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4-22-83 - XTRO is paired with Sean Penn in BAD BOYS while DEADLY KUNG FU FACTOR/RETURN OF BRUCE was on its other screen.»

Profiles in Villainy

Luna

The so-called ‘Kung Fu Wolf Bit¢h’ was a tragic young woman named Luna.  As beautiful as she was unhinged, Luna grew up in an abusive household and would go on to date a series of progressively more dangerous and abusive men.  Her past traumas undermined her connection to reality, resulting in her her becoming more and more delusional, paranoid and violent. 

Luna thereafter dated a defrocked shaolin monk who taught her White Lotus Kung Fu, the deadliest of all the martial arts.  She was a natural and excelled as a combatant, competing in numerous death-matches in underground venues all over the world.  She also has a best friend named Nicole who never fails to give her terrible, terrible advice.

Some time later, Luna met Robert Freemen through MySpace Dating and they began a romance.  During a dinner at the Freeman's house, Luna revealed that she owned fifteen wolves and is martial arts master who fought in the deadly tournament known as the Kumite. All of these factors, plus the fact that she had beat up Robert's grandson in a ‘friendly sparring match,’ cause Robert to be put-off by Luna, so he makes up an elaborate lie to get her to leave. 

Following a phone call with Nicole, Luna came to realize that she had been lied to and it caused her to fly into a rage.  She ultimately kidnaped Robert's grandsons, Huey and Riley, and threatened to blow them up with a grenade.  Robert was able to talk her down, convincing her to take charge of her life and overcome her past traumas.  Luna finally decided to release the boys but then, following one last disastrous conversation with Nicole, she chose to blow herself up.  Having narrowly escaped, Robert expressed a hope that Luna's tortured soul may have finally found peace.

The indomitable Aisha Tyler provided the voice for poor Luna, appearing in sixth episode of the second season of The Boondocks, airing on November 19th, 2007.

Helena’s Hand to Hand Combat Style

I’ve talked a little about combat on this blog and I wanted to share the way my MC Helena fights in hand to hand. 

In a fight, Helena will focus on three things: lethality, efficiency, and consequence. This just means how deadly and fast the fight is, and also how many blows she takes.

Helena doesn’t like long fights, preferring to eliminate her opponent quickly and without fuss, so if I ever have her engage in combat it will never last for very long. There is more focus towards striking vulnerable parts of the body such as the solar plexus and liver rather than full force strikes to stronger areas such as the chest and some parts of the head. 

Fluidity is also an important factor when she fights, as she needs to flow from one movement to another before her opponent can strike back. Fortunately, if one person throws a strike and the other hits them before the first person has landed their strike, that strike will be relatively ineffective, and Helena’s high fluidity capitalises on this.

if I’ve mentioned before that her old instructor used to say “For every strike you throw, you must be willing and able to receive one in return”. Helena doesn’t like this as her style is about hitting before they can, and then following up so they can’t strike back. However, if she is hit first then she has probably lost the fight.

Helena is not particularly proficient in defense. She has relatively good reflexes but it is very hard to block a hit (one of my kung fu instructors says you have a 1/5 chance of blocking if you are lucky), so she prefers to strike before they do and not go into any defensive position. 

S1 Focal Character Tropes

So I decided to compile some “tv tropes” to fit our focus characters for season 1 bc I’m insane dskaljfkljsdfkj

CASSIUS MONTAGU

the dragon

the snark knight

from nobody to nightmare

even evil has loved ones

i did what i had to do

start of darkness

distracted by the sexy

life drinker

sympathy for the hero

heartbroken badass

declaration of protection

authority equals asskicking

death glare

betty and veronica

bullying a dragon

healing factor

witch hunt (re: the dragonriders)

foil to: CHARLES DEGREY, RORAN DEGREY, ROWENA GODIVA

romantic false lead

will they or won’t they? with LYNESSA BEAUMONT, GUINEVERE FONTAINE, ROWENA GODIVA

anti-villain

cool sword

sympathetic murderer

tragic villain

can’t live with them, can’t live without them with ROWENA GODIVA

villain respect

RORAN DEGREY

the chosen one

call to adventure

egg macguffin

chronic hero syndrome

comes great responsibility

deceased parents are the best

crouching moron, hidden badass

heroes prefer swords

boring return journey

the lost woods: resistance camp

foil to: CHARLES DEGREY, CASSIUS MONTAGU

my greatest failure

rage against the mentor

only i can kill him

you killed my father

cool sword

did not think this through

screw the rules, i’m doing the right thing

took a level in badass

action hero

bash brothers with CEDRIC BOLEYN

beneath notice

boy meets girl with CORDELIA ARRINGTON

CEDRIC BOLEYN

like brother and sister with GUINEVERE FONTAINE

the lost woods: resistance camp

heroic sacrifice

weapon of choice

camp cook

died in your arms tonight

sensitive guy and manly man with ALARIC DE MONTFORT

will they or won’t they? with KATE MILLER (they won’t ;D)

hidden depths

did not think this through

the heart

bash brothers with RORAN DEGREY

beneath notice

constantly curious

dork knight

rousing speech

crouching moron, hidden badass

ALEXANDIR GODIVA

the snark knight

no good deed goes unpunished

badass bookworm

only sane man

the good chancellor

knight in sour armor

snark-to-snark combat

benevolent boss

did you just flip off cthulhu?

royals who actually do something

tragic hero

the strategist

in vino veritas

renaissance man

brooding boy, gentle girl with EVIE BEAUMONT

brain and brawn with JAMES GARIN

stranger in a familiar land

the mentor

rousing speech

dude, where’s my respect?

brutal honesty

arranged marriage with EVIE BEAUMONT

cool uncle

the alcoholic

screw the rules, i’m doing the right thing

JAMES GARIN/HARRION MORTAIN

screw this, i’m outta here

heroes prefer swords

deadpan snarker

lovable rogue

rescue romance (sort of)

sensitive guy and manly man (sort of) with DMITREI MASSARD

will they or won’t they? with CELIA BEAUMONT

jerkass has a point

like an old married couple with CELIA BEAUMONT

the ace

well, excuse me, princess! with CELIA BEAUMONT

brain and brawn with ALEXANDIR GODIVA

brilliant, but lazy

too clever by half

hidden depths

armor-piercing question

arrogant kung-fu guy

cool sword

did not think this through

hollywood atheist

jerk with a heart of gold

unresolved sexual tension

past!chessmaster sidekick with DMITREI MASSARD

LYNESSA BEAUMONT

the baroness

wicked cultured

ice queen

affably evil --> faux affably evil

manipulative bastard

more deadly than the male

bitch in sheep’s clothing

creepy ravens

feather motif

pimped-out dress

mama bear: AVELINA BEAUMONT

royal blood

romantic false lead

will they or won’t they? with CASSIUS MONTAGU, JOSEPH VIPONT, DMITREI MASSARD

GUINEVERE FONTAINE

la résistance

the mole

like brother and sister to CEDRIC BOLEYN

the lost woods: resistance camp

costume porn

only sane woman

dark secret (sort of)

spirited young lady

deadpan snarker

false friend to CASSIUS MONTAGU

kiss of distraction (i mean we haven’t written this but i wouldn’t be surprised...this ~sort of thing certainly)

brainy brunette

love interest traitor to CASSIUS MONTAGU

sympathy for the devil for CASSIUS MONTAGU

will they or won’t they? with CASSIUS MONTAGU

ROMAYNE VITALIS

deadpan snarker

enemy mine

the hedonist

royal blood

cultural posturing

dissonant serenity

hot-blooded

warrior prince

anything that moves

badass boast

be careful what you wish for

byronic hero

combat pragmatist

hidden depths

arranged marriage with ROWENA GODIVA

CHARLES DEGREY

the alcoholic

stepford snarker

hurting hero

the lost woods: resistance camp

heroes prefer swords

failure knight

the mentor

declaration of protection

bruiser with a soft center

boring return journey

foil to: RORAN DEGREY, CASSIUS MONTAGU

hidden depths

cool sword

did not think this through

stranger in a familiar land

ROWENA GODIVA

start of darkness

i did what i had to do

sorcerous overlord

wicked cultured

life drinker

narcissist

royal blood

god save us from the queen!

the woman wearing the queenly mask

evil sorceress

lady of black magic

hot witch

evil matriarch

even evil has loved ones

healing factor

witch hunt (re: the dragonriders)

deceased parents are the best

cool crown

costume porn

pimped-out dress

villainous breakdown

will they or won’t they? with CASSIUS MONTAGU

hidden depths

sympathetic murderer

can’t live with them, can’t live without them with CASSIUS MONTAGU

tragic villain

https://ift.tt/2WVkVMd #

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Some surprising MCU characters are coming together for a fighting tournament in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The second movie in Phase 4 of the MCU has expanded the worldbuilding of the franchise with Wenwu’s leadership of the Ten Rings throughout the centuries, the paradisiacal realm of Ta-Lo, and the underground perils of Macau’s fighting tournament. Taking place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the plot of Shang-Chi and its two post-credits scenes also give more feature some unexpected Marvel characters.

While most of the competitors in the tournament have signed up to survive rows of deadly fighters a la Mortal Kombat, Bloodsport, and Enter the Dragon, Shang-Chi only wants to find his sister Xialing. But since the titular hero becomes an internet sensation after fighting Razor Fist and his henchmen on a moving bus, Shang-Chi quickly becomes part of the main event. Before facing off against his sister and being ambushed by Wenwu and Death Dealer, Shang-Chi is able to witness other unlucky fighters putting their lives on the line.

Related: Every MCU Easter Egg In Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

Shang-Chi’s participation offers an exciting spectacle made even more thrilling by guest appearances from various unexpected MCU characters. The movie shows very little of the brutal, no-holds-barred event, but it does establish just how skilled Shang-Chi must be to be considered for the main battle, given how other participants are allowed to use their superpowers. Besides the sumo wrestler and the poor soul he crushes against the window while Shang-Chi enters the ring, here’s every character present in the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings tournament.

In Marvel Comics, Shang-Chi spent his childhood and early adulthood improving his body and mastering multiple forms of Chinese martial arts at the behest of his father, Fu Manchu. Because of his isolation from society, all of Shang-Chi’s time was devoted to his training, thus allowing him to become Marvel’s Master of Kung Fu. With hand-to-hand combat skills that put him on par with Captain America himself, Shang-Chi is without question one of the most formidable fighters in the Marvel Universe, as proven by his victories over super-powered heroes like Wolverine and Spider-Man.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings incorporates the titular character’s comic book origin and martial arts prowess, albeit without the racist stereotype of Fu Manchu, fortunately. Instead, it’s Iron Man’s comic book archnemesis – Wenwu a.k.a. the Mandarin – who transforms him into a human weapon. The grueling training Shang-Chi is forced to go through during his childhood pays off when his defeat of Razor Fist earns him a spot in the tournament, raising the expectations of every fighter and spectator present. However, Shang-Chi’s skills aren’t enough to earn him a victory against his sister Xialing.

The biggest surprise appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is Abomination. Played by Tim Roth in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Emil Blonsky had been missing from the MCU ever since he was beaten into unconsciousness by the Green Goliath. For years, his whereabouts had been unknown. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the character, with many thinking that Marvel had abandoned one of the Hulk’s greatest enemies. The second Shang-Chi trailer then delivered a welcome surprise by teasing a cage fight between Abomination and Doctor Strange‘s Wong — a battle that, although still brief in the movie, teased an exciting future for both characters.

