Dazzle (Hatenkou Yuugi note ) is a manga written by Minari Endou, starting in November 1999, and is still ongoing. The manga began its run in the shonen magazine Monthly G Fantasy, but later moved to the shoujo magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum in 2002. It was released in the US by Tokyo Pop under the title Dazzle (up to volume 10). There was also a 10 episodes anime released during the winter season of 2008.
A young girl named Rahzel is kicked out of her house, by her adoptive father and told to "go out and see the world". Shortly afterwards, Rahzel teams up with the albino Alzeid, who is searching for the person who murdered his father, and the Chivalrous Pervert Baroqueheat. The manga follows their journey as they meet friends, enemies and supernatural entities.
Tropes include:
- Abnormal Ammo: Salasneia's gun uses bullets made of an alloy with a "specific gravity of over 20"
- Accidental Misnaming: Saivah's not too happy when Alzeid starts calling him Thomas.
- Accidental Pervert: Rahzel: "I will pay for it with my body!"
- Also, fighting while ignoring the fact that she is wearing a skirt!
- Running Gag territory, she really should realize that she is wearing a skirt while she stands on people. Maybe Covert Pervert territory as she has a "I realize it, I just don't care, I actually like it!" aura to her.
- Even made fun of in one of the Q&A.
- Action Girl: Rahzel.
- Aerith and Bob: On the one hand, we have Alzeid, Rahzel, and Baroqueheat (among others). On the other, we have Vincent, Addy, and Taylor. (Note that all the "Bob"-type names belong to minor characters.)
- Though since it is a manga, meaning a japanese medium, Vincent, Addy and Taylor probably also souds quite exotic to the target readers.
- Affably Evil: Kiara fits this trope pretty well; he gives her useful advice, has tea with her on several occasions and even has the decency to announce that he is her enemy and that she should get stronger so she won't die. This makes it even more creepy when he does finally fulfill his promise to hurt her
- Affectionate Nickname: Baroqueheat calls Alzeid 'Al-boy' or 'Little boy Al'. It's later revealed that he does this because he doesn't want to call him Alzeid, because that's also what the man who killed the woman he loved was called.
- Ambiguously Gay: Father Jelice Bryah.
- Lampshaded by Rahzel: "I don't recall coming out of some queer's stomach." (She said that because he was trying to be her father, but given the baka of a dad she has, he is definitely a huge improvement.)
- Apologizes a Lot: Larawell and Befyladita.
- Armies Are Evil: Rahzel seems to have this opinion.Rahzel: I may sound prejudiced, but I can't help but think of the army as a bunch of killers.
- Artifact of Doom: Angel Text.
- Artificial Human: There are several.
- Bag of Holding: Rahzel's teddy bear bag. Lampshaded:Alzeid: Did she just pull something out of that bag that's bigger than the space inside ?
- Bait-and-Switch Credits: Even though it is a manga the artwork for the covers and the artwork for the pages are very different. Especially in the first few volumes.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Or in Larawell's case, 'because your hand was so warm.'
- Body-Count Competition: Rahzel sometimes has a non-lethal version of this with her traveling partners.
- Bodyguard Crush: Salasaneia toward Shogetsu.
- Body Horror: When Alzeid finds Rahzel after the latter being tortured by Kiara. An early-on example would be the 'child' of the circus director.
- Breaking the Bonds: The gang are fond of doing this when they get captured.
- Brick Joke: Not really a joke, but remember Vincent from the "Nowhere To Go" story arc? The illegitimate son of the king of Obplay? Volume 11 hints he might make a reappearance.
- Bridal Carry: Baroqueheat would love to do this to Rahzel. Alzeid does this when he finds Rahzel after being tortured by Kiara.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Shogetsu
- Cat Girl: At Rahzel's school's cultural festival, her class puts on a play about kittens and hosts a cat-themed maid/butler cafe.
- Catchphrase: Rahzel loves telling bad guys that they will be punished.Rahzel: "For breaking this rule, you will have to be severely punished!"
- Censor Steam: The ghost passes on the reincarnation with her ghost clothes replaced by a steam aura.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. She was introduced as a medic with a ruined marriage who happened to save Alzeid's life, and that was that. Except it's not. Turns out she's not only involved with Prometheus, she was Second's assistant, helping him with his experiments on his clones, and therefore she's currently the one who knows most about the events that took place around Second's death, when leaving little Alzeid and Kiara out of it.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Baroqueheat.
- Clones Are People, Too: Considering that Alzeid, a part of the main trio, is one...
- Clothing Damage: Rahzel after some battles, but in a non-sexual sense!
