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Genso Shinsyo Vol. 15 New Info

Contrary to other editorials, I have decided to use this space to share new information I have gathered from Genso Shinsyo Vol. 15. For those of you who do not know, Genso Shinsyo is a quarterly Suikoden magazine edited by Konami. It tends to contain new information about the series, so a new issue always brings forth new discussion. I will do a para-translation of stuff I find in the Shinsyo that would be "new" information. Because some of the info is fragmented, I would probably add some information that is already known to make it a more wholesome update. Anyways, I will cut the crap and get on with the meaty details--

  • What the hell is Mike and his "stench of darkness?"
    Konami gives us a very vague answer to that question posed by a fan. The magazine tells us what we already know--"Mike was seen with a number of men in black, all holding strange weapons, and they were all saluting him." That's basically what Kidd tells you anyways. However, it is further stated that the greatest key to solving his mystery is the fact that Mike and Watari know each other. The magazine states that this fact, along with a few other witness accounts should give you an idea of who he really is. Perhaps he is a high ranking ninja of an opposing clan? Who knows.
    Luc physically aged between Suikoden 2 and Suikoden 3.

  • Why does Luc look like he has aged despite being a true rune bearer?
    Konami explains that, "Those who bear true runes gain tremendous power and the gift of "agelessness." Thus, you simply do not age, but you still do grow. However, as seen with Sierra, Ted, and Luc, there are personal differences in terms of subjective age. The reason for the difference is uncertain, but growth seems to be affected by the will of the bearer, their own projection for growth, the type of rune they bear, and the circumstances surrounding how the bearer earned the rune. However, people such as Joshua, Geddoe, and Wyatt who were already grown up would completely stop aging under all circumstances." That answers a lot of previous discussion for sure, eh?

  • Since when did Sonya Shulen and Anji from Suikoden 1 start to fight?
    Konami says, "Around the year 450, Anji managed to control all of the pirates in Lake Toran, organizing them into a group that is capable of attacking imperial vessels, spreading their fearful name across Lake Toran. The empire sent their navy, but the empire was already corrupted by that time and thus the navy was ineffective. Only Sonya's unit was able o fight against Anji effectively, reducing the damage suffered by the empire. One day, a wedding dress was hanged on the walls of Shasarazade. This was Anji's way of taunting Sonya, meaning "wear this and be a good girl." Sonya was furious, but instead of launching an attack she secretly delivers barrels of high-quality liquor to the pirates as a gift. She then ambushed the pirates after they got all drunk. Anji cursed at Sonya, calling her "treacherous," and the battle between the two escalated after that." Interesting tidbit actually, this information also tells us that Kilawher Shulen is dead by the year 450. Previous to this, all we knew was that she died some time between the Succession War and the Gate Rune Wars.

After that, the magazine dedicates a section to explaining the members of the 12th Harmonian Border Guards in detail. It reveals some new interesting info. Lets see--

  • Stuff about Ace
    1) Ace's weapon is a Sai, which is a weapon used in Okinawa-style Karate. Being a bookworm, Ace learned about this weapon from an old book and had a blacksmith make a pair for him.

    2) Mamie thinks Ace is a pervert because her customers constantly talk about how "that guy Ace hit on me again..." and "that guy sent me a letter..." etc.

    3) Ace has no girlfriend to speak of, and his gift of gab gets him lucky once in a while. However, this has gotten him into trouble before, such as with Elaine in Duke's unit. Once he bought her a gift that cost him an entire mission's pay, but she dumped him!

  • Stuff about Joker
    1) Joker's weapon is basically a brass knuckle made of various materials. He doesn't like using weapons very much, and also prefers light clothing that doesn't restrict his movement.

    2) Joker was called Wang in Suikogaiden Vol. 2, but he changed his name after entering the 12th Border Guards. All members of the 12th Border Guards had code names based on the royal suits from the trump deck. This was mainly because all members of the unit had pasts they particularly did not want to remember and in some cases their true names would have drawn attention to them. This is not a rule, so members can opt to be called by their real name. The magazine speculates that, "Perhaps Aila would be called 'Heart'?" Not likely...

  • Stuff about Queen
    1) Queen's weapon is a light, straight saber. It has a blade on one end only, probably so Queen can stun enemies with that side instead of killing them. The name of the weapon means "New Moon" "Crescent Moon" and "Full Moon" respectively. Her clothes are green purely for reasons of utility, and her choker features a single feather.

