Words Worth

Words Worth (ワーズ･ワース) is a five-part erotic direct-to-video anime series and hentai RPG computer game. It also has a side story series, Words Worth Gaiden (in Western parts also known as Words Worth Outer Stories). The game's story is linear, with only one story decision near the end, leading to one of five different endings. The anime has the same general story, but the anime cuts out several characters and changes the plot mostly to create more sex scenes.

The original Japanese hentai fantasy computer game was made by ELF Corporation in 1993. The game was remade for Windows 95 in 1999, with some changed character designs, full-voice added to the supporting characters, 3D polygon graphics, and an opening animation sequence. That same year, the anime adaptation was also released. The series was originally released in English by NuTech Digital in 1999. However, the license was lost due to NuTech being sued for failure to pay royalties. According to AnimeNation, that license was awarded in 2007 to Media Blasters, which will release the series under Kitty Media. However, imports of this series can not be legally brought into Canada due to its exploitation of sex.

The English dub is notable for featuring real life porn actresses Jenna Jameson and Nikki Dial. The rest of the English cast remained uncredited.

Story
The skill of sword-fighting is known to two tribes, the Tribes of Light (which consists of humans living on the world's surface) and Shadow (mostly part humans, part animals or monsters living in an underground city, who also seem to age at half the normal speed of the Light tribe). The two tribes lived in peace and harmony, their domains separated by the "Words Worth" tablet—a huge monolith slab erected by a guardian spirit. Although the tablet has writing on it, neither Tribe can read the text. One day, Words Worth was mysteriously destroyed by an unknown entity; its component parts scattered among the domain of the Tribes of Shadow.

The two Tribes blamed each other for the tablet's destruction, and started a war that has been on-going for 100 years.

Astral, prince of the Tribe of Shadow, desires to become a Swordsman of Shadow but his father, King Wortoshika, forbids him to do so. He is engaged to Sharon, a beautiful swordswoman who generally like Astral but wishes he was stronger.

The story begins here...

Tribe of Shadow

 * Astral: Prince of the Shadow realm, and heir to King Wortoshika. His name is based on Castor. A generic good-natured video game protagonist who gets more experience over the course of the game.  In the second half of the game, he becomes known as Pollux.  In the anime, his character is more developed, being a natural swordsman who is also undisciplined and self-conscious (especially where his fiancee Sharon is concerned). In the course of the story, he discovers his lecherous side as well. On both versions, he is eventually revealed to be the lost son of the legendary Pollux, after which he is later nicknamed.


 * Sharon: One of the two most formidable officers (along with Kaiser) of the Shadow Realm army. Very beautiful, but stern and commanding.  Engaged to Astral, but is only attracted to men who are stronger than her in combat (which Astral slowly becomes throughout the course of the game).  The DOS version of the game included a sex scene with Sharon, but this was cut out in the Win95 edition.  In the anime, she secretly loves Astral, but wishes that he was more manly.  One of the game endings has Astral together with Sharon.


 * Nina: A cat-girl who commissions swordman's licenses in the Shadow realm. She has a big crush on Astral. For many fans the most-liked character in the series.  The DOS version of Nina was a clear parody of Lum, but her character was completely redesigned for the Win95 version.  One of the game endings has Astral together with Nina.


 * Kaiser: His name is the German word for 'emperor'. One of the two most formidable Shadow swordfighters, he is a man of few words. Longs for Sharon. In the game he and Sharon have an affair, while in the anime Sharon constantly rebuffs him. Note: in the English language versions, he is called 'Caesar' instead.


 * Stallion: A lecherous half-horse, half-human officer of the Shadow tribe army. He believes that "women from the Tribe of Light are more attractive."  He often takes female prisoners to a torture chamber and rapes them.  He is most famous in an Internet fad for the quote, "Your resistance only makes my penis harder!" In the series' subsequent omake he is seen marrying Silvanna.  In the game, he has grown an incongruous white mustache in the second-half.


 * Hide: A young elf of the Shadow tribe, he is Astral's best friend. Despite being a licensed swordsman, he is very timid and cowardly, and thus is ashamed of himself.  In the game, he dies after succumbing to one of Club's machines; in the anime, he is slain by Sir Fabris after attempting to interfere with his attempted rape of Sharon.  In both cases, his death affects Astral greatly.


 * Katra: A living, willful Skeleton Warrior and officer in the Shadow tribe army, he serves as a soldier and at times a messenger.


 * Delta: A woman with gray, painted skin and bat wings, possibly a succubus. In the game, she only appears in the second half, and seems to often get stuck in erotic situations.  In the anime, her curiosity gets the better of her when she follows Tessio and Menza, and is subsequently raped and hypnotized to serve the two in a plot against Astral.  One of the game endings has Astral together with Delta (this was added in the Win95 edition).


 * Carrot: A small fairy. Second half of the game only.  Controls monsters much larger than her.  Later in the game she is captured and molested by William.  Does not appear in the anime.


