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Black Matrix SS Side Doujin

Last updated: 2026-01-02
Author: Interipelli

This work is a limited run doujin showing off line sketches and digitally colored art that Kyoko Tsuchiya did as the character designer of Black Matrix, along with related works.

Commentary is provided in the margins when applicable.

Click on any page for a larger (2400 pixel wide) version, suitable for reading text and details within.



Coloured Artwork

The first ten pages are all colour artwork; magazine promotional covers, phone card artwork, and zoomed in sections from the original Black Matrix cover art for Sega Saturn.

Page 12 establishes the tone of Tsuchiya's commentary. Her insights directly reference staff members and folks she's worked with in her wider doujin circle.

There was an unexpected release of Black Matrix art before this book was published, which can still be found on second hand auction sites if you look carefully. There is one colour picture of Domina in that doujin that I haven't seen reproduced anywhere else.


Character Concept Art

Now for some character concept art.

You might recall in promotional flyers that Abel was called "Azel"; Tsuchiya also calls him "Azel" in her initial sketches, but clarifies that this was just her misunderstanding.

I suppose that goes for the NEC Interchannel marketing and communications team, too.

Gaius is said to be a typical Tsuchiya design. Foreshadowing?

More Gaius, followed by an unusually cheerful Abel. Tsuchiya relays that the setting document wasn't done when she did this Abel sketch, so the cheery demeanour here fitting of a standard main character... that's not quite where Black Matrix ended up!

Tsuchiya wanted to have more chances to draw Reprobus. (Maybe she will in Cross Chop?)

Phillip is said to be at odds with his voice actor's typical, assertive roles.

There's a remark here that the colouring for these sketches in magazines wasn't done with Tsuchiya's feedback, so Phillip's left leg was painted over to look like clothes. Looking carefully, the line sketch shows his pants have deteriorated to the point that he has one entirely exposed leg. (Cute!)

John is compared directly to Dave Kurokawa, one of the villains of cult hit Cyber City Oedo 808.

Marco in the game always wears a heavy suit of armour, but Tsuchiya didn't have time to address that, leaving the job to Flight-Plan staff.

His colouring for the magazine images was also left to a third party, which explains how his hair colour ended up being purple in magazines and white in game.

Lupilupi's armour was a "rough draft" and not intended to be the final design. However, this was sent to magazines as a promotional image and made it into the game's sprite work as her canon armour.

Tsuchiya expresses a wish that she could do it again, with something better suited for Lupi.

Incidentally there are sketches of Lupi doting upon John in more wizardly clothing within the Black Matrix Cross Chop doujin.

Onto the masters! Domina was the first master ("A") made for the game, and tailored to her voice actress. Perhaps best known to western fans as Noriko from Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster.

Flight-Plan was left in charge of colouring the third master ("C") made for the game, Courreges.

Prague, unnumbered, was developed with a "cute and cool" big sister vibe in mind.

Bito Gou, scenario writer for Black Matrix, requested that Purika be designed with "two rolls" on her head. Tsuchiya was a little disappointed that her voice actress was asked to do a little girl's voice rather than an older woman's voice for this character, but the little girl voice was deemed more appealing for men.

(I personally would have been in favour; Hoshigami's sagely voice in Devil Children PSX is fantastic for this reason.)

Note that Purika is the "B" master, and presumably part of the first set of designs for the game. There is a rumour on the Japanese web found in some wikis that Zero was designed as part of a trade for Purika... I have my suspicions based on this doujin that this was never the case. (Foreshadowing)

Bito Gou suggested that Michette be a woman trying push people away from her, with too much makeup on and a "strange" manner of dress for this blasted world. Tsuchiya raises that Michette dresses this way because she wants to be treated kindly and she thinks it's cute. This is marked as an error on Tsuchiya's behalf, as she really liked Michette.

And here's Zero, at the bottom. Initially designed to be Abel's friend. Bito relayed that Flight-Plan wanted him to be bisexual, while Tsuchiya didn't necessarily want him to be gay. Bito however made the decision for him to be gay, and pushed for Tsuchiya to name him as the one character she'd be able to during her time on the project.

He's named after Dead End's 1989 album, Zero, the nearest CD that Tsuchiya had at the moment. Though she hints he almost received the name of "Rage" (Rage Against The Machine) (perhaps that explains the main character of Black Matrix II?).

