Inspiration for Leblanc? [Spoilers]
Does this sound familiar?
A pretty, selfish, and vain woman who dresses in outrageous costumes pursues and otherwise makes life difficult for the younger heroine, mainly by trying to steal something valuable from her.
She is always accompanied by two loyal henchman: one tall and lanky and the other short and stocky.
Except that this character appeared in at least three different anime before FFX-2.
I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. :greenie:
The first is Doronjo from Time Bokan, which I have never seen, unfortunately. Her flunkies are named Tonzura and Boyakki. Since she was first I'm guessing all the later ones are homages to her, Leblanc included. She looks the most like Leblanc of the three of them, IMO.
Second is Grandis from Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water. She was one of my favorite characters actually, scheming to steal a precious jewel from the herione Nadia, only to later join forces with her reluctantly, which no doubt inspired the writers of FFX-2 (not to mention her unrequited crush of the dashing Captain Nemo).
Her flunkies are among the best developed: Sanson (the tall one) has tremendous strength and a soft spot for the ship's human mascot, Marie. Hanson (the short one) is a technological wizard who's always working and improving their transformable tank, the Gratan.
Last and most recently is the Crimson (Red) Scorpion in Steam Detectives. She's a jewel thief who's constantly foiled by Narutaki, a boy wonder private detective. In the manga she's needled by his teenaged assistant, Ling-Ling, especially over her age. Her flunkies are Pasta and Doria. They aren't very well developed in the personalities, but they are loyal in helping her build steam powered battle robots and otherwise assisting her in her schemes.
Another point is that she tends to adopt elaborate disguises to allow her to steal her prizes. This is similar to the way Leblanc hijacks Yuna's identity in the opening concert.
Naturally I was a bit bowled over when I started to play FF-X-2 and saw Leblanc. But I guess it's part of why I like her so much: she has a rich history.
