Balmung

Character Profile
Online
Name	Balmung
Gender	Male
Class	Blademaster
Media Information
Japanese Voice	Nobuyuki Hiyama
English Voice	Crispin Freeman Doug Erholtz
First Appearance	.hack//INFECTION
Offline
Name	??
Age	18
Gender	Male

"I want to restore this world, but I fear I can't do it alone. Perhaps you could, give me a hand?"

— Balmung —

Balmung (バルムンク) is one of the Descendants of Fianna and is a very famous player in The World.

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Online

Appearance

Balmung is a very charismatic-looking character; a typical knight in shining armor. Balmung's most distinct features are his wings as they are unique, representing his having defeated The One Sin. According to Cima, his Character Model was won in a contest, and his original model was rather dorky

Personality

Balmung believes in chivalry. If there is anything out of the ordinary, he'll question it. He has a hard time trusting people as well, but when you've won his trust, there isn't a person better to rely on. His personality changes vastly by Legend of the Twilight, as he becomes a more easygoing player that jokes around and takes few things seriously.

Offline

A figure, center, thought to be Balmung's player.

Basic Info

At the time of the games, Balmung's player is a 18 year-old in his third and final year of high school. He started playing online games in elementary school, and became a beta tester for Fragment during middle school. He soon became fascinated with The World.

Hobbies

He enjoys and loves The World and magazines of little taste. Outside the World, he has an interest in motorcycles. Although he is often confessed to, he is uninterested in love and says he doesn't understand women.

History

.hack//AI Buster

Balmung in AI Buster.

Balmung appears for the first time in AI Buster, alongside his close friend and partner Orca; when he accompanies Orca to the in-game house owned by Albireo. He is initially suspicious of the strange spear wielded by Albireo, fearing that it is a cheat item and Albireo is a hacker. But his fears are removed once Albireo reveals that he was one of the original beta testers in Fragment and that the spear was a relic of Fragment which Balmung himself was also a part of.

Balmung later fights alongside Orca to defeat the One Sin in the field Ω Sickened Imprisoned Fallen Angel. While Albireo and Hokuto watch in secret. Their defeat of this "unbeatable event" results in Balmung getting his trademark wings. He, along with his partner Orca, are given the titles of "The Descendants of Fianna" in a poem by the net poet W.B. Yeats. Their individual titles of "Balmung of the Azure Sky." and "Orca of the Azure Sea" may also have come from this event.

Balmung as he appears in SIGN and Unison

.hack//SIGN

Balmung makes a very brief appearance in a later episode of the TV series (Phantom). When Bear, Mimiru, and Subaru have an unexpected encounter with a strange Data Bug, Balmung leaps into action with not a moment to spare. He holds off the monster to allow the party past. His final scene involves a mad lunge for the monster, and it's inferred that he survived.

.hack//Games

Balmung first appears in the games after saving Kite and BlackRose from a Data Bug at Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. He initially dislikes Kite, suspecting that the strange powers he wields are what corrupted The World in the first place. Even after Kite tells him his story he is still suspicious. Taking advantage of this Lios contacts Balmung and orders him to follow Kite and BlackRose to Net Slum. Though Balmung isn't pleased at the underhanded methods he is forced to use he obeys Lios's command, and succeeds in entering Net Slum. There he watches as Kite and BlackRose battle against Magus.

Unsure of what to do, Balmung travels to Σ Chatting Snaring Twins, he is attacked by a Data Bug on the bottom level but is rescued by Kite. Realizing that Kite is somebody who wants to help The World, Balmung pledges his support to Kite and gives him his member address. Lios orders the pair to travel to Σ Rising Implacable Sipping Bug where they defeat another data bug. Lios reveals to them that CC Corp plans on shutting down all of the game's servers in an attempt to destroy the Cursed Wave and that the time for them to fix things is growing short. He later assists Kite and BlackRose in a fight against Cubia at Λ Merciless Grieving Furnace. Balmung was later chosen by Helba to be one of the key members of Operation Wavebreak, fighting alongside Kite and BlackRose against the Phases. He was on the front lines during the fight against Corbenik and was one of the first to fall to its Drain Heart attack.

Following the defeat of the last Phase, he was reunited with his partner Orca. With Kite as an honorary member, they reformed the Descendants of Fianna.

.hack//Unison

Balmung makes an appearance with Kite and Orca finishing off a few more Data Bugs. The three of them arrive late to the party at Net Slum, and Balmung makes his infamous quote:

"This shindig looks like the bomb-diggity."

— Balmung —

Balmung in .hack//GIFT.

.hack//GIFT

Balmung goes through a lot of abuse during GIFT. Being the first person to find Orca's corpse (actually Bear's) he is instantly suspected of being the one responsible for PKing him. Kite assumes that since Helba made role-playing illegal, Balmung must be using the opportunity to explore his supressed urge to PK people. Trying to find the location of Helba's secret area, he stumbles across Uchiyama and Emi, whose strange mannerisms cause him to go temporarily insane (and melt his character). Things take a turn for the worse when he comes across another PK victim, B.T.. The rest of the cast quickly appears and blame him again. His tearful plea of innocence is interrupted when the field suddenly crashes.

Later he stumbles into a fight between Crim and Sora. He is accidently attacked by Crim, who skewers one of his wings on his spear. The loss of his precious feathers, combined with the stress that he's been through, causes him to fly into a rage. He rushes Crim and begins to attack him, while Sora quietly sneaks away.

Balmung in XXXX.

