I’m sure people are going to complain at me about this
Last week someone was nice enough to leave me a long point form essay explaining that what my webcomic was lacking were the truest of manly men, effeminate anime bishounen. Included were points like “they have more fangirls”, “they’re skilled swordsmen”, and “they’re strong, logical leaders”. They also pointed out that these bishounen have excellent fashion sense and are unrivalled at destruction and badassery. As well, they were nice enough to include some potential completely out-of character story ideas where Commander is left in awe of Vincent’s Therianthropic tendencies and cowed around by Kuja’s destructive prowess.
Where a lesser webcomic artist might say “Thank you for being so presumptuous as to think I want you to write my webcomic for me, how about you run along to one of the hundreds of millions of places on the internet where everybody natters on about their amazing porcelain doll animu boys and let me draw my macho guys in peace”, but I’m made of stiffer stuff than that. Here are your bishiiii~*~ comics as requested.
I have no idea why you guys are taking this comic as incentive to throw hundreds of requests at me. Think of this strip as my way of saying “when you request a character hundreds of times it makes me not want to draw them”. I choose characters by virtue of who is easiest to make fun of because they’re so jacked up on things their creators honestly thought were SO BADASS that they’re not really that badass at all.
Oh god the Sten one. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop giggling.
You took the words right out of my comment box.
This is probably one of my favorite comics of the bunch. I’ve been waiting for the “are you compensating for something” joke for a while now, though I’ll admit, I expected it to be directed at a “manly” guy with a big-ass gun.
I don’t think there are that many big-ass guns for big-ass men, if only because of proportions. I mean…TF2’s Heavy carries around a huge minigun (what, Sascha’s like 330 lbs?) but it doesn’t look huge compared to him. Or at least not huge in the usual Final Fantasy Protagonist Sword way.
…and upon typing that, I realize the only manly-guy-thing with a ridiculously oversized blade that comes to mind is Pyramid Head, and I wouldn’t tell him he’s overcompensating. He might rape me.
BTW, great comic, Coela!
And Pyramid Head 1) is some sort of demon? A dream? I never got far enough through any Silent Hill to find out.. and 2) drags that thing around like it weighs what it would weigh. So thats fair.
kinda depends on which silent hill you are playing. they never fully explain him but in one of the games they are people that are turned into just crazy strong scary guys as soon as a pyramid is put on their heads. best bet is to look him up
So what happens if you steal his helmet…thing…does he stop attacking?
I’m pretty sure if you were that close, you’d be too busy being vivisected and/or raped to death to get it off him.
Reminds me of that episode of AT4W where at the end he fights Pyramid Head. And what does he’s he use as a weapon? A Club. That he uses to repeatedly hit Pyramid Head on his head. “Wearing. A Giant. Metal. Cage….on your head. Isn’t very smart!” XD
They kinda halfway explain it in that Silent Hill for the PSP. Apparently it’s supposed to be the hate in that little girl’s heart that’s causing reality to go OHFUUUUUU and it’s main purpose is to keep the main character on track to his/her destiny, on topic and eager to solve whatever psychological wound was so deep it tore a whole town out of reality.
The original SH2 Pyramid Head was a manifestation of James’s guilt/murderous side/etc. In FFX, if I remember correctly, Auron always had his sword dragging behind him during battle. Not quite the same, though, I think.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
I think most fan theories state that he’s basically James-in-metaphor. James’s sex drive (he wasn’t getting any when Mary was sick) manifests as PH raping the absolute mess out of all the awkwardly feminine critters. His guilt about killing Mary manifests as PH killing things pretty constantly, usually while/after rape. A second PH shows up near the end because, as theory goes, James has guilt about killing Eddie. And to top it off, PH tends to actually HELP the player get to new areas and in consequence James to get to accepting reality and dealing with his emotions blah blah blah. However, there’s a mention in SH1, I think, about triangle-headed executioners, so there’s also the idea that he’s been repurposed for James.
TLDR: I know too much about Silent Hill for my own good.
I’m so glad someone said all this so I didn’t have to!
Yeah. Pyramid Head is a representation of James’ sociopathic tendencies and he will rape the shit out of you.
It’s not rape if you’re willing. I’m probably the only one here with those kinds of thoughts but I’m hoping I’m not
That’s not actually true. If someone doesn’t care if the other person is willing or not, then it’s rape either way.
This is the only legit Pyramid Head.
Above: true facts.
In one of the endings they imply that if you choose to act like you did before you entered silent hill, you end up becoming pyramid head.
That’s correct for James, but Pyramid Head exists in other games too, because the history of the town of Silent Hill was that the town executioner’s ceremonial executing garb was to wear a large triangle hat (don’t remember exactly why… think it had to do with the cult that existed there and their ‘traditions’) that seemed to mostly cover their face, and when represented in drawings, was exagerrated to be huge.
James researched the town’s history extensively since he was a writer, so after he ventured there after his wife died, his guilt and sex drive manifested into the executioner, with exagerrated helmet head, out of his desire to be punished for his carnal desires and killing her… The girl that looks like his wife ends up also being a manifestation representing his wife and her innocense and sensuality, and her getting hurt and repeatedly killed is how Silent Hill punishes James, to fulfill his wishes to be punished. He witnesses her repeated gruesome deaths only to find her alive again later as a rather… barbaric way of relieving his guilt, because even though he killed his wife, he did so out of mercy for her pain, as opposed to him thinking he did so just because he was sick of taking care of her.
But as I said… PH is in other Silent Hills because they all take place in the same town, so PH is iconic with that town. Depending on the characters encountered, his behavior differs. While he still chases and tries to kill, it’s only James’ incarnation that tortures and rapes female looking mobs (the nurses) specifically, to represent James’ guilt for his lust. Other incarnations only chase the other main characters, and they don’t all have that large knife as a weapon (of which the knife, in its size and perceived enormous weight, represents the guilt that James’ is dragging around). It’s arguable that, while PH is PH to the player (because of iconicness to the town/series), that the triangle headed murderous dude is who the other main characters are actually seeing. Chances are they’re seeing something different, but the creators of the game decided to use PH because he’s recognizable and can kinda just fit into any role of a slower, powerful, lethal, and purposeful monster.
There is one installment of SH where the protagonist in one of his endings, depending on the decisions made, gets captured by two PHs, and they strap him in a chair while they latch a helmet onto his head, turning him into one of them. I think that ending represents that the character made all the wrong choices to resolving his inner conflicts, so he turns into the very monster he was terrified of and has to live through his personal hell forever.
I know this thread is old, and sorry for the long post. I haven’t played much SH myself and most of what I’ve read is from wikis, but the people I know who have played SH have said it’s all mostly correct. I’m fascinated with the series stories, so I couldn’t resist commenting.
well I’m from 2017 to say i feel the same way
Originally Pyramid Head was going to be SH2 only, but the fans just wouldn’t shut up about him, so they kept bringing him back, even though doing so only diminished both him and Silent Hill as a whole.
he’s a representation of the protagonists self hatred, it’s more than likely that thing does in fact have something to compensate for but the sword isn’t the compensation, it’s his desire willingness to do terrible things to himself.
Have you noticed pyrimid head has to drag around his sword while dante can carry around a sword which is twice as large as his without any effort?
Pyramid head is the part of the guilty conscience that believes you need to be punished. The only demons in silent Hill are the ones you bring with you. Silent Hill just gives them form
In Silent Hill 2 they (there were two) were manifestations of the protagonist’s self-loathing and sexual frustrations.
In the movie, which was heavily based on SH2, he’s kind of Alessa’s violent gopher/bodyguard/executioner. That one is a bit more ambiguous as far as his exact nature.
Whatever the case though, Pyramid Head is not sentient and does not have a will of his own. Generally he’s a manifestation of the will/psychological issues of another character, because the whole premise behind Silent Hill is that there are places where the physical and psychological landscape intersect.
So rape is manly now? Lol For what I heard rapists become everyone else bitches is prison
I just can’t see PH ending up as anything but the king rapist in prison though.
I don’t think anyone was saying rape is manly. It just means that PH scares the hell of them.
I was referring to the fact that PH is apparently part of the agency – you know, the one for manly guys?
Also, Xylophone’s comment – he’s James’s sad sex drive, of course he’s raping things.
I believe he doesn’t work for them, just in rehab with the rest of them. Pretty sure the Commander is the only one who isn’t “in the program,” so to speak.
Another example of what a valuable service the agency provides to society.
Read Hellblazer: Hard Time. Then get back to this.
“the only manly-guy-thing with a ridiculously oversized blade that comes to mind is Pyramid Head, and I wouldn’t tell him he’s overcompensating”
Actually, in Silent Hill 2, that’s kind of the point! He’s just a giant walking Freudism (who can kill you).
The way I heard it, every enemy in SH2 is an aspect of the protagonist’s personality. Pyramid Head is the protagonist’s Pride. That’s why the more enemies you kill, the more powerful PH becomes. The actions PH performs in the game are grotesque caricatures of your own victories.
By the end of the game, when everything else is dead, PH is faster and stronger than you, and it’s all you can do to run and hide like a scared little girl. This is the personification of Hubris.
Kind of sucks when they strip all that symbolism away in later games and just drop you in a mall with a bunch of guns so you can go kill a real person with an actual pyramid on his fucking head.
What about Guts from Berserk. He carries around a sword six and a half feet long! He certainly ain’t no wuss. It’s not entirely unfeasible either because the longest sword wielded effectively was seven feet long soooo…. I think he’s cool anyway.
Sten.
One of the only people who can be realistic and yet so awesome.
Thirded. Never have I loved Sten quite so much.
Another point for Dragon Age! >> But while we’re on the topic, maybe a Zevran comic for shits and giggles please? (not begging. just a suggestion. Because we all know I make manly dwarves for the SOLE purpose of having gay sex with Zevran. With a dwarf.)
. . . . . . What?
I second that what
I read that as gay dwarf threesome.
what, got a problem with three sexy manly dwarf guys getting freaky? It’s the back hair, isn’t it?
Gay fantasy Dwarf sex? I love you already and I don’t even know you. 8D
Huh, that’d certainly make for an interesting band name lol
I rather enjoyed this issue since I often get rather tired of encountering overzealous praise of how great the bishie is compared to [insert character here] or just a maddening song and dance of how they’re better than ANYTHING. D:
Sten’s the best…the guy just can’t be beat. Even when he’s being dead serious he’s funny.
Gotta love a dude who can rationalize stealing cookies from a child. >>
Wait, when does he do this? I must know.
Go play Dragon Age again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYpwAPBFHPc
sten knows how the world works :P
to bad they made all stens horny in the new dragon age, swinging around their big swords
When did Dante have that sword?
Apparently he had it enough that his action figure got it.
That’s the Sparda sword from the tail end of the first Devil May Cry. This comic is awesome even though I am a Dante fan. The Seshomaru bit was frickin’ hilarious! Always hated him. I mean… Come on! He has a massive fur boa! Keep up the good work!
It’s not a boa. It’s his tail. Cause he’s a demon? and his father was a giant ass wolf that could fly?
Fukken Anime. never explains anything.
They’re all basically the same, 19 year old who looks 12, chick with L cups, big ass sword, magic, robot.
ÂżHuh? Always thought it was some kind of overcoat.
Dante, no. I’m pretty sure that after he took down a skyscraper sized statue of god by throwing his sword into the equivalent of it’s heart then proceeded to shoot the hilt of the blade driving it into its body and killing it, he has earned the achievement of being a manly man (and has testicles the size of tennis balls).
Testicular cancer is a serious problem, he should get that checked out by a doctor.
I understand that this is a necropost.
Ma’am, you are my hero.
That is all.
I can top that necro post.
…nobody will ever see these words. They are lost in an uncaring maelstrom of information. You have no ears but I must scream…
I mean, I have to look at them to approve them.
While we’re on the lengthy necropost train, I wanted to say I’m glad you’re still curating this place, ma’am… and more than that, thank you for making all of this for as long as you did. I’m so, so glad this all exists.
You go, Coelasquid!
A SPARTAN NEVER SHOWS CONTENT UNLESS HE’S YELLING OVER THE BLOODY CORPSE OF HIS ENE…pfffttt… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA
Fucking fantastic.
Ya know…I’ve never thought of Dante as what would be considered bishounen. He always seemed a little more tough guy cheesy than that.
Mostly I just started hating Dante because people leave near-daily messages between this site, twitter, tumbler, DA, and my email telling me to draw him. I would’ve used Sephiroth or Cloud for that joke, but I have different plans for them.
I asked on twitter for someone to give me a prettyboy with a stupidly huge sword, his name came up and I figured he fit the bill well enough.
That was me!
Or, more likely, I was one of the people who suggested him. Seriously, he could surf on that sword.
Man good thing that sword was given to Trish and turns into a scythe for more impracticality.
Though one would wonder if this sword over compensate for both him and his father or just his father and makes dante having some father issues for carrying that around.
I was just about to say… Hahaha. He never uses the sword again after the first game. I wonder why Trish is using it…
Oh well, Dante has sleeker weapons. He gets manly though in DMC4. =w =
I guess once Sten question his man hood in the man zone he needed to ditch that sword quick.
he keeps it on display and then Trish steals it at the end of DMC4
That sword (“Sparda”) transformed into a scythe in the first game as well, actually. When you do certain special moves.
His sword from DMC3 was fairly normal. Demonic, sure, but aren’t they all?
I am quite fond of that naval officer interpretation of them you made.
I am looking forward to what you have in plan for Cloud and Spehiroth, two of the most over rated characters too ever cross a screen. Seriously the game was a poor mans look at what is self with dragons, it was cool when you were 12 not when your 22.
XD Gotta say, it’s interesting to see the 7 hate. Seems either people love it like their own children or hate it to the point they get the giggles when someone references Aerith getting shishkabobed.
Me: Like it as much as the majority of the FF series, but have liked other stuff just as much. I’d laugh just as hard if you wrote a comic with Dark Cloud 2 characters or Ratchet and Clank ^^
Also, maybe Jak. Dunno if he’s anything worth working with, but he’s kinda badass XD
I also can’t wait to see Cloud and Sephiroth. but to your love and hate: I’m a bit of both, I fricken love FF7 but I burst out laughing when Aeris dies, mainly cause the whole thing is ridiculous…
Pheonix down is ineffectual against cutscene death. No one knows why.
her death was originally part of a larger quest where you save her, which is why if you cheat to still use her in your party there are parts in the story after her death in which she still has dialogue… USELESS TRIVIA HOORAY!!!
Friggin’ awesome. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for Cloud and Sephy, their swords make Dante’s look small! =P
Sepiroths sword is an exception to the ‘buster sword syndrome’ of oversized cleavers used by major characters
his sword is, according to artwork, has a blade about 6-7 feet long, with a handle probably a full foot and a half long.
Which isn’t that unusual a blade size, considering the average odachi was about 68 inches long overall.
but some odachi made as votive offerings to shrines,,make even the masamune look small.
one sword made by norimitsu in the mid 15th century (august 1447) was a whopping 377cm long, with a blade 226cm long. and weighing 14.5kg
it is, by quite a long way the biggest sword in all of japan
and makes sephiroths look PUNY, it is a full metre longer http://japantrip.tripod.com/nodachi/norimitsu.html
the second biggest would match the masamune quite nicely with a 180cm blade and a tang about 58cm long, thats about 238cm, and the masamune is about another foot and half longer overall.
this is about the length of a knights LANCE
I would also like to point out that I wasn’t complaining, which I should have stated earlier. This is the only web comic I can read religiously and expect laughs every time.
Come on, leave Sephiroth out of this, he’s 15, how manly was the commander at that age?
his left pinkie could rival chuck norris
I cannot wait for that joke, it is going to be awesome!
Or you could drop you hate aside and include Albert Steiner an actual manly FF character, he is a great character but usually shadowed by the “cute” ones. No oversized sword, no long silky hair just a loyal knight with big muscles and noble hearth. But meh whatever if you want to draw cloud and sephiroth is ok too I am sure no one else had done that before.
The only thing I hate is impolite unsolicited requests from people demanding I draw the things they want me to.
All you’ve succeeded in doing here is making me not want to draw Steiner, so I’m sure all the Steiner fans can thank you later.
Lol are you friends with Tim Buckley or Tom Preston? Just wondering.
lawl sorry your passive aggressive insults are too obscure for me.
ÂżInsults? I am asking you if you are friend with those two but from your answer I can assume you don’t even know them: I am only asking because the way you reply reminds of them.
By the way they also make webcomics and I have the feeling you will get along with them now I leave before I offend you again…
Sweet it looks I found a way to remove unwanted characters from your comic xD Nah just kidding (maybe)
Whats a steiner?
A tool used for reading.
I’ve always wondered how the commander would react to Dagget and Blue.
You want a MANLY character? Guts from Berserk! Carries a sword before FF7 popularized it,carries a gunpowder cannon in his fake left arm,and that huge sword I just mentioned? Swings it like Stan does his Asala. When he was a teen,no less!
It would be funnier if you mentioned him getting points for style, though.
Because he does. In the games. Yeah, I’ll stop explaining the joke…
DMC4 Dante is actually pretty manly. Broad body build, five o’clock shadow, not as much of a smartass. Unfortunately, every other game iteration seems to be making him younger, punkier, and sexier. 3’s is younger than 1’s, and 5’s is younger than 3’s.
Come on, Capcom, enough with anime prettyboy Dante.
When I first saw the new Dante I didn’t even recognize him. He looks like a lesbian (no offense to lesbians)
I’m offended
3 problems. When you say ‘no offense’ you 1. realise what you said was offensive, 2. realised it only had any force because it was offensive – you really, actually, MEANT it to be offensive – and 3. you said it anyway.
I am offended that you thought that excuse would work.
OOOOR he realized that he was talking to an easily offended group who on average should take a joke as what it is and not get all up in arms at every remotely offensive comment.
Well…yeah. DMC3 and DMC5 are both prequels to DMC1.
Personally I don’t think DMC4 was good, as all of Dante’s moves where just recycled moves from DMC3 special edition (fact). also due to the fact that Nero is extremely bitchy(also fact) and Dante doesn’t look anywhere near as cool as he does in any of the others (My opinion)
This pleases me greatly
Oddly enough this is alot how my real life interactions go with guys close to my own age. Maybe they need to read your comic more and watch anime less.
Ok… you’ve got to be in your teens. I’d have the hardest time not ripping the balls off of whatever 22 year old guy started talking to me about this stuff. Yeah, some of it is interesting, but it’s only entertainment. Jesus… tell your boys to start working on their car or lifting weights or something.
Nah, I’m in my mid twenties. The emo thing seems to be big with them right now for whatever god awful reason, probably twilight, (which all the books of should be destroyed.) For some reason they seem to think that all girls are into that stuff right now so they dress and act like emo.
I totally agree! Why do all the teeny-boppers think EMO is in??
You fail to understand something. If all the teenyboppers think emo is in, then it is in fact in.
My teenaged sons both have been mocking “emo” since before they were teenagers.
Then be proud that they’re not teenyboppers.
Ignore what anyone says, they are not Hipsters or other such shit for mocking emo or whatever. <—- Premtive strike.
Claiming someone’s not hipster?
Hipster.
for making your comment mesh so well with your name. yeah, its a necropost.
Emos exist solely to be laughed at, it’s funny because they think they’re depressed
^This. Emos are basically posers. Pretending to be so depressed like the whole world is against them or whatever. So they only exist to be laughed at, nothing more.
My friend and I had a discussion about that yesterday. He would not date a girl who likes Twilight because she’d likely try to suck him into the fandom and convince him it was the best thing ever, and I would not date a guy who likes Twilight because he’s either gay or not actually a man.
This is quite an interesting conversation in a webcomic about masculinity.
That’s really unfair. I haven’t really done a check to see what any of my gay friends think of Twilight, but the one person I did happen to ask about it once spent five minutes laughing.
It’s… it’s bad. Really bad.
It’s so bad that I gave myself a concussion after banging my head against the table so much after one of the “teachers” (She was a sub) thought it would be a good idea to “let the girls pick” (she didn’t even ask, I think she just wanted to watch it herself) during our movie period.
yeah. you would too if you.
I have brother who thinks everyone who likes Twilight for it’s “vampires” should be forced to watch Nosferatu. The version with Jon Malkovich, that way they see what a real vampire looks like.
http://www.arukunesmee.xanga.com Pretty good explanation of how bad the books are.
Pardon, this link should work.
arakunesmee.xanga.com
Similar situation with me, only I just let a potential GF know at the get go that I’m not going to watch/read twilight. It usually works out since I like romantic comedies as a flip side.
O.O…I love you…
just kidding…I’d never be part of a book burning…*totally burnt a copy of the first twilight book after failing to get past the second chapter* >.>
LadyTL, I am so, so sorry for you. I can offer you hope though. There are real men out there, I promise. I’ll give you a quick test that will help you to separate the men from the boys; ask them if they know how to change the oil in their car. You should be able to estimate his manliness from his response. I’d go into detail, but I don’t want to clog the comments.
I don’t know how to change the oil in my car, because I don’t care to. I’d rather be cleaning guns and reloading my own ammo.
Understood, but I’d recommend you learn. It’s really easy and takes less than an hour so there’s no excuse not to. I assume since you clean guns and reload your own ammo that you hunt, or at least target shoot. You should maintain your car like you do your guns, because I bet you drive a lot more than you shoot. Trust me, do it once, save yourself about $20 bucks. I least then you know you can, should the zombie apocalypse arrive. Don’t want to kill your engine do ya?
Yeah, different interests for different guys.
Honestly, I play a lot of video games and watch anime, but I know that all those too serious conversations are moronic. Who cares who is better than who, and why do people get to be such fanbois about stuff that doesn’t matter?
It should go like this:
Q: Who would win in a fight between Sephiroth and Dante?
A: Who gives a s**t??!?!
Agreed.
This won’t work on all manly guys. Many of us don’t have cars, instead relying on a combination of motorbikes, public transportation, and awesome leg muscles to get around.
Not goanna Lie, Edward would be amazing in this comic… Just five panels of him standing there sparkling with The Commander laughing himself to tears.
They don’t drink blood, they prance through the forest and the sparkle… Ladies and gentlemen, those aren’t leeches, those are faeries.
You’ve never read the original faerie tales, have you?
I agree, fairies or fay, as they actually call themselves, are far to badass to even be COMPARED to twilight (which I am not capitalizing because it doesn’t deserve to be considered a book). Those… things are just wannabe fairies that some idiot mistook as vampires and they just decided to go with it. And the werewolves are less awesome ripoffs of Sirius black. They turn into wolves and the main one has the last name “Black” and a motorcycle. I don’t hate them nearly as much as the sparkles, though. They admit to not actually being werewolves.
Emo bishouens seem to be getting far less popular as far as anime protagonists go, lately. Now it’s just “Hi, I’m some guy.”
You wouldn’t believe how much Bishie boys are ridiculed within anime communities.
Preference within anime is like preference within music, it is quite diverse.
I think what the essay writer fails to understand is that it’s not about strength. It’s about machismo. While there are some macho guys in Final Fantasy, Kuja is definitely not one of them.
Also, go Sten.
I want to see Barret and Laguna make an appearance in the comics lampooning Cloud and Squall. Or, for that matter, Steiner & Beatrix.
I would love to see Steir and Beatrix in this comic, for some reason I want them to interact with the Commander and Jonesy.
Barret is definitely a FF character who’d fit absurdly into the concept of the comic. Not only is he absurdly macho and well built with a propensity toward violence; but he also wants to be a good father to his adopted daughter,.
Of course, if you use ‘wants to be a good father’ as a metric, then Nox from Wakfu comes out ahead.
Not much in the way of musclemass left, since he’s centuries old, but man is he dedicated to his kids.
This is totally out of my depth and probably completely unrelated, but just because I was reading it this afternoon. . . His Grace Commander Samuel Vimes?
I don’t expect anyone to even know who he is, but since we’re all throwing names around.
Yes. And again yes. Vimes would fit in with the milieu, though I think Cohen fits the agency better.
I never even thought of Discworld/MGDMT crossovers, and now it’s hilarious.
Ack, just wanted to add I don’t think any discworld characters would fit into the actual comic, and this is really not a request or anything. /desperatelytryingnottobethatoneguy
Also, go Sten. I’m imagining another few seconds of staring, as Dante slowly shrinks away.
Cohen The Barbarian would fit perfectly. I’m not trying to pressure Coelasquid into anything, but let’s just say that he’s over 90 and is very good at not dying in a line of work where insane risks and life-and-death gambles are relatively routine (note I say ‘and’ instead of ‘or’ – this is intentional, as *someone* tends to die in the instances).
yeah, avid diskworld fan, cohens great, sos vimes, yadda yadda, saying your not trying to get him into the comic while singing his praises and detailing his accomplishments makes a ton of sense. but as long as were on the subject, manliest in DW id say would be detritus of ridcully, just because wizards arent supposed to be strong. i dont want or expect to see any of them in the comic though.
thats discworld, and then later its detritus OR ridcully. sorry.
Mash from FF6 can suplex a speeding train. Nuff’ said.
Alex Mercer from Prototype can survive a nuke to the face. Nuff’ Said.
The commander absolutely couldn’t, but he’d try if it would save the life of an endangered citizen. nuff said.
Seconded (or thirded, or whatever) on the Steiner and Beatrix front.
Hahaha, Laguna as an example of machismo? Wait, what?
He can spend the entire strip hunched over with a stomach ache.
That’s Zone. Laguna would be crawling feebly around with a leg cramp.
Or Ward, the guy threw a freaking harpoon at Esthar soldiers like it was nothing.
What about Kamina from Gurren Lagann. Unthinking belief in his own strength and awesomeness. Of course he DOES still look like a wee weak man, but Japan doesn’t appear to have any other types of looks.
Kamina has already been gutted. :)
And Japan does have other looks. What about Batou from Ghost in the Shell? Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist? The ENTIRETY of Dragon Ball Z? Still though, you have a point in that most artists never use these looks.
I watch a lot of anime but one thing that has always driven me nuts is the lack of variety in terms of shapes. Some of the best animators in the world come out of Japan and my brain wants to explode at every anime that uses the exact same damn body type for every dude in the show.
Let’s also not forget the animes in which, not only do they use the same body, but the same DAMN FACE, as well.
What about Balgus from escaflowne(only in episode 1+2 really), he uses a giant ass sword(about a foot taller than he is and believably proportioned so not on the order of some characters), but that’s only because he likes to fight giant robots with it and a less huge sword wouldn’t have the heft to go through the robots, besides the handle and guard of it are large enough that they might compensate for the length of the blade in balance
While they might lend to the balance of the sword, the power and kinetic energy to wield it would overpower the user when they’re coming out of the swing. That would throw off the fighter’s balance and leave them at a huge disadvantage.
A similar argument is made in Rurouni Kenshin, when Sagara Sanosuke first fights Kenshin with a giant sword meant to slice horses in half. It’s name eludes me now, but in the show, its size and Sanosuke’s strength is hugely exaggerated. Eventually Kenshin makes the point that his movement is limited by its immense size, since he can only cut vertically or horizontally; and it takes time to recover after each swing.
If I remember correctly, its called the Zanmatou, or Zanbatou.
Zan=Cut, Ma(Ba)=Horse Tou=Sword.
Isn’t Armstong the guy that flexes his muscles and sparkles?
Yes. He is the only man that is allowed to sparkle without being called gay.
he can also say things like “I will defeat you in the most graceful way!”
Armstrong is the only man allowed to sparkle, period.
God, I have had the biggest crush on Batou for all of eternity. He’s definitely a decent masculine sort.
Though, to be fair, so is the Major. XP
YES BATOU FOR THE FUCKING WIN. That man has machismo coming outta his ass. Still had his ass handed to him by the Captain.
If manly guys love their kids, he also wins because those Tachikoma were his babies. Shame they all died at the end of GITS:SAC2.
And they use the same body types because they’re trained on them so they can draw stupid fast and crank out anime as fast as they do.
All I have to say is Fist of The North Star! Every man in that show is made entirely out of muscles.
Kamina is just Ryouma and Musashi from Getter Robo mashed into one character.
I think there were quite a few more things the essay writer didn’t understand. I read her (his?) essay and it seemed like he/she was really stretching the definition of “manly” to make his/her favorite bishi characters qualify.
I have to laugh at this quite a bit. While I might be a guy who’s a fan of Vincent, I often argue about these fanbases for such characters all the time. Namely when it comes to bishonen villains who don’t even have a real excuse for them becoming a villain.
I have an excuse for them…
…Evil is Sexy
Haha Brilliant.
I love, love love love this.
Coela, this is fantastic. You’ve made my entire week.
I honestly feel that you put Dante in there just to work out one final joke, he’s sort of pretty boyish in DMC3, but in 1, 2 and 4 he’s pretty gruff. Unless you count that monstrosity in the upcoming one.
And he barely ever uses that sword you portray him with.
Still, fun stuff. And you did need to show those fangirls their place.
Maybe I would’ve been fonder towards the character if his fans didn’t drive me to hate him, but hey, that’s how it goes. I asked twitter for a prettyboy with a stupid sword and twitter said Dante.
In that case it’s perfectly understandable.
Kinda hate biting at this, but I just have to whine. Why Dante and why the Sparda sword? I generally enjoy the comic but that just makes very little sense to me. It’s not even like it’s a very recognizable weapon from the series. I can’t speak to the balance of his regular swords, but they’re generally believable weapons. I understand your reasons for not liking him (there are a few things I won’t even try because of how they were presented to me) but he just seems like a very poor choice for this joke. (On another note I could see a gay joke about Dante’s penchant to get himself impaled working well.)
Because the Sword is Ridiculous and Dante is Silly.
Apparently he carries it enough that his action figure has it. Not gonna lie, I know nothing about Devil May Cry, the only reason I hate Dante is because people ask me on a near-daily basis to draw him. And that would wear on anybody.
What you should do is comply to their wishes by either drawing him with the image cropped from the shoulders up, or from the perspective of someone else: “Oh my gosh Dante just killed ALL those demons with his bare hands *Tip of a sword and hem of a trenchcoat on far right of image*”
And then in the next panel, Commander and Sten are covered in demon blood, looking at credit-stealing Dante with disapproval.
Also there is Mr. Fish in this imaginary comic.
Yeah, my reaction to any sort of bishonen fan is to tune them out once they get started. Although I doubt that my strategy would work with the sort of deluge you get here.
I used to like Vincent a while ago, then I realized that his back story kinda reads like “Uncle Bad Touch” a bit.
I’m just very pleased that it’s still open season on all stereotypes here at MGDMT. Your insights into manliness in all of it’s forms, and the silliness of popular culture are great.
Missed an opportunity to use the rebooted, punk-emo version of Dante.
Technically speaking, his weapons are generally not swords.
Thank you for saying what we are all thinking
Best. Comic. Ever. That last part is brilliant
As a ‘bishie’ fan myself, I’ve gotta say that’s pretty ridiculous for someone to try and tell you how to write your own comic. Not to mention, I fucking love the Commander and the other beefy male characters you portray. Any real fan of your work would. And even though I like every guy you made fun of in this one, I laughed my ass off to the end.
You pretty much said it for me. I’m a fan of anime, and all it’s sillyness and outrageous concepts. And I have to say, most characters are pretty manly bad ass in their own little universe. Take them out of it, and they’re just… weird. This comic is gold, I swear. Shows the line pretty clearly between East and West “Manly” depictions, though.
Yeah, crossovers never fare well. All of these guys are pretty wicked awesome in their own world, but put them against the standards of Manly Guys world and they degenerate into ridiculous wimps. On the other hand, put the Manly Guys cast into bishi anime world and they become musclebound thugs with bad B.O, or something.
It’s all a matter of perspective and context! That said, this perspective and context is so damn hilarious, even if I feel a bit bad for laughing at the bishi boys.
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
And the bishies just got put in their place. OH SNAP.
You nailed it. I’m a guy, and I loved Inuyasha. Didn’t stop me from laughing at this.
Coelasquid, Y U no love Sesshy?!
Seriously though, the title of your comic should make your intentions obvious enough to those who write in demanding the presence of bishiis. Frankly, your comic is a breath of fresh air. I’ll admit to loving the bishiis, but it’s just plain awesome that your comic is about men who are, well..MEN. Kudos to you.
The best part about the last one is just how very many characters we can substitute in for … whoever that is. Dante I guess?
On the other hand, I’m pretty sure I could dredge up some masculine dudes from Anime, but it takes rather a lot of work…
Ghost in the Shell has some of my favorite anime manly men in it. I suppose it helps that most of em are at least part cyborg, but it’s not like anime doesn’t have its fair share of bishii cyborgs too.
I’m gonna look to my left and see Gurren Lagann, where manliness powers the universe. Then I’m gonna look further to my left and see Baccano! Where a manly psychopath beats a man to death with his fists and another one grinds people along a train track (though the 2nd one could be a bishounen if he wasn’t covered head-to-toe in blood for most of the series). After all that I will look still a little further to my left and see BERSERK, which is the only thing I’ve ever seen worthy of such a name.
