Loremaster Q&A
Hello, My name is Loremaster, I run this site! This page is dedicated to some popular fandom questions and misconceptions that might be hard to find details about! I'm kind of a huge nerd about the whole "pre-canon" thing, so I like to believe that most of my answers here will be pretty well-researched. But like all things, do your own research! But if you want a quick and easy answer from a pro, I'm here to answer them for ya!
"The show was made 3D because Ladybug's spots were too hard to animate."
Do you really believe that? Have you seen an anime recently? have you seen 2D animation recently??? No. This is false and disingenuous to the art of 2D animation. Toei is behind some of the biggest Magical Girl shows, amongst jewelry and frills and layers and layers of skirts- Ladybug's spots are a breeze to animate in comparison.
Note how a lot of shows these days are 3D. Why do you think that is? I assure you, Money, time, and investment are a large part of it.
"Chat Noir needed a kiss from Ladybug in order to break his curse/pass on his curse."
This is a minor concept briefly mentioned in the korean artbook that was blown out of proportion. I genuinely implore you and other fanfolk to reconsider using this plot concept, as it HEAVILY CONTRASTS with the rest of Felix' characterization in prerelease media.
People will ignore his disability, admiration for Marinette, and desire to be a doctor- yet this one sentence has influenced the fandom's impression of the precanon's whole dynamic. Please don't. Please please please. The story ideas outside of it are so rich and fantastic, don't boil it down to "He wants to trick her" when in reality, the reverse was more true (the leaked bibles claimed he was quite proud of being CN and was actually on the defense on having his powers taken away BY LADYBUG!)
This seems to have been a long-abandoned concept that LITERALLY never appears again. I've done an absurd amount of research into this and.... In all of the concept art, bibles, and prerelease media... there is not one piece that suggests that he is frustrated with his ring (or even his kwami! outside the PV, that is..). In fact, It's lack of presence in the rest of the pre-release media, concept art, or bibles leads to me to believe that this was either a misunderstanding or a small blip of concept that was ultimately thrown away. (Does it really make sense to have this as a leading conflict for a whole show? Really?)
Chat Noir has always loved Ladybug for Ladybug's sake. This is literally the premises of the whole dang series since the beginning. The myth of the Ring Curse is a fandom one with a weak basis. It's a shame, since it's so prevalent.
"Felix was erased and replaced by Adrien..."
Half correct. Felix was, like any character in development, edited little by little until he was completely different from how he started. Adrien is technically still Felix. He's just... wearing a different set of clothes and a different attitude...
"...because Felix was a cold, rude boy compared to Sunshine Adrien!"
Felix was actually quite nice, according to the bibles. he was just really focused on his studies and (later) his injury. He was even noted as being rebellious, creative, and a bit wild. Heck, he was even Marinette's friend who often went to for advice and appreciated how she would get adventurous with him!
Adrien is only considered to be nicer because Marinette's interactions with him were altered. She was no longer chasing after him and pressuring him into dates- what chance does he have to be annoyed when she won't even talk to him?
Remember that character development is a long road. A lot of the art that eventually depicted Felix were actually drawn with Nathan in mind- a character who was rude and callous to Marinette... who often stalked him.. and harassed him into dates... wait. Hmm.
"Felix was reintroduced as Felix Fathom."
False. Felix Fathom is an entirely new character that simply recycles the design. (He doesn't even have blue-grey eyes!) Character motivation, goals, origin, family, and personality are entirely different. it's like a "Will It Cake?" Video. Just because it looks like an apple.. once you cut it open, it's revealed that it's actually cake! Just because it LOOKS like Felix (Classic), doesn't mean it IS Felix (Classic). Both characters are different, both characters have merit. It's a little unfair to both that they are often considered the same.
Felix (Classic) exists today as Adrien Agreste. Just.. without the meaningful name. (Felix means happy/lucky, which contrasted with his powers of misfortune and black cat theming.)
"Thomas Astruc ruined Miraculous Ladybug! Why couldn't he have made it more like the PV?"
There is a lot going on when running a show. A lot of show-related decisions were genuinely out of his hands. Many people believe that, had it been up to him, Ladybug would have still been 2D. I know his recent behavior and claims are out of line with that way of thinking, but nothing hurts more than seeing your creative vision be destroyed by investors and executives. I too would be bitter.
