These Fantasy Polearms are Cool AND (Reasonably) Practical!
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Just because a design is ahistorical and unconventional doesn't automatically mean it wouldn't work. Here are a few examples that wouldn't need too much modification to make them practical in real life.
The spears and other polearms we're talking about here (the naginata is the only battle-ready one, the others are made for decoration or cosplay):
King's Chastiefol from The Seven Deadly Sins
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Scáthach's Gáe Bolg from Fate/Stay Night
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Baal's Engulfing Lightning from Genshin Impact (foam version)
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Historical naginata for comparison
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Polearms, in general, are criminally underrated in fantasy, which is weird because in legends and mythology, they get just as much rep as swords, given that both were part of the usual noble's kit.
I yearn for the embrace of the wacky fantasy halberd
Nah, polearms are typically the soldiers or guards weapon in every fantasy settings
I hate how spears are treated. It was used by many heroes in myth and history.
Agree, more so if fighting large creatures from bears to giants or elephants you want an log weapon if ranged is not an option.
First one looks nice if ring was a bit smaller and the colors was more realistic as in wood handle including the green part.
@@Oruta563 Yep. Historically in the West, the polearm was a commoner's weapon that didn't take a lot of skill to use. Nobles liked to wear swords as status symbols for a handful of reasons. Swords were a greater percent metal than polearms, so they were seen as more expensive, and requiring more fine craftsmanship. Swords were more portable than polearms, so they worked better as a part of a costume/fashion than a polearm which would have to be carried in one's hands. Sword-fighting was also generally a bit harder to master than pole-arm fighting, and was thus seen as a refined technique of gentlemen and nobility that commoner's didn't have access to.
All of that has combined to give a particular image of the spearman/polearm wielder that has been carried forward throughout the centuries. Personally I think polearms are really fucking rad, and I like how Eastern media depicts them, since Western media likes to depict them as boring, thrust-only weapons for infantry/peasants.
It's funny how Skall talking about Chastiefol as an actual practical weapon which requires hands to handle, but King in anime just throwing it around with his telekinesis.
My thoughts exactly.
is King related to priests as profession? Cause they usually wear rings on their staves.
@@wellgaroa quite the opposite hes considered the deadly sin of sloth
That and it doesn't stay as a spear most of the time. Its best form is the pillow imo XD
Which is really dumb actually. If you're going to control it with your mind what's the point of the shaft? Just use a chakram that's sharp all around, or something like Yondu's Arrow that can pierce in any small gap.
Genshin has a lot of examples of, “useable” weapons and, “what even is this?”.
Like the Fish
Yep. On the one hand we have End of a Line that's literally a fish bow, while on the other there are Favonius weapons (especially Polearm and Greatsword) that are very reasonable
They just like to put a lot of bottle openers on swords. That is supposed to make them cooler somehow, but I don't see it.
What I don't get with Genshin, or any anime and manga and such: Twinks with bows-the weapon. Bows require a lot of strength to pull back.
"We got people using all types of swords, polearms and bows"
"And that little girl over there? what does she fight with?"
"Oh, that's Klee, she chucks grenades and floating cluster bombs landmines at you"
"What the fuck???"
His guess on why mangakas come up with these designs is more or less spot on, in Mangas they use mostly black and white and shades of gray, so having a large shape with only one value on it wouldn't look pleasing, adding accessories or holes or engravings adds contrast and makes the frame more interesting to look at.
You can't just say a weapon is special. It needs visual reminders that this is the sword of an important character
Honestly Skall reviewing FATE series weapons from a historical and fantasy standpoint would be really interesting.
I can imagine his reaction to Nero's "sword".
man should also do a colab with someone that has extensive fate and IRL lore
like what skall dident know and the owner dident mention was the fact that its not a metal spear at all, its made entirely of bone or wood
Yeah he probably shouldn't, because just like character designs the weapons are also over the top. Not insanely unreasonable, but not practical either.
Wood no, in fate both Cu and Scáthach's spear it is bone of a mythical river beast and the "Veins" are capillaries. Maybe wood in original lore but not in game or anime.
Varies wildly. Some are fine, a lot are completely whack.
All Halberds are Pole-arms.
But not all Pole-Arms are Halberds.
Very refreshing video, thank you!
Unless you are a polish halberd enthusiast; then all of your pole arms are probably halberds.
Yes exactly
Baals Naginata makes even more sense to be ornamental, since the user is basically the God/Ruler of the lands with electric power. Her debut was quite *flashy* when you first approach her in the game.
I am curious if that actually is Baal's weapon, though. Baal is the older twin sister who died hundreds of years ago, and the current ruler is the younger twin, Ei. Possible Ei inherited the Engulfling Lightning from her sister, though what little lore I've seen about the weapon seems to indicate this is not the case. That said, the ornamental thing also plays out nicely another way, as when Ei gets serious, she swaps over to a katana.
@@Axterix13You’re right, that is technically Ei’s weapon, not Makoto’s. Makoto’s weapon was the Mosou Isshin, the sword Ei uses during her elemental burst. However, Makoto was not a fighter, and never really wielded the sword during her life, Ei did all the fighting for them.
@@Axterix13 I only referred to it as Baal's weapon because they only name dropped that alias, if I were to say Ei or Beelzebul I don't think it would be as clear to those who aren't already familiar with Genshin but have watched the video. If they said Raiden to begin with then it would've been easier to make the distinction for those unaware. I too doubt it was Makoto's naginata, she wasn't as into martial arts as Ei was.
@@RyzawaVT Yeah, I figured as much, since you said "the user" rather than Baal. I was just curious if there was actually any lore that it was indeed her sister's weapon, and to add the bit about her swapping weapons when she really wants to get slashy.
That said, since she assumed her sister's public persona, the whole naming stuff gets messy regardless. I'm guessing they went with Baal to avoid people thinking the weapon is tied to MK's Raiden.
@@Axterix13 Funny thing is that most people thought she was Baal for a long time before the air was cleared about that, me included. So I really can't blame anybody for even still currently thinking she's Baal because that was just the assumption people went with since there were leaks before Inazuma dropped lol
The switching weapons thing is cool because that did sometimes happen with real Samurai, they really do switch from Polearm to Sword just like warriors from other backgrounds. But since Samurai were often expected to be well-trained in Polearms, swords, and even bows, having both available in Raiden's kit is a nice nod to that.
Oh also another thing people get Raiden confused with is the Raiden from Metal Gear Rising, my friend would often bring up both when talking about those 2 games.
Iirc Raiden's blade was crafted by Kazuha's ancestors or one of his ancestors competitors, I would assume the naginata was also forged by the same people specifically for her. Ofc I didn't intend to imply that Baal actually owned it originally, I would be quite curious to see if she did own any weapons however.
One thing I noticed about the Genshin Impact one is that there's an spot on the guard where you could probably catch another polearm with, where the blade edge ends.
It is also the fact that Raiden (the one that owns the weapon) uses a playstyle that does not revolve on thrusting the blade, rather she swings it like a sword.
If you compare with Mika and Favonius Lance you see her playstyle is more of slashing then piercing
@@JoshuaA1307 Raiden pulls an electro sword from the middle of her melons
As someone who went to art school, I will quote my 3d modeling instructor who, upon opening a student's homework for critique, saw that it was a standard barrel asset, stared at it silently for about 10 seconds, and then closed it with a disappointed "the world has enough barrels."
Adding flair to mundane objects is sometimes a necessary part of being an artist. At least that's what they're taught in school and often expected from employers.
Yup but at the same time speaking of barrels I remember being at college and somebody did a very intricate design on a barrel model the lecturer used it as an example of over design for what it was for he sed if it's an objective in a game or something you need to smash for items it was good as it drew the eye but since it was ment as a background object for environmental flavor it was too much of a destraction so it depends on what it's for they ended up recycling the design for a characters hammer weapon instead lol
you say that like being able to design something that looks like it could be found anywhere in the world isn't a valuable skill.
@@badendersgame The impression I get is that the assignment was somewhat freeform and the professor was getting on the student's case for having artistic freedom and squandering it with a basic barrel
@@kretisme honestly, a good way of recycling an overly complicated design in my opinion, "make it a part of a character arsenal"
@@blue_canned What would the ash of war of a barrel be like?
Finally something from genshin! genshin has literally hundreds of weapons, some pretty practical, some absolutely crazy, would love a bigger video tackling a bunch of the weapons from it.
FISH
Ranges from literal pipe to a deformed draconic book that's about as practical as a cybertruck
I mean, the books are meant to channel elemental energy that don't exist so I don't think they can be judged the same as polearms that the characters actually use as polearms
He's talking about Gae Bolg! Remember to throw it for maximum damage
Thrown but with the legs!
But thrusting can reverse causality.
Spear also never misses in lore, it always strikes the opponents heart and can't be dodged
@@-Extra_Lives unless you are Saber or have Rho Aias!
@@-Extra_Lives- You can pull it out---and it will do three times the damage on the way.
That texture on the genshin naginata's grip isn't necessarily canon. In the game it is of course just flat texture on a cylindrical model, and I never interpreted has having dimensionality and have only ever seen it as flat color
The lore of that red spear is made out of bone from a sea beast.
It was made from the bone of the sea monster, the Curruid, that had died while fighting another sea monster, the Coinchenn.
And use wise it enteres the body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opens into barbs spreading into iron thorns throughout the body. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be removed. Things no joke!
@@allenzero1wait, that thing is the Gáe Bulg?
@tsumikiayato1560 Yup, the Lancer character she mentioned is Cu Chulainn
@@nohaxmeh576 yes but this one is Scathach's ver of Gae Bolg from F/Grand order
@@tsumikiayato1560yes, though it works differently in fate. Instead it rewrites cause and effect, guaranteeing the spear always pierces the target's heart.
Unless you throw it. Then it becomes a high-yield explosive.
Partisans and glaives are extremely under appreciated
To be fair, historical people didn't seem to appreciate them all that much, either, and I suspect they're over-represented both in modern fiction and period art in comparison to halberds and bills.
Personally, while I can definitely see how a glaive might excel in certain applications (eg, bodyguarding), I can't say the same for the partisan. From a practical perspective, a variety of glaive, halberd, and bill designs can do everything it can (if not more) just as well (if not better) while weighing less. Even if the lower edge of the wings were sharpened (which they weren't, IIRC), it's basically just a two-headed halberd or bill, which makes no more sense than a two-headed axe.
@@irrelevantfish1978 "didn't seem to appreciate them ... over-represented in period art" idk seems like they really appreciated them to me.
Glaives are my favorite weapons in BG3
This released just a week before HSR (still a hoyo game) x FATE collab announcement is insane
I appreciate the little displays of awareness and safety from everyone involved here, from Skall explaining how to carry a sword in a previous video, to stuff like in 8:52 where he looks back for a moment just to make sure he's not knocking anything over with the polearm. It's this stuff, not the flashy cuts and techniques, that truly mark someone as an expert in their field
I love how pationate the store clerk was about Fate :D I also love Fate Stay Night. Before I started watching videos about medieval weaponry I thought the vines were for better friction to hold on to the spear. I guess I was once young and naive.
I'd guess it would be fine if it didn't stick out as much, you could still do the ol' pool cue routine and it helps grip but yeah it'd be better if it wasn't there.
If they were simply decorative engravings then it would probably be fine.
It's worth noting, however, that originally Gae Bolg was never designed for thrusting anyway.
It was purely a throwing spear and in that case the extra grips might actually be useful in holding onto it during the cast.
Cu is strong and skilled enough with the magic spear to use it like a traditional pole-arm but when he's serious then throwing it the way it was meant to be used that's when it's at its most powerful.
That's why I've always been a fan of the Weathered Spear in FF14. It's supposed to be a beginner weapon you're glad to get rid of but even as a higher level character I glamour my weapon so it looks like that because not only are spears badass, the look is that of a realistic spear and not some over the top rule of coolness.
Honestly the low level/beginner weapons make for great glamours.
@@DeNihility
Mate there's a CNJ/WHM
That was a nice palate cleanser from the mockery.
Nice to see that she sells practicable and practical weapons too. Please thank her for us. This series is great and I hope it’s not over yet.
That "simple" naginata at the end is just lovely.
One of my favourite weapons. I love glaives in general and the slender blade of the naginata has always been a favourite of mine!
@@quentinbrown9300 I do love the blade on it. The light flare towards the tip makes it look more ferocious than a katana, and yet it's still amazingly beautiful.
Skall mentioned Fate YESSS
you forgot
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"O Incrívelllll Fate!"
Seiba will infect the world
Hopefully, it's the last time.
Casually states that you can't be her friend if you haven't played early 00's eroge, nice.
I love naginatas
I always thought it'd make a cool mageblade type of weapon too, since you could have like, the naginata also serving as a staff, and a polearm makes a lot of sense for a mage since it lets you keep opponents at bay meaning more opportunities for spells, and if the polearm is your staff you could also channel your magic into it for elemental strike.
Cool idea
That's actually Scáthach's Gae Bolg, not Lancer's. There is a replica of Lancer's too.
I hate that you are correct.
I'm not quite sure I understand this comment. Lancer is a servant class that, as far as I know, Scathach belongs to.
Scathach is a Lancer though am I right
@@MakiMaki. Generally when people just say the name of the class with no other identifier they are referring to the characters from Fate Stay/Night. So while Scáthach is a lancer she is not Lancer. That name almost exclusively refers to Cu.
@@MakiMaki. By lancer they mean Cu Chulainn who is the lancer of fate stay night. His gae bolg looks a little bit different.
if skall sees the "armor" lancer wears while wielding gae bolg, he's gonna flip! that being said, more fate stay night content please!
The first lander in the franchise supposed to wear blue paint instead of armor, so anything more is an improvement.
@@user-ct8dm7ez4r yeah, but it's just a full on body suit that's supposed to resemble warpaint
@@user-ct8dm7ez4r I want to see that original design
@@EmiyaHikari That's because they were too pussy to draw him more lore-accurate.
In Fate/Extra it's more evident. Looks more futuristic but also make it more resembling Celtic bodypaint
Some things I can't help but note about Gae Bolg:
1. I would guess the longer spearhead is because that's Scathac's version where she actually tends to do slashes with it in Grand Order's sprite animations. This kind of contrasts with her student and the more famous user Cu Chulainn who, in the original VN isn't described as slashing but only thrusts with it or throws it. Also his version of Gae Bolg is actually even plainer by comparison having a fairly normal looking spearhead and no crossguards.
2. I'm not certain about how it is in Fate-verse, but I know in Irish myth, Gae Bolg is made from the bones of a mythical sea monster. I would suspect the design in Fate might have been interpreting it more as a sort of plant perhaps? Which, oddly would have worked more with Gae Bolg's original Celtic myth power of shooting spines through every vein of an opponent's body. Gae Bolg's 'never miss' thing seems to be taken from Odin's Gungrir from Norse Myth.
While Cu isn't described using the spear for slashing, he does sweeps often, even in the first fight (against Archer) it's stated that the strength of the spear is that it can catch you with a sweep if you try to get in close.
It depends on the Bulg. The one Cu Chulainn has does come from a sea monster, but Scathach with her runes can make them from a mythical ash tree
What Scathach gave Cu was the original one from a sea monster and it's design has a shorter spearhead but longer body/ handle
Gae Bolg Alternative was what she carved from the ash tree using runes, and was made for her tastes which has a longer spearhead,has cross guards and shorter in length than the original Gae Bolg.
Kinda nice that they actually incorporated this in game when she attacks with a buster card she uses 2 alternatives hence why there's 2 in the vid and in her NP animation she materializes the original Gae Bolg strikes with the alternative and uses the original for the second strike
@nabi7701 Where did you hear Gae Bolg never had cause and effect Alteration when Cu was alive? And what does never missing a spear thrust mean exactly here? It's not as of if he one shot people in every battle. His fight Ferdiad and Connla for example. Especially with how Cu said he used Gae Bolg as a last resort when shit got real tough
About your last sentence yeah it was mentioned in UBW that Gungnir is the prototype of Gae Bolg, that's why it too follows the same concept of always piercing through the heart and never missing it's target
Loved seeing Gáe Bolg in here. Haven't caught up with the Fate series (Having only watched Stay/Night so far) but, the mythology behind Gáe Bolg and Cú Chulainn is one I find so interesting. We definitely need to see Skall look at more Fate series weapons!
Fate/Zero is by far my favorite of the series. I highly recommend it. Rider is a delight.
Interestingly that's not actually Cu's Gae Bolg. It's one of Scáthach's.
@@sr71silver True. But, she is still part of that Mythos. It was hers before she passed it on to Cú. And their design is somewhat similar, though not exact, of course
@@sr71silver Technically, they are the same weapon. She gifts Cu the Gae Bolg after training him. So it isn't entirely wrong to call it Cu Chulainn's, even if the design isn't like his yet.
@@FENomadtrooper It's not. Scáthach has multiple Gae Bolgs in Fate and she only gave 1 of them to Cu. I'm pretty sure she gave him the best Gae Bolg but it certainly wasn't the only one. And it's pretty obvious if you look at their art that the Gae blog in this vid is not the one she gave to Cu. It's too short. The head is too large and the wrong shape. And that flower guard at the base of the head is completely different from the simple disk on Cu's.
Stick is good! But what is better than stick?
Stick with pointy thing on the end!
‘But you could be fire’
And what is better than a stick with pointy end? A stick with pointy AND slashy AND hooky end. There's saying that every stick have two ends. Well, halberd proves differently.
@@mcpherson1222 I am a stick
*POINTY STICK*
Ah, the mighty long stubby
The most dangerous weapon ever created; responsible for the almost total annihilation of all megafauna, and turning apex predators like the smilodon and living tanks like the mammoth, _into prey._
Polearm, best arm. I especially love the slash-focused ones (glaive, naginata), but just because they look cooler.
It's a magical Spear that can transform into a pillow, a bear or a big flower that shoots energy. 😅
Can also transform to several kunais
@@sephylon2499 "The darts didn't work! What about... what about _more_ darts?"
About Naginata's honestly it's such an underrated weapon.
But also, Naginata's weren't "war" weapons just in case anyone wonders, really they had a more home defense role, and it was very natural that all the women in a samurai family learnt to use them just in case they have to defend themselves from possible attacks either from stuff like bandits or town defense from another lord's attack.
After all Japan had a bunch of very prolonged warring eras.
With all due respect, what makes you think naginata aren’t war weapons? What do you think attendants in the heian and samurai in the nanbokuchou to onin were using? Yari don’t come into existence until the early muromachi.
Granted yes you are right that many naginata were left at the homes of samurai in which case used for home defense by women, but that’s is a far later thing in the azuchi momoyama to very likely early edo period.
The reason they were left back is because they’re likely old gifts passed down by family or simply went out of fashion in their own lifetime. Since early Japanese battles were quite small skirmishes with elite troops they could afford having large slashing weapons but when closer infantry formations became more prevalent than a naginata suddenly isn’t as favorable. This doesn’t mean they weren’t ever a war weapon, in fact they never really saw a complete disappearance in the battlefield, just a large decline.
If you have any insight on why you’d think otherwise I’d love to hear it! It just doesn’t line up to what I’ve studied.
it's coz battlefield weapons (especially from japanese feudal era) were already banned for use in public during tokugawa era/edo period. naginata were relegated to home defense coz it's the only place where the practitioners wont get arrested. also iirc naginata fighting style made way for the yari coz naginata dont work against matchlock pistol/tanegashima tactics anymore (naginata techniques needed larger space and was more suited for melee and headhunting)
It was a war weapon before yari tho
Man I wish they had a Mistsplitter Reforged for you to review, it has an extension on the back of the blade that arches into the handle that gets in the way of the wielder's hand
Seeing Skall having fun is nice ^^
Tales of the Mississauga Saga shall be sung for eons
Say that 3 times quickly!
Genshin's Guandao even has a "fantasy" twist to it's spinal spike that I appreciate: the whole "fantasticalization" that keeps something of the practicality is something I enjoy!
I feel like it's a theme, especially in eastern games, that the more "special" the weapon, the more over the top it gets. Most of the best weapons in Genshin tend to look either ornamental, or simply unusable, while weapons that would be considered common like let's say "silver sword" or "black tassel" seem way more practical.
I like to imagine Skall just accidentally teleported to this store and just started to review the weapons.
Rings are pretty, but also can allow a lot of empty space to save weight, AND can be used to hang things, as is popular in the Far Easts' historical weapons.
Korean weapons also frequently feature rings, esp. Ring Pommels... and Korean aesthetics are considered "exotic" by MOST non-Korean eyes, Japanese included.
Really excellent series, honestly. The conversation between you and the shop owner are really great and shed a lot of light in the choices of the designs! Practicality is a fun way to look at these... unique weapons, haha!
Excellent reproductions, too, it allows for really good judgement of the fantasy weapons better than just pictures!
Speaking of too much being a thing, War from Darksiders comes to mind.
Tbf at least it fits with the darksiders aesthetic of everything being way over done lol
Honestly there are so many examples that are just worse than War.
small clarification. Engulfing Lightning, the naginala weapon, is the signature one of Beelzebub. non Baal. Baal's weapon is, actually, a more traditional katana. not going to go deeper into details because it would be a massive spoiler to the story of Inazuma. ^^ one lore established fact is that, beelzebub is proficient with any weapon. and all the martial arts and forgin tecnique are all derived from her teachings. but, her personal favourite is that naginata.
Never expected the power duo that is Skall and Fate Shop Lady
This is a great series. You two work really well together with complementary knowledge. I love it.
With Gae Bolg, you should have tried using it in the correct manner from myth (also seen in FGO with summer Scathatch) to launch the spear from your foot.
I think you need to consult a soccer player or a gymnast for that.
Dude's actually one of the cool nerds, nice
Hey Skall, just a quick input from experience on naginata:
It depends on the school, but naginata usually does have thrusting techniques. However, naginata(s) shown in the video were really short - not ideal for thrusting. Length-wise, these are based on modern (late Edo) naginata. Modern naginata are shorter, nimbler, but less efficient overall. "Fighting" (pre-Edo) naginata were usually longer, about 2,3-2,5m in length. Techniques often feature counter-thrusting, push-cutting, and snap-cutting. But primarily these were cutting weapons, similar in use to greatswords - taking advantage of large sweeping cuts, used by bodyguards or guards for covering multiple opponents and defending narrow points or flanks of the formation. Such long naginata are cutting beasts - the amount of impact force they generate is insane.
Always good to get a Polearm video.
May favorite fantasy weapon feature is reduction of structural support right under the blade.
I didn’t know all that stuff about the history of the naginata. That’s actually really cool!
Considering all the different polearm designs across history, it's almost hard to go wrong. Many combinations of spikes, bludgeons, hooks, blades, & so on mounted to a haft make for a functional weapon.
These days I usually buy functional, practical, and fairly simple blades that I can play with. That being said this shop seems to have some super cool fantasy weapons from some shows I didn't know had decorative replicas.
ive been loving these videos lately man
As much as I love these sweetass fantasy weapons, nothing will ever top the Halberd and Javelin for me.
I have a friend who's a big fan of Nier Reincarnation (before the game died) and he would make me review its weapons each time a new one came out. This video gives me those exact same vibes of Historical combat nerd + Fantasy/anime nerd, but way more advanced than what we did.
Gotta say, watching the scene in Fate UBW with Archer and Lancer dueling just made it for me. It radicalized me towards spears and polearms. Even if Cu Chulainn doesn't use the spear correctly all of the time, it just looks extremely cool. Polearms have so much latent animation potential that's just waiting to be explored
Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior definitely has a few that I think you should take a look at. There's the Sword of Kings/Sword of Light/Erdrick's Sword (along with the rest of Erdrick's equipment) since the Erdrick Trilogy has a remake that will be coming out, the Cautery Sword (a weapon you can buy in game), some of the "legendary/endgame" weapons from the later entries.
Much of the early game equipment tends to be a bit more realistic for a game whose main artist for decades was none other than the late, great Akira Toriyama.
The simpler naganata is like what the one-two star versions would look like if genshin actually designed polerms of that quality for inazuma.
Damn, I love this series! The only thing I could wish for is for Skall and the shop owner to take some samples outside where there would be more space to demonstrate some of the techniques. This will be really cool! After all, you both have something to show in terms of technique.
Watching all these videos I love when she gets really excited over a particular weapon. Quite the crazy collection overall.
Gae Bolg!
1:05 - The ring facilitates for a mage to conjure a portal (one or bi-directional), which he can use for many things, for an example, opening a one-way portal from close to the surface of the sun to the ring would produce a powerful 'fire-ray', also, it looks like the 'toilet' from some space shuttles, so the mage will never have to find where's the dungeon's bathroom ever again...
fun fact: in fate lanccer's spear (gaé bolg) is made from the bones or a sea monster
4:10
It's a shootout for mythology description of the Gae Bolg.
Some call it spear of spikes and all.
Some say that that spear penetrates you with thousand spikes on hit, so you have to cut the body to take it out.
That is, if you are not super legendary strong who's too cool for such drawbacks)))
Like the demi god Chu Chulain himself, ae
Polearms definitely don't get enough love.
These videos are so fun, they just fly by!
I mean, they're not very long, but still they seem to finish far sooner than I expected.
One of my absolute favorite book series by Tamora Pierce had a main character, Keladry, who grew up in a Japanese equivalent nation, and the Naginata was her weapon of choice
This has been a cool series of vids. Shes a good co host.
Rings are done for 2 reasons. 1 to fake detail. and 2 to create a sillouette.
Manga's are black and white most of the time, and that means a shiny surface flat plane looks the same as white parts of the background. To exentuate detail and make it look more full of detail than it is, things like this can be added. Its a way to pad out the design without making it more complicated to draw frequently.
A unique sillouette is part 101 of artistic design in manga. There's a reason pokemon used to have "whose that pokemon" and all you could see is the sillouette. A characters outfit, hair, and posture are all aspects that need to be recognisable from just an outline, and the same for the weapons. No one that has seen 7 deadly sins would mistake that spear as any other spear because of the shape and the location of the hole. This is also why the Buster Blade has holes in it in ff7.
GÁE BOLG!! Skall you gotta talk about some Fate weapons! There are some good stuff and some really whacky stuff too
chastiefol definitely has range covered considering king doesn't even need to actually hold it in order to use it. he can be sitting on a tree about a mile away, waving his hand around while you're stuck dealing with the magical floating spear that can also change into multiple forms and size.
The red spear that was shown off second is called Gae Bulg. It's the spear used by the Irish legend Cu Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythos. It's described in the myths as being a barbed spear - it either had seven barbs near the head of the spear or it had the ability to split into barbs once impaled in an opponent (depending on what version of the story you read). Hence the barbs near the head of it.
Have you ever seen a movie called “night at the museum”?
It’s a really cool scene where a knight fights a triceratops fossil. A video of you talking about the combat would be pretty interesting since he appears to be using some real techniques to fight a dinosaur
The reason that version of Gae Bolg has the flower petals is because it's Scathach's version. The original from the VN didn't have those, the artists for G.O. just had to add some stuff to make them distinct.
I think that the "reason" behind the vines in Gae Bolg is to fight with your body and not just your hands
say, point of the spear in front, left hand holding in the front for direction and defense, right hand holding in the mid for balance (basic pose). You then release your left hand, and now hold it only with your right hand and forearm, move your right foot to the front from its original position (change guard), pushing the tip forward and moving your body along with your right foot, and giving it balance and control by holding it with your left hand in a negative grip from the side of your body opposite to the tip, as the tip of the spear reaches further ahead due to the torsion of your body and receiving grip and control from both hands, your right forearm and your back. You would need to redirect your torso to point it somewhere else, almost as if it were a bow.
Although it would expose your chest a lot and going back into a defensive stance would be complicated, but it's all that comes to mind when it comes to "reasons" for that kind of grip. Guessing that the user is strong and agile enough to pull a move like that.
The red one looks interesting as a 'ceremonial' spear for a formal guard, for whom 'looking ornamental' is part of the job description - but so is deadly combat, if required. Just maybe change the vine-wrap to an inlay, or perhaps a carving if the grip is to important to loose. It should still look good, it would just be more mobile.
I'd love to see more reviews of fantasy weapons!
Awesome to see the Onna-bugeisha/ Onna-musha warrior women being mentioned, they were absolute badasses. Highly recommend reading about their history
its kind fun that you had sort of a co-host in these recent videos. keep 'em coming skall!
man this visit to this shop really generated a lot of content for ya
Chastiefol, the spear from seven deadly sins is just straight-up magic it's not even held in the hand it's just moved around with his mind, and it also transforms 2:07
As a fate nerd i am required to say, the gaebolg (red spear), while used in the series as a spear, it is actually meant to be throwed like a javelin.
If you want to go even further, it was supposed to be throwed with your feet by being kicked.
2:29 and the vertical one and the little gold knob at the bottom makes it look like it could extend like a box knife as well
I'm a fan of the Naginata, onna musha, kunoichi. Great series.
about the red spear thats the gae bulge if i wrote it correctly, the spear given by scatacht to cu chulain made from the corpse of a mythological creature, apart from working as a spear/polearm the secret technique to use it was to throw it with your foot to the enemy and then in irl mythology it will "explode" inside the enemy some barbs to kill it, in fate stay night just throwing it has a "curse" to change causality and always hit the heart of the target
the most awkward session i have ever seen but pretty good
8:25 in the naginata there is a poke with a slide along the shaft (ebu) of the weapon - kurikonde tsuki. When I first started practicing naginata, I had tape on my ebu in the places where my hands should be. So the decorations don't really get in the way.
8:20 naginata is actually used that way(hasso)👁👄👁
About breakable tip. I remember Hellboy Golden Army film, where a villain had a magical spear with special breakable tip. The new tip just grows again, and broken off one stayed in Hellboy's chest, growing and almost reaching his heart.
Slight detail to point out is that the Gae Bolg in this video is Scathach's as it has the 4 prongs near the front where as Cu's has a slightly different design
for Cú Chulainn's spear, the Gáe Bulg, its was mostly used as a javalin more than poking stick as its unique quality in the myth was activated when thrown by the foot.
Ok I’m posting on this video because it’s the most recent even though is has nothing to do with the video so stay with me here. Have you ever thought of doing a Canadian themed episode like talking about notable historic and significant weapons from Canada itself as an American who knows nothing about Canada except hockey, maple syrup, and Ryan renolds I would be super interested!!! Lots of love appreciate your content!
Somebody needs to show Sahd & Tyrenth that red spear. I think that they'd love it, not necessarily from a form and function standpoint so much that it's red and both of seem to love the color red.
I wish you gave some mythological context with the weapons.
Gae Bolg translates to barbed spear, and in the myth was primarily a throwing weapon, designed to be stuck in the opponent once pierced. It's barbed that the only way to remove it was to cut it out.
I love how on fate, the few lancer servants we see on anime, they carry very normal looking spears but of course they are supposed to be mithical weapons of legend so being purely red and stuff like that. And I love the lancers mostly because im kinda of a pole arm fan, i like spears and javelins.
The Fate/ series is massive. It’d take a month to get through it. I can’t even remember the titles of all the different seasons there are so many.
Since Skall has touched fate again, i kinda want to see him talk about Diarmuid dual wielding spears.
Ayy i have that exact gae bolg replica aswell
my fav thing about it that u can unscrew just the top spear and little of the pole and it becomes a sword
On of the reasons that weapons particularly in anime or manna I've seen, have such distinctive shapes is so that when they are shown in silhouette, or it a character enters the frame and only part of the weapon is seen, it is instantly recognizable as that character's weapon and not "longsword no 22". Sometimes this can lead to less practical designs, but they're never meant to be practical, they're meant to be cool looking, recognizable characters in their own right. for example, cloud's buster sword, though unrealistic and unwieldy is instantly known when it is shown by anyone with a passing familiarity with the game where it's featured.
Really sweet and quick video about some awesome Spear-type weapons! If anyone was curios I believe Ms. here was refering to the Onna-musha, women warriors who trained with Naginata to protect their villages.
Dope to see a Gáe Bolg review!
This will spoil Lancer's character in FATE a bit, but its super interesting: Ireland's Child of Light, Cú Culainn or The Hound of Culainn is the owner of this legendary spear! The Gáe Bolg which means Spear of Death gets its name because of its Red barbed spearhead that inflicts assured death once it hits it's target's heart! Cú Culainn was thought to be a demigod of a man who tied himself with his own intestines to keep him from falling from defeat, so he never knew defeat but he succumbed to his injuries soon after, and thats not even mentioning the fire spewing-man eating demon inside of him! Cú Culainn is a master spearmen who struck with lighten fast thrust and jabs, but by far his greatest feat that we see in many iterations across media of him is his "signature move" were he tosses his Gáe Bolg into the air above his enemy and does a backwards kick into the spear towards his target.
You might've guessed this hero is a favorite of mine. Here's hoping the FATE people give my boi the FATE storybook treatment someday!
As a recent believer of polearm supremacy, this is a welcome video.
give polearms the love they deserve as the actual main weapons unlike swords. Reach is king.