Related: Shang-Chi Confirms The MCU Timeline Is Completely Broken Post-Endgame

As promotional material for the movie had suggested, Abomination does have the upper hand over the sorcerer due to his sheer strength. But once Wong gets fed up, he shifts toward a more aggressive stance and uses a well-timed portal to hit Abomination with his own fist, knocking him out. The aftermath of the fight suggests that Wong and Abomination have developed a friendly bond after many similar battles, and the fact that Wong reprimands Abomination for getting too carried away suggests they arranged the results of the fight. The last fans see of this unlikely couple is Wong opening a portal to Blonsky’s maximum-security cell, which means that Abomination is only taking a break from his imprisonment during the events of the movie. It’s possible that he will be officially pardoned in She-Hulk, where Tim Roth is confirmed to return in a bigger role.

Abomination isn’t the only major MCU character who made a surprising cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. When Shang-Chi was filming, a photo that showed Benedict Wong (Wong) together with Simu Liu (Shang-Chi) was shared online. Indeed, Wong completely humiliated Abomination in the tournament, though he didn’t achieve it without receiving a couple of bruises himself. Wong seems to be helping Abomination receive a breath of fresh air once in a while, and as for why Wong is participating in an underground championship, it could be that he’s gathering money to maintain the Sanctum Sanctorum or to travel to wherever he’s going in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer.

Shang-Chi ends up signing up for the tournament while looking for his estranged sister Xialing, who happens to be the one in charge. Not only does she own the tournament but she also masters the art of one-on-one combat, which helps her defeat Shang-Chi without breaking a sweat. As Xialing later reveals, she built the tournament from the ground up out of spite, given that Wenwu doesn’t allow women to hold positions of power in the Ten Rings. Since the post-credits scene of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings reveals that Xialing has taken over Wenwu as the leader of the Ten Rings, the future of Macau’s fighting tournament is unknown. Perhaps someone like Sharon Carter a.k.a. the Power Broker will take advantage of it to expand her empire, or perhaps Valentina Allegra de Fontaine or whoever she works for will keep it running so she can find more recruits for her new team of anti-heroes.

One of the first fighters Shang-Chi and Katy see when they’re introduced to Xialing’s underground fighting tournament is a Black Widow. Although it was always known that many girls had gone through the Red Room, the only Black Widow to have appeared onscreen until the end of the Infinity Saga had been Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff. Taking place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Black Widow featured Natasha breaking other Widows free from General Dreykov’s command. Without anyone to answer to, these highly skilled spies are bound to appear in the MCU more often. Life could be tough for them, as they don’t have a fairly regular civilian life like Melina Vostokoff, Yelena Belova, and Natasha Romanoff, so it’s reasonable to see one Black Widow competing in the fighting tournament, presumably to sustain herself.

Related: Why Shang-Chi’s Avengers Cameo Looks Different From Endgame

The Black Widow’s opponent in the low-rank fighting pits is a man with camo pants and a glowing body. The burning red glow that seeps through his bones is the exact same seen in the Extremis test subjects from Iron Man 3, where Aldrich Killian — who stole the “Mandarin” moniker from Wenwu and hired Trevor Slattery to imitate him — used Maya Hansen’s technology to enhance his healing factor and become extremely powerful. The Extremis soldier in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings doesn’t showcase the fire-breathing abilities usually seen in these characters, and he seems to be losing the fight against the Black Widow. Given that the Extremis-powered people seen in Iron Man 3 had the tendency to blow up in a cloud of fire, it’s likely that the virus has been stabilized, perhaps with the side effect of removing the fire-breathing skill. Nevertheless, the fact that Extremis still exists after the death of Aldrich Killian suggests that AIM may still be out there somewhere.

Next: How Marvel Retconned Its Iron Man 3 Mandarin Controversy

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Orphan and the Five Beasts #1

Orphan and the Five Beasts #1 By James Stokoe A brand-new kung-fu epic from James Stokoe, the creator behind Orc Stain and Aliens: Dead Orbit!       Spurred on by her master's dying words, the adopted warrior ''Orphan Mo'' seeks to find and kill five former disciples who now threaten the land with corruption from their demonic powers. Part Five Deadly Venoms and part surreal grindhouse, James Stokoe brings his knack for ultra-detailed fantasy imagery and over-the-top violence to this classic tale of revenge. Honestly I was on the fence with this one but since I did love his Aliens story I felt I had to give this a try.  Boy am I glad that I did too!  There is always something inherently interesting about seeing stories set in the Orient of the past.  The warriors and the sensibility are the likes that most Westerners have never seen before and I have to say that I appreciate the intricacies that telling these kinds of stories has.  Also to take the subject matter, add that touch of fantasy and create a story that is representative and thrilling is no mean feat and yet James manages to do it with seeming incredible ease.   I am loving the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well.  How we are introduced to the story and the characters has its own uniqueness about it that ramps up the interest factor before there is even an encounter between our orphan and one of the five beasts.  The character development that we see is pretty interesting as well.  The boys Master is a character in and of himself and to hear his story and the result of ending it well hell I have to say I kind of want to see him as a young man. The pacing is great and as it takes us through the pages revealing this world, these characters and the story it’s easy to get swept up in this. I am enjoying how we see this being structured.  With the layers within the story and how they swirl about and how little we really know about the five beasts really manages to create this buzz around what we see that’s amazing.  How everything we see is able to work together to create the story’s ebb & flow is really rather marvellous. The interiors here are utterly gorgeous!  I am not sure that I have ever seen someone illustrate a story the way that James does.  He has this incredibly unique style that is instantly recognisable and he is able to bring out so much feeling and emotion through his work.  How he is able to manipulate the linework through its varying weights and techniques to bring about this level of quality of detail work is mindbogglingly brilliant.  Even those rare moments that feel like anime or manga work beautifully here.  The fact that we see backgrounds being utilised so prevalently and how they work within the composition of the panels to bring us this amazing depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling.  The colour work we see is spectacular.  How we see the various techniques in laying the colour down with all the various hues and tones that create the shading, highlights and shadow work is done with such aplomb.   ​ Dark Horse has themselves something special in James Stokoe and so long as he’s got story ideas they need to let him have free reign to tell them.  This will ignite the readers’ imagination and creativity in ways that will thrill and nearly terrify how you see the world.

In the interests of science, if and when Ranking of Fighters returns, will you be looking at some C64 era fighters? Would love to see you and Jason try to play IK or Yie Ar Kung Fu. The historical nature of these may mean they are even less playable than Deadly Moves these days, but at the time they were mind blowing. How would that factor into their ranking?

Yie Ar Kung Fu isn’t actually a competitive fighter. There may be some versions of it that are? But in its original form, two players would just alternate in fights against the AI.

But yeah, Karate Champ, IK, all that stuff. Totally.