- Costume Porn: Some of the costumes, especially in the cover art, are absolutely gorgeous.
- Creepy Child: This is how Rahzel's biological father Fabian thought of her for being too gifted, after her mother went crazy.
- Cross-Popping Veins: Rahzel, sometimes. Also Alzeid.
- Cute Bruiser: Rahzel.
- Cute Monster Girl: The ghost.
- Cycle of Revenge: Rahzel explains this concept in the chapter Scar after Scar.
- Daddy's Girl: Rahzel.
- Dark and Troubled Past: All the main cast, really.
- Darker and Edgier: Starts really showing around volume 5-6, though ample warnings are given as early as volume 2.
- Days of Future Past: It's heavily implied that the story takes place some undefined time in the future, despite the low level of technology (except in Prometheus).
- Death of a Child: Occurs a few times, though the most significant one is Larawell.
- Ditzy Genius: Shogetsu is incredibly brillant, but he fails to see the problem in knocking down a door while visiting a friend when simply ringing the bell would have as easily allowed him to enter.
- Does Not Like Men: Rahzel's best friend, Clarissa.
- Dragged into Drag: In the cultural festival incident mentioned under Cat Girl, Fay had to dress as a girl. In the author's note for that volume, she comments that Fay is weird to be embarrassed for putting on a skirt and wearing kitten ears, unlike Mariya.
- Driven to Suicide: The doctor in chapter 11. Larawell. Also Rayborn, though he's rescued. And Rahzel herself, in a way (as in, letting herself slowly die), before the beginning of the story, as a result/a part of her Dark and Troubled Past. Of course, she gets better.
- Drugs Are Bad: Angel Text makes users feel good, but when the compatibility is too low, or users take in more than the recommended dosage, it can cause your body to explode.
- Duel to the Death: Alzeid has one of these against Soresta. Neither dies from it, however.
- Dysfunctional Family: Natsume's family, meaning Serateed (Rahzel's adoptive father), Kiara (Rahzel's self-proclaimed enemy), Branowen and Baroqueheat (one of Rahzel's traveling buddies). More Played for Drama than for laughs.
- Dysfunction Junction: Since absolutely everyone that matters has a Dark and Troubled Past.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Rahzel, sometimes. More often in the cover art than in the story.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Or more accurately "Et tu, Rahzel?", as Fay say it in a definitely out-of-context way. Of course, it's just for fun.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Kiara is quite fond of his sister, Branowen, as well as Natsume.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Kiara is fine with murder and torture but he does say he wouldn't sexually assault Rahzel.
- Fanservice: Rahzel has quite the impressive wardrobe, and Baroqueheat occasionally wanders around topless.
- Flipping the Table:
- Rahzel, while annoyed by the ghost.
- Sera did it too, when he found out Rahzel shares a hotel room with Baroqueheat and Alzeid.
- First-Name Basis: Alzeid calls Rahzel "Rahzel" sans honorifics (when not simply "stupid chick").
- For Science!: The entire town of Prometheus.
- Four Is Death: The ghost is in the fourth chapter.
- Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: They usually answer one question per volume.
- Functional Magic: A basic premise of the series.
- Gender-Blender Name: Kiara is a guy. So is Fay Lisette.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Rahzel, athough it isn't just an angel and a devil...
- Gratuitous French: Jelice "Which one of you is truly l'amant de Rahzel?"
- Later in the same arc, Rahzel and Baroqueheat call each other "Mademoiselle" and "Monsieur" for no real reason. Alzeid demands why, then tries to join in by saying, "Esto un lapiz!" The author notes that that's not French.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Alzeid is definitely not afraid to pull out a gun.
- Hammerspace: And quite oftenly seems unrelated to Rahzel's teddy bear bag, at that !
- Healing Factor: The healing spell. The clones. Baroqueheat and his family. Rahzel after receiving another dose of Angel Text.
- Heroic BSoD: Happens to Rahzel after being tortured by Kiara
- Hey, You!: The cause of Rahzel and Alzeid's first fight.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Rahzel tried to pull this on Baroqueheat. Of course, it didn't work.
- I Kiss Your Hand: Baroqueheat to Rahzel, minus the submissive part.
- Improbable Weapon User: Rahzel decking a thief (Chapter 1) with a teddy bear.
- In-Series Nickname: Alzeid's father was called 'Second' by everyone but Natsume.
- MacGyvering: Shogetsu makes a welding torch to open a can of mackerel. Then he learns that both Fay and Rahzel had can openers.
