Fleda Claes Johanson

Which language version?

its Klise in the English version

Ah, okay.

I pronounce it CLA-EEES. With the A as pronounced in 'after'.

lol 'K. I saw her name could be a last name too, but I might be mistaken. I think that was slightly spelled differently.

Triela: Claes, this is getting seriously ridiculous...you have to put some of these books in storage.



Claes: But...no! There's plenty of room for a few more!

Something's telling me that Claes is a distant relative of Yomiko Readman...

Professor Voodoo wrote:Triela: Claes, this is getting seriously ridiculous...you have to put some of these books in storage.



Claes: But...no! There's plenty of room for a few more!

Reminds me of studying for my advandement to candidacy oral exams...

I love reading as much as she does, but after an hour and a half, I can't read another word.

DaGuyEvery1Knows wrote:I love reading as much as she does, but after an hour and a half, I can't read another word.

Haven't seen you around for a while 'Guy...how was the race in Fontana?

Professor Voodoo wrote:

DaGuyEvery1Knows wrote:I love reading as much as she does, but after an hour and a half, I can't read another word.

Haven't seen you around for a while 'Guy...how was the race in Fontana?

XP It was okay. Kinda boring, since we didn't get seats too close to the race. It was a beautiful view of the mountains, too. It was raining everywhere else but the track. But thanks for asking! Yeah, I've been busy with a bunch of school work XP How's it been?

emperor wrote:although she is revealed to be the only normal, healthy subject before undergoing cybernetic surgery.

When was it revealed? (I'm just curious a bit actually, i just can't remember where could i find some information about Claes in manga)

Trimutius wrote:

emperor wrote:although she is revealed to be the only normal, healthy subject before undergoing cybernetic surgery.

When was it revealed? (I'm just curious a bit actually, i just can't remember where could i find some information about Claes in manga)

Whatever sent her to the SWA has yet to be revealed. Nachtsider thinks the pictures of her make her look sickly, but she looks like a normal 10-year old girl to me.

I had asumed since it is said somewhere that her parents gave her to the agency that the dad was a researcher or proffessor of some sort and handed her over as a guinea pig

crazyidiot78 wrote:I had asumed since it is said somewhere that her parents gave her to the agency that the dad was a researcher or proffessor of some sort and handed her over as a guinea pig

Her father was a professor and instilled in her a love of books, but that's all we know.

Kiskaloo wrote:

Whatever sent her to the SWA has yet to be revealed. Nachtsider thinks the pictures of her make her look sickly, but she looks like a normal 10-year old girl to me.

But it could be anything. Not sickness but maybe some kind of accident then...

Translation from the anime...

On 10th Birthday Fleda Claes Johansson.
Photo of the day of her 10th birthday.
Has just received a book as a gift.
Since his father was a university professor, his house was covered with books.
So she showed her interest in books at home right from childhood.
Parents cultivate the interests of the child choosing books appropriate framework as a gift

It doesn't really reveal anything we didn't already know. Based on her size and behavior in the manga & anime I don't believe anyone thinks Claes was still 10 when she was converted to a cyborg, so anything could have happened during those missing 2-3 years.

Professor Voodoo wrote:It doesn't really reveal anything we didn't already know. Based on her size and behavior in the manga & anime I don't believe anyone thinks Claes was still 10 when she was converted to a cyborg, so anything could have happened during those missing 2-3 years.

So true.
In my OC Universe, Claes was an accident between a fierce fight between her parents in a drunken rage, and she trying to get in between them was traumatized by severe injury (perhaps being accidentally thrown out the window or down a flight of stairs; I prefer the window). This would put one (the father) or both parents in jail. This would explain why we do not hear from either from her parents, and like Angie and Henrietta (and later Petrushka), was quickly sent to the SWA without either of their approval.

My exact word was 'fragile', actually. She doesn't look like a robust child in those photos.

I was rereading the manga Vol 4 Ch 18 during vacation and came across this. Claes goes to the indoor firing range and the guy at the desk stops her and says she needs a handler to go in. Then he says, "I remember you. You shot the vice president, right? You had a G.I.'s cap on. You've changed. I didn't recognize you at first." But Claes obviously has no idea what he's talking about.

I don't think it's a case of mistaken identity, since I'm sure the guy at the desk must know the members of Section 2 by sight, even though he doesn't realize Claes is no longer training for missions with her handler. And the G.I.'s cap she wears in Vol 2 Ch 6 during the gun mishandling incident with Henrietta could be the one she wore during the assassination.

Going by this, there must have been some important missions for Claes and Raballo in the past that we haven't seen, even if it did not involve building actual combat experience for her.

