Mystery 03: On page 91, Nagano-san mentioned that Sycamore’s glasses are fake – I want to hear more about it!
Nagano-san told us about the fake glasses. They may look like simple glasses, but there may be more to it than that.
This is my own interpretation, but I think that Sycamore is showing his true self when he reverts back to his original name. Still, it isn’t easy for him, he can’t do that anymore, and even if you were to ask him his true feelings, I don’t think he intends to take back his old name, or take off his glasses.
Back when Sycamore was a child, after he had been separated from young Layton, he read every book that his parents owned, packed up his necessary belongings, and then, one bright afternoon as he watched the falling snow, he left, thinking “I’m going to buy a pair of glasses”.
Mystery 04: If the Professor Layton series were to continue, what kinds of characters would you like to create?
I’d like to draw comical characters. Currently, I’m into the “Otoko wa Tusrai yo (It’s Tough Being a Man)” series, and I find myself laughing along with Tora-san, as he gets angry, always falling in love with the heroine, then getting his heart broken, and sometimes getting annoyed… But off screen, for everyone watching, he is very entertaining. It is good to have a character like that who can make people laugh.
In “Professor Layton”, when I draw a laughing expression, there are no characters that fit a big open-mouthed laughter. For Layton or Luke, they end up with “Haha” or something tidy like that.
Layton shows a bit of a comical side in this picture.
Some of Nagano-san’s charming characters. This book is full of them, so please take a look!
The “Professor Layton” team animate Nagano-san’s illustrations in 3D, overseen by Suzuki-san. This golden duo create some charming characters.
The Azran Civilisation’s Hidden Door
If you read this book carefully to the end, the Azran civilisation’s hidden door will open, and you will be able to enjoy Nagano-san’s newly-drawn illustrations. Read until the end for details.
Here we ask some questions to Level-5’s main character designer Takuzo Nagano-san regarding some of the characters!
Character Designer Takuzo Nagano
He was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1979. He now works for Level-5. He has created unique characters in the world of Professor Layton, including Layton and Luke.
Mystery 01: When designing characters for Azran Legacy, which was to be the final chapter of Hershel Layton, what were you thinking about when designing the characters?
It was to be the last one, after all, so I wasn’t excited about that, but we were told that we would need characters to suit many more locations than usual, so I had to be aware of making the people in each different culture distinct. I thought “do the main characters need to change their clothes in the extreme hot and cold climates?” but it is only a game.
I was also looking forward to seeing how the funnier-looking characters would be animated. It’s fun to match the strange and unique Professor Layton characters with their puzzles.
Mystery 02: Who is your favourite character from “Azran Legacy”?
It’s easy to understand who my favourites are because they tend to get preferential treatment to appear towards the end or in the credits pictures. For example, Harald from Froenborg who is self-conscious about Sycamore and the big city, or Amanita from Phong-Gi… I have a favourite character from each place. In this game, I’m particularly fond of the Targent duo Rook and Bishop (Macaw and Robin in US). Robin’s funny hand waving when he runs away, and giving a puzzle to send a message, when I see such cute, good movements, I think of Suzuki (Jun-san, director).
He’s the kind of goofy, likeable bad guy that you would see in “Home Alone” or “101 Dalmations”. I was like “what did these two do wrong?”, but it was fun seeing them in the game. I would have liked it if they had appeared in the whole series. When playing, I wondered what happened to them, so I included what happened with them in the ending illustrations.
As the trip with Layton continues, Aurora’s expression begins to soften. Sometimes she smiles or gets bashful which is rather endearing.
Aurora looks away when she hears why Larisa’s store isn’t popular.
Head of character design Takuzo Nagano discusses the origins of Aurora’s design.
Aurora’s age wasn’t settled upon. Sometimes she was older and called the Ice Queen, or as young as Luke. As a living mummy I wondered “should I be making her look like a mummy?”, but luckily that wasn’t necessary.
