Tatewaki Kuno VS Kenshin Himura

[Kuro]

In a strange turn of events, Kuno falls in love with Kaoru but has to remove Ken out of the way to win her over. How does he do?

Speed is equalized but they both retain their overall destructive powers.

1. Wooden swords
2. Real swords

No talk jutsu for Ken

[Tami]

Kuno is good, but even a slowed down Kenshin can take him out.

Kuno is slower than Kenshin, but he is strong. But Kenshin is a more experienced, more skilled swordsman and is normally much faster. But again, even slowed down to Kuno's level, I think Kenshin could take him out easily.

That is, unless you manage to stick a watermelon on Kenshin's head. Then Kuno might stand a chance.

[BitVyper]

Yeah, Kuno's slower than beginning of series Ranma and never really picks up from there. Kenshin should beat him pretty trivially, though it might take a few hits with a wooden sword, since he's still got the soak of a Ranma character.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Yeah, Kuno's slower than beginning of series Ranma and never really picks up from there. Kenshin should beat him pretty trivially, though it might take a few hits with a wooden sword, since he's still got the soak of a Ranma character.

Agreed.

Kuno eats damage until Kenshin goes for the head and knocks him out.

[The Drunkard Kid]

If watermelons are involved, then Kenshin has his work cut out for him since Kuno's range was crazy in that mode, but otherwise he's just a lot more skilled, versatile, experienced, and flat out intelligent than Kuno, even with equalized speeds.

[Jackalope89]

If watermelons are involved, then Kenshin has his work cut out for him since Kuno's range was crazy in that mode, but otherwise he's just a lot more skilled, versatile, experienced, and flat out intelligent than Kuno, even with equalized speeds.

Yeah, barring Kenshin wearing a melon hat for some reason, Kuno's thick hide (from being a punching bag to Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga to a lesser extent) will prolong the fight a bit, but that's it.

Though his ability to use the air pressure from his strikes could make things a little more interesting, I give him that.

[penguin-in-leather-jacket]

Though his ability to use the air pressure from his strikes could make things a little more interesting, I give him that.

I agree with everyone so far; Kenshin takes both easily. This, though, that ability is really nothing more than something Isurugi Raijuta (early fodder villain) was able to do, albeit faster. Even to Tokyo-arc Kenshin these were nothing to fear, or for Raijuta to be excited about the damage by when one *did* hit.

[Kuro]

I seem to recall reading that Kunos rapid thrust is somewhat comparable to Ranmas amaguri Ken speed. If that's the case, that is north of anything Hiten has in it's arsenal.

In the second movie, female Ranma was impressed at the dog guy dodging the movie. Impressing Ranma with sheer speed is not something easily done

[The Drunkard Kid]

I seem to recall reading that Kunos rapid thrust is somewhat comparable to Ranmas amaguri Ken speed. If that's the case, that is north of anything Hiten has in it's arsenal.

In the second movie, female Ranma was impressed at the dog guy dodging the movie. Impressing Ranma with sheer speed is not something easily done

Nah, beginning of series Ranma danced around Kuno's regular flurry like it was nothing and repeatedly landed multiple extremely precise strikes on Kuno so fast that it looked like one blow on multiple encounters that first day (the second time while dodging said flurry), and the Amaguriken training notably increased Ranma's speed from that point. The watermelon thing, however, actually might have been faster than Ranma's reflex speed, but Kuno can only access that speed involuntarily, and it requires the presence of watermelons.

That said, didn't you stipulate that they have equalized speed for this match?

[BitVyper]

Oh if speed is equal, Kuno probably has something like a chance. Not a *great* one, but he still hits hard enough that a near miss can cause significant injury. Equal speed and using a bokken are both things that hurt Kenshin disproportionately. He's still gonna take like 9/10 though. Probably even 10/10 with his move reading skills against Kuno's not-being-very-subtle skills. But outside chance for Kuno to surprise him with how dangerous the air pressure from his swings is.

[The Drunkard Kid]

Oh if speed is equal, Kuno probably has something like a chance. Not a *great* one, but he still hits hard enough that a near miss can cause significant injury. Equal speed and using a bokken are both things that hurt Kenshin disproportionately. He's still gonna take like 9/10 though. Probably even 10/10 with his move reading skills against Kuno's not-being-very-subtle skills. But outside chance for Kuno to surprise him with how dangerous the air pressure from his swings is.

The problem with that is that common knowledge should let Kenshin know about the air pressure strikes by default, what with Kuno using that move in public on multiple occasions. Not to mention that Kenshin has a pretty crazy soak, even by the standards of his own universe.

[BitVyper]

I dunno if I think that counts as common knowledge. The only people who have really demonstrated they know about it are Akane and Ranma, and Ranma was surprised by it initially. I don't think any of the sub-Akane characters are adept enough to notice it, and Kuno is so trivial to everyone else that it never really comes up.

Anyway, I agree that it's unlikely, just like equal speed maybe gives Kuno something like a chance. Most of Kenshin's playbook heavily relies on being faster than his opponent, and about a quarter of it requires an actual katana of some kind, so the rules of the fight are against him a bit.

[The Drunkard Kid]

I dunno if I think that counts as common knowledge. The only people who have really demonstrated they know about it are Akane and Ranma, and Ranma was surprised by it initially. I don't think any of the sub-Akane characters are adept enough to notice it, and Kuno is so trivial to everyone else that it never really comes up.

Anyway, I agree that it's unlikely, just like equal speed maybe gives Kuno something like a chance. Most of Kenshin's playbook heavily relies on being faster than his opponent, and about a quarter of it requires an actual katana of some kind, so the rules of the fight are against him a bit.

I mean, guy did it in the middle of the school yard in the first volume, and across a crowded beach when he had his watermelon power up.

Also, now that I think about it, I don't recall Kuno having any particularly impressive durability feats. Like, Ranma dropped him in their first complete fight with a hail of kicks to vitals that looked like a single casual kick, which is basically the diet version of the Kuzu Ryu Sen (which is supposed to be as strong as Saitou's Gatotsu, which just obliterated a massive iron door), and he and Akane usually just swat him aside in passing, barring extenuating circumstances. Add in ki-senses that let him move read people as fast as himself and moves like the Do Ryu Sen giving him a decent ranged counter that seems a hail of rocks with a single swing, unlike Kuno's ranged game which sends once attack per swing, and the fact that Kenshin's air game is pretty good while Kuno's air game doesn't actually exist, and I can't really see Kuno winning this fight.

Though considering the opening scenario, I *can* see Kuno trying to date the very pretty and redheaded Kenshin as well as Koaru before he realizes that Kenshin's a man 24/7, even with common knowledge.

[BitVyper]

He did it in the middle of a schoolyard and even Ranma didn't notice he'd done it until Akane pointed it out is my point. So I don't think the rest of the student body did.

As for the rest, I'm not arguing that Kenshin doesn't comfortably take this fight, just that the rules give Kuno a some kind of a chance where he'd usually have absolutely none.