The initial paragraphs of this adaptation are taken by permission of the co-author from Marco de la Cruz and Dan Nishina's Aqua Knight Saga translation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (the open ocean, some clouds) Marmundo--with this mysterious world as the stage, this story begins...Yukito Kishiro's new century begins! (something ripples across the surface) SFX--splishhhh (it kicks up more spray. something is cutting through the water. literally.) SFX--chooka chooka (we get our first good look at it. it is a sword) SFX--Shweee... (a knight and her orca leap out of the water) A new super series!! To the sea! the begnning of a new legend! LEVIATHAN SAGA AQUAKNIGHT Aquaknight (in kanji and katakana) First adventure: the Red Knight Lùria--First adventure A Youth on a Lighthouse Island Presented by Yukito Kishiro (his name is repeated in Hiragana and Kanji) 1. Father and Son of the Lighthouse Island At the eastern fringe of Marmundo, on an island without even a name, there was a single lighthouse... (the lighthouse shines radiantly through the storm) SFX--ROARRRR! (we see the lighthouse up closer. Two figures can be seen on the very top, one small one clutching at the larger) SFX-- KADOOM! (close-up on the bigger figure, evidently the father. He has long hair on his head and face, and is covered in scars. He has gaps in his teeth) SFX--WHOOSH! Dad--"Waa- hahahahaha! Weak! Too weak" (the father is lashed to the pole on top of the lighthouse. His son is clutching at him frantically) SFX--gush! Dad-- "Rough us up all you want, Spirit of the Storm! All the wind in the world! All the waves! Throw 'em at me, as long as I am Arabìl, King of the Light House, you'll won't ever put the light out!" Kid--"Papa!" (father and son) Dad--"Ha ha ha! Don't be afraid, Don Pequeño! The Spirit of the Storm will use ya like a toy!" Kid--"What should I do?" (father and son google-eyed) Dad--"Watch! Look straight into the wind and open your mouth like this! Aw-ha ha ha haw haw haw!" Kid--"Ha ha hee hee ha...!" (they are suddenly blown away as the pole atop the lighthouse breaks) SFX--WHOOOSH! Snap! Both-- "Augh!" (the next morning. the storm has passed) SFX-- whsh! (the kid with a trident, jumping. Not to be explicit, but his loincloth's a little skimpy) Kid--"Aaah!" (a splash, and he's under water) SFX--gaSPLOOGE! (he comes up wet, with a fish swallowing a fish swallowing a fish swallowing a fish swallowing a fish on the end of his trident) Kid--"It's a BIG fish!" In the seas where no ship goes, surrounded by the ocean, this boy and his father, the lighthouse keeper... (an orca, with a large X scar on its muzzle, comes up to the kid) SFX--pshnort Kid--"Hiya, orca!" ["Shirokuro" in Japanese, lit. "white-black"--Ed.] ...and also, one killer whale. (the orca's getting a little close for comfort, and the kid's defending his fish) Kid--"No, stop! This fish is for me and my papa's lunch!" (the orca has the kid's head in his mouth and is making gnawing noises) SFX--honk honk Kid--"Ack! Quit it! Quit it!" (close up on the kid. He sees something else) Kid-- "Eh?" (another killer whale has come into the shallows. He has a harness and a saddle) Kid--"Another orca?" (the kid reaches out and touches the new arrival) SFX-- pat Kid--"Where did you come from? Whatcha got on your back?" (the second orca starts nudging him along) SFX--nudge nudge Kid--"What is it?" (the kid and the two orcas swim to something. There's something glinting in the lower corner of the picture) SFX- -gleam gleam Kid--"?!" 2. The Encounter with the Knight (closeup on the kid. He's letting a couple of bubbles out from between his lips) Kid--There's something shiny that's sunk down there...!? He had never left the island since the day he had been born, and it was something the boy was seeing for the first time. (POV over the boy's left shoulder. The sea floor can be seen, and something large is being obscurred by the light reflecting off of it) (we see it in full. It's an odd cross between a diving suit and full plate armor) (atop the lighthouse, the father is retying the pole they were lashed to the night before) (view of the lighthouse top. He has succeeded in retying the pieces) Kid--"Papa!" Dad--"M?" (the kid is jumping excitedly [Ed. note--the perspective on his shadow is kind of screwy. The end of the spear with the fish on it has been reversed in the shadow]) Kid--"I found a god!" (closeup of the dad's arms. He's bulging as he pulls on a rope) SFX--eeerk! (the dad lets out a whoop. His eyes are bulging) Dad-- "Upsie-daisie!" (he pulls up the suit of armor...) SFX-- gaSPLOOSH! (and it lands on the