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Subject: [Curtis Hoffman] Dragon Half Character Guide
Date: 31 Aug 92 01:44:29 GMT
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                      Dragon Half Character Guide

                                                     Curtis H. Hoffmann
                                                     August 30, 1992

   Dragon Half is a very silly manga that is serialized in the Japanese
_Dragon_ magazine (not to be confused with the TSR Dragon magazine.)
Dragon is dedicated to role playing games, and has occasional features
on computer games, and run-downs on the manga it serializes.  However,
there hasn't been a character guide for Dragon Half, printed in Dragon,
for some time (if ever.)  So, this document is aimed at helping out
readers new to one of the silliest, yet brilliantly drawn, manga
available currently.  It also contains something of a story summary as
the action gets a little more tied up with character development near
the middle.
   (NOTE: Dragon also serializes Atlas of Replay, Possession Tracer, and
Rune Masquer -- ALL of which are above average manga.  Also, Rune
Masquer has been collected into one manga volume, and Dragon Half has
been collected into 4 volumes.)

Characters listed in order of appearance, starting with volume 1, up to
volume 4.
(PC == Prime Characteristics.)


Volume 1

Mink: The heroine.  A young half-girl, half-kaiser dragon, that is out
      in search of adventure, and a potion that will turn her
      permanently human.  She is enamoured with Dick Saucer, a pop-idol
      singer and dragon-slayer.  Mink is a very good fighter with a
      sword, her fists, and her tail (she also occasionally breathes fire.)
      She and her companions (Rufa and Pia) will usually eat whatever
      enemy attacks them.  Her prime foes are Princess Vena and her father,
      The Great Demon Lord, and Dick Saucer.  Mink is basically a sweet,
      honest girl.
      PC: Skimpy clothing, long red hair, and a dragon tail, and
      (occasionally) small wings at her shoulder blades.  She starts out
      with only one horn on each side of her head, right around her
      temples.

Waga: An assassin sent by Siva to kill Rouce and Mink.  Has eyestalks
      that shoot from his chest.  Dies, and is not seen again.

Rufa: Rufa is a magic-using elf.  But not a very good one.  She is the
      main comic relief, and is very sexually active without caring much
      about who her partner is (she'd like to play with Mink, but Mink
      isn't interested.  Otherwise, she will target strong, athletic,
      rich, young men.)  She is shown once or twice to be an incredible
      masochist for physical pain.  When she finds a lightning wand, we
      discover just how bad her aim really is.  She is usually
      well-meaning, but has a cruel streak, and absolutely no tact.
      Rufa's prime foes are herself, and Mappy.
      PC: Shoulder-length blond hair, skimpy leather armor, and long
      pointy ears.  Constantly seen either running from danger or
      tormenting Pai.

Pia:  A young boy that goes everywhere with Rufa and Mink.  He is
      training to be a fighter, but is rarely shown actually using his
      sword.  Pia would love nothing more than to go romping with Mappy
      (his pet mouse) and Mink.  ("Romping" includes slaying big,
      terrible monsters.)  Pia's prime foe is Rufa.
      PC: Blue armor, brown hair held in a long pony-tail, and (later) a
      space-age helmet.

Rouce: Mink's human father.  Rouce was once a master swordsman, then got
      married to Mana.  Now, he is a lecherous middle-aged man, and the
      constant target of Mana's fury.  He will hit on any attractive
      female, even when his wife is watching.  This is one of the many
      reasons why he and Mana are constantly fighting.  Rufa is also a
      coward.  He hates getting into combat, but is still very loyal to
      his wife and daughter when they really need him.  Rouce's prime
      foes are himself and Mana.
      PC: Short, wavy black hair, moustache, well-dressed, and either
      battered and bruised by Mana, or sticking his leering face into
      some woman's breasts.

Mana: Mink's Kaiser Dragon mother.  Little mention is made as to exactly
      what sets kaiser dragons apart from normal dragons, other than
      they can shape-change into human form (at least, Mana does) and
      that they are much stronger than other kinds of dragons.  Mana is
      very concerned about Mink's welfare, and would rather that Mink
      not try killing the Great Demon Lord all by herself.  (A kaiser
      dragon village is shown later on, but none of the dragons ever
      take human form at that time.)  Mana's prime foe is Rouce.
      PC: Either appears as a big dragon (especially when breathing
      flame on Rouce,) or as a slim woman with long blond hair, and
      webbed ears.

