What the cat dragged in – Chapter 9, Act 1, Strip 56

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.