- Magic Poker Equation: Alzeid is surprisingly good at Sera's surname cards game, even though he slept through the explanation of the rules, because Baroqueheat told him to think of it as poker.
- Magic Skirt: Rahzel has a full stock of these.
- Lampshaded in the Q&A, when a reader asks why we never get to see her panties even though she jumps around so much. As a response, the mangaka draws Baroqueheat saying that she's not wearing any. You can't see what isn't there, after all.
- Manchild: Alzeid. Particularly evident in the later volumes, and in one bonus chapter.
- Matricide: Rahzel, out of self-defence.
- Mood-Swinger: Rahzel. Being a teenager doesn't help.
- Also Shogetsu. Being a genius doesn't help.
- Mood Whiplash: Oh boy. Minari Endou just LOVES this trope. And does it very well, at that. It's so funny!
- The greatest example of this has to be the Carnival arc. One minute you're laughing your head off as you get to see Fay being made fun of while dressed up as a cat-eared maid, and a moment later you watch in terror as Kiara brutally tortures Rahzel.
- Moral Sociopathy: Kiara could be considered this, he seems to feel bad about certain courses of action but shrugs it off as necessary evil.
- Multiple-Choice Past: Lisette gives a different one of these for his scissors every time they're brought up. Even if only a few seconds have passed.These are a family heirloom, passed down for generations.This pair of scissors belonged to a friend of mine who became one with the wind this summer.They were given to me by my sister on my birthday.These scissors are proof of adulthood in my clan.When you defeat a lion barehanded, you're awarded a pair of scissors.
- Mundane Wish: In a side story where they're making wishes on a meteor shower, Rahzel wishes that they can all watch the meteors again next year.
- Newspaper Dating: The way Rahzel finally realized she's been send in the past.
- No Sense of Direction: Rahzel, as Alzeid is all too fond of reminding her.
- As everyone is too fond of reminding her.
- Not a Morning Person: Both Alzeid and Rahzel, but especially Alzeid.
- Ojou: Li-nya (second type), explains all the power she wields.
- Older Than They Look: Known cases includes : Serateed, Kiara, Branowen, Baroqueheat and Alzeid's brother, as well as (probably) Enero Carboverde.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted with Alzeid because there are two other people who share the name.
- One-Winged Angel: The Angel Text was intended to turn people into this.
- Also Jean-Foup, Larawell's father.
- Paper Fan of Doom: Rahzel uses one against the other Alzeid when he bursts into her school (and then ignores her to have a fight with Fay).
- Parental Abandonment: Rahzel's adoptive father
kicks her out-sends her to see the world.- Rahzel's biological father left her to die. Feeling bad about this he eventually went back to rescue her but she was already gone.
- The Patriarch: Implied to be Signore Enero Feb Jel Carboverde's role toward the entire town of Prometheus.
- The Plan: It's heavily hinted that Kiara has one of these going on, we just don't know the details.
- Play-Along Prisoner: All three main characters, but especially Alzeid.
- Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: Alzeid is short-tempered and rude, Rahzel isn't shy about punching,kicking or yelling and Baroqueheat is a pervert. On the other hand, Kiara, Dee Fennel and Alzeid's brother are all quite polite.
- Though Alzeid's brother qualification as a villain is very subjective : yes, he does follow Kiara's words, and do nothing to stop him from hurting Rahzel, but it's only so things will happen the way they already did (since Time Travel is involved, after all), so he can effectively meet Rahzel.
- The Promise: After befriending Rayborn, Rahzel promises to tell him she likes him a hundred million times. She only reaches 27 times before he dies.
- Also, Rahzel who was sent back to the past promised Older Alzeid a name. In one of his/her first appearances, they reminded Rahzel of this fact, even though she did not yet know.
- Really 700 Years Old: The siblings (Serateed, Kiara, Branowen and Baroqueheat) have been alive a least a few hundreds years, as implied in vol. 10.
- Reincarnation Romance: The ghost passes on and says that she will love someone in another life.
- Relax-o-Vision: Twice. First used when Rahzel and Baroqueheat give Rayborn a haircut, and second when Rahzel's dad finds out just how Baroqueheat acts around Rahzel.
- Revenge: Alzeid's goal. Specifically, he wants to avenge his "father"'s death.
- Rule of Two: Kiara and the eldest Alzeid.
- Sacred First Kiss: Baroqueheat steals Rahzel's (and probably Alzeid's) first kiss shortly after meeting them.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Prometheus created humans in the image of the gods?
- Say It with Hearts: Rahzel!
- The ghost too.
- Baroqueheat at times too.
