The Dark Prince Of Arus

Abstract

One afternoon, over ten years ago, I was watching one of my brothers flipping channels on the TV, looking for something to watch. I had just come home from school--I was either in the sixth or seventh grade--and I wasn't in the mood to do homework just yet. None of the shows he flipped through seemed interesting--until he got to a particular one. It was quite close to five o'clock, so many episodes were starting to wind down. This particular one he had lighted on showed, at that moment, a young, beautiful blonde woman descending a large, steep staircase towards a group of men at the foot. Well, actually, five guys and a young adolescent boy. Four of the guys were obviously college-aged, while the remaining one, holding a candle (it was dark in the room), seemed to be a father figure of some sort. I looked at that young woman, and at the young guys, particularly at the one who seemed to be the leader--and an obsession was born. I figured out what time the show began (quite a feat for an elementary school student) and began watching it religiously. It was interesting, exciting, and fun, with science-fiction gadgets, ships, flashy colors and exciting battles, but what it showed never fully satisfied me. Even at that age, I had a tendency to be more interested in the characters than the plot (which was a generic one anyway--typical Japanese-type action cartoon), and I never got to see as much about the characters' relationships to each other as I would have liked. Specifically, I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the young woman, who turned out to be a princess and the ruler of the planet, and the commander, who, like the other young guys, were from Earth. I wanted them to get together, fall in love, the whole bit. That, of course, was not to be; it was hinted that they had feelings for each other, but that was as far as the show was willing to go.