There are plenty of manly men among anime, however they aren’t given as much attention as they deserve thanks to the obnoxiously loud yaoi fangirls and pedophiles that roam the dredges of the internet.
The only one I can think of that is both masculine AND macho without falling into ridiculous parody is Zaraki Kenpachi from Bleach, honestly.
In what way is Kenpachi NOT a ridiculous parody, though?
Because He is Awesome?
Rule of Awesome applies.
He stopped an assassin nearly by accident while trying to hunt down Ichigo for a fight.
He almost killed Ichigo without the ability to use his Zanpakuto’s shikai.
He had to put on power limiters to get a fair fight out of anyone.
Amen to that
Off the top of my head: Ozma Lee, King Bradley, Sig Curtis, Alex Armstrong, Kamina, Simon (after he grows up), Kittan.. Ok Kamina and Simon are a bit iffy because the art style does make them look kinda bishounen, but I think their personality more than makes up for that.
Eh, I wouldn’t count Armstrong. He’s just a parody of manly men. Hoenheim would fit on this list, though.
I dunno, Armstrong is quite the parody, but he’s had plenty of serious moments in his times on screen. I mean, did you see his fight with Sloth in the Manga?
That was Badass…
But then again, I doubt any of the characters from FMA could ever be as manly as Oliver Armstrong.
She’s manlier than King Bradely could ever hope to be in a lifetime.
I COMPLETELY forgot about Hoenheim… I feel so ashamed… I also want to add Roy Fokker.
You mean Olivia?
No they mean Olivier. Her full name is Olivier Mira Armstrong.
Love the comic. :) Truthfully I never really considered Sesshomarou really…”manly” or badass. Strong? sure. I think I need to play DA:O again just to use Sten. :| I really didn’t like his character the first time I played, but you’ve given me a big appreciation for him Coelasquid.
Yeah, he’s a strong, cold dude, but not really “Manly”.
Spike from Cowboy Bebop?
No, not spike. Jet would fit in just fine, but Spike, although a cool and gruff character, doesn’t really have the machismo.
please no, still a character with a focus on being overly emotional. you missed Jet in the same series.
I haven’t really watched that much. He just has a lot of the Brandao that Coela likes.
Jet carries a lot of the same emotional baggage as Spike does, though. It’s just that they didn’t make it a major plot point outside of one episode. Or have you not seen Ganymede Elegy? Jet quit being a cop and started his life as a bounty hunter because a woman left him. Spike left the mob and became a bounty hunter after a falling out with his best friend over a woman.
Jet from Cowboy Bebop. Duh.
Guts, from berserk. Kenshiro, from Fist of the north star.
I was thinking Guts also. Man may have a big sword but it’s useful for taking out you know… The 5 story monsters he usually has to fight. Also has strongest freakin teeth in the world.
As for the people saying Hellsing :( too skinny and he wears a freaking bow around his neck.
I wouldn’t actually mind seeing Guts in here, I think he would fit decently well. I mean he has a cannon, for an arm. and i think his response to being called Bishii, would probably be kill the person who said it. He definitely saves face for manly anime characters everywhere
I’m not sure if Guts would fit, he’d constantly try and murder Mr. Fish, mistaking him for a demon.
I dunno, man. I mean, think about it for a second.
There’s this gigantic twenty-five foot long fish-dragon-demon-thing. That shoots FREAKING LASER BEAMS on a regular basis. When it’s not shooting FIRE. Or drowning people in it’s own BODILY FLUIDS.
How is trying to kill it not the manliest thing possible?
I was about to mention Ken, until I remembered the sound he makes when fights …
Did you just call Bruce Lee unmanly? Because I think you just called Bruce Lee unmanly.
That’s pretty bad.
The only strike against Guts’ manliness is that he appears incapable of growing facial hair. But I would love to see him in here.
He shaved with that bigass sword, once, and all of his follicles packed their bags and moved away.
Simon, from Durarara. Big African guy, from Russia, who sits on street corners advertising “Russian style sushi”, and has been known to make deliveries. And jumping from 6th floor balconies.
Not to mention that Simon is the only person in Ikebukuro capable of physically standing up to Shizuo (who an in-series survey agrees is the strongest man in Ikebukuro), and jumps off of the aforementioned sixth-floor balcony in order to catch Shizuo’s punch with his friggin’ hand because he abhors violence.
Manly.
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is pretty much the manliest Anime character I can think of.
^This.
One I haven’t seen suggested yet is Guin of Guin Saga. He’s incredibly loaded with Brandao, is strong-willed but doesn’t brag, protects little kids, and is a seven foot tall muscleman who can hit a guy so hard it set his face on fire. When a bishie fangirlbait swordsman tried to pull the old, “I’ll defeat you in battle and then you’ll have to be my follower so I can be the hero” trick that always works in anime, Guin flattens him with one punch. He’s basically amazing. <3
I’m gonna chalk it up to this character only showing up briefly in an otherwise long series, but no one mentioned captain Whitebeard from One Piece. I’m sorry, but they really don’t come more manly in anime than that.
A father to his men, indeed.
I would think Dante has enough machismo to drown the whole of Detroit. I mean sheesh, look at that stubble in DMC4. Best Dante thus far and most propably will stay the best one due to the “rebirth” of the series and Donte.
The comic is funny, nonetheless. I love how people can actually call bishounen characters manly, despite the vast amount of homoerotic art and literature based off of ’em.
I think you’ve got “manly” confused with “straight” again. Sepphie could measure his masculine virility by how much homoerotic works are based on him, but not his way with the ladies.
Oh, I don’t think Sephy is gay. He clearly has a thing for his mother.
..omg..I can not…stop laughing..!
slowclap.gif
You win the Internet!
0_o
Well I mean there MUST be something at least a little gay about a character if there’s tons of homoerotica made of them daily.
Plus, something about the most popular bishounen characters have always struck me as gay. Maybe it’s just the nature of bishounen characters which were clearly desinged to be as bishi, or whatever the term is, as possible.
Not really. It suffices for a male character to look good and that’s enough for there to be homoerotic stuff of him. Although most of the time I guess foe yay helps.
either two guys are paired up because they have great chemistry going on or because of this line of thought:
Would I rather see two people I’m attracted to in my pr0n or one person I’m attracted to and one person who is clearly a stand-in for myself? TWO GUYS I’M ATTRACTED TO IT IS
The Heavy.
This is so good I can’t stop laughing. I just can’t imagine why would anyone want to mix a macho guy with a bishie. I mean, EVERYBODY knows bishies are girly. It’s not just a coincidence! Even Link is kind of girly in one game or two. And Kuja… I’m sitll not sure if that’s really a he.
I don’t think Link ever goes for “Manly”. He just does his thing.
Link usually goes more along the “prepubescent” than any kind of manly. Seriously, he’s almost always either a child or just barely an adult.
As someone who likes bishounen, I have to say:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAA, oh god the second strip, with Sesshomaru and the last one with Sten and Dante. xD Oh jeezus too funny. *applause*
I think I’d take the Commander over any of those guys, even Dante, who I generally like. A+++++++++++++ there aren’t enough +’s for this. :3
He’s got a point about the sword!
As always very funny and I don’t even know who the effete elf-looking guys are. Definitely not as macho as the Commander.
While many anime men are quite a bit to feminine in looks and action there are some manly ones to: Alex Louis Armstrong (FMA), Son Goku (DBZ), Edward ‘Whitebeard’ Newgate (One Piece), and Kenpachi Zaraki (Bleach) to name a few. I applaud your bashing of those charcters in this comic, it is much needed.
p.s. I love your comic! XD
I believe I’ve said before, and I will say again, I would kill to see Armstrong in this comic. He just fits the bill so freakin’ well! Plus, there’s a lot of comedy to play off of him. He’s a weirdo.
He was sparkling before Edward Cullen was out of training pants!
I applaud you sir for your good taste in Anime characters
Finally the perfect way explain this, so good and so well executed! Also, I can’t wait to see what Cloud and Seph are gonna get!
/stifles giggles re: Sten and Dante
I like bishies myself, but perhaps their place is not here. Perhaps it is that putative Place On The Third Floor.
I believe you’ve just taken how to tell someone where to stick it to a brand new MANLY level. Bravo, Coelasquid. Bravo.
This one is fantastic. Lol. The appletini really kinda sold the joke for me there in the middle. Good job with those little additions. I gotta commend your cameo appearances as I’m sure people have said before. I miss playing The Bouncer, I’m sure you know which cameo I mean. Haha. Nice work! ^^
This. is. GLORIOUS.
You have thereby mastered the art of the spite-comic that is actually funny.
You will make it far.
YES. Beyoooooond excellent. I almost want to demonstrate my support by punching an anime kid.
Hey hey hey that’s not nice! We aren’t all bishie lovers :P Course I’m not really a “kid” anymore so not sure if that would include me . . .
Heh, I’m only kidding. Mostly.
You know what’s weird? I can appreciate all kinds of different stylistic approaches to visual-arts stuff — design, painting, illustration, animation — but something about the whole Anime genre just absolutely stomps up and down on my nerves. I can’t really articulate my distaste, but it’s the same “argh, ARGH, STOP” feeling I get from Bluegrass music. Yes, I’m aware that makes no sense at all.
Yes! I completely agree, although as the artist said “I wouldn’t hate him if the fans didn’t drive me to hate him” works very well for the anime community. I could actually enjoy a show like Cowboy Bebop or Escafloune if there weren’t such ravenous f*cktards making up about 90% of the anime fanbase.
Watch anime and avoid cons and/or the internet that is devoted to it then? I love (some) anime, a fair few MMORPGs and even (embarrassed to admit) some fairly emo music at times. In all of the above I avoid the ‘fans’ like the plague though as most of them seem to be totally brain-dead . (Please excuse poor tag use if I failed there).
I appreciate that as an internet person of interest web-comic maker of awesome the fans to kinda come to Sten rather than Sten going to the fans. But for most of us mere mortals it is not too hard to enjoy (quietly) such things and avoid the rabid fan-base. :D
^Why can’t more people figure this out?
This lacks only Kratos starting a new skull collection.
Oh man, as much as I love bishonen and anime, I absolutely adored this comic!
Honestly speaking, we always have to contend to the angst some of these characters go through and sometimes it just gets really gratuitous. Regardless, while I respect them and certainly do like many of them, when it comes down to it, they are as ‘machismo’ as a salad fork with bow in a chocolate parfait shoppe.
That essayist in question should turn to fanfiction; he/she will reach more success there.
The only anime character this comic needs is Guts from Berserk.
To that I say right-oh I couldn’t hardly agree more.
Guts & Rakan
This is so full of win. Great response. I effin’ love Sten in the last panel.
I don’t know if fans who forwardly shove ideas at writers think that they easily run out of ideas, have no planned direction for their story, and/or aren’t familiar enough with the premise that they can’t generate more ideas, and thus need help, or what. There is a pretty thick ass line between that “Haha, it’d be funny if this happened…” casual comment and “Okay, this is what SHOULD happen”. I am sure they think they are being helpful, nice, and even flattering, but it’s not. As a writer myself who has experienced similar, I think it’s pretty insulting.
And…a poison whip? Really? That’s what kids think is badassery? Ugh.
Squid–
This is brilliant!
@The Unreal: Major Alex Louis Armstrong. Fullmetal Alchemist. Though he might be a little bit pretty.
The Major is the only man who can pull of teh sparklies without being some kind of abomination of fiction.
…I love you.
Huzzah and congratulations on another amazing/hilarious comic. For as much of a fan as I am of the last two characters I agree completely with the point you’re making. If I want to see a comic with those characters showing them as being cool I’ll go somewhere else. I come here for the honest to goodness manly guys that are so often nonexistent on other sites. Though to note one manly guy from anime I think Guts from berserk fits the profile, also I could see super mutants from Fallout eventually making their way onto this comic but those are just my personal suggestions and do not have to be noted.
Loool like Fawkes from FO3 or Marcus from FO2 and FO:NV? That would be so rad!
Fawkes is a girl, lawl
Super mutants? Hrm. … Wait, I thought that when men turned into super mutants, their danglies fall off…
I don’t think it’s been said that they “fall off”, they’re just sterile.
…and now I can’t shake a picture of a huge green mutant schlong out my head. Damn you, brain.
OH DEAR GOD WHY!!!
Super mutants have nothing on Argyle.
Or Liberty Prime, if that’s your fancy.
what about chuck from dead rising :o
I love Volt’s face as he’s looking at Sesshoumaru’s phone.
I love the fact that Sesshoumaru is holding a martini with an arm he shouldn’t technically have.
… Maybe Totosai is making prosthetics now.
Can’t he just plug new arms into that socket? Maybe he picked one up at Fry’s.
Hey, yeah, he only did it once, but he totally can.
i fucking love volt kreuger
i fucking love this comic’s ability to just work people into the cast like that
but on a related subject, i have to wonder how this comic feels about bishii~ strongman Alex Louis Armstrong and his ilk
assuming he has an ilk
This made me laugh so hard– and I like some of these bishounen.
I read your comic because YOU write it. Really, if people don’t like it they can write their own goddamn comic.
I’ve had suggestions and characters(the mary sue OC type) thrown at me for my comics before and damn is it annoying.
This is so perfect that words cannot describe my inner squealing girl right now.
On another note; how do you feel about the anime Hellsing? I’ve heard many an opinion and I was just the slightest bit curious about yours.
Oh god, please like Hellsing. Hellsing is a badass. He uses guns, and he’s a prick. The only thing not cool about him is that he’s a vampire. Normally, that’s a plus for people… but… ever since that one time…
I choose to assume that calling the main character ‘Hellsing’ rather than his actual name is a tiny bit of parody.
“I think Hellsing is a pretty cool guy, etc. etc.”
His name is Alucard.
No, no, no. SHE uses guns and SHE’s a…well, she’s actually not that bad considering the shit she puts up with.
My bad Thostoc, totally honest mistake. Been a while since I read/watched the series. Thanks for taking it easy on me. Dick. Btw, Alucard uses a pair of full-auto .454 handguns. They are swwweeeeettttt and unfortunately make believe since the only handguns in production that can chamber .454 Casulls are revolvers. Seras Victoria uses a 30mm cannon mostly, and while awesome, I can’t even dream of carrying one of those around.
@Chrysknife Just because there are no .454 chambered automatics in production doesn’t mean someone with the cash couldn’t have some custom made. They would stupidly expensive though.
Truth. But I haz not the cash… :( In reality I’m fine with what I got. The .454s have put down an African elephant, and I honestly do not need something with that much stopping power. Straight up .45s work just fine.
Am I alone in thinking Integra would be a better fit in this comic than Alucard?
No. No you are not.
She is a Sir after all.
OH! You mean Lady Integra Hellsing!
Well. I do think we should get some of the more manly anime characters in here. Like Batou from Ghost in the Shell or maybe Jet from Cowboy Bebop. Ya know, the actual and rather rare manly ani-man.
From a person who actually likes some of those characters, that was fucking priceless. All of it.
Oh god, I love your Sten bits. Makes me sad I didn’t have him as a regular in my party when I played through DA:O. Gonna have to go back and fix that, methinks.
Who would think KUJA was manly in the first place? He’s the most put down character in Dissidia as a whole! Zidane is more manly than him and I wouldn’t put him in this group.
But, dear Lord, I giggled so much with this. Particularly at the Shessoumaru part. That is so true!
I would like to note that (No offense to the Kuja fans) Kuja is essentially wearing a man-thong. I can’t see how in any way that someone wearing something like that would be considered manly…
…..but I think Dante is cool :(
Poison is more of a man…and woman than the Bishshonen could ever hope to be.
Good God, I think I love this comic even more.
Don’t really agree with the whole Dante thing but hey, everyone is entitled to their opinions.
This comic is friggin’ awesome.
Ah, bishounen. I wouldn’t hate them so much if it weren’t for their yaoi fangirls. Them and the “moe-moe” fanboys (though half the time I think they’re just pedophiles) have a tendency to ruin some otherwise perfectly decent anime/games.
Thinking of vampires and one of the previous comments, how do you feel about Hellsing? Particularly Alucard. Personally, I don’t think he would fit into the agency, but I think he’s worthy of being in a comic in a non-negative light. Although, I do think he’s plenty manly enough when he takes his old form of VLAD THE FUCKING IMPALER!
“Skilled swordsmen?” “Strong, logical leaders?” So I suppose that makes Eowyn, Caska, Xena, and at least two Tamora Pierce protagonists the epitome of testosterone-flooded masculinity! My world is turned upside down!
…Seriously though, that’s the most laughable thing I’ve ever heard. The girls that spout that nonsense ought to have their heads examined.
Why are you assuming the person was female?
Because the person that posted those comments on last week’s strip used the name Sophie, probably.
And cause she mentioned all of those “bishi” men. Or however they are called.
Ahh. I actually missed that part. Though “the girls that spout that nonsense” seems to be a more general directional statement than aimed at the one that triggered the comic. I’ve seen dudes post such stuff too.. though admittedly, not as much.
Oh man, everything about this is amazing!
I’m not going to lie though, I haven’t played much Final Fantasy, so I thought the first dude (Kuja?) was a woman. Not a tough/strong woman either. A chicky-chick who needs to be rescued by the hero because she though wearing a slutty costume to a battle was a good idea. Which made it all the funnier for me when I realized what was going on here. (Also, apparently I don’t read the titles on comics).
Sten steals the show here though. Fantastic!
Oh GOOD, it wasn’t just me. I thought it was some kind of Slave-Leia / Fantasy Unicorn Maiden mashup and I was not understanding *at all*.
Nice halter top and puff-sleeved shrug, /Mister Manly-Man/. Did you borrow those boots from Cher?
Addendum to previous post: Speaking of Caska, why has Gutts never made an appearance in this? He’s MADE for this strip!
I love you.
I love you forever.
This… reflects my thoughts perfectly.
Love how you ended the Sesshomaru interview. And yeah, fervent fans (and haters) can drive you away from something that’s probably up your alley.
Did you have any more ideas as to who to put in this?
I’ll be completely honest, I’ve always pictured Kuja as a Keith David-voiced, manly guy who wears his outfit the same way some manly men wear the color pink. Then again, that may have something to do with the fact that when I, my brother and my sisters used to play FFIX, my brother would always give Kuja this deep, manly voice. Kind of makes me wonder how you’d redesign him to be manly Coelasquid.
Something that just occurred to me though, is there a distaff counterpart to the Commander’s Agency? Like a place where action women from movies and games go to learn how to reintegrate into society (like lessons on not being misandrists, not berating other women for liking girly things, that sort of stuff)? I’d be curious to see what that place looks like.
While I’m not sure it’s the most canon thing in the world, Kuja was given a voice in FF Dissidia, and there was nothing manly about it.
Well, the English voice was pretty girly, but IMO the Japanese voice was more manly. Obviously not super masculine, but he sounded like an older (if thin and effeminate) male. Your mileage may vary, but I agree that he sounded distinctly snooty and gay in the English version.
There you go.
I SO second that idea of a counterpart agency, though I think Coela has more than enough to work with just focussing on the Commander’s day job. I hope to see it one day, though…
Hmmm…pity MGDMT only updates 1/week, because a story arc involving an alternate universe Badass Agency of all action-hero women would be hilarious.
Might make for a good one-off joke all the same though.
I’m not entirely certain Dante counts as a bishounen….
However, I have no problem with his appearance here. =D
Love it, love it, love it. Made me giggle so much.
I’ve never commented on your comic until now (though I’ve stalked you on the DeviantsArts for ages).
This is quite possibly your best comic to date! I’m all for dumping on the anime girlmen while vaunting the glories of the hairy, beefy superbeast that is a real man. Also, if just because I did fencing and general (western) swordplay in my high school years, that Sten bit was enormously hilarious because ANIME NERDS CAN’T SWORDS GOOD.
Love. You.
Screw the haters. I love your comic.
Oh how I’ve missed Sten.
*golf clap*
Beautiful. Just beautiful.
Hahahaha! This was amusing. I couldn’t stop laughing at the last panel.
Well, at least everyone “almost” got what they wanted, right? Bishounen managed to appear in the manly, macho comics.
Well said, Sten. Well said *applauds*
Huh so is the crack head remake version of dante manlier?
This strip is 100% made of awesome and pankakes.
This is fabulous. These are some of my favorite characters, and I find this amazing.
Also amazing: that anyone would consider Kuja manly. Dear sweet god.
I can’t wait to see all the butthurt fanboys/girls.
You are the mother fucking queen!
I happen to think Vincent Valentine is a bad ass… But he isn’t really manly.
Best webcomic, A+ for laughin at the animes
Bahahhaa, this is one of the best I think–I really love all of them, but the Sesshomaru one is so fantastic XD
Well, they do have a point in Japanese perspective: for Japanese, guys you consider “manly” are gayish (like Zangief from Street Fighter series) and bishounens are badass. That’s how their culture roll. We even had a bit of it in European culture: for example Achilles was so very girly in drag to the point that Odysseus had to use a trick to distinguish him from other women.
That said, it’s Japanese point of view as seen in anime or jRPGs. You’re neither Japanese nor Weeaboo, your comic is not even in “manga-style” and those “potential scenarios” were really weak. It was nice to see Kuja drawn by you and would be nice to see some other, more relevant anime characters in the future, too.
Also, Sesshomaru’s trollface is really nice, I would really like to see his expression after that Commander’s reply.
One key issue there:Japanese men haven’t been manly since WW2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masahiko_Kimura
“That moment, I grabbed his left wrist with my right hand, and twisted up his arm. I applied Udegarami. I thought he would surrender immediately. But Helio would not tap the mat. I had no choice but keep on twisting the arm. The stadium became quiet. The bone of his arm was coming close to the breaking point. Finally, the sound of bone breaking echoed throughout the stadium. Helio still did not surrender. His left arm was already powerless. Under this rule, I had no choice but twist the arm again.”
That was the literal founder of the sport of MMA whose arm he’s breaking in this passage.
Not to discount Kimura or anything, but I think Helio is the one who comes across as more of a badass in that passage…
I completely agree. Bishounen men aren’t real manly men, they’re too in touch with stylish side. And giant motherfudger swords are not badass…just compensation and illogical.
I think the only super manly anime/manga characters I can think of is Kenpachi (Resident psycho and total bad-ass) from Bleach. And Gajeel Redfox (Also resident psycho turned slightly nicer psycho and bad-ass) from Fairy Tail. I prefer Kenpachi. He’s the most bad-ass.
Can’t help but wonder what the fangirls were thinking. Isn’t this comic about an agency for (MACHO) men who have problems with social awkwardness and adapting to regular life? Wouldn’t pretty boys who don’t feel the smash everything in their path undermine the entire idea?
Just saying.
HAHAHAHA, YOU WIN AWESOME AWARD.
Yes, BJD owners are TERRIFYING. I happen to own two of them (two girls), but I stay away from doll meets and yaoi shit crap scary girls. Eeeyuuucckk.
There are only a few characters from Japanese games that I could see realistically mixing it at the agency.
Barrett is an obvious choice as a bad ass…I mean, machine gun arms, guys!
The majority of Anime is filled with these characters as of late, however, check out berserk. The main character in that makes Sten look like he’s going to join PETA.
I refute your categorization of Berserk as “as of late”. It’s been going on since at least the early 90s.
That said, what I’d find amusing to show up here would be characters from JJBA.
I lost it when I saw the appletini…
I fell out of my “anime” phase a while ago. People kept asking me why I did so, as though it were some betrayal… one of my stock answers was “because I realized I really like hairy, manly men.” This is just perfect, hahahahaha…
Oh sweet jeebus. I may have snorted my latte at the end of the second strip. Oh my goodness gracious. And leave it to Sten to have the final word.
I won’t deny that I watch anime here and there and there are, I think, manly men do appear in there occasionally (Jet and Spike from Cowboy Bebop come to mind) but culturally, anime really isn’t a medium to look for the Western ideal of the “manly man”. Trying to force the stereotypes is doing the square-peg-round-hole thing; masculinity just doesn’t have the same meaning.
You want macho anime dudes, though the topic has become redundant at this point, I suggest Hajime no Ippo. There are no pretty boy main characters in that, and the pretty boys in it get the shit punched out of them.
I’m not hard up for macho anime dudes, this person just explicitly requested bishounen.
In that case, I’m gonna put in a request for some of the characters from Cromartie High School.
Lovely, sad, and true. Unfortunately, I think that even the likes of Toph from Avatar is manlier than most anime guys.
While I did read some comments about how that’s Japanese for you, but MGDMT is clearly based off of the perspective of American Protagonists. :B I think explains this pretty well.
I admit that there’s nothing wrong in theory with liking girly-man characters. They just have no place among the manliest of men doing the manliest of things. And, they are no match for Commander. [and the fans, like any fans, are sometimes out of control.]
but mostly that last thing about them being mo match for Commander Badass.
That should shut them up! I like bishonen too, but I also acknowledge that they have no place at Commander’s agency!
Still hoping for Wrex though, if you ever play Mass Effect. I can see him and the Commander hitting it off great.
I just wanted to say this is possibly the best comic strip I have ever seen. Coela, you are my hero.
Pwnage. That is all.
Absolutely loved Sten’s panels!! His lines were so true to his character! Many lulz.
Seems like everybody’s more interested in joining the Macho temp agency than the Bishounen temp agency. No wonder Sesshomaru’s feeling insecure.
Hello, I’d like to complain, please. This is far too funny.
(Joking aside, keep on producing, and pay little if no attention to critics that aren’t being creative themselves.)
Who’s the guy with horns in the second one?
Volt Krueger.
I thought I’d hate this comic, but I find most of these fails are on the individual characters, then effeminate men as a whole. Should be noted that most of anime is pretty out there, and flawed in logic. I never liked anime guys to much, at least not the popular ones. I’m content with my own developed, and most of all logical characters. No giant ass, imbalanced swords, or useless armor in my stories/games. My preferred sword is a rapier, and otherwise daggers. Don’t need to be macho to wield light weapons. And a huge reliance of agility, speed, and stealth. As for sexual preference, well, that has nothing to do with fighting.
Yeah, I’m not ragging on effeminate guys, just the reasons that commentor supplied regarding why bishiiiiis are the manliest of manly guys. Gonna be honest, someone comes to a site for a comic about “ludicrously macho guys” and asks why there aren’t more pretty dudes, then proceeds to explain in detail why they feel I should abandon the premise of the comic in order to incorporate more of the characters they want to see… well, there are millions of places you can find drawings of Vincent Valentine and Sesshomaru, this is not the place for that. Plus considering all their potential comic ideas were basically Commander just saying “Wow mr. bishie you sure showed me, you’re so awesome”, just adds insult to… well, insult.
If they want more Bishie, they should draw their own webcomic.
Effeminate Guys Doing Manly Things.
You know, in light of the mental image of Sesshomaru chomping cigars, Cloud Strife getting a body build like the commander, or Kenshin pulling a Kratos stunt, that might actually be worth reading.
(in a weird, crazy, crack fanfic sort of way)
http://genzoman.deviantart.com/art/Manly-Cloud-144852759
I think I like him better that way.
Here’s a cute mental image for you Anon:
It’s my favorite fanart of Cloud. Mostly because I’m kinda tired of seeing him in a 14 year old’s body. Same with Sephiroth. That man had to be in mid 30’s when he died, and his art (though strangely unproportional) at least showed a (somewhat) mature face.
His…latest art in Dissidia, made him look…18.
Maybe it’s my age (I was 16 when I played FF7 in ’97) but, I feel very very uncomfortable relating to my old fandom when people keep making them uncomfortably young(er). It makes me feel like a cougar or worse, a pedo.
I love this comic and it’s the funniest I’ve read so far. The way I see it, this comic doesn’t make fun of effeminate men or even bishounen at all, but rather poke fun at the “rabid fandom” that extol and glorify them as the “manliest of men” (and shoving it at other people, which is to be honest very annoying).
Where as Commander Badass teaches men who are too manly in there day to day lives how to cope in this world perhaps a similar place should be created for BishĹŤnen.
That being said, BishĹŤnen translates to “beautiful youth (boy).” A boy is not a man therefor can never be overly manly which is the premise of this site.
Have you ever thought about drawing Brock Samson from ‘the venture bros’ cartoon? He’s damn manly, or is this mostly Video games manly men? Love your stuff, been following it for a while now :)
Being the genre parody comic that this is, using a genre parody character like Brock Samson is more like blatant copyright violation than “parody”.
In that case may I suggest a character that isn’t exactly a genre parody, though he could be seen as such? It would be a judgement call on your part.
The character is Brit, from the comic of the same name. He’s a guy in his 60’s who’s built like the Commander and his only real superpower is that he’s indestructible. And not in the Wolverine regeneration kind of way, but in the “Nothing can hurt me. Period.” kind of way. In fact, at one point he jumps out of an airplane strapped to a nuke, which he detonates on himself halfway through the fall.
Oh, and did I mention that Brit is short for Brittney? Yea. He’s got that too.
He’s easily one of my favorite superheros.
Maybe you could just give him a office with his name on in it but never show the character.
That being said, you WILL be doing something about the whole DC reboot, right? My rage about it is hard to contain. I need a parody to laugh at asap.
Someday, I will stop laughing at this one specific comic. It will not be today.
It will not be tomorrow.
It very likely won’t be Wednesday either.
In all likelyhood, it’ll be Thursday, but then I’ll go back to this comic, and I’ll keep laughing till next Monday.
Hahahaha, awesome. And Commander makes valid points himself haha.
Plus you stick to your guns on stuff, and thats somethin I always respect :]
To be fair, there are some anime dudes that are manly. Like in Dragon Ball Z and… well, that’s pretty much it.
As a ‘fangirl’ I throw my votes in with the large hairy dudes any day! Wolverine, Sabretooth, guys like that are amazing. (Comic form that is.)
DBZ is the manliest animu? Wow you’re lost.
Made of stiffer stuff? Well, when it comes to Sten, I sure am.
I tried thinking of Manly FF Men, and all I got were Barret and maybe VII’s Cid.
Somehow, I still don’t see Barret’s gun arm doing him much good in the way of reintegrating into civilian life.
T-shirt launcher/bratzooka.
You missed Cyan and Sabin from FFVI. The sprites of the game don’t do them justice.
No one seems to remember Final Fantasies before VII. How about Yang from IV? Or Fighter from I? (though that may be treading into a different comic’s domain)
Don’t forget Auron from FFX. Sure, he had his own problems (and the same big sword complex anime guys are plagued with), but he didn’t whine, moan or complain. He spent his days drinking flammable who-knows-what from that giant bottle of his and doing his duty to protect his best friend’s kids. All the while being dead.
He was really the only character in that game I liked.
Or Galuf from V. Yes, I know.
Auron from FFX. Yes, he does have a slightly ludicrous sword, but he’s still pretty manly.
At least he wields his preposterous sword as though it’s actually heavy, which is a point in his favour.
Coela, if I didn’t love you already, I certainly would now.
Last strip:
“Can I assume you wield it with the intent that it compensates* for your inadequate genitals?
I’m so sorry :(
Actually, her construction is appropriate. Counter-intuitive, mayhap, but perfectly cromulent.
I love you for the use of ‘cromulent.’ I am going to use that at least three times in casual conversation today.
You are a hero.
I about fell out of my chair on this one. hilarious!
The essay… that is… *sigh*
Two things. One: I wish there were more people in this world like you. Because this comic said basically everything I’ve wanted to say about prettyboy stripper anime googly things and more.
Two: I love the fact that Sesshomaru drinks the same kind of girly drinks that I drink.
thank you for this comic if I weren’t about to bust a rib I would have busted one for sure
nah… i love you sure. sure that kinda boys can be hot… but being hot =/= being manly-manly…
Whenever I feel inadequate about my physique, I just Google “bishounen” and compare myself to the results.
It makes me feel better every time.
Holy shit, it’s Volt! :D
One of many things my schooling in psychology and human sexuality has taught me is that 60% of women prefer men with feminine facial features. This paired with studies that show that true bisexuality only exists in women due to their stronger emotional component and that most women to some degree are bisexual, dressing up as they do for each other rather than really dressing to impress men, I’m never surprised when women fawn over the most ridiculously girly of men, in real life or otherwise.
Keep up the good work, the good discrimination, and more men with beards please.
One of the many things I’ve learned is that psychologists are as prone to sexist, cissexist, and heteronormative bias as anyone else, and that any study that claims bisexuals (and other non-normative sexualities and gender identities) don’t really exist is either full of crap or doesn’t actually say that. :3
Thank you! Also, I’ve learned that 72% of statistics are made up on the spot by people who are trying to validate shoddy claims for which they have no actual evidence!
One of the many things I’ve learned is that people who are so consumed by a “cause” that they have to make up words like “cissexist” to explain it aren’t the type to argue honestly and instead will simply condemn dissenting opinions as sexism, racism, or some other kind of “ism”.
Just in case you missed the point I was making, you clearly didn’t even try to honestly debate the claims made by IceeInChrg. If you were really as confident in your worldview as you claim you would have asked for a link to one of the studies IceeInChrg referred to so you could refute it.
