FAQ

This is the great big FAQ of Dragon Angel Tai!

General
Who are the different factions in 2048 AD?
Is Antigrav technology for real?
Who were the Enslavers?
What was Aoi XII?
What is the Ethermach Device?
What's with the odd names?

Dragons
Where is Dragon Village?
How many Dragons are there?
What do Dragons eat?
Do Dragons possess magic abilities?
What is Seraph form?
Why do the Dragons help the humans?
How come Tai can't breathe fire?
Does Tai have breasts?
What's up with the earrings?
Why doesn't Tai have hair?
How do Dragons reproduce?
How come bullets have no effect on the Dragons?
What weaknesses do Dragons have?

Site
Who is responsible for all of this?
What software was used to create this?
What is the "theme song" of Dragon Angel Tai?

 

 

 

General

Who are the different factions in 2048 AD?
Dragons - The Dragons are an ancient race of reptilians. Their origins are extraterrestrial, hailing from a faraway planet known as Aoi XII. Their homeworld was ravaged by war after the Enslavers conquered it. The Enslavers had intended to use Aoi XII as a springboard to reach other planets, and sensing their plans, the Dragons decided to make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent them from succeeding. Aoi XII was destroyed in the resulting war, but a handful of Dragons escaped in a capsule. Today, Dragon Village is home to the species. Their transport vessel crashed to Earth several centuries ago and is hidden away in a cave on the outskirts of Dragon Village. They have a matriarchical society with the Dragon Elder as the leader. There are roughly two-dozen Dragons in existence. Seeing the Earth as a surrogate home, the Dragons have reproduced only in numbers suitable for basic survival.

After Aoi XII was destroyed, the Dragons swore that they would never permit such a fate to befall another species. On Earth, they protect the humans. Centuries ago, humans and Dragons co-existed. But the Dragons did not come to Earth alone - a lone alien named Xu, the last of the Enslavers, followed the Dragons to Earth. On the Day of Xu, the Dragons fought against the Enslaver on Earth. At substantial loss to human and Dragon life, Xu was sealed away in an alternate dimension, held in place by the Dragon Seal. The Dragons, accused of bringing Xu to Earth, were outcasted from human civilization. Despite this, the Dragons have never swayed from their mission. They continue to defend their small region of Earth, often in secret and unseen ways.

The Komodo Corporation - The Komodo Corporation was founded in the mid-20th century. "Old Man" Nakamura had built the company on the foundation of robotic and mechanical design. In the early 21st century, the Komodo Corporation started to face competition in the race to design household robots, particularly from a certain organization headed by the richest man in the world. In order to take control of the market, "Old Man" founded Shadow, the Komodo Corporation's internal sabotage and corporate attack force. Shadow was headed by Shen Nakamura, the founder's son. Through a series of subversive acts that continue to be unsolved by the governments of the world, the Komodo Corporation became a leader in robotic technology. Sakura City has done little to investigate the crimes of the Komodo Corporation, fearing backlash from the city's most profitable enterprise.

At the age of 103, "Old Man" Nakamura knows that his presence at the helm of the Komodo Corporation is limited. Kept alive by machines, the man's dying wish is to unlock the secret of immortality. To this end, he has commissioned Shadow to locate five elemental runes - Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, and Wood - to unlock the Dragon Seal and with it, the secret of immortality as described in ancient scripture.

The Sakura City Police Enforcers - The Sakura City Police Enforcers, or SCPE for short, were an organization founded to investigate crime in Sakura City. As a police faction, the SCPE is consistently underfunded, much to the chagrin of Commander Gauss. In recent years, the SCPE has been aware of the Komodo Corporation's covert activities in the form of Shadow. However, the upper echelons of Sakura City's government have seen to it that it goes ignored for the sake of the city's financial stability.

Is Antigrav technology for real?
Not technically, as Antigrav is a misnomer. Robots like Diode have the gift of flight thanks to nanotech fans positioned on their outer shell. These fans can generate enough force to lift the object upwards, thereby giving it the ability to float. Does it truly repulse the forces of gravity? No.