Siva: Although Siva's picture appears early on, Siva himself doesn't.
      Siva is the main king in this region, and seems to have some kind
      of relationship with Mink's parents.  He is constantly spying on
      those two, and seems to automatically hate Mink.  When in his
      castle, Siva loves pulling on cords and dropping concrete blocks
      on people's heads.    He is very hateful and vindictive, but also
      rather incompetent.  Seems to be carrying a crush for Mana, and
      may hate Rouce for getting to Mana first.  His prime foes are Mink,
      and Mink's friends and companions.  And his daughter.
      PC: Short, fat, with a pentagram engraved on his forehead.

The Temple Girl Twins: AKA the Temple Women.  Two identical young women
      employed by Siva to keep the castle clean.  They also act as
      Vena's handmaids, and chorusline.
      PC: Turbans, long black hair, and identical faces.  Usually
      looking demur and happy with whatever they're doing, unless they
      are squabbling with each other.

Dick Saucer: First appears on TV, then on magazine covers.  He is a very
      popular teen idol, and is rather vain.  A very good fighter who
      hates dragons (his parents were killed by a kaiser dragon named
      Titan.)  He sings, and performs in commercials for Lightning
      chocolate.  His first commission from Siva is to kill Mink.  Saucer
      can not accept the fact that Mink is a dragon-half, which is why
      Mink wants to become human.  He falls in love with Lora.
      PC: Long, flowing blond hair, terrific body, and fancy cloth armor.
      And various fans asking for his autograph.

Rozario: Techno-wizard that works for Siva, occasionally as an advisor.
      He comes up with many plans and devices that almost always back-fire
      on him through sheer incompetence.  Otherwise, they backfire
      through plain bad luck.  His first attempt to capture Mink includes
      putting two Dick Saucer rock concert tickets on the end of a fish
      line, and hiding behind a bush.  When Mink refuses to pick the
      tickets up, he resorts to shooting her with a knock-out dart from a
      blowgun.
      PC: Embroidered black wizard's robe and hood.  Often has concrete
      blocks fall on him.

Perfect Princess Vena: Vena is also a half-human, on her father's side.
      Her father is Siva, and she acts just as spoiled and emperious as
      one might expect.  She is very attractive, and loves skimpy
      clothing with an S&M flair.  Her mother is Venus, a slime.  When
      hit hard enough, Vena will revert to a slime, and needs to cast a
      spell on herself to turn human again.  She is a magic user, and
      usually fails in her plans simply because Mink is stronger than she
      is.  Vena's prime foe is Mink.  She first meets Mink when Mink is
      trying to get into a Dick Saucer concert with forged tickets given
      to her by Siva.  When Vena tries to eject Mink, Mink destroys
      Vena's earth golem.  From there, the conflict escalates to all-out
      war.  She gets a sword through her chest, and claims that it'll
      take more than that to kill her.
      PC: Long, fluffy hair, skimpy armor, and usually announces
      herself as "Perfect Princess Vena."  Always attacks Mink.

Zug:  Cyclops lizard with spikes for arms.  Another of Siva's assassins,
      that dies when it thinks one of Vena's assassin's is actually Mink.
      Both assassins become supper for Mink and friends.

Venus: A slime.  Slimes, in this case are Hershey Kisses with eyes.
      When he was a young man, Siva happened across a family of slimes,
      and promised to turn one (Venus) human with "Vido Potion."  (When
      Mink hears of this Vido Potion, she tries to track it down, so that
      she can become human, and have a happy life with Saucer.)  After
      Venus becomes human, she marries Siva, and they have one baby-- a
      slime named Vena.  I'm unclear as to Venus' final fate, since she
      doesn't actually figure into the story.

Mario: Pia's father; a dwarve that is prone to fainting spells when told
      bad news, or bad jokes.
      PC: Short, squat, with a moustache and spiked helmet.

Peach: Pia's mother, difficult to say what race, but probably human.
      Also subject to fainting spells (when they first appear, Mario
      and Peach are keeping track, to see who faints the most.)
      PC: Willowy, dark-short haired woman with a headband, and
      dewy-moist eyes.

