Final Fantasy Lost Stranger - Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Lost Stranger is a manga that was announced on January. 31, 2017 by Square Enix as a part of the Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary event. The story was written by Hazuki Minase and the illustrations by Itsuki Kameya. The story is based on a Square Enix employee that dies and is reborn in a Final Fantasy world. The manga was published in Japanese in July 2017 by Gangan Comics, Square Enix’s own manga publishing imprint, and was serialized in Gekkan Shōnen Gangan. After the serialization was compiled into a volume in Japan, it was translated into French and published by Mana Books in April 2018. Chapters were also published online in English through Crunchyroll and compiled into a volume by Yen Press in August 2018. In the following months, the manga has been translated and published in Italian, German, and Spanish as well.
Characters
- Shogo Sasaki - the main protagonist of the story. Shogo is a former Square Enix employee that was transported into one of the worlds of Final Fantasy. Shogo himself is a die-hard fan of the series and has extensive knowledge of its inner workings, which greatly helps him in his adventure. His knowledge makes it much easier for him to find dangerous traps and secret passages. Before he was sent to this fantasy world, Shogo had practiced using a bow, making it his preferred weapon of choice.
- Yuko Sasaki - Shogo’s younger sister. She, like Shogo, is a fan of Final Fantasy and ends up getting hired at Square Enix along with her brother because of their shared passion. Despite wanting to work on a Final Fantasy game with her brother, she ends up being placed in the Sales department of the company. Yuko also acts as a strong source of emotional support for Shogo and often cheers him up after he falls into a depressed state of mind. She is transported to the same Final Fantasy world as her brother.
- Sharuru Linkingfeather - a white mage that serves as the leader of the party. She is an incredibly selfless person and often puts the needs of others above her own. When she first finds Shogo, she continuously uses a healing spell to the point of exhaustion, resulting in her passing out.
- Rei Hagakure - a female, elf-like warrior that carries around an axe. She is often quite hostile toward Shogo, especially when they first met. Yuko asked to join their party and, as unfamiliar outsiders, Rei is incredibly against letting them join. However, she seems to be fairly obedient when it comes to Sharuru, eventually agreeing to allow the two into the party after she states that she likes the idea. Overall, she is a fairly formal and uptight person.
- Duston Volta - a black mage with a fairly casual and laid-back personality. When Shogo and Rei start bickering, Duston often acts as a mediator that attempts to deescalate the situation.
Official Synopsis
“Scoring a job at Square Enix, Sasaki Shogo's dream of producing a Final Fantasy game finally seems within his grasp! But after he starts, he quickly discovers that the work has nothing to do with his favorite franchise at all... Disillusioned, his enthusiasm for Final Fantasy begins waning despite his sister / co-worker Yuko's attempts to lift his spirits. Their conversation is cut short, though, when a runaway truck suddenly careens toward the two of them...! When Shogo comes to, the first thing he sees is...a Moogle?! Wait, was that a Cure spell? And chocobos...?! Hurled into a Final Fantasy world unbound to any particular installment, how will an uber-fan like Shogo survive?!”
Plot
Shogo and his younger sister, Yuko, are both incredibly loyal fans of the Final Fantasy series and played through the games together while growing up. Their passion for the franchise fueled their desire to eventually become employees at Square Enix to help develop a Final Fantasy game together. Despite this mutual desire, however, Yuko is placed into the sales department of the company. One day, after several years of working at Square Enix, the two siblings are involved in an accident that would likely have resulted in their demise, though Shogo wakes up to find a Moogle by his side. There, he finds a party of adventurers: a white mage named Sharuru, a black mage named Duston, and a warrior named Rei. Sharuru scrambles to his side to use her healing magic on the protagonist, but she ends up overdoing it and completely runs out of magic. After his recovery, Shogo quickly realizes that he is in a Final Fantasy world, but not one that he has ever experienced. After he and the party return to a nearby inn, Shogo finds his sister alive and well. As they have no idea how to return home, Yuko asks the band of adventurers if they would let them into their party. Rei is entirely against letting a pair of strangers they had just met into the party. When Sharuru whole-heartedly welcomes the siblings into the party, however, Rei begrudgingly accepts them as well.