Choices like making the show 3D instead of 2D were based on profit margins and focus groups. Changes to Felix were made based on executive decisions. Even today the show is led more by the whims of the likes of their sponsors, like TF1, Gloob, and Disney. Ever wondered why Adrien can't seem to go against his father? Well.. Now you have an idea. TA lost control of his project when he handed it over to Zag.
While I, personally do believe that a heavy amount of blame and finger pointing can be done in Thomas Astruc's direction, a good chunk of the worst of it was not his decision. However, his attitude about it afterwards and the way he addresses others, and the way he led the show under these outside orders, after this fact is another matter entirely. He is not innocent. He is also very well off. But he is not guilty either. It is a mixed bag. Leave him alone. Don't feed the trolls. Ect ect.
Remember, Miraculous Ladybug is an incredibly successful venture. Kids love it. The fandom is massive and obsessive. The toys are successful. It's a shame that a lot of creativity had to be drowned out in order to achieve this.
"Bridgette-"
Yeesh! Okay, I'm going to call out my own bias here and say that Bridgette was never canon, nor is it a good idea anyway. People only use the name for PV!Marinette, and never for any other pre-canon Marinette. Personality isn't even a good reason, either. Ya'know. If any character SHOULD be Bridgette, it should be the red-tipped, tan-skinned Ladybug. But nope, it's only PV. Y'all got your anime bias goin on!
Bring Marinette to justice! Classic!Marinette all the way!
"Who is Gorgeous Nathan from the Gym Club?"
I'll have to preface with some backstory first: So during the development of ML as a series, the characters of Marinette and Chat Noir had long been decided and solidified- what wasn't so solid was Chat Noir's identity. Which is why there are so many different catboys, and so little buggirls.
One of the earliest publications, back from 2010, stated that Lady Bug had a crush on a boy known as "gorgeous Nathan from the gym club." This lines up with all of the other boys she's had a crush on secretly being cat boys/the back and forth dynamic that the series is known for.
Thus, it's accepted that Nathan is an early version- if not the EARLIEST, version of Chat Noir.
There is a very distinct design of a boy with scruffy hair that eventually transitioned into wearing Felix' signature vest. This design came roughly around the time the Quantic Kids were being workshopped, if not slightly before. This is the character, or, version of Chat, that people often call Nathan. His relationship with Marinette- of annoyance and frustration, is what people base a lot of precanon and PV material on.
"Was there other Miraculous? Where is the Miracle Box?"
The concept of the guardians have existed for a while, and one of the earliest known implementations of both them and the Kwami are via the "Kwami Orb", or, an orb that contained them while they existed in their raw, magic form. The guardians forbade the kwami from escaping the orb as their powers could cause chaos if unregulated (which is later proven true when Marinette accidentally breaks the orb and sets them free.) From there, they chose a precious object to infect and took
form according to their chosen, and granted power based on a wish. Plagg's bio in this version later suggested that the Kwami weren't always happy inside the orb, as they slept eternally.
The idea of magical artifacts may have stated all the way back in Mini Menace, where Marietta had retrieved a Ladybug Charm off of a dead person (theorized to be her father). While this is all we got, we can speculate. The earrings were pretty consistant as a source of her power since then, and the kwami were introduced way later on, and the two concepts merged.
The idea of miraculous themselves is actually super recent in terms of development. I wouldn't be suprised if they were developed very late into the series as a way to explain the Kwami easily. They may have existed as objects in which Tikki and Plagg were cursed to inhibit during a phase in development that the Korean Artbook depicts. As such, depending on the phase of development, the question of other miraculous could be: A) Every villian had one, and it was LB's goal to retrieve them all, or B) No other super had a miraculous object except for LB and CN, but they may have had a companion faerie (Includes the QK, the Bugettes, Mime, Richard Sphinx and Mr. Pigeon)
The way they functioned was very different from canon, and even from each version. In some, they had five charges. In others, they had no countdown timer at all. Even the powers varied from version to version, it was all in flux.
Fun fact: A super early miracle box can be seen in the WIP intro!
