#Wano is like the tip of the iceberg for what she can do

[fairytypeval]

y’all ever see a character and think??? give them to me I can write them better.

Like??? Give me them please.

#This is about Nico Robin One Piece. #Wano is like the tip of the iceberg for what she can do #Her IQ + DF + Haki + Fishman Karate is like genuinely a force to be reckoned with #I hope she trains more with Jinbe #Oda let the women be powerful please #Also let them have wastes #ALSO ALSO GIVE ROBIN BACK HER BANGS COWARDS

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Lingering Snowblood: The Saga of Oyuki

Alright class, who’s ready for a fun bonus post? Waaay back in the start of this journey, we talked a little about Okiku potentially being inspired by a figure it the story that is likely an inspiration for Kin & Momo. Lone Wolf & Cub, it’s one of the most famous series of classic samurai movies. What Hawk & Chick are based on for any Bob’s Burgers fans and the TV adaptation had the actor Oda’s said their names come from in the lead role. 

In that franchise, there’s a woman named Oyuki who pops up a few times. Dancer background, unassuming lady who’s absolutely deadly when pressed, tattoo used a lot like the mask, and has a calling card of taking topknots from her fallen foes. Sounds a lot like Kiku, yeah? And if you didn’t know, “yuki” means snow so we do have that shared motif. Feels like in both cases, and the ones we’ll get to, the archetype is leaning a bit on the mythological Yuki-Onna. I was wrong though, that was just the tip of the iceberg. 

So...this character transcends franchises. Wano has made me really interested in jidaigeki, I’ve actually grown quite fond of them and have a buddy who’s into old Westerns so we love talking how they play off of each other. As an aside, any RPG game masters out there...go binge an old Western TV show like Tales of Wells Fargo and you will find a gold mine of session ideas! Turns out Oyuki has a pretty cool history, and yeah it includes Kill Bill. 

The funny thing is...if we’re talking Eiichiro Oda’s influences, it actually calls into question what was really pushing him to dust off Snowblood. See, she is a figure in jidaigeki, but a little before his time. That’s not a huge deal, Smokey and the Bandit came out over a decade before I was born and I still thought it was a cool Sunday afternoon movie that’s stuck with me from that single viewing fifteen years ago. Kill Bill was directly inspired by Lady Snowblood, coming straight from Quentin Tarantino himself. Oda loves Hollywood and American movies, so which one really piqued his interest for Okiku?

Because y’all...the deeper we go the more obvious this was part of the inspo for Okiku. Wano’s just a big kid giddy to show his young readers all the shit he thought was cool growing up.

Yeah, I bet you know this woman’s entire deal looking at this. Proper lady right up until that short sword comes out of the parasol...though she’ll probably whoop a wave of mooks with the umbrella alone. At the end it’s her standing in the middle of a dozen dead bodies without a drop of blood on that pretty kimono. The dancer or acrobat background is really common, vengeful motivation driving her as well as lowborn origins. Gotta have some reason she’s not content to start a family and all, right?

So this 1973 movie based on a 1972 manga’s it right? Lone Wolf was a little later and Oyuki there was mostly just a one-shot appearance that they reused for a movie. Well...see, we can go deeper. 

Finding stuff like this is what makes digging so worth it. See, if we’re talking beloved Okiku...the Kill Bill/Lady Snowblood inspo is missing the mark on one big thing. Kiku’s not cold-blooded or vengeful. Let’s go back to the late 60s though, the same era that gave us a pretty feminist wave of Japanese media like Attack no.1. This was a TV drama that ran for a season, Red Swallow Oyuki. Starring the lovely Junko Miyazono who’d go on to have a nice run of movies playing the same type of kickass lady. One of those by the way was Hannya no Ohyaku. Fun bonus tie. This aired in 1968, so likely influencing Lady Snowblood, and you can find the first two episodes on Toei’s official Youtube page. With subs! It’s awesome, imagine Samurai Champloo if Fuu was the badass in charge...so Bakura Town.

Where I really think this initial iteration of Oyuki shines through in Kiku is the personality. This version, she’s really cutely naive. Raised in isolation and trained to pass on her father’s sword style, but he balked at the end. Sent Oyuki away to “become an ordinary woman.” Only use the sword to protect yourself. But of course, when push comes to shove she’ll use it to protect the innocent. Yes, it does end up feeling a lot like Himura Kenshin which is it’s own obvious part of Kiku’s DNA. 

I also love this idea of Oyuki sorta taking on a life of her own. It’s very Kabuki, it was a cool character concept so why not lift and repurpose. Not quite the same, but reminds me of the thing about the name Kikunojo. How it has a history as a stage name for many famous Onnagata. But seriously...watch one episode of Red Swallow and tell me that isn’t what a story with Kiku in the lead role would feel like.

#one piece #eiichiro oda #okiku #inspirations and influences #kill bill #lady snowblood #red swallow oyuki