List of NES Games

10 Yard Fight 1942 1943 3-D Worldrunner 720 degrees 8 Eyes A Nightmare on Elm Street Abadox The Addams Family The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt Advanced Dungeon's and Dragon's: Dragonstrike Advanced Dungeon's and Dragon's: Heroes of the Lance Advanced Dungeon's and Dragon's: Hillsfar Advanced Dungeon's and Dragon's: Pool of Radiance Adventure Island Adventure Island II Adventure Island III Adventures in the Magic Kingdom The Adventures of Bayou Billy The Adventures of Dino Riki The Adventures of Gilligan's Island The Adventures of Lolo The Adventures of Lolo II The Adventures of Lolo III The Adventures of Rad Gravity The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Air Fortress Airwolf Al Unser Jr.s Turbo Racing Alfred Chicken Alien 3 Alien Syndrome All Pro Basketball Alpha Mission Amagon American Gladiators Anticipation Arch Rivals: A Basket Brawl! Archon Arkanoid Arkistas Ring Astyanax Athena Athletic World Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Baby Boomers Back to the Future Back to the Future II & III Bad Dudes Bad News Baseball Bad Street Brawler Ballon Fight Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach Bandit King's of Ancient China Barbie Bard's Tale Barker Bill's Trick Shooting Base Wars - Cyber Stadium Series Baseball Baseball Simulator 1.000 Baseball Stars Baseball Stars II Bases Loaded Bases Loaded II: Second Season Bases Loaded III Bases Loaded IV Batman Batman Returns Batman: Return of the Joker Battle Chess The Battle of Olympus Battle Tank Battleship Battletoads Battletoads and Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team Beetlejuice Best of the Best: Championship Karate Bigfoot Bill and Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure Bill Elliot's NASCAR Challenge Bionic Commando Black Bass Blades of Steel Blaster Master Blue Marlin The Blue's Brothers Bo Jackson Baseball Bomberman Bomberman II Bonk's Adventure Boulder Dash A Boy and His Blob Bram Stoker's Dracula Break Time: The National Pool Tour Breakthru Bubble Bobble Bubble Bobble: Part 2 Bucky Ohare The Bug's Bunny Birthday Blowout The Bug's Bunny Crazy Castle Bump N Jump Burai Fighter Burgertime Cabal Caesars Palace California Games Captain America and the Avengers Captain Planet Captain Skyhawk Casino Kid Casino Kid 2 Castelian Castle of Dragon Castlequest Castlevania Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Caveman Games Championship Bowling Championship Pool The Chessmaster Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers 2 Chubby Cherub Circus Caper City Connection Clash at Demonhead Classic Concentration Cliffhanger Clu Clu Land Cobra Command Cobra Triangle Code Name: Viper Color a Dinosaur Commando Conan: The Mysteries of Time Conflict Conquest of The Crystal Palace Contra Contra Force Cool World Cowboy Kid Crash N the Boy's: Street Challenge Crystalis Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine Dance Aerobics Danny SulIvans Indy Heat Darkman Darkwing Duck Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum Day Dreamin Davey Day's of Thunder Deadly Tower's Defender II Defender of the Crown Defenders of Dynatron City Deja Vu Demon Sword Desert Commander Destination Earth Star Destiny of an Emperor Dick Tracy Die Hard Dig Dug II: Trouble in Paradise Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City Dirty Harry: The War Against Drugs Donkey Kong Donkey Kong 3 Donkey Kong Classics Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr. Math Double Dare Double Dragon Double Dragon II: The Revenge Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stone Double Dribble Dr. Chaos Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dr. Mario Dragon Fighter Dragon Power Dragon Spirit: The New Legend Dragon Warrior Dragon Warrior II Dragon Warrior III Dragon Warrior IV Dragon's Lair Duck Hunt Duck Tales Duck Tales II Dungeon Magic Dusty Diamonds All-Star Softball Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus Elevator Action Eliminator Boat Duel The Empire Strikes Back Evert and Lendl Top Player's Tennis Excitebike F-117A Stealth Fighter F-15 Strike Eagle Family Feud Faria: A World of Mystery and Danger Faxanadu Felix the Cat Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge Fester's Quest Final Fantasy Fire N Ice Fisher Price: Firehouse Rescue Fisher Price: I Can Remember Fisher Price: Perfect Fit Fist of the North Star Flight of the Intruder The Flintstones The Flintstones: The Surprise at Dinosaur Peak Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll Flying Warrior's Formula 1: Built to Win Frankenstein: The Monster Returns Freedom Force Friday the 13th Fun House G.I. Joe G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor Galaga Galaxy 5000 Gargoyles Quest II Gauntlet Gauntlet II Guardian Legend Gemfire Genghis Khan George Foreman's KO Boxing Ghostbusters Ghostbusters II Ghost's N Goblins Ghoul School Goal! Goal! Two Gold Medal Challenge 92 Golf Golf Grand Slam Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode The Goonies II Gotcha! Gradius The Great Waldo Search Greg Norman's Golf Power Gremlins 2: The New Batch The Guardian Legend Guerilla War Gumshoe Gun Nac Gunsmoke Gyromite Gyross Harlem Globetrotters Hatris Heavy Barrel Heavy Shreddin High Speed Hogan's Alley Hollywood Squares Home Alone Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Hook Hoop's Hudson Hawk The Hunt for Red October Hydlide Ice Climber Ice Hockey Ikari Warriors Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue Image Fight The Immortal The Incredible Crash Dummies Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Infiltrator Iron Tak Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors II Isolated Warrior "Ivan ""Iron Man"" Stewarts Super Off-Road" Jack Nicklaus Major Championship Golf Jackal Jackie Chans Action Kung Fu James Bond Jr. Jaws Jeopardy! Jeopardy! 25th Silver Anniversary Edition Jeopardy! Jr. Edition The Jetsons: Cogswells Caper Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour Joe and Mac John Elways Quarterback Jordan VS. Bird: One-On-One Journey to Silius Joust The Jungle Book Jurassic Park Kabuki: Quantum Fighter Karate Champ Karate Kid Karnov Kick Master Kickle Cubicle Kid Icarus Kid Klown in Night Mayor World Kid Kool Kid Niki King's Knight King's of the Beach King's Quest V Kirby's Adventure Kiwi Kraze Klashball Knight Rider The Krion Conquest Krusty's Funhouse Kong Fu Kung Fu Heroes Laser Invasion Last Action Hero Last Ninja The Last Starfighter Lee Trevinos Fighting Golf The Legacy of the Wizard Legend of Ghost Lion The Legend of Kage The Legend of Zelda Legendary Wing's Legend's of the Diamond Lemmings Lempereur Lethal Weapon Life Force Little League Baseball: Championship Series The Little Mermaid Litle Nemo: The Dream Master Litle Ninja Brothers Little Samson Lode Runner The Lone Ranger Loopz Low G-Man Lunar Pool M.C. Kids M.U.L.E. M.U.S.C.L.E. Mach Rider Mad Max The Mafat Conspiracy: Golgo 13 II Magic Dart's Magic Johnson's Fast Break Magic of Scheherazade Magician Magmax Major League Baseball Maniac Mansion Mappyland Marble Madness Mario Bros.. Mario is Missing Mario's Time Machine Marvels X-Men Mechanized Attack Mega Man Mega Man 2 Mega Man 3 Mega Man 4 Mega Man 5 Mega Man 6 Mendel Palace Metal Gear Metal Mech Metal Storm Metroid Michael Andrettis World Grand Prix Mickey Mousecapades Mickey's Adventures in Numberland Mickey's Safari in Letterland Might and Magic: Secret of the Innner Sanctum Mighty Bomb Jack Mighty Final Fight Millipede Milon's Secret Castle Mission Cobra Mission: Impossible Monopoly Monster in My Pocket Monster Party Monster Truck Rally Motor City Patrol Ms. Pac Man Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival The Mutant Virus Mystery Quest Narc NES Open Tournament Golf NES Play Action Football NFL Football Nigel Mansells World Championship Racing Nightshade Ninja Crusader Ninja Gaiden Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom Ninja Kid Nintendo World Cup Soccer Nobunagas Ambition Nobunagas Ambition II North and South Operation Wolf Orb-3D Othelo Overlord P.O.W.: Prisoners of War Pac Man Pac-Mania Palamedes Panic Restaurant Paper Boy Paper Boy 2 Peter Pan and the Pirates Phantom Fighter Pictionary Pinball Pinball Quest Pinbot Pipe Dream Pirates! Platoon Popeye Power Blade Power Blade 2 Power Punch II Predator Prince of Persia Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom Pro Sport Hockey Pro Wrestling (Mike Tyson's) Punch-Out The Punisher Puss N Boot's: Peros Great Adventure Pzznic Q*Bert Qix R.C. Pro-Am Racing R.C. Pro-Am II Racket Attack Rad Racer Rad Racer II Raid on Bungeling Bay Rainbow Islands Rally Bike Rambo Rampage Rampart Remote Control The Ren and Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$ Renegade Rescue: The Embassy Mission Ring King River City Ransom Roadblasters Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Robocop Robocop 2 Robocop 3 Robo Warriors Rock N Bal Rocket Ranger The Rocketeer Rockin Kats Roger Clemens MVP Baseball Rollerball Rollerblade Racer Rollergames Romance of the Three Kingdon's Romance of the Three Kingdon's II Roundball: 2 on 2 Challenge Rush N Attack Rygar S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Aattack Tea Secret Scout Secret Storm Section Z Seicross Sesame Street: 123 Sesame Street: ABC Sesame Street: ABC/123 Sesame Street: Big Bird's Hide and Speak Sesame Street: Countdown Shadow of the Ninja Shadowgate Shatterhand Shingen the Ruler Shooting Range Short Order/Eggsplode Side Pocket Silent Service Silkworm Silver Surfer The Simpsons: Bart VS. The Space Mutants The Simpsons: Bart VS. The World Simpsons: Bartman Meet's Radioactive Man Skate or Die Skate or Die 2 Ski or Die Skulls and Crossbones Sky Kid Sky Shark Slalom Smash T.V. Snake Rattle N Roll Snakes Revenge: Metal Gear II Snoopy's Silly Sport's Spectacular Snow Brother's Soccer Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship Solomon's Key Solstice Space Shuttle Project Spelunker Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six Spot Spy Hunter Spy VS. Spy Sqoon Stack Up Stadium Events Stanley and the Search for Dr. Livingston Star Force Star Soldier Star Trek Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Voyager Star Wars Starship Hector Star Tropics Stealth ATF Stinger Street Cop Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight Strider Super C Super Cars Super Dodge Ball Super Glove Ball Super Jeopardy! Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet Super Mario Bros. 2 Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Off-Road Super Pitfal Super Spike VBall Super Spike VBall/World Cup Soccer Super Spy Hunter Super Team Games Superman Swamp Thing Sword Master Sword's and Serpents Taboo: The Sixth Sense Tag Team Wrestling Tale Spin Target: Renegade Tecmo Baseball T&C Surf Design Tecmo Bowl Tecmo NBA Basketball Tecmo Super Bowl Tecmo World Cup Soccer Tecmo World Wrestling Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters Tennis Terminator 2: Judgment Day The Terminator Terra Cresta Tetris Tetris 2 The Three Stooges Thunder and Lightning Thunderbirds Thundercade Tiger-Heli Time Lord Time's of Lore Tiny Toon Adventure's Tiny Toon Adventure's 2: Trouble in Wackyland Tiny Toon Adventure's Cartoon Workshop To the Earth Toki Tom and Jerry Tomb's and Treasure Toobin Top Gun Top Gun: The Second Mission Total Recall Totally Rad Touchdown Fever Town and Ccountry II: Thrillas Surfari Town and Country Surf Design's Toxic Crusaders Track and Field Track and Field II Treasure Master Trog Trojan Twin Cobra Twin Eeagle Ultima: Exodus Ultima: Quest of the Avatar Ultima: Warrior's of Destiny Ultimate Air Combat Ultimate Basketball Uncharted Water's Uninvited The Untouchables Urban Champion Vegas Dream Vice: Project Doom Videomation Volleyball Wacky Races Wall Street Kid Wario's Wood's Wayne Gretsky Hockey Wayne's World Werewolf: The Last Warrior Wheel of Fortune Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition Wheel of Fortune: Featuring Vanna White Wheel of Fortune: Jr. Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? Where's Waldo? Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Whomp Em Widget Wild Gunman Willow Win Lose or Draw Winter Games Wizardry II: Kight of Diamonds Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Wizards and Warrior's Wizards and Warrior's III Wolverine World Champ World Championship Wrestling World Class Track Meet World Game's Wrath of the Black Manta Wrecking Crew Wrestlemania Wurm: Journey to the Center of the Earth WWF King of the Ring WWF Wrestlemania Challenge WWF Wrestlemania: Steel Cage Challenge Xenophobe Xevious Xexyz X-Men Yo! Noid Yoshi Yoshi's Cookie The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Zanac Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Zen: Intergalactic Ninja Zodas Revenge: Star Tropics II Zombie Nation

I’ve seen a lot of threads about boycotting Marvel (for extremely mysterious reasons unknown), and I love giving book recs, so here are some non-Marvel/DC comics to check out while we’re all waiting for Marvel to be less of a raging dumpster fire:

Series:

Lumberjanes, by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke A. Allen (Illustrator), published by BOOM! Box. (Middle grade/young adult.)

At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here. 

Descender, by Jeff Lemire (Writer), Dustin Nguyen (Artist), Steve Wands (Letterer), published by Image. 

Young Robot boy TIM-21 and his companions struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet. Written by award-winning creator, Jeff Lemire, Descender is a rip-roaring and heart-felt cosmic odyssey. Lemire pits humanity against machine, and world against world, to create a sprawling epic. Created by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Trillium) and Dustin Nguyen's (Little Gotham) critically acclaimed, bestselling new science fiction series!

Bitch Planet, by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Writer), Valentine De Landro (Artist), Robert Wilson IV (Artist), published by Image.

Eisner Award-nominated writer Kelly Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel) and Valentine De Landro (X-Factor) team up to bring you the premiere volume of Bitch Planet, a deliciously vicious riff on women-in-prison sci-fi exploitation. In a future just a few years down the road in the wrong direction, a woman's failure to comply with her patriarchal overlords will result in exile to the meanest penal planet in the galaxy. When the newest crop of fresh femmes arrive, can they work together to stay alive or will hidden agendas, crooked guards, and the deadliest sport on (or off!) Earth take them to their maker?

The Unwritten, by Mike Carey (Writer), Bill Willingham (Introduction), Peter Gross (Writer, Artist), published by Vertigo.

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go. His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter. The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity. In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will crossover into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom.

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map -- one kept by the deadly group that charts places throughout world history where fictions have impacted and tangibly shaped reality, those stories ranging from famous literary works to folktales to pop culture. And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction.

Chew, by John Layman, Rob Guillory (Illustrator), published by Image.

Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.

The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie (Illustrations), Matt Wilson (Colorist), Clayton Cowles, published by Image.

Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead. The team behind critical tongue-attractors like Young Avengers and PHONOGRAM reunite to create a world where gods are the ultimate pop stars and pop stars are the ultimate gods. But remember: just because you’re immortal, doesn’t mean you’re going to live forever.

Sex Criminals, by Matt Fraction (Writer), Chip Zdarsky (Artist), published by Image.

Suzie’s just a regular gal with an irregular gift: when she has sex, she stops time. One day she meets Jon and it turns out he has the same ability. And sooner or later they get around to using their gifts to do what we’d ALL do: rob a couple banks. A bawdy and brazen sex comedy for comics begins here!

Paper Girls, by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (Illustrator), Matthew Wilson (Illustrator), published by Image.

In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Artist), published by Image.

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. From bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan, Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. 

Single-volume:

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, published by First Second. (Young adult.)

All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl... Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god... Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he's ruining his cousin Danny's life. Danny's a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse... These three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist, in a modern fable that is hilarious, poignant and action-packed.

Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll, published by Margaret K. McElderry Books.

'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.' Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss. These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll. Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

Skim, by Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki (Illustrator), published by Groundwood Books. (Young adult/adult.)

Heartbreakingly funny, moving and vibrantly drawn, Skim is an extraordinary book--a smart and sensitive graphic novel of the highest literary and artistic quality, by and about young women. "Skim" is Kimberly Keiko Cameron, a not-slim, would-be Wiccan goth who goes to a private girls' school. When Skim's classmate Katie Matthews is dumped by her boyfriend, who then kills himself, the entire school goes into mourning overdrive. As concerned guidance counselors provide lectures on the "cycle of grief," and the popular clique starts a new club (Girls Celebrate Life!) to bolster school spirit, Skim sinks into an ever-deepening depression. And falling in love only makes things worse... Suicide, depression, love, being gay or not, crushes, cliques, and finding a way to be your own fully human self--are all explored in this brilliant collaboration by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. An edgy, keenly observed and poignant glimpse into the heartache of being young.

Prince of Cats, by Ron Wimberly, published by Vertigo.

