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Lesson…learned?

I just finished Samus Returns, and it’s so great. It’s the Metroid I’ve been waiting for, THE FULL PACKAGE! I was on such a high, I immediately started a new game in Fusion mode (somehow I managed to acquire the new Metroid amiibo from my local Toys R Us, even though their site said they had no stock)!

I feel like Samus Returns does for Metroid 2 what Zero Mission did for classic Metroid, a great re-imagining which re-enforces and builds on existing canon, making a continued narrative between the games more palatable. The ending of Samus Returns adds a lot more visual narrative that links it to Super Metroid, and I love that! Heck, it even throws a bone to Metroid Fusion, which I also love. Not that the Metroid franchise NEEDS a coherent canon, but that sort of light world building wired into all the games has always appealed to me.

One thing that is really silly, though, is that the entire Galactic Federation council had a unanimous vote to send one for-hire bounty hunter on a mission to wipe out the most powerful genetically engineered race of sentient weapons in the galaxy. Like, they didn’t think it’d be a good idea to send at least an armada as backup or something? Maybe everyone else was too busy with other ‘galactic stuff’. Not that they needed to over complicate the story, but having some sort of Chozo barrier around the planet that will only allow Samus to land unharmed might’ve helped with the logic of that setup.

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  • KungFuKlobber

    Gorgeous panel. That’s all I have to say.

  • Agent 52

    Did not see that coming at all

  • TM

    A blade that had a flat end. That’s gotta hurt.

    • Kid Chaos

      Yeah, because a sharp one would be so much better. *sigh* Dammit, I was sure that the authors were saving Tadashi for a climactic battle further on down the line! What the hell, NN4B??? 👿

    • andrewknwls22

      Actually, the point has very little to do with how much it would hurt as traditional Seppuku is really more of precise slashing motion than it is a stabbing motion.

      https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/engseppuku.jpg?w=580
      Also, Seppuku will hurt no matter how you do it 😉

      • AGV

        Of course, there’s a tutorial for seppuku

        • TheGorram Batguy

          Well it’s not the sort of think you want to get wrong on the first try.

          • Cian Oldershaw

            Fact: there is no such thing as a half-seppuku.

        • Leandro Toniut

          And of course, it has a guts pun

      • Xinef

        I would add that since normally seppuku would be done using a much shorter blade (tanto or maybe wakizashi), the fact it’s a broken katana may actually make it more fitting.

  • IDPounder

    Sad outcome, but completely in character for Tadashi. An absolutely stunning panel, I can really offer no further comment than that!

    • Marshmallows

      New to the comic and feeling a tad lost… All I’m thinking is ‘Why?’

      • Leandro Toniut

        Tadashi does have Need for Bushido, and by losing to Yori, he has either failed his Lord and deserves to die, or he has fulfilled his purpose as a samurai and uses his death as a mean to teach Yorikiro that, amidst the horrors of war, you will either die or your opponents have to, even if the idea pains you.

        At least that is what I get out of the scene.

        • IDPounder

          His lord’s orders, per his interpretation, are to either prove Yori an unworthy heir by killing him, or after proving otherwise, to help groom/prepare him to be the heir. His final lesson to Yori is to demonstrate the strictest adherence to Bushido, providing an example which he can draw upon in the future.

          • TheGorram Batguy

            Yes.
            Also, I think that it’s pretty clear Tadashi hates what has happened to the Wataro clan, and hates the underhanded things his lord orders him to do. Yet his overwhelming obedience to those orders according to his bushido leaves him little choice, as he sees it. Here, he has a legitimate opportunity to fulfill his lord’s wishes and remove himself from service with no internal contradiction – he’s very happy to take it, I’d surmise.

        • Dark_Liger

          He is also trying to force Yori to cut his head off to end his suffering and thus force Yori to kill his enemy. The act of seppuku is very painful but a favored samurai would be allowed to have a friend cut his head of at the moment he stabbed himself.

          • Kid Chaos

            “Force Yori to kill his enemy”…as if Ryoku and Uso weren’t enough. 💀

          • clogboy

            More like, sacrifice someone he respects. Harden him so he will throw someone else’s life on the line, so that Yori can live to lead another day.
            Because everything he does is bigger than just him. His future is the Clan’s future, so his fight is the Clan’s fight, and he must lead the Clan in order to win the fight and bring peace to his slice of Earth.

  • Sunwu

    A gut wrenching scene to be sure, but can Yori stomach it?

    • cu

      It must be cutting through his inner turmoil.

      • Sunwu

        thats a good point! and it looks like Yori’s plan to spare Tadashi’s life just went…belly up *sunglasses*

        • cu

          No one thinks Tadashi has a good point here. He does have an edge, though, no matter how you slice it. It is time he began spilling his guts, a samurai with his trajectory is no chopped liver.

    • Leandro Toniut

      Any way you dice it it turns my stomach.

      • Sunwu

        Ive personally lost appetite for war

    • Xinef

      He had to show Yori that his soft approach just doesn’t cut it.

  • Kid Chaos

    At least Yori took my advice; he didn’t stop not dying! Tadashi, on the other hand… 💀

    • Turul

      Tadashii took to his heart (…or stomach…) the secret lesson: if you are in the way, eliminate yourself.

