Downtown Khazan: Ice Cold Utopia

[Miburo]

You guys are all awesome and I wanted to give you all something this year


so I made a charitable donation here in in the name of everyone here

http://waynefdn.org/

Miburo graciously accepts your pledge in his name to aid those who have been afflicted by an unfortunate fate.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

[The Dog]

[Guy1]

[Dark Soul # 7]

[Sharpandpointies]

It’s just the best move for me at this time. Plus this will give me time to complete my martial arts and defeat Sharp!

Oh, gawd, another one... ^_^

Just coming out of an early screening of the French City Hunter adaptation, and Well... while more than a few jokes fell flat, and some characters deserved more screentime, I am glad to admit that I was wrong, and it was a decent and sincere adaptation. More details later, for those that are interested (cough Sharp cough Iron_twister) .

Details, plz! O_o

I would like to make it absolutely clear that in no way am I complaining. After all, RP is quite literally two thirds of RPG, so it should be the focus. And it’s the funnestiest stuff.

Oh, I get that. I'm just funnying around with my answers.

Also, your house games always sound amazing.

THEY ARE RESTARTING.



Let the madness continue. After all, the characters in one of them achieved level 7 (some time ago, actually), and are really starting to be a force on the world scene (when one considers that the majority of the 'rank and file' name-characters of the various factions are level 6 to level 7, and these PC's are sticking their noses into everything...). I want to see where this leads.

For the game with the people dealing with the slavery, they're now considering looking into 'piracy in Dwänholf'. It's going to get ugly.

Why do sword experts always cite the length of a katana as a fairly short when discussing its advantages and disadvantages? Longer katanas are just called odachi or nodachi (admittedly a little confusing because the terms also refer to anti-cavalry swords, which have a way longer handle).

I've read through the interesting answers thus far, on both sides (yours and others). My answer to you is that 'sword experts' are pretty specific. A katana is a katana to them, period. Not an odachi or a nodachi.

I will refer to Wiki, which while abysmal with regards to comic book stuff, isn't a terrible thing for a starting point regarding real-world things.

'"Katana" is the term now used to describe the family of swords known as nihontō that are 2 shaku, approximately 60 cm (24 in) in length, or longer.'

'The length of the katana blade varied considerably during the course of its history. In the late 14th and early 15th centuries, katana blades tended to have lengths between 70 and 73 centimetres (27 1⁄2 and 28 3⁄4 in). During the early 16th century, the average length dropped about 10 centimetres (4 in), approaching closer to 60 centimetres (23 1⁄2 in). By the late 16th century, the average length had increased again by about 13 centimetres (5 in), returning to approximately 73 centimetres (28 3⁄4 in).'

Whereas if you're getting into a lot more than that - into the 90 cm range - it is apparently considered an ōdachi.

So, 'katana' does actually refer to the length of the blade as well as it's general shape and other characteristics. And 73 centimeters is actually fairly short.

To explain (and I realize I'm digressing), I own a Jian that has a blade length 2-3 cm longer than this, and it's quite light (though still a serviceable fighting weapon). I also have a Jian that's a full 6 cm longer than this - heavier, possible to use in two hands but made for one-handed use.

But those are primarily one-handed weapons.

A katana is primarily a two-handed weapon (like a longsword, it CAN be used one-handed, but it's made for two-handed use). As two-handed swords go, it's bloody short. 'Longswords', the comparable weapon from Europe (ie, a 'light' twohanded sword, not the real monsters they sometimes made), were considerably longer than this.

And the two-handed part does make a difference. For starters, it's harder to get the same reach with a two-handed weapon (try it). You simply can reach further with a one-handed weapon without losing control of the weapon by having a greater turn of the shoulders/hips and more extension of the arm (I'm not talking about ridiculously exaggerated movements that would get one killed, I'm talking comfortable, normal motion). One can, of course, reach this far on a THRUST with a two-handed weapon (even 'throwing the point', as it's sometimes called), but that ends with an exaggerated one-handed grip that's hard to recover...and the katana isn't primarily a thrusting weapon (granted, throwing the point isn't such a problem with a katana due to it being shorter, and also isn't as much of a problem with a longsword...it's not like they are the real monsters, and again, could be used one-handed, apparently).