Saturn Fan magazine apparently rewrote and injected bits into their Kyoko Tsuchiya interview that weren't approved by her, such as "Kyoko Tsuchiya speaks passionately about Zero". So it goes...

Fortunately, the publisher and her management understood that magazines create their own fabrications out of thin air all the time. (This really does make me wonder about how reliable these old magazine interviews are. Wouldn't it be wild if Mixi and Twitter really were closer to the truth than Famitsu?)

Luka, designed as a strong woman who speaks in Kyoto dialect at Bito's preference. Initially she was to wear male clothing but the current attire stuck after the game's announcement.

As an aside, Bito's fascination for dialect differences is remarked as a characteristic of a Tokyo-dweller, somewhat foreign to Tsuchiya (from Kyushu).

The first draft for this game (foreshadowing) is the second illustration, whereas it was largely unchanged but for the horns and posture in what ended up being the final design above it.


Line Art Before Colouring

Gaius and Reprobus in a colour sketch, rendered in greyscale for this doujin. Following this is a series of line art for the coloured artworks we've (largely) seen before.

Concept art of Abel and Domina, which Tsuchiya hopes expresses love.

More rough sketches; the one above is intended to illustrate satisfaction.

Saturn Fan magazine is once more in the crosshairs, as their cover art squished Zero to look fatter than he's supposed to be to fit more text.

Roughs of Zero. One of these was used as the basis for a promotional phone card in Black/Matrix AD.

Line art for the initial cover art, and the key promo visual announcing Black Matrix. Tsuchiya remarks that she forgot to add Domina's wings, and added that detail in later.

More roughs for the key promo visual.

Abel with a scythe; above Tsuchiya mentions that she relied on a friend to scan in her artwork and digitize it.

In the text below, she raises that this was intended to be Black Matrix's original cover art. Tsuchiya was doing this work along with Weiss and apologized to NEC Interchannel, perhaps because Abel is slightly off model and never uses a scythe in game.

(The scythe does get used in AD's additional backstory for Cain and Abel! As for the art, it's used for the Black Matrix soundtrack album.)

A few more roughs, including one of Gaius and Reprobus. A duo that Tsuchiya was happy to illustrate more of. The sketch of Abel summoning a sphere was done with the intent of having the full cast behind him, but Tsuchiya remarks that she shouldn't get carried away with working on Black Matrix.

The Luka above was intended to be another magazine cover, but it ended up being the cover for the second printing of Black Matrix for Sega Saturn. You might notice this coloured version isn't in this doujin; that was published as part of the Kyoko Tsuchiya art book, Soul Driver 2000, nearly two years later.

An illustration of the masters was done without a clear purpose given. Bito Gou let Tsuchiya know that there was a phone card made with this illustration.

More magazine art, this time with Kyoko Tsuchiya given the liberty to render the masters with any expression she wants.

Purica is singled out as being portrayed elsewhere as too cheerful for no reason, in a way that concerns Tsuchiya. (Given the nature of the world of Black Matrix, I'm a bit inclined to agree.) She dismisses this as being out of sync with what the public wants.

Shikishi board art of the first three masters. Tsuchiya regrets that she didn't have a formal signature ready before producing these.


All Sorts of Things (The Secret History!)

"You know, all sorts of things."

Now for a real twist.

Luka was quite possibly the first character designed for Black Matrix. Her entire design and outfit (minus the horns) were initially made for a completely different project back in 1995!

Bito Gou loved it and decided that the entire scenario should be modelled after Luka. (I suppose that makes her the first "black winged one").

Tsuchiya remarks that she has about a hundred character designs like these which never see the light of day.

And here are Gaius and Purica... in 1994! Albeit with different clothes and features.

Gaius is said to be a beast. (With coyote ears, it looks like.) Purica is dressed up for softball. (It's a little hard to make out if she has extremely big 90s curls or fins but I believe it's hair.) They're said to share the same setting as the Luka in the page just before this one.

Tsuchiya remarks that she gets many odd jobs that aren't sure to pan out as published works, including one job she just took with a local celebrity. In her view, as long as the job is fun, she'll do it.

Tsuchiya signs out for good thanking Bito Gou, Flight-Plan, and all the folks she worked with in NEC Interchannel for giving her this opportunity, and for accommodating her scheduling as she was juggling Black Matrix character design work alongside another project (likely Weiss).