The Kage

I've been waiting to write the characters' Kage/影/Shadow forms for a long time, now...probably since all the way back in Chapter 19 ("A Dream of You")...which, interestingly enough, I recall working on just about a year ago to this week.

I did not go into detail with the updated Kage as represented in Chapter 57 ("Nightmare"), because I didn't want to just spell everything out for the reader. I gave descriptions, yes, but I think that the Kage should stand on their own, to be interpreted as the reader sees fit. I feel that I've given enough background into each of the characters, that the reader can (hopefully) pretty accurately extrapolate what's going on with each of them, as I've envisioned them to be. There are a couple for whom I've come right out and said what they represent (because I needed that conversation to take place at that time in the plot, and I wanted two of the characters to have a nice little personal moment between them), but the main Kage are left to be interpreted by Chie's bias.

And Chie definitely has a bias, as I have said many, many times before. But we'll get into that in the next chapter....

That said, I loved dropping little hints about the Kage throughout the earlier chapters, and imagining the way that they would all look, and how they would all act. Chie's and Yousuke's are very important to the story, of course, because of their progression (and regression) as a cooperative and co-dependent couple...but I think I enjoyed creating Naoto's Kage the most. There's just something about her image that I find so darn entertaining and amusing. Kanji's was perhaps the most difficult to envision properly, because ultimately I find him the least flawed of the team, in my story. (And here I have to admit that the idea for Maou's giant sword came quite late in the design. Back when the Kage were going to take a much more active role in the final conflict, I had wanted them to closely resemble their associative Personas, and so Rokuten Maou had to have a big old sword - just like Yamatotakeru has a katana. I was going to give Maou just a regular broadsword, but then I saw the movie 9, and I adored the look of 8's shears-sword. So, I stole that little detail from the movie. But I think it fits with Kanji/Maou, don't you?)

So, no question again. But I figured that, while I write through these last chapters, you might enjoy a little more insight into one of the latest chapters, and how I came to those characters.

Remember, if you have questions about "1 More Chance!" - or any of my stories - please feel free to leave a review, or send me a Direct Message/Email. Otherwise, this blog will just get filled up with commentary like this one.

Q: Why are there still Shadows, if this takes place after the True Ending? [POSSIBLE GAME SPOILERS]

Question:
Reviewer Lady Cheshire asked why the TV World is still filled with Shadows, if the story takes place after the game's True Ending.

Answer:
My short answer to Lady Cheshire was that "the peace of a human heart does not last forever, and it was of no small significance that Shadows were found in Yukiko's Castle." A somewhat cryptic version of the answer also comes out in Chapter 29 (posted 9 September 2009), but the TV World (Mayonaka) will be featured in more detail in the fourth arc of the story, and more questions will be answered at that time.

[GAME SPOILERS] - rollover to read
When the team defeats Izanami at the end of the game, they learn that the TV World is basically a reflection of human hearts. When humans hide the truth of themselves, their hidden selves become Shadows; and when they reject themselves, their Shadows become restless.

Since no person can remain completely at peace with him or herself, those Shadows have slowly come back into existence. Kuma mentions in Chapter 29 that there have always been Shadows and that there will always be Shadows...but as long as a person is willing to accept their true selves, the Shadows will remain relatively peaceful.
[END GAME SPOILERS]

A Shadow remains a part of a person even after he or she faces the true self. Chie is learning that as she becomes more of a well-rounded adult, and her Shadow will definitely continue to play a part in the evolution of her character.