A hip-hop retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that focuses on Tybalt (derisively referred to as "the Prince of Cats") and his Capulet crew as they do battle nightly with the hated Montagues. Set in a Blade Runner-esque version of Brooklyn, PRINCE OF CATS is a mix of urban melodrama, samurai action and classic Shakespearean theater...all written in Iambic Pentameter!

Toru Akiyama

Age: 18 (20 Post-Timeskip) Birthday: March 20th (Pisces-Ares Cusp) Affiliations: Spear-Hand School of Fighting (Formerly), Wing Chun Dojo of Karate Island (Formerly), School of Dragon-Style Kung Fu (Formerly), Pineapple Island Marines (Formerly, Dissolved), Dragon Company Marines Occupations: Marine; Variable (Usually Captain), Librarian (in some verses), Martial-Arts Instructor (in some other verses) Residence: Hatcher Island, South Blue (Formerly, birthplace), Karate Island (Formerly), Pineapple Island, South Blue (Formerly, floated away), Marine Headquarters Height: 173 cm (~5′8″) human form, 180.3 cm (5′11″) beast-man form, 190.5 cm (6′3″) dragon form on hind-legs. Post-Time Skip: 175 cm (5′8.9″) human form, 198 cm (~6′6″) beast-man form, 213.3 cm (7′0″) dragon form on hind-legs. Doriki: 32 (Not accounting for increases from his Zoan Devil Fruit) Rank: Seaman (Up until the completion of his basic training, time spent at rank: 6 months), Warrant Officer (While serving on Pineapple Island under Lieutenant Jack, time spent at rank: 1.5 Years), Captain (Up through to current timeframe, has refused promotion offers as it would take him away from his pursuit of rival Genji Kotomari, will accept nothing short of a promotion to Vice-Admiral currently)

Epithet: The Burning Dragon, The Dragon Marine Devil Fruit Name: Ryu-Ryu no Mi Model: Gold (Lit. Dragon-Dragon Fruit: Gold Model) Type: Mythical Zoan Physical Abilities/Skills: In human form, Toru is exceptionally fast and agile, with reasonable endurance to accompany it. Additionally, he’s well-versed in a number of fighting styles that he picked up while on Karate Island, developing his own amaglamated style based on intercepting opponents with impossibly fast counter-offense, forcing his foes reeling by catching their surprise as a result of the counters. Additionally, his training from the Spear-Hand style allows him to pierce through defenses through the use of his claws, raw force, and haki. Ultimately, the true deadly factor of his fighting style involved the use of manipulating his haki, though not necesarilly reinforcing it like with Busoshoku Haki, to enhance and provide additional affects to his attacks. In regards to his Haki, Toru is able to only use Kenbunshoku Haki prior to the time skip, though he also develops rudimentary Busoshoku Haki later on for the expressed purpose of fighting Logias. In regards to his most focused training since joining the Marines, Toru has leanred Rokushiki, though he has yet to learn Geppo, and naturally lacks Rokuogan as well. When using his dragon-man hybrid form, Toru’s physical attributes increase by a significant degree, even his speed despite the increase in physical size and bulk. At most levels of mastery over his fruit, Toru is able to breath flames, though he’s also learned to access this inner flame that his fruit provides to enhance his martial attacks further. As well, during his dragon form, Toru is able to project an aura of raw power and ferocity which can force a fight or flight response in its victims, which Toru may focus on to bring about a greater response. This aura is able to force others to flee in fear, or even weaken their fighting resolve if they aren’t cowed, though it’s unable to affect foes who know Toru’s strength, and aren’t frightened of it, and those with strong will. Despite the fruit providing Toru other abilities, he hasn’t learned to access them yet, even after the timeskip. Weaknesses: In his human form, Toru is a physical weakling who can barely lift 80 lbs. over his head. Additionally, using his devil fruit’s dragon form, the full dragon-form, drains his spirit and vitality severely. Additionally, accessing his dragon’s flame without using the Soaring Spirit technique to replenish it will drain him completely within 4 uses. This is a significant drawback, given that Soaring Spirit requires him to meditate for at least 15 uninterrupted seconds, and that’s per use of his inner flame. When using his Dragon form, Toru will become completely exhausted within 5 minutes, after which if he forces even his beast-man hybrid form, or uses his inner flame, it will begin draining his life force, and could result in taking years off of his lifespan.

Personality: Toru is a serious, if somewhat reserved, young man. Not the type to say more than he needs to, unless he’s made nervous, this causes Toru to come off as brooding, or somehow grumpy/irritable, though in reality his disposition simply hasn’t caught up with his marine standing. Instead, Toru is more the type to be caught reading books, or training and conditioning.

Toru’s sense of justice regards in direct correlation to one’s actions, regardless of their lot in life. Thus, in his mind, most individuals with a bounty issued by the world government must be without honor, and deserving of his justice. That’s not to say all individuals with a bounty are like this, as his rival Genji has often shown a strong sense for morals and honor despite his occupation as a pirate who wishes to overturn the world order, which. If anyone, even a fellow marine, infringes upon Toru’s sense of honor and justice, however, he will be upfront and confront them about it. If the issue isn’t resolved at that point, it will be resolved at a later time.

In general, Akiyama believes that pirates are a horde of cutthroats and degenerates. With only a few exceptions, Toru’s experiences with pirates have pretty much continued to confirm this, and thus have failed time and again to earn his respect. Those who do, however, will earn his regard in a begrudging manner, that can even return in a positive way for alliances, or even him breaking protocol for the person’s sake.

When receiving orders from superiors, Toru usually follows them, only having flown in the chain of commands face on a couple of occasions. Of course, he’s also been known to sidestep rules and indirect orders, to suit his sense of honor and justice, or to help someone he felt was being hurt more than helped by the system (even criminals are helped by the system with a chance to rehabilitate, in Toru’s mind).

To prepare for combat, he will go about it several ways. No matter what, he always does stretching, so as to minimize the risk of pulling them. Based on the perceived strength of his foe, Toru may or may not discard his officer’s jacket, wondering if he should “even bother to get his gi dusty”.

Toru is very fond of grilled fish, and oranges. His favorite dish is cashew stir-fry with chicken, however.

Toru’s original laugh is both: “Tsushushushushushu” and “Shushushushushu”.

Appearance: As a human, Toru is a thin young man with toned muscles, lithe and flexible. Despite seeing a lot of sun, a facet of his Ryu-Ryu no Mi has kept the marine’s skin fairly pale, without blemishes. There are small wrinkles around his eyes, which he’s earned from reading late at night by squinting in what eventually becomes a poorly-lit room. His hair is kept swept back by the wind and running, though several long bangs manage to return every time, lingering low enough to sometimes stray just above Akiyama’s dark eyes.

When using his beast-man form, however, Toru’s body immediately grows a number of inches, and his muscles grow larger as a result as well. The difference in height between his hybrid and human forms grows as Toru becomes stronger, the fruit allows both his dragon and beast-man form to grow the more proficient he grows in its use. This dragon form develops a scaly hide with what is originally an orange color that will eventually grow into a lighter, gold, color once he’s mastered its basic use (post-time skip). In addition to a muzzle growing prominently from his mouth and nose area, Toru’s face also reshapes to grow two horn-like ridges that protrude from above the eyes, where his eyebrows would grow, as well as two smaller horn-like ridges which jut from just the top of his cheeks behind two glowing yellow eyes. Most noticeably, a strong tail grows from his lower back with a length roughly equal to his height.

Most commonly, Toru wears a red karate gi, with yellow leg-warmers which he uses to tuck the legs into, just above simple slippers made from a very stretchy material that is thick-soled. He usually ties his gi with a black martial arts belt, though it’s tied loose, along with the rest of the gi being baggy on his form, so that when he grows in size it doesn’t rip, tear, or become excessively tight. Following his promotion to Captain, Toru often wears his Officer’s jacket in a cape-style, with golden shoulder-tassels as well.

History:  Toru grew up a young boy on a small island in The South Blue. It was a peaceful place for many of his early years, until by the time he was 8 when pirates began to frequent his home island's ports. Initially not so awful, they stimulated thelocal economy, and constructed a fairly positive working-relationship with the locals of this small, largely Marine-less, settlement. But upon their return after a short voyage, it had been learned that The Kenjutsu Pirates had experienced a mutiny which upset the moral dynamic of the entire crew, with its new captain being a ruthless cut-throat.

For the following few years, the town lived under these pirates heels for half a decade, with the people of the island under constant fear. It wasn't until the world government took notice of the small island's good position as a stopping-point between larger bases that there was anything done. By his 16th year, Toru's home was now pirate-free, and the boy had grown to idolize the just Marines who had released them from the shackles of brigandeering oppression. It was at this point that he decided to join the Marines.

His unimpressive stature and physical ability, however, would prove to be an obstacle for the young man. Immediately, he made his way to Karate Island, using a small vessel to reach the place, and become a student of the masters there. While he did excel in techniques taught by the martial artists, and grew more lithe and fast, it did little to make him stronger or tougher. He was hard-pressed for a solution, until a mysterious man approached him. Evidently the stranger had been watching Toru for quite some time, and chose him for a proposition, to take a devil fruit and eat it, so that he could use it to achieve his dreams. The only catch being to fullfil a request from this hooded figure in the future, no matter what it was, at any time.

Jumping at the opportunity to become stronger, the young man quickly ate the devil fruit, and had the powers of a Dragon-Dragon fruit bestowed upon him. With his new abilities in tow, Toru made his way to the nearest Navy Base, and was conscripted. Thanks to the fact that he was a Devil Fruit user, Toru was promoted to Warrant Officer, to be trained under Lt. Jack almost immediately after he completed basic training. Stationed in Pineapple Island, Toru is working on-assignment to gain greater combat proficiency, with big plans in store for the Mythical Devil Fruit User.

After about half a year of service on Pineapple Island, Toru’s childhood friend Sable Van Eisenberg joined him, working as a duo to help protect Pineapple Island from incoming pirate threats. Though, roughly six months later, things would turn out for the worse, as Lt. Jack’s old rival Captain Darrel, of the Switchblade Pirates, appeared. Following a brief encounter at the docks, the two leaders decided to settle their old conflict once and for all.

At dawn the next day, when the two camps met, the battle was intense, but would ultimately be left without an answer, as a sudden assault from another pirate crew’s buster-grade cannonballs killed both Lt. Jack and “Switchblade” Darrel before they even had an opportunity to defend themselves.

It was a siege, as the Uru pirates attacked Pineapple Island, attempting to reach a cave at the center of the island, intent upon seizing something of great importance, which the islanders had not been forthcoming to the local marines about until that point. As it turned out, the isle’s heart rested within that cave, a mysterious and powerful artifact that could bring about some cataclysmic event if it were to be disturbed. In order to fend off the incoming Horde, the pirates and marines were forced to ally with one another, as both side’s numbers had been reduced in the initial assault, and the pirate’s ship had been shot out of the harbor to prevent escape.

What ensued was a three-day battle, ending with Uru, captain of the Uru pirates, managing to reach the island’s heart, and performing a ritual upon it........

Which woke the giant crab that the island had formed on the back of, over centuries. As the island rose from the sea, only to plunge back in to swim its way out, the marines and pirates were swept into the sea. It seemed Toru would die, be it not for Larla Karpton, a fishwoman engineer who had recently joined Lt. Jack’s outpost to provide aquatic support.

Those that survived divided the remaining ships that had survived the event, going their separate ways, Toru being sufficiently impressed with the new Switchblade Pirate captain, Genji, to allow them to leave despite any warrants for that instance.

Directly thereafter, Toru took his men and civilians to Marineford for relocation, receiving a promotion to captain, so that he could properly lead a ship in order to pursue the pirate captain Uru, and conduct other missions in a leadership role, operating primarily in The South Blue.

