Eclipse Hunter Volume 1: Brothers
Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)
Afterword—translated by lucathia (proofread by EvlNabiki, Minthe & Trespasserby)
In terms of the time frame and relation of Eclipse Hunter’s story to No Hero, it can be considered No Hero’s prequel.
But following my habit, as long as the names of the series are different, they can be read separately with no problems, even if there’s a connection between the two stories.
Truthfully, No Hero has given rise to many stories. If you have read the afterword of No Hero Volume 6, you probably already know it. It’s a huge mob of stories. I am truly very worried that this mob of stories will result in more new stories; there will never be a day that I finish writing it all, 囧!
However, in order for you to not have the feeling that you’ll never finish reading it, as long as the names of the series are different, you can read them separately. Every series will have an ending, as well as a different group of protagonists. Following the difference in protagonists, the style of the story will be a bit different, too.
In any case, I hope that you all like the year 2112 that I have created.
One day, heroes might really soar in the air!
Because the two series, No Hero and Eclipse Hunter, were at first published in different ways, with Eclipse Hunter being published earlier but done so by myself, there were fewer readers who were able to read it. No Hero, on the other hand, was published by a publisher from the start.
Back then, I hadn’t given it too much thought. I hadn’t thought that it would result in such peculiar, fascinating approaches.
If you read Eclipse Hunter before No Hero, you would have a deeper understanding of the Ri brothers. You would understand things better from the start and have a grasp of the ins and outs of the story.
But if you hadn’t read Eclipse Hunter and directly read No Hero, as a reader, you could follow along with Charles as he discovers the various secrets behind the Ri brothers. You would have the enjoyment of uncovering the mystery.
There’s one more. If you read No Hero and then Eclipse Hunter, you would have another type of enjoyment where you’d experience nonstop realizations!
These were all responses according to my reader friends. Which type of enjoyment did you get to experience? I find it super interesting!
The brothers Ri Xiang Yan and Ri Xiang Ye are a very interesting (?) pair.
Their personalities are completely different, yet there’s often something similar about them too—they both really want to protect the other person, except they come into lots of conflict because of it; their intent is always for the other’s good, yet it always causes more problems than it solves.
There’s actually a big problem with how the two of them treat each other, but together, they’re putting in effort to learn how to treat each other… it’s a relationship very like that of a father and son.
Instead of calling them brothers, I bet I actually treat them more like father and son!
After all, their age is quite far apart, and Ri Xiang Yan is pretty much a character who raises his younger brother.
Even though he has tried hard, even by the time of No Hero, Ri Xiang Yan still hasn’t learned.
Just like parents, even though they know they should let go, when they see their child hurt, they would still be unable to stop themselves from snatching the child back to protect them, preventing the child from suffering all other harm.
I really love the way they interact. It has never been perfect, and there are always mistakes, but it’s always full of love.
Finally, let me mention that the series Eclipse Hunter has a total of five volumes. This is a certain fact because the old version had five volumes, so the new version will still have five volumes. It’s because this series is the same as No Hero. Even though you can’t read each volume separately, each volume does have its main case and a small ending, so there’s no way to divide the volumes differently.
Because Volume One originally had fewer words, it is thinner. I guess it can be considered the opening act. The following four volumes will have around the same number of words as No Hero’s books.
Last but not least, I hope that everyone will like Ri Xiang Yan and Ri Xiang Ye, this pair of brothers.
By Yu Wo
Old Afterword (from the old edition)—translated by lucathia (proofread by EvlNabiki, Minthe & Trespasserby)
Afterword; that is really a foreign word to Yu Wo! This is Yu Wo’s first time writing something like an afterword… (This is my first time. I’m giving it to everyone. >///<).
Actually, this time, there are a lot of firsts. It’s my first time creating a circle, my first time releasing a book at a comic convention, my first time going there to sell my book; I really felt both nervous and excited. Speaking of our cute Yu Rice Ball Circle, forming a group with Little Ya Sha was truly an unexpected development, too. I recall…
(VCR)
Little Ya Sha: How about we make a book together?
Yu Wo: Okay.
And that’s how we decided… (Ya Sha and Yu Wo are both very frank people). We even decided on the three words “Yu Rice Ball” just through chatting on our cell phones~~
After that, it was discussing what we wanted to make. I just happened to be inspired about brothers, so Yu Wo very straightforwardly said: I want to write about brotherly love!
With the theme decided, next was designing the characters. Of course, the older brother had to be my favorite type—the mature man (ah… I’ve exposed one of my likes), and the younger brother naturally had to be the cute type that I liked (ah… I’ve exposed another one of my likes). Yu Wo is also a very contradictory creature, always liking to come up with a bunch of contradictory characters. Therefore… the younger brother who is the cute type instead becomes a scary, scythe-wielding murderer… No! He becomes a half cyborg who protects his gēge.
Moreover, the older brother who should be a very serious, mature man immediately turns into a bumbling, idiotic older brother the moment he runs into something that has to do with his dìdi. Also, he really likes to nag at his younger brother. To Yu Wo, the personality of these two characters is just irresistibly cute.
Readers, I wonder which characters are your favorites? (Don’t forget to come comment over at Yu Wo’s blog. Let me know~~~~ What, I’m being suspected of advertising?!)
Character Introductions—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by EvlNabiki & Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)
[Ri Xiang Yan]
Identity: The world’s largest economic alliance—the Sun Alliance’s—leader. Common folk have respectfully titled him “Sun Emperor.”
Personality in a Nutshell: An excellent older brother who adores his little brother.
Appearance: Mature and cool-headed with a head of bright gold hair and deep red eyes.
Weapon: Derringer
Catchphrase— “Dìdi, remember to XXX. Remember don’t 00, and also OOO. Don’t forget to QQQ.”
[Ri Xiang Ye]
Identity: Ri Xiang Yan’s little brother. The cyborg Dark Sun.
Personality in a Nutshell: A two-faced person. A naïve and innocent good little brother and the bloody, ruthless Dark Sun.
Appearance: Silver hair and pitch-black irises. A naïve and cute appearance.
Weapon: Steel fingernails, Death Scythe, steel wings… Unlimited powerups.
Catchphrase— “Understood!”
[An Te Qi]
Identity: Head surgeon for Dark Sun’s modification operations. An underground doctor without a license.
Personality in a Nutshell: Mad scientist
Appearance: Water blue hair and dark green eyes. Wears a pair of small glasses.
Weapon: None
Catchphrase— “…”
[Ezart]
Identity: Ri Xiang Ye’s classmate. Yelan Academy’s King of Might who inspires fear upon sight.
Personality in a Nutshell: Hooligan
Appearance: Orange hedgehog hair, blue eyes, and a dragon tattoo on the left side of his face.
Weapon: A pair of fists to beat up the whole world
Catchphrase— “Are you stupid?”
[Bai Lian Xing]
Identity: The son of the second largest economic coalition’s alliance leader. Ri Xiang Ye’s classmate.
Personality in a Nutshell: Arrogant princeling
Appearance: Black hair and purple eyes. Likes to wear Chinese styled clothes.
Weapon: Two sai
Catchphrase— “You and I are from different worlds.”
Cerise_Laurelate
The personalities in a nutshell are very accurate. XD