Who were the Enslavers?
The Enslavers were a fierce alien race that invaded the Dragon homeworld of Aoi XII eons ago. They were called the Enslavers because that's what they did - they enslaved the Dragons and forced them into manual labor. At the time of the attack, Aoi XII was the only planet to have fallen to the Enslavers. However, they were already mounting a campaign to conquer other nearby planets and enslave the indigenous alien species on them. It was upon realizing this that the Dragons made the fateful decision to sabotage their homeworld and surrender their lives to stop the Enslavers. While a group of Dragons made it to an escape shuttle, the others initiated an attack that resulted in the terrible destruction of AoI XII and killed billions. The Enslaver race was thought to be destroyed after the attack, and the Dragons onboard the shuttle eventually crash landed on Earth.

What was Aoi XII?
Aoi XII was a planet beyond our solar system and the homeworld of the Dragons. It was eventually captured by the Enslavers and later destroyed in a brave decision by the Dragons to prevent the continued spread of Enslaver influence.

What is the Ethermach Device?
The Ethermach Device is a hulking monstrosity of a machine designed by Dr. Khan on the request of his employer, Shen Nakamura. Its purpose is to channel the energy of the five magical runes in much the same way the Dragons can, only without the help of the Dragons. A machine so powerful, its activation results in Sakura City going dark. Shen Nakamura intends to use this device to destroy the Dragon Seal and unlock the portal to free Xu, bringer of immortality.

What's with the odd names?
Sakura City is not supposed to represent any one Asian city in particular, although it is more heavily influenced by the Japanese than anyone else. It's a "melting pot" of sorts where people from all walks of life come to live and do business, and that's why names like "Shen," "Khan," and "Kelias" are thrown in alongside more traditional Japanese names. I am aware there actually is a Sakura City in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan, but it's similar in name only. Since the Dragons are supposed to live in a rugged area far from the city, this would not be possible since the real-life Sakura City is only minutes from downtown Tokyo.

Dragons

Where is Dragon Village?
About a hundred miles west of the Asian technotropolis Sakura City near a massive mountain range.

How many Dragons are there?
The total population of Dragons on Earth, male and female, young and old, rarely exceeds thirty. The reason for the low count is that the Dragons realize Earth is a surrogate home to them, and they do not wish to compete with the existing species or create more of their kind than is needed for comfortable survival.

What do Dragons eat?
The spectrum of things Dragons will eat is very limited. None of them are meat eaters and all exist on plants alone. For that matter, Dragons don't eat much. Among the human foods they like are tofu and rice. They have a natural aversion to milk, but will drink many juices and water. Oddly, there is a plant they refer to as "dragonnip" that drives them wild.

Do Dragons possess magic abilities?
To a certain extent, some Dragons can use magic. This power is mostly derived from psychic conditions and can be used to heal, attack, or defend. However, it cannot be used on a whim. It demands considerable energy and focus, and this is why most Dragons do not use it in battle.

What is Seraph form?
Seraph form is the highest extension of a Dragon's magic abilities and is taught to a handful of Dragons upon setting out on their journey, to be used only as a final resort. Many Dragons have died from becoming Seraphs. For others, the effect is extremely painful. If a Dragon is unable to defeat an adversary while in Seraph form, he or she will most surely perish when the effects wear off as they will be in an immobile and highly damaged state. The Seraph form is visualized as turning Dragons into angelic beings with four massive, feathered wings, and generally naked. Tai and Kel have never used this power.

Why do the Dragons help the humans?
After the destruction of their own homeworld, Aoi XII, the Dragons swore that they would never let such a tragedy befall another race. The survivors of the attack fled on an escape shuttle and crash landed on Earth. The shuttle is no longer functional, so the Dragons are limited to an Earthly presence. As such, the humans are those which they have sworn to protect. Not all humans appreciate their help and most are not aware of their influence. For a time, anti-Dragon sentiment was high following the Day of Xu. Many humans blamed the Dragons for Xu's arrival and several were killed or exiled to present day Dragon Village. Still, this has not clouded the objective of the Dragons.

How come Tai can't breathe fire?
Only the male dragons are capable of breathing fire via a special gland in their mouths. Some are considerably better at it than others, spewing large plumes of fire or even fireballs. Usually the fire breathing is left as a curiosity rather than an actual attack, since not even the best Dragons can do it at will. At best, it is an evolutionary trait that was either imperfect or whose need is wearing away with time.

Does Tai have breasts?
What exactly is Tai packing under her armor, you ask? Well, the answer is nothing. Dragons are closer to reptiles than mammals. As such, Tai has no breasts and neither do any Dragon females. When naked, there isn't a whole lot of visual difference between males and females (much like birds and avian species). Clearly, what distinguishes the two genders is speech and mannerisms.