:P Real life proof is in my friend. He’s as feminine looking as can be and girls seem to fall for him left and right. Unfortunately for him, half of the ones he’s been with were crazy in some way shape or form. Can’t say it’s the majority, though.
I heard that was a recent change in tastes partially due to the wide spread use of birth control pills. Since a lot of women are on the pill which makes their body think they are pregnant – they shift their mental views of what they want in a man, from the strong masculine variety (that ensure strong babies) to the more effeminate softer sort (that would in theory make good sensitive fathers.)
Not sure if I myself buy that argument myself. But it was an interesting theory.
Gonna throw this out, Tager from BlazBlue is pretty manly. Just sayin’.
Could you make another comic like this, but with Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Mummies Alive/Street Sharks/Other kids shows?
Generally the males on that show were generally buff or muscular, but it still made them silly and it’d make for a pretty funny comic about the commander having to deal with a multi-colored showboat.
Not -TELLING- you to do this, but I think it’d be fucking funny.
Perhaps, but it’s worth noting that those cultures that defined “masculinity” as such typically also romanticized sexual relations between adult men and adolescent boys, often to the extent of downplaying or deriding affection *between* the sexes all together, with the social status of women consequently being severely diminished by comparison (see Afghanistan, feudal Japan, etc).
Gahahahah! That was awesome! I like both manly guys and bishounen, but you give a great point there. Sometimes anime is just a little TOO ridiculous.
Note: The above comment was made in response to Layogenic’s post further up.
Like a few others on this list, I like a couple of the guys in this strip, but the comic is just so awesome…I was laughing, seriously. And getting all uppity about it would be ridiculous. And an excellent way to counterpoint some ridiculous fangirl/boy. Also, in the first panel with Volt (woot, Bouncer cameo!), he and the Commander look like they could be siblings. Please, Coela, keep doing what you do. Because you rock.
A large-sword-compensating-for-small-penis-joke.
I am hardly surprised.
We’re the cutting edge of originality here.
Wait, you mean it’s been done before? Shock!!!!!!!!
Then I suggest we move on.
Thank you for getting the joke I was making.
Hey, I love the comic, but I just want to give you fair warning that you’re painting yourself to look like a wide cunt right now.
I mean, the author of that letter, wrong as they may be, was pretty polite about it. This sort of response could be warranted if they had verbally shit on you or something, but as it stands right now you’re just broadcasting your own overreaction.
Like, you could have just said, “Hey, here’s an idea, you can go ahead and make a comic about those things, and I’ll go ahead and not read it because those things are for dickshitters,” and you would have come off as The Cooler Dude, but… I mean, this is the kind of thing that would bring in a deluge of “u mad” macros on bad imageboards, you know?
I remember reading a letter like three years ago. There’s this guy named DigitalPh33r who pretty much just sits around playing Xbox all day and being a dick to people, and he got huge on youtube because anything will make you huge on youtube. Somebody made a forum post complaining about how he had written DigitalPHeaf a huge, huuuge well-written letter telling him very politely and eloquently what he could be doing better in the writer’s opinion. His purported response was this:
“Dear John
No.
Regards,
[whatever his name was I don’t know]”
This guy has done absolutely nothing of value as far as I know, but I gained a modest amount of respect for him just for handling the situation the way he did.
So yeah. Maybe don’t be a dong in the spotlight. It doesn’t help you, regardless of the circumstances.
oh boy it only took 153 posts for someone to start calling me a cunt.
http://image.odinseye.org/images/4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/3DUOh.gif
I’m just saying…
I lol’d
This all goes without saying, but:
I for one (amongst the vast majority) thought your response was tasteful, intelligent, and hilarious. Ignore any twatwaffle who abandons good sense to say otherwise.
You call Coelasquid a “wide cunt,” but she’s the one overreacting? Projection much?
I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry. Given the circumstances this is really inappropriate, but i’m finding calling someone a “wide cunt” really hilarious.
I’ve never, EVER saw someone using those words.
I don’t think a “response” this measured and inoffensive warrants busting out The Big C. I’m not well-versed in any of the subject matter covered in MGDMT, but this came across to me as pretty gentle and low-key ribbing.
Maybe you have to be heavily emotionally invested in the subjects being poked at to get pissed about it.
Don’t see what you’re upset about.
The person in question requested a variety of characters not matching the theme to appear in this comic.
As a direct result of that request, and the… um, “enthusiasm” there-in, Coelasquid drew a comic with most of the requested characters.
Sounds to me like she’s pretty accommodating!
Can next week’s comic be about “The Cooler Dude”? He sounds like a swell guy, what with his polite dickshitting wide cunt spotlight dong reactions.
Naw, next week will probably be Commander’s kids or something.
And that is the best thing ever.
Yeah I don’t suppose you can address every hate mail you receive. Because than there will be hate mail on your hate mail comic. And than your pulling an Inception and it just turns into a big mess…
… Dunno what you’re trying to prove, but there’s no point of using the C word.
Internet filter check : think about saying this to her face in public, yeah you’d probably choose different words.
Can you delete Nottaj’s account and block his(?) IP address? Seriously I’m pretty offended by this steaming pile of monkey using such an offensive term. My sons read this web comic. I don’t need inferior vermin with no manners getting disgusting.
Cthulu is coming for you Nottaj.
As polite as Nottaj might have tried to seem, that’s really just like writing a pile of turd and covering it with ice cream and chocolate sprinkles.
Big C’s sense of humor is much more roundabout, and sometimes, the simplest answers are the best. Sten still wins in this regard.
Warden: tell me about your people, Sten.
Sten: No.
So, the fact that she goes above and beyond the “no” of making Commander be OOC to some girly men means that she is truly a genius. The writer asked, and she provided. But, as with anyone, she did it her way. The best way to get something done the way you want it is to do it yourself. Just because something is well-written does not mean it’s any good.
Not to use your own hypocritical words against you but uh….
Lol U Mad Bro?
Oh wow. You actually take yourself seriously. How sad for you.
Here’s a better idea, the next time you decide to lecture someone, ANYONE, on the concepts of respect like the true to life Nice Guy ™ that you are, I suggest you do it WITHOUT the gendered slurs. You know, because if you’re going to be a disrespectful little shit, then why the fuck should anyone care about what you have to say about respect?
Just saying.
“Hey, here’s an idea, you can go ahead and make a comic about those things, and I’ll go ahead and not read it because those things are for dickshitters,”?
Wouldn’t a response like that be WAY more offensive than this comic? Coelasquid pretty much just gave that girl what she wanted – bishies. No name-calling and no rude comments. Just a simple “Well girl, this is why they don’t quite fit in here.”
I wonder how many of these “suggestions” and “tips” from fans Coela’s received before this one. I wonder how many times she’s taken the “high road” and not said anything, only to have some other “fan” try to tell her what to do in her comic the very next day? I think it was a wise choice to show all her “fans” exactly what she thinks of their dumb ideas, so maybe they’ll stop bothering her with them.
Just like how she hates Dante because she’s had people ruin him/DMC for her by repeatedly insisting that he’s awesome and amazing, she’s probably had more than enough of people offering their “helpful suggestions.” The person who originally wrote that essay may have been polite in wording, but the intent was not polite. That person was basically saying “Your ideas and the way you present them aren’t good enough; here, I’ll help by giving you something even better to write about.” As Coela said herself, those little scripted bits were just adding insult to insult. How presumptuous!
Anyway, I think Coela was well within reason to respond as she did. And I don’t think her response makes her any kind of cunt, wide or narrow.
Don’t you know that that’s what professional comedians do?
The absurdity of Nottaj comment initially entertained me in an odd “too 2D to be real” manner, and proved invaluable inspiration concerning “things not to do in order to grow as a human being”. However, the chance that any such remark gives grievance saddens me.
Best to apply the lesson of the comic to the comments as well: when someone doesn’t fit it, it’s probably most considerate to reject and dismiss. Goodbye, Nottaj.
Trolling on someone’s comic while her fans are ready to attack you and you knowing that full well of it, it’s pretty brave but also very idiotic. Irony in your comment as others pointed out. You are talking about being polite when you are using hateful words that really don’t mean anything when on the internet. Coel was just showing reality of these bishi men have, which is gay pron of them and sexual harassment reports against them. I see nothing rude or wrong in this comic. I find it very hilarious in fact. Mostly the Sesshomaru one since that is 100% fact.
Also, you taking the internet seriously means you fail as a troll. Learn the ways of the internet before trying to troll anyone kid :)
Nottaj, opinions are like assholes. By this same line of logic you are an opinion.
Bravo.
Srsly? Chill out.
P.S. (I was a wide cunt for my boyfriend last night, and we both had a great time. Stop ragging on the wide cunt.)
She’s been making fun of Manly Men for months but this went too far? I am a fan of comic books, Harry Potter, Manga, video games, Twilight, and a variety of other things that constantly inspire those gifted with artistic talent (and more often then not those without) to created parodies in the sequential art form. This is a place to laugh. If you can’t find the humor in what goes on here then you should not come.
This is Coelasquid’s site. She does not post these strips on the fan sites of Anime charters. (I might though) She posts her work here on this site she has dedicated to in her own words “The punchline is machismo.” She was probably avoiding this line of humor for a while not because some would find it offensive but because it’s too easy. She received many letters, some may very well have been polite, and she responded the way all comedians do; she found the humor in it and put it on display. Those of us who are fans of Inuyasha and the rest saw the humor in it. You don’t have the right to lash out because you lacked that ability.
When there are characters that ride their stupid swords around like motorcycles, it’s hard to take them seriously.
Yeah, much as I like DMC, I still thought that joke was hilarious. It really is basically a sharpened compressed car “onna steek” when you get right down to it. Fact is I hadn’t really heard of the first two guys (I watch anime, I just have a lot of friends who watch it first so I only get the good ones) and was pretty well indifferent to FF as a series. Don’t understand the hatedom or the hyper-fanboys.
Hatedom and hyper-fanboyism will exist with everything, no matter what, in at least some small secluded corner of the internet
Yeah, suppose that’s true. Actually a lot of the things that you can ;laugh at most easily on the internet are born from it.
And I feel stupid. I just got the joke that, technically, this is a comic featuring the bishie characters. Heh, here I am, Mr. Slow-On-The-Uptake Jeroic right here.
Since I’m more a hip-hop fan than an anime fan, the first thing I thought of when you mentioned DMC was these gentlemen: http://images.paraorkut.com/img/artists/images/r/run_dmc-1689.jpg
And now I can’t stop myself conflating the two. I don’t think I want to stop.
I think of both. At the same time. It’s scary.
Having read the bizarre inspiration for this comic in the comments for the last page, as soon as I saw the title I immediately started laughing. I just stopped. It has been 7 minutes.
I’m a huge fan of teh animus and, really, that’s why I found this comic so hilarious. Anyone who didn’t find this amusing either isn’t familiar with the characters or needs to lighten up.
I’d have given Vincent a pass since he can turn into a demon, but mother of God, SO much gay pr0nz of Sesshoumaru. I didn’t even think that Inuyasha was that big anymore.
Also, when you get to the Cloud/Sephiroth bit, I hope that starts Barret on a recurring role. I mean, a man that puts every NFL linebacker to shame with a gun for a hand? Does it get any more macho?
You hate Japanese Characters. Point taken.
Not at all. I just felt as though, with all the character requests people send my way, the most bizarrely inappropriate of the lot deserved a comic.
Dude. Way to miss the point.
Anyways, fifthing(?) Armstrong, and I think it might be interesting to do a strip with Kenpachi, if only to have someone question what the hell he’s thinking, getting into crazy badass fights with a little girl hanging off his shoulder. I mean, yeah, she loves the bloodshed as much as he does, if not more, and they’re both already kinda dead, but. . . child endangerment and all that.
They already had a comic with Kenpachi!
… Oh wait. That was a Big Daddy. Well it’s like Kenpachi. There’s usually a girl on his shoulder. He’s just jacked, and overly-protective to a murderous state and just fits the comic better.
But… Volt Kreuger is a Japanese character. :U
Muhahahaha this one was great, loved it, keep up the great work :3
I totally agree with this…of course what we really need to look at is the regional differences
http://www.duelinganalogs.com/comic/western-and-japanese-protagonists/
I think this fits in perfectly to you’re comic as well
I’d have made more fun of Dante’s massive mommy complex, myself.
Out of curiosity, are you ever going to go into manly man outside of pop culture? I know it’s pretty much this comic’s… mm, theme, but going into the absurd manliness of mythological heroes would be quite interesting! Especially considering the Commander is a time traveller and all.
I think a comic addressing the fact that Heracles (Hercules) is named after the angry wife of his immoral, sleazy father Zeus would be pretty funny but really, if people don’t like Coelasquid’s choices of topic they can write their own damned web comic.
oooohhhh damn. best liked comic, manly or mediocre, in a long while.
Oh man…Why do people have to be so closed minded? I’m somewhat of an otaku and I found this comic hilarious.
Just remember, Ms. Coel, for every 2 or so people who bother, gripe, and complain at you there are like 15 people who love your work. Whether they’re normally lurkers like me or talkative.
I’ve seen artists on almost all of my art sites I go to (some webcomics too) who get a decent amount of negativity from people who say they have a problem but keep watching or reading anyway. You can practically feel the agitation and such through their art, and if not their art, their descriptions. They’ve also become abrasive to new fans who misunderstand something or other things to that effect. That’s the part that’s kept me just a lurker on most of them.
From what I can tell (I could be off but this is what I get from reading your comments and descriptions) you seem wonderfully neutral with life though and I like that a lot. Keep up the awesome work you do, please. I enjoy it immensely, even if I am just one random person among your sea of fans and admirers.
I think I’ve gotten maybe two negative comments out of the hundred and seventy five the strip has garnered so far, Bishounen and macho guy fans alike seem to enjoy it, so I think I’ve served the purpose I was going for. I mean, people can say I’m being mean to pretty anime men but I’ve done plenty of silly things to characters I’m quite fond of. The comic is about making fun of ridiculously outlandish aspects of characters, so I figure statements like “these characters are more manly because they have more fangirls” is prime material for the kind of satire I’m a fan of.
Two out of around 175? Wow, that’s way better that I thought. After I paused on that guy calling you a cunt my first thought was “oh no…”.
Well regardless, I’m glad no one’s harassing you and that you enjoy doing what you do.
Pretty sure Sten just won everything there. Although points must be awarded to Dante for his amazingly unimpressed facial expression in the last panel. XD
As a major fan of pretty boys, this is a good comic and you should feel good.
Although Vincent could use a touch more ~*drowning in melancholy*~, but hey.
Sten rocked my world so hard I had soda come out my nose from laughing XDD
Jeez this thing got 180 comments before I even got here. Riling up some folks, it would seem.
I just wanted to comment that I was pleased to see you could, quite well, draw a body type that wasn’t in your usual repertoire of manly guys (that do manly things). It’s not to say I didn’t expect it, just that many artists struggle with it and I’m really impressed to see you handle it marvelously.
Also thank goodness you’re not a lesser webcomic artist, amirite? wink wink nudge nudge
Ahaha, I dunno, Jared’s not the usual Manly guy type, and he shows up most weeks :P
All too true, but I was almost going to disqualify his presence on account of the fact his body is just about five sticks haphazardly tied together.
Which, to clarify in case I am misunderstood, that is not to say he is poorly drawn by you, but that he is poorly constructed by his life choices.
Hilarious! And we’re finally back to comics that deal with the concept of manliness.
This is probably one of your best ever. Keep up the good work!
Totally one of the best ever.
Also, who’s the dude (?!) in the second row with the eyeliner, wearing what appears to be a dead sheep as a boa? That has to be the most unappealing “man” I’ve seen outside of an exhumed coffin. What’s that purple mark on his forehead? Is that where his unicorn kicked him in the face?
Really I’m just jealous because my nails aren’t as nice as his.
Sesshomaru from Inuyasha. Fun fact, his English voice actor has been both Megatron and Optimus Prime in various Transformers reboots, including classic purple T-Rex Megatron in Beast Wars.
That gives him a *little* bit of badass cred, I guess.
Sort of related : I met the dude who did the voice of Bumblebee in the new Transformers movies at some screening / party (for an absurdly bad vampire B-movie) on the patio at Boardner’s in Hollywood. He was pretty rad.
That Sesshomaru should be able to join just for the voice then. He can stay out of sight, hidden in the cupboard and whisper sweet nothings while the Commander’s on his coffee break.
This one is fantastic. Never never cease to be yourself. We are here for your uniqueness, even if that is hard for other people to comprehend because they don’t get the point of the style and message of your comics.
Haters gonna hate anyways.
Oh! Also, has anyone suggested War from Darksiders yet?
I’m tempted to say he’s already been in a MGDMT comic, but I know for a fact that he’s in a comic in the extras.
http://coelasquid.deviantart.com/art/Oh-Happy-Day-150678858 :)
Best thing ever. Reading that in an incredibly manly voice.
HEY. Kuja is by far the most badass woman I know of. So there :P
Kuja wouldn’t even be badass as a female character. He’d be the weak, fake kind of Strong Female Character.
That said, though, I get what you were going for and was amused. :)
At least there could’ve been more than fangirl generated sexual tension between him and Kuja,
Oh god, my sides hurt. I fucking lost it at Vincent and Dante. Well done.
Does this mean I’ll never get to see the Commander spearfight Queequeg.
This comic was truly amazing!
Glad to know people are writing in essays about why they think terrible anime/video game characters should be in the comic. Which I must thank you for not putting Sephiroth in, as there is NOTHING manly about his serious mother complex and emo attitude. It’s like anime creators just love there characters to be emo and ineffectual. I wouldn’t mind it so much if every character wasnt’t filled with such constant angst.
Inyuyasha is just Dragon Ball Z for girls, just as Dragon Ball Z is there for mouthbreathers.
Soooooo true about DBZ. I mean really, what kind of series has the main character happy that the bad guy survived a powerful attack without a scratch while going “I’m just the guy who thought he beat you a moment ago” and saying it in a jolly tone. Or stands around and just watches as his opponent becomes stronger without making an attack of opportunity while knowing that if his opponent wins that many will later be killed by said bad guy.
Everything I’ve seen from the show makes me wish I could get those precious moments of my life back.
The worst thing about DBZ in my opinion is that no one ever wins through intelligence. It’s always who develops stronger energy blasts. Bulma is supposed to be the smartest person on the planet and she is completely useless.
See Jojos Bizarre Adventure for the polar opposite, where everyone (at least for the first four series) is huge and beefy and their intelligence is what decides who succeeds.
You want real effeminate men to bash? Please do SUPER JUNIOR, look for their song ‘It’s You’ and poke a fun to it, which by the way many of the girls and gays in my country are going gaga for. Also the ‘manly’ men here wanted to emulate them cause it gets them close to girls! Sheesh!
Also, you think Manny Pacquiao is Manly enough? Just askin’
I’m not bashing effeminate men, I’m making fun of the idea that Kuja is fashionable, Sesshomaru’s homoerotic fanart means he’s popular with the ladies, that Commander would be impressed by a guy who turns into a demon, and that enormous buster blades are in any way practical.
Ahh apologies, but I think I meant make fun with them, but then again this strip addresses the effeminate men already so I guess the point is moot. Keep it up though, loved the comic since page 1 :)
Hey, gigantic swords are *totally* practical…
if all you have to make swords with is titanium. Not even, like, titanium alloy, just pure titanium. And you have superhuman strength and a lot of muscle mass.
Of course, a spear would be better under those circumstances.
If I had a sword that big, the only thing I’d do with it is lay it over a barrel and stomp on the pommel to launch shit off the tip. It’d be the world’s most portable and titaniumest siege engine.
To be fair, since Dante is half demon, I think it’s fairly manageable for him. But yeah, continue.
Weight alone isn’t what determines how wieldy a sword is, it’s also the distribution of that weight. My dad found the Sephiroth Masamune at a sword shop he frequents and was going to but it for the novelty of having a six foot katana, but ended up being completely put off by how horrible the balance was. It’s not even unheard of for a sword to be six feet or longer, we’ve got a number of six foot broadswords in the house and they’re all heavier than the Masamune, I’m not even discounting the potential for a well balanced six foot katana, but that particular one was something awful. It’s all about the balance.
Your dad is actually a Highlander, isn’t he.
You have the coolest dad ever.
We get it.
On a somewhat related note, I admit curiosity as to you and your fanbase’s general opinion on Jack Rakan’s “Warship Slicing Sword.”
I started out ROFLing, then LMAOing, then it died down to a LOL. After reading all the way through the comments, just stopped laughing. I’m a huge DMC fan, but Ma’am, you BLEW MY MIND! And I think you handled it accordingly. Politeness is UNMANLY when it comes to someone telling you to throw your ideas to the wayside for what they’d LIKE to see. This is your world. You are its god. Let nobody else tell you how to run it. And as someone above said, I respect you stickin to your guns.
:3 Hooray! I’m glad to see you did a comic similar to the one I sent you for fancomic week.
I love you. And this comic.
Also, I know you basically said t-shirts were out of the question but what if you had enough prepaid preorders (does that make sense? D: Like a KickStarter type thing, I guess) to compensate for your time? ‘Cause I would love an MGDMT t-shirt.
OK, I don’t have anything to bishes, but come on! This comic is MANLY guys doing MANLY things ffs! I don’t consider a man manly if he looks as if wearing more make-up than me.
Anyhow – just stopping by to appreciate your work and admit that I starter stalk-er following you thanks to your great Dragon Age art – Sten! Why there is so little fan-work of you? That and you made you elf PC manly :)
Sten fanwork is around…there’s just a very small vein of the very good. ^_~
ah fanboys they always ruin everything by not shutting the fuck up
love you for doing this
Oh Sten, will you ever fail to amuse us with your laconic and surprising words? He’s like… A Spartan (Not Halo) fused with The Beast (X-Men).
It is a sad day when you have to specifically state it’s not Halo’s Spartans.
I have to applaud this stealthily highbrow comment.
Thought the comic was pretty darn funny. As for the essay writer, everyone on the internet thinks they have a better idea bout how people should do things (heck what am I talk, happens all the time in RL too). Very few actually take it upon themselves to do what they ask others to do.
Any how, I’m (and i’m sure many others) are more interested in how CS tell her own stories through her comics.
You fill my heart with glee, and my internet with truth. Thank you <3
BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *luvs*
Wait, did that person try to say ‘Pretty Boys’ (cause that’s pretty much was Bishounen means) are manly?
there are manly anime characters (Ike would be a well known one) but there are so many pathetic ones that the ones who are actually manly get burried under them.
also, Nathan Spencer (from Bionic Commando) should be included in the ranks of the Manly Guys
PPS: Samus Aran is the manlyest character in existance
Isn’t Samus… a woman?
(I’m not sure if you were being sarcastic or not…)
ROFLOL!!! Okay, I’m a huge fan of Vincent and Fluffy, but yeah, this is comic is pure gold! Especially that last set with Dante and the Dragon Age guy! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made fun of “superslim” anime/video game characters who somehow manage to swing ridiculously huge swords around with their skinny little arms as if they weighed no more than a feather! XD Excellent work!
Also, the morons who think they have the right to tell YOU how YOUR comic should go can go fornicate themselves in the eye with a rusty railroad spike! If they want Fluffy or the Flamboyant Wonder to be the manliest thing around, then they should go do their own comic about it, instead of wasting your time! >_<
Let me think… yeah I think you covered every thing.
If a guy looks like you could slap him really hard and he would start crying or you think they would be tempted to watch a marathon of Desperate Housewives without trying to come up with a logical manly reason then they don’t belong here.
Off topic note: This comic has made me decide that it is worth the hassle of sighing up to gravatar. This is single strip is one of the best I have every seen online and that is including the Bacon tree that Cyanide and Happiness introduced me for. This strip is so manly and funny that it beat the bacon tree.
You know, I don’t want to seem like a brown noser, but I am hard pressed to find Sesshomaru, Vincent, or- whoever that other guy is as manly.
Dante, in a bit of a stretch, (pretty much impossible with his latest incarnation), but yeah I guess he doesn’t fit in well either, he might have won a few more points if he had broader shoulders not-white hair. (But this is going off on a tangent)
And despite the response seeming crude, I myself must congratulate you on this. Were I a webcomic author in a similar situation, I probably would have shown much less restraint, either that or posted a comic with an explanation of the situation and a giant middle finger.
Well as I posted before, Sesshomaru isn’t ‘manly’ by looking manly. It’s really how he acts. Ok sure he’s a cold hearted aloof bastard half the time but it’s mostly from being what he is [demon] and what he is ranked as [a lord].
I was never really interested in Sesshomaru just cause he well was eye candy. Ok sure when I was younger, but as I grew older I really did come to like Sesshomaru more and more for his character, especially when he started caring for Rin.
And I have a soft spot for big fluffy dogs.
Need manly Final Fantasy characters? Barrett, Cid (FFVII), Cyan, Yang (and his Magnum PI mustache), and motherfucking Sabin. There aren’t many of them, but of the few there are, damn if they aren’t the most badass mofos around.
Manly final fantasy characters? Gilgamesh. Full stop.
Of course, he’d just get kicked out of the agency for his rampant kleptomania in the first week.
Not because he’s stealing the other manly guys’ stuff, but because he’s stealing the replicas from the giftstore and claiming he’s been stealing their stuff.
You, as always, never cease to amaze. I can’t even find words, really, aside from you are fucking awesome.
Ohohohohogods this is made of so much legendary and win at the same time.
I simply cannot decide which of them were the best! Sten’s one was simply priceless, and for the rest… God yes, apparently gay… Paraphenalia of interest. (Yes, that one word would make this comment blocked; roundabout, ho!) does equal their amount of fangirls. Now, where did Sephiroth go, hmm…? Probably to some asylum. That guy’s -beyond- rehab.
Great work like always! Keep it up!
This is probably the best thing I’ve seen all week. I love how you drew the bishounen in your style. Seeing them in a non-anime light makes them look so vapid and… well… ugly, and you pulled it off well. Seeing Dante get it at the end made my day, too. I like Dante’s underlying character, but in the end he’s still just a dick.
Sten was being way too kind to that bullshit anime sword
LOL!!
Ah, even Dante gets told… I never really considered him a bishounen.
To each their own. You keep doing what you’re doing, because you’re doing great.
I understand everything else but cmon man, Dante is pretty fucking awesome until the Reboot.
Hey, I don’t think I’ve mentioned in any of these comments that I really like the comic. It makes my day brighter, not just on update days but basically any time something reminds me that it exists – which is frequently, like for instance every time I hear or read the words win, fail, epic or awesome – and any time I see any of the strips that get passed around the Net (Mr Fish’s story shows up on the most unexpected places), reminding me that other people read the comic too.
The best I think is when people who don’t read comics at all talk about how they fell in love with Manly Guys on first sight. I’m a comics enthusiast, I want people to know about the medium and explore it and help it grow, and your comic contributes to that.
When you think about it, Coela, you are changing the world with your work. The Commander and everyone are sinking into the popular consciousness as we speak, becoming part of the architecture of our ideas. Maybe only a few hundred thousand people are involved in that process so far, but I don’t think the exact scale is important. I just wanted to say I think you’re doing a great job, and thank you.
Also, I find it very funny and clever.
I suppose the final question is whether anyone can find a manly bishounen anime/game character.
I’m sure if I thought about it hard enough, there could be a few highly effeminate japanese character who would fit in perfectly well with the various manly guys. Buuut I’m not really gonna work on that right now.
Kakashi from Naruto? I think he’s a pretty good fit for the Brandao.
Im gonna say Yuri and Jaoquin from Shadow Hearts, and Dio and Vanilla Ice (and maybe Polnareff and Robert Speedwagon) from Jojos Bizarre Adventure.
Joachim? The gay vampire pro-wrestler hero of justice in the butterfly mask? I think I would have picked Yuri and Kato or Yuri and Lenny, myself.
Dang, I knew I was spelling it wrong. XD But yeah, the request was for bishounen ( and presumably biseinen) who are also manly; Kato and Lenny aren’t bishy at all.
I suppose I’ll agree with anyone from Jojo, but parts 1 through I guess 3 were SUPER MACHO men in the same vein as MGDMT. Not that they relied much on their physical prowess as much as using their powers in completely weird ways after the first two parts…
It’s around part 4 that you got less super macho men as much as leaner, still visible muscled out men.
But yes, if anyone haven’t read Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, read it for OH MY GOD MANLY. HOW IS IT SO MANLY. MY EYES ARE BURNING WITH SHEER MANLINESS.
Jade from Tales of the Abyss, probably.
That’s quite possibly the funniest comic since the Jared saga. I love you.
Somehow I don’t think Kuja and “logical leader” work together. Shit was a few happy meals short of a fry.
Still, nice.
LOL awesome
Okay, ngl, I’m a yaoi fangirl. I bring this up because I like reading the comments and want to add something to the overall discussion, and want people to know that I enjoy this comic and can very easily admit that some bishounen aren’t particularly manly! (NOT ALL YAOI FANGIRLS ARE LIKE YOU BELIEVE–! Anyway.)
With bishounen vs. manly men, there’s the whole issue of art-style. Some guys who are meant to be manly in anime still come off as whispy pretty boys or the artist is too lazy to draw more complicated muscled figures or they figure they won’t get the fangirl target audience that way– (wasn’t there a game who had a really manly male lead, but Japan swapped him out for a more traditionally bishie one? Yeah.) Thus, I can see where someone might say, “though he looks effeminate, that doesn’t necessarily mean he is not manly.” For someone whom you’ve used in your comics before, I actually think Fenris could be a good example of this. In the same way, there are manly women too, but that isn’t what your comic is about. ;)
Still! For the most part the bishounen personality traits aren’t what people would overall considered manly. (See: excessive angst, effeminate traits, etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but when it over-saturates the medium…!) And I wish more yaoi fangirls would recognize that and actually APPRECIATE when a character is meant to be manly vs. the typical pretty boy wai wai trope and not shove him into a dress or some shit. That doesn’t mean you necessarily have to stop shipping men in yaoi or slash or whatever, but a male character does not have to act the “female” in order to fit into a gay relationship and some of us might prefer them to retain their masculinity fffffff. Along the same lines, you can have manly men be gay.
So I just wanted to say… thanks for giving conventional manly men more of a spotlight! While I can see where some people might be coming from when saying the more pretty boy characters can be manly too, the fact is this isn’t what this comic is about and those guys get a lot of love already anyway, to the point of being excessive and disregarding the good things about having traditional masculine traits both in personality and looks.
Very nice post! I personally love bishounen characters, but I don’t always like them to be girly and ineffective- just pretty (I’m a little shallow at times, haha). I agree that there are several characters in anime who are badass and manly-just not physically manly. Feminine looks do not always equal a feminine personality.
And as for the yaoi/slash shipping, I am guilty as charged, but I also don’t insist a character be weepy and angsty to be gay- being gay doesn’t mean being effeminate, it just means you like cock more than vagina.
And as much as I love all of these characters, the fanbase is sometimes what brings them down, not the actual character. Also, the website is MANLY GUYS DOING MANLY THINGS, not ‘Bishounen anime guys showing off and stealing the spotlight’. You want idolized bishi boys? Wrong place, idiots.
>>(wasn’t there a game who had a really manly male lead, but Japan swapped him out for a more traditionally bishie one? Yeah.)
First thing I thought of was NieR.
Oh yes, that’s the one! Thanks!
I’ve actually got a long story arc related to that game that I’ve been planning out for months.
Why, where did all this DROOL on the floor come from? I cannot imagine.
(In all seriousness, all I’ve seen is a Let’s Play and I am already intrigued! Will there be Drakengard content also?)
FFXII did that too.
You reminded me of another manlyish character in the FF series. Snow, from XIII. Dude wears like a size 13 shoe… That and he’s the ONLY character in the whole damn game to have his shit straight the WHOLE WAY THROUGH (good god I needed therapy after that game. It was HORRID)
Just getting my huge Nier nerd out there and saying the bishy version came first, not the buff one.
(An entire NieR-related story arc? On MGMDT? When Coleasquid dissed the game so hard on Twitter? What is this tremulous anticipation I feel…)
I didn’t diss it so hard, I think just said it was like the Final Fantasy guys really wanted to make a Zelda game and made fun of what a horrible father he was (you know, for a guy who is supposed to be a great dad)
I believe ‘David Bowie on steroids’ was also mentioned!
Time moves oddly in JRPGs so I like to think he didn’t just run into his house to say ‘sup Yonah’ and grab the healing items but you are right, his parenting skills are sub-par! It really bothered me until I realised there isn’t a single healthy parental relationship even counting the unnamed NPCs that survived the entire game….
Since when is comparing something to David Bowie a diss?
I dunno, every interaction with his daughter and other people seemed to be “DON’T LOOK AT HER! YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE HER SICK!” She just wants to read books at the library and talk to her friends, but that just earns her a scolding before she’s put back in her cage.
This is possibly the greatest thing… Ever…
I had to do a google image search to figure out who was who from the tags. The only one I’d seen before was Vincent (as an action figure), though I know OF Dante, just never actually played the games.
