Baroque (manga)

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Baroque: The Missing Paradigm


caption =
ja_name = BAROQUE 欠落のパラダイム
ja_name_trans = Ketsuraku no Paradaimu Baroque
genre = Survival horror, Fantasy, MysteryInfobox animanga/Manga
title = Baroque Ketsuraku no Paradigm
author = Shinshuu Ueda
publisher = Square Enix
demographic = Shōnen
magazine = Monthly GFantasy
first =
last =
volumes = 3

nihongo|"Baroque"|バロック|Barokku is a manga series by Shinshuu Ueda. "Baroque" was originally a video game for the Sega Saturn system in 1998, soon followed by a remake for the Playstation in 1999. It was later remade again for the Playstation 2 in late 2007, and was ported to Wii on March 2008. The game was released in America on April 8th. The manga loosely follows the game's storyline, as said by its creator. The first three volumes were released by Sting Entertainment, but have not been officially published.

Plot

"Baroque" is a post-apocalyptic survival horror manga. It is told from the view point of a nameless protagonist without any memories and a fleeting ability to speak. It begins when the protagonist wakes up into a distorted world with a red sky. He soon finds variously mutated beings, vaguely resembling humans, living in a ruined city, and is told by them to visit a place known as the Neuro Tower. He is temporarily joined by a red-eyed human figure known as Archangel, who wears false wings on his back. Archangel informs him that it is the protagonist himself who caused the world to become distorted in an incident known as the Blaze some time in the past.

Archangel arms the protagonist with a unique sword and large gun, informing him that the God of their world is a literal being who physically exists and has been driven into insanity. The Mad God's existence is believed to be the cause of the world's mutations, as anything that travels too close becomes grotesque and deformed. As the Mad God dwells within the deepest chamber of Neuro Tower, the constantly shifting matter around has questioned the stability of the tower itself.

The protagonist is told, to repent for his sins, he must "Purify" the Mad God by firing a special gun into it (An over sized, shoulder-mounted revolver). Before doing so, he must traverse through various mutant creatures, called meta-beings, within Neuro Tower in order to reach its lowest chamber where the Mad God resides.

Characters

Protagonist

A nameless main character with amnesia, the protagonist wears the "Baroque" symbol on his left shoulder, though he is oblivious to its still unrevealed meaning. He takes on the mission to atone for a great sin, which he can't remember, by shooting the Mad God.

The Horned Girl

The Horned Girl is one of the first beings the protagonist meets, her real name unknown. She is revealed to not have the ability to consciously think, though she can and constantly does read the mind of anyone she is looking at, speaking his or her thoughts. Looking into the protagonist's memory, which he himself is unaware of, she speaks of a terrible sin he has committed.

Archangel

A wearer of false wings, the Archangel first informs the protagonist of the latter's mission to atone for past sins by purifying the Mad God. He gave the Protagonist a sword as well as the large revolver capable of being fired at the Mad God.

Eliza

Has yet to be shown in the manga.

Alice

A human-looking girl the protagonist meets within neuro tower. She, like all characters except the protagonist himself, seems completely oblivious to pain, first revealed when she uses a special branding device to burn the "Baroque" symbol into her chest.

Differences from Game

tory

Alice stays with the main character on his treks through the tower, opposing the game where he is alone. In addition, the main character has a waning ability to speak, whereas he is mute for most of the games. Neophyte is able to control and create his own mutations in the manga, where such abilities are impossible in the games.

Translations

The nameless protagonist of the games is nicknamed Dextera XII in the manga.