Dazzle (manga)

Dazzle
Cover of Dazzle volume 1 as published by Tokyopop featuring Rahzel Anadis and Alzeid.
破天荒遊戯 (Hatenkō Yūgi)
Genre	Action, Fantasy
Manga
Written by	Minari Endoh
Published by	Square Enix (former) Ichijinsha (current)
English publisher	Tokyopop
Demographic	Shōjo, Shōnen
Magazine	Monthly GFantasy (former) Monthly Comic Zero Sum (current)
Original run	November 18, 1999 – ongoing
Volumes	12
TV anime
Hatenkō Yūgi
Directed by	Nobuhiro Takamoto
Written by	Yasuhiro Imagawa
Studio	Studio Deen
Network	Kyoto Broadcasting System, Chiba TV, SUN-TV, NBN, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama
Original run	January 5, 2008 – March 7, 2008
Episodes	10
Anime and Manga Portal

Dazzle (破天荒遊戯, Hatenkō Yūgi^?, lit. Unprecedented Game) is a Japanese manga by Minari Endoh. There have been eleven volumes published in Japan as of December 25, 2007. The series was being published in English in North America by Tokyopop, however, when Tokyopop closed, 10 out of the current 12 volumes were published in English. The license has not been picked up by any other company. An anime adaptation under the original title Hatenkō Yūgi aired in Japan between January 5 and March 7, 2008 on the Kyoto Broadcasting System and contains ten episodes.

Plot

A young girl named Rahzel is abruptly sent off to see the world by her eccentric, doting father. She is alone on her travels until she meets Alzeid, an attractive, mysterious loner on a mission to avenge his father's murder. After aiding Alzeid in retrieving his stolen gun from a thief, Rahzel decides to follow Alzeid promising that she would make his "lousy and boring" life "more interesting and fun!" Alzeid grudgingly acknowledges that Rahzel will be traveling with him from now on. Soon after, a womanizing acquaintance of Alzeid's named Baroqueheat joins in their adventure.

Characters

Rahzel Anadis (ラゼル·アナディス, Razeru Anadisu^?)

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi

Rahzel, born as Rahzenshia Rose (ラゼンシア·ローズ, Razenshia Rōzu^?), is a fourteen-year-old girl who was ejected from her house by her foster father to go out and see the world where she meets Alzeid, who is one of the three or four people she has ever known who can use magic other than herself. Rahzel cares a lot about fashion whereas Alzeid does not care at all. She is loud, outgoing, and very straightforward with a horrible sense of direction, but she is clever, sensible, and wise. She likes her father, tea, sweets, and chiffon, among other things; she dislikes boring things and smokers.

Dazzle main characters: Alzeid (left), Rahzel (center), and Baroqueheat (right).

It is later revealed that Rahzel's mother had the ability to see the future but, mad with her powers, tried to kill her nine year old daughter during her birthday. In the process, Rahzel murdered her own mother and was abandoned by her real father. He drew a circle around her and left her in the middle of the woods, telling her to wait until he returned (he eventually does, but Rahzel is already gone). Rahzel had always believed that her foster father had found her in the forest at that time, but a flashback reveals that it was actually Kiara. While talking with Rahzel, Kiara established that she would belong to him (when Kiara rescued a drugged Rahzel from a burning house, he handed her to Alzeid and told him that he was only 'borrowing' Rahzel). Presumably, during this time, Rahzel met Alzeid's older brother and promised to name him. Afterwards, Kiara delivers Rahzel to her foster father and tells him to watch over her until his return.

Apparently, Rahzel's magical abilities are very high because she can incant one spell but summon an entirely different spell at the same time, as she did while fighting in Acanea. Rahzel bears a startling resemblance to the woman who had killed Alzeid's father, having black hair and blue eyes. Rahzel holds a philosophy that by naming herself, she belongs to herself; in her memories, her foster father had suggested the philosophy and Rahzel had subsequently named herself. In reality, Kiara had been the one to both suggest the idea and name her, establishing her as his property.