Longer reach in a longsword covers this issue - the weapon itself is much longer than a one-handed sword, and thus there isn't this problem (longsword MINIMUM length as defined by Wikipedia with sources started around 85 cm and could go all the way to 110 cm...while maintaining the same mass as a katana!). The katana doesn't have that benefit - it's equal length or even shorter than some one-handed swords.

Getting back to the point..ahahah...

As noted, sword experts are pretty specific. While they DO note in places that 'there isn't an exact length' for a katana, the assumption is that when one talks about 'the katana', one is talking about THAT sword, not the ōdachi, nodachi, whatever. And length is a pretty specific part of the 'katana' design (because it IS something that differentiates it from the ōdachi and the nodachi). So it must be taken into account when one is comparing 'this weapon versus that one'.

While yes, there might be some gargantuan person out there with a 'katana' that is essentially an ōdachi, you've answered your own question there...if a 'katana' is identical to an ōdachi in everything but length, then someone using a long 'katana' because they're outsized is, from our point of view, using an ōdachi or nodachi. ^_^

Edit: just to note, I'm aware that I'm using very generic terms for 'longsword'.

[Beadle]

THEY ARE RESTARTING.



Let the madness continue. After all, the characters in one of them achieved level 7 (some time ago, actually), and are really starting to be a force on the world scene (when one considers that the majority of the 'rank and file' name-characters of the various factions are level 6 to level 7, and these PC's are sticking their noses into everything...). I want to see where this leads.

For the game with the people dealing with the slavery, they're now considering looking into 'piracy in Dwänholf'. It's going to get ugly.

I always wondered - do you use a shared universe with your games? Because there’s a particular crew of pirate slavers I can think of that need a bloody good stabbing.

[Sharpandpointies]

I always wondered - do you use a shared universe with your games? Because there’s a particular crew of pirate slavers I can think of that need a bloody good stabbing.

Yes.

The high-level group is mid-December, 989. The mid-level group is mid-November, 989, and there has been reference made to something about 'some barbarian warlord getting defeated in the North on the Old Continent' (but that's all - Elcia totally gives no shits about what happens over there, though the piracy thing will be interesting to that country). Your group is mid-September, and unlikely to catch up with either one.

Also, there have been some crossovers with some of the NPC's (official and my own). Which has led to hilarious differences between the games (at least two official NPC's who have serious issues with the early group are reasonably okay with the later group, and have assisted them).

I will tell you this - if the pirate group about whom you speak (I know the ones) happen to operate out of the Eye of the Hurricane -- which they probably do, being from the Inner Sea -- AND happen to actually be in port in early November, then in all likelihood one of the following transpired.

1. They were incinerated by Kagutsuchi when the Aeon was (over)summoned to annihilate part of the docks at the beginning of the attack;
2. They were absolutely murdered (at some point during the entire 'war') trying to fight against highly organized and motivated groups of levels 5, 6, and 7 fighting types;
3. They were ashed by any number of Destruction/Darkness spells that were precisely targeted throughout the conflict;
4. They were burned/blasted to death by any number of Pyrokinetic, Electrokinetic, or EM Psychic matrices that occurred throughout the conflict (someone used the railgun matrix at least once, amusingly);
5. They were slain in a variety of appalling ways by any number of rather potent Ki Dominions unleashed through the conflict;
6. They just ended up dying on the weapons of the Phaion soldiers who took control of the docks area after the players smashed the resistance there (some groups of pirates tried to push and take their ships back when the players were occupied elsewhere, only to find that without a bunch of high-level people, pirates don't tend to do terribly well against professional soldiers in a straight-up battle).

