Valis (series)

Valis (ヴァリス, Varisu) is a platform game series developed by Telenet Japan. The original game was developed in 1986 for the MSX, and its popularity has spanned four sequels, a spin-off, and remakes across several platforms, notably the TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Mega Drive until the early 1990s, when it was quietly retired. The Mega Drive/Genesis entries were all published in North America by Renovation Products. Later, Telenet sold the series' rights to a company known as Eants, which re-tooled the series as hentai games after Telenet shut down in 2007. The series has formed two mobile games released by Bandai Namco Games in Japan and a manga by Kill Time Communications.

Games

The Valis games (as they were known in America) tell the story of Yūko Asō (麻生 優子, Asō Yūko), a schoolgirl in late 1980s Japan who is fated to protect three different realms – our own Earth, the land of spirits, and Vecanti (ヴェカンティ, Vekanti), the Dream World – by wielding a mystical sword known as Valis.

Taxonomic rank

In biological classification, rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, class, kingdom, etc.

A given rank subsumes under it less general categories, that is, more specific descriptions of life forms. Above it, each rank is classified within more general categories of organisms and groups of organisms related to each other through inheritance of traits or features from common ancestors. The rank of any species and the description of its genus is basic; which means that to identify a particular organism, it is usually not necessary to specify ranks other than these first two.

Consider a particular species, the red fox Vulpes vulpes: its next rank, the genus Vulpes, comprises all the 'true foxes'. Their closest relatives are in the immediately higher rank, the family Canidae, which includes dogs, wolves, jackals, all foxes, and other caniforms; the next higher rank, the order Carnivora, includes feliforms and caniforms (lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, wolverines, and all those mentioned above), plus other carnivorous mammals. As one group of the class Mammalia, all of the above are classified among those with backbones in the Chordata phylum rank, and with them among all the animals in the Animalia kingdom rank. Finally, all of the above will find their earliest relatives somewhere in their domain rank Eukarya.

Séries+

Séries+ is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel devoted to scripted comedy and dramatic programming. The channel is owned by Corus Entertainment.

History

On May 21, 1999, Alliance Atlantis Communications (AAC) and Premier Choix Networks (a division of Astral Media) were granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national French-language specialty television service called Canal Fiction, described as a "service devoted to drama."

The channel was launched on January 31, 2000 as Séries+ at 6pm EST.

On January 18, 2008, a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners known as CW Media purchased AAC and gained AAC's interest in Séries+.

On October 27, 2010, Shaw Communications completed its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media, giving it control of CW Media's 50% interest in Séries+.

On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's stakes in Séries+ and Historia, as well as several other properties, under separate transactions with the two companies. The purchase was tied to Bell Media's pending takeover of Astral Media; an earlier proposal had been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012 due to concerns surrounding its total market share following the merger, but was restructured under the condition that the companies divest certain media properties. In a separate deal, Corus also acquired Shaw's interests in Séries+ and Historia, giving it full ownership. The deals were approved by the CRTC on December 20, 2013 and Corus officially become the full owner of the channel on January 1, 2014.

203 series

The 203 series (203系) is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated in Japan between 1982 and 2011 by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and later by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and currently operated by KRL Jabodetabek in Indonesia and Philippine National Railways (PNR) in the Philippines.

Operations

The 203 series sets were on through services between the Joban Line and Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line until they were replaced by E233-2000 series EMUs, and finally withdrawn from services in Japan in September 2011.

Formation

The sets were formed as follows.

Cars 3, 6, and 9 were each fitted with one PS21 pantograph.

Interior

Interior view, September 2007

Interior view, September 2007

Priority seating, November 2010

Priority seating, November 2010

History

Withdrawal

The trains were gradually replaced by new E233-2000 series EMUs, and the last set ran in revenue service on 26 September 2011.

Overseas operations

Indonesia

Five former 203 series sets have been sent to KRL Jabodetabek (KCJ) in Jakarta, Indonesia. All trains are in operation in the Jabodetabek area with 8 cars per set, due to the short platforms at most stations in Indonesia.

Valis

Valis may refer to:

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier (夢幻戦士 ヴァリス, Mugen Senshi: Varisu, lit."Dream Soldier: Valis"), also known as either just valis or The Fantasm Soldier, is a video game developed by Wolf Team and published by Telenet Japan in 1986 originally for the MSX and PC-88 home computers and then ported to, remade or re-released for several over systems over the years. It is the first video game in the Valis series which stars a Japanese teenager named Yuko who uses a mystical sword called Valis to defend Earth and other worlds. Its critical reception varied on the version, including critical acclaim for the 1992 PC Engine remake.

Gameplay

In its original PC-88 and MSX version, Valis: The Fantasm Soldier is a side-scrolling platform game. Wielding the game's titular sword, the main character fights through each level's enemies while jumping across ledges, then confronts a boss at the end of each level. At certain points in the game, gameplay pauses, and cinematic cutscenes regarding the game's storyline play. There is also a gameplay-tweaked and content-cut version for the FM-7.