Neo Destiny Episode I: Worlds Apart

Neo Destiny Episode I: Worlds Apart is a print on-demand book that was written by Brandon Matthews and was published in January 2009 by Xlibris Corporation in both paperback and hardback. It's the first of the nine book saga that follows a young Japanese boy named Tetsuya Yamaguchi who is transported
to Neo Arcadia by an enigmatic winged woman after dying in a bike accident.
Concept and Creation
In 2003, Brandon Matthews had been writing the plot devices and designing the characters since his
days in William H. Hall High School. He was trying to create a new kind of book that has anime-styled images
that goes along with the story in a way of a light novel, which it's extremely popular in Japan. But, the story
he had wrote was written on a sketchbook and the pictures were drawn within the sketchbook as well. Brandon's artstyle
is very anime-influenced. He is a long time follower of the anime genre since childhood. He wanted to make a book that
would appeal to the younger crowd who like anime. The inspirations he claims that led to the development of Neo Destiny was
popular literature, games, and anime like: Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, .hack//SIGN, and many more.
But, his main inspiration was Final Fantasy X, an RPG that was originally released on the PS2 in 2001. He stated that the
characters' designs help him make unique outfits for the main protagonists.
Plot
The story is about a rich Japanese 13-year old name Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who travels to America with his mom and dad to start a new life. But, things don't go as well as planned when he's being menanced by his classmates in Northdale Middle School, his new school. He also runs into a pretty Japanese-American girl named Haruka Riley, who's happens to be one of the popular girls in the school as well as her tomboyish friend, Rebecca Hailey. He also makes friend with a 12-year old black boy named Lance Carmicheal, who is an amine otaku just like him. On his way to Lance's house after school, he gets hit by a car and died soon right after. That's when things gets bizzare. He was confronted by a mysterious woman with firey hair and wings of a pheonix. She sends him to the world of Neo Arcadia, where he meets people that looks like the people he knows from the real world, especially the kids he met at school. He bands together with them to embark on a quest to find the demonic woman who sent him here and ask her why.
Setting
The story mainly takes place in a fantasy world of Neo Arcadia, where magic and technology co-exist. What kind of energy source that helps powered the machines in Neo Arcadia is yet to be explained. One of the regions in Neo Arcadia that the protagonists travels is near the coastline of the Kingdom of Belamb,
where they must travel to Dragon Rock to confront the enigmatic woman.
Theme
The main theme of Neo Destiny Episode I is about gaining acceptance and one's understanding. The protagonist Tetsuya is constantly feeling alienated because of the change of society in America that's radically different from his country. The classmates all pick on him, perhaps due him being Japanese and a newcomer in school, but he's does make some friends. Once he's been transported to the realm of Neo Arcadia, the citizens often stare at Tetsuya, due to his attire. Though he gain acceptance, he still doesn't gain their understanding.
Availibility
Even though the book itself isn't physically present in bookstores as of yet. But it is availible on online bookstore such as Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and Borders Group.

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