Character File

A Summary of Karen's Character File

The “character files” were apparently a set of seven drama CD’s that included two stories from the perspective of different main characters in the series. The translation of these files was done by Rika Takahashi and are available at Rabi's X Page. Each is about ten minutes long and tells a little something about the character. Karen and Seiichirou were featured on the second CD. Karen’s story is mostly her reflecting on her life and the time Seiichirou came to visit her at her place of business before they knew each other as Dragons of Heaven.

One day Karen decides that she needs to write about her day despite hating such assignments when she was in grade school. She explains, "It's not like you have something good happen to you every day. There are bad things that happen, and things that you want to forget about. I don't want to be so masochistic as to be writing such things down.”

She goes on to talk about her childhood and the way her mother treated her. “My mother was not a strong person; by doing that, she was running away from the supernatural phenomena that surrounded her. “ She realizes that her mother fearing her was not normal and that the physical abuse would do nothing to change the situation, but she observes that she too would probably be afraid of someone with that power if she did not have it herself. She even observes that it isn’t particularly useful in this day and age when fire is so easy to obtain through other means. She thought it was amusing when she learned that she had this power because of the role she would play protecting the Earth. “And besides, to a soap-girl, what happens to the earth isn't all that important.”

The desire to write this all down was precipitated by an encounter she had during work that day in which she met a very interesting person who made her feel happy.

Seiichirou came to her place of business, but instead of coming right inside, he stood nervously with the door opened. Karen teases him gently but asks that he close the door since the air is chilly and she is only wearing a negligee. He quickly closes the door and takes off his jacket, draping it around Karen to keep her warm. She flirts with him a little, observing that he seems to be unfamiliar with such places. When he apologizes, she replies that this is not necessarily a bad thing. She ask if she will be suitable or if he would prefer someone who is actually twenty, but as she begins to prepare for his bath, he stammers that he is an editor at the soap land for information that one of his clients needs for a story. She observes that he has a tough job, but he replies that her job must be very tough. “Any job that has customer service is a tough job.” She seems touched by this observation.

She begins to prepare something and Seiichirou insists that he is not there for any of her services, but she replies that she is only making tea. He is a little surprised but Karen says, “Boast that you had tea in a soap to your co-workers.” While they enjoy the tea, Karen gives Seiichirou an interview. When it is over, she advises him to follow her instructions the next time he visits a bath house and all the girls will think he is great. She observes that customers are often rude to the ladies because they know that they are paying money for the services. Karen asks if he is married and he replies that he is married and has a daughter. “All the good guys are already taken or gay.... I guess the world is first-come-first-serve.”

Seiichirou asks for her name and she replies that she is named “Kasumi Karen”, and she teases him that he should ask for her the next time he comes to visit and when he becomes flustered she jokes that he has a loving wife and thus has no need for her services. He replies that she is charming as well, which is so sincere and kind that Karen blushes. She says that her name is half real and half made up and she explains the characters used in her first name. According to the translator, Rika Takahashi, the characters are “fire” and the first part of “purgatory” so her name means something like “the fires of purgatory”.

Karen says, “You're a fun person to be with. You don't ask anything either. When you work at a place like this, customers and employers both ask you, 'Why you're in this business?' You don't ask." Seiichirou replies that he doesn’t want to pry into her “precious life”.

This statement really touches Karen. She explains in her letter that her mother committed suicide and Karen went to a lot of places because she did not know who her father was. Various religious groups had heard about her powers and went looking for her, so she entered the soap land business to go some place where they did not ask a lot of questions and she could quit at any time. Although her life was terribly fun, she never considered herself unhappy. “Some said that they felt sorry for me. But he was the first person to say that my life was precious.”

He gave her two pieces of candy before he left, and she saved one to keep with the letter so that she could treasure it always. She ends the letter by expressing her desire to see the man again, not realizing that he is destined to fight alongside her in the coming battle.

This drama is interesting for a couple reasons. First of all, it goes into detail concerning Karen and Seiichirou’s original meeting, which is rather cute. Second, she talks a little more about her life between the death of her mother and her time as a Dragon of Heaven. She is really trying to deal with her problems without feeling hatred or anger, which shows how strong willed she is as a character. Third, the drama shows how she is both flirtatious and considerate—she never pushes him with her flirtatiousness further than he can stand.

There are a couple problems though with continuity between this and the series. The first is that in the manga, concerning the mother's death, Karen is told, “She died. She ran into the street, trying to stop the ambulance from taking you away and a car hit her.” Now this is either a matter of a mistake in continuity or a matter of interpretation. Does the fact that she recklessly ran out into traffic count as suicide? According to the nurse, she was trying to get Karen, which implies that her death was accidental. The second problem is definitely a matter of continuity. When Karen and Seiichirou talk privately before the Yamanote train line is hit, he makes a comment about his wife and daughter and she says, “You’re wife and daughter… you’re married?” In the drama, which takes place before this, he already told her about them.

Still, continuity problems aside, this is a sweet little story that provides an interesting look into Karen’s character and her history.

CLEAR