Rahzel and Kiara only occasionally meet each other whenever Rahzel is separated from Baroqueheat and Alzeid. She always identifies him as an enemy, and he always confirms this, but Rahzel presents a strong reluctance to fight him.

After receiving wounds from Kiara that would have killed a normal human, her wounds close up at an insanely fast rate. This is when she and the ones around her realize that Rahzel is not a normal human. Rahzel then tests this theory by asking Baroqueheat and her father to see how far they could brutally hurt her until she nearly reached death. Even after getting beaten with so much force that she could have died many times over, she barely survived, and then her wounds healed, once again, at the same quick speed.

In the present story, Rahzel has been sent back to the past by the elder (but smaller) Alzeid, to where both Alzeids were still just children, and Second was still alive (and in the lab). However, Rahzel only suspects that she was sent to the past for a moment, and then brushes it off.

Alzeid (アルゼイド, Aruzeido^?)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai

Alzeid is a twenty-four-year-old (but the author, Minari Endoh, says he is nineteen in the chapter summaries because of him being with such a young girl) albino who joins Rahzel while on his journey to get revenge on his father's enemy, a woman who has black hair and blue eyes. He is cold and quiet but he has the greatest influence on Rahzel's actions. In his youth, his army friends used to cheat him at poker which ended up with him dressed as a girl and waiting tables. When escaping from Acanea, he was forced to dye his hair black and wear glasses as a disguise. He likes cocoa, peaches, sweets (he usually puts five teaspoons of sugar in cocoa and tea), and sleep; he dislikes mornings, baths, alarms, carrots, and green peppers. He also pouts when people are ignoring him. At the beginning of their journey together he treats Rahzel coldly as nuisance but gradually gets used to her. When Serateed decides to take Rahzel home Baroqueheat understands and agrees but Alzeid seeing that Rahzel is not opposing her father, angrily decides to go with her.

On their way to Acanea, Rahzel meets a young boy who resembles Alzeid. When she later asks him if he has a younger brother, Alzeid remarks that he has an older brother. His older brother also bears the name Alzeid (under Kiara's insistence) and is known in Acanea as the 'white-haired and red-eyed devil,' who had been committing mass murders alongside Kiara. Bounty hunters hired to eliminate him instead find Alzeid and immediately attack and poison him. When Rahzel encounter Kiara on a train, Alzeid is pitted against his brother, who hasn't aged since their childhood. Apparently, both boys were clones of Mr. Second - Alzeid was the second clone when his brother was proved to be a failure. Kiara reveals that Alzeid's brother had never been a failure and had in fact been hiding his magical ability, which was far greater than Alzeid's. The battle ends in Alzeid's defeat and his being thrown off a bridge, much to Rahzel's despair (and her foster father's delight). He does live, however, and is reunited with Heat and Rahzel.

In the present story, he has gone to Prometheus to learn more about what he is, and what the truth really is. He leaves Rahzel behind, afraid he cannot protect her again from Kiara's brutal schemes.

When Alzeid meets Rahzel when he is just a child (due to time travel on Rahzel's part), he has no idea what a woman is besides the text descriptions from his books. When she is knocked out cold, he tries to drag her by her hair to bring her to his room. Because he has never learned about kindness towards women and how to treat them, he is baffled about how he should react to her.

Baroqueheat (バロックヒート, Barokkuhiito^?)

Voiced by: Shinichirō Miki

Baroqueheat (twenty-eight-years-old) is an army friend of Alzeid and Soresta. He has a butterfly tattoo, made by his deceased lover, on his right hand that turns into a sword when he needs to fight. To stir up Alzeid, he kisses Rahzel, and constantly harasses her. It seems that these actions are only to irritate Alzeid, but as the manga progresses, his feelings seem to be more like deep love, than anything else. Later he joins the two in their travels. It is revealed later in the manga series that he is not human. He is much older than he looks. He is the youngest of four children (three boys, one girl). He likes women, cigarettes, alcohol, sea food, and showers, and dislikes men. Previously he loved Natsume, and believes that Second killed her and that's why he cannot reconcile his liking to Alzeid and hate to his creator - Mr.Second so he keeps calling Alzeid "Al-kiddo" or "Al-boy" but never "Alzeid". Often gives Alzeid soft scolding for harshly treating Rahzel. He tries to corner Alzeid and make him admit that he holds deep feelings for Rahzel. He was asked by Natsume in the past that after her death he'd kept taking care of Alzeid - but it is not said WHICH Alzeid she meant ( she called Second with the nickname"Alzeid").

