The Arknight’s Gist

The Arknight’s Gist: 

Introduction and Episode 01: Evil Time 

March 20, 2021

Arknights is a tower-defense-like mobile game that made by Chinese company, Hypergryph, and released in 2019. It also contains gacha elements, waifu materials, and other things that the anime nerds should’ve known it. However, the most important thing that made me curious and interested is the world-building of the story that is really well-made. Some folks on the Internet often praised it because the consistent narrative and almost of every element in the game has eachr ole. The character building is great because, beside their dialogues in the story, the game provided them with voice lines, character’s profiles, medical examinations, and background stories (and if you want to know more, you must increase his/her “Trust” to you), and of course, the arts/skins--except for the summer skins! 

Okay, if that explanation doesn’t fascinate you enough, I will show you the premise. In Terra, a world that is almost similar to us--besides cute catgirls, magics, andstuffs--there has been a deathly pandemic and catastrophe (Can you relate, peoplein 2020s?). The name is Oripathy or “Stone Disease” because if a person is infected, their body eventually become stone-like and slowly disintegrate into dust that’ll bethe new vector. 

The first source of this disease is a mineral called Originium. It doesn’t affect thepeople alone, but also turns animals into beasts, such as originiumslugs or hounds. It also can amplify someone’s art (or magic) power tremendously like the mainenemies, Talulah and Frostnova, or a caster operator called Eyjafjalla, althoughthat correlation is still under research. Some people were hit severely by this disease, but it does nothing with their art’s power, like Provence and Fang’s case, or evendeprive someone’s art power (I forget the example, sorry...). 

Ironically, Originium is the most precious and important mineral in this world. It’stheir prime source of energy. The world couldn’t run without it. With someprocessing, they can turn that dangeorus material into its safer, stable state. I think, it resembles radioactive materials, like uranium in our world, despite that we don’t depend on that as energy source yet (No!!!). 

Nevertheless, because of that pandemic, discrimination emerged towards theinfected people. But, the discrimination was violent that they’d became secondclass citizen around the world, or even unrecognized. You can compare it withEldiapeople in AoT. The people feared them because the disease is very infectious andlethal, and also there was no cure yet.

However, there is a pharmacological company that wants to overcomethepandemic and help the infected around the world. They’ve found the medicineandtreatment to surpress the symptomps, but not yet to cure the disease completely. The name is “Rhodes Island”--maybe inspired by Catholic military order, KnightsHospitaller or Knights of Rhodes. But eventually, they become like a mini countrythat has its own military equipments and operators. They also live in a biglandrover that looks like a Noah’s arc that contains hundreds of people. But consideringthat mobile city is pretty much commons in this world--because they needsomekind of “moving city” to flee whenever catastrophe passes--that Rhodes Island’svehicle is not that marvelous. 

You, the player, are an important figure at the military or defence department of Rhodes Island. You are known as “Doctor” (or Internet’s folks used to call it “Dokutah”). But in the introduction of the game, you’d been unconscious for a whileand woke up in amnesia state. For me, it’s just like those Isekai genre’s plot: youarereincarnated in this world as a Doctor with a handfull of harems and overpoweredability! Yeah, it’s kind of turn out to be true because as you open your eyes, youaregreeted by a cute bunny-girl that desperately hopes for your goodness. You’vejust saved by her (But trust me, don’t SIMP this girl!). But, the situation is nothingromantic or so because we are in the midst of war! 

The mobster that proclaimed as “Reunion Movement” starts a riot in a mobilecityof Chernobog, Ursus. They are composed of radical infected people, but organizedlike a military unit that succeeded to disarray the local government and lawenforcer. The city is in their control in no time, but the chaos that they’ve doneisoverwhelming. The Rhodes Island that saved you before is now in the middle of that chaos. 

It seems the reason that they are there is because they also want to find you! Oneof their leaders, Crownslayer, said that you may hinder their supreme leader’s plan. Maybe they want to kill or kidnap you. But, whatever their reason is, Amiya andher comrades are also going all out to protect you. Again, you are that important inthisworld (Don’t reflect about your past life...).

So Rhodes Island is going to have battle with Reunion Movement. The Rhodes Island has a caster operator and top leader, Amiya, some guards operators that include Instructor Dobermann, an unnamed medic operator that seems has a crushon another unnamed vanguard operator, a bunch of other operators (that apparently M.I.A.), and a Radiant Knight, Nearl. In other side, Reunion Movement has crazy amount of infected people as their army that is not well trained andjust use as cannon fodders, Crownslayer (the most bullied enemy leader in Arknight’scommunity, haha), Mephisto, the mischievous, maniac kid and his companion, Faust, the invisble, dangerous sniper, and Talulah, the supreme leader. Besidethat, actually, they have W (Not an initial for Waifu, you weebs!) as one of their leader, but actually starts betraying them and has a special matter with you (Spoiler: shewants to kill you badly!). 

Every stage in the main story episodes of Arknights, in this context Episode 1, depicts those battles (supposedly). If you’ve cleared a stage, you’ll get the next story. The battles are easy and boring, like W said--even though you can’t say thisto your comrades or you’ll be “disciplined” by Instructor Dobermann! Obviously, because it is still in the early stages. 

But the most intriguing part is when they have a battle even when the catastropheis approaching the city. Instead of retreating, the Reunion Movement’s regular army is fighting even crazier and fiercer. Then, it turn’s out that they are not fighting because of their rage over Ursus’s government alone, but more likely because of their fear of Talulah.

In fact, Talulah is also a calamity-messenger that has enough power to destroy the world. In the tip of Rhodes Island’s despair because of encountering “lv. 99 boss” like that, Amiya tries to stop her (of course to protect you! ... and her comrades). It turns out that Amiya is also a calamity-messenger, but so far, her power is surpressed with those many rings on her fingers. When the rings are almost broken--and double the trouble--, her power can diminish Talulah’s attack. Knowing this fact, she thinks that it is better to hold back first. But she won’t let Rhodes Island to escape easily. So, she sends W and her squad to ambush them.

I think, showing a tough enemy in an early stage is kind of following the cycle of story’s structure called “Hero Journey” of Joseph Campbell. The author brings upthat enemy as the main goal of the story for the protagonist, or in this case is you, and it should’ve enough to call you out for an adventure. The enemy, or in this case is Talulah, won’t be coming back again soon. Instead, you will have a “character development” first by defeating her more powerful subordinates through the stages, difficulty of managing bases, stressful of headhunting and recruitment (gacha), the tests of patience of farming resources, and so on. But you’ll get soothed by the good soundtrack of Hypergryph--music company in disguise--, kawaii main assistant (If you get operator Podenco or whatever you prefer), summer skins (Oh, I’m not into that...), and many interesting events! 

See you for the next part!