 * Wortoshika: A large, muscular blue-skinned man, he is King of the Shadow tribe. His name could be a corruption of the term 'Wordseeker' due to the Japanese pronunciation. Has a lot of concern for his son.  While ruthless and practical, he has also an honorable side.


 * Tessio: Chief advisor to Wortoshika. Along with his Light counterpart, Menza, he is part of an evil entity which actually has caused the war between the two tribes (in the anime, they are aware of this, whereas in the game, they are unwitting aspects of the dark entity).  His name is based on Salvatore Tessio and his look is based on Peter Clemenza -- the opposite is true for Menza.


 * Wise: An friendly old person who dispenses advice to Astral. Is male in the DOS version, female in the Win95 version, and does not appear in the anime.


 * Ariadne: Nina's and Astral's daughter. Only appears in the second half. Spelled 'Ariadonne' in Japanese.

Tribe of Light

 * Pollux: At the end of the first half, Maria blasts Astral 20 years forward into the future, where he grows a beard and loses all memory of who he was. Eventually he adopts the identity Pollux (named after a legendary swordsman whom he resembles) and fights for the Tribe of Light.  In the game, he doesn't regain his memories until very near the end of the story, whereas in the anime he regains them much earlier.


 * Pollux (Sr.): A famous swordsman of the Tribe of Light, said to have died of illness but was in fact murdered, leading to his wife committing suicide. He had two children, a boy and a girl, who vanished after the attack. In the anime, it is revealed that Astral is his lost son, while the game also implies that Maria was the baby girl. The anime hints that he was killed by Wortoshika, while in the game, the combined form of Tessio and Menza was the culprit.


 * Maria: A sorceress, daughter of King Fabris. In the second half, she is the mother of Mew.  In the game, she prefers to teleport enemies away rather than fight them.  In the anime, she is raped by Astral after he falls into the room she was tied in. In the game, she only an adopted child of Fabris, her biological parents being hinted to be the original Pollux and Maria, making her Astral's sister.


 * Maria (Sr.): Wife of the original Pollux, who threw herself into a lake along with her baby girl after her husband's death and her son's disappearance. Biological mother of Astral and, in the game, Maria. Her magic ring was passed down to Maria and later on to Mew.


 * Dark: A fearless and brave swordswoman. In the second half, she is the mother of Bega.  Does not appear in the anime.


 * Silvanna: A tomboyish fencer, possibly a cousin of Maria. In the game, she is captured and molested by Stallion.  In the second half, she is the mother of Eoria.  In the anime, she was captured along with Maria during the initial encounter with the Tribe of Shadow and is gang-raped by two pig guards.


 * Sabrina: A dark-skinned, taciturn female knight. Is tortured, interrogated, and molested; and (perhaps because of this), uses similar techniques herself later. In the second half of the game, she becomes the mother of Rita. She also appears in the Gaiden anime.


 * Pelsia: Servant and student of Sabrina who does not appear to enjoy sword-fighting. Is an adolescent in the game, but an adult in the Gaiden anime, where she has sexual encounters with both Astral and Sabrina.


 * Beruberu: A nymphomaniac sorceress who uses magic mushrooms for both magical and sexual purposes, and because of this appears to age very slowly (having exactly the same appearance in the second half of the story 20 years later). Is one of the two characters who actually has sexual intercourse with Astral in the game (the other being Nina).  Does not appear in the anime.


 * Club: A master trap-maker. In the game, he is one of the initial party to get captured by the Shadow Tribe (along with Fabris, Dark, Silvanna, Sabrina, and Maria), and later kills Hide.  In the anime, he has a very small unnamed appearance, piloting one of his war machines.


 * Norman: A somewhat pretentious swordsman. Has a power move that parodies the kamehameha from Dragon Ball.  Boyfriend of Epo, but is later killed by Astral.  Appears in the Gaiden anime.


 * Epo (or April): A blue-haired swordwoman. In the game, she is forced to strip by Astral and starts bawling (which scares Astral away); 20 years later, in the second half of the game, she becomes a shopkeeper in town.  The DOS version of Epo is a parody of Nadia from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, but her character was completely redesigned for the Win95 version.  Has a small cameo appearance in the anime as a stall owner and a larger role in the Gaiden anime.


 * Mew: Novice sorceress, Maria's daughter (In some references, her name is spelled 'Miyu'). Only appears in the second half.  Has the same beauty and mild-mannerness of her mother.  Engaged to William.  Has her life saved by Pollux and slowly develops feelings for him.  One of the game endings has Astral together with Mew.  In the anime, she has a sexual encounter with Astral.  There are some speculations that she actually might be Astral's daughter (from his raping of Maria; see above), and that her and Astral's sexual encounter is therefore of an incestuous nature.  This seems unlikely as there is no such encounter in the game.