It’s a little scary that Sesshomaru looks more like a guy here than he does in half the pics I found.
Welp. I only know who one of those guys are that isn’t Sven or Commander. I must be doing it wrong. Seems like you have a shitton of comments as it is, but let me just add I read your comic BECAUSE of all the macho guys (And it’s funny). There’s literally thousands of webcomics out there I’m sure they could find something to please them.
It is infinitely frustrating to have people tell you to change what you like to do so THEY can(maybe) enjoy it. My favorite one of those is still “wasting their talent drawing something I don’t like.”
I want merchandise!!! T-shirts, mugs, something! Please?
Brilliant. Utterly brilliant.
I like FF. I like DMC. But I would never say Dante or Vincent/Cloud/Seph is manly. Cid or Barrett would be have been more realistic if someone was going to push the game. But you know, those fanboys/girls don’t get reality.
I guess it’s like a Marvel comics manliness having millions of votes for Deadpool or the like.
I think this would have to be the best one so far. Awesome
i still wonder why Sgt. Johnson from Halo saga isn’t on this comic. He doesn’t need any fancy pansy suits or perfect shaped face to kick the hell out of the enemy…
I want to use him, but I haven’t played Halo so I don’t have any good ideas for what to do with him.
“Sargeant Major Avery Junior blow-the-hell-out-of-your-alien-ass Johnson, reporting for duty!” Johnson is the kind of character that doesn’t give a damn what anyone else thinks, and takes matters into his own hands. A real soldier and inspiration to his troops, he knows what needs done and how to get it done. By blowing the problem to smithereens. ALSO, as said in Halo 2 after Johnson drops a Tank into the battle for Chief and Cortana (The Female AI)
Cortana: Thanks. He never gets me anything. (Referring to Chief)
Johnson: I know what the ladies like.
Just thought that’d help clear up the character a bit. I hope it does. He’s the only character from that series I totally respect.
Burn Dante burn!!
That was fun.
And as a comment I’d note that there are manly anime characters here and there. I never thought they needed to be here and I never thought you were against them. I mean you have plenty of material to use without digging around.
Just you know most of them are from the 80s and/or Bruce Lee. Like in Sakigake!! Otokojuku or Fist of the North Star.
I only disagree on the account of Dante…yeah, he’s a punk ass kid, yeah he’s overcompensating…well…only in the last couple of games. In the first game he was wielding a sword comparable to Sten’s…but he’s a pretty cool dude, honestly. Great lines, good with the girls. I think it’s unfair to shunt him aside just because a bunch of drooling fangirls/boys turned him the incestuous bitch of his older brother.
Also, has that hardass general from Vanquish made an appearance yet? He and the protagonist both need a comic.
Also, what about Guts, from Berserk? Dude’s a manly man in spades…sword or no sword, he could give the commander a run for his money…
*awaits to be stricken down for his blasphemy*
…I’m going to stop after this, I swear to god I will…
What about Jet Black and Spike Spiegal from Cowboy Bebop? Jet’s a big dude and a brawler, and Spike’s got the moves…and neither of them are “Bishie”…so do they count as manly men?
I must have missed the part where having a pet sea monster is relevant to anything…
Just kidding. Obviously the difference between Jared and Vincent is the attitude, since Commander seems like he’d be willing to give Vincent a shot IF he looks into therapy. He’s a fair man.
As for Vincent… he had cool powers and I liked the aesthetic design of the character, but.. man.. his emo dialogue was certainly a drawback. :/
Ditto to that…the dude’s all weepy and…gah…that ain’t manly at all…
Well, wouldn’t YOU be “emo” if you couldn’t save the woman you loved, got experimented on by the mad scientist who drove said woman to crystalline suicide, your failure to stop the mad scientist leading to the birth of a maniac who killed who knows how many people and almost destroyed the world. Oh and to top it off, because of the experiments, you’re immortal and no longer human due to a stone at least the size of a fist surgically implanted in your chest. If you can maintain a sunny dispossession despite all that, you are to be congratulated.
Bah… that was supposed to be disposition… pity that these things aren’t like forum posts that you can edit…
Yeah, uh.. basically a LOT of people go through life suffering some severe depression, and not all of them act all outwardly emo about it like Vincent does. A lot of people instead keep their personal suffering to themselves and try to put on a healthy appearance for those around them.
People who actually go around actively making sure everyone KNOWS they’re tormented? That’s just… being desperate for attention, and it’s not an admirable personality trait.
Sunny Disposition? No. Bubbling cauldron of murderous, revenge fueled rage? Abso-fucking-luteable.
I don’t know who either of the first two bishonen is–Kuja or Sesshomaru by process of elimination of course–and after reading the second panel I’d prefer to avoid googling them to figure out the difference. Such a quandary.
the first one is Kuja, the big bad from FFIX, who was so deeply effeminate, that i’d seriously thought he was a flat chested she.. Of course, then reality hit me with the revelation that no japanese business would ever honestly make someone that lovely, and not give them triple Ds. The one with the moon, the marks, and the giant fluff over the shoulder is Sesshomaru, and he’s as bishie as he is dickish, and is lacking much in wangst, save for why dear ole daddy gave his eldest son the healy sword, whilst his youngest “mutt” son was given the killing sword.
Good man.
Knowledge is power
EPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!
Put a dollar in the E-word Jar, sir, and try not to let it happen again.
A lesson learned the hard way, you have my sympathies
This made my day.
Thank you.
Oliver Armstrong is a scarily masculine character…
But then again, she’s not a boy, is she? (though she’s certainly manlier than most of the people in Fullmetal Alchemist)
Gotta say, as a huge fan of the anime world and “bishie” stuff, this absolutely made my day.
Why?
It’s the cold. Hard truth.
Not only is this what whiny fangirls get for prodding Squid with a “DRAW BISHIES THEY BE COOLER” stick, but it’s showing that Anime is frankly, more often than not made up of thin, girly faced men.
There are a lot of exceptions, that’s true and I’ll admit it… But throw in the fangirls and every single character that was once respectable as a cool male character
WHOOOOOSH
Down the drain.
That’s why you’re saying you don’t like Dante, right?
Because of the abuse that every single fangirl pushes on you and the constant blathering on about how “awesome” and “sexy” Dante is.
I probably would have just rage quit by now.
I applaud you for the great patience and snarky reply to those hormone-driven girls’ requests.
Friggin’ -brilliant- strip. Dead on.
The Appletini just made this entire strip for me.
thanks :D
I second that! Reminded me of my not-so-manly friend who wears sweater vests. Appeltini’s are his drink of choice :D
I love Dante, but having Sten insult him was the best way to have him insulted.
zoro from one piece, kenpachi from bleach, and might guy/killer bee/raikage from naruto do with them what you will ms squid but i guarantee it will be funny
Best. :D
Fuck…Kuja,Vicent,Dante. WTF IS THIS?!
No, really, when people say this characters, why anybody name the real manly guys?
Vicent?NOPE Manly would be BARRET the huge black guy with the armgun of the game.
That character of Inuyasha?!HELL NO! Manly its ZARAKI KENPACHI of bleach(Btw it’s so funny when you realize that he is fighting against all the other characters that are mostly bishounen on his anime.)
@Coelasquid
Volt Krueger! LOL I didn’t realize until You said it. The bouncer was a great game. Never forget unlocking the final battle where Dauragon show the dragon tattoo.
As much as I like bishounen characters (which is a whole damn lot), I am very, very well aware that they’re definitely not qualified to be in your comics except as comedic relief. Yes, they can do fantastic feats of destruction, and have more fangirls, and great fashion sense, ect, but they are not ‘manly’- they are DRAMATIC. There is a difference, trust me! People like bishounen characters because they are dramatic, flashy and (depending on the character, more or less) cool. NOT manly. I love all the characters made fun of in this strip to pieces, but there is a REASON they are called ‘pretty-boys’, not ‘manly-men’.
As an aside, I’ve been wondering- is Darth Vader considered manly? Not Anakin from the prequels, but Vader. He seems like he would, and he’s fairly bad-ass, what with the whole Force-choke thing, but now I’m not so sure. What do you guys think?
Honestly, I’d consider Obi Wan more manly than Vader ever was. Mainly because, to me, you cannot ignore his Anakin side which (like Vincent) is full of dramatic angst.
I noticed you replied to my comment as well, but I didn’t really have much to add except down here to this one– yes! Anime characters, whispy pretty boy or not, are on the whole modeled to be DRAMATIC, not manly. That is not to say you can’t get manly and dramatic in one sweet package, but I think it’s a line some people have trouble defining between what we define as making a cool bishounen and a manly man.
He did die to save his son. That’s pretty manly.
I don’t know if Obi Wan was manly, but I do think he was at least as big of a dick as Darth Vader. He was my favorite until he just let Ani die slowly in a pit of lava. I think if my mentor did that and I lived, I’d go even crazier too and decide to kill everyone in the galaxy…
Also that ‘Your father was killed by Vader, FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW’ part was basically Obi-Wan being a huge dick. I viewed that part as Obi-Wan trying to engineer events so Luke would kill Vader without ever knowing he was his Dad. Really, Obi-Wan? What happened to that whole ‘the Jedi are good and kind’ thing? I bet good is a matter of perspective too, jackass.
Well, Obi-Wan was (to me) only badass when he was fighting, and since he was given the nickname of ‘The Negotiator’ he was pretty much a pacifist, which brings down his coolness a bit. I can’t really consider Obi-Wan that manly.
Yea, Vader did have his whiny phase as Anakin, but I think that was more a case of bad acting/dialogue in the prequels, not him just being a wimp in general (I remember some of the stand-alone book series made Anakin a smart-ass and lover of loopholes, and significantly less pathetic). I’m referring to Vader from the first three movies, and ignoring the prequel continuity; I think he was pretty manly in that context, though he did have that ‘Yes Master’ thing going on (which could be a justified fear of being electrocuted if he was a smart-ass, I guess).
The whole idea just contradicts itself from the start with the fact that Bishounen means ‘Pretty Boy” and “Manly” men are never ‘pretty’. But you don’t have to get your panties in a bunch, that doesn’t mean they still can’t be bad ass. I also don’t understand why people would get upset over this, especially the one who wrote that essay, they got their wish, bishounen are in the comic!
I’d also like to plug Jayne from Firefly, who is as manly as his name isn’t. I don’t think I’ve seen him in the comic… do you even use non-animated characters?
A-Team’s Hannibal Smith appeared here once.
Oh man. I think I would die of joy is Jayne made it into this comic. XD
It’s a much more fortuitous challenge to find a popular japanese anime/game protagonist who doesnt match the overused bishy-style.
Try looking for Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures. It’s a very old manga that was recently finished. Everyone in that manga looks like they can be Japanese relatives of the Manly Cast.
A bit of warning? It’s..bizarre and contains a lot of near impossible poses (which is deliberate), the translation is also god-awful, but hilarious.
Jojo’s still going in Japan, though. I read the author just started series 8 this year.
That’s probably Jojolion. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure technically ended with Joleyn (Stone Ocean) when the bad guy resets the world (so he kinda sorta wins).
It was followed by Steel Ball Run, which is an AU of sorts. I don’t know where Jojolion comes in, in terms of relation to the rest of the original cast. It could be based of the setting for Steel Ball Run or another alternative universe.
It’s in the present-day of the SBR AU, taking place in Morioh. The plot thickens.
Emphasis on “technically”; SBR was published with the subtitle “Jojos Bizarre Adventure Part 7” and Jojolion with “Jojo Series 8” on the Jump covers. :3
Soo….Jojolion is AU of SBR which is an AU of JBA.
It’s an AU within an AU. Fantastic.
Well you know what they say. “You can judge your success by the number of your enemies.” Fair play to you m’dear. This comic had me in stitches.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Sure, I’m a huge fan girl of two of the aforementioned – that doesn’t mean I’m a numbskull. I absolutely love what you did with the suggestion, and I think it shows that you know how to control and write your own webcomic. One million internets!
Love this web-comic, and thought this entire theme was hilarious. I used to watch anime when I was about 12, and have many fond memories of watching dragonball z powering up for 37 episodes. Barret and Kenpachi are the only anime character I can truly think of being fully manly in relationship to this comic (what my messed up head thinks reality is lol!) But was wonder for those of you who have seen Hellsing what Paladin Alexander would qualify as, deff a badass, deff needs help integrating (psychotic, religious zealot…etc) One of my favorite characters of all time because he was both badass and generally nucking futz!
Yeah Kenpachi is my favorite Bleach character. It would be an interesting cameo at least.
Stan is win. only recognized the two middle characters though. Top and bottom strips are my favs. Sesshomaru cracks me up to no end. XD
…this is by far my favorite strip. Ever. XD
I’m actually a fan of the more androgynous characters, mostly because I’m somewhere inbetween the machismo crew and the bishie crew, so I can relate to both in different ways.
But, to be fair, this was hilarious, because I like to laugh at what I like, because I’m not at all insecure about it (see how that works guys?)
Anyway, do you think I could get away with drinking a mojito in front of the commander and crew if I state “Do I care what other people think about what I’m drinking? It tastes good”
I think Commander wouldn’t care what you were drinking as long as you weren’t being a jerk. He’s making fun of an inflated ego there, not the drink.
This is one of my favourite comics!
also I’m reading all the comments and I’m amazed, why can’t I meet any of you in real life? Just so you know, you’re all awesome and deserve high fives and candy.
Darn good! As much as I liked Kuja, he has no place in the cast.
Must say, big fan of the issue discussed. There is a massive indirect relationship between the vocal minority of fangirls for Japanese Bi-shonen and bi-shojo characters and straight men who like the Russian/American stereotype of the broad-shouldered men who have ACTUALLY SPENT THEIR CAREERS MURDERING OTHER CHARACTERS RATHER THAN MOPING.
Vikings, Monguls, Samurai, Gauls. Historically speaking, if you were larger, you could kill easier.
I enjoy the close-minded nature of the fangirl mistaking the purpose of the comic altogether. This comic was made to parody the macho men in their attempts at refitting themselves into a politically correct, Starbuck-and-pilates society that cannot fit them.
Thank you for addressing this issue in your comic, Kelly. Honestly loved it, glad you drew that line and glad you’re staying true to your side of the argument.
Isn’t that a bit of a retcon, considering that the second comic shows they have taken LINK in? (And whatever I-suppose-Dragon-Age this leather homosexual elf is.) How’re they more qualified?
Link was just hanging out harassing Ganondorf.
To be fair, Link never has shown any of the bishi traits that were mocked in the comic, other the oversized sword thing which is pretty much always a side-quest item. The only thing you really could ding on him that would be unmanly is his lack of personality in general. He’s pretty much up there with master chief as a put-yourself-here character. He could be manly as can be or a whiny little brat, if wanted him to be. The fanboy in me says that what he does is pretty manly, though. Just the fanboy talking :x
Oh god, this is great.
And I was going to say something about Guts and Kenshiro, but as usual I arrive far too late.
But Kenshiro is the manliest of men!
hell, I just kind of assumed your earlier inclusion of zevron with the “alternative?” line was your way of making someone who wanted bishis in this quiet down. now, bishis are cool too. but the average bishounen is someone who could in fact function in society. that said, sesshomaru COULD have a fun sub plot where the agency gets him a job featuring his big dog mode and he’s forced to be painted red for a clifford the big red dog thing. for little kids.
I have to be careful when I visit this site. I almost had an asthma attack laughing. You should really put some warning labels or something.
If I keep reading arguments about Barret being manly just because a goddamn armgun I am gonna post Megaman here until I get banned.
Goddamn.
I thought Barrett was manly because he was a thinly veiled Mr. T reference
I think Mega Man is pretty hardcore
I love the fact that Barret despite his obvious Mr. T reference, was a devoted father, and was very pro-community. I love big guys with big hearts. ♥
See a huge black guy with that haircut–>Think is obviously a reference of Mr T.
Why that’s almost as bad as claiming that Duke Nukem was drawn off of Ivan Drago.
I like manly dudes, but Kuja has a special place in my heart just for being hilarious, and a diva, and a narcissist, and a blabber-mouth.
oh, forgot to mention, and I apologize in advanced for making requests and suggestions, but I noticed the final fantasy characters in this comic and wondered, have you ever thought about including Jecht from Final Fantasy X in some sort of joke? Appearance wise, as far as I can recall, he was one of the only villains who didn’t look, errrr, like a cross dresser. On the contrary, he looked pretty rugged and manly. Shame about his son though.
That’s cause Tidus was a rebellious prick cause he hated his daddy. Did what Jecht wouldn’t do. And that’s be a whiny little shit.
I would say inb4 massive QQ, but, based on your tumblr, I’m late on that.
I’ve read this thing like, three times already and I’m still laughing at this. This might just be my favorite one yet.
should I feel bad for only recognizing Dante, Sten, and Commander in that comic?
Completely unrelated to the bishounen thing, but I just realized that the Commander is voiced by Patrick Warburton in my head.
This is probably not the first time someone says this, but there you go.
He’s written with a Beetlejuice accent.
I am attempting to call Beetlejuice’s voice to mind, and all I keep getting is Edgar from Men in Black. I believe this calls for marathoning both the movie and the cartoon.
Of Beetlejuice, that is, not Men in Black.
Here you go.
Hmm, yeah, that definitely works too.
I keep tell myself I draw Magus all the time because he’s macho porcelain man doll and I get the worst of both worlds, but really I’m just hella lazy
… So can Zack Fair be in this comic?
Coleasquid, have you played either the original Deus Ex or the more recent Human Revolution? If so, what would you say about characters with physical augmentations like JC Denton or Adam Jensen, whether they wanted the augs or not?
jenson has been in the comic, not sure if before or after this one.
I ADORE FF9 and I like Kuja for how much of a spoiled drama queen he is. But no, he is not a masculine man. At all.
I enjoy all types of men as long as they’re good characters. Kuja wasn’t the best but he was enjoyable. (Kefka was a more entertaining villain). If it wasn’t for Freya saying “man”, I would have thought that Kuja was a woman for the longest time.
Good god, I just read every single comment on this page. D: I’ve got some great new things to quote now.
Those first two… I think I biled a little. Urfff. I wasn’t aware that Kuja even HAD fans. Well, I don’t really look around at FF stuff, so…whatever. I have never, at any point in my life, understood why any heterosexual girl would want a guy who looks (and/or acts) like a woman. Sure, in high school I was into the elegant slim body type, but I didn’t want them effeminate. And once I got into college I did a total 180. Give me muscles and fuzzy bits nao.
When I saw that Dante was in this strip, I got rather nervous, but… That wasn’t so bad. I’ve always, ALWAYS hated that ugly sword. And just to put my two cents in, I think Dante has plenty of masculinity, but he also has a strong “innocent” streak that dilutes it, making him seem more boyish than manly. I like that, though; I think it’s sweet. But it’s certainly true that he doesn’t fit in with the Commander’s lot. (DMC2 Dante might could possibly. Maybe.)
Someone said that all anime as of late seem to be filled with bishounen. I sure am glad I don’t know what they’re watching, ’cause there definitely aren’t any in what I’M watching. (Oh, wait, there’s Sani. GTFO, Sani.)
One last thing. I keep seeing people recommend the same handful of characters over and over again… Not entirely clear on what elements keep a character from qualifying as a manly man, but I figure it won’t hurt to yell, “Does anyone else love Saeba Ryou?!” and see what happens. Sure, he’s classified as an Adult Child, but at least he’s a manly one. :3 …Then again… Damn, I dunno. It’s past midnight and I’m tired. Maybe I just want some City Hunter right now. Why am I still typing… shut me up…
Trying to think of anime characters that fit the manly bill other than the ones that have already been mentioned. AAAAND Failing…. But you know what *would* be awesome? Flex Mentallo. He flexes his muscles and it rewrites reality.
Seriously, though. I just discovered your comic today and it’s utterly fantastic. I can’t gush enough. Keep up the amazing work.
I love how the writer of that “essay” failed to mention how some of these characters are guilty of horrible god-modding. But, to be fair, it ended in a comic that made me fall out of my chair laughing, so something good came from this.
Have to laugh at all this. At school I often see the guys that people have drawn in art classes. I see steroid abusers on one side, and bishies on the other. One day I draw some fairly normal-looking built guy, and I either get comments about how he loks like he’s on steroids or how weak he looks. The world can be such a silly place…
Wait a sec.
Dante has manlips. Does that make him the middleman of the two?
who’s complaining
because it certainly isn’t me
The comic? Pure humor. The comments? Almost as funny. While I admittedly was a fan of the cheesefest that is DMC 1-3, I dont mind your choice to toss him into the snarky “bishi” crowd. And the comments raging about the accuracy of the sword usage? Come on now guys, satire!
And you have my agreement, Overzealous fans are CREEPY. . . One of my former friends wrote me into a fanfic back when we were in highschool. . . I. . . dont think I will ever recover from that. And I can never even look at that series again. And I could list the characters/series that other people have ruined for me, but that would take all day/more text than I have.
You know, Vincent MAY get a pass if he lets up on the emo. Dante too, though he can be pretty flamboyant.
I do love this though.
Gotta say, I love this comic, which is funny considering I’m one of those Shesshoumaru fangirls haha.
But manly guys rock harder, this is undeniable.
Good thing you gave him both his arms though, how else would he sip his girly drinks while browsing the shopping channels, right?
Holy hell, this just made my day. As someone who admits to being a bit of an anime fan, I find it rather confusing that most works tend to glorify the scrawny, fan-girl fodder, but I suppose it’s a cultural thing.
Feels worth it since we got this amusing bit. Not sure how one is “manly” if on some occasions people can mistake them for girls…I totally thought Kuja was until someone told me otherwise since I never played and he was just so pretty~
Gay & Manly? Possible
Gay with family & Manly? Prepubescent girl fantasy & unlikely no matter the prose on that fanfic.
Either way greatly enjoyed it and know friends did too.
Just thought of a revised version of their sephiroth proposal where instead after waiting a beat (with a return glare from Jared) Sephiroth breaks down and yells for mommy. Either way its fun to imagine scenarios in your style.
I loved the last part the most! You tell him Sten!!!
You did remember taise your flame shields right? I didn’t check the whole comment list if there were yet any messages left by the people who disagree with you/us. But I bet that there will be an avalanche of those…
And since now that we are on the topic, just to slake my curiosity. There is this game *Vagrant Story* If you are any way familiar with the game, Id like to know your opinion of the main cast men in that game.
However, if you are fed up with people asking you dumb questions and have never even heard of the game, just forget what I asked. :P
This strip was particularly good way to start a day!
The only animu guy we need here is Kamina.
I enjoy anime a lot, especially shounen, just as simple entertainment. This makes me chuckle.
4th ministrip, last panel, priceless.
I was gonna make a comment on Jecht not being manly but then I remembered after almost killing his son, all Jecht did was laugh at him for crying like a bitch.
Also, am I the only one who knows of Baki the Grappler? Yujiro Hanma might be the most terrifyingly manly anime character I’ve seen. Fought in wars without a gun because it was “too easy” and when a fight that was about to start was interrupted by a quake, he punched the earth and made it stop!
Damn you Funimation channel
Has anyone from Soul Calibur been in this comic yet? It’s filled with some manly men!
I totally want to see Cervantes and Mitsurugi in here. XD That would be awesome. Necrid from the second game would be even better. (I’m a total Necrid fangirl.) I suppose Astaroth would fit, but I still hate him…
I was thinking about Roc also.
Also… I just wanted to mention Joachim from Shadow Hearts 2.
He may be a vampire… but… yah… I love him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZsHIAoTgZM
I personally prefer ‘anime bishounen’ (never heard of that term before up until now lol), but I can understand you not wanting to include them in the comic as it is a ‘manly’ comic. And there’s nothing wrong with having a different opinion in the kind of animated men that you prefer. ;3
I really don’t like the Commander’s facial expression in the sixth panel though – it just makes him seem rather mean and that’s very unlike him IMO. It’d make more sense if he had maybe more of a confused face or something, you know?
His expression is appropriate… his manhood was just challenged by a girly man.
I’d be angry too if someone was like, “I GETS MORE WOMENS THEN YOU!”
Ok, I love Sesshomaru as much as the next crazied Inuyasha fangirl, but… damn! Someone actually told you that? Haha, she’s probably 12 and can’t appreciate a guy who doesn’t look pretty. On a related note, my mom still thinks Sesshomaru is a girl.
*sees the comments about Twilight and then smirks* I just thought of one you can do. Kain from Legacy of Kain meeds Edward from Twilight! *laughs* That’s an encounter I’d love to see, just for Kain’s reactions!
Ahaha, you know, I was kind of half hoping this would happen. Sometimes I guess it’s worth enduring the soul crushing task of reading through comments on the internet. For every “PUT MASTER CHIEF IN A COMIC” there’s an inspirational bit of nonsense like that.
Keep kicking ass and takin’ names, Coela.
You have made my day, my lady!
And by the way: I giggle everytime you draw Volt Krueger. I was thinking to be the only one in the world who have play the Bouncer :D
Here seems like a good enough place to ask. Do the constantly depressed, broody, monologueing characters (despite being heavily muscled) count as honorary bishies? Sure, they’ve got the manly guy look, but the way they act just isn’t in fitting with the traditional definition of manly. Is manly in the mind or the look?
Does appearance supercede behavior, or is it possible to have an effeminate looking character that can open beer bottles with someone else’s teeth, field strip an M4 under 30 seconds, and properly headbutt someone so he doesn’t end up with a neckache?
I would THINK it is more in the behavior than the look for Coela? The comic itself is actually addressing the behavior of these characters more than how pretty they are. (Or not! As people have mentioned, Dante himself can be p. masculine looking, but he has definite less than manly behavior being shown here.)
Plus isn’t that what Coela’s agency about? These gruff manly men being unable to function in society DUE TO their hyped up masculine behavior and expectations, thus the need for the agency in the first place. If anything, the comic is teaching them BEING IN CONTROL/RESPONSIBLE OF YOURSELF is more manly than anything and thus can give them a place of manliness in this new foreign society, which I can appreciate. Like the Commander says to Vincent, how is him being able to turn into a demon relevant to anything? (From what I understand, Commander’s big concern was getting Vincent therapy first anyway.)
…I tl;dr way too much
Fucking win.
jeez the comments are racking up. i wouldnt be surprised if this one has more than a thousand by the end of the week.
I can’t pretend to know anything about Dante’s penis size or the pivot and balance of his demon blade thing, but what I do know is that he has a comeback for everything |D
who is the second guy anyway
the second guy is Sessoumaru from Inuyasha.
Manly Guys Sten dialogue is always awesome. Too bad Dante doesn’t belong there at all.
Oh PLEASE give me a manly man!!! THANK YOU
I’ve hated bishonen types and what they’ve done to women’s ideas of what makes men “attractive” after I heard a girl talk about how (and I quote) “real men aren’t pretty enough” to date. I wanted to sucker punch her, Adam Jensen style.
What you’ve done today is nothing less than a service to all of mankind.
You can say the same for skinny models and what they’ve done to men’s ideas of what makes women attractive. And don’t give me the whole “but real men like real women!” thing, it doesn’t make it less true, as from what I’ve encountered, it is only a minority of men who truly think that way.
Nonetheless, I don’t think I should suckerpunch a man or a woman for having a certain type, influenced by the media or not! And it’s not as if pretty boys or model girls are not attractive either. But instead of hating how certain people/characters look and their popularity, or dwelling on people who are shallow enough to obsess over that look, it’s better to find someone who’ll truly appreciate you instead and with a stellar personality to boot, hey? THAT would be a service to mankind.
at this point I’m convinced that the model girls are pretty much just a guy’s way of applying his epeen to real life. If they have a model type they can brag to people that they have her or had her. It’s all about the notches in the bedpost at that point
I’m actually only gonna complain about Sesshomaru- as honestly that would have been Kouga more than Sesshomaru. Also, Sesshomaru in the manga/anime is caring for a little girl he’s half adopted, when he thought Inuyasha killed Rin, he went batsheep crazy and well really attempted to kill Inuyasha. And in the manga, he actually if I remember right, attempted to fight hell/hell itself to get Rin back when she somehow died.
Sesshomaru is a manly man.. er.. demon… dog.
Actually, he’s not really all that manly. Most of that doesn’t realy relate to manliness at all, it just makes him a good, interesting character. Sess is a full on Bishi, as is almost every other guy in that show. I love Sess and he was my favorite character, but he’s really an effeminate kind of guy.
I did love it when he flipped out on Inuyasha though.
Quote: ”Also, Sesshomaru in the manga/anime is caring for a little girl he’s half adopted, when he thought Inuyasha killed Rin, he went batsheep crazy and well really attempted to kill Inuyasha.”
Actually, last time I’ve checked, that was the definition of -motherly-.
To be fair, any manly man would take care of his clan, but any good mother would also adopt a child in need and fight for that child.
I’m absolutely LOVING the expression on the Commander’s face in the 2nd panel. That’s the perfect “BITCH, PLEASE!” look, right there.
Also. Unf. Commander in a t-shirt and jeans is one of the hottest things I’ve seen in a while. Me likely.
Let me just say you are awesome and I love this.
I decided I was going to read every single comment, but it’s taking too long! Next time I have a day off I’m going to read through every single one of your comics again, and see if this one does indeed have the most comments ever!
My two fave video game characters of ALL time are Sephiroth…and Kratos. I love “bishie”, feminine men and I love handsome, manly men. XP Honestly, both types appeal to me in different ways, so I don’t know why other people can’t like both at the same time. There’s certainly no reason to like one and hate the other.
This has to be my fave comic you’ve ever done, purely because it features two of my fave FF characters (Kuja and Vincent). Although in my own mind, Vincent is pretty manly (simply because he’s not really very feminine in appearence or personality, he’s just handsome), I think the reason for his rejection from the Agency is bloody brilliant. The fact that the Commander says “I can’t do anything for you until…” suggests that Vincent would indeed be accepted into the Agency, once he’s got his head sorted. This is GENIUS. XD I hope he seeks that therepy so that he can one day return to the Agency.
XD Kuja has to be THE most feminine video game character ever. His body is more perfect than any actual women featured in that game. XP; At least, I think so anyway. The pose you drew him in in the first panel is spot on.
Also, one thing that this comic has taught me is that the Commander is actually a very nice guy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always thought that he was nice and understanding. But there’s a lot of manly men out there who may feel the need to beat up on someone like that rather pretty dude in the second strip (I’ve never watched Inuyasha). But yes, I think this shows that although the Commander doesn’t necessarily agree with the way a “bishie” man may dress, act or live their life, he just accepts it. :) Kudos for truely being a bigger man than a lot of men in the real world Commander!
So in conclusion, as I said, this has to be my fave comic you’ve ever done EVER. The only thing that could’ve made this comic any better for me personally is Sephiroth and/or Kratos. =D I saw in one of your comments that you have plans for Sephiroth, so I’m super excited for that. Like Vincent, I do think that Sephiroth is manly in the way he carries himself. He just happens to have a very pretty face. I would love to see what the reason for his rejection from the Agency would be, assuming that he would indeed be rejected despite the fact that as far as FF characters go, he’s pretty manly. XD
Last point! A Final Fantasy character DOES need to join the Agency! Manly FF men that come to mind are Barrett (although I really dislike him) and Cid from FFVII, Seifer (maaaaaybe?) and Ward from FFVIII, Steiner and Amarant from FFIX (these are as manly as FF characters are ever gonna get I think), Auron (I HATE THIS GUY) and Jecht from FFX, Basch and Gabranth from FFXII.
@_@ I’m going to be late for work now. Thanks so much for this amazing comic Coela! <3 <3 <3 <3
PS. Are you a Final Fantasy fan yourself?
Love the strip. That being said, you ever play the Yakuza series? I think you’d love the protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu.
You know, back in victorian times when I played FF7 for the first time, I thought Vincent’s “goth bishonen” elements were a pretty subdued part of his design and character arc. Yeah he moped about his convoluted past and hid in a coffin and had long, silky hair, but he also shot people in the face with a sawed off shotgun and turned into a ridiculous Frankenstein monster and all that. Coupled with the limited graphics processing of the game, I never realized he was supposed to be some fangirl wank material until his spinoff game and the Advent Children movie made that CRYSTAL CLEAR in both the redesign of the character and the tone of everything surrounding him.
It kinda feels like seeing a dude you used to hang out and think of as a pretty together punk rock sort of guy and seeing that he’s now the zealous frontman of a christian rock band, and you’re the only one who’s surprised.
Oh whoops, I almost forgot to say, amazing and hilarious comic as always. I love seeing these not-so-manly anime cliches get dressed down. I mean, really, what are they even wearing?
In Kuja’s case, a fanciful bra, women’s panties, and a half skirt.
Your name is the best name ever… the only name that I have ever seen beat yours is Jack Steak… Can’t really get too much manlier than Jack Steak.
I came up with this name when asked if I’d use my real name or a fake one if I ever found my way to japan. It became one big joke about a name that was obviously fake and what I would do to fit the name.
