Doga, but there aren't many options for FFIII. Cain and Zemus are obvious choices for FFIV, though the Creator from The After Years would also be a really interesting boss. Gilgamesh and Faris seem pretty obvious for FFV. Celes might be a better option overall for FFVI, but people always want to play as Leo. Zack and Genesis for FFVII, but really only because Vincent and Hojo doesn't work as well, what with Hojo not being much of a fighter and all. Aerith and Jenova could possibly work, though Jenova is devoid of personality. Laguna would be interesting plot-wise, but Rinoa might be a better option. Steiner because Vivi would be too much like Shantotto, and Beatrix because she's better than the other options and more female characters is a good thing. Yuna and Seymour seem like obvious choices. Some cool Final Fantasy XI characters. They each have good options for EX Modes, too. Balthier is awesome, Basche is another options though. Ashe because another female would be good. Lightning and Noctis, again seems pretty obvious to me, though Noct may be out of the question. If so, a villain from FFXIII. Bonus round: Ramza and Delita for Final Fantasy Tactics.

According to the Material Collection terminology guide, both the Azure Grimoire and the Black Beast are described as high-density masses of concentrated seithr, and it says that the Azure Grimoire is currently imitating Ragna's right arm, and of course we know that Ragna found the Azure Grimoire in the basement of the church that was built over the remains of the Black Beast, so we know what it is. Anyway, I'll let you finish the book first. When it gets into the stuff about Nu, the Black Beast, and Ragna's sacrifice, it should hopefully become more clear.

Thanks a ton, zephyr. You're a godsend. It sounds like his arm is indeed just a husk of super-high-density seithr that can't function without the Azure Grimoire. Or something.

I've updated the terminology guide with the definitions for Black Beast and Beast Genes, plus translations for all of the terms in the book using the official localizations where applicable, so it's at least good for that much until I translate the rest. http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?7278-BlazBlue-Setting-Material-Collection-Information&p=656659&viewfull=1#post656659

September 15th is also Keirou no Hi, Respect-for-the-Aged Day.

Valkenhayn R. Hellsing Height: 191 cm Weight: 78 kg Birthday: September 15 Blood Type: A Birthplace: Unknown Hobbies: Bonsai Likes: Pocket watches Dislikes: Things with no character CV: Motomu Kiyokawa Drive: Wehrwolf Personality: He is calm and orderly, and never speaks more than is neccesary. However, to those who would attempt to harm Rachel, he gives no quarter. Backstory: An elderly butler who has served the Alucard Family for generations. Not only an excellent butler, he is knowledgeable in a wide range of fields. Becoming aware of the incident in Kagutsuchi, he follows Rachel after she sneaks out of the castle. Notes: His drive utilizes the German pronunciation for werewolf. His height and weight were also increased from what was given in the Material Collection, where they were 181 cm and 68 kg.

Minor correction: The Gates of Sheol are the doorways to the Boundary. The Cauldrons are huge rooms built around the Gates of Sheol so they can access the Azure and use it to temper weapons, using Nine's "many souls" tempering method. The Azure Grimoires are indeed like portable cauldrons, though they are able to steal the souls and bioenergy from living things. Hazama used his Azure Grimoire to kill and absorb the souls of countless humans, which he used to temper Noel into Mu-12.

It's a non-canon skit in which they discuss canon plot elements. And that information came from "Teach Me, Miss Litchi!" "Help Me, Professor Kokonoe!" is there to give players help with reaching the true ending.

The books and profiles got to a pretty great effort to say Jin and Ragna are REALLY brothers and that Saya is their REAL little sister. They're probably also not just random orphans, considering that they are raised by Nine's sister and watched over by Jubei, in a church that conceals the remains of the Black Beast.

Yeah, it should have been "Kokonoe's teachings" instead of "teaching Kokonoe", and defied works better. I'm still a bit thrown by the previous line, the personal mentor / teacher bit, it makes more sense if they're peers and teach each other. I don't know, it's just kinda strange. I can't recall how old Kokonoe is, exactly (if it's mentioned anywhere), but I want to say she's at least been alive since near the end of the Dark War, considering her parentage. Depends on when Nine would've been killed, I guess.

アラクネはココノエを直の師... / Arakune wa Kokonoe o jika no shi... Pretty sure that's "Arakune personally mentors Kokonoe". 直の師 is weird phrasing (only ten google results), though. Maybe I'm misenterpreting it? Hrm.