Hanny

About
Hanny is one of the staple creature of Alice Soft's fantasy world. When referring to the species as a whole, the term Haniwa (ハニワ) is used, similar to how Humanity is used for humans.

They resemble short vertical cylinders with a round top, three big holes for eyes and mouth, and two small round stumps on the sides (on the level of the mouth) for hands. There is no discernible lower body or legs, they most likely move around by hopping, though a few of the species may be capable of levitation. They don't have a distinct smell, different people have said they smell of grass, burnt food, potatoes or clay. Girl Hannies are called Haniko (ハニ子). Haniko are pink and wear a bow. When alive, they have a strange texture between hard and soft, but after they die their dead bodies turn into a ceramic material that can shatter with ease. Haniwa are actually delicious creatures, but they're incredibly hard to eat, and can only be eaten alive.

They live all over the world and boast large variations of size, shape and nature. The top dog of the Haniwa species the Hanny King, he formed their unified society and culture. While some Haniwa believe in the preachings of the AL Church, many Hannies join the Haniwa Temple to worship their King.

In the games, Hannies are almost uniquely portrayed as clowns subject to the ridicule and cruel treatment of the protagonists. It can be argued that for a common Hanny, its sole purpose of existence in the stories is to act as a joke character that supposedly liven up the atmosphere and invariably gets shattered by the protagonists in the end. Some consider such portrayal a bit discriminatory, unjust and problematic, since they are also creatures with souls and are actually highly intelligent. It's likely senseless/impossible to portray every member of a race/group as possessing the same laughable characteristics, not to mention to portray the killing of all of them as something entertaining and justified. Kalars are also subject to similar prejudice, although to a much lesser degree. Under such circumstances, some Hannies campaign for equal rights of Haniwa comparable to those enjoyed by the humanity. They're despised in the Magic Kingdom of Zeth due to their immunity to magic, and there's a Haniwa Village on the country where many persecuted Hannies from everywhere can live in peace.

Typical Hannies are portrayed as being extremely silly or wacky, and often with weird fetishes. When they are hurt, they cry "A-i-ya~". They're full of vitality, and most co-exist with other races such as Humans. Feral Haniwa do not have a social life(?), and they don't even get along with other monsters. They eat a staple diet of rice.

Lots of Haniwa go into the business world and provide the continent with many goods. It's perfectly normal and commonly accepted to see Hannies owning shops, taverns or other facilities, and they can live among humans perfectly naturally. In fact, all the coins in circulation are manufactured by Haniwa, from broken golden Hannies, prompting Rance to call their power "terrifying".



Hannies after Rance IV are born with an Absolute Spell Guard as a racial trait. Most Hanny are capable of using the Hanny Flash attack, which by Rance IV changed from a magic attack to a defense-ignoring attack.

When a Hanny and a Haniko are comfortable in their relationship and want a child, they make a journey on foot(?) to the Great Furnace. Once there they take clay from one another, heat it up, and form their child together. Doing such a thing is considered the ultimate symbol of love for the Haniwa.

There are about 2.2 billion Haniwa living accross the world, the exact number in Kichikuou Rance was 2,200,003,257.

Abilities and Powers
Hannies are usually wrongly believed to be a very weak race, but this is far from true. Just like humans, the strength of Hannies vary a lot depending on the individual potential of each Hanny, and they need to go through training and experience in the battlefield to become powerful fighters.

The most notorious abilities of the Haniwa are their unique skill, the Hanny Flash, and their Absolute Magic Resistance. These two abilities are inherent in all the Hannies from the moment they are born, with no exceptions. The Hanny Flash is a fast magical attack capable of ignoring the enemy's defenses, while the Absolute Magical Resistance makes Hannies completely immune to all magical attacks, no matter how powerful. These abilities make Hannies naturally decent fighters and the average Hanny is actually stronger than the average human thanks to these. However, their physical strength, endurance, speed or magic power still highly depends on the training and potential of each Hanny. An average Hanny that hasn't gone through any proper training willl look like a joke to an adventurer that is used to fighting monsters. They usually fight by using their iconic Hanny Flash, and wielding a Trident to stab their opponents.

There are many different types of Hannies that make it easier to determine the potential they possess for battle, going from extremely weak creatures not stronger than a Squidman, to absurdly powerful entities that could rival with the most powerful creatures in the world. Feral S Hannies are noted for being among the strongest monsters in the world, and some consider the Hanny King, leader and most powerful member of the race, the most powerful living being in The Continent after the Demon King, although there are certain other creatures that can match its strength, like the abnormal Urunsel.

