Hoy /smtg/

Not to be a shill, but even though you can access these summaries, I hope you'll support this art book if possible. You'll be able to see the actual art and the exact comments given instead of just shortened versions of what I felt was important. I really love this book and I'd hate it if we didn't get more SMT-related translated art books because this one didn't sell well enough. The art is gorgeous and the actual commentary is a bit more in depth so please pick up a copy if you can.

WORLD
Paraphrased commentary of Eiji Ishida.

	Kingdom of Mikado: This was the first image board they managed to finish. Some of the first ideas for Mikado involved Moroccan inspired pure white buildings and pyramids to go along with a rebuilt and totalitarian theme, but Kaneko was against it since it looked too sci-fi and went against the fantasy theme they had already chosen. Kaneko also worried that such an aesthetic would prejudice the player against Mikado. So they went back to the drawing board and referenced Toledo and Carcassonne to make the town more medieval looking. They knew from early on that they wanted separate districts to represent the different classes so that was included.

	Mikado Castle: They knew from the start this location would serve as a hub. It was intentionally designed to look like a stronghold for battle, but not for battle between the people. Rather, for battle against the demons the castle was built to contain. After the castle was built, settlements sprang up around it. Ishida comments on how crazy the people who did as such must have been, settling so close to a nest of demons. Walter's comment from the rooftop was also supposed to have meaning for the castle. You can see everything from the castle because it is the place from which everything is controlled.

	Aquila Statue Plaza: The arrow slits in the walls face toward Naraku to show that the castle was built for containment. They tried to incorporate a lot of small details, but the 3DS' resolution proved too restrictive. The plaza is actually surrounded by multiple walls, again for the sake of containment. Originally Aquila's statue was going to be an armored hero holding a spear, but Kaneko suggested that they go for something more like an Academy Award to be more abstract and inline with the totalitarian image they had. They also changed the post to look stronger and be evocative of an Olympic athlete. It sounds like not all members of the team were on board for that change of direction.

	Gauntlet Rite: They considered having the Rite take place outside of the castle, like at a lord's mansion instead. The thinking behind it was to give it a fairy tale like feeling.

	Protagonist's Quarters: At first they wanted the prentices to share a room. One of the images shows a proto-Jonathan, Flynn, and Walter lounging in the barracks to reflect this. But since resting there was a gameplay element, they let Flynn have his own room in the end to reflect this.

	Facilities: Apparently the blackboard in K's Tavern was redone three times. Earlier drafts had it look more like a run down place full of trouble-makers, but they settled on a more refined establishment. The terminal's design is an homage to the Cerebro Room from X-Men.

	Castle Interior: Originally they had drafted an audience room, but it never made it into the game as they shifted to the Monastery being in control with the monarchy being just for show. Ishida comments about Obelisk Plaza, I assume somewhat jokingly, that you can't have MegaTen without obelisks. He thought it was a bit weird since obelisks are an Egyptian thing.

	Church: This also failed to make the cut and eventually evolved into the Monastery. They had hoped the church would seem inviting and pure like the religion practiced there. He expresses that it could be considered what the Monastery was like in older days, before it was corrupted.

	Monastery: The Monastery was intentionally made to look colder to make it seem like something was off. Because medieval Monasteries studied things other than religion, they had the Monastery take this to another level where they were more concerned with researching relics than religion. They tried to not make it seem like the Monastery was actually evil as some people there were surely working for the good of the people. They added a lot of relics that don't mesh with Mikado for the concepts and Ishida wonders if the team should have shown more weapons.

	Luxoror Quarter: This area was designed to look somewhat modern as a way of highlighting the higher status Luxorors enjoyed. They also made sure not to go overboard with the decoration to preserve a "distinct sense of inequality, in a world that preaches equality" as well as make sure the Luxorors weren't presented as distinctly evil. And so they tried to make it look like a town you might find in Europe.

	Casualry Quarter: Talks about how Casualries almost never move by carriage and so the streets were made narrow to reflect this. It's called confined and gloomy, while also compared to a Bazaar because of how busy the alleys can be. Originally they were going to have the Luxoror quarters be further out since you'd expect the city to be newer the further you get from its center, but Kaneko went against this as he felt nobles should be near the seat of the government. So instead we got the Casualry quarter where it is in game, with older buildings instead. The original vision before the change had simple yet modern looking buildings, but that was obviously changed in favor of the stone buildings with thatched roofs we see in game.

	Kiccigiori Village: The area was planned from the start, but its design was low priority because the castle town was the central location. The village was a farming colony and Ishida talks a bit about how Casualries are born into their occupation and most just accept this as it is without question. Because of that the village was designed to look a bit bland. One of the images shows the lord's mansion mentioned in the Rite section.

	Kiccigiorgi Forest: Mostly talks about the Black Samurai and Kaneko wanting her in the game. Also it mentions that she's named as such because the Demonica might resemble a traditional armor set to the people in Mikado. The original story of the game had to do with a world ending scenario and Demonica-clad hunters.

	Shene Duque: Apparently all those beehive areas are cells where each chosen child was placed so their bodies could be strengthened to survive in the world above. Kaneko also wanted the cocoon to handle holding plant seeds and Ishida comments he wasn't sure how animals were handled but with that in mind the cocoon would look too much like a generic Ark, so he was careful to avoid that in designing.

	Naraku: The guy who helped design Naraku is not the same person as the guy who worked on Mikado. The guy who drew up Naraku boards studied in America and SMT IV was his first gig as a video game artist. Originally Naraku was going to be made of brick, inspired by Wizardry dungeons. Also they originally planned for you to take a manual elevator down instead of stairs, but Kaneko objected as it wouldn't seem like the Unclean Ones made the tunnel and only them. He wanted it to feel like the Unclean Ones had to give it their all to excavate the place. Ishida actually put an order to throw in some organ-like structures, and laments that they couldn't have made it seem more intestinal given the cavern was technically the inside of Masakado.

	Hall of the Minotaur: Ishida actually wonders how people hauling relics up got past the Minotaur. They originally planned to have the tunnel boring machine's shield act as the door, but it was rejected because people weren't sure how something like that would get there. Also mentions how it would go against Kaneko's no sci-fi sentiment. Speaking of, the reason Kaneko had it was due to wanting the Sky Tower reveal to be the big shock of the game. Also, the Minotaur originally was going to guard the door rather than stand behind it.

