Kim Young

*"I hate the samurai, Suo. It is they who killed Chao and took Mother, not Tomako, and not her parents." ―Kim Young, Chapter 23*

Kim Young is a main character who travels alongside Tomako Angel in EngelReise, often times sharing the protagonist role with her.

Originally born 'Kim Youngest' and known as 'Young' within his family, Kim is a Krucifixan farmer from the the peninsular shoreside village of Snyky'an. Kim comes from a family of five brothers, all of whom he shared a roof with alongside his parents. With the Forty-Seventh Krucif-Imperyean War, the tragic slaying of his brother, Kim Chao, as well as the kidnapping of his mother would lead to the remaining family moving north to Greater Krucifix, where Imperyean soldiers could never reach. Kim Young, controversially amongst the family, refused to join them, bitterly insisting on staying in the peninsula to maintain the family farm, and most importantly, seek vengeance against the Imperyean Empire. As fate would have it, an Imperyean woman known as Tomako Angel, traveling all the way to Swatsland, would reach Kim and plead for his support in light of a hurt back and low supply. Rather than achieve vengeance against the Imperyeans, he would instead, reluctantly, choose to house one back to better health. As a consequence of Tomako's presence in his life, Krucifixan supremacists headed by Fulin Ji-Hoon would essentially force Kim away from the peninsula. With Tomako being the only person he felt he could trust in this desperate hour, he forms a plan to migrate to the faraway continent of Legolide, where he hopes to start a new life. With his intention of reaching Legolide and Tomako to the continent of Svatpa, the two cultural rivals join together as a traveling duo.

## Appearance

Kim is a Krucifixan with soft brown hair that is maintained at shoulder length. His eyes are brown and supported by sharp eyebrows from which he commonly puts on a skeptical expression. On rare occasion, Kim may grow out very thin facial hair, but most often manages to stay clean shaven.

In EngelReise, Kim's everyday attire is subject to change as he encounters more clothing. When choosing new clothing, Kim prioritizes comfort over fashion. His usual outfit consists of a two-tone green robe over pale brown pants and solid brown rancher boots.

## Personality

Kim's personality has two halves constantly in conflict. He can be a trustworthy and friendly face, willing to help simply due to a good nature, and has a tendency to be chivalrous towards women. On the other hand, Kim can be paranoid and intolerant of people he does not understand, egotistic when given a chance to raise his reputation, unwilling to spare a coin, and quick to temper. Although Kim tends to have very strong beliefs, stances, and values, he demonstrates a willingness to listen to different perspectives and, occasionally, adjust his views accordingly.

A major aspect of Kim's personality is his strong opinion of himself, especially the perception that he is handsome and highly skilled in archery. This pride doubles as a strength and weakness throughout his life, as this genuine belief in his superior traits motivates him to work hard in preserving this narrative. On the flipside, Kim's prideful tendencies can work against him in that he has a nature of offending his peers, the best example being Fulin Ji-Hoon, who would go so far as to try and have Kim killed in retaliation. Kim's perception of himself being handsome can also lead to unnecessarily hotheaded moments if he feels this suggestion is being challenged (even if the contention were that he is 'cute,' rather than 'handsome').

One of the most evident sides to Kim is the anti-Imperyean elements of him, sourced by the death of his brother, Kim Chao, and kidnapping of his mother, Kim Min-Tuong in the Forty-Seventh Krucif-Imperyean War. While his father and four surviving brothers would all flee north to the region of Greater Krucifix following the latest Imperyean invasion of Krucifix, he would bitterly refuse to leave the peninsula, instead dedicating himself to running their family farm all by himself, hoping that Min-Tuong would return all while swearing to get revenge on the Imperyeans for the pain they caused his family. While Kim aspired to join the Krucifixan archer elites and bring death to future Imperyean invaders, his inability to skip over the common archers and join the elites has left Kim bitterly refusing to join the military at all. As Kim meets Tomako—the very Imperyean blood he for long promised to make suffer—his raging lust for Imperyean bloodshed simmers only due to her success at disproving all of the stereotypes and assumptions he threw at her. Over time, Kim's hatred for all things Imperyean and Puritonist gradually cools down as he comes to know and respect Tomako more, but even so, his paranoia and historical hatred for Imperyea returns at very inconvenient times, either leaving Tomako to defend herself, or for Kim to return to a more rational mind on his own.