rocks behind him) SFX-- BLOING! (the kid and father look at the armor. The kid is cowering) Kid--"Papa...!" Dad--"Hm. Don't get your dander up." (the dad gives his son a kind eye) Dad--"This ain't a god, it's a knight." (the kid's curiousity starts to overcome his fear) Kid-- "A 'knight'? Is a 'knight' something you find on the sea floor?" (overhead view of the three) Dad--"Yep! Occasionally, they get lost because of storms. They're honorable people who put on armor, ride killer whales, and are good with swords and staffs." Kid--"So, they're honorable?" Dad--"Yes! Both in spirit and action, they're real noble people." (father feels around in the groin of the armor) SFX-- CHANG! Dad--"I do believe the plug's down here...mph!" (the suit begins to pull apart) SFX--krang! (the pieces open to reveal Lùria inside. She has what looks like a barret of pearls holding her hair and a scallop shell on a band around her neck. She is dressed in some kind of wetsuit under the armor) SFX--whrrrm...kadang! (the kid is amazed) SFX--doink doink doink Kid-- "Ah! there's a person inside!" (Lùria's...mammary...is in the FG, the father and son are in BG) Kid--"His skin's so smooth, like a dolphin's!" Dad--"This is called a 'woman'." (the boys discuss each point of Lùria) Kid--"That's a pretty ball!" Dad--"It looks like a pearl, but this is the first time I've seen any this big." -- Kid--"She's covered with blood!" Dad--"No, that's the color of her hair." -- Kid--"It's a shell!" Dad--"That's a sign she's not married yet." -- Kid--"What are those bumps on her chest?" Dad--"Those are 'apples'. The only ones who can nibble on them are her children and the man who will be her husband." -- Kid--"She smells like a flower." Dad--"Maybe it's perfume." -- Kid-- "These clothes are like a turtle's shell!" Dad--"This is called 'armadura'. ["Armor" in Spanish, "Water armor" in the Kanji-- Ed.] It protects from outside attack, increases your strength ten times, and lets the knight to go down further than you could and live." (the father looks scared) Dad--"Hm! This ain't good!" (the father is standing over Lùria while the son looks on) Dad--"This knight's soul seems to have slipped away!" Kid--"Oh, no! What should we do?" (the father shooes the boy to work) Dad--"Dance, Don Pequeño! Dance so that the soul will come back!" Kid- -"Yessir!" (the boy dances upon the rocks) So the youth danced; and while he was dancing, for some reason, his heart was lifted up, and he danced all the harder. 3. The Lighthouse King's Mission (Lùria's head, as she wakens) Lùria-- "Oh...ng..." (she sits up. She is lying on bundled reeds in a reed hut) Lùria--"Ah! Where?" (the father glances up from cooking the fish) Dad--"Oh! Your soul has come back." Lùria--"Y-you are...?" (close up of dad) Dad--"I am the king of the lighthouse island, Arabìl!" He explained to her how they came to find her. (Lùria presents herself) Lùria--"I am the child of Arulaq and Iburi, I am Lùria, Knight of the Kingdom of Perla. I thank you very much for helping me." (father in the hut) Dad--"Oh, no, no, don't thank me." (he raises his hands in honor) Dad--"Give thanks to Don Pequeño, who's dancing right outside! And to the actions of the guardian, Magna Primero!" (Lùria smiles) Lùria--"I will do as you say." She found the words of Arabìl noble, soothing the young woman's apprehension. (Lùria and dad consult the map) Lùria is still a squire. To become a true Knight, she set forth on a journey to try herself. And, in no time, she had become caught in a storm. (closeup of the Islas Concha) She realized she had strayed off of her course a great deal. Lùria is a clever woman, and consequently realized the unnatural placement of the lighthouse island. It is far from any shipping route. When she asked Arabìl about this... (zealous look in dad's eyes, lighthouse holds sway over him) Dad--"The lighthouse of this island is magical! When the light of the lighthouse gets extinguished, Marmundo shall perish again! For that reason I, Arabìl, must guard this lighthouse with my life!" (Lùria is trying to look attentive) Lùria-- This person obsessed with the gods... It was an utterly unbelievable story. 