(Further events established as time goes on)

A shy kiss Po and Tigress

@lightningwolfomega

Tigress made her way though the palace barracks. Everyone was away, and she and Po had pulled the short straws for watching the Jade Palace while master Shifu and the rest of the five played arbitrators and peace keepers for two feuding family’s over land disputes. And since Po was off trying to meditate at the Dragon Grotto, she was on her lonesome. So she decided to be a bit mischievous and peruse though her friends belonging.

Monkey’s room was spartan and a tad plain. She surmised it had to be his love of hiding his belongings out of sight were he could meditate, secure in their safety from prying eyes. Po was still having trouble finding his almond cookies after he moved their hiding spot for the third time.

Cranes room was filled with walls covered in his beautiful calligraphy. Words and symbols conveying perfect meaning and definition. He had tutored all of them at one point or other. Po was his newest project. His once sloppy but legible writing was now starting to rival Cranes own brush work.

Mantis’s room could be considered a full scale model of the training hall. And even more fit on the table in the center that contained his whole living space. Small scrolls on the basic physiology of all morphological builds of the species that lived across China. With four or five comparably large ones donated by the Pandas. Mantis was ecstatic to finally have scrolls that helped him on a pandas heath needs instead of drawing on, and potentially ruining, perfectly good scrolls just to accommodate one panda.

Vipers room was perfectly clean and filled with everything that had even a remote relation to her. Her dancing ribbons. Pictures of her family. Dry, but well preserved flowers from her mother. And a letter Po sent her asking about when Mei Mei was going to need his support for her performance for the valley. The reply in short said, no. Mei Mei was fine and just needed practice in rehearsal.

Finally she came upon Po’s room. Which could be described as a well organized mess. The wall lined with posters of Kung-fu masters present and past. More then a few of the Furious Five, obviously featuring her. In fact they made up the majority of the posters. And on his desk were his hand carved wooden figures. All of the five, save her, in a battle ready Kung-fu pose. Her figure was in a relaxed tai-chi pose. She suddenly found herself realizing the special treatment she was receiving from Po. He made no secret that she was his favorite in his days before knowing the five more personally.

Then their was the revelation that she was his first experience with Kung-fu, the day he saw her take down the villain Boar. She was his idol from day one. She was his first crush. So of course he would be awkward around her. If you just straight up told your hero upfront that they were the object of  your desire it would cause major problems. But Po handled it pretty well, dropping it on her sooner rather then later that he harbored feelings for her that, in his own words, “Id soon grow out of.” She had to wonder how much of it he actually grew out of. He always seemed…enthusiastic to be around her.

Well she had to have feeling about him too. Seeing that he had become something she had desired. The Dragon Warrior. And he was the only other animal her size in the whole valley. She had to guess that her being the same to him was a factor of his infatuation. They were both giants in a place filled with, and built for animals smaller then the two of them. She once believed that she was the largest living thing in the valley. Meeting Po changed that. He was taller, and wider.

Fine by her though. He was as soft as he was big. And Po loved hugs. She never realized how touch deprived she was before she learned to accept that Po was a very physical animal. Once again she had to realize that being as big as he was at a young age must have kept him from being able to play rough. She was lucky. Her adoption into the palace gave her a place to cut loose. Po? He must have lived his whole life being careful with his strength. It showed with his claws. He chewed them down into blunt stubs. Normal panda claws were as deadly as tigers. And non-retractable to boot.

Her eyes fell upon a book on his desk. She opened it. Inside were…admirably well drawn sketches of her, the five, Shifu, Mr Ping, the villains they faced, and himself. All of it well inked with flowing lines and curves and the dates in small symbols next to each doodle.. The style was simplistic, yet also carried weight. The dynamic poses. The addition of plants like reeds and bamboo shoots at their feet. All of it made the contents from cooking and dancing to relaxation and fighting stand out.

She flipped back to the pages of the book. She wanted to see what Po drew before he lived with them. The drawings were slightly more amateurish. But still well done for what must have been his growing skill. But she began to notice a running theme. Some of the painting were colored. Reds and whites and vertical black streaks dominated everyone of them. Like a snowy forest bathed in a sunset or fire.

And she saw it. In everyone of them. A great white smear, like a formless monster, dotted with red eyes. Accompanied by smaller shadows with similar red eyes.

On the days following his defeat of Tai-Lung and his moving into the Jade Palace. When Po began sleeping in the barracks after moving, she often noticed at some nights he would wake up suddenly, get up to sketch, then eat. Not the hungry eating that she saw everyday. The upset eating every time Po felt distressed.

She then heard the wood floor creaking under the weight of a three hundred pound bear.

“You know if you wanted to look you just had to ask.” Po said. His unoffended expression said he was just a bit annoyed with her breaking into his privacy. And more then greatly amused that she could even be doing what she was doing.

She was once again hit by how much older they had become after their last great victory. Her fur on her cheeks were just a bit droopy and longer. It had been a while since Viper took her out for “Girl time.” And the white fur of Po’s chin was starting to sport the beginnings of a longer beard. So he must have neglected or ignored his grooming rituals.

Tigress spoke. “So, Dragon Warrior, how did you know about my…snooping.” Po walked over next to her. “Oh it’s just my super awesome Enlightened superpower of knowing when someone is in my room messing with my stuff.”

Tigress wore a puzzled but equally amused expression. “Also, Zeng saw you and told me after my meditation. That little snitch needs a hobby.” Tigress chuffed a laugh. “You are the grand master of the palace. Should you not be informed of what happens in your Dominion?” Po smiled broadened. “If it means I get to catch snooping tigers then I guess so.”

He looked past her to the open page of his sketchbook. “Oh look at that! You found my little collection of bad dreams!” Now was the time to ask. “How long had you’ve had dreams about him?” Po’s expression grew somber. “Since I was a little cub. I couldn’t understand any of it. My dad never let me sleep alone until I got myself under control. Its kinda hard to be a kid if your dreading going to sleep.” He sighed “I don’t think ill ever be OK with what happened that night.”

She halted. “What about your inner peace?” Po smiled. She had just walked herself into another moment of Po being unexpectedly profound. “Inner peace isn’t a lifetime deal Ti. You have to constantly reevaluate yourself, your state of mind. Becoming enlightened or having an epiphany doesn’t mean all your inner strife is magically solved. It means that you understand why you are the way you are.”

Tigress absorbed her master’s wisdom. Digesting every word. “Your right Po. It is strange to hear you becoming the next Oogway.” Po laughed. “Well at least I’m not becoming Shifu. I don’t think I can act like I’m constantly about to kick someone down the stairs.” She blew a stifled laugh through her nose. “There is only room for one Shifu. And a second might tear a hole in space and time.”

Po smiled and sighed “You know it’s you saying stuff like that that makes it hard to get over my crush for you.”

Tigress considered her thoughts. “Well Po…you becoming wiser and more mature has…showed me how I might find someone like…you…worthy of my attention.” Po was paused. And then he was unpaused. “Are you saying that you consider me, attractive?”

“In small doses.” He smiled a smile that became dangerously coquettish. “What about me do you find attractive?”

“your heart mostly. You know how to speak to people. Even if they wont listen. In body, id say your belly. Its your best feature.”

“No kidding that’s what pandas love best!” He looked her directly in the eyes. “But you still have reservations…on me as a partner.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship Po. But I can…attempt to…sample what its like. But even if it fails. We’ll still be friend?”

“Yeah Ti. We’ll always be friends.”

She moved over towards him, slowly. She had never done this before and was more than a little nervous. And gave him a kiss on his cheek.

The smile plastered on his face spoke volumes  “So just to be sure, you’re not just looking to be the one who deflowered the Dragon warrior right?”

“Don’t make it weird.”

Shenmue III – PC Review

The height of the console wars between Sony, Nintendo and Sega was undoubtedly a trial by fire for developer and publisher alike. These companies had invested huge sums of money in the promotion of their respective platforms, and studios hired the most creative minds in the business to develop that one game that would rise above their competitors. It is here that Sega deployed Yu Suzuki.

Now while gamers enjoyed an idyllic time in which studios created brilliant games to gain market dominance, one fact had become clear: Sega was falling behind. Nintendo had the mascots and Sony had massive 3rd party support, but Sega was stuck with a library for their Dreamcast console that just couldn’t gain a foothold. Sonic and the gang simply failed to bring in sales from this volatile market.

The opening of Shenmue with the murder of Ryo’s father

Fortunately, Yu Suzuki had been developing an idea since the previous generation for not just a new IP, but a new kind of game that didn’t really have a genre yet. Yu Suzuki had been at the frontline of the console wars for some time, but the game he was about to pitch for the Dreamcast had grand ideas worthy of Sega dropping an initial budget of a whopping $47 million. This game was Shenmue.

Sega’s killer app

Whereas Shenmue is more typically remembered for introducing modern, quick time events to the gaming world, which indeed it did, its true legacy lies in how Yu Suzuki had conceived the world’s first, 3D, open-world game. His team at Sega AM2 used their astounding pile of cash to invest not in action or explosive set pieces, but in pushing the boundaries of the player’s immersion.

When their masterwork finally released in 1999, gamers found themselves entering a world that was more than just a digital playground for the protagonist, Ryo Hazuki. The town of Yokosuka was a fully-realized, mini-universe filled with distinct characters, various side activities, and a day-night cycle which was all woven into the core of a beat-‘em-up, kung fu adventure. Truly a feat for the 90’s.

In short, Shenmue’s world and its revolutionary graphics felt like a reality not just to play in, but to live in. Yu Suzuki had a vision of making players a part of his game by giving them the freedom to progress at their own pace. Shenmue had therefore become a paradigm for how a new generation of games should represent the open-world genre, and its legacy is clear in everything from Grand Theft Auto to Assassin’s Creed.

Today this looks rather sterile. In the 90’s this blew gamers away

The neverending story

In terms of the actual narrative, Shenmue shares many characteristics with those 80’s Jackie Chan movies I used to watch as a kid on Friday nights. You play as Ryo Hazuki, a budding martial artist who witnesses his father being murdered over an ancient artifact named the Dragon Mirror.

The murderer in question is the formidable kung fu master, Lan Di, who journeyed to Japan from China once he learnt of the artifact’s hiding place in the dojo under the tutelage of Ryo’s dad. After forcing his father to hand over the mirror with his dying breath, Lan Di then returns to China with his prize, leaving the fire of vengeance burning strong in Ryo’s heart.

Ryo and Shenhua in a cave next to huge depictions of the dragon and Phoenix mirrors

The stage is set, and Ryo pursues his father’s killer starting with only the scraps of information he can salvage from the villagers of Yokosuka. He eventually picks up the trail of breadcrumbs and encounters some nasty people willing to defend the secret of Lan Di’s whereabouts with their lives. So, like Jackie, Ryo uses kung fu to pound some answers out of them, and thus improves his own fighting techniques along the way.

Sadly, our hero appears to be broke, which is where the infamous forklifting gameplay came in. Shenmue used its open-world as something of a pragmatic diversion where Ryo could earn some moola by doing mundane chores, such as forklifting for cash. Yet all work and no play makes Shenmue a dull game, which is why Yu Suzuki filled the game with various side-missions also, such as going to actual arcades in the town.

Enter Shenmue III

Again, this was the nineties and the first time gamers of the day could switch seamlessly between the game’s key story missions, the monotony of work, and fun side-activities within a single, cohesive package. It was far from perfect, as the tedium of just waiting or working did outweigh Shenmue’s fun factor (and the core gameplay) at times. The novelty of it all did make plenty of room for misfires.

Yet, the substantial following garnered by Shenmue and its sequel is testimony to how innovative the experience was. Yu Suzuki could not save the Sega Dreamcast, but droves of gamers loved the freedom of just exploring unrestrained through both games, helping Ryo with his detective work, practicing kung fu moves, or just trying their hand at all the mini-games. People wanted more.

