It's recently been announced that a sidestory manga to Ar tonelico is in the making. This story features fresh new characters and is set many years after the first game. In this story, a group of villains try to take hold of the powers of a dangerous tower and its server, called the Vesperia server. Fernia Namanac, the young reyvateil protagonist, and her friends must stop them and prevent the destruction of Ar Ciel.
So far, most of the story seems to take place in Sol Ciel. The story starts off peaceful, a little slow, and resembles a cute slice-of-life story. Later, however, the story veers from the path and becomes an action-packed suspense.
Here's a draft of the promotional art for this sidestory, called Ar tonelico：世界が再生（ニョカーナション）の為少女達は祈り謳う。
The name translates to (The singing prayer of the girls for the sake of the world's Neocarnation).
So far, it's unknown when this story will be released. The artist for the manga is, strangely, not Nagi, the artist for Ar tonelico, so the style of drawing is completely different. Some fans have been disappointed by this, but the manga can still be a great hit.
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Commentary by Ilutiern, artist for Ar tonelico: The Singing Prayer of the Girls for the Sake of the world's Neocarnation.
...Ungu. I attempted to create the same 'feel' as the Japanese box cover art for the previous Ar tonelico games. It's kind of successful, but at the same time not. My lack of experience with any machines or mechanisms hinders me. (cough)
So, this is the first draft. On the left is AD, an important character in the story. She's not supposed to be naked (laughs) Her clothes will be drawn on shortly. In the middle bottom is the afamed Fernia Namanac, whose first name in Hymmnos means 'smile'. On the right is the antagonist, but I can't really say anything more.
The Vesperia tower... to be honest, I'm not even sure if it's supposed to be there. (laughs) It somewhat resembles a flower high up on a mountain.
The border actually has slight symbolism in some parts. On the upper side are two wing-like ornaments that look like butterflies, the symbol of change into beauty. The two separate sides of the border twine together at the bottom, becoming one and supporting the rest of the body.
There's definitely a couple of problems in the draft that need to be worked out, such as the lack of symmetry (nervous laugh) In any case, I hope you enjoy this sneak peek at Ar tonelico, Fernia style! (thumbs up)
