| Lenny Lents | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Japanese Name |
レニー・レンツ |
|
Romanized Name |
Renī Rentz |
|
Nickname(s)/Alias(es) |
- |
|
Debut |
|
|
Voice actor |
日野聡 |
|
Status |
Deceased |
Lenny Lents was a novelist, the author of the Crown of the Dog Days series. He and his lover Leticia Serkis were victims of Paula Dickinson and The Ophiuchus Manuscript. He is present in the Book of Soul Exchange story.
Background[]
Rumors say that the author was killed by an assailant on the street half a year before the events of the Book of Soul Exchange. Eventually, Leticia Serkis became his lover. The truth about his fate was discovered by Hugh and Dalian. In fact, Lenny Lents was alive. The author was abducted by Paula Dickinson, a maniac fan. She harassed him and sent countless letters. He would be forced to use a typewriter to rewrite the final volume of his trilogy in an isolated mansion. She repeatedly tortures and kills him to obtain an ending she approves. With the powers of The Ophiuchus Manuscript, the man is revived every time Paula kills Leticia. The couple is part of a cycle of life and death.
He writes inside a study closed by a heavy wooden door locked by a big padlock. He’s accommodated in a dusty villa located in a hill of a cold town which is crowded during the summer but lifelessly when it’s off-season. It’s accessed by a difficult road, slippery due to snow and mud. The place has a large garden and a courtyard that connects houses and barns. One of the barns previously used to stock animal feed, built underground, serves as Paula’s torture room, smelling blood and containing leather straps and tools such as scythes, needles and pokers. The works Paula disapproved are scattered on the floor, where an altar is also found. According to Dalian, the strange letters and patterns are used for the ceremony of resurrection related to the powers of The Ophiuchus Manuscript.
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Wesley Disward was Lenny's old acquaintance. The writer knew about his relation with Phantom Books. Because of that, Lenny sent a letter asking for his help, unbeknownst of his death. Lenny mentions a book imprisoning him and his lover.
Crown of the Dog Days / Kingdom of the Dog Days[]
Lenny wrote the first two volumes of the Crown of the Dog Days (狼たちの王都 Ōkami-tachi no Ōto) trilogy. The third volume was never published, but it's said that its manuscript is hidden somewhere. Later, Hugh recovered the manuscript inside Lenny's safe deposit box. The Crown of the Dog Days is dedicated to the author's late wife, who passed away five year ago. According to Paula, the novel has an abundance of powerful dialogues.[1] In the manga, the novel is called The Castle of Wolves.[2]
The relationship between two male characters is what catches the interest of Dalian and Paula for the series of novels, although it’s not a romance as Hugh points out. The proud young man Dyer (ダイアー Daiā) swears vengeance on Ignatius (イグネイシャス Iguneishasu), a cold and merciless young businessman, but ends up attracted to him. The third volume of the Crown of the Dog Days would reveal what became of their love. Paula wishes to see Dyer in a relationship with his friend August (オーグスト Ōgasuto). However, Lenny plans to have August married with a character named Susan (スーザン Sūzan). On Dalian’s opinion, August is a side character who doesn’t deserve a name, a dog compared to Dyer. Reading the manuscript of the last volume, she learns that Ignatius died and Dyer started dating a woman. Dalian hated the ending of the trilogy and told Hugh to write a new one.[1]
Personality[]
He's a polite and handsome young man, adored by women. He loves Leticia and cannot handle seeing her suffering at Paula's hands. However, he's unable to fight against the obsessive fan and the Phantom Book she holds. He'd rather have Hugh and Dalian take Leticia away from a life of pain than be saved.[1]
Appearance[]
Lenny Lents, as seen in the manga.
Lenny Lents has wavy, blond hair and violet eyes. He wears black pants and a grey vest over a white shirt with rolled up sleeves. He sports an untied, violet neckerchief around his neck.[3] The man is about 25 years old, with delicate facial features. After he’s captured by Paula, the writer gives an air of fatigue and suffering.[1] In the manga, he only wears a white, long-sleeved shirt. His hair is shorter and his chin shows a subtle stubble.[2]
Plot[]
The author manages to send a letter asking for the late Wesley Disward’s help. Lenny described that he and someone else are being imprisoned by a book. Hugh orders the Crown of the Dog Days to investigate the case. Dalian reads the novels and also becomes interested in helping the writer, looking forward to read the last volume of his trilogy.