Link: Rufa's elven father.  Just as magically incompetent as his
      daughter.  We never see his wife, but he does appear later with a
      willowy girlfriend.
      PC: Pointy ears, long blond hair, and a perpetually confused look
      on his face.

Dama Rama: An increasingly unlucky warrior.  He first appears as a
      strapping human hulk riding Rashii (a winged fish-dragon.)  Each
      time he gets defeated, he gets parts of his body replaced with
      sheet metal.  In his latest appearance in Dragon magazine, he is
      just a head, with tiny metal feet, and a cuisinart blade on the top
      of his skull.
      PC: Massive stupidity, and a square chin.

Horned innkeeper: A shape-changing monster that runs an inn to feed
      himself.  Name does not seem to be given.  When defeated, he gives
      Mink a chest that contains a lightning wand that Rufa takes.  He
      dies when, instead of saying that Mink is cute, he calls her a
      monster.  Does not appear again.

Hydra Dragon: Vena's three-headed dragon assassin.  Is killed when it
      becomes hungry and mistakes Saucer as supper.

Starman: Wizard-hermit that tells Mink about the Great Demon Lord,
      Azatodeth.  Doesn't appear later.  Has a star on his forehead, and
      ragged robes.  To help Mink locate Azatodeth's island, Starman
      gives her Mappy.

Mappy: A mouse that can find the Demon King's island.  Mappy looks more
      like a gerbil with a poodle-tail, and can transform itself into a
      8-foot tall giant were-gerbil with huge fangs and teeth when Pia
      is threatened.  Pia has claimed Mappy as a pet, and they are very
      happy together.  Prime foes are Rufa, and over-sized cats.

Azatodeth: The Great Demon Lord.  He loves killing people, and ordering
      his troops of monsters around.  He is usually shown only as an
      illustration as people talk about his crimes against them.  Has
      at least three sons, and a lover that lives in a maze of underground
      caves.  No known prime foes.
      PC: He's pretty easy to recognize.  Has three eyes.

Volume 2

Adol: Orange-haired, strapping young man that spends a lot of time on the
      beach.

Siren: A green-haired mermaid in love with Adol, and abducted by Taco.

Taco: Big red octopus in Azatodeth's employ.  Tells Mink about the
      potion.  (Taco == Octopus.)  Is terrified by the carnivourous
      Mappy, and cooked by Mink.

Beraudo: (Blood?) Walking spiny plant that initially plans on
      destroying Mink, until it realizes that it is 10 times smaller
      than Mink.  First defeated when Vena steps on it by mistake.
      Can defeat ladybugs with one blow.

Old woman: First appears on page 30.  Does not appear later on.  This
      old crone's name never seems to be stated anywhere, but she was
      once the lover of Starman.  A witch, she tells Mink more about her
      quest.

The Combat:
   Siva's idea was to stage a combat contest to bring the best fighters
together to ultimately kill Mink.  Vena decides to join in, so that she'll
get the chance to destroy Mink, AND win the first prize.  One side loses
when the winner places on the other's forehead, a sticker with Siva's
face on it.

Jackson (?): Announcer of the big combat match.  A fishman with big
      eyes, and an even bigger smile.

Gai:  Stripe-headed warrior that fights against Saucer in the big combat
      match.  Gai wins, because of a fluke.  Rosario had given Mink a
      bottle of poison to drink, but Mink thought was a present, and
      passed it on to Saucer.  Dick gets sick, and defaults the match
      (spending the rest of the time sitting on a toilet.)

Mr. X: Mink's opponent in the big combat.  Mr. X turns out to be Dama
      Rama, resurrected and given a cyborg body.  He survived the last
      encounter with Mink, when his sword had been shoved into his head
      because, as it is described: normal people have bigger brains, and
      since his is so much smaller, the sword missed the vital spots.
      He's defeated this time when his little cyborg Rashii flies
      in front of one of his missiles and they both blow up.

D. Fin: A triclops initally mistaken for Azatodeth.  Cut in two by
      Dagu.

Dagu: Offspring of Azatodeth.  A little guy, about 3 feet tall, with
      three eyes, fur, and sharp talons instead of fingers and toes.
      VERY fast.  In the second round, he defeats Vena.  In slow-mo
      replay, within 0.011 seconds, he pulls Vena's cheek, fondles her
      breast, appears from behind a pillar (waving) 40 feet back, then
      slices her helmet in two.