Through all of his flaws, there is a self-acknowledgment deep down that Kim is not the great person he so often believes himself to be. He will occasionally concede that he is not generous, that he is not a magnet for womanly affection, that he cannot avenge his fallen brother and kidnapped mother, and that he lacks the intelligence needed to fight alongside the most elite archers. These are beliefs that haunt the man, and will often result in him drinking to try and fight off such disappointing thoughts. To this end, he wants to find solid achievements that he can be truly proud of and not have doubts about—a major incentive pushing him to venture to the very distant continent of Legolide.

Outside of the EngelReise canon, Kim is considered the blood successor to F-Zero: Seppuku's Earl Bendek. While Earl is from Korea, Kim is from Krucifix, which at one point in development geographically covered the region of Korea. Around 2014, Kim was even once described as being 'Korean' back before 'Krucifixan' became the official culture of Krucifix. This Korean origin makes Kim Young and Earl Bendek two of the closest cross-series characters in the Siontix Realm.

## Key Relationships

### Family

#### Kim Suo

*"It couldn't outsmart me! I learned from the best hunter in all of Krucifix—my brother, Kim Suo." ―Kim Young, Chapter 31*

Of his five brothers, Young holds his oldest brother, Suo, in highest regard and vice versa. Young sees Suo as the ideal man—physically strong, family-oriented, patriotic, and well-rounded in practical skills. For these reasons, it is Suo that Young styles himself after and sees as the natural leader of the House of Kims. Suo, Pin, and Chao all fought in the Krucif-Imperyean Wars together, but even with his archery being put to the test in actual war, Suo would gladly concede that Young is the top archer of the family—praise that Young would take very seriously.

Despite the military relationship Suo shared with Pin and Chao, Suo very evidently had something of a bias toward Young and would choose to hang out with him the most from childhood right into adulthood. For this reason, Suo was conflicted on Young's decision to stay in the Krucifixan Peninsula while they all headed north; he respected Young's determination and honor, but knew life would not be the same without him.

Two matters Suo and Young bonded on the most was a mutual criticism of the very lazy brother, Poe-Til, and a mutual disgust for all things Imperyean.

#### Kim Pin

*"It is simple logic. You told me to stay away from the Swatslandic, I acted against your whim and approached the Swatslandic. I mindfully disrespected my mother and the God of Kushyrin felt it necessary to stress a lesson upon me." ―Tomako Angel, Chapter 2*

    Togami is the preferred parent of Tomako on any hour of the day and largely acts as an intermediary between Soga and Tomako when tension reaches a boiling point. While she easily takes the side of Soga in most cases--displaying a similar kind of obedience to him as Tomako does--she will often try and relax a situation by turning a fuming or hurt Tomako back to her spirituality as a coping mechanism, or on rare occasions, to talk through their issues. Tension usually will not exist between Togami and Tomako, and it was in this relationship where Tomako was educated in the Puritonist faith's women's doctrine, namely the prophecy of the Perfectly Honorable One, who most Imperyean women wish to hold the honor of giving birth to. Togami, knowing that she was not the one to birth the Perfectly Honorable One, finds herself in something of a depression, but nevertheless finds relief in a daughter she is proud of. Tomako, meanwhile, walking in her mother's footsteps, has taken every meaningful step in life to live a truly honorable life in hope of being the one to give birth to this chosen one. To this end, Tomako and Togami find a mutual point of interest.

### Allies

#### Tomako Angel

*"I made it out of steatite. If I'm correct, I have forged Jochanism and Puritonism together under one symbol—it is like the special bond you and I now share. I hope you like it." ―Tomako Angel, Chapter 30*

    As Tomako's journey takes her to the hostile Kingdom of Krucifix, an unlikely alliance is forged between her and the Krucifixan man, **Kim Young**. This relationship undergoes many obstacles and trials due to them being of rival cultures and religions, made worse from the fact that their first meeting came as a result of Tomako stealing from Kim's farm. In the beginning, Tomako assumes a humble and rather subservient role in their relationship, largely wishing to win Kim's trust and favor, while more ambitiously wishing to demonstrate that an Imperyean and Krucifixan can get along. Kim, although humoring her attempts, is mostly suspicious of Tomako due to her Imperyean blood, genuinely believing that she may strike him dead while his back is turned. The apex of their bad start comes when Kim takes advantage of Tomako's subservient attitude and parade her around town, falsely claiming her to be his Imperyean pocket servicer—the Krucifixan title for a loyal sex servant—which would be coveted by many Krucifixans. This period of mistrust and mastery over Tomako would be short-lived, however, as a mutual danger in Fulin Ji-Hoon would have Kim finally trusting her and later agreeing to accompany her on a journey west.