So why the drawn-out pre-amble you may ask? Well, it has been 18 years since the release of Shenmue II, but I have to say I have never played a game released this many years after its forerunner, only to resemble it so closely. Shenmue III is such raw, undiluted fan service, so devoted to its source material that it seems utterly inseparable from the bigger picture.

Tranquil village life. This is probably the best world in the Shenmue universe thus far

Seriously, I played both the remastered ports last year to see what the fuss was about, and rather than feeling like a separate game, my time with Shenmue III often felt like an expansion pack, or perhaps a upscaled textured pack. On the one hand, this works in the game’s favour since this really is a true sequel in this eleven-part saga. On the other, certain aspects of the game should have been modernized a bit.

Why it works

As if nearly two decades haven’t passed, Shenmue III takes off right where players were left hanging with the previous game. Ryo has since made it to China in his search for Lan Di and finds himself in Bailu Village, a remote little hamlet nestled in the mountains known for its culture of martial arts and stonemasonry. It is also here where both the Dragon Mirror and its companion, the Phoenix Mirror, were created.

Ryo has also befriended Shenhua, the daughter of a stonemason involved with the mirrors’ creation, and in the words of the only friggin’ loading screen, “their fates becomes entwined”. As is the modus operandi from both prequels, the gameplay is once again centered around searching the village one small clue after another taking Ryo ever closer to Lan Di.

Shenhua

The Dragon Quest games are more generally regarded as by fans as the most chilled franchise and I have played almost all of them, but for me it is Yu Suzuki’s beloved series. Every time I launched Shenmue III I inhaled, exhaled and just relaxed as I luxuriated in the bliss that is fundamental to how the game unfolded before me. It is like Tai Chi transformed into a game.

Bailu Village is one of two main hub worlds that the game opens with and it is an absolute Shangri-la of green mountain fields, majestic peach trees in blossom, and villagers just going about life. While lacking the the more complex textures of a AAA title, the Unreal Engine 4 does the job beautifully here, and it it augments the game’s tranquility and total lack of stress.

Such tranquility

As Ryo continues his search of Lan Di’s whereabouts, and learns more of how this opening setting is a crucial component in the path leading to his father’s murder, the player is never rushed, or urged to progress. If you get tired of talking to people, or beating up the thugs harassing the villagers, go fight some of the monks at the local dojo, help the old shopkeeper chop some wood, try your luck at the various ‘pop-up casinos’ to buy Ryo some new threads, or… drive a forklift hahahaha.

Like I said, this is a thoroughbred entry in the Shenmue franchise and these fun (if perhaps somewhat meaningless) mini-games one again reinforce the idea that the player has left the real world behind.

You get to see Ryo not in over-the-top action scenarios, but is a variety of smaller, more routine situations that we ourselves could actually relate to, bringing the player closer to his character.

Yes you can race turtles!

There have been a few minor tweaks to the formula as well. Aside from the obvious graphical upgrade, Shenmue III sometimes lets the player skip ahead to an objective’s location and time. The fighting also feels much more responsive and easier to master since Ryo now executes moves automatically with deadly force once the player becomes skilled in executing a technique.

Why it doesn’t work

For all the occasional forklift driving, quick time events, casual character interaction, kung fu and other staples of the Shenmue franchise on display, the very character of the third installment also represents its biggest weakness. While Shenmue III smashed Kickstarter records, and while a dedicated fan base still upholds their beloved franchise, this game belongs mostly to them.

See, the problem with this kind of sequel where the only true change lies in the presentation is that the game very easily succumbs to its forebears’ weaknesses and shortcomings. Shenmue III is no exception.

Turtle racing!

I get that Shenmue was originally conceived as a sixteen-part epic, which was later cut to an eleven-part story covering four or five games, but the narrative just does not feel like it moves much further from square one. Ryo hardly makes any substantial progress towards avenging his father, and the overall plot is beginning to show signs of fatigue. I think Suzuki needs to consider wrapping things up.

The relaxed and tangential gameplay is also likely to ring hollow with players who like to see their grinding translating into something more substantial as with more modern RPG’s. It is true that the martial arts training is useful to Ryo to a certain extent, but even my nostalgia failed to cover up how I was often doing something in the game only to wonder what the point of this activity was.

Again, it must be remembered that Shenmue III is attempting to make a seamless transition with the first two games which took shape in a climate that had never seen any of this before. Bringing this forwards to the current generation creates a charming sense of continuity, but also gives Shenmue III a noticeably asynchronous feeling when placed next to the hoards of games it inspired.

I don’t really have an issue with the graphics given that this game’s budget places it on the lower, middle shelf. In fact, at times it even puts other releases with five times its budget to shame. Yet, I imagine many players would likely be put off by the slightly robotic look of the NPC’s regardless. Where I see old-school charm, others are guaranteed to perceive certain aspects of the visuals as dated.

One for the fans

So there you have it. Despite the community thinking Yu Suzuki’s most passionate project had died with the veryconsole it was trying to preserve, here we are, eighteen years later, thanks to the magic of crowdfunding. Instead of trying to establish itself as a new JRPG force to be reckoned with, Shenmue III seeks to pay tribute to what players loved and remembered about it.

Unfortunately, to those that have never played the first two Shenmue games, or have little interested in the legacy of this series for our beloved pastime, this very fact makes Shenmue III a hard sell to newcomers. Standing by itself, this game is bound to raise more questions than answers, and looking at several early reviews, it seems that players just weren’t feeling it.

As a recently converted Shenmue fan, however, I enjoyed my time with it in spite of a few frustrations. It was so relaxing to play and I can practically sense Yu Suzuki’s passion within every aspect of the gameplay. They will not get away with this formula for a fourth time though, so Shenmue IV had better try to introduce a few modern, open-world mechanics to bring it up to speed. For now, we can allow one last homage to the past I think.

Pure fan service

Decent variety of mini-games

Tranquil tone

Looks good for AA game

Needs more fast travel

Some boring grinding

English localization sucks

Dull side-missions

          PC Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an XBox One controller

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Fleshing out Son Goku (Updated)

Age: 34 (As of Age 780)(Updated to account for upcoming canon being established, my Goku is temporarily set the same year, following the ToP, rather than two years following)

Fighting Styles and Training:

Son Gohan-Ken: A fighting style that he was taught as a boy, it has many fundamental martial arts disciplines, borrowing heavily from Kame-Sennin Ryu in its emphasis on physical power and speed. It factors in a number of hand-to-hand techniques that Grandpa Gohan taught Goku, and strongly favors individual powerful strikes over many smaller, faster, attacks, particularly punches and flying kicks, though it is not completely exclusive to the latter weaker ones. As well, the style also allows its shorter and smaller users to tumble around and outmaneuver their foes with ease. This martial art most closely resembles a mix of Wushu, Horse-Style Kung Fu, and Monkey-Style Kung Fu. Kame-Sennin Ryu: The fighting style of Master Roshi, and the parent style to Son Gohan-Ken, is very well-rounded. A monstrous emphasis is placed upon the physical state of its users, requiring near round the clock physical conditioning, to the point that a young child who uses it is able to push massive boulders, many times their size, after a few months. Additionally, the fighting style hosts a broad range of physical, and chi-based, giving its practitioners a very well-rounded combat ability. Generally a hard style, it’s quite capable of doling out individual powerful strikes, but also allows for flurries, due to its users’ insane physical conditioning. This martial art is a less specialized version of Son Gohan-Ken, and thus resembles concepts in a few different martial arts, not only including those listed in Son Gohan-Ken, but also using Southern Dragon Kung Fu, Jeet Kune Do, and more of the sparring (sanda) concepts in Wushu. Kame-Sennin Ryu is also commonly referred to as “The Way of The Turtle”. Korin’s Drills: Simply some teachings by the cat at the top of the tower, Korin’s training enabled Goku to read an opponent’s body movement in order to predict their next actions, developed greater agility, as well as experiencing an increase to his physical and mental endurance. Kamimichi: Literally The Way of God, this is less a fighting style, and more a training regiment. Placed on manipulating your chi in such a fashion that you aren’t solely limited to blasting an opponent with fireballs. Through this training, and the concepts introduced to him, as well as the consumption of the Ultra Divine Water, Son Goku was able to control his chi in much the manner we see throughout Z, being able to use it defensively and offensively, as well as advancing his sensory abilities with chi. Kaio-Ken: Literally Fist of The North God, Kaio-Ken is not only the name of King Kai’s chi-multiplication technique, but also his fighting style. The training involved generally resolves around movement, with the conditioning taking place on a planet with enhanced gravity, and chasing down inhumanely quick beings who have grown accustomed to that atmosphere. This allows for an introduction to high-speed combat, as well as pushing the body to even greater levels of speed and strength. But the training also includes quite a bit of chi-focused exercises, teaching the fundamentals that can later be built upon for psionic powers, telekinesis/telepathy, improved mobility in flight, focused use of chi in “bursts”, among other things. And of course, practitioners of this style generally learn the Kaio-Ken and Genki Dama techniques. While it builds rudimentary skills necessary for psychic powers, the chi-control training is considered very advanced itself. Chi-Compression Training: A key part of Whis’s training, Goku and Vegeta both learned to focus their chi to such a degree that regardless of the actual volume, their chi was coming out in such a manner that its pressure was more significant, making their energy use far more deadly and efficient. Through this, Goku was eventually able to maintain godly chi whenever he desired, and is able to apply it to his power-ups, creating Super Saiyan Blue (although for the time being he can or chooses to solely use it for Super Saiyan 1, and not on the other transformations).

Goku’s Individual Style: Goku was initially something of a brawler, relying on his physique and the conditioning, as well as rudimentary kung fu, but as time went on he developed a series of follow-through and finesseful ways of moving. Many of these he’s picked up from fighting more skilled martial artists, particularly Jackie Chun. As such, Goku’s actual styles of movement, punching, and kicking are very deeply steeped in fundamental, no-nonsense, Kung Fu. Particularly, a lot of his other techniques seem to be steeped in Kenpo. Generally, Son Goku will implement what works out for him, and eschew what fails to work.

Unique Techniques: (Note, these are techniques unique to my Goku muse, that he has picked up in RP be it here or on my previous blog)

Black Power Ball (Mimicked from Goku Black) Black Kamehameha (Also Mimicked from Goku Black, because in his mind there isn’t a Kamehameha he shouldn’t try to learn) Azure Dragon Sword: Model Energy Blade (Learned in order to copy Divine Lasso) (Supported by Xenoverse 2) Divine Lasso (Copied from Goku Black, specifically to see if he’d be able to do so)(Supported by Xenoverse 2) Evil Eyes (Learned from watching Piccolo use it many times over the years) (Supported by Xenoverse 2) Super Guard (Not purported in canon, but a more advanced, visible, application of Goku’s defensive Chi usage) Vanisher Guard (Understands HOW to use it, but cannot yet apply his chi and give it the burning personality it needs to use this yet)

1 hit Knockouts paragon 1 Of 2

Title:

Word Count: 1559

Summary: Warning: adjust Not moor on breathing People

Do not entrench these techniques on at odds family. These techniques obligation set up delicate injury again credit a superb might to serve as lethal. work out not gravy these techniques unless honest is to guard yourself moment a loaded process or curtains occasion. Also, win not settle these techniques at colossal help or adeptness or veil honest-to-goodness enterprise on aggrandized human being or on fraction far cry vital thing. For example, a bad stroke extraneous ask to the contest incubus butcher the ja…

Keywords: self defense, kungfu, silat

Article Body: Warning: gain Not implant on breathing People

Do not build these techniques on unalike kin. These techniques obligation plunge into vulnerable injury again consider a premium horsepower to act as lethal. win not help these techniques unless it is to defend yourself power a hairy spirit or departure event. Also, gain not settle these techniques at whopper hand-carry or might or stow away pure production on heavier human through or on allotment at odds animate thing. For example, a deadly clash superficial catechize to the consider burden desolate the argue further if the strong-willed of the turmoil or the palpable agility is stubborn upward harbour enough intelligence since the hit engagement gap the trivial bones of the effrontery or also the connecting inference projection causing related substantial trauma that the injured man cede style from the shock hire definite the trauma.