.hack//XXXX

In the early chapters of XXXX, Balmung works as an agent of Lios. He holds Kite responsible for the disappearance of Orca, and attempts to attack him in their first meeting, only stopping when BlackRose and Mistral step in to defend Kite. Confused he continues watching Kite from a distance. When Magus attacks Elk, and Balmung sees that Lios intends to stand by and do nothing, he decides to part ways with Lios. He steps in to help fight against Magus, then joins up with Kite and Cubia to hunt down the remaining Phases with them. After Kite disappears, he delivers a vaccine item from Helba to BlackRose, so she can use it against Cubia.

.hack//Legend of the Twilight

Anime

Balmung appears in the Legend of the Twilight Anime as a System Administrator, alongside his partner Reki. He runs into Shugo and Rena when they are attacked by a Data Bug released by some hackers. Balmung manages to hold off the Data Bug long enough for Shugo to defeat it with his Data Drain attack. After several of his events are ruined by these Data Bugs, Balmung takes it upon himself to investigate the matter. Realizing that Shugo's bracelet will probably be needed in order to restore order he contacts his friend Sanjuro a former .hacker and asks him to train Shugo.

Balmung as he appears in Legend of the Twilight

After Rena is placed into a coma by the hackers, Balmung begins working directly with Shugo. However the appearance of Kamui and the Cobalt Knights interrupt his plan, as CC Corp has given them complete control over the current problems. Balmung's refusal to give up the project results in his dismissal as an Administrator. To further complicate matters Reki betrays him, joining up with Kamui and the Knights instead of him. Dejected Balmung retreats to a solitary portion of The World.

It is here that Reki finds him; he updates him on Shugo's activities and reminds him that even though he might not be a system administrator, that he is still a player, and a .hacker. With Reki's help Balmung is able to break through the barrier surrounding the unreleased Root Town Naval Monte. There he assists Shugo and his party in their fight against the Vagrant AI Morti. Following their victory, Balmung is reinstated as a System Administrator.

Manga

In the Legend of the Twilight manga we find that Balmung has been hired by CC Corp as a System Administrator, working mostly as an events designer. Along with his long-suffering assistant Reki, Balmung has become infamous for designing some of the strangest events in the game. He becomes interested in Shugo and Rena, the winners of the .hackers character contest, and stages several tests for them over the course of the manga. However, the arrival of fellow System Administrator Kamui and her assistant Magi of the Cobalt Knight Brigade (the debug team of The World), as well as Shugo's interactions with the Vagrant AI Zefie forces Balmung to take more direct action. His arguments that Vagrant AIs and Aura are an integral part of The World result in him being dismissed as a system administrator.

Forced to act as a normal player, Balmung contacts Helba and requests her help in protecting Shugo. He mobilizes several of the .hackers, including Kazu, Wiseman, and Mistral, who help Shugo and his party reunite with Aura. Following this event, it is implied that Reki was able to get Balmung reinstated as a System Administrator.

.hack//G.U.

See Azure Balmung

.hack//4koma

In contrast to the other 4Koma characters, Balmung's personality remains largely unchanged. He is still the noble, determined fighter he was in the rest of the series. However, his steadfast personality makes him a frequent target for the other characters, who enjoy abusing him for their own amusement. Kite in particular is very fond of playing cruel practical jokes on Balmung, such as abandoning him to monsters and setting up elaborate traps for him to fall into. Kite's animosity towards Balmung seems to stem from the fact that Balmung has been more successful with women than Kite has.

Trivia

• It is revealed in AI Buster that Balmung was a soloist during most of his time playing The World. The loss of the only person he ever trusted in, Orca, explains his initial hostile attitude towards Kite in the .hack//Games.
• Balmung first appears during Infection, but finally joins Kite at Σ Chatting Snaring Twins at level 60 in Outbreak
• Within Wilhelm Richard Wagner's masterpiece, The Ring of the Nibelungen, Balmung was the name of the sword that Siegfried wielded.
• In the Legend of the Twilight Anime, it is hinted that Balmung and Kamui dated each other for a short time.
• His theme song was remixed as CyberConnect2's Christmas Gift for 2005.
• Balmung apparently does not like grunties, despite the fact that he is the initial top ranker for all Grunty Races.
• Balmung makes a brief appearance in the Rena Special Pack as a doctor with Reki as his assistant.
• Crispin Freeman, one of Balmung's English voice actors, also voices Sakaki.
• It appears Orca never mentioned Kite to Balmung, since Balmung continues to distrust Kite even after being informed of Kite and Orca's friendship by Helba.
• Balmung's starting weapon is called Heavenly Sword.
• Though Crispin Freeman voices Balmung in English, he was voiced by Doug Erholtz in INFECTION.
• Altough Balmung does not use his wings in battle or while moving, he proves they are functional in Mutation, where he flies off of a building in Net Slum.
• The Shopkeeper from .hack//LINK possesses a picture of Balmung in his collection.

Balmung's Mission Areas

• Outbreak
  • Σ Rising Implacable Sipping Bug: Lios has a mission for Kite and Balmung wants to tag along.
  • Λ Merciless Grieving Furnace: Balmung wants to fight Cubia with Kite.

Kite's party members.
Balmung	BlackRose	Elk	Gardenia	Helba
Marlo	Mia	Mistral	Moonstone	Natsume
Nuke Usagimaru	Orca	Piros	Rachel	Sanjuro
Sora	Subaru	Tsukasa	Terajima Ryoko	Wiseman