    2) Queen is from Sanady, which is a nation that was invaded and assimilated by Harmonia due to the fact that they had a True Rune in possession. Its exact location is unknown, but it is currently a part of Harmonia. Also, Sanady is spelled a bit different from Sanadia (Where Zaj from Suikogaiden hails from). There is a theory that Sanady is simply a short form for Sanadia, there are many nations in the Suikoden world so the truth is uncertain.

    3) Queen and Geddoe are not in love, but they both deeply respect and trust each other. However, Queen's tender care is providing healing to Geddoe's tortured mind, so who knows what happens in the future.
    Jacques is silent and hard to understand but he likes dogs and children.

  • Stuff about Jacques
    1) Jacques' weapon is a giant crossbow. Crossbows become deadlier with size, but his crossbow looks unrealistically huge. Considering the fact that Jacques is pretty skinny, the crossbow is probably made with very light material. His clothing is somewhat thick, but this is to protect him from thick brush and branches when he needs to hide and wait for his prey.

    2) Jacques was scouted by Geddoe just before the plot of Suikoden 3 started. In order to escape from pursuers, Geddoe's unit ran into a forest and scattered. A few chased after Geddoe but someone sniped at them, and the sniper was Jacques. He didn't do this to help Geddoe and actually had another reason, but Geddoe and others immediately fell in love with his skill and personality, and thus he was recruited. The unit members always felt that they were lacking long-range support.

    3) Jacques has never seen the ocean due to being raised in the mountains inland. He traveled on his own before meeting the 12th Border Guards, but he has not gone as far as the sea at that point.

    Aila is one of the few characters who changes outfits!

  • Stuff about Aila
    1) Aila's weapon is a wooden bow called Datar. Karayan men typically use swords, but the difference in strength often makes women choose different weapons. Aila is able to detect the presence of enemies through the earth element, so the long-range and accuracy offered by a bow is ideal for her. Her clothing is made mainly of leather, and has traditional Karayan design.

    2) Although Aila joined the 12th Border Guards, she intends to return to Karaya some day--which may be the distant future. For now, she wishes to see more of the world. The war taught her that there are many different kinds of people with many different perspectives. Once she acquires a broader perspective and understanding, she would surely be respected once she returns to Karaya village.


That's all with the stuff on the 12th border guards. A lot of the information is interesting, but not particularly new. Next comes some info on "veteran warriors," which covers fighters who are above 35 years old. Letfs see what they got here--

  • Lepant
    1) Kirinji is described as a weapon that has been in Lepant's household for generations. It is a sword with a "flame-like blade" which is probably a direct reference to the flamberge, an old type of sword with a wavy blade. The wavy blade acts almost like a saw, gouging flesh and delivering terrible wounds on the unlucky enemy. Previously, Kirinji was never described, so this is new info.

    2) Lepant and Mathiu apparently knew each other before the war. Lepant learned that the famous Mathiu Silverberg was retired in Seika, and visits him. Both of them were able to tell that the other was trustworthy, and they continued their friendship--talking over liquor at times. Lepant also helped Mathiu materially so that he can run his school.

    3) Lepant and Eileen met at a party run by a local magistrate. There Lepant was introduced to Eileen, who was the daughter of the magistrate. The two soon fall in love and become close.

  • Maximillian
    1) In Suikoden 1, when Maximillian joins your army, he adds 1200 troops to your army single-handedly. This is not because he already had troops with him, but because he is widely respected. The fact that he joined made many people want to help the Liberation Army; this made his unit the most powerful unit in Suikoden 1. In Suikoden 2, he is consider weaker in terms of military force, but that is due to the fact that he is further away from his support base, and he is also without Sancho.

    2) The Maximillian Knights were never officially under the Scarlet Moon Army. There is little actual documentation for their activities, but his name is well known in the Toran region. Even after his grandson, Fred, became the captain, many people praise the deeds of Maximilian and therefore he probably did accomplish many good deeds.

    3) The Maximillian Knights were disbanded when they aided the Jowstone Alliance during the war between the Highland Kingdom and Jowstone. Because the Maximillian Knights are composed of people from the Scarlet Moon Empire, the empire did not see this as a good precedent and a cause of political problems, and thus decided to dismantle the knighthood.

  • Joshua Levenheit
    1) In Suikoden 3, we learn that Milia has become the new knight captain, making her the bearer of the Dragon Rune. Normally, the rune is not transferred because it can spell death to all dragons--thus it only happens when the captain dies, or when the bearer wishes to transfer the rune. Whatever may have happened, something must have happened to Joshua in the 18 years between Suikoden 1 and 3.