Kiara (キアラ^?)

Voiced by: Hiro Shimono

Kiara is an unknown character who keeps appearing in the manga. It is unknown if he is an ally or an enemy, however, he has said that Rahzel is "his", and that he is currently "lending" her to Alzeid. Later into the series, Kiara shows to have a played a vital role in Rahzel's past. A role that Rahzel can not seem to remember. Also, Minari Endoh stated that Kiara may have been Rahzel's first love. It is revealed that he is Baroqueheat's second older brother. Branoween has stated that Rahzel, Alzeid and Baroqueheat all have essential roles in his scenarios. He likes Natsume and Branoween; he dislikes Baroqueheat and Alzeid.

He meets Rahzel several times during her journey, always providing her strange advice while enjoying tea with her. Each time, she regards him with suspicion, and they always promise to fight during their next meeting. But whenever Kiara leaves, Rahzel is filled with despair and believes that she knows him and does not want to fight him. Though, in volume ten, he hurts her badly after putting a tranquilizing powder in her tea.

In the manga, he was the person, along with Alzeid's brother, to have discovered Rahzel in the woods (not her father, as she previously thought). Kiara brought Rahzel to her father and told him to take care of her and that he would eventually come back for her (which is why her father is so overprotective of her). When Alzeid and Baroqueheat separate from Rahzel, they stumble on her home and meet her real father and discover the truth about Rahzel's abandonment; while they persuade Rahzel not to face her father, Kiara comes to her home and kills her real father. In the anime, it is also implied that he is the one who picked Rahzel up from the forest in which she was abandoned. The reason he calls Rahzel his is because of her philosophy, that whoever names another is the other's owner- Kiara had renamed her Rahzel and subsequently 'owned' her.

Alzeid (アルゼイド, Aruzeido^?)

The other Alzeid, Alzeid's fellow clone and 'older brother' who has not aged since their childhood and retains the shape of a young boy. Like Alzeid and their father Mr. Second, he is an albino, though his hair is longer than Alzeid's. He first appears to Rahzel on their way to Acanea, hugging her on the deck and complaining how 'he' (later revealed to be Kiara) wouldn't let him see her, but how he had run away because he would smell Rahzel and wanted to be with her. He claims that Rahzel promised to name him, one time when they had taken a bath together, and wants her to hurry up and name him (mostly because Kiara calls him Alzeid, which name he hates). Before he can explain to a confused Rahzel, though, he senses his brother's approach and leaves. In Acanea, the other Alzeid and Kiara were framing Alzeid - the other Alzeid would commit mass murders and because of him and Alzeid's similar appearances. As a result, two bounty hunters seriously injure Alzeid, whom they confuse for the 'white-haired and red-eyed devil child' who had been plaguing the island (Rahzel tries to point out Alzeid's age to them, but they refuse to listen to her). While drawing poisoned, unconscious Alzeid to some clinic Rahzel meets again the other Alzeid which tells her to leave him and that "this guy" has no right to own name "Alzeid".