4. The Condition of the Knight (the sun is on the horizon. The son is still jumping around.) SFX--boing! (Lùria, watching him. She's dressed with a cape around her shoulders and a sword at her hip) (the kid lands abruptly) Kid--"Knight! Your soul has returned!" Lùria--"You are the one who found me." (the kid checks out Lùria) Kid--She's like an orca... Killer whales, as far as the youth knew, were the most intrepid and beautiful of animals. (Lùria smiles at him, warmly) Lùria--"I give you my thanks." In the youth's eyes, she seemed to be totality. [the next bit is kind of tricky and should be ready shortly- -Ed.] (Lùria in BG, kid in FG) Lùria--"I am Lùria of Perla. What is your name?" Kid--"What's my name?...Lemme see..." (the kid is proud, with a big smile on his face) Kid-- "Lately, I've been called 'Don Pequeño' and 'Señor Niño'!" (Lùria and the kid. The ocean is in the BG) Lùria--"Those aren't names!" Kid--"They ain't?" (he's downcast) Kid--"Well I kinda like 'em." (Lùria gives us a Marge Simpson impression) Lùria--"......." At first, Lùria thought she was having the wool pulled over her eyes. (the beach and the lighthouse. It loks to be a low-lying sandy beach with many rock outcrops) [I guess that's supposed to imply either cliffs inland as a source for fresh boulders or a very uneven weathering pattern--Ed.] "In barbarian tribes, to keep the child's soul from being taken away there is a custom of keeping the child's name a secret..." She remembered reading this in a book, so she was satisfied for the time. Lùria--"You saved my life. Let me give you a reward." (Lùria, clouds in BG, kid's head in foreground) Lùria--"What will you have? It can be anything other than my body, my armor, or my orca." Kid-- "Really?" (Lùria smiling again) Lùria--"I promise." She had said it lightheartedly, but she would soon become swallowed by regret. (the kid gets an idea) SFX--gadoom gadoom (the kid is wild with excitement) Kid--"I want to be a knight!" (kid in banzai stance) Kid--"An' when I'm a knight, I'm gonna look for gods! There's a lot of questions I want to ask the gods!" (Lùria is cross) Lùria--"Becoming a knight isn't as easy as all that!" Kid--"Lùria! You promised!" (closeup on Lùria, anxiety all on her face) Lùria--I've done it! Lùria was still not a full knight, and therefore didn't have the power to bestow knighthood. However, in the way of knights, "to make good on an oath" is a most solemn law. (Lùria is still warm under the collar) Lùria-- "Two conditions! One--'Know your real name!' Someone who doesn't know their own name isn't a real knight." (the kid is oblivious to her ill-humor) SFX--blink blink Kid--"OK, a name. And the other one?" (Lùria's about to drop the bomb) Lùria-- "The other one is..." (closeup on Lùria's eyes) In order to tactfully extend her promise, Lùria was about to say, "You have to be a grown-up first!" But her mischevious heart awoke. (Lùria turns and looks out to sea, watching the sun sink. Nice butt.) SFX--whoosh! Lùria--"Well, actually, in order to become a knight, you must endure a supreme test." Kid--"I'll get through any kind of test!" (Lùria with her second finger raised, and a smirk at the edges of her open mouth) Lùria--"'From the nest of a man-eating dragon, bring me a dragon's egg!' Only those who show this kind of courage can become knights!" Of course, this is a big lie. (Kid's face is in panic. His image of a dragon is in the BG) Kid--"A duh-DRAGON???!" (the kid goes off pouting and miserable) Kid--"A dragon's egg..." (Lùria has her back to the sun, and is snickering at the kid's expense) Lùria--"Hee hee. What a simple kid." And with that, she would come to more regrets. (a little while later. The kid is racing across the rocks with a large spear with three points wedged one against the other in one hand and a loop of rope over his other shoulder. On the left is his father on the lighthouse, on the right is their hut with a large shark jaw over the door) Kid--"Papa!" (kid down on rocks looking up at father) Kid--"Where can I go to find a dragon?" Dad--"A dragon, you say?" (dad points off to sea. the sun is on the horizon) Dad-- "Um. Go even further west than this island for a night and a day. At the end of the sea, there will be the Catarata Termino!" (kid imagines monsters swallowing ships) Dad--"In the waterfall, it is said that there reside terrible dragons!" Kid-- "So all I have to do is go west?" (father realizes that his son isn't empty-handed) Dad-- "M? That's my shark harpoon. What do you think you're going to do?" (the kid is exuberant) Kid--"I'm just gonna go get a dragon's egg!" YOUTH, CHASE YOUR DREAM! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The views expressed on this page are not necessarially those of Yukito Kishiro, and are the product of Daniel's inability to figure out where the heck he's supposed to rendezvous with somebody. Sorry, sensei. Special thanks to Shueisha and Viz, for not having translations in the works for another couple of years, giving us a nice head start. This has been brought to you by KAOS (KumquAt and The Odd Soul).