By the way, I've only read through Vol 6, so if there's more of her past that is revealed in later volumes, I'm not familiar with it. (Reading through this thread, however, I gathered there wasn't any.)

Also, I was surprised to see no speculation in this thread about why Claes can't be rebonded to another handler, since her conditioning has obviously made her forget Raballo completely, except as a vague father figure who took her fishing and taught her the value of quiet times.

And does anyone else wonder why Raballo's room at the SWA was kept for him, along with all his books and his bed and desk, though he's long gone?

Linda S.
galatia9

I'm inclined to think that Claes saw at least some field experience before Raballo died. Hell, I've written a whole fanfic on the subject.

When he says "Shot the VP" he means the H&K VP70z pistol, not the Vice President, since Italy does not have such an office.

Well, despite that being the case, I still stand by my previous statement.

Kiskaloo wrote:When he says "Shot the VP" he means the H&K VP70z pistol, not the Vice President, since Italy does not have such an office.

The English version has "vice president" written out, not an abbreviation. A visiting official, perhaps?

Linda S.
galatia9

galatia9 wrote: there must have been some important missions for Claes and Raballo in the past that we haven't seen, even if it did not involve building actual combat experience for her.

That's an interesting train of thought. During the indoor shooting range incident Claes seems much more competent than Henrietta (she immediately knows something has gone wrong when 'Etta's SIG jams), so she & Raballo may have been out getting some experience.

I've only read through Vol 6, so if there's more of her past that is revealed in later volumes, I'm not familiar with it.

Sadly, no. Beyond what you've seen already it's all conjecture.

I was surprised to see no speculation in this thread about why Claes can't be rebonded to another handler,

It isn't really her role in the story...I think she's much more interesting as the sole non-combatant contrasted against the dormitory full of killers. That said I think things are heating up in Chapter 77...if one of the other girls dies Claes may be called into action as a replacement. Just my conjecture...we haven't seen an English translation of the chapter yet.

does anyone else wonder why Raballo's room at the SWA was kept for him, along with all his books and his bed and desk, though he's long gone?

I like to think Jean has a lot to do with it. He was obviously friendly with Raballo, respecting the man enough to seek him out and recruit him. And while he is almost certainly the one who had to orchestrate his assassination I see the lingering strings of his affection for the MP Captain in Jean's treatment of Claes. Contrary to the way he treats the other girls (Rico in particular) he seems genuinely concerned for Claes, as if looking after her somehow keeps the memory of Raballo alive.

The English version has "vice president" written out, not an abbreviation. A visiting official, perhaps?

I dare say it's just a translation slip-up.

I just verified it with my copy, and she's right...

And what's funny, the Scandlation that Tommy did also has it. Since he had help from a Japanese assistant in translating, I think that the word was actually Vice President in Japanese.

Professor Voodoo wrote: It isn't really her role in the story...I think she's much more interesting as the sole non-combatant contrasted against the dormitory full of killers. That said I think things are heating up in Chapter 77...if one of the other girls dies Claes may be called into action as a replacement. Just my conjecture...we haven't seen an English translation of the chapter yet.

Oh, I agree, she's much more poignant and interesting a character as a non-combatant. But I did like seeing her brought in as the decoy in the first anime series, and I wouldn't mind seeing her rebonded somehow to another handler. It seems she could be very effective.

I like to think Jean has a lot to do with it. He was obviously friendly with Raballo, respecting the man enough to seek him out and recruit him. And while he is almost certainly the one who had to orchestrate his assassination I see the lingering strings of his affection for the MP Captain in Jean's treatment of Claes. Contrary to the way he treats the other girls (Rico in particular) he seems genuinely concerned for Claes, as if looking after her somehow keeps the memory of Raballo alive.

I didn't catch the inference that Raballo was assassinated, with or without Jean's knowledge. Jean does seem much more kind to Claes than he does to the other girls, but that could just be because he never sees her out in the field in a working context. He doesn't consider her a combat weapon like he does the others. Maybe he sees her more as a diagnostic tool that has to be preserved for further effective use.

Linda S.
galatia9

galatia9 wrote:I didn't catch the inference that Raballo was assassinated, with or without Jean's knowledge. Jean does seem much more kind to Claes than he does to the other girls, but that could just be because he never sees her out in the field in a working context. He doesn't consider her a combat weapon like he does the others. Maybe he sees her more as a diagnostic tool that has to be preserved for further effective use.