When he was cloned from Mr. Second, he had been deemed a failure and was replaced by the more-favored Alzeid. Because of the pity and haughtiness which Alzeid always treated him, and also because of breaking the promise of seeing the world together, the other Alzeid cultivated a grudge for his brother (which is why he hates being called Alzeid by Kiara). The other Alzeid had met Rahzel when Kiara had first found her; sometime during this meeting, Kiara had established that Rahzel was his and the other Alzeid was hers (following Rahzel's belief that by renaming herself, she owned herself). He mentions that Rahzel had promised him, while taking a bath with him, that she would name him. He keeps calling Rahzel "Big Sister" the same name as Four Siblings(Serateed, Kiara, Branowen and Baroqueheat) used to call Natsume. He states that in laboratory he used to play with 'Big Sis" and Alzeid in hide-and-seek. He recognized Rahzel after her smell which was the same as "Big Sister's". He and Alzeid fight on a train, while Kiara was revealing to Rahzel that older Alzeid had never been a failure and had in fact been hiding his powers, which were far greater than Alzeid's. In fact after gravely injuring Alzeid, without any scratch he easily defeats Alzeid, who has to escape from the train.

Soresta (ソレスタ, Soresuta^?)

Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama

Soresta is an army friend of Alzeid and Baroqueheat. He is obsessed with Alzeid in a very stalker-like fashion, such as making dolls of him, and writing poetry. In an attempt to kill Rahzel, he is killed by Alzeid. It is revealed later that he had been married to a medic named Taylor.

Vincent (ヴィンセント, Vinsento^?)

Vincent is a kid who is being watched by Baroqueheat and Soresta. According to the manga, he is the imposter of an illegitimate child between a king and one of his servants. The real Vincent died in a terrible sickness, leaving his servant to impersonate him and be delivered to the king. However, the anime does not mention this and simply keeps him as the illegitimate child.

Jelice Bryah (ジェリス·ブライア, Jerisu Buraia^?)

Jelice is a friend of Rahzel's father and is like an older brother to Rahzel. He is an eccentric priest who was sent into seminary by his adoptive parents when they found out he had a relationship with their biological daughter. He admits that he does not believe in God, but thinks that the church serves as an important service to the people. He wears glasses even though he has 20/20 vision. He likes beer, meat, and tea; he dislikes androgynes and amphibians. His adoptive sister was left by family and after living as prostitute, murdered due to a fatal drug which was being distributed around the town, driving Jelice to murder the man who had sold the "Angel text" drug to her.

Branowen (ブランオーウェン, Buranōwen^?)

Despite her small appearance, Branowen is Baroqueheat's older sister. She dislikes Alzeid stating that she 'hates his face' but she keeps Second's glasses in remembrance of him. In the manga, Baroqueheat mentioned that she is the only smart person he knows and that she is the "idol" of the family. She is skilful with tools and is some sort of mechanic.

Serateed

Rahzel's foster father. Also Baroqueheat's eldest brother. Previously being friend of Mr Second, he hates Alzeid for looking like him. Suspects Alzeid of killing Second.

Mr. Second

Mr. Second is the original from which the two Alzeids were cloned. He had a relationship with Natsume, it was she who gave him the nickname "Alzeid". There is some debate as his body had not been recovered, but he is presumed dead by most of the characters who know of his existence.

Natsume

She was the one who created Serateed, Kiara, Branoween and Baroqueheat. It is considered that she was murdered by Mr Second in the past. Each one who knew Natsume and Rahzel says that Rahzel looks like her. All four siblings call her "Big sister". Somehow she foresaw her death.

Media

Manga

The manga version, written and illustrated by Minari Endoh, originally started serialization in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine Monthly G Fantasy on November 18, 1999, published by Square Enix, and ran in that magazine until June 28, 2002 when it was switched over to the shōjo manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum, published by Ichijinsha. Due to the publisher switch, the first three volumes that were out at the time were re-published by Ichijinsha and released on August 26, 2002. As of December 25, 2007, ten bound volumes have been released in Japan. The manga has been licensed by Tokyopop for English language distribution in North America, and the first volume was released on January 10, 2006. As of January 6, 2009, ten volumes have been released in English.

Drama CDs

Two drama CDs based on the series were released in 2004 based on the first two volumes of the manga.

