| Asellus | |
|---|---|
| SaGa character | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Saga-frontier-Asellus.png) Asellus in SaGa Frontier | |
| First appearance | SaGa Frontier (1997) |
| Created by | Miwa Shoda (writer) Tomomi Kobayashi (artist) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Half-human half-Mystic |
Asellus (Japanese: アセルス, Hepburn: Aserusu) is a character in the 1997 video game SaGa Frontier, and one of its seven main characters. She is a human who became half-Mystic, a vampire-like race, after nearly dying after being struck by a carriage and saved by being given blood from a Mystic named Orlouge. Her design was created by character artist Tomomi Kobayashi, and her scenario was written by Miwa Shoda. Shoda was inspired to write a maiden game in a world of demons by multiple sources, including Takarazuka Revue, Otome games, and Shōjo manga, with Asellus' Mystic origins inspired by a dream with the same premise as Asellus'. Asellus speaks masculine when talking to women and feminine when talking to men.
She was intended to be a character who was able to thrive without men and whom women would fall for, though some of these aspects were not able to get past the planning stages, so Shoda instead made it a coming-of-age story. Asellus associates with two women in particular, namely Gina, a tailor, and White Rose, a princess, both having romantic tension with her. Asellus has been generally well received, particularly praised as an early example of an LGBTQ+ character in video games. Her relationship with other characters, such as White Rose and Orlouge, has also been discussed, and she has been recognized as a standout character in SaGa Frontier.