Project Pascal is a comic book created by Alexandre Amorim (AKA Ashtray, o cinzento) in 2002. Said comic book was a personal project, in a manner of speaking. He never really published it. It was something made entirely for his entertainment. However, he felt that the lack of conclusion and countless cameos by himself and his neighbors into the comic book made the whole thing jump the shark over and over. Because of that, he stopped writing new stuff, dedicating only to occasional drawings of his old characters.
In 2010, by the influence of his former girlfriend, he decided to resume his work and retcon whatever was wrong and/or amiss. Because of that, he felt like writing a novel instead of drawing a comic book, like in 2002. This novel, called "Hunting Season" had three main goals:
- Expand the universe.
- Make the plot more mature.
- Finish the storyline that was started back in 2002.
The plot tells the story of five children who were born with special powers. Courtesy of their fathers, who were homeless men before being captured by an evil megacorp to be used as subjects of a research to discover a way to awaken the true potencial of humankind: To make normal people develop superpowers.Those four homeless subjects eventually flee from the facility where they were being held and go separate ways, settling down and even building themselves a family. They had five children(one of them had two), only to die due to side effects from the medication taken at the facility while captive.
The kids, somehow, managed to complete the process that their fathers were submitted to, developing the superpowers aimed by the corporation that caught the homeless men at the streets.
The original comic books covers the first part of the story, where the five kids meet, face their first dangers and eventually learn what exactly is the corporation that is hunting them down.
Hunting Season is set up right after a time skip of a year from the main events of the original comic books. This time, with the boys deciding not to run anymore and to take down the corporation that made their lives miserable over the past year.
While the original comic books can still be considered Canon, Hunting Season became the most official work regarding the Project Pascal Universe, reviewing some ideas, concepts and facts depicted in the comic books, as part of the plan of maturing the plot.
There are rumors that Ashtray intend to convert the comic book part into a prequel novel, as well.
Both comic book and novel provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Lexington and Livingston's appearances are pretty much based on actors Adrien Brody and Jeff Bridges.
- Angst? What Angst?: Amanda. She spent the majority of her life without contact with the outside world and an extra year locked inside a tube to be used as a tracking device for her father and brother. She never shows any trauma.
- Black Dude Dies First: Inverted with Humkey; he’s actually the last of the good guys to die.
- Character Development: We first know Chin as a Buddhist monk, and throughout the comic books and the time skip, he ditches his monk clothes and customs to live a life of excesses and everlasting parties.
- Chekhov's Lecture: Eiji points out to Ilkum the possility of him and the other Experiments dying the same way their fathers did. Guess how Ilkum, Modius and Amanda die, 30 years later!
- Deus Angst Machina: After the Experiments escape the DSP, Ilkum find himself forced to abandon his friends and watch three of them die while trying to set them free from the harassment they all suffer. All while starting to consider that they are his true and only friends.
- Downer Ending: The XGMF-019A eventually kills every character who has contact with it. Ilkum, Modius and Amanda only get to live 30 more years than the rest.
- Fake Nationality: Ilkum, Chin and Eiji look Asian, but they are apparently Canadian.
- For the Lulz: Of the five main characters, Modius is the only one who joins Ilkum for fun.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Hernan. He starts out as a bratty boy who seeks his dad's acclaim. Later, we find out that he killed his father, took over control of Death Nest, and the times the Experiments got away were all because he let them escape
- Painting the Fourth Wall: The Reader is invited by this page to imagine the characters dubbed by certain voice actors.
- The Plan: Hernan leaked the location of the main base underwater, knowing that Eiji would eventually find it. Knowing so, he also left a sample of the XGMF-019A in one of the so-called "unimportant" bases, only so Eiji could steal them. Being a talented biologist, he could also predict the effects of the XGMF-019A on Eiji's system, predicting also that Eiji would be able to cancel anyone's powers. Including Andrew's! Ilkum's presence at the base was also predicted and found unimportant, since Hernan's real goal was to kill his father.
