Caim (Drakengard)
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| Caim | |
|---|---|
| Drakengard character | |
 Official artwork by Kimihiko Fujisaka for Drakengard | |
| First appearance | Drakengard (2003) |
| Created by | Takuya Iwasaki |
| Designed by | Kimihiko Fujisaka |
| Voiced by | JA Peter (Shinnosuke Ikehata) EN Fleet Cooper |
Caim (Japanese: カイム, Hepburn: Kaimu) is the main protagonist of the action role-playing game Drakengard by Cavia. After seeing the death of his parents and the destruction of his home by the Imperial dragon Legna, Caim swears vengeance against the Empire and fosters a deep hatred of dragons. Mortally wounded in a battle, he is forced to make a pact with the dragon Angelus (Angel in Japanese) to save himself, sacrificing his own voice to do so. The character returns as the antagonist in Drakengard 2, in which Caim is on a quest to free Angelus from the painful burden of the Seals. He also lost his eye, becoming known through the lands as the "One-Eyed Man". He succeeds, but Angelus has been driven insane by the burden and must be killed, killing him too.
Influenced by the Berserk manga protagonist Guts, Caim created by co-producer Takuya Iwasaki; the game's director Yoko Taro described him as an examination of action game heroes of the time. He was designed by Kimihiko Fujisaka, who later felt embarrassed by his work. In the sequel he was redesigned was a wanderer figure. Caim is voiced in Japanese by Peter (Shinnosuke Ikehata) and in English by Fleet Cooper; both voiced other characters in the game. Caim has stood out among game journalists for his unusually violent personality and his poor relationships with other characters, traits rarely seen in RPGs. His silent demeanor and relationship with Angelus were also praised.
Caim was created for the 2003 video game Drakengard by its co-producer Takuya Iwasaki.[1] The game's director Yoko Taro described Caim as an examination of the typical action game hero of the time; he felt someone who had killed so many people should not have a happy ending.[2] His role as a dragon rider was present from early in production, when the game was intended to emulate the Ace Combat series.[3] Caim was based on Guts, the lead protagonist of the manga Berserk, and was also codenamed "Guts" during development.[4] Yoko had little involvement in Caim's story, claiming not to remember most of it.[1] The relationship between Caim and his dragon companion Angelus (Angel in Japanese) underwent changes during development: Yoko initially planned for the relationship to be a parasitic one, but Iwasaki instead wrote their relationship as an unconventional romance between a young man (Caim) and an older woman (Angelus).[2]
A core plot thread is the relationship between Caim, his friend-turned-rival Inuart, and Caim's sister Furiae who harbored romantic feelings towards her brother.[5] Yoko was inspired by incorporate Furiae's incestuous feelings by the anime Sister Princess; he remembered creating an ending based around it, but had to change it based on negative feedback from staff.[3] Inuart was originally designed as the main protagonist, with him being a "useless hero"; the scene where he first clashes with Caim was the way Yoko was able to show the game world's tone.[6] Caim returned for Drakengard 2 (2005), taking on the role of an antagonist, eventually dying alongside Angelus. Their deaths were intended to be "short and ruthless", but the game's director Akira Yasui had it changed to a more sentimental version. Dialogue from Caim for the scene was cut from the game due to it clashing with his previous portrayal as a mute.[7]
Co-producer Takamasa Shiba drew parallels between Caim and the cast from Neon Genesis Evangelion as individuals who use supernatural beings to fight even if they do not want to, with Caim's sole motivation being to save his sister.[8] Shiba wanted Caim's portrayal as a dragon knight to be unique in order for the game to be more original than Dynasty Warriors, which he wanted Drakengard to compete with. He also aimed for the fights with the dragon to affect the protagonist's personality. Seeing Caim as too violent a protagonist, Yokoconsidered using monsters as antagonists to make Caim more heroic. Iwasaki wanted the game's multiple endings to influence Caim's morals but without making any of them a true ending so the players can freely choose.[9] Furiae was designed by Yoko as both an explanation for Caim and Inuart's rivalry and as a representation of his distaste for the kind of forgettable character she represented. The relationship between Caim and Furiae, as well as their ultimate fates, was Yoko's response to the standard happy ending found in most role-playing games at the time, tying into his examination of Caim.[1]
Caim was designed by the game's character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka, and was one of the earliest characters created for the game.[7] In hindsight, Fujisaka was dissatisfied with his work on Drakengard, particularly his work on Caim who he felt was "too bland" and designed to be easy to model in-game rather than distinctive.[10] When summing up Caim's outfit, Shiba described the design as "the result of giving an ancient piece of armour to a modern Japanese designer and seeing what they would come up with."[11] Fujisaka returned as his designer for Drakengard 2. He felt this design was an improvement on the original; the redesign was meant to represent Caim's status as a wanderer. Fujisaka also took elements of Caim's original design and incorporated them into those of lead characters Nowe and Manah, intending to represent "passing the torch" between characters.[7]
The actor who voiced both Caim and Angelus in Japanese is Peter (also credited as Shinnosuke Ikehata). Though originally cast for the role of Caim, Peter's versatility led to also voicing Angelus.[12] While describing a later design as "pretty", Peter stated in an interview to that they had little strong feelings connected to voicing him.[13] Peter would return to voice other characters in later Drakengard projects.[14] In English, Caim is voiced by Fleet Cooper, who also voiced Inuart.[15]