    2) Even after joining your army, Joshua never leaves the Dragon's Den. This is because the lack of his presence may weaken the influence of the Dragon Rune, and make younger dragons that have weaker willpower go out of control. When Joshua did fight in battles, he made sure he did not spend too much time at the battlefield.

    3) How Joshua earned his Dragon Rune is a mystery, especially because he is not the type who talks about his past. However, all true rune bearers are forced to endure great trials and face against destiny. Joshua is no exception and thus it is assumed that there was a huge event more than 200 years ago. In world history, that was around when the Highland Kingdom was formed, and the Kingdom of Dunan was facing civil unrest--basically it was a time when the suikoden world was in general turmoil.

  • Warren
    1) Warren met Viktor for the first time when Viktor was on his way back from North Window following his battle with Neclord (in Suikoden 1). Warren heard from other guests at his house that a great swordsman is in the northern lands. Thus, he writes a letter to Viktor and invites him to his home, but just as he arrived they were both arrested by Kasim Hazil's troops.

    2) Warren is an extremely rich merchant, and has always allowed guests to stay at his house. His huge fortune really helped the Liberation Army after he joined, giving a huge boost to their finances.

    3) When Suikoden 1 was still in development, Warren was supposed to have a bigger role in the plot of the game. However, after a few revisions of the plot, he was reduced to c character who only had a few lines in the game--and a "damsel in distress" to boot.

  • Kreutz
    1) Kreutz says that he lives to avenge the death of his master "Georg." This Georg he speaks about is actually Geil Rugner. Geil Rugner changed his name after he became emperor due to the name being easier to pronounce, and it was astrologically auspicious compared to his old name. Because Kreutz has been serving under Geil for a very long time, he often refers to him as Georg.

    2) Kreutz has dueled against Humphrey a number of times during the Succession War and the two have great respect for each other, but they are not really friends either.

  • Zorak
    1) Although many think Zorak is a difficult man, he actually accepts Hix as Tengaar's potential mate. He hopes that Hix has a hidden talent, and bloom into a first rate warrior. The husband of Tengaar would naturally become the future chief of the village, and Zorak trusts that Hix would be able to do a good job.

    2) Zorak is not one of the 108 stars, but apparently he DID join the Liberation Army after the whole Neclord Incident, and he was apparently involved in battles--although we never saw him.

  • Hanzo
    1) The leader of Rokkaku is traditionally appointed by the outgoing leader. The chosen one becomes the vice-leader and then is supposed to take the leader's place upon his or her death. Being a good ninja requires not only skill but great talent, so one's potential as a leader is determined when a ninja-to-be is still very young. That means Kasumi is a ninja with exceptional talent.

    2) During the Gate Rune Wars, he led his ninjas against the Scarlet Moon Empire during the very beginning of the war, triggering a massive counter-attack by Teo McDohl, which destroyed Rokkaku. After that he kept hidden, biding his time and gathering scattered ninjas. He then rose again at the final battle to aid the Liberation Army.

That's all for the character updates, but there's also some other interesting info scattered throughout the magazine, which requires a find-toothed comb to discover. There is a section that discusses weapons in the Shinsyo, and in this issue they talk about Halberds and Rapiers. Although their historical "research" is flawed, their info about their use in the suikoden world is somewhat interesting, so here I go--

  • Halberds in the Suikoden World
    Halberds in the Suikoden world are used mainly by two groups--Ducks and Harmonians. Duck Halberds typically have their axe-heads designed after marine animals, such as fishes, squid, etc, and thus reflect the daily lives of ducks--and have some aesthetic qualities. This symbolizes the pride and resolve of Ducks--that they fight not to kill, but to preserve their peace. In comparison, Harmonian Halberds are designed for utility, and also to intimidate, symbolizing their huge, strict nation.

  • Rapiers in the Suikoden World
    Rapiers are typically weapons preferred by Narcissists, who value "conversing through swordplay" and fighting with grace. It is also used by those who are weak, but need a means of defense during travel. However, the most famous master of the rapier is Roundier Haia who is retired on Kanakan. His fencing method allows it's user to maximize the benefits of the falcon rune, allowing him to lunge repeatedly with incredible power. His students, Valeria and Anita, are both famous sword masters known in the world.

Well, so Roundier Haia is male!! That's a shock because I was hoping he would be a she. Oh well, that's all. I hope you liked it!

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Written by SARSadmin
March 23th, 2004