The Hero’s Journey of a YELOW Girl: Crossing the Threshold in Shining Tomorrow Volume 1

Inspired by friend of the blog JD Cowan’s “Story Sheets,” I will talk about the first act of my own novel, Shining Tomorrow Volume 1: Shadow Heart in terms of the “Hero’s Journey” as commonly understood. Popularized by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces and brought to life by George Lucas in his first Star Wars film, the Hero’s Journey is a common storytelling framework inspired by mythic tales from around the world. It consists of a protagonist leaving a comfortable existence to overcome a great challenge, then coming back from that journey changed for the better. Many Hollywood films use the Hero’s Journey framework, especially genre blockbusters such as superhero films. While it is often derided as formulaic, I see it as storytelling comfort food — well-liked because it is familiar.

In an effort to give my own novel some structure, I wrote ShinTomo as a Hero’s Journey. Here, I will discuss the first act of my novel in terms of this structure; because it covers only what is alluded to in the back matter, I do not consider these to be spoilers.

Irma Mizuho Kaneyasu. (Illustrator: Jalen Myles Crymes)

The Ordinary World

Irma Mizuho Kaneyasu is a half-Japanese, half-Nordic teenage girl living in the North American Federation, once known as the United States of America. The NAF is under the occupation of the Empire of Japan, and most people accept their dominion because Japan brought social stability to the country after a brutal world war. Irma is part of the Young Elegant Ladies of the West, or YELOW, the NAF’s premier humanitarian relief organization. It also doubles as a finishing school, teaching the girls how to be good wives and wise mothers — and Irma embraces these ideals with all her heart. She and her good friend Virginia Shirer (nicknamed “Pixie” for her short haircut) are preparing for a bimonthly project where they cater food to homeless folks and give them fresh clothes to wear. Apart from the conservative social mores of the NAF, Irma and the other YELOW girls are typical high schoolers, gossiping about their fellows and complaining about their overbearing parents.

CK-07 Grand Valkyur.
Designer: Jalen Myles Crymes
Illustrator: Kukuruyo

The Herald brings the Call to Adventure

However, on the day the YELOW girls pass out the food, a giant monster attacks the city. Two superheroes confront the monster, but Irma and Pixie are separated in the chaos (unbeknownst to Irma, Pixie was abducted.) Irma tries in vain to locate her friend, but she is stopped by her mother, who is also a superheroic valkyrie.

Irma’s mother takes her to Harlech, a dwarven engineer. Harlech presents Irma with the Grand Valkyur, a combat mech built specifically for her to fight giant monsters with. This had been in the works since Irma was a child; her mother prepared her to pilot the mech with a video game called MechSoldier that used a highly complex cockpit-style control panel instead of a standard gamepad, and the Grand Valkyur’s controls were designed to resemble those of the MechSoldier game. Because both Harlech and Irma’s mother feared a coming struggle, both want Irma to pilot the mech and embrace the power that is her birthright.

Refusal of the Call

However, Irma refuses this. To Irma, combat was men’s work, and taking up arms was the same as rejecting womanhood. She joined YELOW because she was attracted to its ideals of femininity, and warfare was as mannish as it got. Both Irma’s mother and Harlech try to convince her that piloting the mech doesn’t make her less of a woman, but Irma would have none of it. Though Irma refuses the mech, she says she would come back for it if she really needed it.

Supernatural Aid

Still unaware of the true circumstances of Pixie’s disappearance, Irma seeks the aid of her school’s Occult Club, which is made up of three witches and their sponsor — a sponsor who happens to be the No. 2 at Shadow Heart, a major defense contractor; it is they who abducted Pixie to use as a bargaining chip against her superhero parents. The club offers their assistance, but when the sponsor realizes that the spirit might give the game away too soon, she abruptly cancels the spell (the bond with the club will prove invaluable later in the story.)

Crossing the Threshold

Later on, to Irma’s surprise, Pixie sends an e-mail saying she is okay and that she and her parents moved to a new house. Overjoyed, Irma and her mother go, and Irma hopes that her brief brush with the world of adventure was only temporary. However, when she reaches Pixie’s new house, Irma sees that Pixie is terrified of something. Pixie tells Irma that Shadow Heart forced the family to move out of their old house, and because Shadow Heart is politically connected, the police can do nothing for them. Irma tries to take Pixie’s mind off of her circumstances with a streaming binge well into the night, but then disaster strikes: Shadow Heart operators arrive with a giant monster and seize not only Pixie and her parents, but Irma’s mother as well. They would have taken Irma too, but she was rescued by a shinobi who was spying on the house. At this point, Irma could no longer ignore what was going on; she had no choice but to recognize that her comfortable, safe world was no more.

Note that this is only a broad overview of the novel’s first act; I left out a lot of specific details. I hope this piques your interest in the rest of the work; be sure to pick up a copy by clicking the cover below.