	Unclean Ones' Quarter: Earlier drafts of the area looked more cylindrical to reflect the whole tunnel deal. Ishida wishes the changes you experienced after defeating the Minotaur were more dramatic. He wanted the area to show that the Unclean Ones machine dug their way up as far as they could, but ran out of energy and resources to continue and so they had to go the rest of the way by hand. You can imagine workers giving up, fighting, dying in accidents, all sorts of terrible things happening there.

	Sky Tower: The point of the Sky Tower was to be a shocking reveal, with the player descending and then suddenly finding themselves high up. The Skytree was a big deal during the game's development and is the inspiration for the art. Ishida says he prefers their version, and I think I agree, the full page art of it is stunning. Anyway, some elements are intended to reflect Medusa's barrier on the tower, though you can obviously see the architecture underneath. He jokes that the barrier's prevalence is due to Medusa being trapped for so long, and then says "why else would Sky Tower serve as such a high difficulty barrier compared to other dungeons?" and laughs. So in case you weren't sure before, Medusa was an intended casual filter.

	Tokyo: Ishida makes a comparison between Tokyo and Mikado by calling them the black yin and white yang respectively. He states that both Tokyo and Mikado are law despite Tokyo being shrouded in darkness and that they wanted players to think that dark and light can be the same. They took care to not make Tokyo too fucked up to reflect that Tayama enacted his order to protect the city early on. It's one reason you don't see ruins of buildings sticking out at odd angles, along with them considering how overdone that concept is in other post-apocalyptic games. He does admit he enjoys it in games though because he likes crawling up their sides.

	Downtown: Ishida didn't know Tokyo was going to be lawful at first. He actually thought it would be chaotic. One image is of an open air black market full of people selling shady demon meat and stuff in stalls. This was also from before they decided on the citizens living in underground districts. The art shows a lot of light because Ishida could not wrap his head around the idea of a city in complete darkness. Kaneko gave some input in this process, saying things like "Sorry, sorry, but this isn't it" in relation to that image and "No, the people shouldn't be prisoners" to another concept with many small rooms lined up. The end result is the market in the underground district, which he feels embodies the same "chaotic vitality" of the above ground market described.

	Underground Passages: All of the images on this page were concepts to help capture the feel of living underground. He talks about how making clothes as a craft died out and the materials necessary would have run out, so the clothing worn by people dwelling there would be patchwork, and that's why you see older women in sailor uniforms. They had to be careful though, because they felt that if they deviated too much from our current world things would start to look sci-fi, and thus hurt immersion by making the people seem like they couldn't be from Tokyo.

	Underground Facilities: The Ashura-kai shop is described as like a kiosk, the netting is there to show how dangerous the world has become. The black market man was originally going to be a greasy fat dude, but that didn't feel right to them so they went for his look in game. He's supposed to be clever looking and was inspired by Ryo Kase from Outrage. They added graffiti to the hunter association door to catch the eye. He describes the hunters as nomads marking their territory, but then says since the interiors of the places look so fixed he wonders how they move around. He compares them to kabukimono and states that the association was supposed to reflect their mischievous and anti-establishment ways.

	Ueno: Two page spread of an Akihabara image board. Ishida says that earlier boards were more "colorful" but since those would cause problems they never saw the light of day. Akihabara was eventually cut from the story, but the process of sketching each area and combining them helped them understand the balance of Tokyo.

	Chiyoda: The image boards are of Kasumigaseki. Ishida says he wanted players of Strange Journey to wonder what the Demonicas were there for, and he hoped other players would wonder if the base had some sort of relation to the Black Samurai. For the control room, they considered a more simplified version but felt that something more cliche might work better and they incorporated elements of modern control rooms, nuclear power plant control rooms, and the like. The panel in the foreground of the room is the same one that you see on the bridge of the Red Sprite.

	Shinjuku: The design of the cocoon was changed to look more like a spaceship. Kagome Tower's design was intended to be simple with the slits in the walls pulsing. Ishida thinks that it looks like something that could come out of Nocturne. He wishes that the hanging cages could have been visible in more than one shot.

	Shibuya: One of the image boards actually has it raining, but apparently it wasn't a significant decision, just something they wanted to see. He talks about how easy it is to get lost in Shibuya. Club Milton is actually based on a place Kaneko used to frequent that had gargoyle statues out front. The reason we don't see the interior is because he couldn't find any reference to design one.

	Roppongi: Ishida says they kept Roppongi as a place where the rich lived like in real life, comparing the people living there to luxorors. He struggled a bit before deciding that people would probably want to join the Ashura-kai and he tried to show the sort of cutthroat aspect of those people in Roppongi.

	Hills: The Hills building is supposed to be Tayama's castle. Things that happened there actually had to be cut for younger players because CERO was going to apply an 18+ rating instead of the 15+ they were shooting for. Apparently Reverse Hills exists in a pocket dimension and whether or not it is held together by Mastema's power is left to the imagination.

	Ichigaya: The main part of Ichigaya is an SDF base which protects the underground reactor. The original reactor had coils but Kaneko said to make the design simpler. Kaneko also insisted it look somewhat like a gate because of the link the reactor has to the Expanse. Ishida says he wishes that they could have made the room the reactor was in into a spherical dungeon where the reactor was always visible.

	Ginza: Mem Aleph is worshipped to give the impression that the Gaean religion is primeval. Earlier drafts of the Gaeans had them as more primitive folks who dug out a cave for their temple.

	The Expanse: The Expanse is supposed to be between the realm spirits exist and the world we know in IV. Since demons are created from human thoughts they tried to make the Expanse seem similar. Apparently the goddess of Tokyo created the area of the Expanse she resides in and it looks a bit grey to reflect how lonely she is. So it seems that each area's appearance is decided by the powerful demon or concept that presides there. There's an image of another area besides the Monochrome Forest that is outside of the goddess' influence and it's got a brown/grey pallet with a large peak that vaguely resembles a spiny turret shell dominating the center. The goddess' wheel was inspired by Giorgio de Chirico's paintings and was supposed to give off an unattainable vibe, something you can chase all you want but will never catch. The ideas for goddess' area of the Expanse were all Kaneko's. The Monochrome Forest was designed to be a little closer to the spirit world.

