About FaLLEN
Identity; a name, a reputation, a legend. It's who we are, it's who we have made ourselves to be. But what if you woke up one day and forgot everything? Your own name, whether you liked ice cream or not... you know nothing about yourself except the emotions you're feeling at that very moment. Suddenly, your fear is all you have to hold on to. Would you try to remember who you used to be? Or would you let yourself be reborn and take on a new everything? What makes you YOU?
FaLLEN is about a team of girls who one day find themselves not knowing the answer to the simplest question; who are you? Vox, a mousy messenger from a goddess-like being known as an Aeon, tells the amnesiatic girls he can give them back their identities. All they have to do in return is fulfill their duties as Guardians, an elite team of warrior women with magical abilities chosen to guard the Mother Aeon. There's only one problem; she's missing.
Join Arma and the other Guardians as they try to discover the truth about their pasts as well as the truth about the mysterious Aeon in this new take on the magical girls genre!
About Ogawa Burukku
The art and story for FaLLEN is by American-born artist Ogawa Burukku. In 2004, she moved to Japan to study manga at the Nippon Designer Gakuin and work on her Japanese language abilities. After graduating with honors, she ended up staying in Japan to get work as an assistant manga artist and translator. Since then, she has worked with both Japanese and American studios and publishers as a manga artist, illustrator, storyboard artist, and translator, as well as occasionally lending her voice for narration and vocal jobs.
Up until September of 2012, Ogawa Burukku had worked on other properties or short projects (one-shots, or yomikiri), but FaLLEN was her first ongoing project, and she's been working on it almost exclusively ever since. It started out as a webcomic but has since been published independently in paperback form, thanks to funding by readers through Kickstarter. The project is a dream project of hers that she has been developing since high school, with the idea that she wanted to create an alternative magical girls series featuring an atypical lead with elements that could appeal to both male and female readers. "It's the series I wanted as a kid but never got to have... so I made it myself!"
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What program do you use to draw FaLLEN?
A. I don't use a program for drawing the comic-- I use my hands! I pencil, ink, and tone the whole comic traditionally, with pencil, ink well, nibs, screen tone sheets, white out, etc. Then when the pages are finished I scan them into my computer and, using Photoshop CS5, I add sound effects and dialogue. The only reason I add SFX digitally is because the comic is bilingual and I need to write them out in two separate languages, which I wouldn't be able to do if I drew them in by hand. Otherwise, the comic is entirely traditional.
Q. Why do you stylize FaLLEN capitalized minus the 'a'?
A. I know FaLLEN is not a totally uncommon name for a webcomic (and I believe there is a book, a movie, an album or two...), so I tried to make it a bit more distinct by having just the 'a' be lower-cased. Why that letter? Well, that happens to be the first initial for the series heroine; Arma! I would also prefer it if readers of the comic would write it out as FaLLEN so people will know which series is mine.
Q. Why are all the characters naked???
A. Only in the first chapter!! There are several reasons for that. One reason I can't go into full detail here because it is revealed much later on, but the main reason I did it was to add to the confusion of the girls. The theme of this story is identity, but all the women start out not knowing a thing about who they are. If they were wearing clothes, they and the reader could possibly discern something about who they were (personality, profession, age, etc) by what they wore. I wanted these characters to appear almost as blank slates so that the reader can watch them develop and find out who they are as they themselves discover who they are. It adds to their confusion and gives them a sense of utter helplessness, in my opinion. The other reason is because this series is intended for a Teen+ audience, despite being a magical girl series, and is not really intended for younger audiences. I know I can't control who reads this story, which is why I have at least the free version online censored, but my target audience is most likely going to be people 15-16 years and older. Finally, my readers are mostly male, and I don't have a problem with offering a little fanservice! That is the reason I choose certain angles, but doesn't really have much to do with them being naked.
Q. What kind of mouse is Vox?
A. Vox is a made-up species, but I used bits and pieces from existing mice as a model. Kangaroo rat and garden dormouse make up most of his design, with elements from non-rodents as well. He's one-of-a-kind!