Progress

Hello, this is Assistant Editor Hanako here to bring you an update. For most of us, things have been quite hectic lately, so we haven't been able to get much done recently. This is especially true for my elder siblings, who are the ones that normally make these blog posts. However, rest assured that we shall be getting things straightened out soon.

Also note that production of "Ketsueki no Iro wa..." has been postponed for a few months until Summer Vacation begins and we are all able to work on it without interrupt. In the meantime, I'm thinkig of making a smll RPG with Shocky to placate you, our ever-so-hungry fans, with a new release. This is not set in stone, however, but with hope, you'll all be playing an RPG before long and you can stop asking us "when's the new release coming out?" for a while...

-Hanako, Assistant Editor, KAMINARI

KAMINARI's Members

If you ever wondered what the members of KAMINARI looked like, since the only introduction they have ever been given was during the first post of this blog (http://kaminaridojin.blogspot.com/2009/01/welcome-to-kaminari-good-traveler.html), then fret no more!

Shockpulse, our resident 2nd-in-Command of Art, has posted to her DeviantArt account (mentioned in the previous post) an illustration of the lot of us, including our mascots. Her Artist's Comments elaborate on who is who, as well as remind you of who does what.

See it here:
http://shockpulse.deviantart.com/art/KAMINARI-Members-CG-152624668

Concepts & Misc. Illustrations

Though Kana is our lead artist, by nature of having the best art skills, Shockpulse has started posting some of her own art of KAMINARI works that have been, will be, are, or never will be, as well as art of our mascots, Kaminari-tan and Kuniyth (they show up from time to time in our work), on her DeviantArt account. She has also taken the time to list details on different projects or the process of making a game, story, or piece of art, so you should read her "Artist's Comments" below each one.

For a great example, check out the 4koma concept for Kari^2 during early drafts:
http://shockpulse.deviantart.com/art/Kari-Squared-4Koma-Concept-152606493
The Artist's Comments go in rather deep with explanations and details about the evolution of the project. A very interesting read, in fact.

Check it all out here: http://shockpulse.deviantart.com/
(Remember, she's still actively posting, so check back every once in a while!)

Projects

If you've been reading this site's news regularly, you'll notice the "Monthly Update" lists projects that are never heard of again. This is an unfortunate thing that happens a lot. We start doing something, then it just kind of falls apart or we go on to other things.

HOWEVER:
Please do not think that everything goes this way. We shall try, as best as we can, to finish "Ketsueki no Iro" and to release it on time. The same goes for a couple of other projects. We won't tell you one of them, but the other is the Light Novel "Kari^2" we've been working on.


Honestly, "Kari^2" is more like a cyberpunk action-oriented RPG video game in style, which, to put in Shocky's words, brings this to mind:
"You know, if we ever got decent 3D game creation software, to go along with our 2D stuff, we could make lots more games. First off, I say we make Kari Squared into a game!! *insert maniacal laughter*"

Well, that's just wishful thinking on her part, but it probably would make a seriously cool game, so, like so many other things, it's been put on the almost-mythical "List of Upcoming(?) Projects":



List of Upcoming(?) Projects (Which may or may not ever come to final fruition, though I for one would like them to, eventually)
Kari^2 - Light Novel
Kari^2 - 3D Action Video Game
Legend Lore 2- Fantasy RPG Trilogy (Actually, this one is about 1/3 done as of...2008, 2007? Been a LONG time since we worked on it...)
Legend Lore 3- Fantasy RPG Trilogy
Blood Infinity (Bl∞d) - Short Story Series (actually revised the story some and wrote out a really cool ending a while back...there's good hope for Kimi Mélana Tepes' story yet!
[Untitled Mecha Novel] - Novel (Started this a while back, and the beginning is really cool, the characters are interesting, and it keeps your interest....until it suddenly and without warning stops. For some REALLY unknown reason, we stopped writing it...)
Ketsueki Otaku (Satsugai Series) - Short Stories from Ketsuki (Wow...these might actually be the original, final-lasting fragments of what became "Ketsueki no Iro"...or did we write these after the idea...Regardless, they formed the basis for most of the plot for "Ketsueki no Iro" and several characters. [Hmm..we should finish these...]



Well, that was interesting.
We seem to have found a new thing to quickly revise and publish.
"Ketsueki Otaku", each story being labeled "Satsugai 1/2/3/etc.", is a smallish series of short stories about victims of Kamiko's lasting evil in Ketsuki, commonly refered to as the "Yan Virus" (from "Yangire", as an in-joke). Each Otaku, as they're refered to as a member of this group, are obsessed with a particular method of, or tool used for, killing. If I remember correctly, Inoue Rissa was actually going to be a member, though that never worked out well (she eventually evolved into a magical girl instead).