What's up with the earrings?
All Dragons have their long ears pierced at an early age. This allows for the insertion of earrings that symbolize various things. One Dragon coming across one he/she hasn't met is bound to notice the earrings and learn a lot about them without saying a word. By default, all Dragons are given a single loop earring on the lower part of their left ear. The males get silver earrings while the females get gold ones. This earring is essentially a sign of virginity. When a male and female Dragon agree to become mates, they exchange this earring. Kel also has two lesser earrings on his left ear which symbolize his age (2 for 20 years), which is necessary for male Dragons. The Dragon Elder has dozens of earrings to show her power over the race, and also her chronological position in the history of Elders. There are other designs as well.

Why doesn't Tai have hair?
The males in the Dragon race are known for their wildly colored and often flowing hair. Such hair is limited to their scalps and doesn't grow anywhere else on their body. Only the males generate this hair. Much like many species of birds, especially peacocks, it is the flashy males that try to woo the affection of the more plain females.

How do Dragons reproduce?
Dragons will often spend many years of their life withholding any romance prior to the end of their journey. As a species, they mate for life. The females are primarily responsible for choosing a mate and the males generally do little to affect their decision. Much like humans, in their adolescent years Dragons go through a sort of "puberty" filled with indecision and self-discovery. Female Dragons can go through periods of "heat" as well. Most Dragons select a mate right after the end of their journey. The actual process of reproduction is generally not too different from humans, except for a male's parts are usually hidden until the time arrives. In Dragon society, it's rude for the male to be "extended" in public, but nakedness is not frowned upon. Female dragons are egg-layers and they typically lay only one or two, and its the former reason why they don't have mammalian breasts. Each egg is roughly the size of a baseball. The typical gestation period varies, but is usually several weeks. Even though they don't give live birth, Dragons have navels because this is where they were connected to the yolk sac, their source of nutrition inside the egg. Since the species mates for life, the mother and father are very close to the hatchling and make it their top priority at all times. Dragons, once finding a mate, usually lead very active sex lives, but produce few offspring. Dragons have herbs that act as contraceptives. So few offspring are there that the total number of living Dragons has rarely exceeded thirty.

How come bullets have no effect on Dragons?
What at first might seem like a supernatural phenomenon is easily explained. Dragons intrinsically have an extremely durable covering of tiny scales that are strong enough to dull the force of an incoming projectile, such as a bullet. However, this covering is limited to the abdomen. The head and other extremities, while still better protected than humans, are vulnerable.

What weaknesses do Dragons have?
Dragons are not invulnerable by any stretch of the imagination. By far their greatest weakness is cold temperature. Like terrestrial lizards, Dragons have a metabolism closely linked to the temperature around them. They are cold-blooded and require the sun or another heat source to keep them active. If the temperature falls below 50º for most Dragons, they will either think and behave very slowly, or potentially even fall asleep. A Dragon's horns are another weak spot. Much like the tusks of an elephant, fracture or destruction of a horn usually results in an infection. In the case of Dragons, the infection can spread through the head and become fatal. Although their torsos are armored with thick though flexible scales, heads and extremities are not. Also, both males and females have sensitive areas in the crotch region. Another weakness of Dragons is their naive nature of always doing what's right and protecting the humans. Given the choice between stopping a criminal or saving the hostage, the Dragon will always go for the hostage.

Site

Who is responsible for all of this?
Kyouryuu Solrazor!

What software was used to create this?
Most of the artwork was done on Paint Shop Pro 7 from original sketches scanned using an old HP Scanjet 3200C under Windows XP. Now that the comic is in color, most of the drawings are inked and then scanned, and colorized using Paint Shop Pro 8. The site's HTML is kept up with Dreamweaver and is most frequently tested with the latest version of Mozilla. And, if you want to count it, Winamp gets a fair amount of use as well!

What is the "theme song" of Dragon Angel Tai?
The unofficial theme song of Dragon Angel Tai is called Future World. You can hear a MIDI of it here. It was performed by a JPop (Japanese pop music) group called Every Little Thing. To my knowledge, there exist five cuts of the song. Future World, Future World (Mike Koglin Remix), Future World (Right Attitude Mix), Future World (Further Contact Mix), and Future World (Euro-Power Mix). The songs lyrics, in Japanese, are basically about one finding a way to the future world and running towards a new tomorrow.