Internet radio show

An Internet radio show entitled Hatenkō Radio (破天荒Radio^?) began on December 6, 2007 hosted by Animate TV. The show is hosted by Sanae Kobayashi who plays Rahzel in the anime, and Shinichirō Miki who plays Baroqueheat in the anime.^[1]

Anime

An anime adaptation under the original title Hatenkō Yūgi aired in Japan on the Kyoto Broadcasting System television network between January 5 and March 7, 2008, containing ten episodes. The opening theme is "Heartbreaking Romance" by Kanako Itō, and the ending theme is "Te no Naka no Eien" (手の中の永遠^?) by Kaori Hikita.

Episodes

#	Episode title	Original air date
01	"Eternal Light" "Eien no Tomoshibi" (永遠のともしび)	January 5, 2008
Rahzel Anadis recounts how her father threw her out of her home to go see the world and how she met Alzeid, an albino who is on a journey of revenge. In order to get money for their travels, Rahzel and Alzeid are employed to exorcise a usually friendly ghost in a nearby forest. At first, this is not an easy task, but after reasoning with the ghost and engaging in a magical battle, Rahzel persuades the ghost to finally move on into the afterlife.
02	"Wound of the Scar" "Kizuato no Kizu" (きずあとのきず)	January 12, 2008
While going through a town, Rahzel and Alzeid run into a young boy named Elmier who is running from the police. When he is found with Rahzel and Alzeid, they are all thrown in prison, where they meet up with Baroqueheat. After learning of Elmier's revenge for his father's death by the prison's supervisor, Rahzel and the others easily escape their cells but are held up by the supervisor himself and many of the prisoners. In the end, they are all able to escape, but first Alzeid and Baroqueheat teach the supervisor a lesson by beating him up.
03	"A Silent Song of Lullaby" "Kakumo Sasayakana Komoriuta" (かくもささやかな子守唄)	January 19, 2008
While visiting a fair, a boy named Romario gets lost from his mother. Rahzel and Alzeid keep the boy company as they search for his mother and manage to reunite them. In order to pay Rahzel back, the mother takes her and Alzeid to the circus which the boy wanted to see. During the show, Baroqueheat shows up as a temporary clown performer. Near the end of the show, the boy is taken into an act, but disappears. Later it is found out that the circus master was killing children for her dead unborn child named Viola, and Romario was her latest victim. During a confrontation between the circus master and Rahzel, Alzeid and Baroqueheat, the circus master is killed by Viola's own hands.
04	"Must Not Violate Paradise" "Rakuen ni Furerunakare" (楽園に触れるなかれ)	January 26, 2008
During a rain storm, Rahzel, Alzeid and Baroqueheat are taken in to a mansion for a night where two sisters live. The older sister, Madeila, does not want them to stay, but her younger sister let them in. The younger sister asks Alzeid and Baroqueheat to follow Madeila into the cave near their mansion if she goes searching for her late grandfather's treasure. Madeila asks Rahzel to accompany her in searching for the treasure and they all head out during the rain storm. In the end, the treasure turns out to be a fossil of a winged creature which reflects the morning light. Remembering this, Madeila is inspired and is going to run away from home for the time being.
05	"The Sun in Your Palms (First Part)" "Te no Hira no Taiyō (Zenpen)" (てのひらのたいよう(前編))	February 2, 2008
Rahzel and her two companions get lost but chance across a town which takes part in a type of sky burial where corpses are placed on stakes in a forest near town to decay and be eaten by birds. Rahzel meets a young girl named Larawel whose father runs an inn in town, and Rahzel and her friends plan to stay there; Larawel's father even gives Alzeid a clue as to his father's murderer. After Larawel goes missing, Rahzel and the others search for her and eventually discover that the town has changed since Larawel was born eight years previous, and that there is growing belief that Larawel's father participates in black magic in order to keep Larawel alive.
06	"The Sun in Your Palms (Second Part)" "Te no Hira no Taiyō (Kōhen)" (てのひらのたいよう(後編))	February 9, 2008