The combat, continued:
   In the first round, Gai beats Saucer, Mink beats Dama Rama, D. Fin
loses to Dagu, and Vena beats Boo (battle not shown.)
   In the second round, Dagu defeats Vena (which causes Dagu no end
of problems when these two meet again later.)  And Mink trashes Gai.
   In the final round, Mink punches Dagu into the surrounding moat, then
uses Rufa's lightning wand to electrocute him.  But, since this IS the
offspring of the Great Demon Lord, Dagu doesn't actually die.

On Page 115, note the crowd scene.  The most recognizable character is
      Nayura, from Rune Masquer.

Pam:  Giant lizard spider that plans to kill Mink, after luring her into
      the caves.  Turns out that Pam has a human (son? lover?) named
      Teddy, that steps in to save Pam from Mink, and gives Mink a bottle
      of Vido potion that he was planning on using to turn Pam human.
      Mink leaves, turning down the potion.  Pam is so happy that, out of
      joy, she hugs Teddy to death (or damned close to it.)

Balrog: A kidnapper that tries to carry the trio off in a car.  The main
      purpose of this guy is to get the heros to the next castle...

Dancing King Hearterg (Haatoerugu): Runs an odd kind of love hotel.
      AKA Hani (Honey).  Hani had an argument with his wife 15 years
      earlier, and she had run into the basement to escape him.  However,
      there was an giant armored knight that then kidnapped her, and
      overran the castle with monsters.  One of the monsters is a snake
      woman that Mink defeats.  This snake falls in love with Mink, and
      tells her about the Queen's fate (she has been made the mistress of
      the knight.)  Turns out that the knight is actually just a large
      suit of armor, being run by a midget hiding in one of its feet.
      The Queen is rescued, and the King gladly welcomes her back.  BUT,
      the argument had been over her rumored infidelity, and the Queen
      now has a daughter fathered by the midget.  The King is expected to
      expell both the child and the Queen, but he shocks everyone by
      claiming that the horned kid is "from this day forth, my daughter."
      Then he does a victory dance.  Mink gets a large rock marble and
      a goblet as a reward.  Finally, the castle, which has been floating
      in the sky all this time, sets down on the planet's surface, since
      its "super screw propellor" has finally failed.
      Unfortunately, it sets down on where Siva and Vena are sunbathing.
      PC: Wears a crown and robes, is bald, has a moustache, and a heart
      tattoo on his forehead.  The Queen has a heart on her forehead.
      The child has a unicorn horn.  The snake woman is very beautiful,
      dark skinned and with long black hair, and a snake body from the
      hips down.


Volume 3

Gya:  A kaiser dragon, that seems to have some relation to Mana, dating
      back to before Mana married Rouce.)  Finally killed by Dick Saucer,
      who mistakes Gya for Mink.  Saucer carves his initial in Gya's chest
      at the end, after invoking his magic "Saucer Special."  However, Gya
      is brought back by a certain female vampire.  When Gya is defeated,
      Saucer leaves his pendant lying on the ground (it is found by Pia
      and handed to Mink.)
      PC: VERY strong, and never affected by anything Mink does.  When
      drawn in chan form, has a dark triangular nose on a white face, and
      teary, apologetic eyes.  And a large 'S' on its chest.

Gason: Reporter for Undead Television news.  He and his cameraman are
      covering Saucer's fight with Gya.  When he first appears, he hands
      Mink the wrong business card (the first one is for Akemi-chan, a
      phone-sex hooker.)
      PC: A troll with a necktie.  His cameraman is a normal human.

Lora (or Lola): When Vena decides to throw a party at her castle, Mink
      dresses up in disguise and crashes it.  She introduces herself to
      Saucer as Lora, and the two of them have a wonderful time.
      Especially when Mink returns the pendant to Dick.  However, Vena
      sees Mink's tail and tries to kill Mink; in the process, Vena
      freezes all of the guests, and Lora escapes before Saucer can
      discover that she's actually Mink.  In the final assault, Mink
      throws a statue at Vena, who tries to freeze it.  The spell
      backfires, and Vena succeeds in freezing herself, as she curses
      Mink's taunting face.
      PC: Dark hair gathered into a ponytail with a string of pearls, big
      dewy eyes, and a ballgown.  When drawn in chan form, is 30 pounds
      overweight.  Horns don't show.