And well, it fits this comic nicely.
I think it would be awsome if at one point samus made a cameo
not the emotional other M samus though
jared could make a prejudice comment about her and get punched for it. or something similer
A formula for the machismo of bishi things. The total amount of machismo you contain is inversely proportional to the amount of gay porn you are in.
This is rough statement thought up by a sleep deprived person, feel free to revise it
I dunno man, gay porn stars have bigger pecs and get more tail than roughly 95% of all other men. Sounds pretty manly to me.
I’m speaking relatively of course. Think of any super popular anime, video game, or otherwise character that the majority of the female demographic go gaga over. Then compare it to how much gay porn there is of said character. In addition, factor their personality and such into the mix and it ends up coming out with a guy who isn’t very manly at all. *coughNerocough*
Naaah. Rule 34 and all that. I’ve seen a huge amount of manly guy gay porn too, particularly for video games. There’s even a term for muscle-man yaoi. It’s called ‘Bara’.
HAHA, oh wow
as much as I love my bishi they do have their place and the only place they have in your comic is to be laughed at. I particularly like the bit with sesshomaru, it is so true. One of my friends still wears a collar with his name on it :/ (so it isnt just the inu/sess that he is well known for, its also the mary-sue)
On a side note, this could probably be its own comic strip of just all the popular characters that people love facing the judgment of Commander Badass and/or The Sten
Love it, love it, love it! Only thing I can say negative here is that Sessomaru only actually has one arm, but whatever.
Also, sorry for ruining 420 comments.
Sesshie drinking a margarita. My day has been made. You’re awesome, Coela!
I like Dante, but Sten’s hypothesis actually fits him pretty well. What was that about the loudest guys having the most issues?
While I don’t dislike bishounen and I respect how strong Sess is, I don’t think there’s any way that he fits the usual standard that the word ‘manly’ implies. Except maybe when he’s in his dog form.
Well, about the only thing I can agree with the author of that essay was that yeah, they certainly did open avenues for humour :)
Commander’s just uncomfortable around men in thongs and lipstick who can destroy entire planets in a fit of petulant rage.
I suppose we’ll never see Freeza of DBZ fame based on that also.
Haha, hero! When I grow up I want to be you.
Oh god, I’m totally awake (and voiceless) after laughing at Sten and Dante? for a good 10 minutes, awesome.
But I just have to nitpick a little and point out that Sesshoumaru only has one arm, don’t remember which one he lost, but he did lose one.(Yes I used to watch that crap as a teenager.. kill me. :p) Any chance you’ll do more on this theme? Or possibly do something with some of the Mass Effect guys? (Joker, while a minor character would be pretty awesome…)… or some of the guys from Unreal Tournament 2003/2004? Haven’t seen any bishies in there. XD
Okay I’ll stop harassing you now, just wanted to say I loved this comic and then I got carried away. ^^;
What about Thane Krios? No giant sword, actual skills, no wishybishy ~ squeeeee~
I DEMAND MORE SPACE MARINES! FOR THE EMPEROR!
I was thinking more along the lines of an army of Rambos (Catachan Jungle Fighters). They rip the toungues out of landsharks with their teeth and deflect bullets with their pecs.
Oh god, you just HAD to use Kuja, didn’t you? I hated him and his man-thong. Bad character design that made it almost impossible for me to take the villain seriously. XD
I have it on good authority that the decision to make Kuja male was a last-minute thing.
I have it on better authority that it wasn’t. Primarily because I was around during the time that rumor got started. The original rumor was that Kuja was made a man in the English release of the game, but was still a woman in the Japanese games. Obviously all it takes now a days is a cursory glance through a Google search to find out that Kuja was definitely designed to be a man in every version (even the Amano artwork), but back during the halcyon days of the Windows 95 and Dial-Up finding information about a video game from another country was rather difficult.
Thus the rumor was born.
Kuja was designed to be a man. His clothing is a direct reference to his origin (look at what Genomes are wearing). His name has connections to Hindu (being the name for Mars a red planet) and shares vocalization with the Japanese character for peacock, kujaku. Everything about his design and origin heavily points toward Kuja being conceived, designed, and intended to be a man.
Sorry to go all nerd, but that is just a really stupid rumor.
Well, let me put it this way, that’s fine, and all, but it’s still poor character design, in my opinion. I mean, effeminate is one thing, Sephiroth and Kefka were pretty effeminate, yet they still managed to be intimidating, but Kuja was… Well, if Sephiroth had believed that his mother wore a two-piece bikini, and he dressed accordingly, Final Fantasy VII would not have accrued half of the die-hard religious fan base it has today. Kuja was well written, but in every scene I encountered him in, all I could do was think, “EVIL MAN-THONG”. I know that was incredibly immature of me, but, well, there you go.
All I have to say is I love this bacon/egg/cheese biscuit
The comic didn’t make me laugh, but it’s one of my favorite ones. The whole series reinforces my belief in the awesomeness of the buff hero. It took me long enough to figure that out (Thank you, Warhammer 40k!) It’s not just this particular strip, but the whole thing and the effort that goes into it. Coelasquid… She just… I dunno, what hasn’t been said? She draws great, writes well, teaches me that it’s alright to just enjoy “dumb” movies like Conan, The Expendables and the A-Team without nit-picking or de-constructing them. However, the drawback is now it’s hard to roleplay, because I always have to have grit in my characters, not some fresh-faced punk full of piss and vinegar.
For a manly anime character, I like the examples of Baccano, Cromartie, Gurren and most of them, but there’s also Tiger and Bunny. We have Kotetsu Kaburagi aka Wild Tiger, who messes up in most of what he does, but still tries to be a good father and the hero the city needs, even when the public and his colleagues make fun of him. Look a little deeper, guys. Japan will always surprise you.
Last thought, I always thought Sesshomaru and Kuja were just… Ridiculous. Period.
I remember Inuyasha from its days on Adult Swim. I gave Sessh a pass because of I just assumed that most of his design was based off of Japanese myth or something, but the feather-boa-thing always struck me as ridiculous.
Also, what about Cowboy Bebop, man? Spike was as manly as they come. Other than that, the only example you gave that I’ve seen was Gurren, and I guess you’re referring to Kamina. I’ve only watched the first two episodes of that show. I thought it was good, but, well, haven’t ever had time to watch any more.
Personally, I like heroes that balance out Machismo with other qualities. One that’s badass, doesn’t really angst, but still has a bit of emotional depth to him. If the guy’s just a meathead who runs around cracking one liners and busting caps in asses, I find it hard to have any empathy for the character.
i just skimed over the comments but why hasent anyone mentioned Fist of the North Star or King of Hell? but i guess if i head for main stream I think Might Guy and Rock Lee might fit the bill…(actually i think it might be pretty funny if the commander ever ran into them)……but that may be because i think of all the chinese karate movies out there that they seem to be a parody of XD
Ultimate muscle ( although its relly kiddish…sorta) has many muslely men in it…hense the name. Yu Yu hakusho, i think i might even throw Trigun in there even though wolfwood has a giant gun in the shape of a cross( and is a priest) i still find him kinda bad ass and i’m not sure if this counts but Lucas from Cybersix, the show is over 10 years old and was only 13 episodes but it had good animation, an epic *puts ten dollars in the epic jar* story line and it ended with a cliff hanger but the thing is even though i’m a hard core anime fan theses comics are relly funny so i can’t help but laugh at myself even though i’m still gonna enjoy bishi anime guys though *cough* hetalia*cough*
I don;t care what anyone says, I thought that was brilliant… a true fan of something can take seeing their fave characters poked fun at like this… which is why i LOVE this comic so goddamn much!
THANK YOU!!!!!
This discussion has about 4x the amount of comics that the last 5 comics have. Damn.
I love it.
Aaaannnd I read all the comments! I have to say I’m a bishie-anime guys fan girl but I’m not much into yaoi/slash fanfic.
I love what you did thar.
First off, screw the haters. Secondly, I appreciate your work, and LOVE your characters and artistic style. Also, even as a lover of FF7 (again, screw the haters), i LOVE this comic. It is a perfect representation of the hatred i have for people who get too emotionally attached to their games and/or shows. I think people get upset when these characters are made fun of, because they identify with them, and feel that they are the ones being poked at. I may identify a bit with Cloud, but I can’t wait to see you slam him. Hell, I refuse to even play the Devil May Cry series simply due to the kind of people I know that play it. Fans ruin everything. Please keep up the fantastic work, you always make my day. (the only way i could have loved this strip more is if i knew who the silver haired yaoi twins were in the 1st two strips =P)
I have never wanted to punch the internet more than when I read that long message from whichever douche had the audacity to suggest that bisshounen characters deserved a place in YOUR comic because of HIS/HER delusions.
I don’t know what annoyed me more – the fact that they missed the point entirely or that they spent such a long time trying to justify it. Am I wrong in thinking the reason for this comic in the damn first place was to bring our view of manliness back to machismo? Are we not making a stand against the modern view that you can’t be a badass without being emo? This tool mentioned pulling-power as a reason that bisshounen characters should be considered manly, but in this day and age the whole reason they have pulling power is because they lack machismo. I wonder if Sephiroth would have as many fan girls if he stopped spending $200 on his hair before going to battle or stopped wearing clothes in his sisters size?
And the rest of the criteria the writer sets forth for manliness are no better. To me the whole thing came across as ignorance at best and sexism at worst. Why is skill with a blade considered to be a manly trait? Anyone could be skilled, regardless of their physique or indeed their gender. I know some pretty manly fire-fighters who wouldn’t know what to do with a weapon. Sod-you independance? Really? If this person wasn’t trolling then they must be 12 years old. There is nothing manly about a marine disobeying orders just to say “sod you” to authority. I would consider this trait the opposite of manly. Oh, that also describes emo! What a coincidence!
Whoever wrote this tried to dress up their criticism with occasional compliments but it still smacked of “I’m right and you’re wrong”, even though your reasons for doing what you do are quite clearly laid out. I, for one, would not have been able to contain my rage if something like this was directed at me. I’d probably need a new computer screen at the very least. I applaud you whole-heartedly for hitting back in the best way possible; with the very comic they clearly don’t understand and presumed to know better than you about. For this you have my salute.
Keep up the sterling work.
That’s a very civil and reasonable response righ there. I take it you show your CONVICTION to the cross stitch?
The point of this comic was to make fun of supposedly badass things that run the gammut from impractical to alarming more than they are actually badass. But yeah, it is about showing some love for the stupidly macho dudes who never seem to get any fanart on an internet saturated in bishies.
Not saying people who like that kinda thing are wrong or don’t belong here, but they shouldn’t be telling me to draw these dudes in situations built around “Wow you’re so awesome I am so impressed and intimidated”
Not that I disagree with you or anything, because I love manly men, but I hope you know what you’re implying when you use the term “machismo”. It’s a representation of hispanic culture that pretty much forces someone to follow a tough guy act, and includes murdering people for being gay, beating the crap out of your wife for talking back, and generally never showing any emotions ever.
So yeah, just letting you know. It’s a pretty awful thing and I hope it dies. And it has nothing to do with awesome guys who don’t get enough love because they’re just themselves.
Er…. not that I’m saying the word “macho” is wrong Panchira. Just ah that talking about going more towards machismo as a positive concept is wrong if you remember what it actually still means in places like mexico, where it’s being practiced with an iron fist where it can be. [With the onset of hipsteriness in the major cities it’s not that bad though.]
This is why I use the word “Macho” to describe the big tanky characters who are constantly yelling about how tough they are, shooting people, setting things on fire, etc. and “manly” to describe the guys who are well adjusted and competent.
The comic is just called “Manly Guys Doing Manly Things” because I thought it would be funny to name a comic about macho bros after a line in a gay club song.
Huh. That explains why I thought this was a gay porn site when I first saw the link.
I’m fairly certain that even Warhammer 40,000’s Imperial Guard wouldn’t be too terribly out of place in this comic. Hell, even the women are equipped with the standard-issue fist-sized balls of steel.
“Men of Tanith, do you want to live forever?”
This day just keeps getting better and better… And this? Totally the cherry on top.
I lol’d, however, Vincent was sealed for 30 years, according to Dirge of Cerberus, with a moment of being discovered at 25 years in Crisis Core by Zack, who tried to not disturb him.
I think. Great job with referencing his love affair (?) with Lucrecia.
There is now a love for this comic filling a deep pit in my being where my soul use to be; it’s so warm… TT_TT
I love you so much. <3
Let’s be fair… No that word’s too effete… Let’s be just here:
Sten is still wielding swords that by all rights shouldn’t be swingable even at the “modest” speeds he swings them in DA:O. Even a 300lbs. giant is going to work himself to exhaustion after only a few minutes of fighting with that much effort in each swing, no?
That said, I don’t really understand the popularity of the “bishie”. I’ve thought of a lot of reasons why someone might find them appealing: Non-threatening standard of beauty; the implication that even someone who’s not physically imposing can be physically powerful; absent muscles or other “manly blemishes” to the character design personal effects take center stage. But none of these really strike me as being conclusive.
All I know for sure is that it’s physically impossible for me to be as huge as any of the comic’s regulars (ANY OF THEM. EVEN THE CHILDREN.) and there is some comfort in the idea that if I weren’t basically a potato I might be able to achieve some measure of “manliness” or physical puissance even without the ability to actually gain bulk.
As far as the sword goes, if you honestly can’t see where the suspension of disbelief might be broken between “realistic broadsword” and ” car-sized buster blade” even if it’s not in the context of a hyper realistic Rob Roy broadsword battles, I can’t say much to make you think differently.
But if you find yourself feeling like I’m somehow saying pretty men are lesser somehow, I went through this in detail over here. This strip only serves to make fun of what I was told were supposedly “manly” traits, but I thought were a fairly silly measure of masculinity (fangirls? Big Swords? Turns into a demon?) Just as I normally would with Duke Nukem running his mouth or Kratos smashing faces. What most people complaining about this particular comic seem to forget is that I make fun of the over-the-top macho dudes too. I make fun of things I think are silly. I don’t think I ever said “not being a wall of beef is bad”. The closest I ever came was when Commander told Jared he didn’t have the proper pectoral girth to get work placement through their agency of over-the-top stereotypes. And all that means is he’s probably not going to get called in as a stunt double for Stallone in Expendables 2.
Real life big swords actually don’t weigh all that much. I believe the real life “zanbato”, which is in reality just a really long katana, didn’t even make it past 50 or so lbs. If I recall correctly, a large medieval claymore came in at about 35 lbs. at most. The weight is usually off set by good balance and can apparently be swung around by a modestly sized medieval man for a relatively good amount of time. The broadswords Sten uses are somewhat accurate to the European broadsword, ableit possibly a bit fantasy exaggerated. Compared to something like the buster blade that’s humongous comparatively and probably is VERY top heavy?
I have to say that muscle mass doesn’t have to be akin to relative strength, though. There are those professional woman weight lifters I’ve seen that lift just as much as the functionally strong men(which generally look fatter than being the stereotypical beefcake, from what I’ve seen anyways) while still looking relatively womanlike and thin. It’s not even the breastless body-builder type either. Then there’s the one guy who looks like a normal guy but due to a mutation that allows him to use more muscle fibers at a time, or something, makes him super-strong without being all that bulky. What he can do is amazing. Doesn’t necessarily make bishis being super strong anymore realistic, though.
Speaking as a swordsman, as Coela already pointed out in the comic it’s not a matter of weight, it’s a matter of balance.
The weight of the pommel of a sword (the sort of bulbous bit at the bottom of the hilt) should be enough to offset the weight of the entire blade.
However, Dante’s sword had no balance, there is no way that pommel weighs enough to offset the weight of that giant surfboard of a blade. Which would make it so difficult to control the only real way you could hurt somebody with it is to just drop it on them.
Strength is actually not that important when wielding a decent sword, the actual force behind your strikes comes from the weight and momentum of the weapon.
The real issue is control and unless a sword is well balanced it is, as Sten said, completely useless.
“Speaking as a swordsman”
the swords that dont use pommels such as certain claymores, big giant swords didnt need one. the momentum and pommel served as a training tool for most.
if you still cant handle the sword now by being a swordsman as you speak, then it just mean you are a really BAD swordsman. it is mostly about strenght, since stens sword dont even have a pommel in itself.
neither that or real life claymores, mostly scottish.
The rest here can try lifting a big heavy object the same form(but not neccesarly the same weight) as dantes and stens, even a heavy pipe/object of a sword. youll see that you can hit and control it after some practice.
Actually no. He wouldn’t work himself into exhaustion. Swords are not as heavy as people think they are and looking at Sten’s sword it’s not that much bigger than mine, in fact I think it might be a little shorter. And I can fight for up to an hour before I feel tired and I’m certainly not a 300lb giant.
The problem with Dante’s sword is not the weight, it’s the balance.
If it helps at all, this is Sten’s sword. I like that they actually made it look like a battle-weathered blade with some personality instead of just the usual generic fantasy broadsword.
Yeah that’s the picture I looked up. The design is a bit fanciful but other than that it’s pretty standard for a two handed sword in terms of size.
Actually, scratch fanciful, a mate of mine once made a survival knife like this, it looks like it’s supposed to do extra duty as a saw, an axe and a de-barking tool which is pretty awesome, this is actually a really well designed sword.
The Qunari soldiers are supposed to carry their swords every day until they die, so I always saw the swords as something that had to be very utilitarian for whatever circumstance they may find themselves in. I guess since they’re supposed to be from the jungle it would make more sense if their swords were more machete-like, but judging by Sten’s original concept art the Qunari started out more viking-y before they turned into a cross between Seljuk Turks and Mayans.
I guess it depends on whether they’re supposed to be settled or nomadic.
If they’re settled a machete makes sense because although they’re harder to incorporate other tools into you don’t really need to because you have a place to keep them.
If they’re nomadic then they want to minimise what they carry and the european sword style is simply easier to incorporate other tools into.
Fight for an hour with a real sword? I assume you mean just self practice and not actual combat. Even the top fighters in the world NOT wielding weapons will have trouble with an hour of straight combat. I find it hard to imagine anyone in today’s world other than those paid to fight even being near old world strength. In medieval wars there is a reason people used formations to switch the front lines out with the behind lines around every 5-10 minutes, real combat is extremely tiring. Just attempting to value warfare exhaustion values with training values is futile. In one you might have some resistance from a stationary target or a dueling buddy. In another, you have to try your hardest every second to keep an opponent from killing you, there is a large difference. Fantasy would be a lot more boring if it wasn’t fantasy though.
In any case. Love the comics and looking forward to more.
An hour of repeated bouts with two or three (depending on heat) five minute breaks which I usually spend drilling.
Formation combat is an entirely different situation to skirmishes.
I couldn’t keep up formation fighting for as long as I can fight in a skirmish, you end up spending a lot more energy trying to maintain your place in the formation; even the extra concentration required to fight your opponents without getting in the way of the other people in your formation.
I really, really hate formation fighting but I’m a good skirmisher.
Did the person who requested this ever comment on here?
Too lazy to go through and read all the comments :P
I don’t think I can ever express my love of you, this page, or your reaction to such a presumptuous message as the one you got. XD
Panel 9 is going to be used as a pictorial response in many, many internet arguments.
Since people are making requests, I always kinda wanted to see Grimlock. Manliest of all robots and if anyone needed lessons in how to operate in society without causing mass property damage, it would be him.
I dunno, Ratchet is pretty manly, too. He’s so bad-ass, he walloped on his own patients from time to time, just for being stupid enough to get hurt in the first place. But then, they ARE all soldiers in a centuries-long war… You could probably call them ALL manly just for having survived such extended combat!
No, man, if you want manly men out of anime you’ve gotta look to the mecha series. Not the gundam ones, either, unless it’s maybe G Gundam.
Nah, you want shit like New Getter Robo, where all three main characters are concentrated testosterone in human form. All adults, all very obviously male, and all three certi-fucking-fiably insane. To quote: “If there’s a hole, it’s a man’s duty to thrust into it!” Manly men.
I. I just. I can’t even express. So good. So good. You are my hero.
Let me start a slow clap. (Or join in one assuming one has already started.)
Sesshoumaru one is my favorite. XD I rolled.
Also, there’s something weirdly extra-appealing about Commander without goggles. 8O
If anything I’d suggest Barret Stone from the Section 8 game series.
First of all their main method of deployment is to be dropped from orbit without so much as a parachute and secondly, look at that epic beard: http://section8.wikia.com/wiki/Barrett_Stone
I don’t think you should have to pander to anybody and you’re free to draw and write what you wish, but I think I’m going to stop reading your comic on account of this sudden outburst of cissexism and heterosexism.
There are men out there who are femme and I don’t think they should be shamed for their identities anymore than a woman should be shamed for being too masculine.
None of these jokes are shaming effeminate men, they’re just poking fun at reasons last week’s commentor provided to prove these characters were on par with other over-the-top macho stereotypes. Like they have “great fashion sense” and “more fangirls”.
I find the idea that Kuja is very fashionable to be laughable, but that is not because he aesthetically resembles a woman. I would find it equally laughable if someone told me Dio Brando’s pointy-shoed banana suit was fashionable, but I was asked to draw a comic about Kuja.
I find the idea that popularity alone equates to manliness to also be very silly, as there are a number of popular people who are not masculine in the least. And while I am not going to suggest that being gay strikes a blow against one’s masculinity, most men with inflated egos over their female fanbase do not take the news well when they’re told that those women are actually in it to picture them having gay sex. Most people as a whole find it quite off-putting to be told that someone likes to imagine them having sex with people they do not wish to have sex with. I find most men of any sexuality, and even human beings in general do not appreciate learning that other people imagine them having sexual relations with their siblings. The second joke could have just as easily been done with TF2 characters, but again, Sesshomaru was requested.
The Vincent Valentine one has nothing to do with what he looks like, the person who requested him assumed all the other guys would be left in awe of his ability to turn into a monster, but I figure a guy who deals with monsters and demigods on a daily basis would not be so easily impressed. He’s just saying he wants Vincent to prove that he’s getting help for the poor way he handles failure.
The final joke was more geared towards Sephiroth, but I have plans for Sephiroth so I used Dante. Who is arguably not even effeminate. Certainly not less than Fenris, who was the star of last week’s comic. He is insulting Sten’s practical sword, and if you’ve played Dragon Age you would know a Qunari considers their sword the physical manifestation of their soul. To question its effectiveness is a very personal insult akin to questioning the Qunari’s very being. So he has in turn pointed out the impracticality of a seven foot slab of metal in a way that also makes it a personal cheap shot. The character in this is completely interchangeable, and the main reason Dante was chosen is because he won the twitter poll.
This comic is making fun of the pretty dudes in the exact same way I make fun of the too-jacked-up-to-function macho dudes, as in, taking reasons they are supposedly badass and pointing out that those specific things aren’t really that badass. This week it’s just with pretty guys instead because that was the most outlandish suggestion I’ve received yet. Not a single one of these jokes is about the characters femininity or sexuality (arguably the Sesshomaru one if “incestuous” counts as a sexuality, but I’m fairly sure it does not)
But you are free to believe I’m a cissexist homophobe and stop reading the comic if you like, I can’t tell you what to be offended by. I take solace in knowing that the overwhelming majority of people, gay, straight, trans, and cis alike understood where these jokes were pointed. As Pip illustrates a few comments up
Seeing a comic like this is exactly why I love this site. This is so true, and the truth is either horrid or hilarious, and I am glad this is a hilarious case.
these guys(?) need to be re manned :/ ok grease/beer stained shirts a six pack beer a couch and a tv set stuck on the sports channel is what we need FAST! they could still be saved!
Don’t forget the pizza. Pizza and Beer.
You mentioned in an earlier comment that you have “other plans” for Cloud and Sephiroth, and I’m dreadfully curious to know what those might be.
I mean, if you go back to the actual game in which he first appears, Cloud’s entire character arc is about discovering that he’s just some random loser who failed at every life aspiration, made up a mysterious past as a badass mercenary in order to impress the grade-school sweetheart he’s still pining for even though he’s in his freaking twenties, then convinced himself it was true because he’s mentally unstable from post-traumatic stress disorder. Heck, he spends a big chunk of his *own Hero’s Journey* comatose from emotional trauma while his underappreciated girlfriend plays fearless leader in his stead – a far cry from how he’s depicted in a lot of fan media.
Sephiroth, meanwhile, is a deluded mama’s boy with crippling self-esteem issues who’s catastrophically wrong about basically everything he believes in, and his backstory involves getting punked offscreen by a supporting cast member, then trying to blow up the world because he didn’t get hugged enough as a child – and, again, I’m not being facetious, that’s the explicit text of his arc.
I just can’t picture how you could possibly depict them that would make them come off worse than they do in the source material.
Liek, OMG HOW KAWAII DESU DESU YOOOOO~~~
The reason most of Dante’s weapons look so impractical(size not necessarily being the factor) is because bosses turn into them when they die, so they give the wielder special powers. Resemblance to the killed demon may vary, not that it’d be realistic one way or another. Dante isn’t the most macho character around, but he’s not exactly defined by his weapon so much as his cheesy, cheesy one-liners as well as his cockiness, so Sten’s annoyance is probably justified.
Also, having white hair doesn’t make you unmanly. Just ask Cable, Sten, and any badass grandpa. Also, I’ve seen nonwhite-haired Dante, and he didn’t magically become more manly. Any version of Dante that is unmanly(maybe any version of Dante period, depending on who you ask) is unmanly because he acts like a child in a grown man’s body or an angsty teenager rather than anything to do with his hair. (Combing it back wouldn’t hurt.)
Also, anybody seen trailers for that Asura’s Wrath game?
Trololololololol. I have to say I lost the taste for Bishounen some years ago. Used to love them, though.
And I’ll aways think that being manly is some important, emotional shit about not being a dick.
And that’s why I want to have Commander’s adopted babies.
I’m going to assume that Commander Badass is far too macho to stick a frilly little extra “e” on the end of “clientel.”
You madam have balls.
I feel bad for poor Vincent. I always thought he was a Hammer Horror tribute. Ridiculous alliteration, exotic lovers name that he shouted at any opportunity, turned into cliche holoween party monsters, lived in a damn coffin. In my head he always sounded like Vincent Price chomping on some scenery. Now they have taken away his B Movie goofiness he is a really boring character that you can’t do much with.
Oh my god you’re brilliant.
I like a lot of these guys (well mostly Dante), and this was still the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Also, I’m honestly surprised that there isn’t an awkward amount of slash with your characters, actually. The Commander’s response to Sesshomaru made my day.
Kamina, Gurren Lagann. I don’t care if you bash him or equal terms him, but I think that as far as not functioning in normal social life goes, a guy who drives a mecha and randomly charges to fight impossible odds fits the bill pretty well. Sorry if he gets brought up a lot. And even if you dont comment on this or do a comic on him the next week (which is rediculous, dont do that do, what you are doing it works) thanks for at least for taking the time to read the idea.
Plenty of people ask for Kamina and I tell them all the same thing, “I haven’t watched Gurren Lagann”.
And uh… If you haven’t noticed “bashing” and “equal terms” are all pretty hand-in-hand here. If someone told me “He-Man is very Fashionable” or “Draw more Heavy comics because he has more fangirls” I probably would have responded in much the same way. Like I drew Duke Nukem crying in a construction yard, Dante cross-stitching teddy bears into his arm, Marv being Forever Alone on 4chan, and Kratos being the worst Sony Store employee ever.
You are certainly forgetting the manliest man of all- Saxton Hale, and his surely sentient patch of chest hair in the shape of Australia!
http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/321/8/d/property_damage_by_someguyfromcrowd-d331upl.png
*sniff* He truly is one of the manliest men ever. I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE!
I must say I rarely save comics to my comp, but this was just too good to pass up.
Also it kind of blows my mind that people come to this site of all places and write critiques about the lack of beautiful silvery-haired anime dudes and their merits. There just isn’t enough love for burly bara dudes, so I really enjoy this comic.
Also, are you going to be at the New York Comicon this year? I know a few other big-name webcomic artists set up booths there, so I’m just curious.
You know, I’d be rather curious to see what you would do with the character from Nier. Sure, its a jrpg, but in no where near the traditional sense, especially considering how much the main character shares in common with the Commander (Extremely protective father, hyooge muscles, the ‘fuck it’ attitude)
Actually, only in the western release. The Japanese version’s Nier is a teen trying to save his little sister following, AFAIK, all the stereotype of albino teens in anime and jrpgs.
Yea, but only for the PS3 version of the japanese version. The Xbox 360 version is still the big gruffy dad, even in the japanese edition. (Aka the Gestalt Version)
And here I thought the only use the Japanese have for the 360 is pornography.
Ya’ll forgot the maniliest of man, well some of the manliest of man in anime. Look up Hellsing scrubs. Alucard and Alexender ‘nough said.
Time to reinstall Dragon Age.
Lol…needs more Kamina.
I like effeminate men and this comic!
Even this specific comic. Because anime and JRPGs, you’ve got some silliness in you.
Now I’m a guy who loves a good animu, but in this age of pretty-boys, there aren’t a lot of MANLY men to go around.
I love anime, but not into the bishonen type myself. I haven’t seen any of the series these characters are from either, but the type does seem rather pervasive (and what the heck is up with giant swords you can surf on? I play World of Warcraft and they’re everywhere. If you really tried to carry one on your back the way people do, you’d fall over with your limbs helplessly waving in the air like an overturned turtle).
Golgo 13, or better yet Jet from Cowboy Bebop, or better still Mister from Coyote Ragtime, are a tad closer to the type I like, but best of all is the (TOTALLY not safe for work, so be careful Googling!) art of folks like Go Fujimoto and Gengoroh Tagame and Seizoh Ebisubashi. ^_^
I don’t see why you would portray dante with that sword of any of them. He uses it for about 5 seconds in the first game. But hey, to each their own.
His action figure has it.
If people wanted to see bishounen, they should have typed thepunchlineisbishies into the address bar. I do appreciate bishie characters myself, but they have absolutely no place here. And for this thoroughly entertaining comic, containing characters I do in fact like, my hat off to you ma’am.
Second comic could apply to every terrible incest ship ever. (and all incest ships are terrible)
Finally, yet another comic that made me think of the Commander as not just that, but as Commander Badass again. Specifically the third row. But still, I feel like it’s been too long since my mind thought of him as Commander Badass before just “Commander.”
Hey what do you have against Vincent, he rocks.
Nothing, he just needs proof that he’s seeking psychiatric help for his self punishment before he can get work placement.
Oh wow… Just wow… I’m going to have to make it a habit to never, ever, be drinking anything when reading your comic. The expressions, the wordplay, and the humor never fail to bring a spit take, followed shortly by gasping choking laughter. Seriously, just the expressions of the commander, and Sten’s commentary in the last panel.
It’s humor that manages to be well, humor, while not being such that it just targets a group of people or individuals based on their identity, traits, characteristics, ect, and expects it to be humorous because of that. You know the distinction, and know it well.
Oh God; Is that Volt Krueger? LOL that’s awesome
okay, yeah, but…
you do draw a DAMN nice bishie boy :3
I’m a fan of bishonen, and I found this comic absolutely hysterical.
And naturally, with all things that are made fun of, there’s always going to be someone out there flipping a table about it. It’s like it’s okay to make fun of ‘manly’ men, but not okay to make fun of anyone else? They were fine with the comic up until now, but not fine with this? Double standards are a whole different kind of ‘funny’.
So the teenager breaded girl got her wish :) Nice. Everyone is happy. Funny comic page btw
I seriously can’t wait for the Manly Men animated series on Adult Swim. It’s going to happen one day…I hope…
oh lawdy lawdy lawdy look at all these bishounen-loving chumps getting angry and nitpicking over minor details
I for one am not offended. I cant even readily think of a bishounen that is really right for anything other than mockery from in this comic. The only FF7 main characters I think would fit would be Cid and maybe Barret. Cloud and Vincent are whiners. Most bishounen lack rugged manliness. Just sitting here thinking of the anime and manga I’ve read and no bishounen comes to mind that fits. Only anime char I can even think of is Bravo from Buso Renkin and he isnt a bishounen
This is simply fantastic.
Okay, this comic made me want to see Jecht in this comic…maybe in the background? Pwease?
In all seriousness though, this does remind me of the contrast between Jecht and Tidus. Makes it even funnier.
The commander’s response to Sesshomaru was downright torturously hilarious. It’s been a long, long time since I laughed that hard at something that depraved. Maybe it’s just that I’m reading this way later than I should…
That said, while on the topic of Japanimation, (as I slam the woodwork to provoke any rogue weaboos out there), have you already addressed the topic of DBZ? I can’t really imagine how it’d fit into the framework here, if at all, if it even merits being addressed.
The essay was painful, but the bits of dialogue were excruciating! It’s your artistic vision, people need to keep their halfwit ideas and opinions to themselves. They should also celebrate everyday that passes without me becoming capable of firing mind-bullets! Rabble, rabble, rabble!
Well played! I remember that mini-essay…I spent a while rolling my eyes. Then I saw this and couldn’t stop laughing for an hour afterwards. Thank you for the funny rebuttal!