The later, much more prevailing relationship that these two share would develop into one of equal partnership and a desire to learn more about one another. Tomako often finds herself wanting to better her understanding of Jochanism, and will turn to Kim for this. Kim tends to inquire a lot about Tomako's personal life, values, and dreams. The two also work off each other well in combat situations, with Tomako excelling with her sword while Kim has a very quick draw with his crossbow.

Tomako, overall, has a very affectionate opinion of Kim and values the sight of him in a happier state. Furthermore, she is very desiring of tolerance from Kim—but does not always receive it—and wishes for his lasting respect.

#### Elisabet Swanstorm

*"I hate your moral values; I do not hate much, but with all my heart, I hate your Dimmish views on mercy and life." Before Elisabet could get a chance to embrace any form of anger, Tomako concluded, "I still like you, Elisabet, and I wish you well as a friend should." ―Tomako Angel, Chapter 47*

    Tomako and Elisabet meet each other far into the journey to Svatpa, during which time they established a complicated relationship that, ultimately, could be very loosely described as an alliance. The two, while of vastly different faiths, share in common a system that values honor. The problem that immediately arises is that their respective honor systems are polar opposite to each other, with Tomako's idea of honor coming from selfless acts and peace, while Elisabet's idea of it comes from battle and forms of victory; Tomako finds Elisabet's honor system as borderline evil while Elisabet sees Tomako's honor system as soft and self-destructive. A second point of major tension between the two comes from Elisabet's hypersexual nature, most controversially featuring Elisabet's unyielding fetish for pushing other people to perform sex—all of which she masks as being done to honor her chosen god. This comes as a point of tension due to her pushing for Kim and Tomako to satisfy her desires in this unique way.

Despite there being some major obstacles in their relationship, Elisabet has a genuine desire to help Tomako rescue her parents, and is even a bit thrilled by the prospect of having her (and to a lesser extent, Kim) follow the Army of Triumph all the way to Swatsland. Noticing various flaws in Tomako's combat form, Elisabet duties herself with refining her capabilities with a sword, largely teaching Tomako to take full advantage of the light weight she had and that most men would lack. Furthermore, while not entirely interested in Tomako's religion, Tomako was very interested in hers, especially fascinated by Elisabet's claim that a mountaintop back in her homeland existed where witches could speak to the gods.

Ultimately, Tomako is utterly sickened by Elisabet's character and ambitions, but nonetheless recognizes her as a friend and ally.

## Concept Art + Inspiration

#### Concept Art

Tomako's design concept was made Sep. 29, 2013, and introduced the character, flag of 'Imperia' (later renamed to 'Imperyea'), as well as an early story logo.

Notable differences with the original design to the current is that her hair is more symmetrical, bangs either not existing or hidden behind a hat, less saturated clothing, a scarf, and her sword has a basic design rather than purple and gold.

#### Inspiration

* **Chiya Flower (F-Zero: Seppuku)** - As the spiritual successor to Chiya Flower, much of the early focus behind Tomako was put toward replicating much of the thought process that led to Chiya Flower. Direct influences from Chiya was the decision to make Tomako a woman, to give her a specific animal to be hype fixated on, and to tackle an ambition that is bigger than life.
* **Fred Flinstone (The Flinstones)** - An extension of the Chiya Flower inspiration, a strategy employed for the development of EngelReise—and Tomako by extension—was to create a story that is identical to F-Zero: Seppuku but taking place in a distant time. An observed example was the similarities and differences between The Jetsons and The Flinstones, with one taking place in the future, while the other takes place in the past. Thus with EngelReise filling the more ancient role, Fred Flinstone was observed as an example of how to handle a character from the distant past, albeit while conscious of the heavily romanticized setting of the cartoon.
* **Samurai Jack (Samurai Jack)** - Inspired by Samurai Jack, Tomako was influenced into having a similar kind of modesty and honor, along with the fixation Jack had for fulfilling his primary goal while still helping those he encountered. All of these things would more or less develop Tomako's day-to-day personality.

## Trivia

* **Japanese/Shinto retcon** - From the day of Tomako's design concept, she was described as being a "Japanese Shinto from Imperia," reflecting early intentions for EngelReise to take place on Earth and with historical cultures and religions still in place. Shortly before the release of the story's prologue in 2016, this was retconned, now replacing Japanese with Imperyean, and Shinto with Puritonism.
* **Tomako vs. The Dark Knight** - Tomako was originally planned to have the Dark Knight as a recurring rival who on Swatsland's order would work to foil Tomako's journey. This was later radically changed due to confusion over how the Dark Knight could stay in constant communication with the Swatslandic crown while being so far away.
* **Armored Tomako** - At some point in the story, Tomako was meant to abandon her lighter attire and become a heavily armored samurai, sporting blue and silver.