On page 72, Dagu and Dama Rama are shown combining forces, with Dama
      Rama now nothing more than a head with springy arms and feet.

Copian: First appears as a doctor who is administering to Mink's poison
      stinger-bite.  Then turns out to be the giant scorpion that stung
      Mink in the first place.

War Cat: While Mink is helplessly in Copian's clutches, Pia, Mappy, and
      Rufa go looking for the cure for the poison.  They come across War
      Cat, who turns out to be a were-human.  Rufa keeps War Cat subdued
      (actually, seduced) to allow Pia and Mappy to continue on.

Beraudo G (Great Blood): The spiny walking plant is back, and now stands
      6 feet tall.  However, it succeeds in entangling itself in its own
      tendrils, and Pia escapes unharmed.  The leaf from Blood G is used
      to cure Mink (done through simple contact of leaf to skin.)

Heavy Dama Rama: Dagu gives Dama Rama a war robot's body.  He can now
      combine with Mecha Rashii Mark II, to become a fighter bomber.
      But, when Dagu throws a spinning spell, it not only affects Mink
      and Rufa, but HDR as well.  When Dagu casts a levitation spell
      on a huge boulder to crush Mink, HDR (completely out of control
      at this point) crashes into Dagu, and the two of them disappear
      in the explosion of the interrupted spell.

Shimon Delamonte: Another young king.  His problem is: his land is
      covered in zombies.  In his possession is a sword useful against
      vampires (the Minik Cross Sword.)  However, no one has been able
      to remove it from its stone scabbard.  The secret to this sword
      lies in a well occupied by a fish-guardian.
      PC: Young, attractive, collar-length black hair, and is constantly
      showering people with gold coins as a reward for the most trivial
      actions.

Ralph: Shimon's advisor and aide.  And Rufa's next love target.
      PC: Collar-length light brown hair, cloth head-circlet, young male,
      and wearing court robes.

Mega-Mink: This is the first time we see Mink starting to lose control.
      She becomes incredibly strong and vicious, her eyes look like a
      snake's, and her fangs grow longer.  She can not remember what she
      has done, when she reverts to normal, but especially enjoys
      bouncing Pia like a rubber ball.  Later, she is told that if this
      continues unchecked, she will turn into some unbelievably ugly
      monster (much like what had happened to the kaiser dragon, Titan.)
      However, she doesn't convert to Mega-Mink at all in Volume 4.

Dedorai-sama (Could also be Deadly-sama, or Deidre-sama): A female
      vampire that is first seen only in the shadows as she re-animates
      Gya.  VERY, VERY strong and evil.  Was once Azatodeth's consort,
      and they spent many happy years romping around and killing
      helpless peasants.  Now, she lives in the caves below the
      mountains, with her four handmaidens.

Vampire Gya: He has returned as one of the undead.  The main
      distingushing marks are the "S" on his chest, and the white
      headband put on the dead as part of the burial services.  Is
      finally destroyed completely by the Mega-Mink.

Neo-Mink: As the Mega-Mink exhales a mighty ball of flame to melt Gya,
      she is transformed to what we now see today.  (That is, she has
      become a little bit more of a monster.)  She now has larger
      leathery wings, and three horns on each side of her head.)
      She is also a LOT stronger than before.

Ars:  One of Deidre's handmaidens.  This one relies on technology.  Her
      armored suit has field generators for shoulder pads.  When she
      faces Dagu, she defeats him easily.  Whenever she meets someone
      new, she beats them up, and then says, "Pleased to meet you."
      She succumbs to Mink when, protecting herself with a forcefield
      from Mink's non-stop dragon flame, her air runs out after 30
      minutes.
      PC: Very attractive, with long, light green hair, a tight-fitting
      body suit under the skimpy armor, earrings, and a symbol on her
      forehead and armor plates.  (The symbol is circular, with a
      horizontal line dividing it in two.  Near the center, the line
      forms a little half-circle, dipping downwards.  At the center of
      the symbol is a small black dot.)  Is associated with earth.