I’m sorry, but I just can’t see Dante as anything but the manliest person ever.
He was created with the INTENT of being ridiculously so. He’s easily the japanese equivalent of duke nukem.
Lord knows we never ever make fun of Duke Nukem around here.
Dante’s a different breed from the others in this comic – certainly manly in his own way. He doesn’t seem to be the sort of manly that this agency supports though. He’s headstrong, brash, impulsive, and carries himself with a swagger that’s all too familiar in the contemporary alpha male. Dante is a Spike Speigel, but this agency is looking for Jets. At least that’s the way I figure it.
Duke is nothing like Dante lol It’s just a lot of females and girly boys love Dante and he falls into same fate as Sesshomaru and his brother. Which is rule 34. I never got into the videogames, read few manga books of DMC but never got into it enough. I didn’t find Dante manly at all.
So you don’t know dante at all, yet you can claim what he is or isn’t?
He’s ALOT like duke. And the manga and anime portrays this very poorly.
you should play DMC3 and study what he is actually doing. He’s an escapist character that shouts one-liners at the alien/demons while seducing chicks. reminding you of anyone?
By the way, I have a hard time seeing him as a bishounen
Qouting MaxWilder –
“Bishi = pretty-boy
Dante = pretty-boy
Dante = bishi
The math works”
And duke saves and kills women. Plus he goes after them without any words spoken. I do know Dante enough about his father, his mother and brother. He ain’t manly. You have your own opinion as I have mine but most people don’t find Dante manly. It’s called an opinion not a fact, for a reason. He qualified as a bishi cause rule 34 with his brother is so common and pretty boy look.
“He qualified as a bishi cause rule 34 with his brother is so common and pretty boy look.”
Not sure if trolling or just retarded, but I’ll bite…
According to you, Sailor Moon qualifies as a lesbian because rule34 with her best friends are so common.
and WHY are you using “qualifies”, which denotes “Objective criteria” in a SUBJECTIVE subject matter such as “pretty-boy”?
Not only are you stupid, you are also ignorant. OP have given you what he/we both think is how Dante is supposed to be portrayed and you just wrote illogical fallacies about a person you haven’t played or watched materials that are inconsistent with the main plot along with pointing out fandoms (that’s like saying The Last Airbender sucks because fandom) for the reason of explaining a character’s aesthetics in an objective way.
I’m not supposed to reply to troll replies, but I just hate it when people reads and follows troll post and ends up being misinformed with their arguments.
“bishounen” doesn’t means gay, it means “pretty boy”. The parallel you’re drawing is more like saying Sailor moon is “bishoujo” because she’s in so much lesbian fanart. And you know… the name of the series IS “Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon”.
I’m not really a fan of “bishies” but I gotta say I didn’t like the comic that much. You usually have a view of machismo that isn’t really 100% positive nor negative, more like “affectionate teasing”, and this comic just feels like a simpler, cruder “this is what’s awesome and this is what sucks.” It’s gone from wry and intelligent to just being snide; the character who aligns with the author’s beliefs doing a whole “CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS SHIT LOOK AT HOW DUMB THIS IS” is the domain of much less talented webcomic artists than yourself, but that’s just what this week’s comic felt like to me. Four times, here’s a setup of a bishie guy, bishie guy is shown up and dismissed because bishies are so stupid dumb.
Plus, the “has big object ==> compensating for small penis” thing is so overplayed and hackneyed to basically be never worth it in any context, much less in this comic, where that same joke could just as easily be pointed at every single male member of the cast. It just feels like this week, you went for really, really low-hanging fruit, and went about it in a petty way. It wasn’t nearly up to your usual standards.
I think you’ve completely read into this the wrong way, but I’ve already basically answered this exact grievance over here.
I honestly don’t see how this razzing is any worse than having Duke Nukem crying in a construction yard or Marv complaining about how lonely he is on 4chan. This strip is doing what the comic always does, making fun of things people say are SO BADASS that aren’t really all that badass, be it anything from stitching a templar cross into your bare flesh to claiming that turning into a demon is somehow impressive and out of the ordinary for a video game character.
Last Week’s commentor didn’t just say “hey draw Sephiroth”, they explicitly asked for comics featuring their bishounen of choice cowing the space marines with how badass they are. I don’t think I’ve EVER drawn a comic where the plot was “Look how cool this character is, they sure are cool, everyone else is in awe”, so they got this instead. It would be like if some one left a comment saying “You should draw a comic where Commander says he’s tougher than Duke Nukem but then Duke Nukem drop kicks a pig cop and Commander says Duke is the tougher one after all”. I’d rather draw a comic where Duke is nerding out about sci-fi movies. And you know, Duke fans called me an unfunny piece of shit for drawing those ones because razzing such a paragon of action hero-dom is supposedly of line. If I use a character, I’m probably going to make fun of them.
Right, you don’t draw comics about “look how cool this guy is”. I, uh, said that you don’t do that, and that’s why this one stood out as bad. With something like Duke crying in the construction yard, Dante’s Inferno Dante teaching a cross-stitching class at the senior center, or Marv complaining about how lonely he is, you are SHOWING us the problem with these “badass” characters, and doing so in a funny way that doesn’t really come across as snide. With the “bishie” comic, the Commander (and then Sten) is just TELLING us that these guys aren’t cool or badass.
The cross stitching comic wouldn’t be nearly as funny if the punchline was just the Commander telling us that Inferno-Dante was way too into needlework and thought it made him cool, nor would the “Kratos selling TVs” comic if the joke was just someone telling us that Kratos is an asshole who treats every task like it was a minotaur-killing job. But with the 4 “bishie” mini-strips, the joke is just a character telling us that these bishie guys are lame and unmanly.
Like, if Sesshomaru thinks having a zillion yaoi fangirls makes him cool and it really doesn’t, just having the Commander say “having a zillion yaoi fangirls doesn’t make you cool, seriously can you BELIEVE this dork” isn’t an effective punchline and isn’t up to your usual standard. If Dante’s sword is silly and impractical, why not show us him trying to be cool with it and failing because it’s silly and impractical, instead of having Sten just say “you are not cool because your sword is silly and impractical and also if you have a big object you must have a small penis”?
Four bishie ministrips is my way of saying “people asking for characters are getting out of line, I will do all of these at once to illustrate why your specific requests were silly so I never have to touch the subject again”
Again the idea with the Sesshomaru one is that he says “look how many girls like me” without paying attention to why they like him. Commander asks if he’s embarassed that he just made a big deal out of all this incestuous smut. Because he just saw “all those fans” and left it at that (as the commentor seemed to when they suggested “more fangirls equals better”) Certainly it’s no worse than suggesting Marv goes home to cry on 4chan after a long day of waxing on about how women don’t love him.
But hey, I can’t tell you how to read into something, you’re free to dislike whatever you want and stop reading whenever. All I can say is that you’re you’re exactly as disappointed as certain Duke fans get when I make fun of Duke or certain Canadians get whenever I do a Canadian guy strip. Can’t make everybody happy all the time.
You are out of line.
Nobody could possibly get mad at a Canadian Guy strip.
Nope, I totally had guys get their knickers in a twist for perpetuating offensive Canadian stereotypes.
Again, it isn’t about being mad that you’re portraying them negatively, but that you aren’t doing it as well as you normally do. The idea that Sess should be embarrassed by bragging about all this yaoi smut is no worse than the idea that Marv is a 4-chan “forever alone” type, in the abstract. But the execution is what’s off. Marv SHOWS us he’s a goober by his own statements and actions, and saying “discuss this on 4chan” merely ties it together. The Commander just TELLS us that Sesshomaru isn’t as cool as he thinks he is.
Even in a strip like the “Duke Nukem is a nerd” one, the punchline isn’t the Commander TELLING us he’s a nerd, he goes into specific and funny detail about his nerd paraphenalia, we get to see Duke Nukem coming in and treating his nerdy movie like it was totally badass. But in this strip, we just have Sten telling us things about the uselessness and uncoolness of Dante that really should be shown, and topping it off with a punchline that is just plain lazy and totally interchangeable with almost every member of the cast. It’s kind of disheartening that you seem to take this criticism as being upset a certain character is being mocked at all, rather than thinking they weren’t mocked well.
The Duke Nukem as a nerd one has Commander EXPLICITLY saying “Duke is the biggest fanboy geek that ever was or will be”.
But hey, I’m not gonna change your mind. Go ahead and think I’m as mean and lazy as you want.
He explicitly states that but it isn’t the punchline. He goes on in further, humorous, detail, about how and why Duke is a nerd, and the strip ends with Duke coming in and dropping the “They Live” reference, while talking about watching “They Live”. If that strip had ended in the fourth panel, it wouldn’t have been funny, because it would have been telling instead of showing.
I’m surprised you are acting like you don’t know the difference when so far the vast majority of your comics have shown that you do, and you know that and how showing is superior to telling.
Those “superior comics” weren’t three panels long.
But yeah, I’m done. You are free to stop reading the comic whenever you want if you feel the quality is subpar.
Jesus, stop being so butthurt. It’s not like he said “DIS CAWMIK SUX 4EVER NOW”. We understand you’re trying to make a joke about how making jokes about bishouen characters is “to easy”, but in doing so the joke became exactly that, too simple and easy.
Calm the fuck down.
Shhh! Just… shhh.
dont feed the troll.you’re way better than that
I couldn’t agree more, this is exactly how I felt when I read this comic. The “jokes” weren’t executed very well at all and the whole feel of all four panels was well, sub-par compared to all the other pages that came before it.
I am shocked at the haters of this comic. Not that they exist, but there numbers. Do that many people really like men that look like women?
There aren’t a whole lot to be honest, like, proportionately. As of yesterday I had something like 1% negative feedback.
Maybe it is that each of the haters are writing a novel worth of bullshit, makes it seem like a lot more than 1%. Love your work by the way.
Also only recently found out you are a woman, was a bit surprised. Hope I don’t offend when I say that.
I have no problem with it what so ever. As long as it’s correct. But whilst Kuja fits the bill, Dante most certainly does not. Sephiroth would have been a better example.
I though the comment was less about what Dante actually is and more about what bishie fans make of him.
Dante is definitely a “pretty boy”. Looking at him, I am betting he spends as much time as the average woman getting ready in the morning. While he might kick some ass, he is not really “manly” the way other characters here are.
I liked him best in the latest game, but that was possibly because the other protagonist, Nero, annoyed me so much that by the time I played Dante I was ready for a wise-crackin’ antihero. Take note, I’m not a DMC fan by any stretch.
It’s not so much that people are in love with effeminate men, it’s more along the lines that these jokes just weren’t all that funny. They could have been funnier if they had been executed better, like perhaps if the separate panels had shown just how those traits the original commenter mentioned that sparked this comic were ridiculous and didn’t at all equate to bishonin-machoism instead of just having the Commander telling us, well perhaps there wouldn’t have been as much “haters” commenting seeing as they would be far too busy actually laughing.
This comic actually got more of a positive response as well as more people who went out of their way to send me letters saying how much they enjoyed it than any other strip I’ve ever drawn. The “haters” amount to less than one percent of everyone who got back to me. But hey, if you didn’t like it you’re free to stop reading any time.
That’s very kind of you, thanks I just might do that.
While I did laugh and experience great enjoyment from this comic, I would also like to extend a middle finger at all involved for reminding me that Inuyasha exists.
Lady, for what it’s worth, you have my support and approval. +Like.
I only now noticed – Dante has magical sleeves that unroll when someone takes his sword away! :D
Clearly who ever sent you that essay completely misunderstands your comic
This is my first time commenting on this site since you got it (though I watched you on DA a little bit before!)
I just wanted to say I love you.
AND I GREW UP WITH ANIME.
the first time i noticed a FF7 reference and it is Vincent……was not the person i was expecting. but it worked out well, seeing as i do not think it is possible to be macho and emo at the same time.
Well, that’s arguable, but the criticism rings true with Vincent. I like the character, personally, but the way he deals with his issues is unhealthy and anything but manly.
If any character from that game would fit in this comic, it’d be Barret or Cid. The former because he’s a large, ripped guy with a Gatling gun for a hand, and the latter because he’s a grizzled no-nonsense pilot who smokes and curses up a storm.
The fun part is, though you were bothered by the bishie essay, you still drew the commentator some bishies anyways. Albeit cynically.
You are admirable, in this and that COMMANDER IS PLAYING BASEBALL YESSS.
I’ve been wondering, what about assassins? like ezio and altair ubisoft assassins are they manly enough?
Jajajajaja I love Bishies¡¡¡ (Sesshoumaru and Dante are ones of my favorite, ended) But this was so fucking awsome.. I can’t stop laughting¡¡¡¡
I… love you so much, Coelasquid. I am glad you are made of stiffer stuff and made this comic instead because I can’t stop laughing. My internal organs are not glad because I can’t stop laughing. In fact, they’re crying inside.
Anyway this comic always brightens my day, it’s like the one place I can count on for the name to be literal and get my daily dose of manly guys. There are far too few of them in comics around the net.
Nothin’ against the prettier boys, I had my fair share of fangirl days over Vincent in particular – didn’t stop me from busting a gut over this rendition of him though!
Golgo 13.
This comic has always been a favorite of mine, but the fact that you just pointed out the ridiculous weapon imbalance in most of these anime? Oh! Won’t you be mine?
iam a manga fan… but i come here every week to see the commander… well bishonen badasses are good… but this web comic is about the muscle boys getting back in the society… errhh sorry but if u want to see bishonen rehab… well look for some sort of web comic in japan… here u just gonna see the another kind of histories ^_^ as i said first i like the manga, but this web comic isn`t going in that direction… i`ll prefer to see the canadian guy and duke nukem, than squall or another bishonen… dunno if someone agree with this.. but that`s my reason to enter every week to read this :D
I really liked this one, even though I’m a huge DMC fanboy. It sucks that people ruined him for you because he really is a decry character… One of capcom’s few.
Keep up the great work, Madame Squid.
And then people ask me why I tend to stick with the big, ineffectual, physical fighters in JRPGs. I think I’ll link to this comic instead of really explaining it next time. Even though they’re pretty much a dying breed.
Bit suprised nothing from Warhammer has popped up yet :V
I think the best thing about this comic is that it inspired 639 comments. About 200 of them are about who qualifies as a bishi and who qualifies as a manly man. The pure irony of that based on what the comic is about shines brightly across the dark ocean of the Internet, bringing home the ships lost in the fog that is created by the constant yapping of overbearing Otaku fanpeople.
Welcome home, sailor.
As an anime fan myself…aw, hell, This made me crack up so much, because i’ve thought much the same thing about these guys! xD
Gay incest is very popular with the bishounen boys… At least, according to fangirls.
Wait… Is… Is that one of the guys from “The Bouncer”? *searches Square Wikia* It IS! Volt Krueger… I knew he looked familiar! (Pfft, one of his pals looks like an adult Sora! It looks like they recycled most of his design, in fact..!) I guess that proves Square CAN make manly men, but the games they’re in tend to suck. That’s… kinda sad, actually.
But…the Bouncer was an awesome game! A little short, but awesome!
It was fun, true, but it scored very poorly when it came out… And it wasn’t terribly popular, despite being being Square’s first release on the PS2, and a launch-release at that..!
Manly men from SQUARE
Barret, FF7
Cid Highwind (Who has appeared in this comic) Also FF7
Volt Krueger (Who is the manliest of them all) The Bouncer
The lead male character from Ehrgeiz: God bless the ring (I forget his name, been a while)
… Feel free to add more. I’m drawing a blank.
I believe you’re thinking of God-hand but I haven’t played that game in like 10 years
Hm. Let’s see….
Cid from FFIV, as he was a bearded, loud airship pilot who pretty much rode a bomb down to kill some enemy airships, if I’m not mistaken, AND SURVIVED.
Sabin from VI, as he can SUPLEX A TRAIN. I’d throw out Cyan, but I don’t think he really fits, for some reason. Close, though.
MAYBE Amarant from IX. He has the attitude, at least.
Auron from X, for multiple reasons. Maybe Kimrahri, MAYBE.
I know there have to be examples from Tactics and maybe even from other FF titles, but I haven’t played them at all or enough to say.
Cid Highwind has been in this comic? I’ve seen to miss him…
That guy from Deus Ex?
Gotta’ love the people constantly demanding bishii characters. From what I’ve seen (and I’ve read every comic here), the agency isn’t about fighting skill or your fanbase, it’s a place for ridiculously buffed-out, macho characters. Brooding is not macho. Arrogant is not macho. Macho is looking like you could armwrestle a bear with a personality that reflects what a human brain might look like if it took straight shots of whiskey. That’s what I see machismo as.
Regardless, as an anime fan, I laughed my ass off at this comic. It’s really well done. I have deep respect for an artist/writer/whatever that can take clever shots at the more annoying parts of their fanbase, without looking like an idiot themselves. Well done, truly well done.
Thinking about it… Who knows, maybe one day someone will open an agency for hyper-effeminate male characters looking for work. The two could meet up for poker nights. Oh the hilarity that would ensue. :P
Brooding and being arrogant is quite macho. As in muscle-beach-Gaston-Kratos-let-me-prove-so-hard-how-tough-I-am macho… If a big tanky guy isn’t the loudmouthed boisterous bruiser of the pack, they usually end up either being broody or a douchebag. Sometimes both.
I’m more talking brooding in the “Oh, whatever will I do. My life is horrible”. Kratos broods by ripping the wings off of things, and Batman… well, he’s rich.
The major problem I have with Dante is that he’s boisterous to the point of obnoxiousness sometimes, like when he was talking to Cerberus like he was a puppy and Dante was going to take him on a walk. Now, one of my favorite braggarts has to be the COLE TRAIN. Now he knows how to kick ass and talk big at the same time.
while you do make good point for a great deal on the portrayal of manliness, or in this case lack thereof, it surprises me to this day that you haven’t included any manly anime men (barring the bishonen guys), such as kamina (gurren lagann) , or freddie (cromartie high). is there any particular reason for this?
I use characters that are easy to make fun of without already being genre parodies (like Brock Samson, Saxton Hale, any Cromartie High character). I don’t pick characters to talk about what awesome upstanding bros they are, I pick them to make fun of the not-really-badass things their creators bestowed them with under the impression that people would think it was SO BADASS.
thanks for the reply, especially considering all the comments on this comic. it’s really amazing how much time to take to get back to all of your commenter. it really means a lot.
Oh…oh god…I cant…stop…laughing.
Words cannot express how much this pleases me.
So here is a picture of batman
http://www.myfacewhen.com/329/
Reading through some of these comics on what makes a manly man prompted me think about who I thought was the manliest and maybe this wouldn’t count for comic material considering he was a real person but Pa Ingalls from the Little House on the Prairie books. He’s a man of integrity, he’s comptetent, has a sense of humor, rational, musical. He’s just portrayed as a man who possesses all the traits I’d consider a great man would need. Just my two cents on the issue.
Goddamn I love this comic so much.
Despite Canada Guy scaring the shit out of me (I live in the middle of redneck lumberjackville, so he’s a bit too close for comfort – once you meet someone who actually dresses like that, you get nervous when it pops up anywhere else), I love this comic to death. Keep up the good work Coelasquid!
The Volt sighting made me happy…
Two other people that are too girly to be appearing in this web comic.
Kou Liefoh
Sion Barzad
Really, we should just dispose of the rest of the cast and switch to Sten taking a swipe at every fictional character in existence. :)
I would read this.
I think the one anime character who’s exempt from this is Gatts out of Berserk, now he is one manly motherfucker. Anyway, loved the page.
I’m awaiting a series of comics from Coelasquid now proclaiming the virtues of ‘gar’.
Oh, the possibilities of humour involving Ken, Fist of the North Star.
I thought it was utterly impossible to love you more than I already did.
And then you did this.
Excuse me while I go erect a shrine in your honor.
Thank you so much for this comic. I’m so sick of all the Devil May Cry fanboys constantly saying that the old Dante was so ‘badass’. It’s almost as irritating as the people that think that Bayonetta is a feminist symbol.
You know, I’m curious, and you preobably get this alot, but what about Gordon Freeman, or well, silent heroes in general, wouldn’t they need help re-entering society after their respective games?
You’re right, I do get that a lot. Enough to make me want to put my head down on the table in frustration every time someone asks me to draw Gordon Freeman.
Then I’m sorry I mentioned the name… He who must not be named. But I also mentions just, in general, silent heroes, such as Jack from Bioshock, (another from Valve) Chell from Portal, Ryu from Breath of Fire, Gogo from Final Fantasy VI, Artyom from Metro 2033. I’m sorry I used GF first, he’s just the most commenly known one.
Also, I’m not telling you to add any of these characters (assuming you haven’t, I honestly can’t remember) nor am I telling you what/how to write. All I really wanted to do hear is share my love of the heroic mime type.
I’d think that they would need their own service. They probably would have one, in this universe. I bet it’s very quiet.
A lot of people asking for Barret and Zaraki. It could be very funny but, ok, Zaraki would have a lot of problems getting a job for example but Barret looks more like a guy with responsibility. But who knows, could be that barret is looking for a job to care of his family but people scares seing him as a big badass black men with an armgun.
Also there is no manlier character than Alex Louis Armstrong. check this video wich he make a new frind in the manly way:
http://youtu.be/sa5rW_AJw-U
The more people request characters the less likely I am to draw them, I think. I use characters when I think of something funny to do with them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=X8RU0gWfWz4#t=150s
This one is so much more entertaining and manly to me (wish I could find the dubbed version)
I laughed my ass off when I saw this
One last post from me. When I hear bishounen men, I think this http://youtu.be/A-YvUFsDsXs
Seeing Kuja in your comic and then being shot down by the commander have made my day, m’am. You’ve made one retro gamer girl happy, hope you annoyed some fangirls in the process :)
726 comments on a single strip…that’s like a new record, isn’t it?
Ah, those fond days nary over a year ago where it was monumental comics were just scratching the 100s.
I’m mildly surprised and entertained every time I check and the comments hit another 100 mark.
I’m even more amused that people are STILL talking/arguing about who would fit in this comic, especially from the anime front.
Who’s the guy with the horns sitting next the Commander in the second strip with Seshemaru or what ever the hell is name is?
I love all kinds of men, from the wimpy girly ones to the big manly ones. 8D I’m a semi rare breed!
Alas no Ganondorf to belittle fancy schmancy pretty-boys who think they’re macho. And by belittle, I mean punch. :U
I jest! But I am thoroughly enjoying everything you come up with, your capacity for epic comics is matchless.
(Oh, I do have a sudden Manly Men worldbuilding question for you–character that may have different iterations, like Ganondorf with a Wind Waker version, a Twilight Princess version, etc– are there multiples of these characters in the agency, or just one to represent all of them? o: )
Funniest Stuff Ever. Still, after reading through the comments, I’m starting to wonder. Why aren’t there any High-School-5-Paragraph-Persuasive-Essays on How Awesome these Comics Are?
Which is why I shall do so Next Monday! Huzzah!
I think dissing Dante at least will only keep the annoying e-mails, if not intensify them. Should have simply ignored it and keep up with the good work.
HAHA, I think the person who wrote the essay read too much fanfiction. ^^
@Coelasquid Is there some arbitrary biceps requirements for joining the agency? this would make a lot more sense to me that way. Because really, I can’¨t see the difference between dante and alot of these guys.
HINT:
Dante ended up in the comic after Squid asked/tweeted who was the silliest hero with a ridiculously large sword. Apparently Dante won.
Also, the more people ask Squid to draw someone in the comic, it’s more likely they won’t be included. Or they’ll be picked on in a future comic.
I’m just letting you know what you missed by not reading the last 700+ comments.
Or at least the more they suggest characters with no actual scenarios to go along with them. Once someone gave me an awesome Kenshiro one I plan to use, but it was actually a joke and not just “I like this character because-“
Coela, you’ve got the patience of a saint. I’ve read/skimmed all these darn comments, and I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve had to repeat that you aren’t bashing effeminate men, that you’re simply pointing out the silliness of one person’s request, and that you do the same thing with characters you enjoy.
That said, on a almost totally unrelated note, I’m a huge DA:O/2 fan, and I get a special joy seeing you include those characters in your comics. Even when my favorite elven party members are lampooned. Maybe especially when my favorite elven party members are lampooned.
One: I was laughing until I remembered people DO draw yaoi incest. That always fullstops my laughing for a moment. Great comic, as always, but bring up incest and I have to take a second to stop remembering all the fans who think incest is a great topic of art/fiction/subtext.
Two: Is anyone else amused that this is a comic in rebuttal of people suggesting which characters Coelasquid should use, and the comments are full of character suggestions? Because that’s amusing the heck out of me right now.
I’ve seen the irony, believe me.
well, in anime really the ‘manly quotient’ really boils down to a few things: how much punishment they can take, how little emo they have, and their usual crowning moment of awesome.
Yay, Dante! Secretly I’ve been waiting for this, I didn’t want to bother you by requesting his appearance, since I don’t know whether you like his character of not. Hahahahahahaha. But he’s way more manly in the latest installment of the game. And I’m not talking about Devil May Cry 5, here.
I didn’t read the description of the comic, since I’m at work so I have to be productive. I must have sounded like a total fangirl there (in no way denying that I’m not, yo). It must be tedious getting the same requests over and over, after all, it’s your comic so you pull the strings. I gotta say that I enjoy every one of them! Come back here every monday to read, it brightens up my day o’ work.
Am i the only one who thinks Dante is pretty cool guy?
Lol’d hard at the comic though.
I can’t believe I actually feel compelled to play Devil’s Advocate here, but…
While Commander Badass makes some startlingly good points in disarming the two bishnounen and points out that Vincent almost certainly has a host of psychological issues he needs taken care of…
Sten’s point about the balance of Dante’s sword is objectively incorrect, as Dante is quite capable of wielding that weapon to devastating effect*. While it might be ridiculous in the hands of a “realistic” swordsman (such as Sten himself,) it seems likely that in the hands of a man who can actually fight with it, it would mop the floor with said “realistic” swordsman, if only by virtue of superior mass and the insane physics-bending strength and grace needed to use it.
In short, I suspect that Sten made that jab at Dante’s groin because he, himself, is jealous of the fact that he can’t swing a ridiculous sword like that and be fully effective with it.
*Yes yes, I’m sure people are going to chime in and say “But that sword couldn’t possibly be swung, it’s bullshit!” To which I’m going to reply that Commander Badass’s claim to fame, besides being the most awesome dad ever, is that he is a time traveler. You have to judge every character by what they are objectively shown accomplishing, and while Sten is no doubt a badass in his field, the fact is that Dante could probably tear him apart with it. Not hating on Sten, but that’s the facts as demonstrated by their respective exploits in their respective media.
Of course, it takes a badass to accuse a guy who could annihilate you in one swing of compensating for a small penis, so his badass cred is unimpeachable.
As was said before, the issue is more with the balance than “that sword is so heavy” no matter how super duper you are, an unbalanced blade with always be less practical than a balanced one. Sure we can say it’s all silly fantasy and nothing matters but that’d be on par with ” woop guess I can start drawing everybody with seventeen abs and three biceps because nothing matters!” Suspension of disbelief and all that.
How exactly does the Commander time travel? Can you explain the science behind the device that allows him to hop around time all willy nilly? You know, because in your comic everything is all realistic. Which is why Dante can’t swing around that strange and super unbalanced sword of his to devastating effect.
I’m not even a huge Devil May Cry fan to be honest, heck I’ve only played about twenty minutes worth of the first game. I just think it’s ridiculous you keep pointing out the unrealistic balance of Dante’s sword, especially considering you have just as ridiculous things as time travel going on in your comic. It’s like the Word of God trope, if the creators meant for Dante to swing around that funky looking sword with super duper ease than that’s just how it is, regardless of it’s balance.
I’m sure if the Doctor had a sword, it would be properly balanced as well.
That’s because the Doctor is the ultimate rebel against Gallifreyan culture. Remember those ridiculous hats? I bet the Gallifreyan society invented swords the size of Dante’s or Cloud’s that suck momentum from time to enable someone with normal strength and agility to swing them as if they were toothpicks, yet deliver full impact on contact.
So of course the Doctor would, if he were so inclined to wear a sword, use something like a rapier or whatever.
If gravity works in Dante’s universe then his sword is a horribly balanced mess. If gravity doesn’t work in his universe then screw his universe. I don’t care how well he wields it he is working with a handicap.
Not just gravity, but also inertia and all those laws of motion would have to be suspended for the sword to be effective. It’s true; no matter how strong and fast Dante is, he could always swing a proper sword faster and with more force.
Although we could argue Dante uses unique, ancient swords with magical properties that make them more effective against the types of monsters he fight, the question remains who made them in such ridiculous shapes. Which is probably a question the game designers never anticipated anyone would ask.
This is the art of Retcon in it’s truest form.
Is it hard, being illiterate?
Huh. Make one request with supporting points (however ridiculous they may be), and get a long, colored (albeit sarcastic) comic. If requests irritate you, you may be giving people perverse incentives.
._______.
I felt a little piece of my soul die when I skimmed over that essay.Just… snuff out. It may have cried a little first. And possibly bled from the eyes.
It’s neat that you made a comic demonstrating that you don’t particularly want to draw bishonen here. But really, requests from fans should be seen as adoration. They care enough to ask you for something. They read your comic. Shouldn’t you be happy about that, and not snap at the people who are just being your fans? Don’t take them for granted. (No author has to actually obey the requests, but I think they should be thrilled that someone gave enough of a crap to ask.)
It starts out as very flattering but when you open up your email every day to a new letter requesting the same characters that other people have a hundred times before and you have to write out the same “I have never played that game, I have no ideas for that character” over and over again, it wears on you. Especially when the people requesting have varying degrees of tact, occasionally ending letters with “So how about it, think you’ll have it done for next week?” with not so much as a please and thank you. After a while it starts to feel less like “I like what you do and have a funny suggestion for you!” and more like “I want you to draw my favourite character for me for free.”
Especially when there isn’t actually a joke or any polite language included at all. Just notes that say why haven’t you drawn Dante yet?” end message. I imagine you can see how it would be grating to expel a great deal of effort finding time to get a comic posted, only to have a handful of people send messages like “when are you going to draw Barrett” or “why haven’t you done a comic with Kamina yet?” and no mention of the comic that was actually presented to them.
You can be both flattered and irritated at the requests made by incessant readers/fanpeople.
I don’t think Squid takes them for granted – I think Squid wishes they would just back up a bit. Honestly, if they had a sense of humor (which I’ve seen quite a few have demonstrated in these very comments), they’d be thrilled that their characters were presented – even if they were somewhat picked on. My wife’s a big Inuyasha fan, and even she laughed at Sesshomaru’s bit.
Russia`s speaking,
This comic is awesome,
Fuckin`bishies
Manly men vs Bishonen men: War of Boast
I am curious as to why Jared works there, considering how he’s the antithesis of the agency’s clientele. Does his being average help clients get used to seeing the un-macho average Joe?
He’s Commander’s PA. Commander’s not the kinda guy who kicks a teenager in obvious need of something that constitutes parental guidance to the curb.
I gotta say as a massive anime fan i found this quite hilarious. I mean a re these guys cool or potentially badass YES are they MANY MEN OF MACHISMO NO FUCKING WAY IN HELL. I mean even one of my fav picks would probably be picked on that or givena good slap on the shoulder. Oh and i’m thinking of Sai Akuto from Ichiban Ushiro no Daimou guy loses an arm and just grows a new one guy gets into a fistfight with a dragon and wins. But his general physique is not quite macho enough for this and with about 5-6 women around him and not even touching one hell i can see ALOT of jokes about what a pussy he is in bed and how he compensates by fighting.
So yeah great comic gave me a great laugh and it;s so true. Alot of people get cool/situation dependent badass mixed up with macho badass.
Dante fits, Sesshoumaru kinda fits, he isn’t that effeminate, he just looks like it. Vincent does have a hilarious amount of issues. Kuja is just a hell no. Very few anime characters really fit this comic, sadly.
I have only one question concerning this comic. I hope that it doesn’t bother you but is there any possible chance, no matter how small, you’ll actually do something like this again? I find this comic funny and I wonder what else you can make fun of concerning manly anime men.
It’s not as if there aren’t masculine characters in anime.
It’s just that they tend to get ignored with some exception.
On another hand, it would be hilarious to see the Commander giving Jecht some fathering tips.
Somehow I just keep picturing this fourth panel to the last one, where it shows Sten from behind and he’s got that butterflies-and-rainbows sword from the one DLC equipped, and Dante’s looking over his shoulder at it like “WTF?”
Oh I lolled. :D
I admit I like many body types of the man, may they be slender or beefy or in between. I just hate that there are bishounen fans who go way crazy over things (like the person you emailed you that novel) and thus the result is that others think I’m some kind of psycho for liking bishounen.
I can’t wait for you to make a comic about stereotypes of the female side (unless you have and I missed it).
First~ I’d like to apologize on behalf of the bishounen fans who bullied you;; They’re comeuppance was justified XD; I am…guiltily amused at the Sess one because…I happen to like that slash too XD;;
I would like to think their real intention was to point out that there were some characters who were not taken seriously because of their less than burly appearance.
You realize the only real reason Sten ripped on Dante is because he started it. You don’t insult a Qunari’s sword especially given their culture of having a weapon specially made for one person.
Personally I think Dante is manly enough especially later in canon as he gets a lot less mouthy.
I love the essay comment. “I love the comic as is”
In that case it should be pretty obvious that the characters that person wants to see in the comic just wouldn’t fit. Never mind the fact that they couldn’t even spell Sesshoumaru’s name properly, among some other misspells. >_>;
I like my pretty boys and all, but this comic has actually opened me up to characters/references I wasn’t as familiar with before… oh… and a crazy appreciation for Sten <3
Why not DMC3 Dante and his manbra?
To be fair, Dante actually was pretty manly in the fourth game.
And in the fifth that will be retconned and he will become self-insertion fantasy for the lead designer! This is why we can’t have nice things.
I will hunt you down for the DMC comment
and Sten will have his cookie jar bashed into infinite pieces that it will take a millennial to collect
Threatening to hunt me down doesn’t sound creepy and obsessive at all.
Now that I think about it, it kinda reminds me of VG Cats strip http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=148
*sighs* I’m sorry, but I really need to say this is response to this comic….
BWAHAHAHAHAhaHahaHahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAhHAHAahahaHHAHAHahHAHAHA
i’m sorry if this sounds really stupid but is the commander actually from something like a game or movie or something or is he original to this comic. i’m a huge fan of the comic and if the commander is from something i’d like to find it and watch/play it. if not wow he seems like he could have his own game/movie/TV show….
He’s an original character Frankensteined together out of a dozen or so macho action hero tropes. I talk about it on the “about” page.
I have to say that I love you for putting Volt in there. He really doesn’t get enough love from people.
I’m disappointed that you went with a penis size ‘joke’. I thought you’d be beyond picking on the low-hanging fruit, Coelasquid.
It’s exactly as original as the dozens of identical messages people have hounded me with demanding that I drop what I’m doing and draw a strip about Dante.
What the hell does having a massive schlong have to do with manly guys doing manly things? The lack of originality wasn’t the problem at all.
Heh heh. “Low-hanging fruit.”
Carry on.
Gotta say I’m a huge fan of DMC and Dante, he’s one of my favourite characters from a game series, but he isn’t manly at all, he’s stick thin, no muscles and doesn’t fight bare handed at all. Kinda like Kenshin, give him a sword, he’s a badass, take it away he’s nothing.
Speaking of Kenshin, his teacher Hiko, now there’s a manly guy
He does have some gloves to grapple with in the 4th game.
Gauntlets don’t really count though, plus the 4th game was the worst in the series, although it was pretty :P
:D This was pure gold. You have made deliciously funny points there and I admire the way you handle storming in requests…
I liked several of the characters made fun of in this one, but… But… You just made it in so excellent way I couldn’t handle my laughter… The responses Commander and Sten give are just too much. The logic in the statements is simply beautiful.
I want to thank you for this… XD It made my day.
Where is your “like” button? Your comic needs a “like” button, because I wish to push it for this comic.
Correct me if I am wrong I thought that sesshomaru only have one arm…
The first three are funny, but I have to take issue with the last part of the comic about Dante. Sorry.
First, as other people have pointed out, Dante is hardly a “bishi” character. Granted he does have shocking white hair, but aside from that he’s plenty manly enough to stand proudly alongside the likes of the Commander. I know you said you just asked people for a fourth example of a bishi character and this was what came up, but it would have taken you all of five minutes of YouTube surfing to realize that he’s not a bishi at all. Any one of his cutscenes from DMC4 would have made that clear.
Second, yeah, I’m taking issue with the sword thing. For one thing, it’s pretty silly to bring up issues of weight and balance when you’re talking about a MAGIC sword. And for another, considering that in DA:Origins Sten uses a sword that’s longer than he is tall, I don’t think he has any business looking down his nose at anyone for swinging around a ludicrously impractical sword. (And yes, I’m saying Sten’s sword is no less impractical than the Sparda sword. The length might be justifiable, but the width would add so much weight to the sword that you would collapse after fighting with it for five minutes.)
Also, I can’t stand those “are you compensating for something?” jokes. They’re old, they’re tired, and they strike me as fairly sexist. When was the last time you saw a woman being accused of “compensating” for the size of her vagina?
You sir, missed the point of the comic.
Bishi = pretty-boy
Dante = pretty-boy
Dante = bishi
The math works.
PS. Google two-handed great sword. It’s a real thing. It doesn’t need to be explained away with “magic”.
PPS. Women compensate with too much make-up, jewelry, and such. You may be tired of “compensating” jokes, but that’s probably just because you are compensating for something.
No, sir, the math does not work. “Pretty boy” doesn’t actually mean anything. It’s a buzz-phrase that can be applied to anything depending on your standard of “pretty”. According to Wikipedia, a bishounen is “a young man whose beauty (and sexual appeal) transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation”. Dante doesn’t do that. He has long-ish white hair but that’s about it.
And there is no two-handed greatsword on Earth that is as wide as the greatswords in Dragon Age. At least, no combat-capable ones. There are ceremonial ones that sometimes get that large but they are too heavy to use in combat. Hence my contention that Sten has no business making fun of anyone for having a sword that’s too large.
As has been reiterated at least three times so far, it doesn’t matter how heavy your magical fantasy sword is, it is how it is balanced. and as someone else pointed out, unless there is no gravity or inertia in Devil May Cry land, no matter how super duper Dante is, that sword is still pretty outrageously off balance. It is not out-of-line for a two handed longsword to be taller than the a person who may potentially wield it, as it is not uncommon to see them crafted in the neighbourhood of six feet. However, they were constructed with a hilt and pommel that mostly offset the weight of the blade.
While the Arishok’s sword may be wide to the point of outlandinsh, the very specific sword that Sten carries is not.
And it seems funny to say women don’t end up on the receiving end of “you’re compensating for something jokes, because I would count every accusation of “penis envy” a woman might get whenever she acts “out of her place” as a suggestion that she is trying to compensate for her complete lack of one. For the record, doing a comic about macho action heroes nets you a lot of snide accusations of Penis envy.
Woa you really Dante o.o. I must admit that I laughed a lot reading this comic but when I read your comments and your reasons for making well it feels really awkward like this was meant to be an attack and not something fun…
And let us not forget Freud, who I believe in fact coined the term ‘penis envy’, based a good portion of his psychological theory around the idea that women are forever compensating for the loss of their penises.
But no one cares about him, it’s not like he was an important person who was essentially doing one huge penis joke to half the population of the world.
“As has been reiterated at least three times so far, it doesn’t matter how heavy your magical fantasy sword is, it is how it is balanced.”
Says who? It’s a MAGIC sword. Once you throw the laws of physics out the window to allow 6ft swords, I’m pretty sure you’ve thrown out the laws governing balance as well.
“and as someone else pointed out, unless there is no gravity or inertia in Devil May Cry land, no matter how super duper Dante is, that sword is still pretty outrageously off balance.”
How would you know how it’s balanced? Do you have one at home?
“While the Arishok’s sword may be wide to the point of outlandinsh, the very specific sword that Sten carries is not.”
It’s as tall as he is and as wide as his arm. It would be a minor miracle if he could lift it, let alone fight with it. Real two-handed swords are very thin in proportion to their length to keep the weight as low as possible. Sten’s sword would be too wide to be easily swung under real-world physics. The Arishok’s sword is actually much more realistic since it’s proportionate to his size.
“And it seems funny to say women don’t end up on the receiving end of “you’re compensating for something jokes, because I would count every accusation of “penis envy” a woman might get whenever she acts “out of her place” as a suggestion that she is trying to compensate for her complete lack of one.”
Why would I count that as the same thing? It’s demonstrably not the same thing.
For one thing, I have seen far more men be accused of “compensation” than I have seen women accused of penis envy. In fact, I have never seen someone accuse a woman of penis envy. I only know the concept from high school psych classes. Maybe if we were living 30 years ago when Freud’s theories were still well-accepted in the scientific community I would have seen it more often, but this is 2011.
But anyway, this is all dodging the main point. You have argued that Dante is a bishi and therefore not manly. I don’t know who told you he is, but that person was hilariously, ridiculously wrong. Five minutes on YouTube would have told you how wrong they were.
Also, you clearly didn’t play any of the games or else you would know the Sparda sword is barely even a footnote in the story. It’s not Dante’s signature weapon. Again, this is something five minutes of research on YouTube would have told you.
I see you take your bishounen blindingly seriously.
At first I thought -awesome a new comic- and I laughed but when I read you comment and I went from This > ^_^ to this > o.O C I read the comments and all I see is hate, hate and more hate from both sides of the argument and is not even about something serious but we are arguing about the level on manliness of fictitious characters. Yea I know we are all geeks here but sometimes we expend more time raging over things that are suppose to bring us joy…
I am sure it must be a pain in the ass to deal with fangirls but is never going to stop because your are really talented and that means you are going to get more fame and more fame = more annoying people telling you what to do so you might as well learn to deal with it.
“I’ve never seen it, therefore it never happens.”
Okay then!
You realize there are swords that do get to be close to 6 feet in length right? The Nodachi which was 4 feet long, the Odachi which was 4-5 feet, the Zhamanadao which is 4 feet, and the Zweihander which was 4-5 feet long.
And besides, I fail to see the relevance of it being a magic paper weight. Sten also lives in a world where magic abounds. The magic sword argument fails when both members of the argument have them around.
As Coel said, it was the sword on his action figure, which 5 minutes of reading the comments would have revealed.
Long Swords like claymours made for average-sized Northern European men were frequently six feet long. German zweihanders were said to be up to seven feet, built for pushing back enemies carrying pole-arms.
“Odachi which was 4-5 feet,”
Well, little japanese men using that sword. I would say that it seems to have enough balance to me because they used odachis during war to battle.
There you go, everybody talking about balance and without knowing.
Like insane clown pose would say: “Fucking balances! How do they work?”
Physics don’t generally exist in action-focused media. We’re not “protecting bishiis” or any crap like that. Just pointing out the obvious. Western fantasy is full of swords that would clearly be off balance. Being giant or not shouldn’t change whether this matters.
Btw, I’m a huge fan of giant robots, which bask in the glory of their own impracticality and physical impossibilities, much like a typical JRPG buster sword. Is this a bad thing? Am I “overcompensating for something”?
Just discovered the comic and finished the archives. Love it! Signed up for the RSS. Keep up the great work!
-Max
Sesshomaru’s rape face in his second panel scares me.
As an only slightly related question, would Brandon from Gungrave (the anime or game) warrant a episode in this comic? I’d like to think yes, but at the same time the anime version is definitely along the emo lines.
You know, there are some pretty videogame boys that I kinda like for whatever reason, but I would never be so ridiculous as to call them ‘manly.’ Never thought of Vincent as being terribly bishi (though FF7 wasn’t really detailed enough for you to know… maybe that was a plus), but he WAS royally emo. And I remember when Dante actually had a square jaw. I don’t know wtf was up with the series sequels… I miss him looking like a man. I also seem to recall a five o’clock shadow in the first game, but it could be wishful thinking.
And actually regarding the comic: Every opportunity to mock Kuja should be seized. Thank you. Don’t know who the second guy is, but anything with Volt is automatically at least 20% cooler. And their expressions in that panel on the end was hilarious. I actually lol’d at Sten. And Dante’s expression. Eheheheeee… So offended.
KEEP DRAWING MANLY MENS! WORLD NEEDS MOAR~
Check out dat DMC4 Dante. Best Dante IMO. Looks so much better older. :O
These comments, man.
What the hell.
Or yknow what? Yeah. Let’s just leave that there. Some o you people are cool, the rest remind me of that “dragon twister” guy with the ponytail.
Either way, cool strip again, Kel.
So the people that agreed with you are cool and the ones that disagreed are morons? nice…
Anyway awesome strip but it looks to me that you just got trolled and I bet that this is just going to increase the amount of people sending you requests and not just anime fangirls but trolls as well.
Good thing for me I have no qualms about deleting them unanswered, I guess.
Some people seem to forget something about your comics:
The punchline is MACHISMO!
Aka so clearly manly that no one needs to write an essay about it.
This is one of my faves. :>
I’m going to ignore the insult to my general love of anime. Also that he would never try to get fangirls…. just kill you…. and try to gain power so that he can kill you more easily.Did I mention that Sesshomaru would never pair up with the “human”commander. The other characters I have not read so I have no idea… But blood plus is pretty badass. and there are plenty of animes without girly characters. say one that gave his arm and leg to save his brother soul since they where kids trying to save their parents.But I agree with the artist. This isnt a anime comic….if you want one go find it on the interwebs. and I am feel sorry for all the request. I know from expereince how annoying they can get. I love you coelasquid. the rant above is just the fact that ou dissed my love for anime. still love you though.
Don’t look at it as a diss to anime. Look at it as a diss to the rabid bishiiiii~*~ fangirls out there that have been making requests for Coelasquid to draw their beloved bishounen characters in her Manly Men comics. I’m pretty sure Coel has said somewhere in this massive amount of comics that she has nothing against anime, in general. It’s just the fantards. Some of them are ridiculous. Can’t really say that I blame her on that score. XD
I am a metrosexual. But, I also hate anime. I am pleased, yet offended.
I think this is the most comments I’ve ever seen on one of your comics.
tl;dr
Ain’t it the truth. I haven’t even read them all, to be honest.
You haven’t read all your comics, Coela? That’s a shame. They’re pretty good. :P
Technically Dante usually uses a Greatsword but he gets stronger weapons from Demons so he uses those.
Like that scythe, it was his fathers’. He doesnt even use it, he gave it to Trish or some shit.
Commander Badass’s junk looks amazing in those jeans in that third panel.
Well drawn.
Dude is wearing a cup…If you’ve ever caught a brushback pitch from a baseball, you will understand why sports cups=good thing.
Too bad the our ‘culture’ vs their own we have two totally different ideals of what our ideal man is suppose to be like. And to be honest, I’d prefer a man with a hairy chest and facial hair as a signage he’s hit puberty then glomping on a smooth chest. Because if that was the case, I’d be checking to see if I see string hanging down between those legs. :| JUST SAYIN’.
I think you’re missing an opportunity there, with Inu Yasha. I mean, think about it.
He’s an illiterate (or at any rate barely literate), foul-mouthed ruffian from a time before deodorant, safety razors, band-aids or Cup O’ Noodles. He once spent fifty years pinned, insensate, to a tree.
To all appearances he has never worn shoes, or cut his nails, either. He also has a vulgar, crude way of speaking that doesn’t really translate well into English. (The word “teme,” for example, has the literal meaning “you” and a connotative meaning more like “you scum.”)
His goal in the narrative, at least as far as he’ll tell anybody, is to banish human weakness from his soul and become a ‘real’ demon by using the plot hook artifact for evil.
He also seems to be more or less allergic to feelings, not unlike the Captain.
Plus, who does Sten really think he’s kidding, here? Asala may be on a diet in that first panel, but I estimate that the blade alone is as long as a man is tall. And, like the other Greatswords, has more in common with such sharpened surfboards (or a Scottish claymore, perhaps) than a finely balanced killing tool. It’s a chopping weapon, basically.
I should probably mention, longtime listener, first time caller, here. I didn’t just show up because you’re talking about anime, but didn’t really feel I had something to add up until now. Although I was tempted when I got to reading the ones where whossname the intern left home.
Greatswords are frequently as tall or taller than the people who wield them, as well as being quite sharp. So no kidding necessary.
Somehow, I doubt that William Wallace was four 4’4″. Historical accounts suggest that he was closer to 6’5″ or 6’7″, large of frame and muscular. His sword is, of course, also quite large, after the Scottish fashion, but DA’s Greatswords take it to another level. “Balance” just isn’t a question anymore; the advantage is in weight and reach.
More obvious with some (Ageless, which is practically a bludgeon) than others (the Summer Sword, which is nice and svelte).
Realize that historical, functional great swords have been up to seven feet. And are appropriately balanced. I have held a six foot claymour, I can report that they do not handle like a giant metal surf board on a stick. They’re even well proportioned enough that men under six feet tall can comfortably hold two of them at once!
We don’t actually know all that much about Wallace let alone if that one is actually his sword, but even if it is you need to get your facts straight the full length of that sword is 5 foot 6.
Balance is always a question because even the largest sword isn’t going to weight much more than 8 or 9 pounds. A German Zweihänder could be up to 180 cm long and weigh only 3.2 KG.
That’s true, about the weight. A tired sword arm wreaks hell with your plans to stay alive. Even assuming you’re just wearing your armor, the padding for your armor, and commuting to the battle by city bus, every little bit counts, and the most ‘heavily’ armed warrior will probably tire quicker, if he’s a lesser man than Conan. (If not, whatever. It was a good try. Well, unless Conan missed work that day.)
As far as Asala’s length, some simple guesstimation from screenshots suggests that the grip portion of Asala is maybe as much as a foot and a half long (judging by comparison with Sten’s forearm, and assuming Qunari are proportioned like humans), and the entire assembly is about four and a half grips from tip to tip. Which’d yield a length between 6’0″ and 6’8″. Given that Sten has to be pushing 7′ that isn’t so unreasonable.
Mainly, though, I just wanted to draw attention to this saucy little number:
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Ageless
(seen here modeled by one Oghren of the warrior caste.)
‘Far as William Wallace, I cannot speak to the historical accuracy or lack thereof for that particular ‘great sword.’ Or his fabled height, or whether he can shoot fireballs from his eyes and lightning bolts from his arse. Unfortunately, history is largely constructed from what somebody would like to be true.
Though, there should be a practical upper limit to length, for leverage reasons, even among the ‘great swords.’ The fulcrum that determines where the sword’s weight is balanced being a simple hinge joint in the middle of the arm, after two cubits or so between the guard and the weighty part of the edge, you’re just wasting steel and stamina. So I’d expect the sword forged for no hand but Yao Ming’s to be about a seven footer.
Inuyasha? Please, he’s not manly! I love him to death, but he’s a loud mouth brat, not a macho manly man. Not caring about hygiene, cursing a blue streak, and wanting to change himself aren’t signs of manhood; they’re the signs of a teenage boy.
In the highlight reel of characters who actually are shown ‘in’ the agency, but who don’t meet a positive interpretation of the word macho:
Pyramid Head (known for rape-murder), Kain (known for murder-murder), Canadian Guy, Big Marv (unspecified, violent, related-to-psychosis criminal record), Leatherface/Jason/Michael Myers (possibly as guests of Pyramid Head), a T-something-or-other (mechanical time traveler sent back in time to ‘abort’ John Connor).
I mean, sure, Inu Yasha hardly rapes or murders anybody who doesn’t deserve it, but…
As someone else in the comments pointed out “Macho” isn’t a positive term. It’s of Spanish and Portuguese origin, and pretty much directly translates to “male chauvinism”. It’s typically used to describe the sort of guys who are histrionically tough, rather than manly in the “art of Manliness” sense of the word.
It can be positive or negative, depends partly on who’s using it. My understanding is that in Mexican Spanish, it mostly suggests positive qualities. Similar to our word masculine. “Look at that guy,” one might say, “He is really [an exemplary male].”
In American English it’s mainly negative, for sure. Chauvinism and pushiness and narcissism and whatnot. Gaston would be “macho,” for example.
I like your comic, but I got a bit butthurt with Dante, although I was trying to open my mind and see you try to minimize the damage by only pointing out why “Impractically cool swords = badass” is flawed, the mere appearance of Dante, along with the fact that you are slightly misinformed (Dante never even used that sword in-game) just dropped my heart a bit…
I liked what you did with ministrip 1,2 and 3 but number 4 was kinda weak…
It’s good that you openly express Dante wouldn’t fit in the comic series just because you’re not yet sure how it would work, or how or why he’s a badass… bu just because the fanbase is bad doesn’t mean it’s bad. Give DMC (don’t play 2) a chance, and you’re good. I find Fighting games decent but their fans tends to be over-the-top unbearable… Don’t let fanbases ruin the game experience. Good games have a lot of fans for a reason
Still, keep writing comics and do what you do best. I’m always ready for some witty surprises…
And herein, I think, lies a problem with asking Coelasquid to portray Dante in any way, shape or form: inconsistency.
Seriously, you say don’t play DMC2, but I’m pretty sure someone further up said DMC2 had the manliest Dante.
The sword in the comic is hardly ever seen in use, but it’s the one that he has as an action figure.
And it seems like there are variations on how young he appears too?
Frankly, when the copyright holders decide how they want to portray their character, we can talk about whether Coelasquid had it wrong. Just because it didn’t match the particular version you prefer doesn’t mean much.
Are you gonna have the Captain Titus from the Space Marines game in the comic?
Just read all the way up to this point. I enjoyed every single bit of it! Have to agree with the down grading of the the over compensating hentai half animal dance stars. Would also like to say something that goes with the DnD sketch. Rogues are just as manly as warriors, barbarians, and everything else that smashes. Plus I <3 fire arms, and well I enjoy me some modern :3
Finally!!
More Sten!
Speaking as someone who loves pretty guys, how dare that reader insist that they’re “super manly.” XD (No, seriously.) While there are plenty of masculine dudes in fiction who happen to be awfully pretty, it’s usually pretty clear “machismo” wasn’t what the creator was going for. “Machismo,” as it appears in most western comics and games, is for impressing real life men, not real life women. (Because supposedly women are not into “geeky stuff.”) If a number of women actually happen to like the results, that’s our business.
Also, even your bishonen look more masculine than the men I usually see in art on the internet. This is awesome. (I would actually feel Sessho-what’sisface was an odd choice based too much on a pretty face, except that he’s, you know, in a shojo anime. And if you’re in a shojo anime, you were made to please Japanese women.)
Getting pretty disturbed by some of the anti-Japanese-stuff quasi racist commentary I’m seeing in the comments, though.
What’s a kuja? D:
Master Fucking Asia.
Make it happen.
You know seeing the responses here by the Otaku kinda peeps? Just wow… and they wonder who so many peeps leave the Anime fandom. They stinking run them off! I enjoyed both sides of things honestly until I went to more and more conventions encountering this in real life besides just online. It drove me away from the fandom and I even cosplayed as Inuyasha once and got to fight the first Megazord!
There are different strokes for different folks but some fandoms just try to run you away unless you see as they do. However… even then I’d cosplay Inuyasha but I’d take the Commander to bed first any day.
….That first one is actually a guy?
Yes, yes, surprisingly, Kuja IS a guy. Though his character design would say otherwise. What self-respecting man would walk around in public wearing a THONG of all things?
Well… he’s a very gay man. VERY gay. And he loves theatre. So I wouldn’t technically say he’s a guy…
That’s actually all sorts of messed up, even if it was said in jest. It doesn’t matter if a man is homosexual or straight, having a passion in theatre doesn’t make him any less of a man. And this should go without saying but, likewise being being gay.
Dude, I like your comic purely from the mass manliness and utter LACK of bishounen. This comic strip..is…amazing. :’D I MUST SHOW THIS TO MY FRIENDS!
Let me see if I understand this: the commander has no issue with transgender people saying its perfectly fine that they are the way they are yet he discriminates against people who just dress effeminately?
Very lame, cola, very lame
This question has been addressed ad nauseum in the comments as well as on tumblr, it’s not worth answering again.
Well to be fair is not really commander but Coelasquid raging. Commander is rough, manly and badass but also a good guy the thing is that now he is being used by Coelasquid (her creator) to bash the people that sends her requests. I am sure that one she stops raging things will go back to normal just a bunch of manly guys doing manly things because bitching is not manly at all.
If you interpret this as “raging” you’re an incredibly sensitive person.
Except that his talk with Kuja doesn’t mean that the Commander isn’t okay with transgendered people or effeminate men. His agency simply doesn’t take them on as clientele because they don’t fit the set parameters. In the comic with Poison, he never said that she was part of the agency, now did he? Professional and personal opinions are two different things.
Not women, girls. Girls make gay porn out of them.
Hey, we can’t help it. We have hormones just like the next person. Some of us just enjoy it more.
It’s like guys enjoying girl on girl action. The reverse goes for us. Why is ours so taboo in comparison?
it probably has something to do with the incest
Incest is the best! Put your sister to the test!
Meh, I’m shocked Kuja would even put his name forward anyways. Who’d associate themselves with the agency dressed like that?
First time commenter, love the comic!
Just wondering, Chuck Norris is a sort of a “no” for the agency (the way it looks anyway) but how would the agency view someone like Bruce Lee? He’s not the biggest buy but his strength is the real deal (movies aside!)
I loved this. And I’m a huge DMC and FF fan. Both Dante and Vincent being my favourite characters. People need to have a sense of humour about these things. Anime/japanese video game characters are never meant to be manly(generally). It’s always more of the “cool guy” persona than the manly macho one. Which isn’t a bad thing at all. The personas fit the mediums. Although to be fair when animes/japanese games have manly characters they are usually really fuckin manly.
People are not mad about this comic Coelasquid is the one raging on her own fans for sending her to much requests and made this comic to release anger and troll them at the same time.
still waiting for the inevitable My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reference.
This comic doesn’t need to be made twenty percent cooler. It can’t be!
there, are you happy/sad now?
Lol I love how people get mad when you actually draw the characters they constantly request.
I too have grown to hate characters because of their fan base and you made some good points even if I do like some of these characters.
Really it’s fun to see the comic that caused all the bickering…
Though i will admit that it was done pretty bitterly and harsh… of course you DID say why you included them XD
I have not the words to describe my deep and abiding love for the above comic. Magnificently done.
Also for some reason I don’t see Sessy drinking a girly drink xD Something more like Saki or hard alcohol. XD
Dude, this is a parody, not literal. Drawing him drinking saki isn’t funny at all. An appletini on the other hand…
I know :p I was just saying that realistically he could be drinking stronger drinks.
Appletini’s are funny though. XD
“let me draw my macho guys in peace”
Thanks.
I really need to stop reading all these comments, the whiners are really getting to me. In lieu of the rant I just typed calling them nancys and telling them to grow a pair, I thought I’d focus on the positive. :D
Coelasquid, I love the strip, you’re doing a fantastic job. I had no idea that you were constantly waylayed by requests and suggestions, you have my sympathies. Also, I think you handled this with wit and class, if this has gone unnoticed by certain less appreciative parties, it is their own failing. Keep up the good work.
Oh, I’m so happy this comic has been made. I followed the debate about the tiny ghey lads vs manly men with mild disinterest (I was bored; nothing else to read) and really, really hoped it would be turned into a smack-down comic. Don’t get me wrong: I loves me a lot of Zevran, but he ain’t a manly man in the same way Sten and the rest of the guys are. This comic is awesome.
It just occurred to me that the Commander looks a lot like Brock Samson in the first 3 panels here. It is mostly the cloths. Black shirt, big, blond.
Just wanted to say, loved this strip a lot. Thanks for it.
I must say as a considerably less-than-manly fellow myself(spindly, long hair, likes playing mages) that this comic is bloody fantastic. Manly Kuja is an oxymoron alright (and when you think about it, Vincent spent DECADES in a coffin spending his time doing nothing but suffering and thinking he was a failure? Good grief), and these characters just don’t fit alongside the likes of Kratos and Duke, whether they’re OOC here or not. For those disgruntled with this comic- I suggest having a flick through the comments here first before you post, it can help clear up some things far better (although you’d have to flick through to see this one anyway).
Especially loved Volt’s expression, the Commander calmly smoking his cigar while addressing Vincent and Sten commenting on how off-balance Dante’s sword was, in the way that only Sten can. *smiles* A grand comic all ’round, IMO. (As for the topic of Dante, I’m reminded a little of VGCats’s response to being bombarded with endless, endless requests for Inuyasha: http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=190 )
I like the odd Bishie, but this is not the comic for them :)
Not to be one of those pest who constantly recommend character’s to you. But how come we haven’t seen The Goon in here yet, he’s manly and has many things wrong with him, including his sidekick Franky. Just sayin’ the character’s are fun as hell to mess around with.
My only minor compliant is there was a little too much proper English in this particular comic.
Anime men are such pussies.
Houkuto no Ken.
Google. Now.
Anime men tend to be pussies. Deal with it. Quit your whining.
Well, I just read through the comments. If nothing else, it proves the old saw that the bad stuff can be recounted in far more detail than the good, or at least takes more time in the telling.
I’m astounded by the number of people who, apparently, don’t quite get the central joke of the strip as a whole. It’s not a runway show of badasses, people (although I wouldn’t mind that for somewhere else, of course). It’s an affectionate deconstructive parody. What’d everyone think was being parodied, if not the over-the-top action hero tropes applied to real-world logic? Hell, I’ll give an example. Normally I don’t like that sort of thing applied to pokemon. I always figured “it’s a kids game, it’s okay if it’s a little silly and doesn’t make sense in adultland.” Usually when someone on the internet does apply real world logic to it it boild down to “I’m gonna draw a graphic picture of Ash being eaten by his own pikachu. Laugh now, please?” Meanwhile the introduction to Jared applies adultland logic to pokemon in a fun and comparatively lighthearted way, which is why it’s funny.
The same principle applies here. A lot of people who make jokes about bishies are just “oh ho, they suck, here’s a picture of a real man beating them up!” This is a lot more classy and lighthearted, poking fun at both the absolutely HILARIOUS essay requesting them and the entire bishie idea the same way other comics poke at violent “heroic” sociopaths like Kratos. It’s deconstructive, but it sort of acknowledges the way to still have fun with the lanced idea.
And as for Dante, come on guys. You’re making us DMC fans look bad. Dante is over-the-top and ridiculous on purpose of course, which is why he’s more fun than Nero, who definitely is too serious a character for his own good. dante doesn’t take himself seriously, the writers don’t take him seriously, and neither should you. The Sparda sword is beyond belief if you think about it really at all, and even the much more normal-looking Rebellion is unwieldy and the little bony handguard is very uncomfortable, the hilt is far too short and, you guessed it, even though it looks more conventional its balance is also terrible. does that make the games less fun or the art style less visually arresting? I wouldn’t say so. So come on guys, just enjoy the joke.
A: that went on longer than I expected.
B: I meant “other issues” on the Kratos thing, not “other comics.” My bad.
Now ,for anyone who complains about this… I have to say your forgetting one major thing. This is Coaela’s world! If she chose to have a giant T-rex taking a dump on these characters she could have! I believe she handled it with tact, grace and a fair amount of humour.
Huge fan of the Comic, new to it, but its one of my favorites! Mr.Fish is epic, and even when i dont recognize the characters i take the time and effort to look them up :)
Keep up the great work, and your an inspiration Coelasquid!
Can the Old Spice guy work at the agency?
Isaiah Mustafa… my lord that body and that voice can make my toes curl..♥
And speaking of Old Spice, doesn’t (young) Fabio count as well? Though I certainly feel the “Old Spice” men can hold their own rival agency on their own.
Don’t know if you read this. I like your comics just the way they are
Oh, and when is Master Chief gonna show up? Where’s the love, man.
Are the Commander and Volt related? They look similar, in that Owen/Luke Wilson sorta way.
I’m sure this will never be read in the overwhelming sea of comments, but I do want to say that this had me cracking up more than it probably should have.
This only goes to prove that this is a cartoonist’s/comic creator’s best kind of revenge!
This is so true, like beyond measure true, I liked the horn guy from the bouncer being there nice touch, more comic book macho men plz
I have to say, I think it was comics like these that kinda converted me to liking the non-effeminate guys. And seeing these guys again…. Ahahah, I still prefer the manlier guys *cough*Kratos&Sten*cough*. Also to note, I’m sure if someone like Dante had that huge of a sword, it would be frikin’ heavy, magic or not. Therefore, if we were to redraw him with proper muscle structure or whatnot, it would be something like this .
Sten. You are GENIUS.
You don’t touch Dante in this household. I have a Diesel jacket hanging up in my closet to reinforce this point.
As little a shit as you give, I’m done.
this guy seems mad?
Reading this inspired me to write a short summary of what I felt were actually *sensible* candidates for potentially featuring.
One question, though: is there anything I should put in the title/body of the email to make sure it is not filtered out into the trash?
I have a very brief list (4) with short explanations as to why I believe they are prime candidates. However, any help with avoiding being considered spam is a great help.
Thank you for your time.
Complain? Hell, this strip just got you a new reader.
Hehe, do love the look on Volt’s face in the last panel of the second row.
I have loved this comic from the first strip, and no amount of anger from internet trolls will detract from my enjoyment of the comic.
Gunther Hermann from DX summed up my reaction quite perfectly here: “I spill my drink!”
Coela, keep being awesome.
Pshaw, you make the mistake of thinking physics matter in the Dante-verse. Have you ever seen the ridiculous stuff they try to pull in that series? It’s clear to any viewer that in his world, physics doesn’t real. Still, hilarious comic, and I can’t particularly argue with any of your points, although I like both Dante and Vincent.
I can’t even… WHAT IS AIR? I’m laughing so hard right now. I also feel like an asshole. But lololololololololololololol.
I apologize for ever harassing you. Goodgawd, continue, please.
*giggles long time* The bishies need a taste of Kamina (Gurren Lagann), or Gintoki (Gintama). MANLY MEN DOING MANLY MAN THINGS!!! If you can get Gintoki off the couch anyway. Lazy bastard.
My headcanon is that Gintoki occasionally shows up at Jared’s secret base to play video games and make enchiladas or whatever it is that fictional teenage boys do.
LOL! Probably play video games.
Now I’m wondering what would happen if Kagura played with Mr. Fish. XD
XD Ok, this gave me a very good laugh! ;p
All ostensibly macho pretty boys aside, this may very well be the first time I have ever seen anyone use the word “therianthropic” in a sentence.
Stay classy, Coelasquid.
Volt Kruger? SERIOUSLY!?
Holy shit I loved The Bouncer so damn much and that was the best character.
Y’know who would fit into your “manly” category quite nicely? Kenpatchi Zaraki from Bleach. He’s super muscular. He wears and eyepatch that sucks energy (its actually a monster) and has bells in his hair to handicap himself against an opponent to make the fight more fun. His sword is beat to shit from fighting. He’s psychotically powerful. Hes obsessed with fighting only the strongest opponents. Though before you say anything about the little girl he always has with him, he found her after her family was slaughtered by bandits, which he wiped out later and she was the only survivor. So he took her in! She fairly psycho now too , in one episode, after he barely lost to the Ichigo, Yachiru (the little girl) was able to pick the giant man up and dash across buildings with him. So she’s pretty cool too. (even if she looks, like, 5) I dunno If you’ve ever watched Bleach, but he seems to fit the bill of “manly” pretty well, even with the bells.
Rather late to the party, but I just wanted to say how much this made me laugh. For the record, I’m a huge fan of prettyboys, and your points are still well-taken and hilarious.
I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to come up with some genuinely pretty, manly men, and I think Saiyuki might have some. Sanzo, for all his blond hair, purple eyes, and priestly robes, has a very tough love approach to his paternal streak, never hesitates in the face of danger, and chose his tiny revolver based on its concealability and ease of putting a bullet in his own head if worse comes to worst. On the other hand, he’s pretty damn bitchy when he runs out of cigarettes and booze. :-/
Everything about this comic is brilliant. so much love.
I tip my bonnet to you, good sir.
I love this comic. So awesome.
Hey, would Raziel from Legacy of Kain be macho enough to belong to the agency?
Being Manly and being Badass are two entirely different things. While they often go well together, they don’t necessarily have to. Some one can be Manly without being Badass, and others can be Badass without being Manly.
as an anime fan I can assure you I feel no rage
Don’t be hatin’ on Dante. Dante don’t deserve that.
…but really, after DmC5 it feels like kicking the guy when he’s down.
Ah, Sten returns! Always my favourite guy in these comics, he just gets the best “dry wit” lines!
…And while everyones listing “Anime/Final Fantasy types who could be seen as manly”, lets not disregard Jecht/Kimahri/Galuf/Cyan Garamonde from the Final Fantasy ranks shall we? (Not to mention the likes of Amidamaru , Pai Long and Basson, from “Shaman King”
Of course, this webcomic is generally about the more stereotypically “Macho” types and how they cope in the real world, rather than the men who are manly, brave and good to children. Which is why we get the likes of Sten (Who steals from children and whose characterising moment was being found locked in a cage having slaughtered a family over a lost sword), Kratos (Who murders everything forever, regardless of how helpful they are to him), and Pyramid Head, a… well, yeah.
The only one whose got it together is the good Captain, and he once travelled back in time to punch himself out and steal his coffee.
On the last strip, this comic could’ve been Dante’s comeback:
http://lilaym.deviantart.com/art/DMC-What-s-the-point-ver-2-255905555
I dunno, this one seems like more of a response to that one than vice versa. The joke doesn’t normally go “That sword looks like a cut-and-dry Freudian over-compensation” “The sword is my penis!”
“The sword I speak of is my manhood.”
* Oghren: Ah. Yep. Lot of tension around here.
* Alistair: You think so, do you?
* Oghren: Know what I do to relieve tension?
* Alistair: I hesitate to wonder.
* Oghren: I polish the ol’ weapon.
* Alistair: Really.
* Oghren: Yep. Give it a good shine. With a dry rag, then with a little grease.
* Alistair: That’s disgusting.
* Oghren: You’re telling me you never gave yer blade the old spit-shine?
* Alistair: I think that’s private.
* Oghren: Really? Sodding Chantry and its rules. I like to do it right out in the open.
* Alistair: Where people can see you?
* Oghren: Yep.
* Alistair: Wait, what are you talking about?
* Oghren: What are you talking about?
* Alistair: (Sigh) Never mind.
This is hilarious!
Sesshomaru with an Appletini is just perfect!
Thanks for making such great comics Coleasquid.
Please make fun of Cloud, PLEASE MAKE FUN OF CLOUD XD I’m a FF-fan, maybe even one of those called FFnoobs who think it’s THE greatest RPG of all, but aside from that fact: I would really like to see him make fun of! That Vincent part was funny, the Kuja part was even funnier and I bet there are a lot more FF characters that can be used as a laughingstock. I mean, Cloud is ‘considered’ by many to be badass, but to be honest I think he’s just another emo who wield a big cannonlike sword to, yes, indeed, compensate for any inadequacy you may think of =P Also, if I may add another emo-type who’s considered badass: Sasuke. ANIMUUU is cewl, but some characters are MADE to be made fun of =D yes yes yes!
awesome as usual. Pretty boys don’t make manly men. deal with it bishi lovers.
What do you think about his DMC4 incarnation?
Still too bishi~ to be manly?
I love me some bishis, but it’s not like the interest has a lack of them and they don’t particularly fit the machismo category.
uh, internet*
You are an amazing person for making this. I like anime and all, but some of fans need to straighten out their definition of ‘manly’. Buff characters are apparently abusive, the small ones become teary water-works, if a character’s ever thought a skirt/dress pretty to try on or something (even as a joke), they have to hide behind their ‘man’ to survive, and all the girls are apparently Mary Sues. I don’t even care about all the bad yaoi– I mean, how can a /pairing/ ruin a character when the characterization beats the pairing to it?
And I sit in my corner wondering why your comic is so different and amazing and Commander the sweetest, coolest badass I’ve found on the entire interwebs.
You make me resent my other fandoms for making all my favorite potentially badass characters complete wusses. ;_;
I wouldn’t really say Dante is compensating: all of his oversized swords? He got em from his father. It’s family heirloom, they are precious to him and if you gonna kill demons, aren’t oversized magical weapons the best against the attack of 50-foot whatever?
There are some characters that might be referred to as manly in Anime,
but the tendency to overtly long weapons always pushes them into the *compensating* jokes.
Guts from Berserk as an example.
At the first look: epitome of manliness.
Second look: deeply scarred emo with a slab of Iron on a a stick,
wich has anger issues.
*who* I mean, not *wich*.
I always use the wrong one >.<
I don’t usually post on this, because I am often embarrassed by a lot of the asshats that seem to have issues with your content… Personally, I don’t get offended by other peoples opinions on what they like or don’t like. But again, that’s just me, I don’t like posting actively on the internet unless it’s networking/work related. Sides, it’s your comic. If they don’t like what you post, they can go somewhere else. But I’m sure someone else has said something like this before.
Anyway, I think this is such a unique concept for a comic. Keep at it. =]
Thank you…just…thank you :)
Is that guy in panel 6 from “The Bouncer”? That’s a surprise, seeing him around. I think his name was Volt Kurger.
As far as manly men go, I’m just surprised I haven’t seen Tom Selleck yet.
Ok, If people truly say those girly men are more badass than Commander and the crew. Then they don’t understand that THIS fantasy they got is retarded, I honestly think they need to get over themselves. This comic is comic did make me chuckle because its the epitome of what those characters are. ESPECIALLY Vincent. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely loved playing FFVII, and Think Vincent was the coolest for turning into an animal. But he isnt even close to manly, He is so girlish he makes a girl look manlier than him. Honestly the manliest out of everyone is Barret and Cid, but thats because they are the most gritty realistic characters. But Anyways Before I rant in anger and blasphamy on how much those people irk me to no end hearing that they complain and send you pointless crap essays, I just want to leave the note that this is the best web comic out there in my opinion, and its just down to earth and witty in all ways.
People really don’t get the point of this comic do they? It’s not, “all of these characters are effeminate/none of them are macho”. It’s “these reasons for a character being macho are retarded, now shut up fangirls.”
Ohhhh look at that widdle appletini while the real men drink beers. Ain’t that just the bees knees??
I adore how a giant bunch of people (from both sides) COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT.
It’s not about how “bishie” characters suck, it’s not about how macho manly men are better, it’s not about being gay or not or how some characters are gayer… everyone is entitled to whatever the fuck they fancy.
They way i see it : It’s about how this is a webcomic about Machos. MACHOS MANLY MACHO MACHO MAN. And how those characters don’t belong here because they don’t fit the stereotype, has nothing to do with how good or bad character they are, they don’t fit in the authors world, and how the poor logic in the requester comment doesn’t make any fucking sense, at all.
tl;dr
Conclusion: Whining is not manly. Taking a joke from things is better.
(?)
I love this comic, though I admit there are some macho Final Fantasy characters. Few and far between, of course, but they’re there.
Sabine from FF6? Motherfucker can suplex a train
Auron from FF10? Destroys monsters with one arm just to give them a chance. With just a sword and a jug of booze no less. Meanwhile death only served to annoy him, and being brought back to life by Hades only pissed him off more.
Snow Villiers from FF13? Takes on monsters bare-handed and even his motorcycle is made out of women. Sure, 13 sucked, but come on.
What this comic is missing is the predator, the very anthropomorphic overly bulky, I lift the governator with my hands, predator, with jokes based on his name and secuel movies or his vagina mouth (or whatever).
It is the manliest alien in movie and everything history and as such MUST be represented here.
Maybe if i request this enough you’ll make one out of spite (nah i kid)
What about Jotaro Kujo from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure? Dio Brando could count but having a manly body wearing heart-shaped belts, kneecaps and hairband seems more bishi….
I’m a diehard bishounen enthusiast, but this comic had me in tears of laughter. Excellently done.
You should put Guts from Berserk as the foreign coworker that rivals Canadian Guy in terms of WTF MOMENTS
You know, people have been linking this comic for awhile now, and it was always pretty funny, but I never did go through and read it for myself.
“Where a lesser webcomic artist might”
Expertly handled, I must say. I hope the backlash doesn’t give you pause to do things like this ever again. Bravo. Really. I even broke several vows to skip this massive comment chain to post this.
Not only do it tip my hat to you, sir, but I will perform a full bow.
You should do one about Rude of the Turks in FF7? He isn’t bishie. He is large, muscle-y awesome who likes to blow things up and is just pretty much anti-all of these prettyboys.
He also has sunglasses.
*just bringing up a suggestion, is all, don’t mind me~*
*starts clapping slowly* Only one word describes this…
GENIUS.
Nuff said. *walks slowly out of the room*
Odd… I thought Vincent would have been excluded for being a pedophile.
Dirge of Cerberus, people, Dirge of Cerberus. O_O
I like manly pretty boys — too manly is too much and too feminine is too much. The ideal being right in the middle…. Mmmm….
i read the whole essay, whoever she is, she needs to pack up her butthurt and leave
Dante > Sten.
Just saying
Lawl.
Marvellous argument.
Sorry abou that, I’m cranky.
Damn. Everything’s been said already. Even the Bouncer cameo has had no less than 10 mentions (could be more, ctrl-f only found 10 though).
This is an excellent response to a severely inept attempt to get you to change the spirit of the comic, though. I especially like the fact that you went out of your way to say the opposite of what the bish-lover-guy wanted you to say about Vincent’s demon transformation power.
OH GOD, the Dante one was too funny.
xD
And the Seshomaru one is unbelievably true.
Read the comic, laughed lots at the win.
Read the Essay, laughed lots at the fail.
Hey Coelasquid, has anyone requested you draw up Sam Gideon from Vanquish, or Bayonetta from, well…Bayonetta?
Both are character who are over the top to the point of hilarity. Bayonetta (way) moreso than Sam in every way, though the point still stands.
I actually thought that Dante himself was the weakest thing about DMC. The gameplay was good; stylish, fast-paced, and even quite difficult. The plot and main-characters were all instantly recognizable boilerplate, right down to Dante’s red leather overcoat. While I don’t begrudge female gamers the occasional estrogen bait protagonist, I think the franchise has been begging for a reboot for some time.
The preamble to this episode handily showcases the worst thing about Devil May Cry—its fans.
Obviously the “let me show you a real sword” quip was meant as a pickup line…
Real-sword was referring to his penis.
Admittedly, Sten’s comment rings a little hollow when you remember that the two-handed swords in Dragon Age were so big that they regularly clipped into the ground while walking (and also being on ice and electric at the same time).
And yet still were within realistic bounds regarding length and proportion compared to real life functional broadswords, which have been known to reach up to seven feet.
Lol since when games need to be realistic? I got the idea that games were meant to be fun apparently are meant to be “realistic” and make nerds fight on the internet =/
I like it when people take it so personally when you make fun of video game physics.
Lol, Dante failed.
Heh, I think Bishies would need their own agency. They just…don’t fit here.
Thank you for the unintended catharsis this comic has afforded me. Particularly the Kuja strip. I have come away from a psycho-head-games sort of relationship with a deep bishonen slash writing fangirl who made all of these arguements. I did not like being told that I was not as good looking as Lucifer from Star Ocean or whatever. She was in her 30s.
I’ve enjoyed the comic since the first, and look forward to seeing more from you. Thank you again.
I loathe prettyboys with every fibre of my being.
This comic absolutely made my day.
The sheer rectum-wreckedness of the comments section is rapidly becoming the funniest thing I’ve ever read.
You mad, fangirls?
#StayManly
This is elthe exact reason why I love Marvel and DC to anime. Because if you put Dante against Kratos, Dante’ll be missin’ a spine and Kratos will have found a new backscratcher. That’s also the reason why I’ve learned to draw Western style over Eastern style… That and that email I got when I was like 10…. so many bad things, WHY DID THE PEOPLE MAKE THOSE BAD THINGS!?!?
I totally thought that was a chick in the first panel… This is manly guys doing manly things. Not femmey anime guys being effeminate. If We are gonna go with masculine anime characters I would go with Kohta Hirano from High school of the dead, he may look like a 16 year old chubby geek (in fact that’s pretty much all of his character background) But with a firearm in his hands he turns into a cross between Rambo and Scarface. You definitely want that kid on your side during a zombie apocalypse.
I’m sure this has already been said. But why does sesshy have 2 arms?
You know who’s really manly? Kirby.
… Well, maybe if he swallowed Kratos.
More Sten! Yesplease!
Oh, this was an entertaining comic! Yeah,it’s true that some guys just aren’t manly enough. Or don’t look the part at least.
I can just imagine the look on Griffith’s face if he were to attempt to join the workplace of manliness and inevitably get turned down. Hahaha.
Anyway, it’s nice to see Volt again. He’s probably my favourite character from the Bouncer.
can i comment without making an account? sweet i think i can
i love your comic like i should love my future children but certainly will not and i always as i read them and go: HE OR SHE SHOULD MAKE A COMIC ABOUT _____ and i do not inform you about it specifically because i imagine how obnoxious it must be
did i mention i love your comic way too much
Daamnn, Dante just got burned! >:D
:( I like this comic, but it does make me a little sad that due to where your interest seem to lie it’s unlikely anime-related examples of machismo will probably never be presented in this comic (stuff like…Yu Yu Hakusho, Cromartie High-school, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, DBZ, etc.) Then again, half of my examples already poke fun at testosterone poisoning anyway, so I’ll live. :P
I love your renditions of Kuja and Vincent
MAKE MORE OF THEM!
“I choose characters by virtue of who is easiest to make fun of because they’re so jacked up on things their creators honestly thought were SO BADASS that they’re not really that badass at all.”
I’m guessing this is why Gordon Freeman rarely shows up.
I laughed. Hard. I love bishies as much as the next gal, but damn I love this comic. I hope you make more.
Omg, Kuja its so fucking gay! xD Sesshoumaru its more manly than him, even with all that gay porn that fangirls make abour him and his brother. I loled so much with Vince’s part, so… You’re the best.
Sesshoumaru panel brought back memories of a pretty sad point of my life. xD Inuyasha was the first anime that I obsessed over. It also introduced me to fanfiction. Good tiiim- no, not really…
Anyways, I couldn’t help thinking that Inuyasha actually wouldn’t make that terrible of an addition to the “manly men” cast. He seems manly enough to me, even if he does have the body of a scrawny 15 year-old boy.
What if the sword was balanced, but really big either way?
Then it would just be a matter of being strong enough and minding the backswing.
isnt that the big guy from the bouncer game for the ps2? or am i wrong
Who the heck is that big blond horned guy?
Long time, first time – Great comic, I got quickly hooked.
I’m missing something though – I don’t see anything “not badass” about the way you present the characters you do use, from the ones you’ve chosen among the geek-o-sphere, to the one you created (The Commander).
You do seem to have gone a bit heavy on Duke and Kratos, but it’s still funny none-the-less. But what is “not badass” about the others?
I also am not quite sure if this whole thing is simply to rip on an idea you don’t like (macho-ness), or if you really do truly love it and are just poking fun at it in a fan-like way (like Futurama does to Sci-Fi). lol
Finally, not related to the comic series itself, more of a general musing to the universe as a whole (anyone is welcome to respond) – why is there only the 2 extremes listed here? I mean, “joe average” is basically considered to be Fry, Homer, or Peter (Griffin), and outside of outlets making fun of them, are largely forgotten – when focusing on a character which is supposed to be appealing (presumably to both genders, albiet in different ways for each at the same time), we have either the “bishounen”, or ‘roided out “Bros” (basically non-Jersey, non-Italian guidos without the bling). I would think it should be possible to combine both ideas and end up with something better as a result. Enh… I’m just rambling. Sorry. :)
o.o
Is Dante really a bishie?
Sure, young Dante from the new DmC and DmC3 are pretty Bishie, but the other instances (especially DmC4) make him look quite manly. Not as manly as most other game characters, but definitly not pretty-boyish. o.o
its unlikely this will be read but i bet saxton hale would make a great character for this comic
Nice thanks for clearing things up for me I was wondering why you used Dante from dantes inferno and not from devil may cry now I know and I think its funny as hell. I love stenos remark it’s just too funny
The best way to make people regret is giving them exactly what they want
I’m the kind of person who has obsessed over Kuja, Sesshomaru, Vincent, et al. at various points in her life, in a most unseemly fashion. In some cases, that obsession has not yet ended. Still thought this was awesome. The Agency is definitely -not- the right place for them. Maybe they should form an Angsty Bishonen Support Group.
I don’t know, the cartoon version of Devil May Cry’s Dante might be able to fit in there.
am i the only one who thinks zoro from one piece would fit in perfectly here? along with franky from the same series?
This shows a deep understanding of the characters recently presented in this page. They speak and behave like them instead of how their respective fangirls would and how they would argumentate. And the body language is also accurate. Not to mention the clever avoidance or not representative cliches. Yep.
Glad to see you got the joke.
When James Bond drinks a martini, it makes him look suave.
When Sesshoumaru drinks a martini, it makes him look effeminate
I’ve been surfing through the comics here one by one from the start after learning of it from a podcast on Thatguywiththeglasses.com (The show was nerd to the third power) , very enjoyable comic, I love it.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, but I had an argument against the last three panels, then thought better of it. The joke’s not perfect, but it’s clever and funny. Great page!
Wow, there’s a lot of butthurt on this page…
I love most of these characters buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut
i am absolutely not ashamed to admit that they are SO competely UTTERLY unmanly.
especially Kuja. Favorite Final Fantasy character but …….. please tell me no one expected him to qualify as MANLY
Long time fan, first time commenter. But I agree completely. Though I haven’t seen any mention of Manly Non-Humans. To which I declare Optimus Prime and Megatron. One is noble and caring and a exceptional leader, the other is a megalomaniacal terror who can brutalize anyone into following him. And they both do this for millions of years. Past that, I think the potential manly characters have already been said.
Look, Vincent, We know you got you share of abilities, but ya got to get over your Samaritan Syndrome. Even Cloud managed to get his shit together. Eventually, anyways.
Are Commander’s bum-around clothes supposed to be a hint at Brock Sampson from Venture Bros?
naw, fit guys just always look good in a tight t-shirt and jeans. Didn’t realize the Brock parallel until weeks later.
my only Complain….at least two of these characters don’t seem the type to be that arrogant and show offy. x3 At least one of them would be annoyed with all the fan girls since he doesn’t really seem to carea bout most humans, and the other would be too busy killing demons and eating pizza to mock about swords. Though i’ve only played one game with him.
being an effeminate anime bishounen myself, I have to say that I’m neither offended by this nor do I see a need to put them in the agency. This is an agency for hulks like Duke Nukem and Sten. This is not the place for long-haired bishies. I respect that. The charm of this agency and the comic is in having these overly-macho guys getting up to stupid hijinks.
I think this is perfectly reasonable. As much as I like gender-redefining bishounen characters, they come from a very different culture and would have similarly distinct social reintegration needs.
I do agree anime types lack manliness…
I get the joke, and as a fan of both types of characters, I had myself a good laugh. It’s truly spectacular that some people don’t get that you’re making fun of the fans bugging you to use these characters more than you are making fun of the characters.
To be completely fair, I think Yusuke Urameshi and the Commander would totally get along.
OMG I kinda squeeled when I saw V.V. there, but laughed when I saw what had happened there. Poor Vincent, refused the right to hang out with the macho men… But, I have to admit, he ain’t macho
I’m a little slow on the draw here, but I thought it was great that your comics came up in the discussion on this article I came across:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/explodingbarrels/9800-Pretty-Boys-Who-Look-Like-Girls
Thank you!! This is absolutely brilliant! So funny, great job =D!!
Thank you. I just needed this so much. Bwahahaha!
Seshomaru only has one arm.
I giggle-snorted at Sesshomaru’s appletini.
I never understood why people think bigger sword = stronger sword. It’s the arm that swings, not the weapon. You people listen to too much pro-gun propaganda or something, idk. xD
Think of it like this: smilodon had fangs too big for its mouth and great white sharks have dinky little teeth that fall out all the time. Who’s got a stronger bite? The shark. Why? Look at the neck muscles!
What about Zaraki Kenpachi?
… All the Sten-love around here annoys me.
Stupid hypocrite douchebag Qunari… with no horns.
Sten’s criticism is irrelevant on the basis that physics is pretty much abandoned in favour of flashiness for Devil May Cry anyway. Isn’t like Sten’s precious sword is particularly practical either.
Well, i have to say i don’t like the whole manly men stuff – I’d rather make a female character if the game allows me, if i can’t get something close to… Say… Adult Link.
As for badassery + big weapons, what about Arngrim from Valkyrie Profile? He’s one of the few manly men that earned my respect. Also, he’s among quite a number of bishounens in that game… The nearly 2m tall guy really stands out.
You also can get Brahms [super vampire or something] and a few more gentleman or knightly types.
Noooo, you can’t lump Dante in with bishies. Just look at his design in DMC4. It’s awesome and he looks pretty manly to me. (Not roided manly, but still.)
You know another total fuckin’ badass? JETSTREAM SAM.
Now that I re-read the purpose of the comic (to satirize super-manly manly men, not have fun with them (as much, I know it’s not straight-up derision)) I see why he’s not in there, but I’d still like to see Major Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist. At first I wanted him in there because he seemed like a true manly man: sure he’s muscular, but he is also in contact with his emotions and is completely confident in who he is.
Actually, I think the Commander would like him, two fellow soldiers with plenty of war stories. That, or him in a boxing match with Mike Haggar from Capcom. At least a cameo in the background or something. Maybe a flexing competition like in this scene from FMA? /watch?v=sa5rW_AJw-U Honestly, I’m just throwing muscles at the wall and seeing what sticks.
I know, you’ve said not to give you ideas, but I’ve wanted him in this comic ever since I saw the series! I hope you don’t take it as an insult, I just needed to get it out there.
How about this one: Cortez from TimeSplitters.
Wait, wait, wait…
Vincent from FF VII isn’t a muscleman?
MY CHILDHOOD IS RUINED! (Seriously, that game is so blocky everyone looks like a muscleman to me in it. I imagined all of the characters were super big and beefy, with Barret being the biggest)
I think people are confusing badassness with manliness, while being manly automatically makes you a badass the two aren’t mutually exclusive. I mean Sessho… Sessi… Sesshomalooadoo and Vincent are both little bitches Kuja and Dante deserve a little credit. To be fair Kuja did blow up an entire planet by himself which you gotta admit is pretty badass but he WAS NOT manly, he was a great villain but he was probably better off as a girl. Dante has that quirky hilarious badassness where you can drive a motorcycle through his front door and he’d be like “Pfft, whatever” and that’s great and all but he is a pretty boy without a doubt.
To Summarize
-Kuja can blow up an entire planet to prove a point but probably has girly bits
-Sesshomalooadooadingdongdiddelydoo’s only interesting quality is his disturbing attraction to his brother
-Vincent, no matter how many giant planet killing monsters he kills, is a little bitch
-And Dante is obviously overcompensating for something if he spends his time doing the crazy shit he does and wields weapons larger than his body.
They are not manly, they have had moments of badassness, but are NOT MANLY. That was my pretentious rant, thank you all, good night.
Dat vincent.
Pfft. None of these guys hold a candle to the manliest of men, Kazuma Kuwabara.
Words cannot describe how much I love this particular issue. I HATED Inuyasha with a PASSION from high school on. That yaoi joke is PERFECT.
You should have roronao zoro in a comic like this he makes these bishounen look like newborn puppies
I always felt that just because you enjoy something doesn’t mean you can’t joke about it. I enjoy bishis on occasion, but I still find this comic funny. And I enjoy manly men too, and I still enjoy the way Coelasquid pokes fun at them :)
If you want manly anime characters, Ramba Ral and Dozzle Zabi are where it’s at.
I do like bishounen, but manly dudes have their own badassery to them as well, I have to say. As an anime fan, it REALLY grinds my gears seeing manly men (yes, they do exist) or even not-so-manly but scrappy looking dudes turned into effeminate sparkly pretty boys for fangirls who make people like me look bad to masturbate to. Just, ugh. The one about yaoi seriously made me think “SICK BUUUURRRNNN!!!!!”I know none of these guys, though.
This raises a question. Is Alucard of Hellsing considered a prettyboy? He looks a bit like one, but acts like a handgun fixated and slightly less blatant Pyramid Head. And I think his super mode has a beard. Hmm.
I imagine that you could swing the handle first then sorta spin until centrifugal force gets it straight and off the ground. still pritty useless tho
Pfffffffffffffffffff XD Hell, I love all of those guys there (great appreciator of both androgynous AND macho men), but DANG they would not fit in here at all. They’re a very, VERY different type of guy, and macho they are not. While there are macho anime dudes, those blokes certainly aren’t :’3
It’s always silly when people decide to tell comic artists how they should write their comics |3 Pfft.
I just wonder if you even played Devil May Cry… I was really into these comic but what you did is really a turn-off. I don’t like f***ing anime guys, too, hate them actually. But one does not simply draw/write comics about manly men and mock Dante. I’m disappointed.
I agree that this is insanely funny, but I do have to point out… Very early in the show he’s from Sesshomaru loses his left arm….
I love the last strip making fun of how absurdly oversized the sword is, when Dragon Age is ALSO notorious for ludicrously oversized sword models (seriously, the things are damn paddles that would weight about 20 pounds and would be impossible to actually use).
The hilarious thing about this is that I was linked back to this page from a minor panic post about what Vincent’s backstory will look like in FF7 Remake’s engine/storytelling.
The guy who posted it thought he was funny, but Dead Man’s Gun will always make me think of Vincent now. Joke’s on you, Ben!
Dude, you may be my favorite person on wither after my parents and wife.
Yeah I love how you rip on vincent and Dante, especially Dante. He ain’t nothing close to manly or even cool, he’s a obligatory anime invincible protagonist(Most common in Visual Novel Crap) who acts like the world is his oyster, does little if never anything in effort and makes everything easy, fucks around and does dumb anime sequences of kung fu and cheesy 90s gimmicks that dial up how dumb a character can be if he existed in real life. Also I hate how people(his fans) say thats the point of his character, he’s made to be a joke of a anti hero and parody dark demon heroes. Well I don’t think the creators where that clever and wanted to make that concept the point, Dante is just a cliche factory of overused ideas in an idea about style and flash, but never a meta work. And if that was the case, I don’t see how that makes him a memorable character or a well developed one, he makes him pretentiously bland and gimmicky with no substance to his character, I hate he’s a goofy nut in 3 and 4 24/7 it made me want Nero to kill him once and for all, because he was boring and predictable at best while the other characters were more interesting.
Fun and Entertainment is good and all but it shouldn’t be the end all be all point to a characters likability, thats why I like characters who are more human and balanced than one demensionally focused on a perpetual gimmick or cliche.
Nothing about Dante and Vincent is manly. Nothing. One is so rooted in anime fujoshi bait, he’s literally a walking gay fandom. Plus nothing about him comes from a manly source, he’s sorta a god not in the Hercules since but in the I’m the son of a anime pretty boy made to literally be a anime bishi jesus and a edgy german goth type. The other is well the embodiment of why emos are hated and a giant big middle finger on true manlyness.
Dante is the opposite of manliness, he’s like a formation of the kinda of invinvible anime tropes without any of the creativity on them, theirs literrally nothing that makes him have sembelance of man hood, he’s unkilliable, got a heal factor(only pussy regenerate from attacks), to smooth and suave(more fangirl pandered than actually manly), he’s a walking armory and he can once more not die(he’s a mary sue that earned none of his demonic gifts), he’s stronger than demon gods and his brother(see where I’m going with this.) and he’s looks like a young emasculating Santa Claus on a emo phase.
A boring as fuck character who spent the entire game angsting about his whore of a girlfriend Lucrecia (Sephiroth’s real mother). He’s sort of maybe a vampire, but enough of one that makes the faggot sparkling “vampires” from Twilight look like Bela Fucking Lugosi. He was a Turk until he started pissing and moaning about Hojo farting about with Jenova cells. So Hojo made him immortal and locked him in a coffin. Well, it’s definitely one way to get rid of your problems.
He is clothed permanently in the kind of gear you’d see someone in one of those faggy goth clubs wearing. He was the only character in Advent Children who didn’t have a change of attire which makes him a unsexy hobo. He had his own game, FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus, which was a gigantic pile of fail for 3 reasons:
It played like total ass, and
It introduced several plot elements that you are forced to accept have existed since before FFVII, despite the fact that they are never mentioned because the original plot was never intended to integrate them.
It was full of blah blah blah and hardly ever shuts the fuck up. Play it for 15 hours and 10 of those are guaranteed to be dialogue and cutscenes. And not good ones.
I can admit some of this but as a DMC fan, I gotta feel like that you’re giving Dante the short end of the stick. Scythes are not capable weapons but they are used in games and we couldn’t care less and to be honest that is EXACTLY how Dante would be.
I do think that Dante and they would be a good addition to the comic but I will agree that forcing you to do something is poor taste. So as a fan of both your comic and DMC I humbly ask that you reconsider your stance on them and instill them when you have proper insperation for them.
Keep up the awesome!
IIRC there was a link somewhere along the way to what some people were actually saying to Coela, and at least two of the lines made by the bishounen here were actually said to her, verbatim.
It’s not so much that these characters would act this way, it’s that these arguments were being used by the fans to “justify” them, but you can see how well these arguments hold up in practice.
For example, the Vincent bit was written by the fan to be something like Vincent turns into a demon in front of the Commander and it’s very intimidating so the Commander goes “okay I can respect that”.
I’m assuming someone said something along the lines about Sten just being a whiny baby about his sword when it’s just a dinky little butterknife compared to Dante’s weaponry.
I mean, I can picture Dante giving someone shit by making fun of how impractically badass their weapon ISN’T, but yeah, he wouldn’t get all huffy in response to a good comeback. The point isn’t so much that Dante is that fragile, but that using that as an actual argument is beyond ridiculous.
I think the comic would have hit the mark a lot better if each of the messages serving as “inspiration” were screenshotted within the comic itself, making it more clear that she was tearing apart the statements more than she was the characters.
It occurred to me it would be amusing to create a sort of sister comic*, Pretty Guys Doing Pretty Things. With some bishounen OC helping bishounens adjust to normal life. (“Sephiroth, did you get your hair caught in the copy machine again? I swear, 90% of the problems around here could be solved by a set of scissors”) Because in their own way, bishounen men are just as messed up.
* This is not a suggestion that Coelasquid should make such a comic, just a vague “it’d be amusing if someone** did it” thought.
** I’d consider doing it myself, but I don’t draw.