- Rule of Cool:
- Considering that Humkey needed to shave his head to grow his afro, there's no way his afro could get that big within a single year.
- The Corvette Stingray of 1972 had only two seats; there’s no real explanation of how Ilkum managed to fit five people in it
- Shout-Out: Several, considering who wrote this piece.
- Ilkum Bartlett is named after Craig Bartlett.
- The Homeless man who fathered Lenneth and Modius must have been a real geek!
- Paul Brey was named after Dakota Star singer/guitarrist/bassist Alan Brey.
- The District political division of the world is inspired by the Champions' District Five.
- Title Drop: Project Pascal is also the name of the experiments that led to the events of both the comic book and the novel.
- Time Skip: One year, between the events of the original comic books and the novel.
This is a Character Sheet for Project Pascal. Note that the characters have "Voice Actors". This happens because the author wanted to imagine voices for the characters. The entries are not to be taken seriously.
Or, you could just go back to the main page.
Ilkum Bartlett
Voice Actor: Kōki Uchiyama
Powers: Able to speed up or halt any chemical process
He is the unofficial leader of the Experiments. Ilkum used to live with his mother and work at the family business. The Bartlett's Liquors. His mother knew from an early age what Ilkum could do and coached him into hasting the maturing process that an 12-year old whisky must go through, making their liquor, the best in all District Five. Since his mother got attacked by one of the Death Nest agents, he feels the need of keeping her safe, deciding then, to make a journey to find and protect all the other experiments. He starts out as a laid back boy who becomes more and more bitter after the time skip. This eventually prompts him to stop running and start fighting back in the novel.
Tropes
- Acquired Poison Immunity: His powers allow him to work on an "antidote" faster than any medicine.
- Deus Angst Machina: After the Experiments escape the DSP, Ilkum find himself forced to abandon his friends and watch three of them die while trying to set them free from the harassment they all suffer. All while starting to consider that they are his true and only friends.
- Divided We Fall: The reason he starts looking for people with powers, same as him.
- Immune to Bullets: Invoked It's still possible to shoot and kill Ilkum, but that requires him not to react fast enough to the wound
- My Greatest Failure: He feels that the outcome of the events of the book is this, since he lost most of his friends.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Averted. His eyes are naturally red and doesn't indicate any rage state.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the sensitive guy against Humkey's manly man.
- Tired of Running: Why he develops the plan to destroy the Death Nest.
Humkey
Voice Actor: Kazuki Yao
Powers: Emulate any animalistic feature
Humkey is Ilkum's best friend. Of all the five Experiments, he's the one who never really had a family, being raised by prostitutes, who also dubbed him "Humkey" as were the remnant letters of a keymaker shop sign called "Humphrey's Keys", that got destroyed by a lightning bolt. It's unclear why he left the prostitutes. Years later, he found Ilkum and his mother, and started working for a roof and food. Nonetheless, he became fast friends with Ilkum and was the first to join him when he was gathering all the experiments.
He is loud, unpolite and sometimes, quite random at his thoughts... But nobody ever doubts that he's the most funny guy you'll ever meet.
Tropes
- Dumbass Has a Point: When Humkey explains to Lenneth the real goal of Ilkum's plan.
- Expository Hairstyle Change : He had dreadlocks in the comic book!
- Scary Black Man: Inverted. He's the coolest of the five Experiments
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's the manly man against Ilkum's sensitive guy.
- Black Dude Dies First: Inverted! He's actually the last of the good guys to die.
Chin Soon-Park
Voice Actor: Shinchiro Miki
Powers: Able to create and manipulate ice
Chin was the second to be discovered by Ilkum in his journey. He was a monk, and like all monks, he had a quite restrained life. Even when Chin joins Ilkum he was very cold and calculist, and worried about keeping the customs back at the monastery. It all ended in the day when they found Lenneth and Modius. Lenneth was kinda bored and wanted to make Humkey jealous. And so, Chin lost his virginity. Ever since then, he started growing his hair, and became a heavy smoker, stoner and drinker, partying hard everytime he got the chance to do it.