Or, failing any of that, they either died when the ancient dragon razed a large chunk of the port town (this was not the players' fault, nor was the dragon their idea...it came as much of a horrifying surprise to them when the appallingly huge thing emerged from the storm clouds), or were put in chains by the Phaion soldiers when the remainder of the city (unsurprisingly) surrendered after that catastrophe (straw that broke the camel's back, really, they were reeling on their feet at that point anyway after a couple of days of conflict like the above).

Basically, IF those pirates happen to be there at that time, they're pretty much finished.

Be happy. ^_^

[Nik Hasta]

The most recent chapter of Kimetsu no Yaiba was almost pure hype. Seeing most of the current generation of pillars coming together to fight the Big Bad of the series legit gave me some chills.

The page when they're all intoning their attacking forms had me being like:"ooooooooohhh"

And then the reveal that SIKE INTERDIMENSIONAL FORTRESS BATTLE ARC had me like "OOOOOOAAAAAAAAA"

This series does stakes and hard won fights like almost no other. And the cast are all really likeable.

And series protagonist Tanjirou is just... like the best boy.

[Sharpandpointies]

...so, another manga I should be reading...

...I don't have time anymore.

[Nik Hasta]

...so, another manga I should be reading...

...I don't have time anymore.

Hee hee, I read extremely quickly and am currently between jobs which makes it easy to keep up.

Kimetsu no Yaiba is definitely worth putting time into, for my money at least. The elevator pitch is that a young man from a family of woodcutters is inducted into a secret demon hunting organisation after his family is mostly annihilated in a demon attack. The only other survivor is his sister, who has been turned into a demon. Tanjirou wants to find a cure or, at the very least, a place for his sister to live normally while also protecting people from demon attacks.

That's the basic premise but there's a lot more going on.

Things of note:

- The Series Protagonist: Tanjirou is an unironically sweet and kind young man. Like he's genuinely a lovely person to read about. Shaes of Yong from Gosu, in terms of just being a good dude, but without the latent darkness. He's a young man being challenged by the world and he meets it with kindness, determination and understanding.
- The Stakes: Demons are supernatural monsters that are beyond humans. Even when paired with the most powerful demon hunters, Tanjirou and friends are almost always at a disadvantage. The victories they get are extremely hard fought and feel deserved.
- Imaginative Choreography: The demons and the human members of the Demon Hunting Organisation all have interesting powers, gimmicks and fighting styles that make for interesting confrontations and really cool set pieces.

The art is also different but super expressive.

[Sharpandpointies]

I'm a quick reader as well, but...it's slow, loading screen by screen, and I'm rather busy these days.

Still, I will try to find time as this sounds rather interesting indeed!

[FrenchGemini]

Oh, gawd, another one... ^_^

And I shall be next!

Details, plz! O_o

Oh right. While the adaptation was French, and used the French names, I'll stick with the original ones. So I'll start with...

What I didn't like:
-As I said earlier, some of the jokes, which I found either lame, or too crude for my taste, and keep in mind that we are talking about the adaptation of a manga in which the protagonist's err... Giant-Sized Man-Thing deserves its own respect thread. Or maybe Tsukasa Hojo was more elegant in his humour.
-Too many references to 80's and 90's animes. The first few were funny, but after the seventh or eighth...



-In this version, Hideyuki is shown to go out like a chump... I'll be fair, the movie is 1:30 long, tops, so they can't spend that much time on that part of the story.
-Two useless characters, one of them does move the plot a bit, but they are mostly here as (not very good, as far as I'm concerned) comic relief.
-It could have been better if they followed this simple principle: "show, don't tell". I have at least one example coming in the...