Types of Hanny

 * Hanny - A normal brown Hanny.
 * Haniko - Female Hanny, wears a ribbon, pink and slightly larger body.
 * Green Hanny - A Hanny who has undergone some training, stronger than normal ones and wields a trident.
 * Green Hanny of Happiness - A Hanny who has undergone training and is very happy with himself. Gives more exp than the Green Hanny.
 * Blue Hanny - Stronger than Green, wields a trident.
 * Red Hanny - Stronger than Blue, wields two tridents.
 * Black Hanny - Holds fireworks in both hands, attacks by throwing them.
 * Brutal Hanny - A Hanny with evil thoughts, often scarred or with a smoking problem. Usually stronger than Black Haniwa, but they can be green, red, or black. They usually smoke cigars and work with the mafia. Masuzoe was one of these before he became a Dark Lord.
 * Super Hanny - A small golden Hanny with an S on his chest, capable of flight and performing the Super Hanny Flash. It is believed that this form can only be acquired via radiation exposure.
 * Hanny Knight - This type of Hanny is devoted to peace, love and justice. Clad in silver armor and a shield, they wield halberds and morning stars.
 * Hanny in Black (Secret Hanny) - They wear black business suits and sunglasses, they guard the secret affairs of the Hanny King's government. They are led by a pair of old haniwa known as Kevin and Costner.

Mutations
Sometimes Haniwa can be modified in other strange ways or through birth defects, this is a list of mutated Haniwa subspecies.
 * Slime Hanny - These are Haniwa who have been heated to the point of melting but still survived, they live as a sentient mass goo, brown sludge color.
 * Slime Haniko - Female Haniwa who have melted, reddish color.
 * Puchi Hanny - Haniwa who are born about 30cm tall and are an Orange color. They have the ability to detonate at will and reform themselves. They also have a tendency to self-destruct if they experience some sort of intense sensation/irritation. They cannot stand contact with semen.
 * Blocken Hanny - A cousin of the Puchi Hannies types. They block the path of adventurers by threatening to blow themselves up.
 * Gummy Hanny - A strange Hanny made of a viscous material that resembles pink gum. Very rare.
 * Double Hanny - Two Haniwa that slightly melted and joined together, on sticks out of the side, they work as one body but two minds.
 * Triple Hanny - Same as above, but with three.
 * Horse Hanny - A strange hybrid between a Hanny and a horse. Appears in the Dai Series.
 * Hanirobo - A miraculous invention that combines clay and machine, was later shut down as it wanted to diffuse everyone.

Non-generic Hanny Characters

 * Kagekatsu - A dignified warrior Puchi Hanny wearing a samurai helmet and wielding a naginata, he's the mentor of Rizna Lanfebit and helped her recover from her trauma after her tormented times in the Genbu Castle.


 * Kevin - Co-leader of the Hanny in Black (Secret Hannies).
 * Costner - Co-leader of the Hanny in Black (Secret Hannies).


 * Samurai Hanny - Hanny with traditional Japanese clothes and spears. Appear in Galzoo as part of a side quest.
 * Shinsengumi Hanny - A Hanny band from the Imagawa nation of Tokaidou in JAPAN. They amuse themselves with soccer, going on a pilgrimage to Kyo, and later declaring war on Oda (since all the human commanders are doing it).
 * Hanny Shogun - Appears in Galzoo for a side quest. Leader of Samurai Hanny.
 * Fuhrer Hanny - A great commander that leads an Army of Hannies.


 * Hanny King - There is only one, and he is eternal. He wears a crown and a cape, he is white, and his powers are unmatched.

Notable Haniwa Businesses
Lots of Haniwa go into the business world, and provide the continent and JAPAN with many goods.
 * Haniwa Temple - A surprisingly popular SM Hanny religion caused thousands of these to be built.
 * Haniwa Mint - Corpses of fallen Golden Haniwa are brought through here, are converted into GOLD, the currency of the continent.
 * Amazun - A high speed delivery service operated by the Haniwa.

Golden Haniwa
Golden Haniwa are ancient constructs that end up disturbed by adventurers and ultimately destroyed, then they're carried back to the Hanny Mint for processing and turned into GOLD.

They're not intelligent or rational, so there are no qualms about recycling them into currency.

They are huge in size, much bigger than regular Hannies or humans are, being similar to buildings like towers in height. Their true origin is unknown but they were presumed to be created along with the world in the distant past as a natural form of nature.

Their golden colour is considered beautiful and majestic, excellent for making jewelry or high-class finery as well.

Trivia

 * Hannies are painted on the floor of Alice Soft (Champion Soft Co., Ltd.) Head Office (Hanny Bld.) in Osaka. (See Here).
 * While they somewhat resemble the Cactuars of Final Fantasy, Hanny appeared in Alice Soft's first game, which predates the earliest appearance of Cactuar in the Final Fantasy series.
 * A Hanny's earliest appearance in an Alice Soft game was as early as 1987 in Little Princess, with the Hanny's first line being "My name is Hanny the Haniwa".
 * It is also often thought that Hanny are a modern-day depiction of Haniwa terracotta clay figures.
 * They are the only creatures known to be immune to magic.
 * The name of Hanny is written in katakana most of the time.
 * TADA-san said in "Rance Chronicle++" - " 'ハニー' is written in English 'Hanny', and is also written in German 'Hanny' ".