First
779
Last
Comments
First Details Last

Features these Characters

Belongs to these Storylines

|

779

When your clan leader starts demanding his son kills him in ritual combat, it’s gonna furrow a few brows!

There’s not going to be an update next week as the holidays have finally caught up to me! regular updates will continue the week after (granted, we’re getting pretty close to the end here, folks). We here at Bushido Studios apologize for this delay and throw ourselves on our blades in dishonor. Joe, you go first. (Have I made this joke previously in the past 17 years? I legitimately can’t remember)

Published on by

  • KungFuKlobber

    Inconceivable!

  • Breakfast

    And the wall of lies comes tumbling do-! No, wait… they’re just gonna climb over it. I suppose that works, too.

  • Minando

    ‘….You OUTSOURCED the killing part?!’

    • Turul

      Outrageous!

    • Archangel

      Evil Overlord List #179: I will not outsource core functions.

  • Turul

    I expected Genchu to appear on this page, but dramatic rain made an entrance instead. Should’ve remembered this important character!

    (Please don’t throw yourselves on you blades. That is completely unreasonable. We’d be left to clean up the mess.)

    • Turul

      And damn, I’m going to miss this comic when it ends. It’s become my favourite webcomic of all. But then, all good things must come to an end. :)

  • notquiteotaku

    That look on Eijiro’s face: when you realize your father would rather be dead than leave the clan to you.

    • purplelibraryguy

      I still don’t really understand why Hirotomo wants to make his heir a parricide when seppuku is perfectly respectable.

      • notquiteotaku

        Probably because a duel over clan leadership is more definite in its outcome. If Yori kills him, Yori takes over. Boom. Done. No room for Eijiro or anyone else to argue his claim is invalid. If Hirotomo just kills himself, then things are more open. Eijiro can claim that Yori being disinherited takes him out of the running and things just collapse into infighting.

        As TV Tropes would say, ‘You Kill It, You Bought It’

      • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

        When Hirotomo realized he’d been manipulated into tyranny, he decided to play out the tyrant and set up his son as the savior who would be supported by Hirotomo’s enemies (basically ever other clan at this point) and the Wataro clan. If Yori wins, everyone is happy! Except Yori, Eijiro, and Genchu, who never wanted Hirotomo to fall this far.

        If he just killed himself, Eijiro would end up as Wataro clan leader, which Hirotomo does not want. Nor would it end hostility between the clans.

  • Crestlinger

    A little rain and suddenly everyone wants this to be over.

    • Turul

      Yeah, but they can’t end it before they agree whether it should end in murder or hugs. I don’t know how to solve this controversy. Maybe they should fight over it?

      • Xinef

        Maybe some sumo wrestling? It’s both hugs and fighting!

        • Turul

          Oh, that’s right. There’s always a compromise!

  • Agent 52

    At first I thought he was reacting to the grappling hooks

  • https://zauberparacelsus.xyz Zauber Paracelsus

    Wait, one moment his sword is drawn, and then another it isn’t? Isn’t it a bit odd to sheathe your weapon when it appears attackers are arriving?

    • Kid Chaos

      Oops, looks like Bushido Studios messed up! 😜

    • Hineko

      He might be gearing up for an Iaijutsu move, where the blade is drawn quickly from the scabbard. Good for counters and attacks!

      • Xinef

        Realistically, there are few reasons for him to use iaijutsu right now…

        But yeah, in fantasy iaijutsu masters sometimes sheathe their sword before each strike xD

        Btw. I know only one logical reason why you’d use iaijutsu in situations where you have plenty of time to draw your sword. It can make harder for your opponents to estimate the length of your sword, so they don’t know how closely they can approach you before being ‘in your reach’. Probably more effective against inexperienced opponents, but yeah, whatever xD

        • Archangel

          Fascinating. Thanks for the insight.

          However, I think we can all agree that it falls under The Rule of Cool at this point.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      I imagine Hirotomo frequently using quickdraw attacks, but you’re right in that I probably shouldn’t have drawn him having sheathed his sword between panels.

  • Archangel

    Improbable.

  • Agent 52

    Welp qataris gonna die by either his son or a heart attack when he sees genchu

  • clogboy

    I like where this is going. Instead of a reveal and then the duel, reveal him as the architect of the masterplan and have the duel first.

  • Sunwu

    Wataro Clan member: Guys why dont we just vote for a new clan leader?

    • Xinef

      *some voice from a hard-to-determine direction*
      I vote for uncle Yuki!
      *other voices of approval come from other directions*
      *the vote happens and unanimously Yukizane is chosen as the next clan leader*
      Wataro Clan member: So… who’s this Yuki dude we just chose as our new leader?

      … and thus through infiltration and proper crowd management techniques, uncle Yuki got one step closer to becoming the next shogun. Time for another game of go.

  • Namaphry

    I think Hirotomo intended Yori to be a bit more revenge-questy by this point. Maybe he should adopt Ken.

    • Turul

      Ohhhh dammit, THIS is the solution to all Hirotomo’s problems! Now I see the light.

  • Sunwu

    Man the color scheme is reminding me of StarTrek when Kirk and spock were forced to do battle https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a2bbe58d77ed8c450c9ea2439841271b7607bb70fcef2b74c7bd4f6ee6e20186.jpg

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      Nice edit!

  • Warcodered

    So wait he’s pointing his sword at Yori then grappling hooks appear on a wall and he sheathes his sword?

  • Cameron Matthias Campbell

    Convenient dark skies and ominous rain: making conversations more dramatic since 3,562 BCE.

  • animalia555

    Hirotomo: Pick up your sword and kill me!

    Yorikiro: Make me.

    • Kid Chaos

      Hirotomo: Well, since you asked so nicely… 😈

  • Skralin

    Every time I read this comic I get a sudden, irreversible urge to go play Shogun 2 Total War. What I’m trying to say is Thank you.

  • Debbie Wright

    Oh, good, I was hoping those guys had some common sense despite thinking this duel was a good idea up until this point.

  • Jake

    Impossible!
    You keep using that word. I think it doesnt mean what you think it means…

  • Frank Royce Harr

    It’s always a bad day for the side that says “Impossible”. When you start out that wrong, it’s hard to catch back up.

comic778 comic779