#srtuc lord kogane

[drawnaghht]

hmmm one thing I really like in SR, is how most of the body types we see are fairly stumpy/strong or just overall, don't feel fragile (since they're based on animals moreso than humans, I suppose that must be the influence there)

The only characters who we could even call "skinny", are Usagi himself, and then the Shogun, lord Kogane (who is short under that outfit of his). Both their body-shapes are still different (Yuichi's triangle shapes VS Kogane's bell-shape) but are also more-or-less closer to that stick-figure shape we don't see in the other characters

usagi and kogane

vs the other cast

since it's primarily a more "action anthro" or "funny animals" show, but also 3D, it's sorta nice to see this change of pace compared to other modern cartoons where the girl or women characters are always skinnier or less bulky, even if they do action, or often even male characters will be the same height/similar body type and there's not as much variety in the cast. But here they're all different animals so it's a nice excuse to add more variety according to character and inspirations heh. Now, with Chizu and and Kitsune, they might not be very bulky, but they are at least the bare minimum of "very ordinary-looking body types) and also different heights from each other. With Gen and Toshiko on the other hand, even if it's a cost-saving method to keep the budget for the heavier/costlier and more necessary scenes, I like that Toshiko is allowed to basically, be just a person but in a way that's realistic for this world, so she's still the same build as Gen and the rest of her family, with the only difference being that she wears ear-rings as a show of character.

also, like I'd said b4 in an older post, I appreciate they didn't do the "boobs on animals" design choice either (all the female cast, but especially characters like Chizu or Toshiko) cuz well, it's not a game or something hyper-realistic, but also, seems like the visdev crew was really smart and aware abt this sorta stuff. So with the exception of Lady Fuwa, the rest of the female cast do not really have detailing or design aspects that would make them seem close to cartoons or 3D games that do add more visible chests to their anthro characters (like, for whatever reason, it could be anything). just a nice change of pace.

tho I guess like, it *is* aimed at kids, so the designers were aware of some of this stuff probably and steered the designs into something easy-to-draw (I'm thinking of visdev and storyboards) as well as model and animate.

[hitokshellart]

I understand now the love for Usagi working as a waiter, but I wanted to include the Lord Kogane being an annoying costumer or something like that jkfgnjdfkgn

Yuichi's going to get fired again, poor Hueso

[teaableu]

WHAT IS YOUR EXILE AU LIKE....

I HAVE BEEN WAITING AGES FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME THIS

Okay SO a LOT is up in the air right now because I'm doing Research as best I can between classes BUT here's what i got so far:

Lord Kogane is from a very powerful family that wants to take full control over Neo Edo. They think he's doing a poor job because the yokai are running free again and he's overall a pretty useless ruler. They step in and force him to enforce some pretty Messed Up Stuff that put all the people in danger (something to do with the Makkine tech probably). Usagi and his friends have a front row seat as to what he's up to and Usagi decides he won't let them get away with it. I haven't worked out the details but the Koganes' plans threaten the people and the yokai. BUT Usagi's not strong enough to take out the Koganes on his own.

My Usagi has a mystic power of sorts, which makes him very sensitive to spirits. All of the visions he gets through the Ki stone in the show, plus his ability to speak with Miyamoto stem from this ability. A simple way of seeing it would be like, he can see the threads of their lives. So he can read souls and connect with them, and sees ghosts when others cannot. I think the Ki stone sort of unlocked and amplified it when he connected with her. I'm still working on the details of his power but basically he can see and talk to ghosts with a little extra stuff sprinkled in

So the Ki stone encourages Usagi to seek help. Turns out the Koganes have a rich history of killing entire villages and armies that oppose them, dating (maybe) all the way back to Miyamoto's time. So he finds a couple of restless ghosts that are still waiting for vengeance and asks for their help. He strikes a deal that was supposed to help him fight Kogane while allowing the ghosts to avenge themselves their loved ones and their clans. I think he would amplify their power while they help him fight. But he doesn't realize who exactly he's making this deal with and ends up tethering his soul to very powerful VERY ANGRY ghosts that are WAY stronger than he is (I've been researching onryo and yurei for reference). They can take possession of his body, amplify his emotions to be in tune with their own, manipulate his power, and generally cause a lot of destruction. Basically, he becomes their puppet. I'm thinking it's a Venom or Little Shop of Horrors type dynamic between them. Also think of any poltergeist type film

