Translucent (manga)

(No first name given):The student body president of Shizuka and Mamoru's school, and a friend of Shizuka's. Ms. Okouchi dislikes the constant attention her family and peers give her, and is jealous of Shizuka's condition. She attempts to get Translucent Syndrome from Shizuka, but cannot due to Translucent Syndrome being non-contagious. Later, she attempts to further Mamoru and Shizuka's relationship, growing increasingly frustrated (up to and including drop kicking, which she starts to do as a running gag) with Mamoru's obliviousness. She also seems to have a slight crush on Mamoru herself.

Dr. Momoko Takazawa:The world's foremost expert in Translucent Syndrome, and Shizuka's doctor. Dr. Takazawa is a young woman who takes an interest in furthering Shizuka and Mamoru's relationship. She enjoys teasing Shizuka with more than slight sexual innuendo, for example asking her if Shizuka and Mamoru have had sex, and insinuating that Shizuka is perfectly healthy, except for her breast size. However, her intentions appear to be noble, as she recognizes that Mamoru is having a healthy effect on Shizuka's Translucent Syndrome, primarily her emotional state.

Translucent Syndrome

A major plot point of the story is the strange "Translucent Syndrome" that several characters are afflicted with to varying degrees. The syndrome is intentionally left vague, both because the people in the story do not know much about it, in addition as a tool to avoid breaking the suspension of disbelief. For example, no mention is made of how translucent or "fully transparent" characters can see -- because they have retina that allow light through, logic would dictate that they would also be blind or at the very least have severe vision problems. This may be an example of a "pregnant Ranma problem" -- an anime fan-term for a plot hole or situation that you are not supposed to consider.

The syndrome seems to "evolve" as the series continues, possibly due to the first chapter possibly originally designed to be a "one shot" short story, and not initially intended to be part of a series. In the first few chapters, the syndrome seems to be closer to invisibility than translucency, although a faint screentone effect shows where Shizuka is in these chapters. In addition, it seems to affect "patches" of the victim's body, like the spots on a calico cat, and the initial stages of the syndrome are considered more severe -- Shizuka is intensely worried that she will never reappear during the first few chapters, whereas later she can predict when her translucency will occur, as it appears to be on a semi-monthly cycle. [Translucent Vol. 1, US Translation by Dark Horse Comics, Page 70]

In later chapters, the syndrome causes people to turn partially transparent, spreading quickly until it covers the entire body, instead of simply causing random patches to become outright invisible. In addition the syndrome appears to be tied to the emotional state of the victim -- "positive" emotions such as confidence, happiness, and the like cause it to recede, "negative" emotions such as depression and fear cause it to progress. [Translucent Vol. 1, US Translation by Dark Horse Comics, Page 123] These stages of "translucency" usually only last 3 days [Translucent Vol. 1, US Translation by Dark Horse Comics, Page 96] .

A further complication is given early on in the series -- if the symptoms of Translucent Syndrome do not recede after 2 weeks, they never do [Translucent Vol. 1, US Translation by Dark Horse Comics, Page 102] -- leaving the afflicted person permanently translucent. Given Shizuka's teenage angst and insecurity, she is in severe danger of being affected in this way.

Translucent Syndrome has a more severe form, called "Fully Transparent Syndrome." In this differing version of the syndrome, there are no varying levels or cyclic reoccurrences of the syndrome. Instead, the afflicted person is made completely and permanently invisible, and never recovers. [Translucent Vol. 1, US Translation by Dark Horse Comics, Page 68] [Translucent Vol. 4, Original Japanese Edition, Page 100] Keiko Haruna is affected with this version of the syndrome before she is introduced. In order to facilitate a more normal life, she wears a bandanna, glasses, and short gloves to reveal where her body is at any given time. However, during periods of extreme positive emotions, a faint outline of the person can be seen. In Keiko's case, whenever she is extremely happy or embarrassed, she becomes very faintly visible.

Translucent syndrome summary

* No Cure, no Cause known. (Vol. 1, Ch. 1-2)
* Translucent Syndrome is affected by emotions (Vol. 1, Ch. 4) -- recedes when happy, accelerated when unhappy.
** Fully Transparent Syndrome is affected in the same way, to a lesser extent. (Vol. 2, Ch. 9)
* Usually lasts 3-5 days (Vol. 1, Ch. 4), and is cyclic, on a semi-monthly schedule (Vol 1. Ch. 3)
* Symptoms are permanent if they last for more than 2 weeks. (Vol. 1, Ch. 4)
* Affects different people at different rates (Vol. 1, Ch. 3)
* People affected by Translucent Syndrome can progress to "Fully Transparent Syndrome". (Vol. 1, Ch. 3; Vol. 4, Ch. 22) Like Translucent Syndrome, no cause or cure is known for Fully Transparent Syndrome.
** People who transition to "Fully Transparent Syndrome" seldom return to normal. (Vol. 4, Ch. 22-24, Vol. 5, Ch. 28)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-996 Dark Horse website on "Translucent" Volume 1]
* [http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-297 Dark Horse website on "Translucent" Volume 2]
* [http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-298 Dark Horse website on "Translucent" Volume 3]
* [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=8759 "Translucent" at Anime News Network]