Namaz Prince: The guardian of the well containing the scroll describing
      how to remove the Minik Cross Sword from its rock.  The Prince
      is a big fish (head, tail, and all) stuck on top of the lower half
      of a normal person.  He tries using a trident on Mink, but has no
      effect.  He tries body tackling her, and knocks himself out.  Does
      not appear again.

Merami Frea:  Another of Deidre's handmaidens.
      PC: Flowing black hair, soft tight-fitting clothing (skimpy), and
      a skull-brooch attached to her cloak.  The symbol on her forehead
      is a tear-drop with a one-eyed smiley-face in the center, and two
      little triangles on either side.  Is associated with fire.

Bufu Earoga:  Another of Deirde's handmaidens.
      PC: A fat, vacant-faced blimp that inhales and exhales in huge gusts.
      Is associated with air (of course.)  Her symbol is the inverse of
      Ars'.

Beautiful Jiisanz: The last of Deidre's handmaidens.
      PC: A beautiful blond airhead with cat-ears.  Her symbol is a
      heart, and she is associated with water.  (Basically, when you get
      her crying, she will flood a large cavern.)

Mig:  Son of Azatodeth, and Dagu's brother.  Another tricyclops, but
      actually one of the few good looking ones.  He is very strong, and
      has a wide variety of weird spells that he likes to use.
      Unfortunately for him, he has one crippling weakness that other
      characters like to capitalize on: he is still rather young, as far
      as demons go, and has a teddy bear named Kuma, and wears Kuma-san
      underwear.  This weakness causes him a great many problems.
      PC: A dark elf in appearance, with black fur on the tips of his
      enlongated ears.  Wears a dark cloak cinched in front by a gold
      ring, and with big shoulder pads.  Usually looks and behaves like
      a small child, but is actually closer to what an 18-year old human
      would look like.

Rogue: Mig's sensitive older brother.  Rogue claims that he hates
      watching people suffer, but he's actually got a meaner streak than
      Mig.  He also likes to build machines of destruction, especially
      androids that ressemble nubile young women.  The destruction
      caused by these androids is usually focussed on Mig and Rogue,
      rather than Mink and friends.
      PC: Like Mig, only white skinned and with a headband.  His cloak is
      white, with black dots all over it (like it's covered with soot.)
      Normally, it is impossible to tell whether Rogue is male or
      female.  Can usually be found either brooding, or working on his
      next war robot.  Appears about 19 or 20.

When Mig and Rogue first appear, Dagu has just been defeated by Ars,
and has crawled back to his brothers' underground lair.  Mig is so
disgusted by Dagu's performance that, with Rogue's approval, he
ties his little brother up, and hangs him from the ceiling.  Then,
whenever Mig gets upset for some odd reason, he relaxes by casting
spells of pain on Dagu.  After this scenerio, Dagu can be
recognized as the three-eyed thing suspended by a rope, and constantly in
pain.


Volume 4

Pseudo-Mink: After finding the secret to removing the Minik Cross Sword
      from the stone, Mink, Rufa, Mappy, and Pia continue on their
      journey, with Mink carrying the sword.  Deidre has charged Bufu,
      Jiisanz, and Merami with killing Mink.  As this is happening, Rufa
      pulls out a Mink costume and puts it on.  Now, looking like Mink,
      Rufa runs around terrorizing people and putting the blame
      elsewhere.  Until, two bounty-hunting mummies come across the
      pseudo-Mink, and beat the hell out of her.  The real Mink saves
      Rufa, who remorsefully throws the costume off a cliff.  Where it
      is found, and worn, by a fat gorilla.