"Who are the Quantic Kids?"
The Quantic Kids were an attempt to see if LB and CN would work in an Avengers, or Teen Titans style group. A small set of alternate heros were developed, some concept art done, but was ultimately scrapped. Some reappeared in the Zag Heroez New York Special.
However, it's notable that the character of Melody/Melodie seemed to stick with the cast. Melody is also getting her own movie completely seperate from ML.
"Who are the Buggettes?"
Ahh! The enigmatic Buggettes! A puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue, express mailed to Mystery, Alaska.
Literally recently discovered. They may have been a re-imagining of the Quantic Kids, a rival group? We don't know.
The art of Killer Bee (yes, that was her pre-canon name) had been featured in some Zag Spash art, but we all just assumed it was Queen Bee (not technically wrong!)
The group consisted of Killer Bee (Chloe), Greenhopper (Alix) and Dragonfly (Theoretically Sabrina!) as they had been all put together in a trio of bullies in Marinette's civilian life. Which lends credence to the theory that they may have been a rival group or anti-hero set- despite how Ladybug is amongst them (note that her art is very different, quality wise)
It's worth noting that, Chloe (as Melody) had once been Marinette's friend. So we can only theorize at this point.
They pop up pretty late in development, as Alix and Sabrina didn't exist in the earlier phases. So by this time, Felix had become Adrien (and had a cane!)
"Did other characters exist in the PV (promotional video)?"
yes and no.
PV is a slice of what the story could have been- a test run. Who appears in the PV is all that needs to appear. however, in the original story that the PV is based off of, there are characters who are missing: such as Alya/Alina, Adoni Duther & Other Fergue/Pergue employees, Felix/Adrien's bodyguard, Melody/Flora, Marinette's Family, Grandpa Fu, and the Kwami: Null, Besil, and Mimic (and whatever other Kwami may have appeared alongside Melody)
"Who are the two girls that look like Alya and Chloe?"
They are literally Alya and Chloe.
However, rrroughly at the time of the PV, these characters developments stages and personalities were radically different from how we know them now.
Chloe was still friendly to Marinette, seemingly part of her group of friends, and Alya wasn't as much a nosy reporter, as she was a gossipy, nerdy, blogger type with an interest in fashion to rival Marinette herself.
People like to take that development stage between Melody and Chloe and call her Flora. She is very cute and I like her a lot.
Alya,who had been present since before the Quantic Kids, is given the name Alina, since the two characterizations seem to be quite distinct. (Modern Alya dosen't seem to be the type to care much about runway fashions!)
I have, personally, depicted her with red hair as that seems to be what she was given in some concept art, but some of it might actually have turned out to be an early version of Sabrina/Dragonfly! Oops! Oh well, it looks good on her and makes her more distinct from Alya.
"Are Felix and Papillon/Hawkmoth related?"
Yesn't.
It.. literally depends. He has been both, and neither. The poor cat's got Schrodinger's Daddy issues.
Each phase has a different standing. In one, he is simply the rich kid of a hotel baron. In another, it is clear that his father is the villain.
Pick the interpretation that fits your story best. ( think him being his father is way more interesting thou, as Felix and Richard have too many similarities to not at least consider.
"Is there a pre-canon Luka, Felix Fathom, Kagami, or Lila?"
No. These where characters introduced to sew conflict in the Love Square.
However, some of Pre-canon Sabrina's personality rings true in Lila, Pre-canon Max is VERY similar to Felix Fathom, and Pre-canon Nino is a musically inclined white boy with blue hair...
"What are their powers?"
That is a big question that I cannot answer in full here. I recommend checking out the rest of the site, especially the bible section, to learn more!
"Share a cool fact!"
It's not stated in the bible, but Tom Cheng has concept of his office amongst sets for the police station (as well as concept art of the Police Captain done in the same style as Tom/Marinette's Uncle!) Tom may have been a cop! Tom also might have been her uncle, as his concept art has been labeled as BOTH "Tom Cheng" (who we know as her father) AND as "Marinette's Uncle"
*heavy breathing*
Got any other burning questions you wanna ask? Go ahead and shoot me a message over at loremaster@artbookwiki.com and I'll do my best to answer them.