I probably don’t say it enough on this blog, but I am a huge, HUGE Ruin Explorers fan. Have been ever since I first watched it on KTEH years ago. In all honesty, it’s a rather average fantasy anime, but the character designs and the world of it just hit all the right spots for me.
Ihrie is one of my favorite characters of all time, and she always has been. She represents the ideal I strive for when I write a female lead. Though I must admit, it was never really a conscious choice to do so; it’s just something I noticed now that I’m really thinking about Ruin Explorers again.
I don’t know when, but at some point I started to get really obsessed with it. I ordered the first volume Tankobon of Ruin Explorers just to have it, and even though it cost quite a bit (mostly due to the shipping) I never once regretted my purchase.
I think my fandom of Ruin Explorers suddenly got rekindled when Maiden Japan released the remastered DVD version back in 2013. I am now the proud owner of two Ruin Explorers DVDs, the volume 1 tankobon, a copy of the same volume in Spanish (totally cut up; no regrets), Kunihiko Tanaka’s Ryu-Kotsu artbook (which contains several pages of Ruin Explorers art), and Kunihiko Tanaka’s One Visions Volta artbook (which includes an exclusive Ruin Explorers chapter)!
I am now working on scanlating what I can by using whatever resources I can. I’m also learning quite a bit about the scanlation process, so two birds one stone.
I DO NOT know Japanese. I tried to rely on the Spanish translation and do for a good portion of the work, but sometimes what I’m reading just doesn’t sound right from context and what I know about the characters, so I checked the Japanese version. What I do is I identify the characters through http://kanji.sljfaq.org/ and run them through a machine translator. At first I used Google, then I used different sources for a second and third opinion. It wasn’t until late in the first chapter that I stumbled upon RomajiDesu, which not only translates, but breaks up a passage into individual words with links to definitions. It’s by far the best Japanese translator available.
Overview
Ruin Explorers was printed in Hobby Japan’s RPG Magazine starting in 1992. The OVAs were released through 1995 and 1996, with the first volume tankobon printed after the second OVA.
Tankobon Chapters
Only the first volume was ever released. It seems the art was redrawn from the RPG Magazine issues.
Chapter 1: The Ultimate Power
Chapter 2: Treasure of Intoxication
Chapter 3: Salehim, The Underground City
Chapter 4: Showdown! Fam vs. Rasha
Special Plus Chapters
The RPG Magazine Ruin Explorers Special Plus volume is a condensed collection of the RPG Magazine chapters. Released in 1996, it seems to be a companion for the anime and uses art redrawn from the magazine chapters (though inferior to the tankobon art). Since it is a condensed version, it skips many panels and even an entire chapter. I consider the tankobon version of the chapters to be the definitive version, but since a volume 2 was never made, I have no choice but to translate the remaining chapters from the Special Plus.
Temple of Darkness, Part 1
Temple of Darkness, Part 2
Temple of Darkness, Part 3
Temple of Darkness, Part 4
Temple of Darkness, Part 5
Temple of Darkness, Part 6
Temple of Darkness, Part 7
Temple of Darkness, Part 8
Temple of Darkness, Part 9
One Visions Chapter: Tail-Kin Afternoon
This is a special chapter printed in the One Visions: Volta artbook.
I am also a big Ruin Explorers fan, I was not even aware that there was a manga version.
Thanks for doing this!
My pleasure. I just wish I could get my hands on the Special Plus and another copy of the tankoubon so I can make some better scans. The Special Plus scans I’m working on have been particularly difficult because the quality is so bad at times I can barely recognize the kanji.
Thank you so much for this man.
I always loved this series since I bought the ADV DVD many years ago.
I knew there was a manga, but just today decided to look for it after I watched the DVD once again, after so many years. And oh surprise, it was made by the Xenogears chara designer, one of my favourite games.
Anyway.
Thanks, again.
But in Japan released the volumen 2 a long time ago (?)