Zipher and Domika
There's a rumor that the "Land of the Variants" exists somewhere in the theorized home of the destructive Sky Golems. Covered in a poisonous miasma, there are tales that a village of variant wizards is hidden there with the power to resurrect the dead.
Walking himself to the point of collapse while lugging a mysterious box, Zipher awakens surrounded by variants. After celebrating at having reached his destination and collapsing again, he reawakens requesting an audience with their village chief so that he can resurrect his dead lover.
Pandemonium -Wizard Village- (パンデモニウム-魔術師の村- Pandemonium -Majutsushi no Mura-) is a manga created by Sho Shibamoto and is part of his Verse alongside his other works, The Jackalope and Flower Knight Dakini.
It can be read in English here.
This work provides examples of:
- Aerith and Bob: Some of the characters have unusual or fantastical names, like Zipher, Molte, or Brow... and then you have names like Anna and Marco.
- After-Action Healing Drama: Molte is presumed to have died when Crain shot her. However, once him and his men leave in shame, Malsus discovers she's still alive, but in dire need of medical attention. In the end, he's able to successfully save her.
- All There in the Manual: The names of many minor or background characters are only revealed in the concept sketches.
- Alpha Strike: Upon seeing a Sky Golem corpse, Crain orders the entire brigade to open fire on it, before they realize it's already dead. Not that their bullets were at all effective.
- Asian Fox Spirit: Kayoh, though she doesn't have any special powers.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the end, after all the hardships the characters face, Zipher is able to change public perception of variants to the point of them being given a new term to be called and coexisting with normal people, he married Domika, and raises a son along with Molte, who is now writing a book about what happened. However, Arkhamheim is still destroyed and Anna is still dead, though Zipher was finally able to move on from her and gave her a proper burial in the variant village. Crain and his men also did not accomplish any of their goals and are last seen departing with no destination in mind. The situation with the Sky Golems also isn't resolved.
- Body Horror: Not all the variants are as lucky as Kayoh. Kobolgarde has the unfortunate distinction of having a horn growing out of her eye, no lips, spikes throughout her body, and tentacles for fingers and legs.
- But Now I Must Go: Zipher leaves the village at the end and travels all over to inform people of the truth about the village and its inhabitants, but he didn't do it alone, as Domika and Molte followed him.
- The Cameo: Beatha from The Jackalope makes an appearance, setting this story sometime before the events of that manga.
- He reappears in the final chapter alongside older versions of Shinoda, Topo, and Algernon.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Every character, excluding the Faceless Goons in the brigade, has a name and distinct design, even ones that only show up once.
- City with No Name: The titular village is never given a proper name, and is only referred to as the 'Wizard Village'.
- Continuity Nod: The Distant Finale contains several references to The Jackalope including a snowman of Jacka.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The village is an isolated community living in the middle of a wasteland, and thus have seen very little of the outside world, with the two strongest among them having been there for most of their lives. Thus when a large group of trained men travel there prepared, there's little they can actually do against them. Even Kayoh and Cosith, while obviously far more capable than the average member of the brigade, get taken down by weapons they've never seen before.
- The Cutie: Brow
- Daydream Surprise: After Domika says that Zipher will be sticking around to get his wounds treated after the fire, Molte accuses him of losing his eye on purpose to draw sympathy from the others and yells at him to stay away from Domika, only to wake up. In reality, what happened was that she went to bed and said nothing.
- Deliberate Injury Gambit: After getting beaten up by Kayoh and Cosith for begging that Anna be revived, Zipher smiles at the prospect of sticking around longer to recover from his injuries. Unfortunately for him, the village's medicine water instantly heals him.
- Disney Death: After he shoots her, it initially looks like Crain killed Molte. However, once Malsus examines her body, he discovers that she's still alive and works quickly enough to save her.
- Distant Finale: Takes place 16 years after Zipher leaves the village for real. Zipher and Domika married and had a son that they raise alongside Molte, variants are now more accepted, though some stigma still exists, and the village became an archaeological site overseen by villagers who chose to stay and specialists from outside it.
- Doomed Hometown: Arkhamheim. Similar to the other mangas in The 'Verse, Zipher lived a pleasant life there before the Sky Golems destroyed it with their Straight Thunders, killing Anna as well. It was also the hometown of Crain and the brigade.
- Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: The final chapter reveals that Anna looks very much like Domika.
- Eye Scream: Zipher gets his left eye crushed by burning debris saving Brow, and the village's medicine isn't able to heal it.
- Face Doodling: Young Domika does this in the extra chapter to Cosith to try to wake him up.
- Face of a Thug: Several villagers look threatening, but are just normal people.
- Fantastic Racism: Variants aren't well-regarded by non-variants. In fact, the entire reason for the village's existence is the discrimination variants receive from the outside world. In the epilogue, they've become treated much better, though there are still people who haven't let go of the rumors surrounding them.
- Fatal Fireworks: Brow steals one of Zipher's fireworks and causes a massive fire to break out by setting it off wrong. Thankfully, he was saved by Zipher.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: On the way to the village chief's house, Zipher, Domika, and Molte pass by a graveyard. A few pages later, Ainu makes it very clear that the village cannot resurrect the dead.
- Flashback Echo: Chapter 6 does this with the fire that happens in the village and the destruction of Arkhamheim. Both of them involve Zipher attempting to save someone (Brow in the present, Anna in the past). While he failed to save Anna, he does save Brow, though gets several injuries.
- Foot Bath Treatment: Kobolgarde does this with her lower tentacles when Zipher and Domika meet her in her home. Justified as she's using medicine water.
- Gas Mask, Longcoat: Crain and his brigade. Crain takes his mask off at the end of Chapter 10.
