Feb 23, 2025
Author's Commentary #359:
Time to talk about Chapter 359: Inez and the blueberry sea.
Inez just can't catch a break. First she loses to Rasputin, now she's blue and sticky along with Muazzez. Allura is back too, and with her is a teammate that actually cameoed in the story back when the 2nd round of the tournament was wrapping up. Let's go over the bios.
アヤ・ベンチュラ (Aya Bentura) is how Aya's name would be spelled in katakana. 愛彌 is how her first name would be spelled in kanji, and means "love" and "fullness".
Her birthday is April 6th, which is when the first chapter of Dandadan was released.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
Aya is a parody of Momo Ayase from Dandadan. She's also Half-Japanese, and is really into extraterrestrial life.
ライア・ディン (Laia Din) is how Laia's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is May 27th, which is the day the first volume of Spy Kyoushitsu's manga adaptation was released.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
Laia is yet another homage to Lily from Spy Kyoushitsu, though this time it's Lily if she was a UFO fanatic. Funnily enough, the idea for her character came when I misspelled Laila's name. As for her relationship to Laila, I will confirm they are related.
カメラ・クリック (Camera Click) is how Camera's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is June 29th, which is National Camera Day.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
Camera was originally meat to simply be a member of the staff, but the more I thought on it, the more I felt she should be participating, herself. And yes, her name is one of the most blatant pun names I've come up with.
イングーナ・サンフエザ (Ingūna Sanhueza) is how Ingūna's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is June 26th, which is name day for Ingūna.
Her favorite piece is the king.
インマクラーダ・セプルベダ (Inmaculada Sepulveda) is how Inmaculada's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is June 23rd. I chose the date at random, so there's no greater significance behind why this date is her birthday.
Her favorite piece is the knight.
アルパイン・パクラドゥーニ (Arpine Pakradouni) is how Arpine's name would be spelled in katakana. Արփինե Պակրադունյան (Arpine Pakradouni) is how it would be spelled in Armenian.
Her birthday is July 24th. I chose the date at random, so there's no greater significance behind why this date is her birthday.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
Arpine is a character who I decided to throw in here, mainly because I simply wanted her to finally appear in the story. However, I ended up having her play a more prominent role in an upcoming chapter, so I'll refrain from going into too much detail on her until said chapter is released.
ローザ・リベロ (Rosa Rivero) is how Rosa's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is July 14th, which is the day Argentina won their 16th Copa América title.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
フィオレッラ・オテロ (Fiorella Otero) is how Fiorella's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is June 25th, which is the day Argentina won their first FIFA World Cup title.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
カタリナ・バスケス (Catalina Vásquez) is how Catalina's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is December 18th, which is the day Argentina won their third FIFA World Cup title.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
シルヴィナ・バレラ (Silvina Varela) is how Silvina's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is June 24th, with Argentine professional footballer, and one of the greatest football players of all time, Lionel Messi.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
アリーナ・ジャパロワ (Alina Japarova) is how Alina's name would be spelled in katakana. Алина Джапарова (Alina Japarova) is how it would be spelled in Kazakh.
Her birthday is April 25th, which she shares with Kazakhstani women's grandmaster, Alua Nurman.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
As previously mentioned, Alina originally appeared in Chapter 282: Chess' worldwide importance. I wanted to have her appear sooner, but just couldn't find the right time to do so until now.
ザジラ・イスマグロヴァ (Zhazira Ismagulova) is how Zhazira's name would be spelled in katakana. Жазира Исмағұлова (Zhazira Ismagulova) is how it would be spelled in Kazakh.
Her birthday is August 3rd, which she shares with Kazakhstani international master, Meruert Kamalidenova.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
Zhazira is another character I meant to introduce earlier, mainly due to her relationship with Allura. Like Alina, I jut wasn't able to find the proper time to do so until now.
ジリヤ・アゾフスカヤ (Zylija Azovskaya) is how Zylija's name would be spelled in katakana. Зылиджа Азовская (Zylija Azovskaya) is how it would be spelled in Kazakh.
Her birthday is December 26th, which she shares with Kazakhstani women's grandmaster, Xeniya Balabayeva.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
マリアス・ニヤジミベトワ (Marias Niyazimibetova) is how Marias' name would be spelled in katakana. Марияс Ниязимибетова (Marias Niyazimibetova) is how it would be spelled in Kazakh.
(If I made any mistakes with the translations, feel free to correct me).
Her birthday is February 26th, which she shares with Kazakhstani international master, Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
And with that, the bios are done, but there will be more in the coming chapters. As for the game, I just wanted Inez and Muazzez to end up sticky and blue, so I threw them on a team together and had Muazzez throw the match, or at the very least, not play efficiently. One final thing I want to mention is that one of the new characters introduced this chapter will end up getting a little mini-arc within a mini-arc surrounding them. See if you can guess who that is before it's revealed in the story.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
