And so Himari was born...

 

Why BikoWolf decided to make an elf girl was always a mystery to me, at least at the beginning of the series. He's never really been a fan of elves. But, in the end, of the dozens and dozens of designs he'd considered for Himari, this one ended up being the one he chose. But there was no plan. Some might say it was completely random, and that's partly true and partly false. Explaining why is quite difficult (or simple, depending on your point of view). As mentioned, there are dozens of 'Himari' created by BikoWolf. Each of them has unique, particular traits: some are human, others have animal ears, and others are even more eccentric. However, as he himself told me:

«Eventually, I realized I'd never made an elf version of Himari. So I thought, "Why not?". To be more precise, while I was drawing her, I thought about giving her something original, to avoid making her the usual cat girl, you know? And that's how I came up with the pointed ears.»

But the road to the design we know was long and fraught with obstacles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Himari's very first design, as you can see, is completely different from the one you know. Initially, she had heterochromia, black and white hair, and a dress which took inspiration from that of Fenrir (a character from Kamihime Project). From the beginning the intention was to create a nomadic protagonist, someone who has seen many places.

One feature you'll surely have noticed is that the color of the hair and eyes referred to the two Entities; the idea was to emphasize, through those colors, that she was linked to these two mysterious creatures that were the source of her powers.

 

His idea was to have a character capable of both hand-to-hand combat and magic (which she could use when she fused with the two Entities). On a purely superficial level, he liked what he'd created. The character had a unique aesthetic, but there was still something missing. In his words:

 

«She wasn't Himari. She wasn't how I imagined her. The costume was nice, don't get me wrong, and I liked the way her powers worked, but something was missing. Like I said, I couldn't see her as Himari. Maybe it was also because her design had too much going on.»

 

So BikoWolf changed her costume, her hair, her eyes... and the new character he created was the one that was introduced in Volume 1.

Why she, among all the other possible protagonists, became the chosen one is quite obvious: it's because she captured the essence of the character he wanted to create for Dream Walkers. He wanted a strong female protagonist, with mysterious, difficult-to-define powers, and with a contemporary fantasy look, and above all:

 

«I wanted a character similar to Dante, someone who doesn't take their enemy seriously, who fools around while fighting, but who knows what they're doing and wins in the end. I wanted Himari to be like that and that design, with the jacket over her shoulders and the 'smug face' gave exactly that feeling, at least to me.» 

In the end, the elf ears became almost obligatory, to emphasize the character's fantasy element and its originality; and the color-changing tattoo was another important element to double down on the concept of "mysterious superpowers". Plus, the tattoo itself was the easiest way for BikoWolf to bind Himari to the Entity without messing up her hair or anything else.

The outfit, however, left some doubts from the beginning of Volume 1. BikoWolf's main problem was that it was too complicated as a garment. He told me:

«That jacket and those pants don't work in a fight.»

I was a little confused, and a little worried, too, if I'm honest. The series had just begun, the story was already underway, and Himari had already faced Jörmungandr. I thought it was a bit extreme to change her outfit so quickly. But he did it anyway! When I saw Himari's new design, I immediately understood what he really wanted.

 

 

At that time, he had become interested in Dragon Ball, more specifically in its fight scenes, and his desire was to capture their same dynamics, their energy. At some point in the action scenes of Volume 1, Himari became a fighter capable of taking on enemies with both martial arts and magic... on top of that, she also used the Entities. At first, I agreed with that choice, because it didn't seem like a big deal, but as the story progressed, especially in Volume 2, it became quite clear to both of us that magic had become more of a hindrance than an asset to the character.

Leaving that aside, this new version of the protagonist was inserted right in the middle of Volume 1 and was an instant hit for us. The outfit BikoWolf chose was perfect, especially since it resembled a fighting game character. 

An immediately noticeable feature is Himari's physique. Besides being a busty woman, which is quite obvious, she also has impressive muscles. From the beginning, Himari was intended to have the body of someone who trains constantly, day and night, and who represents the pinnacle of female physical strength.

«A person, who can master hand-to-hand combat like she does, must be muscular! It's not credible that a skinny girl, like the ones you see in anime, throws punches capable of breaking trees.»

And I agreed with him. When I thought of Himari, I thought of Penthesilea (the character from Fate/Grand Order): a true Amazon. A beautiful, yet strong woman.

 

However, I didn't want her to be a bully (obviously!). Since she was to be the protagonist, Himari needed a likable personality, so I outlined her four main characteristics:

1. She's protective.
2. She doesn't kill unless absolutely necessary.
3. She's someone who wants to be friends with everyone.
4. She has to be both easy-going and badass. 

From Volume 1 onwards, I did everything I could to allow these four traits to shine through. Whether I succeeded or not is not for me to say. 

 

One of the issues BikoWolf and I had to address was Himari's relationship with sex. We both agreed that she shouldn't be inexperienced and should be open-minded enough to embrace her sexuality. However, we didn't want to make her a libertine. Our intention was to create a character who doesn't prioritize having a romantic relationship, yet, at the same time, isn't dismissive of the possibility if she meets someone she's interested in. The idea is that, first and foremost, she values ​​friendship immensely; if she then meets someone she thinks could be more than just a friend, then she's certainly not one to hesitate.

 

Himari is passionate (which makes her the antithesis of Shana!). 

Training, protecting others, chasing the hope of saving her world and loving, Himari does all of this with a strong passion. A physical passion. This, however, isn't entirely positive.
There's a dark side.

After all the word 'passion' comes from the Latin 'pati' which means 'suffer'.

 

Himari's different haircuts

 

Himari (prototype)