~ Silver Diamond ~

Great! Great! Great!

Silver Diamond (シルバー ダイヤモンド?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shiho Sugiura and currently published in the monthly magazine Ichiraci. It has been licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop.


Overview

The story starts with a man (Chigusa Senrou) tries to assassinate the prince of the Amato Empire and fails. He is pushed into a distortion in space and falls into the real world. Rakan, a high school student who lives by himself, returns home from school one day to find Chigusa lying unconscious in his garden, carrying a gun made of wood. Chigusa awakens, and attempts to kill Rakan, thinking him to be the prince, only to be stopped when Rakan unconsciously turns the gun into a tree. Chigusa recognizes him as a "Sanome" and decides to protect him to later bring to the Amato Empire to defeat the prince. After this first encounter, Narushige and then Touji are also brought to the real world through the portal between the Real World and the Alternate World, Amato Empire and become loyal friends to Rakan and Chigusa. When Rakan learns of the state of the Amato Empire and meeting its so-called 'prince', he forces Chigusa into allowing him to come and help stop their world from being destroyed. Rakan vowed to return the alternate world into a green one again and stop the 'prince'.

Meanings

A Sanome or sand sprout is someone who has the ability to grow plants by simply touching the seeds or the plant itself. Their presence alone cause the plants' growth to increase, but when they touch any plant, their growth increases dramatically and comically. An acolyte for all plants. Supposedly only virgin women of the Shigeka family can bear Sanome girls. In reality, Sanome women are born from plants (a tree in particular). Sanome women can only bear Sanome boys, by a union with an ordinary man.

An Ayame is a being who has the power to destroys plants and turn soil into sand by taking the nutrients of the world around them. Can also take nutrients from people. Usually seen as lizard type of creature arising from the sand.

A Number Child is a child that has a number in their name, indicating that their family has deemed them useless. The alternate world's legal system of abandoning a child, whether because of the family's inability to feed them or because the child carries an imperfection or is a liability, instead of killing the child. The people are very superstitious and believe death brings more death.

Amato Empire is the alternate world's equivalent to the country of Japan. The name means 'The Kingdom of Heaven'. Japan's name means 'The Land of the Rising Sun'.

Characters

Rakan Sawa
Age: 17
A kind-hearted high school boy with a garden that looks like a jungle, and when the flowers bloom a little too much, he gives them to his classmates and teachers for free. He lives by himself, and supports himself using his inheritance from his late adoptive grandfather. His mother and grandfather have both passed away. He is fond of normal household chores (cooking, cleaning, etc.) He has the power of the Sanome to grow plants and he looks like the prince of the alternate world (apparently is the prince's 'little brother'). He and his mother were found in the gardens by his adoptive grandfather, who gave him the name Rakan. His world is turned upside-down when he finds Chigusa in his garden, in the exact place he and his mother were found. He learns that he is born from a sanome and an ordinary man, who may still be alive in Chigusa's world. His attitude and hair color helps distinguish him from the ayame prince. His attitude also wins over people who may have once tried to kill him. A bishōnen in the his world and the other world. Naive and trusts people easily. Has a righteous attitude and always tries to see the best in others. Likes to do things at his own pace. Also is always being put into suggestive positions by Chigusa, who is usually stopped by Narushige.

Chigusa Senrou
Age: 25~30
AKA: Pervert, Monster
Man of the alternate world with an immortal body. He suffers from amnesia, only remembering his name, his world, and his goal to wipe out all the Ayame. He needs the power of the Sanome for his battle. His family name, Senrou, means he is considered to be from a family of sinners. He, like his ancestor before him, is thought to continue hunting ayame until he becomes crazy (the manga explains that his ancestor is chained in a mountain after becoming mad). He has the ability to see through invisibility, locate any objects, whether hidden or at a distance, sense if others are hostile or harmless, communicate telepathically, and enter into dreams. He often states, "I have good eyes." His main weapon is a wooden gun, which he uses with great skill. His blood has the ability to turn into bandages and he can't feel physical pain. Chigusa is part plant and states that as long as Rakan is near him, he can't die. Once thought as a merciless killer, he changes his desposition after meeting Rakan. At first, he attaches himself to Rakan when he learns that he is a Sanome, but develops a sense of affection to Rakan, vowing to protect him at all costs. He often displays his liking for Rakan by hugging him or picking him up. That and along with his blunt way of speaking, Chigusa is often labelled a pervert.

Narushige Shigeka
Age: 21
AKA: Ill Omen
The only man of the Shigeka family, which holds a tradition of bearing only women that can bring forth a Sanome (Later, that is found not to be true; the Shigeka family only raises the sanomes and don't actually give birth to them). As a result, he is considered an ill-omen. He is abandoned by his mother, Shigeyuki, as a sacrifrice to the orochi, Mitama, but was instead treated with kindness by the giant snake. As a result, he holds a great dislike for Shigeyuki. His sister, Sae, is also later abandoned by Shigeyuki and meets up with Mitama, while trying to find where here brother once lived. He has a companion, Kou, a poisonous snake that can talk and turn into a sword, whom he met when during his youth with Mitama. Kou is very protective of Narushige and often stands up for him when someone speaks ill of his position. As one of the Shigeka family, Narushige possesses such beauty that he is sometimes mistaken for a woman at first. The second person Rakan meets from the Amato Empire. When he is swept into Rakan's world, he was rumored to have been taken by the gods in his own world. Very protective of Rakan, especially against Chigusa and can understand the foundation of how something works after observing it once. His main weapon is Kou and is an extremely talented swordsman.

Touji Touno
Age: 19
AKA: Worthless, Number Child
Was given a number in his name because he was born blind, and thus "useless". The Prince healed his eyes, and sent him to the real world to kill Rakan, Chigusa, and anyone assosiated with them. This was simply an excuse to dispose of him. the third person who Rakan meets from the Amato Empire. He is taken prisoner and after learning the the truth about the prince, becomes a loyal and close friend to Rakan. When the gang arrives back in the Amato Empire, they find a group of bandits/frontier guards (number children abandoned by the prince) and discover that the leader, Kazuhi, is actually Touno's older brother. Touji means 'second light' and Touno means 'field of light'. He is usually paired with Chigusa to protect Rakan from his suggestive tendencies and isn't afraid to admit his thoughts about Chigusa. His main weapon is a bow and arrow, both grown from seeds, and is quite a good shot. He also possesses good eyesight (not by Chigusa's standards) and can see in long distances.
The Prince

Age: 17
AKA: Ayame Prince
The most powerful man in the alternate world. Believes to be able to tell the future, and can find hidden resources (water and plants). He is an Ayame, although most of his subjects do not know this. Arms are black and clawed; hair is blond. Speaks telepathically. He also states to Rakan, in answer to why he is destroying the world, that he likes destroying.
Kinrei Kingen

Age: 24
AKA: Pervert, Servant
The only one close to the prince. He is the only one who can hear the Prince's voice (the Prince communicates by speaking directly into someone's mind). As such, he is immediately assigned as the Prince's personal helper and assistant. When the Prince has something to say, Kinrei speaks for him. Though seems to be working for the prince, Kinrei has his own agendas and is really using the prince to create his perfect, immortal world.