What's Canon for you?

[Alunissage]

The Saturn and PC games are identical to the PS one other than there being a few extra bromides in the PS game. I don't remember if they're in the PC ports or not.

Childhood's End was written by Shigema, illustrated by Funato. I'm not sure that it fits in very well with the remakes, though. I mean, the Mazoku/Vile Tribe have long lifespans, but 1000 years? Seems to be pushing it a bit.

Re the spoiler above:
[spoiler]Kizyr or Shiva Indis could perhaps check on this... the way I read that statement is that the fiends were already IN the Frontier and Ignatius made them into a vile tribe, working together instead of independently. It seems more an artifiact of how Mazoku was translated in TSS (and propagated since). So I'd like to know what the Japanese version said. Because otherwise that's yet another way that DS hacks up existing background -- the Mazoku (Vile Tribe) are a different species, magic made flesh, who have abnormally long lives and can cast magic immediately (without chanting spells, as humans need to). The idea of the Vile Tribe being the first to study 'black magic' sorta fits, but not really.[/spoiler]

[GhaleonOne]

I was wondering the same thing, in fact, as to what they Japanese text reads like, and whether that's a bad translation or what.

[Kizyr]

Childhood's End was written by Shigema, illustrated by Funato.

Childhood's End was written and illustrated by Akari Funato. Kei Shigema is credited with the 'original story' (same credit given to him for the EB novels, though he's not the one who wrote those, just the original storyboards).

[spoiler]> Kizyr or Shiva Indis could perhaps check on this... the way I read that statement is that the fiends were already IN the Frontier and Ignatius made them into a vile tribe, working together instead of independently. It seems more an artifiact of how Mazoku was translated in TSS (and propagated since). So I'd like to know what the Japanese version said.

Mazoku, always. There hasn't been another term for them (unlike Dragonmaster). I think the English translation still conveys what Ignatius did with those who were in the Frontier... organized latent black magic users, or just those who were rebellious, into a functioning tribe, so they could dominate.

> Because otherwise that's yet another way that DS hacks up existing background -- the Mazoku (Vile Tribe) are a different species, magic made flesh, who have abnormally long lives and can cast magic immediately (without chanting spells, as humans need to). The idea of the Vile Tribe being the first to study 'black magic' sorta fits, but not really.

It makes plenty of sense, if you ask me. It seems only natural that before magic is commonplace, those who have the natural ability to perform magic would be the first to perfect the art.[/spoiler] KF

[Alunissage]

From Rebecca's translation of a short interview with Funato in the SSS artbook:

Q: How are the story, the designs, etc. for the manga decided upon?

AF: For "Younenki no Owari", I had said that I wanted to draw Xenobia, so
I consulted with Shigema-san, and the matter was settled. The basic story
was Shigema-san's, but I ended up being able to draw it whatever way I
liked.

Not particularly trying to argue, just saying that that credit of Shigema's isn't just because he created Lunar 2.

It just now occurs to me how sad it is that when Funato wanted to draw Xenobia she got stuck with this rather strained plot instead of, say, Xenobia's first meeting with Ghaleon or some such. You know, when Xenobia was still alive.

[Kizyr]

I see. There aren't any dialogue credits, however. So it sounds like Shigema wrote the storyboard outlines for it ("original story") while Funato wrote the dialogue and did the artwork. Childhood's End isn't directly off of the events of Lunar 2 (like the novels), so "original work" likely refers to the storyboard/outline process. KF