I think that that particular inference was a conglomeration of things. In having Raballo hand Claes her glasses and key to his room I get the impression he was half expecting to be off'd by the Agency. As to whether it was with Jean's knowledge or not, I personally believe it was; Jean seems to have the sort of drive that would allow him to make a call like that. He may not be happy about it, and it probably eats him up inside from time to time (and as Voodoo pointed out, that may be why Jean is more concerned for her well being), but if Raballo was going to the press then it was a move that needed to be made... so Jean made it.

As to an in-universe reason why she couldn't be bonded with another handler... one possiblity could lie in Raballo's final "order" to her, which I believe ran something along the lines of "be kind and gentle". Perhaps it's a glitch in the Gen1 conditioning (which I see as being pretty experimental, trying new things with each girl) that meant that more deep-seeded order could not be erased easily. From a bean-counting perspective, perhaps the level of work and conditionig needed to wipe Claes clean for a new handler would just knock too much time off her remaining lifespan to make it a viable investment. At least compared to the useful purpose she's currently serving as a testbed.

I dunno, I'm just speculating here so...

The more I think about it, the more I think Rabello's assassination death was faked.

-Rabello wanted to retire. But Jean gave him an offer he could not resist. I think that offer was a cybernetic knee.
-Rabello was given Claes, who for some reason cant shoot straight! Yes she's viscous, yes she can kill and has done so in the past. But she cant hit the broadside of a square and seems to get hurt on missions.
-Rabello takes Claes out to teach her things more important in life. And he continues with her training. Any missions Claes goes onto, she improves but is still sloppy. If she 'assassinated the Vice President' it must be here.

At this point I believe that Rabello finds a Padania agent reporter in the newspaper company and needs to lure him out. Strange, Rabello does not have his cane.

-Rabello mets up with Claes before he leaves. Again, he does not have his cane. Maybe he got his cybernetic knee? His knees has always given him trouble and grimaced in pain, he always leaned on that cane. Here he is seemingly pain free and without the cane. Plus he gave what seems to be a final farewell to Claes.

Question, if he was going to dump information to the reporter, why not bring Claes too? In the Video Game, Ernesto did just that to Pia.

-Rabello makes an appointment to meet up with the reporter.
-Jean comes back saying that Rabello is dead. Jean looks like he just look like he just did a mission.

To me it seems too obvious. I think the reporter got killed and Rabello was left to retire. It may be a long shot, but still a possibility.

Professor Voodoo wrote:

galatia9 wrote:

Kiskaloo wrote:When he says "Shot the VP" he means the H&K VP70z pistol, not the Vice President, since Italy does not have such an office.

The English version has "vice president" written out, not an abbreviation. A visiting official, perhaps?

I dare say it's just a translation slip-up.

Yup. ADV's translation left a number of things to be desired. Hopefully Seven Seas will be a bit more diligent.

Personally, I think the only "mission" Raballo and Claes went on was the one where she killed those two punks in the Rome Metro. Claes herself noted that when they were not training, they were out fishing.

It may very well have been the thought of putting Claes into service that triggered in him the idea to blow the cover on the cyborg program.

ElfenMagix wrote:Rabello wanted to retire. But Jean gave him an offer he could not resist. I think that offer was a cybernetic knee.

Raballo didn't want to retire. The reason he took Claes was that after three years (her projected lifespan), Jean would make it happen for Raballo to return to active duty.

ElfenMagix wrote:Rabello was given Claes, who for some reason cant shoot straight!

Maybe Raballo was just a poor instructor. He was a leader of men, not a trainer of them.

ElfenMagix wrote:Question, if he was going to dump information to the reporter, why not bring Claes too?

Because it you think you might not make the meet, why risk the cyborg, as well? The general consensus I have read here and elsewhere is that Raballo's goal was was to "free" Claes and the other girls from their roles as "murder machines". If he took Claes with him, Section 2 would have had to respond in kind and bring multiple fratelli with them to prevent them from reaching the meeting.

ElfenMagix wrote:To me it seems too obvious. I think the reporter got killed and Rabello was left to retire. It may be a long shot, but still a possibility.

No offense, but such a scenario would totally ruin the poignancy of not just their fratello, but Claes as a character. She's my favorite because I think Raballo sacrificed himself trying to save her and if he just was tired of her and wanted out, then Yu never should have written them into the story to begin with.

I'm sticking with the majority view on this one - Raballo was killed to protect the Agency.

Kisk, you are right on the returning to duty.
But he can't on that bad knee, which is the reason why he was forced to retire in the first place.

I'm sticking with that consensus too but the conspiracy theorist in me says that there is something a lot more in this than meets the eye.

Professor Voodoo wrote:I dare say it's just a translation slip-up.

Just want to confirm this by saying that the french version mentions the name of a weapon and not "vice president".

Totoum wrote:

Professor Voodoo wrote:I dare say it's just a translation slip-up.