	Hades: The reason Ishida imagines that Charon has such a huge backlog is because he's still sifting through all those people who died during God's judgement. The buildings in the background were built by waiting souls, and this actually tainted the otherwise pretty place. Charon lets Flynn bribe his way out of death because he's sick of dealing with souls. That system was something they wanted from the start.

	Barrier Space: This is what they call Domains if that wasn't obvious from the Sky Tower section, but anyway apparently Kaneko wanted them to look creepy, ominous, and organic so we got the look we all know and love. Demonic structures being warped/curved and organic was an intentional contrast with the very linear and inorganic things humans made in the game. Domains also weren't going to be so red, but since so many structures were concrete they took it as an opportunity to use the color a bit.

	Blasted World: Apparently in Blasted Tokyo, people turned into demons at higher rates because God did nothing. The fear and mistrust this change bred lead to a nuclear war, and so Blasted Tokyo looks like a wasteland. It was then that God selected his chosen and purged the unclean. Pluto's castle is supposed to look organic since it was built by God. The windows in the dungeon are inspired by Goudi, and they're supposed to look like lotus root cross sections. This is the same inspiration as the windows Lucifer watches from in Nocturne. The cracks are due to the war. There's also an early Pluto, which looks like a fetus.

	Infernal Tokyo: Ishida says he's glad they didn't use the Infernal Tokyo idea for the whole game, because then it would have looked generic like trite Western games. They wanted to get across that the place had a lot of energy despite all the destruction.

	Purgatorium: Ishida thinks it's cool that the dungeon looks both divine and chaotic. They used fractals as a motif because they felt they represented chaos well. The point was to imply that law and chaos are fundamentally the same thing. He wishes they could have made it look a bit more divine still.

	Lucifer Palace: As you might expect, they gave Lucifer's Palace some church-like elements and tried to make it look systematic and beautiful for the same reasons Purgatorium is chaotic. They originally wanted Lucifer to watch you through the windows in the dungeon, and the floor was made to resemble a chess board as if to imply Lucifer is just playing with Flynn.

PEOPLE
Paraphrased character descriptions and commentary of Masayuki Doi.

    Protagonist: Kiccigiorgi is described as a border village. Flynn is described as having taciturn fortitude and undeniable skill with a blade. His hair is called feminine, and apparently he "grieves for the bifurcated world and strives to offer salvation to the goddess of Tokyo".
		Doi says Flynn's concept was "the unreal within the real" which is necessary to draw the player into the world. He says he had to give the characters unrealistic quirks to make them feel original. Flynn's design had to balance having enough personality to be a protagonist and having little enough to be a blank slate. The Samurai uniform shows he doesn't display any odd behavior, like how school uniforms are supposed to work. His hair gives him some originality though and was done to give a Samurai period drama kind of look. The white Samurai outfit was intended to be an endgame outfit for the law path at first. Triangles for the trinity and quilting to represent being bound to God. The helmet was modeled after the hachigane. The next two pages show four different designs for the Samurai uniform on Flynn. One of which is the final product. The uniform was not designed to look like something from a particular nation. It has Japanese and modern elements because he believes the uniform was inspired by what Aquila wore. It also has medieval elements to represent Mikado. He feels this combination achieves an unreal and singular vibe that he was aiming for. Some reference suggestions given to him included Jedi, Shinsegumi, and other special forces from history and media. This is why the original drafts had the uniforms black, but this was changed so the Black Samurai would seem more distinct. The blue is for a Japanese style and the white symbolizes being prepared to die. His scarf is white because the color is easy to dye with the player's choices and it invokes possibility and beginnings. He says you can call his sword a katana, but it is Western in design. This is because he thought Mikado wouldn't have the technology to craft blades like a traditional katana. Flynn's Casualry outfit is supposed to look modest.

    Jonathan: The book describes him as coming from a good pedigree and says his father is registered with the Monastery. He's good-looking, scholarly, and accomplished in military arts. He has a certain poise, and is ashamed of the elitism some Luxurors display. He has a strong sense of justice. He gets flustered with women. Seeing Tokyo made him feel compassion, and seeing that the people of Tokyo were still greedy is what ultimately drove him to side with the angels.
	    Doi says he's known for his wild hair and it looks like he could pull a bird or piece of bread out of it. Yamai asked for his hair to look like Brian May's. Jonathan has a yellow scarf to represent his bright personality as well as the light and hope associated with law. The colored scarves idea came about from the tokusatsu collaboration.

    Walter: His character description says his fishing village was out near the border like Kiccigiorgi. He lived a modest life as a Casualry and being chosen as a Samurai inspired him to be more ambitious and try to walk his own path in life. He doesn't like elitist Luxurors and he's unable to keep his emotions in check when talking about class. He feels a strong sense of camaraderie with Flynn. Walter is frank and crude, but his energy, independence, and insight make him charismatic. When he realizes that Mikado was built on God's warped ideals, he forsakes Mikado in favor of coexisting with demons.
	    Doi's commentary says Walter is more mature than his peers, but he is still able to express strong emotions. That was the impression he hoped to give from his design. Because Walter is chaos aligned, he drew inspiration for his design from members of The Sex Pistols: Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. Yamai went along with it. Designing Walter was apparently a bit of a struggle. He says he wanted characters to emote with their eyes and mouths, and that Walter's basic expression is somewhat judgmental. He felt this makes him have more depth and sensuality to him than other cast members. His blue scarf is to reference his cool personality, masculinity, and that he hails from a fishing village.

    Isabeau: Description says she comes from an established monastic family, and that she would have become a nun if she didn't pass the Rite. She isn't timid, in fact she is sharp tongued and willing to argue with the likes of Walter and senior Samurai. She is still compassionate, and even gave flowers to Navarre when he was ill. She values cleanliness and admires strong women. She looks down on girls who fawn over men. Her indecision causes her to lose her way until the very end, where she decides against siding with either Walter or Jonathan.
	    Doi says he got orders to give her short hair and make her look boyish, and to give her a childish appearance to contrast with her personality. She was the hardest to come up with a design for because he felt he couldn't nail down the quirkiness that he hoped her appearance would invoke. Her eyes were angled to show strong willpower. She wears her coat over her shoulders because it makes her look mature. Her scarf is red to make her seem feminine. She's actually wearing shorts and not a skirt. She's short enough for Flynn to rest his chin on her head: 150-155 cm. Flynn and Walter are somewhere between 175-180 cm. Jonathan is 180 cm.