Despite his newfound disdain for harmony and all the values taught at the monastery, he's still loyal and quite cold, when compared with his friends...
Tropes
- A Chapter In The Lime Light
- Character Development: We first know him as a budist monk, and throughout the comic books and the time skip, he ditches his monk clothes and customs to live a life of excesses and everlasting parties.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Fan Nickname: "Big Krillin", before the time skip.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Subverted. Chin prefers bright colors.
Lenneth Hastings
Voice Actor: Ami Koshimizu
Powers: Able to manipulate and enfatuate all those lust for her
Lenneth is the older of the Hastings brothers, and the last to technically join Ilkum's party. She's selfish, bad tempered, bratty and, needless to say, slutty. While a decent actress, she actually believes she'll only get a part in some play/movie/TV show if she sleeps with the producers. At first, the only reason for her to join Ilkum was to take care of Modius, her little (and eager for adventure) brother, later on, she falls in love with the only person who doesn't seem affected by her powers: Humkey. Unfortunately, because of Humkey's lack of money, manners, and overall wit, she fights this feelings throughout the story, taking extreme measures (such as sleeping with Chin) to make him jealous.
Tropes
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Humkey, mainly... But Chin gets some moments...
- Cool Big Sis: Not quite, but she has her moments.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She has the darkest clothes of the five experiments.
- Expy: Of Doug's Judy Funnie
- Ms. Fanservice: Her powers work because of that
Modius Hastings
Voice Actor: Hiroshi Kamiya
Powers: Able to create energy bombs
Modius is the younger of the Hastings brothers. Unlike Lenneth, he's lighthearted, an all around nice guy who craves for one thing and one thing only: Action! Once Ilkum came to him, he never had any second thoughts about joining up his party. While rash and impulsive, he's also owner of an immense destructive power. He also supports Humkey in wooing his sister, because he thinks Humkey can teach Lenneth how to be humble.
Tropes
- Best Friends-in-Law: He actively roots for Humkey and Lenneth to be together.
- Deus ex Machina: Invoked by Modius... He was teasing Lenneth
- For the Lulz: Of the five main characters, Modius is the one who joins Ilkum only for fun
- I Just Want to Be Badass: He is, but he feels he couls be MORE! He takes Chin as a role model.
Andrew Hoyt
Voice Actor: Norio Wakamoto
Powers: Able to animate, manipulate and merge into the shadows
Andrew is the head of Death Nest, INC. He's a cold and ruthless man who seeks the power to rule behind the curtains. He's also very cynical and doesn't hide that he deals with weapons and sell them to both sides. He believes that since he's rich and powerful enough to defend himself, he can force the whole world to embrace him being Necessarily Evil.
Tropes
- Distracted by the Sexy: This was how Lenneth managed to save the Experiments from him
- SNK Boss: Subverted. He dies in the middle of the story
Hernan Hoyt
Voice Actor: Daisuke Namikawa
Powers: Able to increase or decrease his own weight
Hernan is the eldest of Andrew's sons. He is introduced as a guy who wants nothing but to impress his father. Later on, we discover his hidden depths, and his feelings towards Ilkum and his little sister Amanda. He eventually kills Andrew and takes over the control of Death Nest and the good part of the world's military. But then, he's also confused because he doesn't know what to do with all that power when he conquers all
Tropes
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Hernan manages to avoid this trope until the moment he reveals his new powers.
- Not So Harmless: He starts out as a bratty boy who seeks his dad's acclaim. Later, we find out that he killed his father, took over control of Death Nest, and the times the Experiments got away were all because he let them escape
- The Plan: Hernan leaked the location of the main base underwater, knowing that Eiji would eventually find it. Knowing so, he also left a sample of the XGMF-019A in one of the so-called "unimportant" bases, only so Eiji could steal them. Being a talented biologist, he could also predict the effects of the XGMF-019A on Eiji's system, predicting also that Eiji would be able to cancel anyone's powers. Including Andrew's! Ilkum's presence at the base was also predicted and found unimportant, since Hernan's real goal was to kill his father.