      • Drunken Nordmann

        Pretty gutsy of him.

      • Xinef

        Considering the Japanese consider the belly to be the center of one’s soul, the way that Europeans usually think of the heart… yeah, it makes sense.

        • clogboy

          Interesting. Now makes sense how some foods ‘nourish the soul’… I can’t make too many decisions on an empty stomach either.

    • Nos Rin aka CTCO

      I was so sad for that farmer. :( :( :( :(

  • Dapperly

    Quick, Yori! Be his second!

    • Kid Chaos

      “Here endeth the lesson.” 💀

  • cu

    Now is the perfect chance for the trees to get their revenge and bury them in leaves. Forest fight back!

    • Kid Chaos

      “At long last, TREE BAMBOO-VENGE will be ours!” 🎋

  • Turul

    Tadashii goes out with style. For a character that cool, that’s only appropriate. And though Yori’s probably not feeling too happy about it, at least Tadashii spared him having to kill his old master himself.

  • leavescat

    I suppose the cavern system required precision. If they just did an aerial bombardment of the planet, they’d have trouble being certain they got them all. If they sent an army of marines, they’d just get choked up in the caves, and the massive activity would risk provoking an aggressive response (like how the troopers in Prime 2 got overrun by bugs). It’s far more efficient to send the one person who’s proven capable of fighting metroids to ensure they’re all dead.

    That said, an extra ship hanging around in orbit to shoot down Ridley would have been appreciated.

    • minion@otakumail.com

      Nuke the site from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.

      • leavescat

        I understand the reference, but considering that the caves are miles deep and metroids feed on radiation, it might not be the best plan. They’d have to blow up the planet, which seems like it’s more of a “plan B” kinda plan.

  • AGV
  • clogboy

    I think you just broke the internet.

  • foducool

    imma guess the galactic federation has their hands full dealing with the space pirates everywhere in the galaxy, so they do what any company do when they lack resources: hire temp workers

  • mellr0

    Take that!
    This hurts me more than it hurts you!
    I’m a reverse voodoo doll!

  • http://www.flowerlarkstudios.com/ Flowerlark

    *crawls out from under lurker rock*
    *whispers* My goodness, this page is amazing; the art and composition and expressions are all so awesome and gorgeous even though it’s kind of a sad page!
    *crawls back under rock*

    • minion@otakumail.com

      I wish I could upvote this more than once. Beautiful light and shading. Really awesome dramatic page.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      I’m sure it’s a very well kept rock!

      • http://www.flowerlarkstudios.com/ Flowerlark

        *peeks out from under rock so only eyes are visible*
        It is a very lovely rock. It even has wi-fi so I can keep up with all the awesome webcomics I read.
        *retreats from view*

  • TheGorram Batguy

    Tadashi! I thought you were actually good at this swordsman stuff. You’ve totally missed and stabbed the wrong combatant. What a goof up.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      One little mistake…

  • Galeden

    Not quite how I expected this to end…

    • Kid Chaos

      Likewise. 💀

  • Kid Chaos

    Well, now we’re down to “just” Honou-ko, a.k.a. “The Beast”. Something tells me that Yori’s going to need a lot more than the Patriots’ defensive line to stop him (especially this season’s; sigh). 👿

  • Auctorian .

    *sweats profusely*
    I didn’t study for this test. Is there a re-do?

    • AGV

      Goddamnit, Yori

  • Hfar

    …Well…Wasn’t quite expecting this death so soon. Well played NN4B team. Well played.

    On a tangent note, I always look forward to these “death of the Demons of Sorrow” panels due to the sheer amount of effort and artistry that’s put into each one, and this is by far the most stunningly depicted yet. Only fair for our boy Tadashi.

  • LordBolanderFace

    Well. Can’t say I was expecting that. Can’t say I have a witty remark this week, either. Well done, sirs.

  • Cian Oldershaw

    … oh, so that’s why he kept his family sword.

  • That guy with the face

    This is me, feeling like the unofficial remake was a better update of the original, but Samus Returns is a good chapter in its own right.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      Oh, don’t make me choose between them! I loved AM2R, especially its soundtrack, which I prefer over Samus Returns’. In a way, Zero Mission, AM2R, and Super Metroid make this sort of perfect 2D pixel art trilogy, I would love to have them all on one device for easy marathoning.

  • animalia555

    Guy is an idiot

  • Gábor Kovacsics

    But, why?

  • Roman Wieczorek

    Nooooooooooooo

  • EBeth

    Just freakin’ gorgeous…
    Slow clap for you gentleman. Really. (Getting strange looks from my coworkers over it, but what the heck.)

  • Nos Rin aka CTCO

    well. fuck. :(

  • Nos Rin aka CTCO

    that samus game does look good though.

  • Nos Rin aka CTCO

    your art has truly come a long way since it’s humble beginning. you are a true artist.

  • Crestlinger

    ‘See?! This is how you stab someone!’
    O.o

  • http://www1.flightrising.com/clan-profile/155294 umbrallycan

    *le gasp*

    😮

  • This guy

    Success?

  • tinwatchman

    Bam.

  • Frank Royce Harr

    That’s . . . taking it hard.

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