 * Bega: Daughter of Dark. Appears only in the second half of the game. Somewhat obsessed with getting married. In the DOS version, she is a swordswoman who has a sexual encounter with Pollux; in the Win95 version, she is an archer and has no such encounter. Does not appear in the anime.


 * Eoria: Daughter of Silvanna. Appears only in the second half of the game. Has a very similar personality to her mother. Stallion attempts to rape her in the second half by giving her an aphrodisiac, but Pollux stops Stallion and as a result, Eoria comes on to Pollux instead - but snaps out of it in mid-kiss. In an omake of the anime series, she is seen in a backflash wedding Stallion.


 * Rita: A dark-skinned Light tribe swordswoman. Daughter of Sabrina.  Second half only.  In the game, she is timid and reluctant to fight.  At some point she gets her posterior trapped in a hole in the ground; Pollux notices it in the ceiling and attempts to attack it.  Later on he jokingly calls her "butt-girl".  In the anime, she is much more outgoing, but Wartoshika rapes her several times in order to produce an heir following Astral's disappearance.


 * Algol: A cowardly swordsman who is very greedy and attracted to gold. Has a habit of calling people by absurd names.  Second half only.  Not in the anime.


 * Rigel: A dark-skinned lecherous swordsman. Second half only.  He believes that "women from the Tribe of Shadow are more attractive," making him somewhat of a counterpart to Stallion.  (In fact, he and Stallion fight over Delta at one point.)  Not in the anime.


 * Fabris: An older and more experienced knight, stronger than either Kaiser or Sharon. At the end of the first half, his arm is amputated by Astral; 20 years later, he has become King.  In the anime, he seems to be King at the beginning and lusts after Sharon after seeing her fight.


 * William: Son of Fabris, and fiancee of Mew. Appears as a very young child standing up to Astral in the first-half; 20 years later, he has matured into a cowardly swordsman who tries to take credit for Pollux's achievements.  Also possibly has some pedophilic tendencies (as evidenced by his treatment of Carrot).


 * Menza: Chief advisor to Fabris. Along with his Shadow counterpart, Tessio, he is part of an evil entity which actually has caused the war between the two tribes (in the anime, they are aware of this, whereas in the game, they are unwitting aspects of the dark entity).  His name is based on Peter Clemenza and his look is based on Salvatore Tessio -- the opposite is true for Tessio.

Plot of the Anime
With the help of Nina, Astral obtains a Swordsman's license illegally; but before he can join the battle against the Light Tribe forces and their king Fabris, he has his first of many sexual experiences: first with Maria, who has been taken prisoner and whom he naively rapes (anime only), and then with Nina, who had always harbored a secret crush on him.

Eventually arriving on the battlefield, Astral sees Hide die at Sir Fabris' hands, which ignites a powerful rage, and he races to rescue Sharon as she is about to be raped by Fabris. Astral surprises Fabris and manages to slice off one of his arms. But then Maria, who had managed to free herself, casts a powerful spell at Astral in revenge, inadvertently blasting him onto the surface and 20 years into the future, and obliterating his memory.

After many wanderings, Astral finally reaches civilization (i.e. the tribe of Light) and is immediately believed to be Pollux, a famous Light swordsman who had mysteriously disappeared many years ago and to whom Astral bears a striking resemblance. Finally, he is taken in by King Fabris, who recognizes both his attacker and his value in his schemes against the Shadow people and successfully tricks Astral into opening the sealed gateway between the Light and Shadow realms.

Meanwhile, Wortoshika has nearly completed the tablet, much to the disconcertion of his advisor, Tessio. As it turns out, both Tessio and his Light counterpart, Menza, are two parts of a monstrous entity which is responsible for destroying the Words Worth tablet in the first place. Determined to prevent the completion of the task, they attack Wortoshika in the cavern where he stores the tablet.

In the meanwhile, Astral confronts Sharon in combat and slowly regains his memory. Together with her and a few other allies, including Nina and her daughter Ariadne, he reaches the secret cave. Fabris and his men also arrive for battle, but instead all end up allied against the dark entity, and a dying Wortoshika reveals Astral's origin: he was kidnapped from the Light tribe as a baby—but it is not clearly revealed whether he really is the son of Pollux, and what happened to his father—in order to fulfil the prophecy with the expected child from Astral's and Sharon's union. However, it is Ariadne—who, as Astral's and Nina's daughter, fulfills the terms—who manages to complete the tablet and read the words, which reveals both tribes to be originally of one people, thus ending the conflict and uniting both worlds.

Words Worth no Hitobito
This game is a cross-over between "Words Worth" and "Mystery of Nonomura Hospital". In the first half of the game, Umihara, the main protagonist of "Mystery of Nonomura Hospital", enters the world of "Words Worth" as summoned by Wortoshika. The game takes place in the intervening 20 years between Astral's disappearance and reappearance. In the second half, Sharon from Words Worth comes into the world of Nonomura Hospital and has a sexual affair with Umihara.