Magical Yone: As Merami (acting as group leader) loses a full day
      because Jiisanz can't decide what to wear for killing a
      dragon-half, Mink and party run across an old hag that tells them
      their fortunes.  That evening, she reappears as they sleep.
      Whipping off her cloak, we now see an old hag wearing a young
      girl's school uniform, and holding a candy wand with a heart on the
      end of it (Looks suspiciously like a dildo.)  Magical Yone is
      obviously a parody of all those little girl fantasy stories, like
      Minky Momo, and Sailor Moon.  Yone can enter people's dreams and
      turn them into nightmares.  Rufa's dream, that of her being
      dressed as a sex-queen and surrounded by eager young studs, is
      easily corrupted as Yone turns all the studs into fat sumo
      wrestlers.  However, Yone runs into trouble when she tries to
      poison Mink's dream of quietly feeding rabbits.  Yona appears as
      Saucer, and attempts to assault Mink, but runs out of dream sand
      at the wrong time.  Mink, trying to help the dream-Saucer, instead
      can not control her strength and just ends up beating the crap out
      of Yone.  Yone escapes, but quickly passes out.  Mink and Rufa
      wake up, tired from a poor sleep, but pretend to be completely
      alert, rather than explain what the problem is.
      Yone does not appear again.

By page 53, Jiisanz has finally awoken (Merami kicked her in the head to
get her up, and Jiisanz cried so hard that she flooded the valley that
the castle resides in.  The bad three meet the good three, and Jiisanz
is shown to be a very dirty fighter (think of a Valley Girl with a
chainsaw.)  Jiisanz angers Mink, and slides Bufu in the way, hoping that
the force of Mink's punch would cause Bufu to create such a strong
rebound that Mink would be bounced into the next country.  Instead, Bufu
falls over, dead to the world.  Disappointed that her plan failed,
Jiisanz cries a river that floods the valley.  She runs back into the
cave that Merami is standing in, and is followed by Mink.

Kubis Salamander: Merami creates this little salamander, and then starts
      a strip tease.  Turns out this Kubis is a "sukebe" salamander, and
      turns into a monster rapist when aroused.  But, Jiisanz wants to
      join in, and when she can't, cries a river that saves Mink, but
      dumps her, Jiisanz, and Merami into Deidre's throne room.  The
      salamander is not seen again.

We finally get to see Deidre completely for the first time at page 68.
She looks like Vena will in 10 years, but in a Vamperella dress, and
with dragon-bone shoulder pads.  She is a VERY powerful necromancer and
general magic-user that is responsible for the destruction of the
surrounding countryside, and the presence of all those zombies.
But, she easily succumbs to Mink's strength, and the Minik Cross Sword.
Jiisanz hits Mink on the back of the head, and Deidre uses a nearby rock
formation to create tendrils that nearly choke Mink to death.  As she
fades, Mink recalls her dance with Saucer (as Lora,) and recovers enough
to break the rock and beat the hell out of Deidre.
   Deidre now reveals the secret of the two items Mink received from the
Dancing King -- combined, they turn into the Vido Potion.  Deidre also
describes her life as Azatodeth's lover so many years ago; all of the
playful romping, death, and all-around suffering they'd so youthfully
inflicted on the innocent and helpless.  Then we find out that the
potion is not the one Mink wants.
      Deidre creates a feast for both sides, and they cheerfully chow
down as Mig finally makes his appearance (he'd broken through 642 of the
wrong walls -- into other people's rooms) before finally getting it
right.  But nobody notices.  So, he busts up the party, and Deidre
attacks him in return.  Mig easily wins, and casts a pain spell on
Deidre, Rufa, and Mink.  But is horrified to find out that Rufa is
begging for more.  Mig ultimately collapses the mountain they are under.
Mink saves everyone, but Rufa isn't helping her.
   That's when Mana and Rouce appear; Mana in dragon form.  Rouce tries
to seduce Deidre, and Mana beats him up.  Rufa's father, and Pia's
parents arrive, and nobody notices Mig defeat Mana.  At the last moment,
Mink trips while trying to bodyslam Mig, and rips his pants off.  That's
when we finally get to see Kuma-san.  Mig runs off in tears, and beats
up on Dagu.
   The parents want their children to stop their solo effort of trying to
destroy the most powerful evil creature ever (except for Rouce, who only
cares about getting laid with Deidre.)  Shimon Delamonte arrives to kill
Deidre with the Cross Sword, but falls in love with her immediately, and
she with him.  The two lovers return to Shimon's castle, and the dying
valley suddenly springs back to life (shows how strong Deidre is, and
what the power of true love can do.)

