Tabletop Island (盤上島, Banjō shima), also known as Banjo Island is, uniquely, both a spaceship and a mountain island in Japan's tropical territory. It is the primary setting for the novel series Paradise War and also features in Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki anime that are set before and after the events of the novel. It is eventually captained by Shou Kukoma.
Background
Before anchoring
Tabletop Island is a previously unnamed 4th generation Juraian Treeship (one source says "3rd generation"), presumably previously in the possession of Kuis Panta. It was flown from Jurai to Earth and anchored in place south of Japan. It was then placed in a secure shield and terraformed in a pocket of accelerated time. While a couple years elapsed outside, thousands of years of natural development occurred within. Seina Yamada, partnered with Fuku, Miki Steinbeck, Kirche, and D, was put in charge of overseeing the planet's development and then acted as caretaker and host (using the alias of Minamida) to the young pirates and others that resided on it after it was developed.
Beginning of terraforming.
Features include a large bay and beach where tropical ocean fish can be fished, a sizable tropical forest habitat and an elevated fresh water lake on a tall mountain plateau. In the bay, tall rock spires raise out of the water and and dark circular trenches can be seen below. These are secretly features of the ship, such as gun ports and engine exhausts.
During the events of Tenchi Muyo! GXP Paradise Starting, when it first brought to Earth's Solar System, a small pirate fleet attacked it, intent on capturing it. Kuis, Seina, and some of the Kamidake crew defended it, obliterating the invaders. Kuis admitted that it was a set-up to take out some of the most hostile pirates who opposed the proxy war plan.
There was a small residential area with minimal housing, school buildings, a sort of conference/meeting center (with hot springs) and a makeshift camping ground overlooking the bay where Shou was forced to stay in a tent because a house had not been built for him yet.
In battle, island and all.
At the conclusion of the proxy war, Shou was granted the literal keys to the island and, after the island's residents secured the surface, he was tasked the duty of defending the ship from a much larger pirate fleet before they came too close to Earth. With the aid of his friends (formally the representatives of pirate groups in the proxy war) Dird Shank, Alea Balta, Palty Jurai, and Apuesta Daluma, as well as Miki, Fuku, and Kirche, Shou is able to defeat them in a more tricky but less violent manner than the earlier invaders, imprisoning most of them.
Afterwards, there is a significant group of island residents that want to make the island their permanent home without the worry of having their homes thrust into space occasionally, so Washu engineers a way for the island to effectively split in two, with a ship section being able to detach from the island.
The early terraforming was planned, in part, by Washu to also resemble habitats similar to the area of Geminar. So, after the conclusion of the proxy war, during the later episodes of the 5th season of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, it served a new purpose of serving as a covert training ground for Kenshi Masaki to prepare him for the events that take place in Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar. Kenshi always believed he was merely playing games with his new "sisters" (all pirate girls with combat specialties) but he was actually covering multiple types of habitat that he would be confronted with on Geminar.
Eventually, Shou, Miron Pham, and possibly the pirate girls, will have to go into space and study at the Galaxy Academy to prepare them for their return to Earth, where Tablletop Island will serve as the seat of government for the newly formed Pirate Nation that they have to formally become the leaders and protectors of. All while keeping the formal governments of Earth ignorant that such a thing is going on there.
Etymology
- The translation of the island / ship name, 盤上島, Banjō shima, literally means "Tabletop" or "Board" Island. Usually, translators would not literally translate a location or ship name, just leaving it "Banjo Island," but it may be possible that they didn't want it to be confused with the name of the stringed musical instrument.
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