Amanda Hoyt
Voice Actor: Yukari Fukui
Powers: Able to connect her mind to anyone exposed to the XGMF-019A
Amanda is the youngest daughter of Andrew Hoyt. She had little contact with the outside world or even Andrew himself. Hernan was her only company for most of her life. She is very instructed, despite her lack of savviness of everyday life. Due to her lack of social skills, she is quite confused at first, when she encounters Ilkum, not realizing that he was a hostage. Something she makes up for as soon as she understands why Ilkum is there.
Tropes
- I Owe You My L Ife: Basically, the first reason why she sticks with Ilkum after the events of the novel. Word of God states that she eventually falls for Ilkum as well, but only after a few years living with him and his mom.
- Psychic Powers: Sort of... Only with the ones who got exposed to the XGMF-019A
Daniel Livingston
Voice Actor: Tohru Furuya
Powers: None
Livingston is the corrupt director of the Special Manhunt division of the DSP. He has a fixation with geeky goods.
Tropes
- Ink-Suit Actor: Played with. He was meant to resemble Jeff Bridges in TRON: Legacy.
Paul Brey
Voice Actor: Mamoru Miyano
Powers: Electric fists
Paul is a DSP agent. He and Anabella are partners in the Special Manhunt Division. They were promoted from their street cop positions from another story written by Ashtray before the events of Project Pascal, making them canon immigrants. While Anabella eventually became insane, cýnical and cruel, Paul is still a good cop on the inside, making him argue with the corrupt Livingston and the cruel Anabella most of the times, since he's not really okay with what he must do to find people he judges innocent.
Tropes
- Named After Somebody Famous: After Alan Brey, from Dakota Star
Anabella Spinelli
Voice Actor: Yuko Kaida
Powers: Telekinesis
Paul's partner at DSP. Unlike Paul, her promotion led her to extreme boredom, followed by a unusual growth of cruelty and madness. She likes being a cop and believes that the weak should die.
Tropes
- Expy: Of Avril Lavigne
Eiji Kasugano
Voice Actor: Jun Fukuyama
Powers: Able to cancel the effects of XGMF-019A
Back when Death Nest came on the homeless village to pick up the Experiments' fathers, the whole village was kidnapped or killed in the process. Eiji is an orphan who survived that event. He was rescued by a Death Nest soldier named Emma. While he was trained and raised by her, his hate and determination made him master many types of combat, hacking, infiltration and espionage. Now, he seeks revenge for what happened with the village, his parents and everyone who got captured or killed. He also feels that the Experiments are a menace that can't be underestimated and must also die.
Tropes
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Eiji's favorite method of intelligence gathering
- Brainwashed: His new powers made him "think" he needed Ilkum's help
- Empowered Badass Normal: When he has the XGMF-019A infused into his system
Arthur Lexington
Voice Actor: Shuuichi Ikeda
Powers: None
Arthur Lexington is a congressman who represents the District Five. He became known for his speeches that support ethics and peace. Ilkum sees in him a way to dismantle the Death Nest organization when he watches Lexington speak in the TV. Lexington is a very honest and passionate politician, unlike many of his colleagues. He eventually becomes president of the District Five
Tropes
- Ink-Suit Actor: Played with. He was meant to resemble Adrien Brody
- Sleazy Politician: He's the most honest politician you'll ever find
Elizabeth Bartlett
Voice Actor: Tomoko Shiota
Powers: None
Elizabeth is the mother of Ilkum Bartlett. She's also the owner of Bartlett's Liquors. When Ilkum sets up to travel and find the other Experiments, she fakes a property transfer to Martha Baker, so Ilkum could be more at ease about her safety. She also adopted Humkey when he wandered about her lands, begging for food.
Tropes
- Crazy-Prepared: Knowing that she would be tracked down by Death Nest, she arranged a fake property transfer, so she can still work and give Ilkum money when he needs.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's implied that Ilkum go back to his house with Amanda, to live beside her and Elizabeth as well