- Gas Mask Mooks: Crain's brigade, since they don't even get names.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The Sky Golems.
- Happily Adopted: Domika and Molte are mother and daughter, though Molte grows upset when Zipher starts becoming close to Domika. She gets over it and considers Zipher her father once he marries Domika.
- Domika, Malsus, Kayoh, and Cosith were all raised by village chief Ainu.
- Happily Married: Zipher and Domika, by the end.
- Healing Potion: The village has medicine water that is able to instantly heal Zipher's injured face. However, it has its limits, as it can't restore his eye after it gets crushed.
- Heroic Fire Rescue: Zipher manages to save Brow from the fire Brow inadvertently caused by stealing one of his fireworks at the cost of his left eye.
- He had attempted this with Anna during Arkhamheim's destruction, but she was already dead by the time he had reached her.
- He's Got a Weapon!: Early on, Zipher lights what looks like a bomb that causes the villagers to panic and try to stop him, but it only turns out to be a firework. He was actually using it as a signal to Crain.
- Hidden Elf Village: The titular village, populated by variants rumored to have the power to bring back the dead. Turns out they were only rumors.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Cosith and Kayoh, though only comparatively as she's the tallest female character in the manga.
- Identical Stranger: Anna looks a lot like Domika, minus the variant parts.
- I Should Write a Book About This: Molte chronicled the events of most of the manga, as well as some of the stuff afterwards into a book.
- Last Episode, New Character: Schritt, Zipher and Domika's son, who's introduced in the Distant Finale.
- The Lost Lenore: Anna's death as a result of the Straight Thunders is what motivates Zipher to find the village. However, it is eventually revealed they were never in a relationship.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Variants
- Mundane Object Amazement: Several villagers, mainly the children, are amazed by the fireworks Zipher shoots off, as most of them have lived in the isolation of the village their entire lives.
- Mutants: Variants, again.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When Zipher finally manages to get through to Crain, he undergoes this after realizing he shot a child.
- The Namesake: While the titular village is where almost the entire story takes place, the 'Pandemonium' part of the title isn't brought up until much later, where one of the characters is referred to as befitting the description. And while it's not revealed in the manga proper, 'Pandemonium Wizard Village' is the title of the book Molte wrote about the events of the story, as seen in this drawing.
- Narrator All Along: An older Molte turns out to have been reading from a book she wrote about what happened.
- Official Couple: Zipher and Domika.
- Once More, with Clarity: Chapter 6 begins with a flashback of Zipher inviting Anna to something. In the final chapter, we hear the conversation again, but it ends with her accepting and The Reveal of her face.
- Our Perytons Are Different: There is a minor villager named Peryu who resembles a peryton, having a deer-like head with antlers and a humanoid bird body.
- Pocket Protector: Molte's locket ends up saving her after Crain shoots her.
- Pauper Patches: A number of the villagers' outfits have patches on them.
- Print Bonus: The physical release of the second volume comes with an extra chapter starring Domika and Kayoh when they were children.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Many of the villagers are named after mythological figures or creatures. Kayoh gets her name from Lady Kayō, one of the names Tamamo-no-Mae took. Cosith is named after the Cù-sìth of Scottish folklore. Minor villagers Behemoth and Pendra are references to the Behemoth and Pandora.
- The Reveal: There are Sky Golem corpses are underneath the village. And the 'magical' items the villagers use in their daily lives? They're devices excavated from the remains of the Sky Golems, and they don't know how to use about 90% of what they find.
- Anna was never in a romantic relationship with Zipher and only saw him as a friend. His love was one-sided, but he could never confess to her simply because she wasn't the kind of lady to be tied down because of a relationship. Zipher intended to revive her in the hope that she would owe him and change that. She also looks just like Domika.
- Shout-Out: The final chapter has a Poppy O'Possum book on a shelf.
- Two of the gravestones are for Sméagol and Gollum. Another three belong to Godzilla, Oogie Boogie, and Graboid El Blanco (misspelt as 'Gravoid').
- Another pair of graves are for 'Nuada Nuala' and 'Sparky'.
- Several of the villagers are named after demons from the Ars Goetia.
- Staircase Tumble: Happens to Zipher while he's running to the center of the village. He wasn't looking ahead of him and falls down the entire flight.
- Suicide by Cop: Molte, believing she has nothing left to live for, requests that Crain kill her. He ends up going through with it, but she survives because of her locket and that he had to lower his aim to shoot her, thus causing the bullet to be deflected.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: Anna was the one that made Zipher's coat and hat. After they get damaged, Domika tries her best to repair them, but due to the clumsiness of her claws, the result is very patchwork and rips easily. He doesn't mind the change, though.
- That Came Out Wrong: Zipher tells Domika after she continues to mend his wounds after the fire that he'd be happy to repay her however he could. She tells him that she wants a family. It takes her a second to realize how she worded that.
- Unicorn: The minor villager Neil is a unicorn and his twin Eva is a bicorn.
- Whale Egg: As revealed in the extra chapter, Domika was actually hatched from an egg, despite having a belly button. She wastes no time pointing this out, but Ainu acts like this is just another way for variants to be born, even for animals that don't lay eggs.
- Wham Line:Crain: Sorry, Miss. Zipher and Anna... were no lovers.
- Wham Shot: When Zipher finally opens the box containing Anna's corpse revealing that she looks just like Domika.
- Would Hurt a Child: Molte goads Crain into shooting her as she feels she no longer has anything to live for anymore. Crain does so, mistakenly believing the villagers will bring her back to life. When everyone is too horrified by his actions to do anything, he mistakes this as them not wanting to resurrect an outsider and threatens to kill one of the villagers, including the children. Thankfully, Zipher is able to snap him out of it and she happened to still be alive.