- Father Jelice Bryah as well too.
- Schizo Tech: Although the science of this world is highly advanced, the main forms of transportation seem to be horse and carriage, trains, and walking.
- Seers: Rahzel's mother had the ability to see the future. "Witnessing" her own death drove her mad.
- Shout-Out: Rahzel and Baroqueheat compared Alzeid to Winnie the Pooh once.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Baroqueheat rarely wears sleeves.
- Smoking Is Cool: Most notably, Baroqueheat.
- Spell My Name With An S: Is it Lazensia or Razenshia? Larawell or Lalawell? Fay or Faye? Illuse or Illuze?
- Social Darwinist: Alzeid in his speech about animals (humans included) in this pyramid: Plants< Herbivores< Small Carnivores< Large Carnivores< Star (representing himself).Alzeid: "All living things exist to be eaten (including humans). Natural selection is the rule of the world.
- Stalker with a Crush: Soresta doesn't seem very stalker-y... at least not until Taylor brings out his Alzeid collection.
- Stalker without a Crush: As time goes on, it seems that Rahzel is surrounded by more and more of those; the most prominent ones being Shogetsu, who finds her an interesting person to observe because of who she manages to get along with, and Kiara, her self-proclaimed enemy. Both will easily -- sometimes even cheerfully -- admit it, too.
- The Stoic: Alzeid. Kind of.
- Story Arc: Most of the chapters:
- Eternal Love (4-5)
- Nowhere to Go (6-10)
- The Sun in the Palm (12-15)
- Angel Text (18-26)
- Ever So Small And Dellicate Lullaby (28-30)
- After The Flowers Bloom (31-33)
- One Cold Winters Day (34-35)
- The Ephemeral Proposition (36-49)
- The Name of a Sinful God (51-56)
- A Present for You (58-60)
- Such a Cold Night's Hand (61-66)
- Back to the Routine (67-73)
- Carnival (74-75)
- Surrender or Resist! (76-83)
- Dedicated to the Unnamed Blue (84-ongoing)
- Sweet Tooth: Alzeid, again. And so was Second.
- Teen Genius: Shogetsu. See the Ditzy Genius entry above.
- There Was a Door: Played with. Shogetsu uses the door, he just... goes through it. Literally.
- Those Two Guys: David and Kaede-san, Minari Endou's first and last Boy's Love couple. (Or so she claims.) She brings them back at random moments after their first appearance in The Ephemeral Proposition.
- Time Travel: A major plot point later on in the story, and very clearly a part (possibly even the cause) of Kiara's plan.
- Tone Shift: Aroud volume 5-6, the manga starts to get noticeably Darker and Edgier. It's done very smoothly, with plenty of warnings beforehand, and the comedic undertone is still there, but it changes nevertheless. Accordingly, the arcs gets increasingly longer.
- Tsundere: Rahzel, Type B aka more dere that tsun!
- Also she can switch between types in only one panel of a change.
- True Companions: Rahzel sees Alzeid and Baroqueheat as this, possibly even bordering on Family of Choice.
- 12-Episode Anime: Ten episodes actually.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: Everyone has so many outifts; more than they should given the storyline. (They are travellers! Shouldn't travellers, of all people, have very limited wardrobes!?)
- Justified in the case of Rahzel, who has a bottomless enchanted teddy bear bag. She also happens to be the one who changes outfits most often.
- Verbal Tic Name: Lina, refers to herself as Li-nya.
- Villains Never Lie: Played straight with Kiara, who kept his word on hurting Rahzel. Also, when he said that he put a paralytic drug in her tea.Kiara: You seeemd to think I was joking... But I really used it. Tranquillizer. Don't you dare ask me why. I told you I was your enemy. I told you I would hurt you the next time I saw you. And yet you ate and drank the things I gave you without suspicion. Did you think I was joking around? Did you feel some kind of affection for me after seeing me a few times? If so, you really are stupid.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Warrant Officer (Fay) during the cultural festival.
- Would Hit a Girl: Most people actually fall under this, since gender doesn't seem to matter in a fight. The only complete aversion is Baroqueheat, who would never hit a girl, except for that one time where he punched Rahzel in the gut to knock her out.
- Alzeid frequently spars with Rahzel has been seen planting a foot in Rahzel's face more than once.
- When Rahzel sparred with Fay, he beat her up quite splendidly. This is actually a downplayed version as he did admit to feeling slightly more inclined to hold back because she's a girl.
- Wounded Hero, Weaker Helper: Though Rahzel is by no means weak, this trope happens when she carries Alzeid on her back after he gets poisoned.