Lenny uses his typewriter to finish the Crown of the Dog Days trilogy. He knocks the door of his study. Paula unlocks the door to check his work. He asks her to keep the agreement. Disappointed after counting the number of sheets, she grabs a knife and slice his throat. Lenny is stabbed multiple times.
Days later, Hugh visits Lenny's villa. Hugh notices that Lenny is inside the study. Paula, who affirms to be Lenny’s wife, affirms that the author wouldn’t see anyone while working on his novel. Eventually, she allows Hugh and Dalian to meet him the next day. The couple notices that Paula lied about her identity, since the author’s wife passed away five years ago.
Hugh and Dalian find Lenny’s body at night. The man was tortured and killed inside the barn of his residence. Dalian also finds Leticia Serkis trapped in a cage. The latter tells them to return the next day and take Lenny away. Hugh cannot understand how he can save a dead man.
Hugh and Dalian meet Lenny the next day. During the meeting, Lenny tries to trick Paula. He shows the couple a message of help while pretending to write his novel. Lenny offers the manuscript of the last volume of the Crown of the Dog Days in exchange for their help. The author informs the number of his safe deposit box and asks them to save Leticia and leave him behind. Lenny discards the message between the pages of the book presented by Hugh, who asks for an autograph. Soon after, Hugh confirms that the handwriting belongs to the real Lenny Lents.
After the sunset, Hugh and Dalian break into the barn once more and find the body of Leticia. Soon, Lenny appears at the door. Paula had put shackles on his leg to confine him there. Examining the carbon paper inside the typewriter, she had noticed how Lenny secretly communicated with Hugh and Dalian. The writer is shot twice by Paula, first in the thigh and then in the calf. After Hugh reveals himself, Paula shoots Lenny in the heart. The author dies after several convulsions. Dalian reveals that The Ophiuchus Manuscript held by Paula was reviving Lenny every time Leticia was killed, and vice versa. Lenny comes back from the dead when Leticia is shot. Paula hits him with her hunting weapon. He grabs her legs when she starts to destroy the body of his lover. Lenny is killed again when Paula hits him in the neck with a fireplace poker. She has been killing him every day, otherwise his body would rot. Enraged by Dalian, Paula tries to hit Lenny’s body. However, he revives and stops her swing halfway. Paula shoots his head off, but the man keeps moving. Lenny and Leticia have evolved after many deaths and resurrections. They fuse into a large, magical being made of light. Paula shoots the creature. Unaffected, the monster slowly swings its arm and crushes the woman, killing her. The couple disappears as Hugh prays for them.
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News about the case are spread. Lenny and Leticia are considered missing. The manuscript written by the author was recovered by Hugh and Dalian. Probably, his work was eventually delivered to an agent and published.[1] In the manga, the third volume was published, although it was not popular.[2]
Trivia[]
- In the anime, the second volume of the Crown of the Dog Days is called “Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones”[3], which is the name of a science fiction short story by American author Samuel R. Delany, published in 1968.[4]
- Part of the Crown of the Dog Days is seen when Lenny is writing and when Dalian shows it to Hugh.[3] The text references some of the stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective character Sherlock Holmes.
- The manuscript Dalian throws out at the end of Episode 4 contains Lenny’s story mixed with the script of the Book of Soul Exchange and the Queen of the Night stories. It mentions Hugh, Dalian, Kamilla and a rare cactus.[3]
- Part of the novel appears briefly in Episode 8.[5]
- In the manga, his typewriter was made by Imperial Typewriter Company, an extinct British manufacturer. Its founder Hidalgo Moya offered his first model in 1903.[6][7]
- In the anime, the typewriter seems to be a Remington. E. Remington and Sons was a manufacturer of firearms and typewriters from New York, founded in 1816.[3][8]
- Lenny’s wife is named Bevis in the anime adaptation.[3]
- Satoshi Hino gives his voice to manga writer Akito Takagi from Bakuman.[9]