    Navarre: Character description says his dad is chamberlain for the king. He's arrogant and looks down on casualries. He pays money to leave the order after his scheme fails. He is cowardly, and later on he is saved in Kiccigiorgi forest by some senior samurai. He's deranged and has lost his memory of being a Samurai. He flees to Shinjuku.
	    Doi mentions that Navarre is well known for his stump and is a staff favorite character. He was planned to be elitist from the start, and this trait is reflected in how he holds his chin up. He styles his hair in a pompadour to look intimidating. Doi compares him to Walter by saying that while Walter is "bad" to his core and doesn't just make scary faces, Navarre is more childish and his "badness" is just to look tough. The stump is there to let you know he's the type to kick people while they're down. Basically he's a spoiled brat. His scarf color was chosen for no particular reason.

    Hope: The book says he doesn't coddle the prentices and that he has good judgment and is flexible. He is a true Samurai who works to preserve peace and destroy demons. He is somewhat in opposition with the monarchy and dislikes Hugo. Hope struggles to admit the contradiction between Samurai code and the Monastery's order to explore Tokyo. He secretly believes that the citizens ought to know the truth about everything and decides to guide the people when the story in Tokyo takes off. He has a certain refined masculinity and despite being the talk of many ladies, he is unable to be affectionate as his former love died in a demon attack from Naraku. The ring used in the early mission is a memento from it.
	    Doi wanted Hope to look like a man "whose convictions force him to be left behind by the changing times". He was supposed to look refined and sullen from the start. His face is modeled after Eiji Okuda's. He has a different coat from other samurai because he is the commander. Doi likes the idea of it and cites Char Aznable and Isami Kondo as examples from his childhood. His scarf is purple to make him look old-fashioned. Doi says he thinks the Samurai would have had different uniforms depending on the mission they're assigned.

    Hugo: Leader and figurehead of the Monastery. Hugo used to be a Samurai, but became a scholar. He prefers academic exercises to fighting. He learned to enjoy the attention he has as a monk. He rose to head by winning King Ahazuya Mikado's trust. Hugo is an intellectual who knows all the kingdom's secrets. The collection of artifacts is for the benefit of the kingdom, but Hugo also hopes to satisfy his curiosity. Hugo was reluctant to serve as the archangels' mouthpiece, but does it for the good of the people. He loves wine and has an unrivaled understanding of machinery.
	    Doi says Hugo was a guilty pleasure character. He's selfish, but very human and that is shown in his expressions. He was aged down in his final draft to juxtapose his appearance with Hope's. He is modeled after a notorious mayor. He was given a traditional monk's outfit to keep the Samurai uniform's charm. The shape of his hood, emblem, and his hand pose references the Holy Trinity which emphasizes the Monastery's purpose as an intermediary for God and the people. His outfit is gold to represent his greed.

    Gabby: It says her almond-shaped eyes and lily white skin are distinctive. She provides guidance to Hugo and is rarely seen in public. She is well-versed in Mikado's history. She knows about Tokyo and the demons, and while she seems calm and gentle, she is quite cold toward those who go against God's will. She is actually the Archangel Gabriel. She watched over Mikado from the shadows ever since it was founded. Lilith's presence enrages her and forces her to attempt to remake God's ideal kingdom. She fuses into Merkabah to get rid of the threat that is Tokyo.
	    Doi says that her true identity fits in the unreal theme, while her appearance is more of a real exterior. One of her first designs actually included hints to her identity with fleur-de-lis and he thinks it's a shame the design wasn't used. She wears white to contrast with the Black Samurai. The blue is a callback to the Order of the Messiah and Samurai uniforms. The coloring is a vague reference to the Temple Knights. Doi was confident when drawing her because designs like hers tend to be accepted.

    K: K is well known for his eyepatch and scissor hand. Before running the tavern, he was a legendary leader for the Samurai. His leadership suppressed a massive attack from the demons and his eye and hand are proof of his bravery. K is more ferocious than a demon, and Hope cannot measure up to him. K is not his actual name, but a code name given because he runs the bar.
	    Doi says his design was always going to include the eyepatch and scissors and he had to try very hard to make it not look goofy since he's a serious character. The scissor is an attachment that can be swapped out. Ishida requested his face be based on Kurt Russell and Doi says he probably was very attractive when he was young. His hair is dirty blond. Most people in Mikado are of mixed blood, and that's why people have so many different eye colors. Blond hair is very rare in Mikado.

    Issachar: Flynn's childhood friend who was also born and raised in Kiccigiorgi. He was well-liked in the village for being good-natured and simple. Having his dreams of becoming a Samurai crushed leaves him in despair. The Black Samurai's books bred a new resentment of Luxorors. This hatred consumes him and turns him into an undead demon. Even as a demon he speaks from his heart.
	    To Doi, Issachar is the typical Casualry, and it's clear since he's the only one wearing Casualry clothing in his portrait. He was hard to design because he had trouble visualizing what a big brother character would look like. He eventually settled on a strong man's look to contrast with Flynn. His outfit was an attempt to look fashionable for the Rite, with his cape being the most extravagant part. The cape represents his desire to become a Samurai and take flight in the world. His hair is tied back because he doesn't have the money to style his hair. His main expression is supposed to be boastful and his other expressions are reflective of his rustic upbringing.

    Yuriko: She distributes books to the people of Mikado, which can lead to dissatisfaction strong enough to transform them into demons. She is the leader of the Ring of Gaea and the human form of Lilith. She longs to bring about a world of chaos, where only the strong survive. She plans to use demons to take down the Ashura-kai and invade Mikado. Her role in Mikado is to teach the people of God's lies. She wants to make humanity stronger and more primal, and wishes for them to worship and love her. Her followers call her the witch of the night.
	    Designing Yuriko wasn't very hard, as Doi was given direction for her. He wanted her to resemble Gabby, but her facial expressions were made to be distinct from Gabby's. Yuriko's are more daring while Gabby's are cold. There is one minor difference between her Demonica and the one in Strange Journey, and that's that the gauntlet has a double-layered monitor instead of single. This was because he wanted something to attach the forearm guard to while preserving the outfit's balance.

