Haru
ハル Haru ha̠ɾɯ̟ᵝ | |
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![]() Haru from the album cover of A World That Isn't Fantasy [Backside] | |
Information | |
Other Names |
Hal (possible alt. romaji); |
Species | Most likely Human |
Occupation | Detective |
Location | Unknown (Likely the Outside World) |
Gender | Female |
Appearances | |
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Online Media | |
Haru (ハル Haru) is an outsider who, along with Hoojiro Shitodo, travels on the Wings of Magritte. She is a main character in A World That Isn't Fantasy and has been shown to communicate with Rei on Twitter.
General Information[edit]
Haru is one of the first characters to be introduced, making her debut alongside Hoojiro Shitodo in Critical Point Bidding its Last Farewell in 2012, one year before the release of Evanescent Existence and the start of the Len'en Project. While nothing was known about them at the time, their names and relation to the series were revealed over a series of Twitter posts in 2018, eventually being reintroduced as part of the Project proper in A World That Isn't Fantasy. Uniquely among the cast, Haru has been outright referred to as female, making her and Hoojiro one of the few characters to have a stated gender.
Personality[edit]
Haru is shown to be somewhat detached and showing little emotion. She's a woman of few words, spending much of her time on the Magritte in silence and speaking up largely just to ask and answer questions, often ignoring Hoojiro to look out the train window. Haru especially dislikes dealing with anything artificial, showing disdain at machinery and her fellow passenger's long-winded scientific explanations.
Abilities[edit]
According to Haru herself, she has no special powers, as stated in the foreword of False Spirit Account 02 in A World That Isn't Fantasy.
Background Information[edit]
Name[edit]
She's usually referred to as Haru (ハル Haru)[1]. Using kanji, her name is written as 巴, which may stem from the Japanese female name 巴瑠 (Haru). Her name was first revealed on 9 November 2018 on Twitter.
On Twitter, her handle is "En-HaL", which was previously used as basis for romanizing her name as "Hal". It's unknown what the "En" stands for. It might be related to the financial concern EN which employed Tsubakura,[2] but the connection between the two is unclear.
Design[edit]
Haru has medium-length black hair and black eyes. She's been shown to wear a light pink dress with a gray vest and light pink socks. On A World That Isn't Fantasy's Frontside cover, Haru's vest has a red outline with a small red pattern on the front and two star shaped buttons, her shoes are red with black socks. In most of her appearances, she tends to have her face hidden from view, only showing it once on A World That Isn't Fantasy's Backside cover.
- Twitter Icon Design
Haru's Twitter icon features a grey background with four dots, like the one found at the bottom of the kanji for bird, 鳥.
Appearances[edit]
Critical Point Bidding its Last Farewell[edit]
Haru was shown to be riding the Wings of Magritte in the video Critical Point Bidding its Last Farewell, which focused on the train's theme, along with Hoojiro. The video contained drawings, which JynX said were scribbles and not to be taken seriously. These drawings were not coloured and Haru's face was kept out of view the entire time. She was shown to be on the train doing miscellaneous things, like reading and drinking tea, and at the end walking on the train's tracks. Interestingly, her face was kept out of view the entire time. Although this was her first canonical appearance on 24 June 2012, this would not be confirmed to be her until 1 April 2019.
Twitter[edit]
On 14 October 2016, JynX uploaded two coloured drawings of Haru and Hoojiro in a train on Twitter. She was shown looking out of the window into what seems to be outer space, and drinking some sort of beverage in the dining car.
Starting on 10th November 2018, Haru has spoken up on Twitter on multiple occasions, along with Hoojiro Shitodo and occasionally Rei and Zelo.
A World That Isn't Fantasy[edit]
Haru had her official début in the Len'en Project along with Hoojiro in the album A World That Isn't Fantasy. She appears as a central character in the album's short stories, looking into the "spiriting away" of the cast of Evanescent Existence. She chats with Hoojiro about various topics, notably the mysterious organization "The Thinkers in Eibon" and the "Country of Non-Humans", which they believed the missing people might have ended up in. The second half of the album is written from Haru's point of view.
Relationships[edit]
Hoojiro Shitodo[edit]
Hoojiro is Haru's guardian. Little is known about their relationship, but they were acquainted before A World That Isn't Fantasy. They're somewhat distant and tend to clash over their views on science. Despite that, however, they seem to be looking out for each other, as Hoojiro was worried whether Haru can handle their journey and Haru came along in order to not leave Hoojiro alone.
Tsubakura Enraku[edit]
Haru likely knows of Tsubakura Enraku personally, but does not seem to have too high of an opinion of them. She refers to them by their full name.[3] Interestingly, one of the Twitter illustrations shows stuffed toy versions of Tsubakura Enraku and Yabusame Houlen.
Rei and Zelo[edit]
Haru has been shown to communicate with Rei and Zelo on Twitter along with Hoojiro, although their relationship is still unclear.[3]
Additional Information[edit]
- Haru and Hoojiro Shitodo are the first on-screen Len'en characters to have an official gender.
- Haru's appearance in Critical Point Bidding its Last Farewell makes her, along with Hoojiro, the oldest modern Len'en characters. However, with their reintroduction in A World That Isn't Fantasy, at the time of release, also made them the newest characters as well.
- According to Hoojiro, Haru is apparently quite wealthy.[3]
Gallery[edit]
Official Sources[edit]
- 2012/06/24 Critical Point Bidding its Last Farewell
- 2018/11/09 Haru's Twitter account
- 2019/04/01 A World That Isn't Fantasy - Short Stories
References[edit]
- ↑ Interview with JynX (2021): Haru, Question 303
- ↑ BOOK of the CAFE: EE Back Issue - Yabusame's Route, Stage 3-4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Twitter: Mugenri Revitalization Committee
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