Just want to confirm this by saying that the french version mentions the name of a weapon and not "vice president".

The original Japanese is "VP", whereas Vice President would normally be shortened to "V.P.".

Also, by saying "You shot the Vice President" implies that the Vice President shot is common knowledge and that would mean the Italian Vice President, except that Italy has no such office. So if Yu actually meant Vice President, he would have had to expand it to say "You shot Vice President (last name) of (country)" to give the reader context.

However, since the VP70 is prominently displayed on the cover of Volume 4 (of which Chapter 18 is the first one), it should be clear to a reader that "the VP" means the VP70.

Professor Voodoo wrote:Triela: Claes, this is getting seriously ridiculous...you have to put some of these books in storage.



Claes: But...no! There's plenty of room for a few more!

Triela=Teddy Bears
Claes=Books

Let's see who can engulf the room with her possessions first. :lol!:

I thought Raballo's death was very strange and unexpected, but I didn't give it much consideration the first time I read it. But it did seem very suspect.

As for the probable translation error, the guy behind the desk saying the name of the weapon does make a lot more sense in context. He deifnitely seems to be remembering the misfiring incident with Henrietta, Claes and the handlers. It was the cap Claes was wearing that day, too.

Linda S.
galatia9

Kiskaloo wrote:

Totoum wrote:

Professor Voodoo wrote:I dare say it's just a translation slip-up.

Just want to confirm this by saying that the french version mentions the name of a weapon and not "vice president".

The original Japanese is "VP", whereas Vice President would normally be shortened to "V.P.".

Also, by saying "You shot the Vice President" implies that the Vice President shot is common knowledge and that would mean the Italian Vice President, except that Italy has no such office. So if Yu actually meant Vice President, he would have had to expand it to say "You shot Vice President (last name) of (country)" to give the reader context.

However, since the VP70 is prominently displayed on the cover of Volume 4 (of which Chapter 18 is the first one), it should be clear to a reader that "the VP" means the VP70.

I can understand ADV doing this, but Tommy? He's Dutch, speaks/writes English but does not know all the idiosyncrasies of English. He knows some Japanese and with his helper who was Japanese, he created the scandlation. This is either one weird coincidence or as we used to joke around, ADV stole 'our' (really Tommy's) translations!

Maybe we could ask him.

Also, without meaning any offense, Raballo's death being orchestrated by the Agency is actually pretty obvious.

It seems that Raballo knew he was at risk already.

Linda S.
galatia9

Well, he was planning on selling government secrets to the newspapers. It's not uncommon in fiction and probably in real life for people to dissapear or have an accident over something like this.

Found an interesting picture of Claes in the world wide web:

Spoiler:

I think this is an Artwork done by somebody (i don't know who), but i like it.
Showing all her hobbies in one picture.

Yeah that picture has made the rounds of this forum.

I just noticed something interesting. After reading Chapter 6 again, I noticed that after the flashbook ends, and Claes wakes up on the bed in Raballo's room, the book next to her is Le Lys dans le Valee, the book she later refers to in Chapter 12. Well, actually, it's Le Lis dans la Vallee, but I'm assuming she's reading the Italian translation. You have to look closely at that particular panel to notice that, but it also has Balzac's name as the author, so I know that's the book.

translation of italian word,from japanese really twisting....

The real reason why Claes isn't allowed to use the computer.....



I guess they will need to make stronger key boards

Does anybody besides me think that Claes's garden is really weird?

Start with the perimeter: a brick wall too low to actually keep anything out. I think this is just her way of establishing a boundary, and saying, "This is mine." Using such a solid and enduring material for it seems an attempt to give permanence and solidity to a very ephemeral and uncertain life. After all, the girl doesn't know who she was or what will become of her. She's subject to impulses she doesn't understand. And any of the doctor's 'experiments' might be the end of her. With her reading and other interests, she seems to be pursuing a sense of predictability in her life.

Now, the flora. It seems she only has half a dozen plants in a space that could easily accommodate ten times that many. From a distance, Claes's little horticulture project looks lonely and barren. Even stranger, she doesn't actually plant them in the ground, instead keeping them in pots sunk into the earth. Her plants are located in the enclosure, but they aren't really a part of it. Both these conditions seem to be allegories for her life at the Agency.

You know to be honest I never really thought about it.  Perhaps its just a bad attempt at raised beds.

I've never thought about it much, either. I always assumed she just grew some herbs for cooking (not that we ever saw her cook).

Frankly, I love your interpretation TSM.

Second Kisk's comments: great interpretation of her unique garden Scarredman

I think that's probably the most accurate description of Claes's psychological situation summed up in her garden.