One of her distinguishing features is her light, two-coloured pupils. When she isn’t smiling, she might appear cold or robotic. The biggest changes were in her outfit, since it had to be different to her formal clothes whilst not straying too far from the world of Layton. I remember making several different suggestions.
Lowered gaze/glasses? (Best guess. I struggled to read the handwriting here, sorry.)
Large-ish mouth
(puzzle solving dialogue)
A Sad Past?
Sycamore has lost loved ones in the past, it seems. Speaking of which, his personal background is unknown. Could his sorrow be the driving force behind his research into the Azran Civilization..?
Head of character design Takuzo Nagano discusses the origins of Sycamore’s design.
When I first drew Sycamore’s character sheet, it was still undecided what sort of character he would be. As a result, I drew him based on the sort of character I wanted to make. The character sheet above shows him expressing a range of emotions, but typically, it is difficult to discern his true feelings based on his expression.
Incidentally, his glasses are fake. The reality is that he has two ‘faces’: wearing his glasses, he becomes Sycamore, the archaeologist. For his other face, he wears something over it as well :)
To perform either of his two faces, there are particular items that he needs. It’s like Layton and his top hat.
Japanese below
Rough Design
眤は下ロジ気味 (pretty sure this is not what it says)
口大きめ
ナゾトキ Voice
「任せ方まえ、レイトン君」「まあ、こん十の方うラ」「れく当い解サくてはね」「研究者 Y して当然方よ」「茯ま、鈍フてはい茯いよラん」「想定してい方通 9 んフ方」
「私のナゾト十あ見せしよラ」
「ナゾ解守明力にラ」「ナゾは専門外んが,・・」「これでは Y 、ラ刻茯?」「私ガえふ答ま・・・」「答えこれガな?」
「引ま Y 、してやれ方茯」「不甲斐茯は・・」「過ラ認めくては」「ん方夫態方・・・」「イ也に答えがあ (I) ラの刻?」「計算誤っんようん・・・」
An Archaeologist who researches the Azran civilization. He writes a letter at the beginning of the story, hoping to obtain the cooperation of Professor Layton. His forename seems to be Desmond (Foster, in Japanese).
An expert in Archaeology!
A famous archaeologist… Or at least, he is considered to be an big-name authority in the field of archaeology. Even Luke’s father, Clark, looks up to him.
But why would such a renowned archeologist seek Layton’s help with the Azran civilization?
A diverse spread of knowledge
In addition to his knowledge of archaeology, Sycamore is also well-versed in mechanics and botany. Furthermore, he has a speciality in witty British humour. Is this what it takes to be a British gentleman?
His airship piloting skills are first-class, but they seems to have been forged by perilous past experiences
He said he “just happened to read it in a book”, but maybe he was imagining a situation like this may arise…
as much as i love corruption arcs, there's just something so sexy about a character that can't be corrupted, to the point that he un-corrupts you instead
Targent’s Azran-obsessed boss. Willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, with the great organizational power of Targent behind him, he continues to work in secret. His full name is Leon Bronev.
At the cave in Froenborg, he used his armed men to threaten and abduct Aurora.
The power Targent holds can be seen at their base “The Nest” (lit. God Street)
Underneath his Sunglasses…
Bronev always wears sunglasses, and never relaxes his intense facial expression. Nobody has seen his true face.
All of Targent’s members wear sunglasses
Actually an Archaeologist
His obsession with finding Azran ruins stems from him being an Archaeologist. The reason for his actions seems to come from his one-track inquisitive mind.
After abducting Aurora, he reveals himself to be an archaeologist.
His room in The Nest is lined with objects that an archaeologist would take interest in (lit. objects that make one feel like an archaeologist).
Actions in the Prequel Trilogy
Bronev first appeared in “Miracle Mask”. Targent siezed the Nautilus Chamber found by Layton with their overwhelming numbers. At that time, Targent’s goals were unknown. However, there is some sort of connection between him and Descole, and he also seemed to know Layton, too.
The size and extent of Targent’s power was can be seen.
He was searching for the Azran legacy