Arana
Stats
Japanese:	アラナ Arana
Debut:	Manga: Chapter 4 Game: Strider (NES)
Profile
Gender:	Male
Hair Color:	Black
Eye Color:	Unknown (a clear one)
Nationality:	Spanish
Affiliation:	Striders Strider Matic Unit
Strider Rank:	Special A[1]
Weapon:	Monomolecular wire, laser rifle
In-Game Information
Hit Points:	2 HP

Arana (アラナ) is a character exclusive to the Strider Hiryu manga, as one of two enemy Striders under Matic's orders. His name is meant to be written like the Spanish word for spider (Araña)^[2]. In the NES adaptation, Arana makes a small uncredited cameo as generic enemies within the Africa and Australia stages. These enemies have Arana's spider-like spiky hair, hang from the ceiling, and shoot at the player with rifles.

A member of Matic's private Strider Unit, Arana mimics the spider's techniques, using an ultra-fine monomolecular filament to both capture and slice his enemies apart. He also sets traps in open spaces, using the sharp filaments as a wire cage, which his unsuspecting victims unknowingly run into^[1]. He keeps tarantulas as pets, which are usually seen crawling all over him. He's very attached to them, even going out of his way to ask Hiryu to set them free on his deathbed.^[3]

Contents 1 Story 1.1 Manga 1.2 Strider (NES) 2 References

StoryEdit

MangaEdit

Arana and Kubira were given orders from Matic to take care of Hiryu and Kain as they traveled the Amazon jungle aiming to reach one of Enterprise's institutes. Arana prepared a trap for them in advance, wiring the whole forest with his sharp filament. Hiryu and Kain recognize this trap when a startled bird is cut in two after flying into one of the filaments. However, without time to react, Kain is ensnared in the wires and tied to a nearby tree.

Arana appears from one of the trees, and having Kain at gunpoint, orders Hiryu to come out of hiding. Hiryu appears with both hands empty, and surprises Arana from behind by using his Cypher as a boomerang, having thrown it before surrendering. It doubles around and strikes Arana in the back.

Having sustained a fatal wound, Arana requests a "souvenir for Hell" from Hiryu: he asks why Hiryu and Kain stayed so close to the explosion when the sensible thing is to get as far away as possible from it. Hiryu explains that they analyzed the computer terminal in order to place the bomb, after pinpointing the location of the ZAIN host computer in Enterprise's main headquarters through the satellite link. They knew the explosion would bring in rescue ships and afford them a quick trip to headquarters. This surprises Arana, and he bursts into laughter shortly before dying.

Strider (NES)Edit

(Note: as stated above, Arana is just a generic enemy without relevance in the stages and appears multiple times throughout, at times even in pairs.)

On a disk recording, Matic assured Faceas Clay of his orders for Strider Matic Unit to safeguard the ZAIN Terminal in Africa. During Hiryu's travel through the area, he faces both Arana and (what appears to be) Kubira as he makes his way towards the terminal. Arana appears again in the underground cavern in Australia.

ReferencesEdit

Strider Manga/NES Series
Main Articles	Strider Hiryu (Manga) • Strider (NES) • Moto Kikaku • Tatsumi Wada • Masahiko Kurokawa
Characters	Arana • Commander • Faceas Clay • Hiryu • Kain • Kubira • Kuramoto • Matic • Police Chief • Sheena Game Exclusives: Badger • Dragon Fiend • Flash Blade • Kodiak • Ryuzaki Manga Exclusives: Captain Keith • Kazakh Institute Scientist • Mariya • Rin • Yuri
Stage Enemies	Doberman • Egypt Soldier • Giant Robot • Hunchback • Machine Cannon • Mechanical Snail Robot Frong • Russian Infantryman • Scuba Soldier • Sharkman • Sky Wing • Spark Machine
Technology	Cypher • Kali • Phantom Train • Shadowtag Bullets • Stealth Chopper • T-48 • ZAIN Project • Yggdrasil
Locations	Africa • Australia • China • Egypt • Japan • Kazakh • Los Angeles • Red Dragon
Groups	Enterprise • Kazakh Secret Police • Striders • Strider Matic Unit