So without further ado, KAMINARI presents the first in the series of "Ketsueki Otaku", a sidestory detailing minor events referenced in "Ketsueki no Iro"

"Ketsueki Otaku - Satsugai 1: Kogatana Otaku"
Chiyo/Chi, the "Kogatana Otaku", is a girl with a murderous dissocociative personality. Chiyo is obssessed with knives, and believes firmly that to kill someone you need not just anything, but a weapon that reflects the personality and being of the person being killed with it (so, even if she had dozens to choose from, she wouldn't use a weapon unless it was the perfect match for the murder). Chi, on the other hand, is cruel, ruthless, and enjoys inflicting massive psychological damage on her victims before killing them.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?yiwlmzmiw2j

Ketsueki no Iro wa... Character Profiles Vol.3

Now, to profile the siblings of the main protagonist (you), Inoue Kyashi:

Inoue Rissa

Rissa is Kyashi's younger sister (two years younger) who attends the Public High School as a First Year. Her best friend is a blue-haired girl named Sekisetsu Suiko (a pseudonym), who is virtually obsessed with water. Rissa hates her mother for suddenly leaving one day almost a year before the game starts, and hates her twin brother even more for the same reason. Her dream is to one day become a doctor, so she has a massive collection of medical textbooks.

She is rarely seen without the ankh around her neck, a souvenir of a trip to Egypt when she was little, and the last remaining memory of her father, who died when she was 6. Though she isn't aware of it at the start of the game, Rissa is actually a fairly-powerful magical girl.

Inoue Rai

Rai, Rissa's older twin brother, attends the Private High School, and takes advantage of its boarding option, meaning he lives there. He has a job working at the convenience store near the school complexes, which allows him to sustain himself. The reason he uses this situation is to alleviate financial pressure off of his sisters, since the three were barely managing to survive until Rai and Rissa entered high school. The original plan was for all of them to attend the Private High School, but the severe lack of funds made it so only one of them could attend. Kyashi and Rissa both agreed that Rai (the only academically-focused one of the siblings) deserved it, so Kyashi transferred to the Public High School, the same place that Rissa had enrolled in.
Rai is blind in his left eye. When he was leaving, Rissa got very angry at him, accusing him of being "just like their mother", and punched him (rather hard) in the face, causing permanent damage to his eye, which rapidly lost all sight.

Three new stories!

Hello, KAMINARI fans! Today we have a treat for you! An actual story! But no, not just one, but three! Yes, THREE stories!

"Pocket Guide to Ketsueki no Sekai"
One of several "Pocket Guidebooks" put out by the fictional "Kaminari Corps", an omnipresent entity in the KAMINARI Verse. This Guidebook features information on Ketsuki, also known as "Ketsueki no Sekai", the setting of "Ketsueki no Iro wa...". Included are details of its denizens and its history (including mythology), among other points of interest.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?2jynttn3yxo

"The Legend of Kamiko"
Somewhat spoiler-ish, one might say, but in truth it is a vital piece of backstory, detailing the true history of Kamiko, Tenko, Tanno, and Eki, the four super-powerful supernatural beings in "Ketsueki no Iro wa...". Included in this tale are the origins of how Tanno became a KAMINARI employee, the full story behind "Claire and the Lilies" (see the "Pocket Guidebook to Ketsueki no Sekai", under the Mythology section), and the details of the climactic battle that took place thousands of Ketsuki years previously.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?ybzmeriyi2y

"The Short Days of Summer"
(NOTE: Not for the squeemish, or those who do not like blood, death, or the idea of 7-year-old murderers)
An original short horror story about a young girl who discovers a fun game to pass the time during one fateful summer.
[Note: Revision 2 Version - The orginal "extended ending" of all of a paragraph didn't really fit well with the overall feel of the story, so we eliminated it. Now, the story flows MUCH nicer.]
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?2jdmtyvyodl

Ketsueki no Iro wa... Character Profiles Vol.2

Sheesh. Sorry about the lack of updates recently, things have been hectic lately. So, for the first time since September, though it promised to be weekly (I'm sorry!) here we present the second set of Character profiles for "Ketsueki no Iro wa..." or, "The Color of Blood":
The Trio of Troublemakers, the Cultists of Kamiko!

Melissa (surname unknown)

Melissa is the leader of the group of Private High School students (yes, the official name is "私立の高等学校", or "Shiritsu no Kōtōgakkō", translated literally to "Private High School". It's somewhat of an in-joke). She has blue hair, long twintails, and rarely, if ever, opens her eyes. She also likes holding her hands up like that. While it is a proven fact that the "Yan Virus"* affects everyone on the Ketsueki planet**, it seems to affect some more than others. One such person would be Melissa, who came to Japan from England years ago with her family (whom she has since killed), and she fell under the influence of Lady Kamiko, a demon that once ruled the planet before being sealed away by Tanno, an interdimensional magical girl, and Tenko, an angel. Now, thousands of years later, Kamiko has gathered a few loyal followers in the form of Melissa and her friends...

Kokawa Alice

Alice actually only has one eye, and her left is merely an empty socket. Despite this, she fits so many moe traits, you wouldn't ever believe she was torturous. (Glasses, zettai ryouiki, quiet, intelligent, pettan [could be said about everyone, though], yuri...)

Abe Chika

Chika...well, there's not really much to say about Chika.


* The name of an inherent trait somewhat similar to the virus in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, but making people murderous, rather than delirious. It can activate at any time, and over time, many people have either become immune to its effects, or the virus never activates.
** Officially named "Ketseuki-no-Sekai" by the Raiden Elders, and called "Ketsuki" by the inhabitants. It is an unusual, alternate Earth with three moons, each different (One is red-colored from its own poisonous atmosphere, one is shaded in eternal darkness from its odd angle with the sun, and the last is a shattered belt of debris that forms a ring around the planet).