He makes the deal and the ghosts possess him. When Usagi wakes up, he's killed Kogane (who really wasn't even the Big Bad behind the whole thing) and has to flee the city before he's caught and put to death for treason and murder. His friends are all imprisoned but he can't risk returning because he has lost control of his power and is unable to control the ghosts that are bound to his soul. The ghosts are starving for power and burning with hundreds of years of fury and anguish, and feed off of destruction (maybe the living?) It's sort of a pandora's box situation. The ghosts are just a whirlwind of chaos and use Usagi as a means to exact their wrath

I called it exile because Usagi can't return to the city without being arrested and killed for his crimes. The gang was the only one standing up to Kogane, and with his friends in prison, he's sort of stuck. He blames himself for everything that went wrong because he ran off without his friends and jumped headfirst into a situation he did not understand. He was reckless and cocky and now everyone is paying for it.

That's where EMD comes in, but the story continues after EMD season 2 as well.

Some extra notes:

- The timeline for srtuc would probably be a bit different so I can have more flexibility with the season one and season two events, since I wasn't sure when it would take place and I want there to be a pretty big time gap between Usagi leaving and returning. I also might use the Makkine invasion in the story

- I’m still working out Usagi’s backstory/past, but have pretty much decided that he has some history with the Kogane family

- I'm planning for Miyamoto to have a pretty big part in the story as well, acting as a guide for Usagi when he goes into hiding. I'm really interested in their relationship so I really want to take the chance to explore it.

- I'm thinking of adding someone as a nod to Tomoe Ame as well (descendant of her apprentice perhaps), since we got a representation of Chizu, Kitsune, and Gen in the tv show but not Tomoe (sad)

I wrote out the sparksnotes version of this here

In addition to the artwork there I have some other concept art

Blood warning under the cut

[drawnaghht]

lol I love how excited but also smug Usagi looks in many episodes

the 2nd ep has this and it's the funniest set of poses ever

[drawnaghht]

lord kogane doesn't know how to carry a blade

lol i never noticed it before but Lord Kogane apparently carries Usagi's sword the wrong way? like in ep 2 where the keisatsu are taking Usagi away to the station

Like earlier in the "funny photoshoot" sequence, he is carrying it the right way ("hanging" pose for the sword and scabbard, the blade pointed up, so it's possible to turn it over, unsheathe it and slash it in the same movement) but then when they're taking Usagi away, its the wrong way again ("up" but blade edge pointed down)

and again later when Usagi is arrested together with the others a second time.

which just leads me to believe he does not actually know how to properly hold and carry a sword - which honestly just makes sense cuz well, corrupt politician + self-centered prick so why would this character bother to learn the art of the sword x3

The tech in Neo Edo allows for swords and other kinds of weapons to be carried differently with specialized magnets, which I suspect are some kind of super-industrial grade derived from the alien tech they adapted after Miyamoto Usagi's time when the fake shogun was defeated. You can also see character designer Irineo Maramba's note on the magnets here, showing the idea behind the magnet tech. So I wonder also if he just put it on the wrong side + wrong way bc 1) he doesn't care 2) he doesn't know 3) for some reason, he just thinks this is whatever? like he feels comfortable enough with his keisatsu entourage, that he is not threatened by the existence of 1 criminal element. lol it's funny to think abt for how much of a bad ruler/politician he seems, he also does not really care about history unless it's about himself directly.

and here's how Usagi carries it, for comparison, at the end of the ep:

Even if samurai didn't really last into the Neo Edo future (something Gen mentions in ep 1), I can only guess that the show creators wanted to make sure the sword is handled properly despite the fantastical setting. so it's interesting to see this kind of detail in the show. Although it's also a possibility that because Kogane wasn't using the sword, he simply attached it to the right side, to make it harder to draw. All samurai were trained to handle the sword with their right hand and the only time they would wear it on the right side was when talking to another samurai, to show non-hostility. So maybe that was the case intead? lol in any case, to my un-trained eyes (been to one kendo demo), it looked incorrect for a moment.

interesting sources to read on this!:

Samurai Fashion Guide: Blade-up or Blade-down?

Tenshinryu Hyouho Battojutsu - art of drawing the sword

Proper way to wear a samurai sword