What I did like section:
-The action. By French movie standards, it was actually pretty good. There is a badass scene of Ryo storming the castle towards the end, a fight after he gets kidnapped at one point where he uses his environment to his advantage, and shown from his POV, which I did like. His legendary accuracy has been slightly toned down, except for a well-known trick of his towards the end of the movie . Also, the Ryo/Umibozu fight, which is another one where the environment plays a big role, and with some H2H, refreshing, since I am more used to those two having gunfights.
-The director has actually seen the anime and read the manga, and it shows, some scenes are really heavily inspired by them, and some nice details have made it in, like a mention of Ryo's fear of being in airplanes, which is one of the things that could have been more shown than told (Hugh Jackman's Wolvie in a plane is a great example of what I think should have been done)
-The relationship between Ryo and Kaori is exactly what I expected, though I found that Ryo was maybe a little too dickish towards Kaori compared to the source material. Aside from that, it is spot on: Ryo not wanting Kaori to get her hands dirty, Kaori's frustration at Ryo not understanding what she feels...
-Speaking of which, I liked the ways the mallet scenes were adapted.
-The bad guy's final punishment is a classic Ryo move, and I liked it, though I do hope he kept a certain item on him as well before it goes too far, it will make sense once you've seen the movie.
-Umibozu looks great, though I regret he didn't have more screentime.

So yeah, that's as far as I can go without spoiling too much.

[Sharpandpointies]

And I shall be next!

O_O

[Caesar] *Astérix style* Et tu, Brute?

Queue up to the right, gentlemen...orderly fashion.

Honestly, would be awesome to get together like some kind of small seminar and compare notes. ^_^

Oh right. While the adaptation was French, and used the French names, I'll stick with the original ones. So I'll start with...

What I didn't like:
-As I said earlier, some of the jokes, which I found either lame, or too crude for my taste, and keep in mind that we are talking about the adaptation of a manga in which the protagonist's err... Giant-Sized Man-Thing deserves its own respect thread. Or maybe Tsukasa Hojo was more elegant in his humour.
-Too many references to 80's and 90's animes. The first few were funny, but after the seventh or eighth...

-In this version, Hideyuki is shown to go out like a chump... I'll be fair, the movie is 1:30 long, tops, so they can't spend that much time on that part of the story.
-Two useless characters, one of them does move the plot a bit, but they are mostly here as (not very good, as far as I'm concerned) comic relief.
-It could have been better if they followed this simple principle: "show, don't tell". I have at least one example coming in the...

What I did like section:
-The action. By French movie standards, it was actually pretty good. There is a badass scene of Ryo storming the castle towards the end, a fight after he gets kidnapped at one point where he uses his environment to his advantage, and shown from his POV, which I did like. His legendary accuracy has been slightly toned down, except for a well-known trick of his towards the end of the movie . Also, the Ryo/Umibozu fight, which is another one where the environment plays a big role, and with some H2H, refreshing, since I am more used to those two having gunfights.
-The director has actually seen the anime and read the manga, and it shows, some scenes are really heavily inspired by them, and some nice details have made it in, like a mention of Ryo's fear of being in airplanes, which is one of the things that could have been more shown than told (Hugh Jackman's Wolvie in a plane is a great example of what I think should have been done)
-The relationship between Ryo and Kaori is exactly what I expected, though I found that Ryo was maybe a little too dickish towards Kaori compared to the source material. Aside from that, it is spot on: Ryo not wanting Kaori to get her hands dirty, Kaori's frustration at Ryo not understanding what she feels...
-Speaking of which, I liked the ways the mallet scenes were adapted.
-The bad guy's final punishment is a classic Ryo move, and I liked it, though I do hope he kept a certain item on him as well before it goes too far, it will make sense once you've seen the movie.
-Umibozu looks great, though I regret he didn't have more screentime.

So yeah, that's as far as I can go without spoiling too much.

So, not stellar but still pretty decent adaptation of the source. I used to watch as much City Hunter as I could get my hands on (which, sadly, was not enough), so I will most certainly be watching it if I get the chance! Might have to order it on DVD, though.

[Sharpandpointies]

Who's gonna torment themselves watching the Netflix Baki series?