While Rahzel and her two companions stay in the inn from the previous episode, they go out around the town. When they eat, they find out something about the town: the food is horrible. Alzeid actually loses consciousness from it, and Baroqueheat apologizes about listening to what Larawel and Rahzel talked about in bed the previous night. They play cards and return to the inn after everybody is up, only to find the villagers come to kill Larawel's father. Larawel's father soon kills himself to protect his daughter. Later, they soon find out that Larawel was the one that caused all the murders. A little of Rahzel's past is also revealed, and Larawel soon kills herself. They continue on with their journey afterwards.
07	"When the Flower Blooms" "Hana ga Saitara" (花が咲いたら)	February 15, 2008
Rahzel and her companions are traveling in the snowy mountains when a sudden avalanche comes barreling toward them, and in the midst of this, Rahzel and the others are pulled down into another part of the mountain. They wake up to find a young albino girl named Ludovika, and members of the village comes to retrieve her. The village leader inquires to how Alzeid, who is also an albino, can go outside, and he responds that it does not take much to enable him to have a normal life. In the middle of the night, Alzeid overhears that the villagers are planning to kill them, so they leave, but Ludovika follows them and helps to guide them out of the forest. The village elder ends up attacking by using the trees, but Ludovika jumps into his attack in order to save Alzeid. Ludovika finally sees the blue sky, but she disappears in a flash of white flower petals. It turns out that Ludovika and the villagers were personifications of the surrounding forest.
08	"Unknown Destination (First Part)" "Yukusaki o Shiranai (Zenpen)" (ゆくさきをしらない 前編)	February 22, 2008
Rahzel and Alzeid are to meet Baroqueheat in a new city, but before he shows up Rahzel gets involved with saving a young boy named Vincent from some robbers, and then getting a run-in with his guard Soresta. Soresta was in the same military unit as Alzeid and Baroqueheat and thus knows them very well. Alzeid tells Rahzel not to use magic for at least three days so that she can learn to rely on herself, though Rahzel ups it to a week in frustration. During another run-in with Vincent's guards, Rahzel manages to get away with Vincent also causing a huge explosion, all without the use of magic.
09	"Unknown Destination (Second Part)" "Yukusaki o Shiranai (Kōhen)" (ゆくさきをしらない 後編)	February 29, 2008
In the middle of the night, men come to try to kidnap Vincent again, but Soresta, Baroqueheat, and Alzeid interfere. Before Rahzel can get away with Vincent, however, Baroqueheat knocks her out, and they take Vincent. Alzeid follows the string that Soresta left behind and has a sword fight with Soresta, during which Rahzel escapes and tries to save Vincent. Baroqueheat once again switches sides and protects Rahzel against Soresta's men. Alzeid manages to win the sword fight, though Rahzel interferes and manages to save Soresta's life. Despite this, Soresta tries to kill Rahzel out of jealousy though Alzeid kills him first. Later, Rahzel's father shows up.
10	"A Present for You" "Kimi ni Okurō" (君に贈ろう)	March 7, 2008
Rahzel's father, who is actually the man that raised Rahzel after her biological father abandoned her, arrives and throws Rahzel a birthday party. He reveals an intent to bring Rahzel back home with him, though this does not sit well with Alzeid. The day Rahzel is leaving, Alzeid goes to buy her a birthday present, but instead gets some advice from the store owner, as well as meeting a man who tells him of his daughter, whom he abandoned several years ago, and whose birthday it is. The man also expresses his regret that he abandoned her; it is never stated directly, but is clear that this man in Rahzel's biological father. Alzeid rushes towards the train station and chases after the train. Rahzel sees him running and when she gets to the end of the train, Alzeid yells at her that he will not write her or even think of her if she deserts him now. Angered by this, Rahzel jumps off the train, and Alzeid explains that they can only remain comrades while they are traveling together. Finally, Rahzel gives in and decides to keep traveling with Alzeid and Baroqueheat.

References

1. ^ "Hantekō Radio's official website" (in Japanese). Animate TV. http://www.animate.tv/digital/web_radio/detail_122. Retrieved 2007-12-22. 

External links

• Ichijinsha's website on the series (Japanese)
• Anime official website (Japanese)
• Tokyopop's page for the manga
• Dazzle (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia