Well, that answers a few questions in a very fun way. :) Adds a few new ones, too.

Thanks, Gryph!

HA!

You, sir, just made my Holiday. That was absolutely fantastic.

My King of Fighters knowledge is rather more lacking than what (little) I know of the back-end for Street Fighter, but I'm assuming that other Gaijin would be our aptly named "world's worst phone conversationalist"?

>My King of Fighters knowledge is rather more lacking than what
>(little) I know of the back-end for Street Fighter, but I'm assuming
>that other Gaijin would be our aptly named "world's worst phone
>conversationalist"?

Yep. Andy "The Awkward Silence" Bogard, younger brother of Terry. I think they're actually from Fatal Fury originally. I've always been more of a Capcom man myself, but the FF OVA was entertaining, and one of the principal sparks that led to the creation of the WL universe in the first place. (In WL, Terry, Andy, and Joe Higashi fight on a different, rather less organized circuit than the Street Fighter league Gryphon belongs to.)

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
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Gah, you're right, it -is- Fatal Fury. Again, goes to show how much of these things I paid attention to overall. I don't think I ever -played- an FF game, but I've dabbled in a few KoF and the Capcom/SNK games a few times... Still need to watch that OVA...well, no time like the Holidays, what?

Awesome, now I have something other to read than "Sunshine" on the way to the SO's holiday party.

thx!
t..

Trigger Argee
trigger_argee@hotmail.com
Manon, Maccadon, Orado, etc.
Denton, never leave home without it.

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - HST

>"So we don't have to go to war, then?" said Hanzo Ibuki from the open
>side window.
>
>"No, Hanzo," said Shiranui a touch indulgently. "We do not."
>
>"Good." He tugged down his mask and gave me a smile. "On behalf of
>my two-year-old daughter, thanks for keeping her from becoming an
>orphan tonight."
>
>"Er... you're welcome," I said. He tossed me a jaunty salute and then
>disappeared from the window.

For some reason, that remark makes me wonder if his daughter's name is Maya - which probably means I've been thinking about Evangelion to much. Of course, Maya as an undercover kunoichi fits quite well, given that she's very much the sort of person you wouldn't think would be a ninja.

�They planned their campaigns just as you might make a splendid piece of harness. It looks very well; and answers very well; until it gets broken; and then you are done for. Now I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went wrong, I tied a knot; and went on.�
-- Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington

>For some reason, that remark makes me wonder if his daughter's name is
>Maya - which probably means I've been thinking about Evangelion to
>much.

I don't actually know what Hanzo's daughter's name is; she's one of those Capcom characters who seem to have only one name, like Madonna or The Artist Formerly Known. For all I know, they intended "Ibuki" to be her given name.

I imagine when the time comes for her to put in an appearance, I'll have to make something up. I probably won't name her after Maya, though, since that would cause people to think they were actually supposed to be the same character. Though you're right, Maya Ibuki would be an excellent candidate for a Late-Series Ninja Revelation in a show with more of a sense of humor than Evangelion. :)

--G.
"I've been waiting two years to do that," she said, stepping over Gendou's body.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

It sure is great to be back in WL. Man, I need to find a gaming group that digs the world warrior RPG format! A man can dream...

Great to see more of the multi-series blending in this short! SNK had some FANtastic games in their lineup; Fatal Fury/Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, and the King of Fighters games at so many of my quarters! Damn, wheres an arcade when a guy needs one!

I gotta say, my favorite cultural reference in this piece was the Loudness poster. I've got almost a perfect discog of those guys.

----
Now Playing:
Loudness -- Crazy Nights (Thunder in the East, 1985)

You are the HEROOOOOOO! MZA! MZA! MZA!

< THIS SPACE FOR RENT >

What a great little story, nice to see where the great white hunter/love Rhino joke originated from, though considering that Andy only catches it for the first time(presumably) many many years later, I have to wonder exactly how _many_ different strange nicknames they have for each other.

On a more random note, is that a Strongest Disciple Kenichi reference I see? (I'm guessing that if it is, it's a throwaway one, what with Rose being the last one left and all.)

>What a great little story, nice to see where the great white
>hunter/love Rhino joke originated from, though considering that Andy
>only catches it for the first time(presumably) many many years later,
>I have to wonder exactly how _many_ different strange nicknames they
>have for each other.

Either that, or it's far from the first time Andy has heard it, it just baffles him every time. :)

>On a more random note, is that a Strongest Disciple Kenichi reference
>I see? (I'm guessing that if it is, it's a throwaway one, what with
>Rose being the last one left and all.)

No, at least not directly. Ryo Zan Paku is the last bastion of the Experts of Justice in Giant Robo the Animation: The Night the Earth Stood Still, which is in turn a sort of lovingly built pastiche of a bunch of stuff Giant Robo manga creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama did - it probably comes to GRtA from one of those other sources, and then could be traced from there back to some common thread in Japanese myth that Kenichi is also referencing.

In this context it's intentionally mysterious, but my conception of it is as kind of a secret otherworld/mystic temple thing, like the hidden temple in Tibet where Kent Allard learned the power to cloud the minds of men in The Shadow. And, judging by Rose's remarks and the general arc of her fate, it is no more by the time WL-G is 13 - perhaps destroyed by Bison in the early stages of his quest for absolute power.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>>What a great little story, nice to see where the great white
>>hunter/love Rhino joke originated from, though considering that Andy
>>only catches it for the first time(presumably) many many years later,
>>I have to wonder exactly how _many_ different strange nicknames they
>>have for each other.
>
>Either that, or it's far from the first time Andy has heard it, it
>just baffles him every time. :)
>

All things considered, it's possible that he's so confused by it that he never thinks to ask Mai why she calls Gryphon her Love Rhino. And two or three years after this (at most), neither Gryph nor Mai are likely to wear those T-shirts; they've probably both outgrown them.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

I would wager rather more than "probably".

Particularly in Mai's case. :)

>And
>two or three years after this (at most), neither Gryph nor Mai are
>likely to wear those T-shirts; they've probably both outgrown them.

*Looks at Gryphon.*

*Looks at Mai.*

Yes, I'd say that's a very safe bet.

--- Philip

	Philip J. Moyer Contributing Writer, Editor and Artist (and Moderator) -- Eyrie Productions, Unlimited CEO of MTS, High Poobah Of Artwork, and High Priest Of the Church Of Aerianne -- Magnetic Terrapin Studios "Insert Pithy Comment Here"

>All things considered, it's possible that he's so confused by it that
>he never thinks to ask Mai why she calls Gryphon her Love Rhino.

He asked once, but all G would say was, "It's the horn. Chicks dig the horn," which did not significantly enlighten him.

>two or three years after this (at most), neither Gryph nor Mai are
>likely to wear those T-shirts; they've probably both outgrown them.

Indeed, the next time Gryphon saw Mai (as opposed to speaking with her on the phone or corresponding in some text-based medium) was nearly four years later, at which occasion he was... surprised. In several contexts, since one of her goals for the meeting was to demonstrate for him her mastery of several kunoichi concepts she'd had only a shaky command of the last time - such as Leaping Out Of Nowhere and Wearing That Outfit.

--G.
"Sweet Mother of Pearl, what do they feed you at ninja camp?"
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

>No, at least not directly. Ryo Zan Paku is the last bastion of the
>Experts of Justice in Giant Robo the Animation: The Night the Earth
>Stood Still, which is in turn a sort of lovingly built pastiche of
>a bunch of stuff Giant Robo manga creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama
>did - it probably comes to GRtA from one of those other sources, and
>then could be traced from there back to some common thread in Japanese
>myth that Kenichi is also referencing.

Ryo Zan Paku is the Japanese translation of the Chinese Liang Shan Bo, which is the area where the 108 heroes lived in the Chinese classical novel "Shuihu Zhuan", AKA "Water Margin" or "or The Marshes of Mount Liang".

Lots of characters in Giant Robo the Animation : The Night the Earth Stand Still also comes from this novel. E.g. Taisou and Shishin of the nine kings, Goyou, Youshi, Kaei, and many many more.

Ref :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Liang

--
CuSO4

>Ryo Zan Paku is the Japanese translation of the Chinese Liang Shan Bo,
>which is the area where the 108 heroes lived in the Chinese classical
>novel "Shuihu Zhuan", AKA "Water Margin" or "or The Marshes of Mount
>Liang".
>
>Lots of characters in Giant Robo the Animation : The Night the Earth
>Stand Still also comes from this novel. E.g. Taisou and Shishin of
>the nine kings, Goyou, Youshi, Kaei, and many many more.

Well, there you go. They all share that common referential root.

>Ref :
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Liang

Thanks!

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.