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Hello again, everyone! Welcome to our fourth installment of Ask the Star Ocean Character! Today, we have with us Miss Meracle Chamlotte . . .
Meracle: Yay! /jumps in the air and then waves/ Hi, everyone!!
( Read more... )
Some Facts about Meracle Chamlotte
Her Japanese Voice Actor is Megumi Toyoguchi.
Her English Voice Actor is Carrie Savage.
Meracle can play an instrument called the Ocarina. It's a very integral part of who she is and where she comes from.
Oddly enough but not surprisingly, one of Meracle's skill sets she brings to battle is that of ornithology - the study of birds.
She has one official toy to her name - a Play Arts figure showing her in her happy jump.
Meracle can turn into a Siamese cat at will, though where her clothes go in the process remains a mystery.
She's a constantly hungry person.
Meracle acts very young for her age.
Her astrological sign is Pisces (fish).
Meracle's favorite book is Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand, but she doesn't realize it's about her life after she starts living with Eleyna Farrence.
Item Creation Skill Set
Smithery 5
Cooking 7
Alchemy -8
Artistry 5
Engineering 2
Crafting 10
Compounding -10
Sense -1
* * * *
Character Study - Meracle Chamlotte
Name: Meracle Chamlotte
Age: 16
Hair color: blue
Eye color: green
Height: 4'10"
Weight: 88 lbs
Rank: Not applicable
Birthdate: March 16**
Weapon: Claws
Favorite food: fish and chicken (if her ending and how she reacts to Sarah are any indications!)
Quote: Not applicable
** - the Star Ocean wikia lists her birthdate as 2080, but I'm more than very inclined to disagree with this assessment for reasons that will be stated in Meracle's character study.
Meracle isn't shown in the game's manual.
From the strategy guide and in-game dictionary:
( Read more... )
Now . . . to completely disprove the Star Ocean Wikia's claim of her birthdate as March 16, 2080. First of all, Roak, in The Last Hope, is an underdeveloped planet. It doesn't have the technology to support a spaceship landing where someone like Meracle can smell food and board without notice. Yes, there's a landing spot for The Calnus on Roak, but it is far removed from civilization. The only way a ship could land there, attract a feline with the smell of food is if the traders (or whoever they were) were carrying it back to their ship with Meracle following close behind. Second, there's the issue of the picture book Meracle clings to for entertainment and hope: Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand. If one unlocks Meracle's ending, one will see her throwing a temper tantrum of sorts, threatening to run away, and eventually lured back by the prospect of fish and chicken for dinner. As it's playing out, an artist on a nearby rooftop watches. It is that scene that inspires him to paint the book, Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand. Meracle couldn't have a copy of a book, her favorite book, when she's rescued by Edge and his crew if she had been born in the year 2080. Third, when they first arrive to Roak and see some people similar to Meracle in appearance, Reimi comments that Roak could be Meracle's home. Meracle thinks so, too, but she also says there's a difference in the air that she can't quite identify. It's familiar but not, at the same time. This is part of why I don't like things like Wikipedia. It's too easy for someone to change the information to suit his or her needs without taking into consideration the actual facts.
Back to the character study.
Meracle isn't one of my favorite characters, and some of it has to do with her age and the fact that she is of feline descent. She acts more like she's ten or eleven instead of sixteen. Yes, not all sixteen-year-olds act their age. Many thirty-year-olds don't act their age, either. It could be that she is of feline descent that she's often playful. She and Lymle are quite suited for playing together (and giving Reimi headaches over the mess they make together). But it just strikes me as odd that, at sixteen, she's as playful as a three-month-old kitten. Given what I know of cats, they're old by the time they've reached sixteen. It could be the way that the Fellpools and Lesser Fellpools have evolved that makes her as exuberant and bouncy as a young cat. I'm not entirely sure. I'd need to learn more about Fellpools and Lesser Fellpools to be sure. (As someone whose cat is 14 and only playful when the mood strikes her, the age for Meracle just seems so . . . off.)