    Kaga: An influential member of the Ring of Gaea who lead a fight against Xi Wangmu. Isabeau admires her bravery and aloofness. Her parents saved her from being used for Red Pill production by helping her escape Ikebukuro. She wandered until she came upon the Ring of Gaea. She desires to take back Ikebukuro to repay her debt to her parents.
	    Doi says Kaga's sprite was made before her portrait. She originally wasn't going to get one, but Doi thought a major representative of the Ring of Gaea should have one. Her braided hair and lack of eyebrows hint at her membership of a strange group. He had her wear a kasaya as an artillery belt with hourokudama attached. There are six for the six virtues of Buddhism. Her rosary beads are in her right hand because she uses them as a weapon. Doi tried to incorporate such details to give an idea of the kind of life lived by the Gaeans.

    Tayama: Head of the Ashura-kai, his manner of dress marks him as wealthy. Rumors say he attended a top university, but the truth is he was a low-level gangster that worked his way up. He's worked a deal with demons to leave the districts alone in exchange for Red Pills, demon food produced by very questionable means. Many doubt his integrity. His management of the reactor provides Tokyo with electricity. Despite his methods being somewhat self-centered, he manages to keep some order in Tokyo. He wishes to have Yuriko eliminated to establish dominance in Tokyo, but is instead sucked into the reactor and killed.
	    Doi redrew Tayama many times, and he was popular with the staff. His earlier designs had him look like an IT-department guy. Later he decided he needed more presence and drew some heavier built designs. Tayama's design was finally set because the staff realized the cast lacked cool-looking older men. He thinks his good looks and knowledge make him imposing. Tayama's earring is a spiritual object linked to Yamato Takeru, and is something he has worn since he defeated the demon. Tayama left a deep impression on Doi.

    Fujiwara: He's a former newspaper reporter who now leads the Hunter Association. He and Skins tunneled their way up to Mikado after the ceiling went up. They were forced to leave after the angels took action. Ever since, he's been plotting ways to lead the people to the safety of Mikado. He is the original founder of K's Tavern, and he also started the gambling event that turned into the ranking system.
	    Doi says he stands out in a game full of older men due to his aloof looks. Yamai had him use Makoto Ayukawa as a model for his face and fashion sense. His jacket and cargo pants are there because Doi wanted him to have a casual look. It shows how in control he is, and he has no reason to worry about safety with all the Association members watching over Cafe Florida. The line "Sun Is Dead!" on his shirt is an homage. Fujiwara had sort of given up on his plans to escape Tokyo until the Samurai showed up. He tried to project the gap between his hopeful leadership and cynical thoughts in his design.

    Skins: An imposing, but soft-spoken and intellectual man who helps Fujiwara at Cafe Florida. The scars on his face are from battles with the angels. He agrees with Fujiwara's plan. He's one of the last remaining members of the original CDF. He saw past Flynn defeat Masakado, the demon that became Tokyo's guardian after the same person fused with it. Skins has protected Masakado's katana since.
 	   Doi thinks Skins looks scary and did his best to make him seem charming to counteract it. Doi likes to imagine that Skins went to a back-alley doctor to do the grafts, and that the different shades come from different donors who were probably fallen comrades. He prefers this idea to Skins stitching his own face back together. Skins' eyes are round to make him charming and almost comical. The outfit he wears is part of the Agent Set and in one of his earlier sketches it looks like he's wearing a classic Demonica. The design of Masakado's sword was an intentional reference.

    Hikaru: A cheerful young woman who wears a schoolgirl outfit. She makes a good impression on Jonathan and Walter, but not Isabeau. She visits Cafe Florida often. She is actually Lucifer. And she waits for an opportunity to exact revenge on the other angels. She is fully revived when the gate to the Expanse is opened by Flynn.
 	   According to Doi, she is one of the most mysterious figures in the game. She looks normal at a glance, but her personality and appearance clashes with the presentation of Tokyo in the game. He just wanted her to look like a cute high school girl and didn't use a model. Her hair isn't dyed and she wears no makeup. Yamai recommended that he model her uniform after one from a famous private school for girls. He feels that makes her more eerie and it wouldn't be the same if she was just cosplaying some anime character. Her jacket has the symbol of Venus on it as a hint that she is Lucifer. He did his best to keep her poses normal and not anime-esque to keep with the realistic theme.

    Kiyoharu: He lives in one possible future where Tokyo was turned barren from nuclear warfare. He prays to his handmade alter for a messiah. While he is eccentric, he used to be a promising student at a famous private school. When the demons showed up he joined the CDF. Like most, Kiyoharu was not chosen by God, but he still has faith. Other people view Kiyoharu critically, and he's felt guilty the past 25 years. Time has withered his body and left no trace of the vitality he used to have. People who weren't alive before the nukes dropped see him as a key figure from the war and give him space. Flynn's party grants his wish of saving humanity.
	    Doi says he is a typical law character and that Kiyoharu is a failed hero. The blue robe and cape are there to make him look like a religious saint, while his face and hair hint at his poor health. The crosses on his body are to show he is a man of faith and they're also supposed to ward off demons. It's a sign that he's lost a bit of his sanity. Pluto's poison is the primary cause of his current state, and he should not look as old as he does in his 40s. In Doi's mind, Kiyoharu was once a friendly young man with a strong sense of justice like Jonathan. His face is somewhat ghastly and his importance was conveyed by his dialogue rather than his appearance.

    Akira: The human Akira lives in Blasted Tokyo and is a reliable leader that supports Kiyoharu. His world is one unthreatened by demons, but since he desires to restore humanity and destroy Pluto, even if this means he must rely on demons. Demonoid Akira resides on Infernal Tokyo. His form is the result of seeking power and despite being the boss of Kasumigaseki, the major powers in Tokyo do not view him as a threat. He longs to defeat Kenji and create a safe and equal society in Tokyo. Both versions of Akira are destined to found Mikado, and both experience the loss of an older sister to the angels. Even in the original timeline, a boy named Akira lives and waits for the return of his sister.
	    The Blasted version of Akira covers up as much skin as possible to protect against the poison. His design was modeled after some unnamed NPC sprites. He is essentially imprisoned underground and so you can see stripe patterns on his sleeves. Demonoid Akira is supposed to look primitive. His design is inspired by images of ancient tribes painting themselves in white and burning demon-warding talismans to drive away spirits. Both versions have the same eyebrows and scar because Doi wanted it to be clear that they're the same person. He gave them different expressions to convey the different lives they lived. Doi says he is a natural-born leader that does not succumb to grief and that he hopes to draw the original Akira sometime.

