Character Changes: Original Webnovel vs Manhua vs My Version - WIP (Work In Progress)
-
As I stated in my comments on chapter #533, "Between the original webnovel and the manhua, there are some character changes. I also added changes on my own.Both guides are men in the novel, one of them is a woman in the manhua and in my version. It's not the first time it happens."
Let's check what changed.
-
The following list isn't exhaustive.
Lin Zhengyue (first arcs, one of the strongest martial artists on planet Azure): In the Novel it's Wanwan's old father while in the Manhua it's Wanwan's super sexy and young-looking mother. That character doesn't appear in the chapters I uploaded, I guess I would make her a strong woman, that's it.
https://logging10000yearsintothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Lin_Zhengyue[1]
Guide #1 (#533, Battlefield arc): In the Novel it's a stern middle-aged man (I changed it to a woman) while in the Manhua it's a super sexy woman.
Mokodo (around #565, Battlefield arc): In the Novel it's a gigantic tree-looking man with 6 arms and several eyes (I changed it to a woman) while in the Manhua it's a gigantic topless man with 6 arms and 2 eyes I think.
-
Candidates for character change:
The three level 15 and level 16 martial artists (first arcs, Lu Sheng meets them in the Dream Space): I think I'll make one or two of them women, but we don't have much backstory on them yet to guide my choice.
Sarl and Huang Ji
-
There are a few strong female characters in the webnovel, in the latest arcs: ship captain Zi Yanxin (level 12, Journey arc), blue-haired girl Zoe (level 12, Journey arc), and the cool swordswoman (level 13 or 14, Academy arc).
-
About the two guides (This is a note I initially wrote on my comments for chapter #533)
Here is a more detailed analysis of the changes.
In chapter #532, someone checked Lu Sheng's identity:
Webnovel description: "A middle-aged man standing 2.5 meters tall [8 feet tall] with a cold, stern demeanor"
What the manhua character looks like: A good looking young and super tall guy, about 2.5 meters tall. The cold stern guide has been replaced with a random dude.
There are two guides formally introduced in chapter #533:
1) The cold stern guide
Webnovel: "A middle-aged man with a cold and stern demeanor" (气质冷厉的中年男人, used twice) or "A cold and stern middle age" > That's the person who checked Lu Sheng's identity in chapter #532
Manhua: A sexy young woman with pink skin and pointy elf ears wearing revealing clothes... maybe fan service, like the previous few female characters.
My version: A cold and stern middle-aged woman
Note: As stated above and in chapter #532, the manhua is slightly incoherent. The cold stern guide is the cold and stern person who welcomed Lu Sheng when he boarded the ship. The manhua introduced two different characters.
2) The round-faced guide
Webnovel: "A man of balanced build but round facial features", a "round-face man", later a "round-faced guide" and a "round-faced fat man".
Manhua: A fat man wearing glasses, with blue skin and pointy elf ears
My version: A round-faced man, a chubby man.
See my Glossary for more about him.
-
About women in this story, webnovel and manhua (This is another note I initially wrote on my comments for chapter #533)
I think that there isn't enough women in this novel, especially among strong martial artists, and especially in this team of recruits going to the battlefield.
In order to add some balance, I decided to make the same choice as the manhua team concerning the two guides: one of them—the cold stern guide—will be a woman, a cold and stern middle-aged woman. These two guides accompanying new recruits to the battlefield will appear in many chapters, but we won't know much about them: there will be no backstory, no family waiting for them. It means that changing their gender seems to add some balance in that universe without causing any plot issue.
As for the five recruits which have a name, I don't know. Maybe Sarl or Huang Ji could be women, that could be interesting. Feel free to tell me about it or later, towards the end of this arc.
Now I'm not quite happy with the choices made by the manhua team (which turned the novel into an illustrated manhua). Among the 100 recruits drawn in the manhua, there seems to be zero woman. There seems to be one woman in this arc. I personally don't like this dire lack of balance.
Also, the female guide's looks as well as the looks of previously drawn female characters in previous arcs make is look like the manhua team decided that for each section of the story there should be one woman with huge boobs and revealing clothes. Fan service, I guess. Not much fan service for female readers though. Whether it's a tournament, a fortress, a battlefield with hundreds of warriors, a spaceship, it doesn't matter: there is usually one or sometimes two hot chicks, and the rest is dozens of men, young or old, martial artists and warriors, all fully clothed, wearing space suits, army clothing, warrior attires, or martial arts outfits. As I just said, there are a few guys looking much older, but I don't recall seeing an older woman. The ones that are supposed to be older still look 30ish. Overall, among the 300+ characters in this manhua, there are around 15 women, and most if not all of them except Sheng's mom are young women who constantly look like they got ready for the shooting of a pin-up picture. I can't change the manhua images, but I can pay attention to give a more prominent role to women in this translation. My translation my rules I guess.
[1] https://logging10000yearsintothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Lin_Zhengyue