Hot take: Katanas ain’t special.
Lightsabers treat metallic objects in the Star Wars universe mostly like a chainsaw. In Episode 1, it takes a good deal of time to cut open a sealed door.
I assume that any metallic object hit by a Lightsaber at high speeds will fragment as opposed to being erased from existance right away. Even at high heat things take a bit to melt!
In previous versions you used a low tech weapon as you were trying not to violate the prime directive more or less. That one…I’ve got no clue as I abandoned it about 5 hours in
Star Ocean has been around for decades.
You mean cannon fodder?
Your saying that the Japanese see the Katana as cultural symbol of power hence the usage in Movies and just about all there games, well most.
I can say that the first time I noticed this obsession the Japanese have with the Katana, was in a James Bond film. Where the villain is inside a big caverness missile silo. Bond sneaks inside the silo but gets into a fight with a group of the villain’s troops. At which point a group of Japanese special forces charge in to rescue him.
The thing that stood out in that film was the fact that the Japanese rescue troops all fought with Katanas. The Silo guards fired machine guns at the Ninjas yet the Ninjas still defeated the machine gunners. It was all very exciting. But Silly.
The next film I will mention was “Kill Bill.” Katanas Galore! The only time Katanas were not used was the appearance of the school-girl uniformed kid swinging that big spiked ball on a chain. Looked like a Mace. I didn’t know what to make of that. lol.
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That’s a bit different. Those were ninjas and everyone knows ninjas are awesome and stuff. I’m sure they just dodged all the bullets with their ninja reflexes.
I must say it was super exciting and fun to watch that battle!
Can’t say i know of any James Bond films that were made by japanese directors/writers/studios.
Tarantino is white.
Correction I never mentioned who made these films. There have been many western movie companies that have made Asian themed films. The Katana is part of the transference of the cultural aspect of these productions.
A point of interest here. Tarantino actually played a character in a Japanese produced film Titled “Sukiyaki Western Django.” It was a spoof of “The Good the Bad and the Ugly.” Very entertaining. Here the Japanese turned the tables using Colt 45s, Schofield pistols, Winchester rifles, Springfield Trapdoor Carbines and even a Gatling-gun, etc. And of course Katanas.
Here is the Movie Trailer for it:
I kind of agree I’d rather be shooting massive chain lighting out of a gun. Swords,maces,fist weapons, and so on ain’t that cool.
Agree completely. Chain Lighting! Which transcends all the genres. Medieval Fantasy Magic Users like Shaman, Wizards, etc can fight using Chain Lightning. Sci-Fi fighters can use Chain Lightning but its called Force Lightning. Either way its Spectacular and believable in both genres. Well within the confines of the mythos.
You mentioned the japanese’s obsession with katanas but referenced only western media. Western media weebs don’t speak for them.
Well, I suppose having projectile weapons for potential planet fall would be handy but using them in a ship traveling thousands of miles an hour would be suicidal. Swords wouldn’t puncture hulls.
the romanticization of japan culture in the west is weird. japan makes anime and some video games. behind that, there is record suicide rates, severe depression, overworked like animals. the population is declining. they treat foreigners badly, tourists badly. well some wont even look at a foreigner
In fact I started this thread with a question about Japanese produced video games. Particularly a video game Titled: “Star Ocean: The Divine Force.” Later in the thread I mention a few movies I have seen. That’s it. This thread is about the differences between American, European, Japanese Game design and development.
Main character Edge in the Last Hope explained it by preferring close combat because he doesn’t trust himself with a gun (missing when trying to protect someone at a young age but succeeded when he grabbed a knife)
In the End of time Fayt is on an undeveloped planet and uses a sword to blend in (also trained with swords in simulators for fun)
done extremely well in Babylon 5 with the PPG weapons (plasma weapon that cannot puncture ship hulls but effective on organics)
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