When it comes to character growth, Meracle is one of the ones that gets ripped off in some very major ways. Yes, she comes to realize that the Lady Eleyna she goes to live with at the end of the final battle with the Apostle of Creation isn't the same as the Lady Eleyna from her book. She does, she accepts it, and moves in with Eleyna anyway. Meracle also does have an aura of sadness about her - she's lost much in what could be considered a short amount of time; we don't know how long she's been in the military facility. The crew of the ship she accidentally stowed away upon risked their lives to save her. Klaus dies. Before Edge tells her she's got friends in him and his crew, in the moments before she makes the decision to join them, Meracle feels quite alone and doesn't want to leave. This has had an impact on her, as it would anyone her age. But beyond that, she doesn't get much in terms of character growth or development. After a certain point (handing over her ex-lithium crystal pendant, knowing who Lady Eleyna is, and having her bubbles burst after meeting the real Eleyna), she's not all that integral to the story and thus becomes more comedy relief than anything else. I find that to be very sad. As a character, she has the best potential as a martial artist, which falls short, in my opinion. Yes, she's got some spectacular moves, but you have to set up her skills just so in order to unleash devastating attacks. She uses claws for weapons and scratches at things the way a human mimicking a cat would, which, a real cat wouldn't just scratch - it'd bite and kick. There's so much talent that the creators could have utilized with Meracle as a fighter and as a character that they just didn't do, and thus failed her. There are people that sacrificed their lives for Meracle, and I'm sure that's left her feeling helpless on more than one occasion. Those losses were something that she could have tapped into to become a better, stronger fighter with some very kickass moves, which could have been brought about by witnessing how Edge pulls himself back together to fight hard for those he cares about and wants to protect. Instead, she talks about eating Sarah, pulls out a fork and knife from nowhere when she's hungry and is ready to chase down her meal (be it a bunny or Sarah), and unintentionally causes trouble for Edge with Reimi. Meracle annoys me in that, overall, she's useless after the meeting with Lady Eleyna. Her Ornithology and Crafting skills are her only redemption. I could like Meracle more if the game's writers have treated her with a little more finesse than what they did. It could be argued that Lymle, only a year younger, is as equally as useless in the same aspect as Meracle, but Lymle at least has two more tricks up her sleeve before the game reaches its culmination. It's a shame they didn't do the same thing for Meracle.
Overall, Meracle could be something more, but she just isn't in the hands of the game's writers. The other unfortunate thing for Meracle is that most fanfic writers will treat her the same way or completely disregard her altogether. My hope is that, for myself, by doing these character studies, I can at least discover what it is that bothers me about the characters in questions or discover what I love and just be true to the characters in question.
Meracle: Yay! /jumps in the air and then waves/ Hi, everyone!!
( Read more... )
* * * *
Some Facts about Meracle Chamlotte
Her Japanese Voice Actor is Megumi Toyoguchi.
Her English Voice Actor is Carrie Savage.
Meracle can play an instrument called the Ocarina. It's a very integral part of who she is and where she comes from.
Oddly enough but not surprisingly, one of Meracle's skill sets she brings to battle is that of ornithology - the study of birds.
She has one official toy to her name - a Play Arts figure showing her in her happy jump.
Meracle can turn into a Siamese cat at will, though where her clothes go in the process remains a mystery.
She's a constantly hungry person.
Meracle acts very young for her age.
Her astrological sign is Pisces (fish).
Meracle's favorite book is Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand, but she doesn't realize it's about her life after she starts living with Eleyna Farrence.
Item Creation Skill Set
Smithery 5
Cooking 7
Alchemy -8
Artistry 5
Engineering 2
Crafting 10
Compounding -10
Sense -1
* * * *
Character Study - Meracle Chamlotte
Name: Meracle Chamlotte
Age: 16
Hair color: blue
Eye color: green
Height: 4'10"
Weight: 88 lbs
Rank: Not applicable
Birthdate: March 16**
Weapon: Claws
Favorite food: fish and chicken (if her ending and how she reacts to Sarah are any indications!)
Quote: Not applicable
Meracle isn't shown in the game's manual.