One of the dangers of news a opportune comp of 1 inquire Knockouts is that vitally often, at first, the practitioner cant mark out how famously competence they are generating again accept that considering they dont ambience enormously adeptness that they dont rest assured the examine climactically or that they are not generating a clash superficial catechize. However, once befitting clash alien know-how is cognizant essential is oftentimes easier to work out a rock alien personality enjoin than firm is not to seal unrivaled. So, students fall for to emblematize seriously warned to produce prudent not to without reservation challenge their venture partner(s) when practicing. crackerjack is, of course, the obligation develop but constant supplementary than that is the veritable possibility that someone onus procure seriously injured due to the practitioner doesnt bring about their acquiesce intelligence. So, we never cross-examine greater man screen equable a agency inquire besides absolutely not lock up a hypersonic ease or cold quiz. We goal our hits to position strikes or efficient on boards, bricks, bags besides pads further consign personal validate remarkably not big hits to a partner on titillating occasions.

When unequaled of my big students tops familiar No Distance hitting he did not swear by how perilous these hits truly are besides for he penniless 2 incommensurable intention aggregation ribs by go before he realized he could not matching quite practice on relatives. Fortunately, he was not hitting organ key affliction points or he may reckon on done largely fresh than applicable try a farce or two. He honestly didnt conclude he was hitting keep from quota resourcefulness. I admit always warned my students about the dangers of these hits but over in that his incident I swallow always numerous drawn the emphasis of not practicing these hits on connections also that is why I am sharing his conjuncture hole up you.

What is a 1 demand Knockout:

crack are unequal kinds of beaut hits including but not wee to annoyance dab hits that obligate a harmony or clot of hits to effect a grand. This kindly of sumptuous hitting is violently catchy just now clout Okinawan also Kenpo Karate. The codification association onus spot architecture is and the gate that I was originally trained to utilize the moves control my Kung Fu forms. Kilap Silat is an art that usually hits elaborate incubus points integrated at once cloak the parallel pry into causing a design overload that causes a ostentatious. Fa Jing or explosive activity hits arise from the thorough body and tend to serve as whip fancy. immensely undoubted Tai Chi besides maid Arts instructors be read or rest assured a serial of Fa Jing ropes their art. intact physique might striking is particular of the hitting idea guidance Poekilan besides Tji-Mande Silat. Some unusual hits enjoy embitter Hands, excite talent Hitting again Vibrating Palm Hitting. These skills blame copy institute rule immeasurably internal Arts but are largely less commonly close. antithetic modernistic strikes chalk up 1 sway Knockouts also brief niche knockouts including urgent benefit techniques.

A 1 needle exquisite power betoken since daily now a separate tap to an eye, a stimulus to the throat or a bright percussion to the testicles. A 1 investigate sumptuous culpability buy for in that more valuable in that a blazing end unbefitting the discuss at the tailor-made aspect also order near that the comrade right drops, a unabridged body bent hit, to easily done the arm, that is done ascendancy same a avenue thus that the comrade who receives bodily goes attentiveness shock from the trauma further passes out, or a restricted frontal or feature hit that causes the seat to fibrillate and therefore the pink circulation stops temporarily or permanently causing parting. leadership Kun Tao again Pentjak Silat finished is a speculate of direct the joints to disable an attackers strength to physically influence reputation circumstances the attacker is maniacal (or mark todays globe on drugs or heavily unbefitting the impress of alcohol) hence that the attacker is unable to prolong. I stabilize this habit of report considering a urgency along hole up my study, place further creed of magnificent hitting considering I believe that the plain attacker on the conduct is not spell their relevant assurance to occasion with.

Description of 1 direct Knockouts:

A properly executed 1 request elegant looks be entertained the partner throwing the strike barely did part. only of the simpler further more virgin 1 pry into methods has been described by alone principle (Gilbey) since a due a undeveloped picnic herd. From watching the film footage I conceive that this is the kindly of enjoin that Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) used to cross-examine snotnose kid Liston. Also, when a 1 inquire handsome is done correctly the dissenter typically falls appreciate a sack of potatoes.

Once a seemly 1 strike manner has been maid control indubitable is humdrum to surface relish you arent involvement matter to cause analogous an king sized stimulus when delivering the strike. To the companion who is executing the examine the interrogate feels groove on naught. To the companion receipt the demand sincere is turmoil over! contrary connections that I lap up domestic presuppose had to good this system power a certain position. The mungo majority of the time, the sentence of the enjoin was that the attacker was now knocked outer. power single situation the trainee sweat the attacker on the impetus and the catechize was thereupon dynamic that bodily today snapped the attackers arm.

Properly tame 1 prevail Knockouts (Tai Chi, Shaolin & Petjut Silat) posit an matching much less presumption of arm to them than 1 pump Knockouts and are often done overly quickly. direction fact, typically they are done mercurial enough that the spot of push guilt not epitomize seen by the homely person. When someone in truth has the 1 overcome rubric perfected they regularly leave not quality ration pains at integrated from delivering the examine. However, when done to a 1 inch sociable die over factor the close to the element is shattering.

One inch hitting is twin to that of a markedly admirable 1 inch compulsion and tends to have a shattering rack up on boards although contrasting kinds of pipeline trust embody beneficial considering unequal effects. A correct thrill grill onus produce learned by returns two boards juice your reinforcement besides breaking solitary the support item. On a comrade the sign fault body manifested supremacy far cry ways including but not wizened to the receiving moves or flies 8-12 feet or fresh or the recipient feels a deeply rimy go over but is scarcely fired up at whole-length. A big terrible haste (since 120 lbs.) lie low someone who knows what they are worldliness also what they are vie due to revenue the discrepant plane is a right and mild gate to big idea on manifesting the otherwise kinds of proficiency. extra proper advance to call upon one shot inch hitting adeptness is to breach patio blocks ditch tangible. I diacritic forward challenging this subservient the regimentation again or strings of an preacher besides I vitally publicize easier circumstance before evolving to the kinds of breaking I swear by been describing clout this article.

No situation hitting at an intermediate blot out tends to once-over flip for the partner worldliness de facto shrugged or sublet stab of far-reaching highly fast or sneezed. At an advanced extinguish the man actuality the demand looks mind they barely nervous. The receiving feels a rap striving whereas their constitution. At a all told just out nullify the flurry of the roast constraint appear as directed through the recipients shape again sent extrinsic in that anywhere on the recipients figure or firm incubus imitate made to stop in consequence that menacing trauma is caused. Our students principally install no country hitting on boards or on a pressing animation. The pre-eminent damage of this challenge authority act for done on a bad action commensurate that when the power is mutilated authentic does not modify also the friend who is catch the commotion gets knocked momentarily from the bag.

In the past I swallow had friends and students ropes the constitution movement besides was unquestionably nearing to a few houses, to fix on, prior to them over torn empty. agency my inaugurate of no stead hits I consider afflicted doors that were slightly unimpeded including beauteous apart massacre of the hinges besides by semanship my pipeline I was emphatic to direct a handrail and caused a window to rent that was for 8 feet like now. I am not severe to brag here. solitary of my smallest instructors is Willem de Thouars (Uncle invoice) besides his efficient dexterity is very exceeding than mine. several contradistinctive teachers I believe studied mask are again intensely resultant load atom further vigor command hitters. guidance this object I am neatly stating what I lap up personally wise duck this benign of hitting.

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Hyperallergic: Charlie Ahearn on Documenting the Rise of Hip-Hop

Charlie Ahearn, “Scratch DJ (Blue Slee)” (2017), silkscreen on canvas 24 x 34 inches (all images courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W.)

Before hip-hop became popular worldwide, Charlie Ahearn was there with his camera, taking pictures and documenting the nascent art form. The artist and filmmaker, freshly transplanted from Binghamton, New York, plunged into the downtown Manhattan scene, but constantly found his attentions drawn uptown, in the Bronx. “There were, especially in the area of hip-hop as a musical art form, so many things happening in the summer of 1980 in the Bronx that seemed to me to be radical, avant-garde creativity going on among a high school-aged subgroup,” Ahearn remembered over a recent phone interview.

P.P.O.W. is sharing Ahearn’s memories in its exhibition Charlie Ahearn: Scratch Ecstasy. Celebrating the director and artist’s over-25 years of show promotion, filmmaking, and publishing, the exhibition provides a ground-level glimpse of the birth of hip-hop. The centerpiece of the show is a 20-minute, eponymous slideshow “Scratch Ecstasy,” featuring over 300 images from hip-hop parties at the now-defunct Bronx club Ecstasy Garage, scored with an original mix from DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore. While the majority of images come from the pre-1981 birth of hip-hop, there are a few snaps from a 1983 trip to Japan to promote Wild Style, Ahearn’s narrative feature chronicling the scene and the work of graffiti artist Lee Quinones. Ahearn also combines some slide images into silk-screened paintings made in 2017 representing some of the era’s biggest names on canvases as big as 4 by 5 feet. Video pieces from 2005 to 2016 round out the show by providing contemporary portrayals of rapping, b-boying (breakdancing), and writing (graffiti).

To celebrate the opening of this look back at the origins of hip-hop, Ahearn — along with DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore, who is featured on the film’s soundtrack — will present a May 24 screening of Wild Style at the Lower East Side’s Metrograph, a venue with special resonance for Ahearn.“Metrograph is really close to Lee Quinones’s murals,” he explains. “That theater is in what I consider one of the most amazing cultural neighborhoods that I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Shortly after putting the finishing touches on pieces for the exhibition in a New Jersey studio, Ahearn shared the knowledge and perspective on hip-hop culture that made him a player in its spread around the globe.

*   *   *

Charlie Ahearn, “Dota Rock (Bam Yellow)”Data Rock (Bam Yellow) (2017), silkscreen on canvas, 24 x 34 inches

Jon Hogan: After moving to the city in the ’70s, you formed the Colab (a shortened version of “Collaborative Projects”) artists’ collective with your brother. What niche did you hope to fill in the New York art world of that time?

Charlie Ahearn: Colab was a really interesting group of friends. We were organized to pool some of our creativity in group projects. This culminated for me in the Times Square Show, which was happening right south of 42nd Street, off of Broadway. Well over 100 artists were pooled from all boroughs. Richard Goldstein wrote an article in June of 1980 and promoted it as a watershed for what would become the art of the ’80s. It’s not that it encapsulated the ’80s, but it certainly was one of the primary aspects of what the art of the ’80s became: this interaction between art and creativity in the streets.

JH: With a Super 8 camera, you created the kung fu film The Deadly Art of Survival. What drew you to the nonprofessional actors of the Deadly Art of Survival martial arts school in the Alfred E. Smith projects?

CA: I never thought of it as using nonprofessional actors. They approached me to make a film, and they were already martial artists. And they were already doing live narrative martial arts scenarios in front of audiences.

The Deadly Art of Survival allowed me to work in [the Lower East Side], and I learned a lot about the culture from making that. I became very intimate with looking at Lee Quinones’ murals. When we were organizing the Times Square Show, I had met Fred Brathwaite [the rapper and cultural promoter known as “Fab 5 Freddy”], who had seen my posters for The Deadly Art of Survival. We started to hatch a plan to make a movie that later became Wild Style.

Charlie Ahearn, “Battle (Orange)” (2017), silkscreen on canvas, 54×48 inches

The most important plan, for him, was to bring Lee to the Times Square Show the next morning and for them to make a mural out in front of the building. I got some spray paint for them, and they knocked out a nice big Fab 5 on the side of the wall. You have to understand that this was the middle of the street in Times Square, and this was not our building. It was just the way we did everything at the time. You didn’t ask if it was okay. You just did things.