	Stephen: A man in a wheelchair who appears before Flynn. He seems to speak as if he knows many things. He is the developer of the demon summoning program and one of the few who knows about the divide in Tokyo. In a way, he is Burroughs' father. Stephen cares only about reuniting Tokyo and he is the one who explains that Flynn is the reincarnation of Tokyo's messiah.
		Doi says many players should recognize him from older games. He designed Stephen based on his art in Kazuma Kaneko Works III, and so the only real change is the wheelchair. He made sure not to put his own spin on the design so it wouldn't look like fan art. He paid attention to preserving a bunch of things like hair volume, proportions, facial features, and the manner that he carries himself. He felt that by preserving such things his own touches were more subtle. The wheelchair was supposed to seem like a blend of modern and antique since Stephen is seemingly ageless.

	Burroughs: She is the AI partner inside every Samurai's COMP, a part of the demon summoning program. She is familiar with Tokyo and counsels Samurai on aspects of the city. Her AI personality is honest, faithful, and good-natured. She engages in banter and jokes. Originally the program had her appear as a young woman, but when the ceiling was erected she took on the appearance of the goddess of Tokyo.
		Doi says she is often referred to as the game's heroine and that she is popular with the staff. He wasn't assigned to draw her until late in production, and he actually got stuck with it because he asked Ishida about it and no one had been assigned to her. The basis for her design is the goddess of Tokyo that appears at the end of the neutral route and he says that this is because Stephen designed her in the goddess' image. He drew her like a silhouette with few details to distinguish her from non-digital characters.

	Others: These two pages feature other NPC sprites and also some concept art. One concept is even for King Ahazuya Mikado.
		Doi couldn't figure out a specific time period to base the design on so he went for a stereotypical king look. There's also a monk from before Gabby and Hugo were finalized and his outfit is based on the Dominican Order's. There's two designs for Gauntlet Rite Samurai, one black and the one you see in game. The patterns on their helmets are modeled after eboshi. There's some Luxoror art too, and Doi explains that they flaunt their status by wearing gaudy and colorful clothing. There's also art of the king's chamberlain, so that's what Navarre's dad vaguely looked like, and some unused Samurai art. The Samurai design was re-purposed for the Mikado Set.

	Mikado Set: It's based on lamellar armor and intended to be early game light armor. Equipment was largely designed to be based on reality, and symbolism was included without making them too over-the-top. Armor in the game should look like armor that might have actually existed.

	Ahazuya Set: Made of chainmail, a surcoat, and a barrel helm, it was intended to be an upgraded Mikado Set. The design is associated with Crusaders and Doi digs the bucket-like helmets. Originally each part of the set was going to have a unique crest like the red one does.

	Knight Set: Lowest ranking heavy armor, again loosely based on actual armor.

	Duke Set: Upgraded Knight Set. Historically, the armor that the Knight Set was based on came after the Duke Set. This set is supposed to look like standard medieval knight armor. Doi jokes that it must have been hard for Flynn to wear since it's so heavy.

	Aquila Set: This set is high level equipment from Mikado and was designed with ceremonial and royal-looking features to reflect that. It consists of a surcoat, plate armor, and an ornate barrel helm. Though the camouflage pattern did not actually exist in medieval times of course, but Doi likes to imagine it was passed down through Mikado's history.

	King Set: The highest level set you can get from Mikado. The design is very ornate, but the most obvious detail is the dragon perched atop the helm. This is rooted in medieval examples of knights adorning their armor with decorations to indicate things like rank and heritage.

	Sneak Set: One of the first sets to show up in Tokyo. It's supposed to be a mix of casual and military. Each color is supposed to represent a different branch. Green for the army, blue for the navy, and yellow for the air force. It's in the same line as the Agent and Stealth Sets.

	Catcher's Set: Early in development they talked a lot about the people in Tokyo using sports equipment as makeshift armor. The Catcher Set was born from this idea.

	Survival Set: This set is based on an outfit worn in mock combat exercises and is pretty close to what's worn by actual soldiers. This was designed by the guy in charge of modeling, named Aoyagi, as he is familiar with such outfits.

	Casual Set: There's a pretty heavy emphasis on casual. It consists of a parka, a beanie, a tactical vest, and reinforced pants that you'd wear doing outdoorsy stuff. The pink outfit was made with female players in mind and was also a way to highlight Flynn's somewhat androgynous nature.

	Camouflage Set: The design for this one is based on what the JSDF wears. Doi imagined people would find these lying around. The colors: olive, gray, and sand are all faithful to the ground, desert, and city armor variations. Doi says it would have been very easy to include too many actual combat armor designs so he was careful to keep balance in what the player could choose.

	Rider Set: This set was designed to look like it came from the turn of the century. He talks about how bad guys in American comics would wear things like this. Originally it was going to look simpler, but he was urged to make it look more cliche and so he added spikes and chains. It's a staff favorite outfit.

	Soldier Set: This was the first set he designed as supervisor. The idea for it came about from an order for a Sengoku period outfit. Doi imagines that there is military-grade armor being worn underneath to justify using it in modern times. To show this it was designed with modern boots covered by traditional grieves.

	Bushi Set: Upgraded Soldier Set, which again has additional modern elements like the ammo pouches and belt. Doi included the fancy collar, shoulder guards, and tassets to emphasize that it was better armor than the Soldier Set. He really loves traditional Japanese armor.

	Daimyo Set: Highest level armor in the Soldier Set line. It shows off this status with the giant helmet and battle surcoat. It is not based on the outfit of a particular daimyo. Doi toyed with the idea of adding a "love" crest to the helmet. He imagines that while a lot of the armor is fake, the Daimyo Set was stolen from a museum.

	Pads Set: It's a step up from the Catcher's Set. To make it less boring, he gave it the mask for a horror element since people tend to associate it with the Friday the 13th movies. The mask is a fan favorite that adds somewhat of a surreal touch. A lot of the development staff used this set, and Yamai specifically put in an order for more sets from the line.

DEMONS
Paraphrased commentary of respective guest artists.

