Yeah, I’m really not sure what got Mopey and the others to expect any outcome more positive than this one. Perhaps it has something to do with them getting younger, which might have increased their capacity for unwarranted optimism. You need a bit of life experience to always expect the worst.
And their new coach might not even technically be the worst, given some of the other names that had been under consideration (however briefly). He’s just…uh…very obviously not great.
While Snuka’s eyes might not have betrayed his diabolical shrewdness, some of his true character must have shone through at some point or in some way. And he was punished for it by attracting exactly the kind of mentor you’d expect somebody like Snuka to have. Snuka would probably still be exactly the way he is if he had grown up under the tutelage of this sort of… person.
The scruffy ronin is a staple of anime and manga set in the days of the samurai, but it does show up with a certain frequency even in present-day settings. Often in a ‘modern equivalent’ style, but sometimes in a quite classic, unadulterated form. Including the loosely girded kimono and the traditional drinking vessel. Naturally, I opted for that later style, simply because it looks worse.
The scruffy ronin comes with an unkempt appearance to match his state of moral dissolution. “Beware of the loosely girded youth!” as a piece of good advice may originate from Ancient Rome, but is apparently similarly applicable to the Japan of the samurai. Possibly because their ‘proper’ style of formal dress was similarly impractical to put on and wear and thus equally frequently disregarded.
Of course the scruffy ronin stereotype can suddenly turn into a heroic stereotype near the climax of a work of fiction…but in the case of this particular work of fiction, I wouldn’t count on it. >_>
More on Thursday.
…holy shit.
Ok. Okay… this isn’t the WORST possible outcome. Snuka could’ve gotten them someone terminally naive, innocent, and easily tricked instead. If there’s one thing the Scruffy Ronin can do, it’s take care of themselves, even while drunk. Sure, not very WELL, but he’s statistically unlikely to get killed by some antagonist-type like a sucker in order to motivate the heroes into a final confrontation.
Well, unless they start to actually become friends. Which is a problem that can likely be solved by more alcohol.
Still, I doubt they’ll get any use out of this guy. At least not immediately. He’s probably not even allowed to carry a sword on school grounds, and a scruffy ronin without a sword is more or less useless.
If Snuka would have found somebody terminally naive, innocent and easily tricked…he’d likely kept that discovery a secret from the others, so he could exploit that perfect mark without interference (or competition). XD But he wasn’t that lucky, since that would have conflicted with the well-established grudge the universe is bearing against him.
Otherwise I can’t reveal too much about Marumaru yet, but I can confirm that he isn’t carrying his swords, and that he absolutely isn’t up to any kind of dying nobly in order to motivate his team. Or dying in general. Walking away alive is just about the only requirement he has for any kind of situation he might find himself in, and everything else is at best a bonus. In short, he won’t have any concerns about ‘World War Death’, because he’ll make sure it’s not his death.