   By page 117, the parents and their children are reunited, and Rouce
is burying his face in Mink's butt.  This is when Perfect Princess Vena
makes her big appearance, accompanied by Siva and Rozario.  An android
playboy bunny takes Rouce and Mana out of the action.  A giant tree takes
Link to up to where he succumbs to a fear of heights, and Vena decides
to attack Mink directly using her new super armor (the armor makes her 4
times faster, 24 times stronger, and 18 times more magically powerful.)
As she attacks, Mig and Rogue are watching the battle on a monitor in
their cave.  Mig tells Rogue that Mink is a Kaiser Dragon Half.  Rogue
replies that although a normal dragon half is 8 times stronger than
a normal person, Mink is 300 times stronger, and growing fast.  Rosario
uses his R (for Rosario) radar to see through matter to find Mink, but
suffers a hentai attack at seeing Mink nude.  Siva has a tonic on his
head that reflects the sun's light, amplified lots of times, but then
realizes that the sun is hidden by clouds.
   Vena reveals her secret weapon -- she trapped Dick Saucer in her
armor, and anything that happens to her, happens to him instead.  Mink
tries kicking Vena in the crotch, which only causes Saucer to scream
that he hates Mink.  Mink curls up in a ball out of remorse, and Vena
tries to shoot her with a plasma beam.  Which is reflected by Siva's
reflective head, and destroys Saucer and the armor.  Furiously, Mink
beats Vena up, and she is next seen reverted back to a slime, beating up
on her father.

   Page 135: Vena turns herself back to a human, and summons a powerful
demon to destroy Mink -- and gets Mig as he is bedding down with his
Kuma teddy bear, and kuma-san underwear.  Using the photo that she
quickly takes, as blackmail material, Vena gets Mig to agree to attack
Mink again.  Mig is so upset at this situation that he beats up on his
little brother, who is still tied up.

Meatball monsters: This is when these two balls with silly faces and
      tentacle arms appear and drain Mink and Mana of their energy.
      Mana isn't affected as much, but does get overwhelmed by sheer
      numbers as more meatballs show up.  The main characteristic for
      these guys is that they are very polite, and when one talks, the
      others echo the first.

Rouce: He is very lazy, and lecherous.  But once, he was an ok
      swordsman.  Note, when his daughter and wife recover
      consciousness, Rouce is still in "sick" in bed.  But every one of
      the meatball horde has a large "R" on it's belly.  He has the
      three L's down -- Lazy, Lecherous, and Loyal.


   At the end, Mana has taken the group to the city of dragons, which
has become a little rundown since she was last there.  The main dragon
looks at the potion Mink got, but before things can go too far, Mig
shows up and destroys the rest of the city (Vena is still blackmailing
him with that photo.)  Then, before Mig can really start fighting Mink,
The Great Demon Lord Azatodeth appears...

   End of Volume 4.


   Except for the little joke story as an added feature:
   High School Detective Mink

   Vena and Mink are two high school girls acting as detectives to
determine who killed their teacher, Dama Rama Sensei.  A clue is
provided (but I don't know what it means.  It's not a kanji in my
dictionary.  The closest I can get is to turn it upside down and call it
'tada', which is 'simply, merely.'  Which sort of implicates Vena, with
her 'Tah Dah' stage appearances.)  Dama Rama Sensei was killed by a
swordstroke from behind.

   The detectives are:
   Mink Akatsuki
   Vena Aoi

   The suspects are:
   Female Rufa Akane (who found the body)
   Principle Siva  (sweating very hard)
   Female secretary Rosario (also sweating hard)
   Male student Rogue (in a leisure jacket)
   Female chain-smoking student Mig Sakamaki
   Well-dressed male student Saucer (sweating a little)
   And the confused little girl student Pia Kagami

   Vena states that the killer is in the room (ie. -- is one of the
above suspects,) and Mink claims that the clue proves who the killer is.
   The text in the margins of the book states that the killer will be
revealed in volume 5, expected out in 1993.

NOTE:
   As of the last story in volume 4 (which corresponds to about the June
1991 issue of Dragon) Mink still does not have her monster timer, Titan
has not been introduced, and the fact that someone killed off Saucer's
parents and severly injured him has also not been mentioned.

--
Hitoshi Doi, International Open Systems Engineering        doi@jrd.dec.com
Japan Research and Development Center               decwrl!jrd.dec.com!doi
Digital Equipment Corporation Japan                     doi@decvax.dec.com