	Tamotsu Shinohara: On the request, he says it contained a proposed workload, delivery dates, and schedule and just asked if he wanted the job. The title was a secret at the time and he says if he had known he doesn't think he would have accepted as he doesn't play video games and knows little about Megami Tensei. He is however a fan of Kaneko and owns all his art books and as such understands the appeal of his characters. This however made the job more intimidating to him. He wasn't cocky about the request, rather he mostly wondered about how to give them a vague answer or how to turn them down. On demon backstories, he says most of his demons had myths from around the world and so he felt he had to emulate those templates and add his own interpretations. He was provided with materials from the start and so it was mostly a matter of nailing down his own elements. Sometimes he was expected to prioritize certain elements, but this wasn't always the case. He also never had to research new materials.
		Minotaur: He says it was lucky that Megami Tensei had typically taken a straightforward approach to designing the Minotaur. He decided to try and change it up a bit so it just barely hits. He didn't want to stray too far from the human/bull hybrid but felt it was too easy to settle for a vanilla design and so he worked a human face into the bull face. He feels that both the bull's and man's face draw attention and he made the human face a skull to keep interest in it since it would be less familiar. On the body, in order to change up the clash between human and bull he decided to have the man "wear" the bull and left contours intact. Since the bull looked buffalo-like he gave the design a savage feel to it. A lot of the process involved considering when the design was too much or didn't feel very MegaTen.
		Napaea: He didn't really know the origins of the demon as all he had to work with were texts that referenced a fairy of the valley and a young woman. What came to mind was a poem called "A dryad and the spirit of the valley." There's no actual connection but from it he got the idea of a beautiful girl immersed in pus or venom, something disgusting yet beautiful. Since they requested a fairy girl, he decided that instead of making her drip with pus she would look more like "venomous pop art" which shifted away from the disgusting part. He thinks demons should look aloof normally, but decided that since he was breaking convention so much already he would give her a flirtatious look. He says he gave it his all since he doesn't design like that very often.
		Dullahan: He wanted to keep the armor motif, but had difficulty keeping her feminine-looking. He achieved it with wings on the helmet and golden scales. He originally wanted her to look like a god of death but since it made her too witch-like he scrapped the idea. He often ran into trouble and asked why his art didn't look like Kaneko's. He concluded that with his art he would continue adding details, while Kaneko was more minimalist, to quote Kaneko himself "Once I get this right, I won't add anything else." Keeping that in mind he tried to filter the design to nothing more than Dullahan's severed head. Because it was so different from what he usually drew he felt uneasy about the design. Because of the Western armor and severed head point, he thought to make it like a bisque doll and gave the neck a ball joint with the head acting as the socket. He further warped the joint to look like one from a cheap action figure to make it more interesting and with that he felt he was finished.
		Koga Saburo: Since he knew the demon from Suwa Engi, he felt he had to incorporate a snake motif. However since the demon is supposed to be a dark hero-type he felt keeping the slim humanoid silhouette was necessary. In order to make a twist on the image of Koga Saburo as a snake man he used a humanoid base and wrapped him in snake-like belts and covered him in other sinister elements. Koga Saburo's arms are floating to reference Suwa Grand Shrine and its deity Take-Minakata, which is associated with his legend. Specifically, Take-Minakata became a snake god when his arms were torn off by Take-Mikazuchi. At first the sinister elements and floating arms were separate ideas but eventually he managed to blend them together. The protrusions on his back are fangs but originally they were going to be scabbards. He had a lot of trouble deciding how to approach giving him eyes and a mouth, and eventually decided not giving him them at all was the best choice to go with him being technically armless. He feels giving him a proper face would call attention to him being armless and thus make him seem crippled. He thinks that final choice makes him look less like a natural organism.
		Tenkai: This was the first demon Shinohara worked on. Originally the only non-human thing about him was going to be the texture, but Shinohara figured the 3DS' resolution could not do it justice so he went with something indistinct and solid-colored. The lines and highlights on his body represent hardness. He basically was going for a monk who had turned to stone over the years. By going this route, he could focus on the flow of the design. He was constantly looking for a way to prevent his art from standing out among Kaneko's, but he thinks that didn't work out too well. Tenkai wears a mask because some think Nankobo Tenkai was actually Mitsuhide Akechi in disguise. He has horns to emphasize that even a devout monk can turn into an ogre if he obsesses over something enough.
		Chemtrail: He had fun coming up with this design from scratch. His goal was his own interpretation of a Megami Tensei demon and so he jokes that he came up with a "nude old man running around with smoke pouring out of his head". He thought the smoke was reminiscent of primitive machines and that kind of fits with the demon theme. He's not sure if that hit the mark though. Since chemtrails are a conspiracy he tried adding new world order-esque imagery like the Eye of Providence on his stomach. This was scrapped. He thought 3D CG might be cool for the mechanical parts, but then liked what he saw and applied it to the whole design. He wanted to use a metallic texture from pretty early on and he actually doesn't have an actual sketch for the design.
		Ancient of Days: Shinohara was given keywords like "tank of God" and "UFO" and so he did his best to not make something humanoid and work toward something interesting like the Ophanim. He drafted six different designs until he saw the design for Raphael. His designs didn't mesh well, and so he reworked the design into a more "planar-looking emblem type of thing". But then the silhouette resembled some of Amemiya's other designs that had yet to be revealed. So he reworked it again to be more like a chandelier-shaped, decorated UFO. To go with the Ophanim idea, he tried to incorporate a key point like the Ophanim's four wings, beasts, and so on. So the design has five candle holders, positioned in a star or circular shape, all blowing a trumpet to herald good fortune. The one in the back is obscured by the body. He thought that having only four would be too squarish while six would invoke the Star of David, which had different implications from what he was going for so he avoided that. With the central body he tried to go for an "ancient alien" look. He accomplished this by taking elements from old murals and frescoes that people sometimes think are supposed to be aliens.
		Sanat: Because he originates from the Ancient of Days, Sanat was designed to completely contrast it. So Sanat is assymetrical and has a wheel to be grounded, unlike the floating Ancient of Days. The center figure is meant to resemble the thousand-armed Goddess of Mercy and has about one hundred arms because one thousand was impossible to do. He tried to keep the demon from looking godlike to avoid making people upset over sacrilege. So instead of referencing just Hinduism he tried going for a bunch of different motifs. He tried to not be too straightforward so people couldn't totally tell what was decorative and what was functional, but since the design wasn't quite coming together he made the whole thing resemble a torso. The left side has tiki elements and African tribal masks lined up. He jokes that he figured these wouldn't be a problem because the people who worship these gods are easy-going. The color is supposed to be evocative of some old zombie dolls.