From the strategy guide and in-game dictionary:
( Read more... )
Now . . . to completely disprove the Star Ocean Wikia's claim of her birthdate as March 16, 2080. First of all, Roak, in The Last Hope, is an underdeveloped planet. It doesn't have the technology to support a spaceship landing where someone like Meracle can smell food and board without notice. Yes, there's a landing spot for The Calnus on Roak, but it is far removed from civilization. The only way a ship could land there, attract a feline with the smell of food is if the traders (or whoever they were) were carrying it back to their ship with Meracle following close behind. Second, there's the issue of the picture book Meracle clings to for entertainment and hope: Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand. If one unlocks Meracle's ending, one will see her throwing a temper tantrum of sorts, threatening to run away, and eventually lured back by the prospect of fish and chicken for dinner. As it's playing out, an artist on a nearby rooftop watches. It is that scene that inspires him to paint the book, Eleyna and the Feline Gourmand. Meracle couldn't have a copy of a book, her favorite book, when she's rescued by Edge and his crew if she had been born in the year 2080. Third, when they first arrive to Roak and see some people similar to Meracle in appearance, Reimi comments that Roak could be Meracle's home. Meracle thinks so, too, but she also says there's a difference in the air that she can't quite identify. It's familiar but not, at the same time. This is part of why I don't like things like Wikipedia. It's too easy for someone to change the information to suit his or her needs without taking into consideration the actual facts.
Back to the character study.
Meracle isn't one of my favorite characters, and some of it has to do with her age and the fact that she is of feline descent. She acts more like she's ten or eleven instead of sixteen. Yes, not all sixteen-year-olds act their age. Many thirty-year-olds don't act their age, either. It could be that she is of feline descent that she's often playful. She and Lymle are quite suited for playing together (and giving Reimi headaches over the mess they make together). But it just strikes me as odd that, at sixteen, she's as playful as a three-month-old kitten. Given what I know of cats, they're old by the time they've reached sixteen. It could be the way that the Fellpools and Lesser Fellpools have evolved that makes her as exuberant and bouncy as a young cat. I'm not entirely sure. I'd need to learn more about Fellpools and Lesser Fellpools to be sure. (As someone whose cat is 14 and only playful when the mood strikes her, the age for Meracle just seems so . . . off.)
When it comes to character growth, Meracle is one of the ones that gets ripped off in some very major ways. Yes, she comes to realize that the Lady Eleyna she goes to live with at the end of the final battle with the Apostle of Creation isn't the same as the Lady Eleyna from her book. She does, she accepts it, and moves in with Eleyna anyway. Meracle also does have an aura of sadness about her - she's lost much in what could be considered a short amount of time; we don't know how long she's been in the military facility. The crew of the ship she accidentally stowed away upon risked their lives to save her. Klaus dies. Before Edge tells her she's got friends in him and his crew, in the moments before she makes the decision to join them, Meracle feels quite alone and doesn't want to leave. This has had an impact on her, as it would anyone her age. But beyond that, she doesn't get much in terms of character growth or development. After a certain point (handing over her ex-lithium crystal pendant, knowing who Lady Eleyna is, and having her bubbles burst after meeting the real Eleyna), she's not all that integral to the story and thus becomes more comedy relief than anything else. I find that to be very sad. As a character, she has the best potential as a martial artist, which falls short, in my opinion. Yes, she's got some spectacular moves, but you have to set up her skills just so in order to unleash devastating attacks. She uses claws for weapons and scratches at things the way a human mimicking a cat would, which, a real cat wouldn't just scratch - it'd bite and kick. There's so much talent that the creators could have utilized with Meracle as a fighter and as a character that they just didn't do, and thus failed her. There are people that sacrificed their lives for Meracle, and I'm sure that's left her feeling helpless on more than one occasion. Those losses were something that she could have tapped into to become a better, stronger fighter with some very kickass moves, which could have been brought about by witnessing how Edge pulls himself back together to fight hard for those he cares about and wants to protect. Instead, she talks about eating Sarah, pulls out a fork and knife from nowhere when she's hungry and is ready to chase down her meal (be it a bunny or Sarah), and unintentionally causes trouble for Edge with Reimi. Meracle annoys me in that, overall, she's useless after the meeting with Lady Eleyna. Her Ornithology and Crafting skills are her only redemption. I could like Meracle more if the game's writers have treated her with a little more finesse than what they did. It could be argued that Lymle, only a year younger, is as equally as useless in the same aspect as Meracle, but Lymle at least has two more tricks up her sleeve before the game reaches its culmination. It's a shame they didn't do the same thing for Meracle.
Overall, Meracle could be something more, but she just isn't in the hands of the game's writers. The other unfortunate thing for Meracle is that most fanfic writers will treat her the same way or completely disregard her altogether. My hope is that, for myself, by doing these character studies, I can at least discover what it is that bothers me about the characters in questions or discover what I love and just be true to the characters in question.