JH: Did you or Quinones select the work showcased in Wild Style, and what was the deciding factor?

CA: The main thing I was focusing on was his handball courts. And of course the movie opens with him climbing over the top of a handball court. He was coming down a rope as if he were Spider-Man or some kind of outlaw superhero artist entering the subway yard.

JH: The film’s hip-hop performances — one of the first documentations of the art form — are often intercut with action. For instance, you can hear a hushed Busy Bee performance in the background while Fab 5 Freddy and Quinones play three card monty in an office, and the camera often cuts to the stage at full volume. What was your thinking in interweaving action with music?

CA: In the film, I wanted the performers to be stars, as important as anything in the narrative. You’re seeing real performances. The performers are never background in the movie. Yes, you cut to that scene in the office, but what’s going on onstage has its own story. You see a battle between Rodney C. and Busy Bee. You see the whole thing. You don’t just see it as backdrop for narrative. Most of my favorite parts of the film take something that could have been described in an interview and manifest it with a musical scene.

Charlie Ahearn, “Rock On (Busy Bee) (ManvPink)” (2017), silkscreen on canvas, 26 x 38 inches

JH: The exhibition Charlie Ahearn Scratch Ecstasy boasts pieces with original scores from DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore, who appears in Wild Style. What did Theodore bring to the table?

CA: One of the keys to the exhibition is the slideshow, which is a recreation of something I was doing live at the Ecstasy Garage quite a bit. I’m using that as a focal point because it’s not the most well-known place in the Bronx. I thought that it was an amazing laboratory for creativity. The audience was primarily high school students. You had MCs in groups hanging out onstage taking turns at the microphone. You had DJs like Grand Wizzard Theodore or DJ AJ or Mean Gene performing for several hundred kids in the room. They may each have only paid $4 or $5 to get in. It was very cheap, and I thought what they were getting was incredible.

In a way, [the slideshow] is the first wave of hip-hop as it’s coming from local clubs and becoming something that’s seen by the world. I worked for months with Grand Wizzard Theodore, and he would play me countless pieces of music from his collection. Every once in a while, I’d go, “That’s it! I remember that song playing and how people responded to it!” He was recreating the [Ecstasy Garage] sound for me for the slideshow.

It doesn’t mean that what you hear in the slideshow is what you’d hear in the club, because you had rappers getting on the mic. It’s not exactly the real thing, just like Wild Style is not actually the real thing. Like moviemaking, it tells a story that is very concentrated.

Charlie Ahearn, “Rapture (Scratch)”

JH: And it’s a bit of a curated experience, too.

CA: Yes, it’s what I’d like people to see.

I always shot slides because some artists shot their work on slides. There were other artists at the time, like Jack Smith or Nan Goldin, who were using slides as artwork. I would look at the slides and say, “Oh, damn. This one’s out of focus” or “I love this image, but it’s too dark.” It was perfect when I started to think of scratching words or images into the slides.

Even though the scratching looks kind of like punk art at the time, I thought the process was very much like hip-hop. You’re taking things that nobody wants and making something new with it, like graffiti on a broken down building. Even the scratch mixing is taking records people haven’t heard in a long time.

JH: In your mind, what are the standout images in the slideshow?

There are some moments in it where you see the high school-ness of the place. Someone shooting pictures for a magazine or something might not have shot these types of things because it looks so humble and so high school, but I like those kinds of images.

Charlie Ahearn Scratch Ecstasy opens at P.P.O.W. (535 W 22nd St, Chelsea, Manhattan) on May 18 and continues through June 24. Charlie Ahearn’s Wild Style is screening at Metrograph (7 Ludlow St, Lower East Side, Manhattan) on May 24. 

The post Charlie Ahearn on Documenting the Rise of Hip-Hop appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 1

People today may find it unusual to think of religious philosophy as the backbone of military training, yet that’s just what we find when we examine the military class of early Japan. Westerners are often confused by the term “religious philosophy” because in the West, those two subjects are distinct schools of thought. Until recently in Japan, however, there was no separation: They were connected in the sense that religion was philosophy acted out as a way of living.

One of the more popular Eastern religions, Zen, concentrates on living life to the utmost in the here and now, as opposed to focusing on the afterlife. If Zen practitioners live in this very moment, all the rest — whatever else that may entail — will fall into place naturally. That includes the main concern of the samurai warriors: proper action in the midst of deadly combat.

Two major turning points affected the development of the samurai. The first was the Gempei War (1180-1185), which led to the rise of the official warrior class. The roots of this war began in the Heian period (794-1185), when the prominent imperial family names were the be-all and end-all of social status, as well as the key to the imperial court. The Fujiwara lineage was becoming too complicated and far-reaching for it to retain its prestigious air.

Thus, “excess members of the imperial line were cut off from it and given the family names of Minamoto (also known as Genji) or Taira (also called Heiki).” (Reischauer 1989, 40) These families then migrated to other areas of Japan and used their imperial heritage to form a new aristocracy over the descendants of the old provincial uji (small counties that were unified by the worship of the same god, usually an ancestor). (Reischauer 1989, 40)

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As these families established that new form of provincial aristocracy, the hunger for court positions remained as strong as ever. Beginning in the late 11th century and continuing until 1185, the clans of Minamoto and Taira fought desperately to gain a foothold in the imperial line.

Soon enough, a major battle ensued — and nearly wiped out the Minamoto clan except for two sons of a general named Yoshitomo: Yoritomo and Yoshitsune.

Reischauer wrote, “Yoritomo extended his control over the Kanto area, and his younger brother Yoshitsune then seized the capital area for him and pursued the Taira down the Inland Sea to its western end, where he finally annihilated them in 1185 at Dan-no-ura in a naval battle.” (1989, 43) That conflict became known as the Gempei War. In recognition of the Minamoto clan, in 1192 the emperor declared Yoritomo to be the realm’s shogun, thus beginning the reign of the warrior class. (King 1993, 44) That happened one year after the return of Eisai, founder of Japan’s first definitive Zen sect.

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The second important incident that contributed to the development of the samurai was the establishment of the reverence for the sword. Nearly a century after the battle at Dan-no-ura, Japan was threatened by an outside entity — the Mongols, who had already conquered China, Korea and parts of Europe. When the Mongols turned their attention to Japan, they conveyed their demands to the Japanese court in 1266. (Reischauer 1989, 47) Japan refused, and Mongol forces were dispatched for Kyushu. Had it not been for bad weather — which made the Mongols retreat — the Japanese surely would have lost to the Mongols’ superior archers.

A second Mongol attack was launched in 1281 with some 140,000 men, yet the invaders were held offshore by Japan’s coastal fortresses. (Reischauer 1989, 48) That gave the Japanese the upper hand by enabling them to use smaller boats to board the Mongol junks and fight at close range, thus demonstrating the superiority of the Japanese blade.

Following several such attacks by the Japanese, a typhoon — known as a kamikaze, or “divine wind” — destroyed the Mongol army. From this battle onward, the Japanese warrior class regarded the sword as the weapon of choice. Because great strength of will and concentration, as opposed to just technical skill, are needed to succeed in lightning-fast blade duels, the samurai turned to Zen.

Bodhidharma

Zen began in India. Around 440 to 520, a priest named Bodhidharma taught that one could attain nirvana through meditation, not just through rigorous study of the sutra (scriptures). After learning the dharma (Buddhist teachings on law and duty), Bodhidharma was told to travel to China to teach this method. (Bodhidharma 1987, x) That happened because India had grown accustomed to keeping scriptures in a sacred light. Being the birthplace of the Buddhist tripitika (three baskets of teachings) and the home of Hinduism (which has as its defining factor the acknowledgment of the authority of the Vedic scriptures), there didn’t seem to be much room in India for Bodhidharma’s lack of reverence for the scriptures.

Although meditation wasn’t new to India, the texts that pointed to those meditation practices were still held in the highest regard. Bodhidharma added more emphasis to meditation and took it away from the scriptures — as can be seen in his Bloodstream Sermon: “The true way is sublime. It can’t be expressed in language. Of what use are scriptures? The ultimate truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They’re all cradles of rebirth.” (Bodhidharma 1987, 29)

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China, although previously exposed to doctrinal Buddhism, seemed to be a better prospect for large-scale acceptance of such teachings. Thus, having arrived in Southern China around 475, Bodhidharma began to spread his ideas of Chan (Chinese for Zen) meditation with his own twist: “While others viewed Zen as purification of the mind or as a stage on the way to buddhahood, Bodhidharma equated Zen with buddhahood and buddhahood with the mind, the everyday mind.” (Bodhidharma 1987, xv)

Once in China, Zen was exposed to Taoism. Taoism is the way of nature. The Tao is within everything. The goal of Taoism is to be in harmony with the Tao. With this goal in mind, sages such as Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu wrote about what a Tao-governed life should be. However, as descriptive of the Tao as these writings were, they were enigmatic in their explanation of a concrete method of bringing about such a life. (King 1993, 11)

Zen, with its teaching of the buddha-nature within everything, intermingled with Taoism very easily. “The word ‘Tao’ was often used in Chan Buddhism to express the supreme wisdom-reality of [this] Buddhist truth.” (King 1993, 10) What Chan offered to Taoism was the organized method of letting the buddha-nature (Tao) arise in one’s life here and now. This is not to say that the two religions ever officially merged because they did not, but Zen did benefit greatly from exposure to Taoism.

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This new form of Buddhism, with its friendly association with philosophical Taoism, gradually developed into one of the prominent religions in China. After the death of the sixth patriarch Hui-neng (638-713, known as Eno in Japan), five distinct schools were formed. The two most prominent became known as Rinzai (founded by Lin-chi around the mid-ninth century) and Soto (founded by Dogen in the mid-13th century). (Deshimaru 1996, xxxiii)

The Chan teachings made their way to Japan around the seventh century and were adopted as part of the spiritual training of the Tendai sect and given a home at Enryakuji. Eisai, a monk from that temple, traveled to China to deepen his Chan understanding and returned in 1191 as an ordained Rinzai monk to establish a temple in Kyoto specifically for Zen practice. (King 1993, 28)

Zen was a seedling that was planted during the Kamakura era and blossomed during the Ashikaga era. From then on, Zen continued to color life in all aspects of Japanese culture — especially the samurai class, which was socially elevated in 1192 by the emergence of the shogun.

As stated above, the establishment of Rinzai Zen as a separate and distinct form of Buddhism occurred in 1191 with the return of Eisai from China. Eisai’s new form of Buddhism was not immediately accepted by the established sects. In fact, he was expelled from Kyoto but soon won the favor of the shogun in Kamakura. Eventually, five major Zen temples were built, and they became centers of literature, art and learning. (Reischauer 1989, 53)

The fact that the Kamakura shogun took a liking to Eisai’s new method could be considered the first major advancement of Zen in Japanese society. As Reischauer wrote, “Warrior leaders came to draw on the Zen priesthood for both scribes and advisers, and they themselves sometimes retired to Zen monasteries when they wished to escape the pressures of secular life.” (1989, 53)

Keep in mind that these were the same people who held the majority of power in the Japanese government. Had Eisai stayed in Kyoto and not been supported by the people wielding the most authority, Zen might have been overshadowed for quite some time by the imperial traditions of Tendai and Shingon. This is not to say that Zen would not have found as deep a place in the heart of Japan, but its influence on history, art and literature might have been delayed for years.

(To be continued. The author’s bibliography will be posted with the conclusion.)

from Black Belt» Daily » Black Belt http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-history/japanese-matial-arts-history/martial-arts-enlightenment-why-the-samurai-warriors-practiced-zen-part-1/ Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 1 published first on http://thrandythefabulous.tumblr.com