	Yasushi Nirasawa: About mythology, Nirasawa says he made an effort to include traditional elements of demons, but not without deconstructing them first. Like his decisions with Centaur, or making Medusa's hair chains and bones instead of plain snakes.
		Centaur: He worked to avoid the stereotypical half-man, half-hose design. In its place he turned the torso into two fighting unicorns, but he thinks it still resembles a horse person.
		Medusa: Rather than going for a stale fantasy design, he gave Medusa a punk look. Her hair is instead bones and chains, while the skulls of her victims are packed into her lower half.
		Asmodeus: This demon is supposed to embody majesty and strength. He had a lot of inspirations for Asmodeus, and hoped he came out simple-looking yet strong. His body is supposed to be covered in the skulls of red demons with piercings and keys hanging from protrusions.
		Michizane: The look he wanted is a suit of armor made of bones. An organic energy represented by electricity binds him together and his limbs can extend as far as the range of that energy. He thinks he broke free of his tendency to design people within a monster.
		Lucifer (1st form): Lucifer is supposed to look high class and stylish. His outfit is a pearly white leather that gives of a purple, green, and gold glow to make him look sublime. His limbs are supposed to be frighteningly long and his left arm contains a demonic egg of sorts.
		Lucifer (2nd form): He never expected the left arm to turn out the way it did. He incorporated aspects of Walter into the design because of a supervisor request. The point was to reflect that Walter had fused with Lucifer.
		Masakado: Size was a major factor in this design, so Nirasawa focused on communicating that. This was done through having mountains, forests, waterfalls, and even cities scattered on his body. The right arm is made of hands sprouting smaller and smaller hands, while the left is made of twisted trees.

	Kyouma Aki: He got the request while working on designs for Persona 4. He was certain it would be difficult because of a friend's experience working on a MegaTen strategy guide. He managed to pull through and breathed a sigh of relief when turning his work in. On demons, he says he met with a supervisor in a cafe, played the game for a couple hours, and attended a lecture on the game's story. He would upload drafts that communicated necessary information and redo them a few times before finalizing. When he needed to use a mythological motif, he would create a scale model and then give it clothes and CG effects until he felt it was sufficiently distanced from the inspiration. He thinks what that distance should be varies from design to design and is hard to stick.
		Kuebiko: The key phrases for this design are "earth", "vegetation", "Japanese-style", and "spirit". Kuebiko is god of fields, agriculture, and earth. As such his right arm is made of cracked mud, his left sand, and his torso rocks. Rice plants sprout from his head. His main motif is a scarecrow, but Aki thinks this tends to make people think of things from B-horror movies. That wasn't his intention, so he was careful about the pose. He aimed for something like a scarecrow on steroids.
		Yamato Takeru: This time, key phrases given were "Yamato Takeru", "angular hair", "magatama jewels", "ancient Japan", "cracked earthenware", and "transform". In the rough he included "young man", "male", "assassin", "divine sword Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi", "top brass villain", and "National Defense Divinity". He made his limbs puffier in a redraw and really wanted him to appear as a dark hero. Aki says that by slotting the magatama from his buckle into his sword, Yamato Takeru can pull off special moves. If the jewels in his chest tend left he's an enemy, and if right he's an ally. If both sides sink into the body, the demon turns gold and enters hyper mode. That's all Aki came up with, and he hopes voice acting aided communicating the demons' personalities.
		King Kenji: Keywords were "face", "destruction", "revival", and "red lines". Aki designed him to look different from the others, but he does look similar to a sentai character.
		Astaroth: Keywords this time were "androgynous man", "top brass villain", "medieval nobleman". Aki struggled to figure out where to put the person in the design. The mask and purple lipstick covered the androgynous aspect, and he decided to put the human aspect up front, wearing dragon part-like armor. He questions whether the scabbard was necessary, and says he wanted the sword to be sheathed directly into the dragon's stomach. From far away, the sword might look like dragon's fangs, or its tongue. The true difficulty of the design was getting it to fit on drafting paper.

	Yoshihiro Nishimura: When he got the request he was surprised because he'd only modeled things for movies. The deal was sealed when they begged him to work with them as fans of his movies. He's not good at drawing so instead he crafted sculptures, and he was the only guest artist to do so. He's glad he did because he thinks the finished products look pretty 3D in game. On demon backstories, he explains that mythology has always been a source of inspiration. He says he always asked himself how his grandmother would describe things in a bedtime story and how he could patch together different interpretations of a myth.
		Omoikane: Because Omoikane is supposed to be an intellectual, so Nishimura created a monster out of cranial nerves holding generations' worth of scrolls. He aimed for something that didn't quite have a concrete body. Bundling wire to make the sculpture was actually pretty difficult for him. Omoikane is Nishimura's favorite of the demons he created.
		Pluto: When Nishimura imagines "Pluto" he thinks of Astro Boy. But the theme this time is "massive structure" so he created a poison-spewing reactor combined with organic elements. He wanted Pluto to look almost impossible to defeat. Most of Pluto's body is underground and he wanted players to catch onto this. His structural parts especially are supposed to look sinister.
		Yaso Magatsuhi: At first Nishimura imagined him as a giant, but then he decided to give the demon some of his flair and humor. So what we get is a "demon that used to be a big person". Yaso Magatsuhi carries a palanquin and in order to look funny, he was made ugly on purpose. There was trouble on deciding a facial expression to give.

	Keita Amemiya: When Amemiya got the job offer, he was worried about his style clashing with the series. He took the job after finding out how many others were enlisted on the project. He says he found a certain beauty in MegaTen characters and sought it when sketching. About the demons themselves, he says the concept of weapons, machinery, and other artificial things being open for inclusion in designs made him more interested. He calls Kaneko "the father of form and design" and says he was happy to work on them. With the designs he tried to work organic-looking machinery into the orthodox designs of the demons. He gave the archangels different color schemes to make them stand out from one another. The biggest challenge he faced was ensuring the designs were actually usable in game. Seeing his designs brought to life was thrilling and he'd like to take on such a challenge again.